essee wasnt nearly as effective the rest of the way. In the second half, the Vols had 13 turnovers with six assists.QUOTABLEI thought after we dunked the ball once or twice

PITTSBURGH -- Arthur Moats thought for a second and then basically pulled off the impossible.He managed to sound both angry and optimistic at the same time when asked how a team expected to run away with the AFC North finds itself mired at an uninspired 4-4 at the midway point following a lifeless loss in Baltimore .Frustrated. (Ticked), the almost serially upbeat linebacker said. Because we know the talent we have, how good we can be. But its just not been consistent.Not even close.The offense that wanted to average 30 points a game is averaging a full touchdown less than that. The defense hoping to take another step forward in defensive coordinator Keith Butlers second year instead finds itself still looking for traction.And the special teams? Check Twitter, where GIF-able versions of the blocked punt for a touchdown given up to the Ravens and Chris Boswells comedic attempt at a late onside kick (think hackey-sack trick gone awry) are there for your amusement.Weve got to be better, guard Ramon Foster said. Got to be pros about it, thats the best word I can use for it.And perhaps the most polite. A year ago, the Steelers began the second half at a similar crossroads then went 6-2 down the stretch to make the playoffs and give eventual Super Bowl champion Denver a serious scare in the divisional round.This start, however, feels different. Pittsburgh has dropped three straight, its longest skid since dropping the first four games in 2013. Whats worse, they havent even been competitive on the road.In each of their past three road losses the Steelers have managed all of 40 points and only one touchdown before pre-garbage time stat fillers that made the outcome more respectable.We have to realize we have to be a team that teams want to beat, Foster said. Weve got to treat ourselves like that. We cant drop an egg.Let alone three, all against middling teams that are all 4-4 themselves and none that entered September with the hype or the pedigree in Pittsburgh.Weve got to be the best team in the stadium, at least give the best effort, Foster said. Yesterday we werent that team.At least the Steelers will be home next Sunday, a place where theyre averaging a robust 28.5 points a game.Thats the good news. The bad news? Its against the surging Dallas Cowboys (7-1), who are tied for the best record in the NFL behind rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott.The kids with the blue star on their helmets have played with poise. The Steelers have not, at least not lately. Pittsburghs racked up 29 penalties over its past three games.At one point in the second half in Baltimore, the Steelers had been flagged for more yards than they gained.Were shooting ourselves in the foot, running back LeVeon Bell said. Its definitely not time to panic for us. We know how good we can be. Weve just to go put things together. Its been showing (but) weve lost three straight. Weve got to go and put it together.Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger included. While he managed to suit up just 20 days removed from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Pittsburgh struggled to get into any sort of rhythm until the Ravens were up by three touchdowns.By then it was far too late and the Steelers fell to 12-14 on the road in games Roethlisberger has started since 2013.Roethlisberger, as he typically does, shouldered a large portion of the blame saying I need to be more accurate.Maybe, but the issues currently plaguing his team are more widespread.Still, Roethlisbergers brilliance has often been enough to overcome whatever Pittsburgh lacks in certain areas. That hasnt been the case over the past month.Bell stressed theres no time to panic. And despite the current malaise, the Steelers are still right in the thick of a so-so AFC North.Considering how poorly theyve played of late, theyll take it. Mostly because they have to.We can still control what we want to control, Moats said.Better start soon.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Air Force 1 Doernbecher . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Air Force 1 Mid Bianche . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. http://www.airforce1outletitalia.it/scontate-lunar-force-1.html . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Air Force 1 Alte Marble Pack .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Air Force 1 Mid Nere . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee must learn how to finish as well as it starts.Robert Hubbs III scored 25 points and made a key block in the last minute Tuesday night as Tennessee outlasted Tennessee Tech 74-68 after leading by as many as 22 points early in the second half.Tennessees fast first-half performance and struggle down the stretch came two days after the Volunteers couldnt hang on to a 15-point lead in a 73-71 loss at No. 7 North Carolina.Weve shown we can play well, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said, but what we havent shown is we can play a really solid 40 minutes.After trailing 49-27 with just under 17 minutes left, Tennessee Tech (4-8) cut Tennessees lead to 71-67 on Courtney Alexander IIs dunk with 21 seconds remaining. Tennessee went 3 of 4 on free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the victory.Im proud of how we came back, Tennessee Tech coach Steve Payne said. It could have gotten ugly.Before Alexanders dunk, Tennessee Tech had the ball twice in the last 90 seconds with a chance to trim a five-point deficit.On the first possession, Kajon Mack was called for an offensive foul when he leaned into Lamonte Turner with 1:14 left. The next time Tennessee Tech had the ball, Hubbs blocked Aleksa Jugovics 3-point attempt with 33 seconds remaining.I saw it all the way, Hubbs said. And then once I saw (Jugovic) slide to the corner, I just read it. I tried to steal it but couldnt get there in time, so I just played the shot and blocked it. We needed that. I had to make the play.Hubbs had arguably the best performance of his career against North Carolina, as the senior guard scored 21 points and shot 9 of 11. He stayed hot Tuesday by shooting 10 of 17 and pulling down seven rebounds, two off his career high.Turner added 16 points and shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range.But the game still was up for grabs in the last few minutes because Tennessee got stagnant.dddddddddddd Tennessee (5-4) withstood a 6 1/2-minute stretch in which it failed to make a basket.In the first half, I think we were the aggressor defensively, Turner said. In the second half, they were.Jugovic scored 14 points for Tennessee Tech. Mack and Savonte Frazier each scored 11, and Mason Ramsey added 10.THE TAKEAWAYTennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles have twice as many losses as wins, but theyve shown plenty of tenacity in how theyve rallied against more talented opponents. Tennessee Tech trailed Michigan State by as many as 18 on Saturday but made that game interesting down the stretch before falling 71-63. The Golden Eagles followed a similar formula Tuesday as Tennessee struggled to put the game away.Tennessee: The Vols played virtually error-free basketball in the first half by compiling 11 assists with only one turnover. Tennessee wasnt nearly as effective the rest of the way. In the second half, the Vols had 13 turnovers with six assists.QUOTABLEI thought after we dunked the ball once or twice, our guys acted like a bunch of high school guys where they thought the game was over with, Barnes said. We just started jacking some 3s up there. It doesnt take long when youre playing against a team thats well coached and that plays hard. They got comfortable and made us have to make plays at the end to win.KEY STATSTurner has gone 14 of 25 from 3-point range over his last four games. While Turner was 5 of 9 on 3-pointers Tuesday, his Tennessee teammates were a combined 1 of 11.NEXT UPTennessee Tech hosts Lipscomb on Saturday.Tennessee hosts Lipscomb on Thursday.---More AP College Basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org---Follow Steve Megargee at www.twitter.com/stevemegargee ' ' '