back, Televisa had to comply with several upgrade requests by the league.Azteca built new football-only locker rooms, installed new seats and boxes that reduced its capacity from over 100,000, and added

NEW DELHI -- Months ahead of the Rio Games, Indian sports officials vowed that the massive nation would turn around its long history of dismal Olympic results and be proud of its athletes.Steeplechase. Golf. Shooting. Badminton. Boxing. Tennis. Wrestling. Archery. Discus. India saw medal possibilities in all those disciplines, and the head of the governments sports authority, Injeti Srinivas, said he expected India to bring home anywhere from 10 to 14 medals.What happens on a particular day is something none of us can predict. But we should achieve this target, Srinivas said in March.You dont hear such optimism these days. With the end of the games just a few days away, India has yet to win any medals at all. Both its mens and womens field hockey teams were bounced; its best chance left at gold, silver or bronze could be in womens badminton, with Pusarla Sindhu playing a semifinal Thursday against Okuhara Nozomi of Japan.Other problems have surfaced beyond competition.The Indian sports minister was chastised by Olympic officials for the aggressive and rude behavior of his entourage in Rio. The standout Indian athlete of the games, a gymnast known for performing one of the sports most dangerous moves, confessed that shed had to cobble together her own training equipment because gymnasts get so little support.Abhinav Bindra, a rifle shooter who won Indias first individual gold, at the Beijing Games in 2008, questioned on Twitter his countrys commitment to winning.Each medal costs the UK 5.5 million pounds, said Bindra, who finished fourth in the mens 10-meter air rifle finals in Rio. Thats the sort of investment needed. Lets not expect much until we put systems in place at home.The reaction at home has been harsh.Its a disaster, said Mihir Vasavda, a sportswriter for the Indian Express newspaper. Were looking at returning (from an Olympics) for the first time without a medal since 1992.In theory, India should be a serious Olympic contender with its 1.3 billion people and tens of millions of rabid sports fans. It has a growing economy and increasing wealth, a large bureaucracy that oversees sports and a deep sensitivity about its position in the world.But none of that has helped. Instead, Indias total Olympic medal count -- 26 -- puts it slightly ahead of Portugal, a nation with less than 1 percent of Indias population. India is even behind Michael Phelps, the American swimmer with 28 medals.Nearly one-fourth of Indias medals came in London in 2012, spiking interest and giving people hope for an Olympic turning point for the country.But in a country with very little Olympic history, there is little to hold Indias attention when its athletes are losing.People dont understand the rules, they dont know who the stars are, they just cant relate to most Olympic sports, Vasavda said.They do relate to cricket -- an obsession in India. The game is played across the country, from the Himalayas to the southern tip. Its played at Indias most elite boarding schools, and on the streets of sprawling slums. Traffic in Indias car-clogged cities decreases noticeably during major matches. The biggest stars are not admired -- they are worshipped as something close to gods.The fervent following pushes every other sport to the margins, leaving non-cricketers and their coaches to scrabble for funding, facilities and support.For years, many top athletes came from the countrys economic and aristocratic elite. When Bindra won his gold, few were surprised that he was the son of a wealthy Indian industrialist who could hire one of the worlds top coaches.The multitude of sports bureaucrats and federations are widely dismissed for putting their own interests ahead of the athletes, concerns Indian Sports Minister Vijay Goel appeared to embody when he was confronted by Rio organizers for repeatedly trying to push into restricted zones. Goel later dismissed the concerns as a misunderstanding.Few Indian athletes get the official help -- coaches and trainers, housing, food, stipends, equipment -- that are the norm in many other countries.Take Dipa Karmakar, a 23-year-old gymnast from Tripura, a small northeastern state that, like gymnastics, is little more than a mystery to most Indians. After learning on equipment she made herself, this year she became the first Indian woman to qualify for Olympic gymnastics. Her success at vault is largely based on her use of the Produnova, an aerial double somersault so dangerous most gymnasts never attempt it.She says the move doesnt worry her: One can get injured any time -- anything can happen, she told the AP in an interview earlier this year.Her coach, however, says that danger is part of an equation that also includes Indias lackluster interest in Karmakars sport.We have to take this risk because we are not a strong nation when it comes to gymnastics. Dipa attempts the Produnova because it can get her bigger points and a chance to enter the finals of a tournaments, he told the Hindustan Times.She finished fourth in the vault final.While India shared a collective groan when she missed the bronze by the slimmest of point margins, some see a frightening message in her use of the Produnova.Dipa Karmakar is a symbol of Indias failure, hypocrisy and mediocrity, the popular news website Firstpost said in a headline earlier this week.If we were a nation that produced athletes with skills, Dipa would have never been forced to rely on her courage to get ahead, wrote Sandipan Sharma. But in India the pursuit of Olympic glory is contingent on an individuals decision to transcend her love for life, put it below the pursuit of victory.