RIO DE JANEIRO -- Australias men have never won an Olympic basketball medal, but NBA point guard Patty Mills says they are targeting gold at the Rio Games. Antonio Garcia Patriots Jersey .Mills will be playing in his third Olympics, and he is hoping this years Games will end with the Boomers taking the top honour after quarterfinal defeats to the United States in 2008 and 2012.When chef de mission Kitty Chiller was asked Tuesday what medal she has set as a target for the mens and womens basketball teams, her answer was succinct: Gold.Mills added: Weve established this goal a long time ago. Its a high goal, but one we all believe in. We need to [believe] to be able to compete in such a big tournament like the Olympic Games.If you dont believe it, then whats the point in being here? We have a tight-knit group that really believe in themselves to try and accomplish something that weve never done before, so were definitely ready to go.Mills, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, is one of five NBA basketball players on Australias team, and he hopes their collective knowledge of their U.S. counterparts will work in their favour. We feel like we know them well, he said.But Mills says the immediate focus is on their first two group matches, against France and Serbia, and he hopes their pre-Olympics matches against Argentina, Brazil, Lithuania and China will put them in good stead come Saturday, when they open against France in Carioca Arena 1.It was great preparation for us against some powerhouse teams, Mills said. We all play around the world, and to be able to come together for a short amount of time is not ideal, but weve made the most of it with camp back in Melbourne.Argentina, Brazil, Lithuania and China, and I think those games were good for us, to play against good, quality defense ... and theres no doubt we have grown as a team, and we know what its going to take for us to achieve something which weve never done before. Deatrich Wise Jr. Jersey . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Derek Rivers Patriots Jersey .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. http:///...-Jersey.html?cat=949 . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. MINNEAPOLIS -- For most kickers, a game-tying, 58-yard field goal as time expires would qualify as the highlight of their careers.For Matt Prater, it just barely made the top five on his list.Praters big leg got the Detroit Lions to overtime against the Minnesota Vikings and Matthew Staffords big arm took over from there in a 22-16 victory on Sunday.Prater has the NFL record of 64 yards and three kicks of 59 yards on his resume, so when he trotted on to the field at indoor U.S. Bank Stadium with the game on the line, it was nothing new for him.Im confident, Prater said. More than likely Im not worried about missing it short. ... I expect to make every kick. I dont overanalyze it or think too much. I just kick it and hope it goes straight.It usually does. Prater is 23 for 23 on game-tying or go-ahead field goal tries in the fourth quarter or overtime, according to ESPN. So when Stafford took the ball down 16-13 with 23 seconds left on the clock, he knew all Prater needed was a chance.Matt Prater will say get to midfield and he will have a chance, Stafford said. He has got a big leg.Once it got to overtime, Stafford hit Golden Tate for a 28-yard touchdown to give the Lions (5-4) their fourth win in five games. Stafford completed 23 of 36 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and Tate had 11 catches for 79 yards.Sam Bradford completed 31 of 40 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings, who have lost three in a row coming out of the bye after a 5-0 start.But the vaunted Vikings defense couldnt come up with one more stop.Its hard to feel good after a loss, but today we looked like we have in the past, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.Obviously we didnt get it done and theres no guarantees, but Id rather go into a fight with these guys the way they were today than the last couple of weeks.Here are the top takeaways from the game:WALSHS BREAKING POINTJuxtaposed against Praters dependability in big moments is Vikings kicker Blair Walshs erratic play. He missed his third extra point try of the season, more than any other kicker in the league. He also had a kick that was blocked. Throughout his career, Walsh has impresseed with his graciousness in fielding questions after missing big kicks. Deatrich Wise Jr. Patriots Jersey. . But on Sunday, he snapped.It didnt go in, right? he said. You guys are going to ask me this question a million times: `Did it feel good? Did I make it? No. Do I have to? Yes. Do I want to? Yes. So, just, if youve got something else, please. Seriously.STAFFORDS COOLThe comeback was Staffords fifth this season when trailing in the fourth quarter, the most in the NFL. The Lions five victories have been by a total of 17 points. Their four losses have come by a combined 18 points.You do not always want to be in those situations, but we have been the majority of the time this year and these guys just believe in each other, Stafford said. I believe in those guys.ZIMMERS REGRETZimmer deployed a prevent defense in hopes of avoiding getting beaten deep by Stafford. When the QB was able to complete two passes to get them into Praters range, Zimmer said he should have tried to apply more pressure.If I had to do it all over again, I would probably rush four and try and get it that way, Zimmer said. He scrambled around and made a play. Thats how it goes.SHARP SHURMURUnlike the past two games, the blame for losing didnt fall squarely on Minnesotas offense.Actually, the Vikings posted their third-highest yardage total of the season during an efficient, rhythmic performance behind sharp play calling by offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur in his first game in the role. He replaced Norv Turner, who abruptly resigned on Wednesday.They used a faster pace between snaps and favored quicker, high-percentage throws, effectively minimizing the pressure on Bradford, who was sacked only twice after taking a total of 11 sacks the previous two weeks.Still, the Vikings werent perfect. They had to punt after starting a drive at the 18-yard line following an interception in the second quarter. Then in the fourth quarter, Matt Asiata was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the 5.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
