ch that included a win over then-No. 23 Illinois, a victory at Indiana

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - This sure looked like a potential showdown between NFC heavyweights, a made-for-prime-time matchup, when the schedule came out.That idea vanished weeks ago.Instead, two disappointing teams will be on display when the New Orleans Saints visit the Chicago Bears on Monday night.Both are 5-8, certainly not what they anticipated when the season began.At least the Saints still have a shot at the playoffs.Arent they on top of their division right now? And whats their record? Bears defensive end Willie Young said. Holy cow. Thats love right there, man. They got it made.If Young was a tad envious, thats understandable. After all, the Bears are officially out of playoff contention for the seventh time in eight years.But if it makes Young feel any better, New Orleans was not exactly planning any celebrations — not after that wipeout against Carolina last week.The Saints got pounded 41-10 at home, their fourth loss in five games and their worst beating of the season. They can forget about the wild card, but theyre still in the playoff hunt, tied with Atlanta for the NFC South lead, with the Falcons visiting next week.Its obvious that as a unit were not playing like we need to, Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro said. If everybodys buying in we wouldnt have lost a game.The Bears, meanwhile, have dropped two straight and will be without Brandon Marshall for the rest of the season. They placed the five-time Pro Bowl receiver on injured reserve after he broke two ribs and suffered a lung injury last week against Dallas.Here are some things to look for in this game:GETTING AWAY: Maybe going on the road isnt such a bad thing for the Saints.Theyve dropped four straight at home, also losing to San Francisco, Cincinnati and Baltimore. On the road, theyve fared better of late with two straight wins. They won at Carolina on Oct. 30 and at Pittsburgh two weeks ago.You would never think we would lose four straight in the Superdome, centre Jonathan Goodwin said. I havent given up hope on playing at home.BOUNCE BACK?: Despite a rough outing against the Panthers, Brees still leads the league in completion percentage (69.3) and ranks third in yards passing ( 3,983).He had a difficult time last week, though. He had his lowest completion percentage this season (59.2), going 29 of 49 for 235 yards with a touchdown and interception.RUN DOWN: The Saints could not stop the run last week. Who knows if theyll have to worry about it this week?New Orleans gave up a season-high 271 yards rushing and 497 of total offence against Carolina, with Jonathan Stewart running for 155 and Cam Newton 83.It will be facing one of the leagues top running backs in Matt Forte. But the Bears have a total of 23 rushes for 48 yards the past two games even though they keep talking about being more balanced on offence.RUNNING AGAIN: New Orleans Khiry Robinson returned to the active roster last week after missing six games with a forearm injury. He did not get any rushing attempts because the Saints fell into an early 17-0 hole. He had 330 yards and averaged 5.2 per carry in the first six games before getting injured.TOP TIGHT ENDS: On the one hand, Chicagos Martellus Bennett avoids comparisons to other top tight ends. On the other, he does see himself competing with them.Two of the leagues leading tight ends will be on display in Bennett and the Saints Jimmy Graham.Some guys are like the No. 1 receiver on their team, Bennett said. I try not to compare, but I do compete to a certain extent with each guy thats a tight end, because you want to be the top tight end in the league. Theres a competition, solid competition, that they dont really know about. But I watch Gronk (New Englands Rob Gronkowski). I watch Graham. I watch Delanie Walker down in Tennessee — all those guys. Im constantly competing with those guys, but its not like a comparison because each game is different. The game plan for each game is different. What their offence is doing is different from us, but I do compete with them.Bennett leads NFL tight ends with 77 receptions — a franchise record for his position — and is third with 821 yards. Graham is fourth among tight ends in catches (68) and fifth in yards (695).___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Boyd Gordon Jersey . -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup. Jari Kurri Jersey . Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball. http://www.officialoilersfanstore.com/authentic-wayne-gretzky-oilers-jersey/ .com) - The Vancouver Canucks recovered from a fluke goal early last time out to knock off one of the top teams in the league. Andrew Ference Jersey .Shipulin pulled away from Martin Fourcade of France, Simon Eder of Austria and Fredrik Lindstrom of Sweden to finish in 35 minutes 16.8 seconds. Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0. Edmonton Oilers Jerseys . Will Venable and Ryan Ludwick drove in a run each for the Padres, who have taken six of their last seven contests and clinched their third straight series win after winning the first two in this set. Clayton Richard (4-9) allowed five hits and a pair of runs over seven innings, while fanning five.MADRID - Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal breezed into the Madrid Open third round with their title defences facing little strain on Wednesday, while Andy Murray made a successful return to clay after nearly a years absence. Williams broke Shuai Peng three times in a 6-2, 6-3 win that was her 14th straight on the clay of the Magic Box tennis centre, where the top-seeded American dominated her Chinese opponent on serve by firing 11 aces. Williams, who moves on to face Spanish player Carla Suarez Navarro, looked fresh and focused while dismissing any injury fears despite a heavily wrapped left leg. "I just had some issues and went preventive to make sure I didnt make anything worse," said Williams. "Im literally taking it one day, one match at a time, and not putting any pressure on myself." Nadal, meanwhile, certainly fed his confidence with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Juan Monaco of Argentina, just what the top-seeded Spaniard needed after coming to the Spanish capital on his worst clay run in a decade. Nadal, the greatest ever player on the red surface, failed to advance past the quarterfinals of his last two clay tournaments. But after Monaco broke to get to within 2-1, Nadal did not relent as he didnt drop another game at Manolo Santana centre court. "Each victory helps to raise your confidence," Nadal said. "I started a little nervously in my movement. I think I moved better and played well, better than I normally play on the clay. I was dominating over the points and playing very well. "I think Ive done positive things." Nadals hopes of winning a second clay event after his triumph in Rio de Janeiro this year were bolstered on Tuesday when Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka lost and Roger Federer withdrew for the birth of his second set of twins.dddddddddddd Second-ranked Novak Djokovic was absent to injury. "I didnt even get to the necessary round to face them at the last tournaments," said Nadal, dismissing his chances despite the marquee absentees. "Every rival is difficult." Nadal, who faces Jarrko Nieminen of Finland next, could be on course to meet Murray in the semifinals after the Scot overcame Nicolas Almagro in a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory. Murray, who won the event in 2008 when it was held on hardcourt, hadnt played on clay since Rome last year but looked at ease in taking the first set. But Almagro rallied to force a deciding set, which Murray won when his Spanish opponent slapped a backhand wide down the line for a 39th unforced error. Also, Tomas Berdych moved to a perfect 11-0 against Kevin Anderson following his 6-1, 6-4 win over the South African, while American John Isner was also victorious in his second round match. Eleventh-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Colombian player Santiago Giraldo, who was coming off his appearance in the Barcelona final. In other womens results, third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 4 Simona Halep of Romania both advanced, while Roberta Vinci of Italy knocked out Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3. Andy Murray returns to the clay for the first time in nearly one year later Wednesday against Nicolas Almagro. David Ferrer, the next highest remaining seed after Nadal at No. 5, faces John Isner. ' ' '