---Follow Tim Sullivan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ByTimSullivan Cowboys Jerseys 2020 . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Dallas Cowboys Gear . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. https://www.cowboysjerseysale.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Cowboys Jerseys . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Stitched Cowboys Jerseys . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. MEXICO CITY -- Mexican fans welcomed the NFL in raucous fashion, and it probably wont be the last time Azteca Stadium hosts American futbol.Next time, however, theyll try to ban laser pointers.Nearly 80,000 fans came to see the Raiders defeat the Houston Texans in a 27-20 win Monday night in what felt like a Raiders home game.The crowd harassed the Texans and supported the Raiders , one of the most popular NFL teams in Mexico.The success of the game and the full weekend of events could entice the league to bring more games to the Mexican capital.WILD FANSThe NFL says 76,473 fans were at the game, and the atmosphere was very different from the more neutral crowd for games in London. Thousands of other football fans attended a weekend-long fan fest.Although many wore silver and black, it was clear that the Cowboys, Texans, Steelers and Broncos also have fans south of the border.Besides the game, we had an excellent trip here, great experience for our players. Unbelievable crowd. Just a really cool atmosphere for both teams, Texans coach Bill OBrien said. It was a great trip as far as thats concerned.Before the game, there was concern that Mexican fans could boo the U.S. national anthem because of the political tension since Donald Trump was elected president, but the crowd did not .A SOCCER CROWDThe fans behavior was similar to the atmosphere when the Mexican national team or local club America play their soccer matches in Azteca Stadium.I was able to play at Wembley Stadium in my rookie year, and then being able to play here, I mean it was amazing, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. Theres so much history and so much rowdiness. I love soccer, so it gave me kind of a soccer feel.Throughout the game, the crowd chanted a gay slur that is common in soccer matches when the opposing goalkeeper clears the ball.This year, FIFA has fined Mexico three times for the chant. The NFL did not comment about the slur.Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler was targeted by a green laser on several plays, something that is common against visiting soccer teams playing at Azteca.Certainly, having a laser zoomeed in on your eyeball definitely affects how you play, Osweiler said.ddddddddddddTHE MEXICO RAIDERS?The Raiders are exploring a move to Las Vegas, but in the meantime, they could consider another trip back to Mexico, where they clearly have a devoted fan base.According to the NFL office in Mexico, the Raiders are the fifth-most popular team in the country. They were clearly more popular Monday night than the Texans.Yon de Luisa, sporting vice president of the Televisa media company which owns Azteca Stadium, has said the deal with the NFL could include two future games in the venue.THE AZTECA RENOVATIONSAzteca Stadium, famous for hosting two World Cup finals, was renovated with a $12 million investment for its 50th anniversary and to celebrate club Americas 100th year. As part of the deal to bring the NFL back, Televisa had to comply with several upgrade requests by the league.Azteca built new football-only locker rooms, installed new seats and boxes that reduced its capacity from over 100,000, and added a new wireless internet network. The stadium still needs major renovations in other areas: the parking lot is insufficient, there are no escalators and the stadium lights and most of the ramps are 50 years old.ALTITUDEBefore the game, Mexico Citys altitude of 7,380 feet above sea level played was a cause for concern for both teams, who arrived a day earlier to avoid the effects as recommended by the NFL Mexico office.Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree had trouble breathing, and the Raiders called a timeout for their players to catch a break late in the game.I mean you talk about the elements is always a factor, but at the same time you talk about resiliency and the coaches having us prepared, Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack said. ... It was a weight that we could fight through and youve seen that throughout the finishing of the game and especially in the fourth quarter.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '