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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Before going their separate ways, Tony Parker and Paul Gasol met near mid-court and the new teammates shared a warm embrace following Spains lopsided win.Theyll soon be together in San Antonio to chase an NBA title.Theyll never meet again in the Olympics.Nearly written off after two losses to open the Rio Games, Spain is back in the mens basketball semifinals for the third straight time following a 92-67 rout of Parker and France in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. With Spurs-like offensive precision, the Spaniards got easy looks at the basket and dissected a French team that came to Brazil with medal hopes but leaves empty-handed.After the loss, a nostalgic Parker, the dazzling point guard who made France relevant on international hardwood, said he would no longer play for his home country.I just took a lot of pride playing for the national team, said the 34-year-old Parker, who scored 14 in his final game. I just love playing in this competition. I love this atmosphere, which is very different than the NBA. Growing up, my dream was to win an NBA championship. That was my ultimate goal. But as I grew up, I fell in love with the national team.We won the gold medal in juniors when I was 18. So then my goal was to try to bring the first national team ever championship for France, and we did that in 2013. Overall, just great experiences. I enjoyed it all these years. These last 16 years have been great. I dont regret one second.Nikola Mirotic scored 23 points, Willy Hernangomez added 18 and Spain pulled away in the third quarter to reserve a spot in Fridays semis.When Spain opened the preliminary round with losses to Croatia and Brazil, it appeared the countrys standing among the worlds basketball elite might be in decline. However, the two-time defending silver medalists have overcome injuries, a summer of free agency and a lack of practice time together to again advance to the global version of the Final Four.And now the Spaniards not only have a shot at a medal to go with the ones they got in Beijing and London, they get another crack at the U.S., which has beaten them in the gold-medal game in the past two Olympics.The Americans advanced to the semis with a 105-78 pummeling of Argentina.For Parker, his second Olympics ended like his first: without a medal hanging from his neck. While he has won four titles with the Spurs and is considered one of the games premier point guards and basketball ambassadors, Parker never attained the international success hes had in the NBA.Still, hell cherish the time he spent wearing Frances uniform, hearing Le Marseillaise played or watching the nations tri-colored flag raised after a victory.I think we put French basketball on the map, he said.With Parker, France built a rivalry with Spain as the two took turns knocking each other out of tournaments.Let me just say that Ive been honored to play against Tony Parker throughout so many years on the national team, Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. Hes a great competitor and it was so tough to prepare games versus him.Saying goodbye to the French team wasnt Parkers only farewell this summer.In June, his longtime Spurs teammate Tim Duncan announced his retirement, and for a while it appeared Manu Ginobili would hang it up, too. However, Ginobili recently said hes coming back for one more season with San Antonio.Parker knows the breakup of San Antonios Big 3 is inevitable, but that doesnt make it any easier.Im very blessed, thats all I can say, Parker said. Those 15 years with Timmy and all the championships and all the records and everything we accomplished, its just stuff that when I retire I can cherish and show my kids everything that we won. Im happy that Manus got one more year. So its not everybody at the same time.That day will come too. My day will come. Its just life. Everything comes to an end. Adrian Dantley Jersey . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Tony Bradley Jersey . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. http://www.jazzauthentic.com/customized/ . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Donovan Mitchell Jazz Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Jeff Hornacek Jazz Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Topics this week include the looming QB decisions in the AFC East, Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn earning some high praise from his former bosses in Seattle, the turnaround in Buffalo, where Angry Doug Baldwin comes from, and more.Zimmer-Parcells bond lives onThere were moments during Bill?Parcells?final?coaching stint with the Dallas Cowboys when he would call defensive coordinator Mike?Zimmer?to his office. Many of those conversations began with?Parcells?saying, Now if you ever become a head coach...The if became reality when Zimmer landed the Minnesota Vikings job in 2014. The mentoring between Parcells and Zimmer continues to the point that the two men talk weekly and sometimes more often than that. Its a relationship?Zimmer?wont conceal and one that?Parcells?embraces with a condition or two.Dont give me credit for anything Mike has done, Parcells said. Hes earned anything good that happens to him. Hes a good friend. I really enjoy talking with him. He gets it.Zimmer?didnt hesitate to say that?Parcells?was one of the first people he called after Teddy Bridgewaters devastating dislocated knee injury. He said Parcells?reminded him, Now your players have a built-in excuse and you cant let that happen. You have to squash that immediately.Zimmer?checked that box immediately.Bridgewaters injury, followed by subsequent major injuries to All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson and left tackle Matt?Kalil, among others, also harkened back to?Parcells conversation with?Zimmer?on the day he was named the Vikings coach.?Four or five things will happen every day you wish didnt happen or didnt plan for, and if you cant handle it, then get out of the business,?Parcells?bluntly?told?Zimmer.The Vikings coach was no stranger to adversity?on personal and professional levels. Nevertheless, there is an element of overachievement -- with a nod to some exceptional roster-building by GM Rick Spielman -- that finds the Vikings as the NFLs only unbeaten team (5-0) heading into their bye. Even the hard-nosed?Zimmer?surprised some people in Week 4 when he allowed himself to call his team special.Was that message going against the?Parcells rules? Nope. They talked before that.Nows the perfect time talk to team and tell em how proud you are, Parcells advised. But dont forget to tell em that if you dont fix these five things, then youre not going to get there.Sure enough,?Zimmer?was on point with his message.I told [the players] what theyve done well but theres always a few buts in there, Zimmer said. It was something like, But if we dont tackle better. But we gave up a check-down and screen pass because we were out of position. But we?gotta?make more first downs on offense. Im fortunate, though. These guys get it.Sound familiar?-- Chris MortensenQB decisions loom for Bills, Dolphins and JetsQuarterback questions persist around the league -- Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco -- but the AFC East has become the unofficial home of The Quarterback Question. (Except in New England, of course.)The Bills, Dolphins and Jets each face different looming quarterback decisions that will demand attention this offseason and will impact those teams for many seasons to come.By the third day of the 2017 league year, Buffalo must decide whether to pick up $25 million worth of guaranteed money in quarterback Tyrod Taylors contract -- a $12 million fully guaranteed base salary for 2017, and a $13 million fully guaranteed base salary for 2018 -- or to let him become an unrestricted free agent. Its a lot of money to guarantee, but not a lot for the position if the Bills feel strongly about Taylor. How the rest of this season plays out is expected to impact Buffalos decision.Miami can get out of quarterback Ryan Tannehills contract after the season, but at a cost. Should the Dolphins move on from Tannehill by trading or releasing him, $10.4 million worth of signing bonus and guarantees left on his deal would be accelerated into their cap for 2017. But by moving on from him, the team also would clear out his near $18 million base salary and free up an additional $9.9 million in cap space. Miami would need to use some or all of available room on another quarterback, be it Adam Gases former Bears signal-caller, Jay Cutler, or another to help the Dolphins get back on track.The New York Jets QB situation is simple on one level: Ryan Fitzpatricks contract expires after this season, and the Jets can move on from him without any cost. Where it gets complicated is what the Jets do from there.?Geno Smith also is a free agent after this season, and team is uncertain whether Bryce Petty and/or Christian Hackenberg ever can develop into quarterbacks worthy of their draft slots.So to sum up, the Bills, Dolphins and Jets are in quarterback quandaries. The Patriots -- with Tom Brady wanting to play about as long as George Blanda did, with Jimmy Garoppolo under contract for this and next season, and with Jacoby Brissett on IR -- are not. New England could opt to extend Garoppolo after this season, or could entertain offers to trade him. But they still have Brady and Brissett.And as good as New England appears positioned for this season, it might be better positioned for future seasons.-- Adam SchefterQuinn earns high praise from Seahawks brassFalcons coach Dan Quinn is back in Seattle for Sundays game, but when he?declined to engage the media in any lengthy discussion about his time with the Seahawks, it did not surprise his former boss.?Dan is a really disciplined coach across the board, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. Hes the same guy every day. I mean, really, hes very disciplined in what he represents and in his messaging. When you talk about focus, you talk about DQ. Hes focused on this game and this game only, not about whats behind or whats ahead.Carroll felt this trait, and a few others, qualified Quinn as head coach material based on the time Quinn spent as the Seahawks defensive coordinator during their consecutive Super Bowl appearances in 2013 and 2014.Quinn was named the Falcons coach after the Seahawks memorable and dramatic loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. He energized an Atlanta fan base when the Falcons bolted to a 5-0 start in 2015, only to finish 8-8. That leaves a few cynics who dont want to get too excited about the Falcons 4-1 record in 2016, but this feels different to those who witnessed the teams destruction of the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos on Sunday.The Falcons win in Denver saw the offense and defense utilize personnel matchups that broke the Broncos. Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan received appropriate praise for his deployment of running back Tevin Coleman as a receiver. On defense, linebacker Vic Beasley Jr. flipped sides to match up against the Broncos wounded second-year right tackle, Ty Sambrailo, and the result was a breakout game for the first-round pick of 2015.One of Dans strengths is as an evaluator and his ability to identify a players strengths -- not necessarily a players weaknessess -- and utilize that to the development of the player and work it within a scheme and game plan, Seahawks general manager John Schneider said.dddddddddddd He has a vision for every player out there and that will be the way they build a roster. I see sustained success for him. Its only Year 2 for him.With the spectacular $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the latter stages of construction that will be ready for the 2017 season, thats the kind of bet Falcons owner Arthur Blank made on Quinn.?-- Chris MortensenThe hidden gem of the 2011 draftWhenever the 2011 NFL draft is mentioned, the two wide receivers who stand out above the rest are Cincinnatis A.J. Green and Atlantas Julio Jones. But dont forget about Doug Baldwin, who faces off against Jones on Sunday. Baldwin went undrafted in that same class, but has made his impact felt.Since the 2011 draft, the wide receivers with the most touchdowns are Green (47), Jones (37), Torrey Smith (35), Randall Cobb (32) and Baldwin (31).Whats even more striking about that group of receivers is that each one, outside Baldwin, was a first- or second-day draft pick.From the time Cincinnati made Green the first receiver drafted in 2011, until the time Seattle signed Baldwin after he went undrafted, here are the receivers who were picked (and its an amazing list, for a variety of different reasons):Julio Jones to the Falcons, Jonathan Baldwin to the Chiefs, Titus Young to the Lions, Torrey Smith to the Ravens, Greg Little to the Browns, Randall Cobb to the Packers, Austin Pettis to the Rams, Leonard Hankerson to the Redskins, Vincent Brown to the Chargers, Jerrel Jernigan to the Giants, Kris Durham to the Seahawks, Clyde Gates to the Dolphins, Greg Salas to the Rams, Cecil Shorts III to the Jaguars, Tandon Doss to the Ravens, Kealoha Pilares to the Panthers, Denarius Moore to the Raiders, Jeremy Kerley to the Jets, Ryan Whalen to the Bengals, Dwayne Harris to the Cowboys, Aldrick Robinson to the Redskins, Ronald Johnson to the 49ers, Scotty McKnight to the Jets, Stephen Burton to the Vikings and DeMarco Sampson to the Cardinals.Then, once Baldwin went undrafted, Seattle swooped in and signed him.It is one of the reasons why, ever since, Baldwin has been Angry Doug Baldwin and he has thrived, emerging along with Green and Jones as the top wideouts from the Class of 2011.-- Adam SchefterThe story behind Buffalos revivalSan Francisco considered Bills assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn first for its head coaching job in January, then for its offensive coordinator job once it hired Chip Kelly. Lynn met with 49ers officials, they said he impressed them, but not enough to get the top job.When the Buffalo and San Francisco play on Sunday, Lynn will have another chance to show the 49ers the type of coach they could have had.The Bills offense, particularly the running game, has taken off since Lynn replaced Greg Roman as offensive coordinator in Buffalo.During Buffalos first two games before Lynns promotion, the Bills went 0-2 while their running backs had 39 carries for 160 yards and one touchdown.During Buffalos past three games after Lynns promotion, the Bills have gone 3-0 while their running backs have had 65 carries for 382 yards and three touchdowns.One of the things Buffalo did, according to one of its officials, is cut its offensive playbook in half, giving the players less to learn, less to worry about and more of an opportunity to simply react. And the Bills have reacted in the strongest possible way, beating the Cardinals, Patriots and Rams. They could make it four straight wins this weekend at home against the 49ers.At the same time that Bills head coach Rex Ryan was empowering Lynn, he did the same with defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, handing the defensive play-calling responsibilities to him. Thurman deserves a ton of credit: Buffalos defense has been stronger, stingier and tougher, giving the Bills two successful coordinators and a string of victories that have vaulted them back into playoff contention.-- Adam SchefterEmptying out the notebookSeattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilsons well-documented rehab from a Week 1 high-ankle sprain and a Week 3 MCL sprain without missing a start has set a new bar for himself and probably for everyone else in the building, coach Pete Carroll said. Its really inspirational.For as stable an organization as Baltimore is, it has had little stability at offensive coordinator. After firing Marc Trestman and replacing him this week with Marty Mornhinweg, the Ravens now are on their fifth offensive coordinator in the past five seasons.A coach flying under the radar: Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards, another Bill Parcells disciple like Mike Zimmer himself. Zimmer is a defensive-minded head coach, but Edwards contributions have been invaluable in making Minnesota the leagues toughest defense. The Vikings success is expected to elevate his profile and put him in the mix for future head-coaching searches.Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid was not about to deviate from his tradition of giving his team an entire week off during its bye, despite an embarrassing 43-14 Week 4 loss to the Steelers. Reids unconditional policy: He makes a point to tell players that a win or a loss would not influence whether team gets a full weeks vacation. The reward for Reid is that his teams are 15-2 after a bye. That sets the table for an interesting AFC West road game against the surging Oakland Raiders.Sundays Cleveland-Tennessee game is the Double Pick Bowl: Both teams are scheduled to have two first-round picks in Aprils NFL draft. Cleveland has its own first-round pick as well as the Eagles; Tennessee has its own first-round pick as well as the Rams. The Browns traded away their chance to draft Carson Wentz, but they are well positioned to pick the quarterback of their choice in April.Quietly last week, at a sports and faith summit at The Vatican, Giants co-owner John Mara said he is working on bringing another Super Bowl to MetLife Stadium, and hoping to do it in 2022 or 2023. He plans to meet with Jets officials soon to combine their efforts and increase their chances of bringing the Super Bowl back to the New York metropolitan area.The many travels of the Los Angeles Rams in 2016 continue this week. Theyll fly to Detroit this week, and after Sundays game against the Lions, theyll go upstairs to a Ford Field dining room and have a postgame dinner. Then theyll bus to the airport for a flight to London, a weeklong stay and a game against the Giants.First-round hits should be easy for teams. But a good fifth-round pick can really impact a teams future. Three franchises look like they nailed fifth-round picks this season: Tennessee nabbed wide receiver Tajae Sharpe, Chicago found running back Jordan Howard and San Diego selected defensive lineman Jatavis Brown.?-- Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter ' ' '