under coach Butch Davis. Seven of those 16 losses have come by five points or le

In a country long focused on bringing home as many Olympic gold medals as possible, this years haul isnt what China expected.When Chinas 416-athlete delegation set off for Rio, state sports officials were banking on 30 to 36 gold medals. As the games end, it had won just 24 for the worst showing since Atlanta in 1996.Lagging in third place, Chinas total is a far cry from the countrys 51-gold performance in Beijing that topped the gold medal chart.But so what?The once-feverish obsession with the gold tally has slowly subsided among the Chinese public, which has shown more interest this year in lavishing adoration on athletes with personalities, such as bronze medalist Fu Yuanhui, rather than counting medals.Finally, the public desire for golds has returned to normal, said Lu Yuanzhen, a professor of sports at South China Normal University who has long argued that a mature nation should have a more relaxed attitude toward wins and losses in athletic competitions.The ordinary Chinese people have become more indifferent to the medal counts now they understand Olympic golds bear little impact on their real lives, Lu told The Associated Press.For decades, the Communist state has rallied national unity and pride on the countrys athletic performances on the world stage, especially in the Olympics. The entire country was moved to tears when Xu Haifeng, a pistol shooter, won the first gold Olympic medal for Communist China in Los Angeles in 1984. It was considered a sign that China finally was able to claim a place among world powers, a huge boost to national pride.The fever only grew as Beijing sought better Olympic performances and the ultimate goal of hosting the games. The Olympics was a national obsession, and gold medalists were household names and rewarded generously.Chinas gold medal tally climbed to 28 in Sydney, 32 in Athens and 51 in Beijing. In London, Chinese athletes still took away 38 gold medals and were second only to U.S. Olympians.But following the climax in Beijing, public obsession with Olympic golds began to fade, and voices of criticism grew louder against the state-run sports system credited with the countrys stellar Olympic performances.Critics argue the brutal system has sacrificed vast numbers of rank-and-file athletes, encouraged dishonesty -- such as doping, age alteration and game rigging -- in the name of national honor, and distanced sports from the public.When this years games began in Rio, state media lamented the lack of golds on the opening day, but Chinese sports fans stayed nonchalant. They were more interested in chasing athletes oozing with personality.The most telling example is Fu Yuanhui, a female swimmer who overnight became a social media sweetheart for claiming she had used primeval force in a semifinal. She eventually won a bronze. Shaped by the social media instead of the state parlance, Fus vernacular resonated with ordinary Chinese people, who were already bored with empty talks.Ning Zetao, another swimmer, came home empty-handed from Rio but still grabbed headlines because of his undiminished popularity back in China. And Chinese social media was full of encouraging words when swimmer Sun Yang failed to qualify for the 1,500-meter free style final, a sharp contrast to the days when the Chinese public hurled hurtful words at athletes failing to cinch the gold.The swimmers got a welcome from thousands of fans at a Beijing airport. Fu was scared. Nings appearance caused congestion, and besieged by fans seeking photographs and autographs, he could barely move.At recently as 2008, the public booed hurdler Liu Xiang when he could not get off the starting line in Beijing because of injuries.The public has gone to another extreme -- tolerance of non-champions and even adoration of them, wrote Li Ruyi, a veteran Chinese sports writer in a commentary on the news site ifeng.com.Under the most pressure are Chinese gymnasts, who came home with two bronzes this year, the worst performance ever in 32 years.It is also the first time that Team China, a longtime powerhouse in gymnastics, did not win a single gold since China returned to the Olympics in 1984. For the past several years, Chinas gymnastics officials have worried that the state system is running out of steam because the national team has a dwindling pool from which to recruit top talent, a consequence of isolating young talent in the state system.Even if there is more acceptance that every year wont bring a haul of gold, there is still a sense of alarm, and many dont like that China sits behind the United States and Great Britain in the race for golds.There are also whispers that Japan, the upcoming host of the 2020 Summer Olympics Games, could pose a threat to China. That prospect is likely to rekindle the countrys nationalistic sentiments, because of long-time animosity toward the neighboring country that invaded China and shamed the Middle Kingdom in the early 20th century.If the Chinese delegations achievements should indeed decline at this years Rio Olympic games, it begs some serious thoughts on the part of Chinas sports circle, wrote Liu Ge, a state media commentator in the party-run Global Times. The public can accept some mistakes and some failures, but the tolerance over the loss of one gold does not mean that Chinas sports circle should not care about the overall haul of golds and medals.Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Replica Soccer Jerseys . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. 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George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up.PHILADELPHIA -- Carson Wentz was so impressive in the film room and on the practice field that he earned a promotion from No. 3 quarterback to starter.Time to show his stuff in actual games.The No. 2 overall draft pick will make his NFL debut Sunday when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Cleveland Browns.Wentz threw 24 passes in the preseason before he injured his ribs and missed the last three games. Still, he was elevated to No. 1 after the Eagles traded Sam Bradford to Minnesota.The things that we saw in practice, just the plays that he has been able to make, the plays going against even our starting defense, just the way he has handled things, the way he calls plays in the huddle, the way he can just spit out the verbiage, his athleticism, the way he can move and scramble and make some plays with his legs, I just felt so comfortable putting him in this spot, rookie coach Doug Pederson said.Wentz will face a team that passed up a chance to draft him by trading the pick to Philadelphia.That is all in the past, Wentz said. Im excited Im here in Philadelphia, and Im ready to go for Week 1.Robert Griffin III will play his first game since 2014 and becomes the 25th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999. RG3 is trying to resurrect his career in Cleveland after a difficult finish in Washington.Just excited to go out and play with these guys, Griffin said. We have an opportunity to do something special.Here are some things to know about the Browns-Eagles matchup:PROTECTING WENTZ: The projected starting offensive line will be out there for the Eagles, led by eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters and right tackle Lane Johnson, who said last month hes expecting a 10-game suspension for violating the leagues substance abuse policy. Left guard Allen Barbre, center Jason Kelce and right guard Brandon Brooks round out the line.Weve been communicating and working together cohesively since the spring, so we expect to go out and there and play well, have success, Kelce said.dddddddddddd It doesnt matter who the starting quarterback is. We have to do our jobs and keep him clean. That doesnt change. But, sure, its great that were all together for this game.WIN-WIN: The Browns own Philadelphias first-round pick in 2017 as part of the trade for No. 2, so beating the Eagles is a double win because they want them to finish as low as possible in the standings.NEW DEFENSE DEBUTS: After playing three seasons in a 3-4 system, the Eagles have switched to a 4-3 scheme under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The unit showed flashes of dominance in the preseason, and the front four led by Fletcher Cox have potential to wreak havoc, harass quarterbacks and force turnovers.WOEPENERS: The Browns have lost an NFL-record 11 straight openers. Theyre 1-16 in Week 1 since their expansion rebirth in 1999, with their only win coming against Baltimore in 2004 under coach Butch Davis. Seven of those 16 losses have come by five points or less, and includes a 17-16 defeat against the Eagles in 2012.LOOKING BACK: Pederson has history with the Browns. He became their third starting quarterback following Clevelands return to the league when he replaced an injured Tim Couch in 2000. Pederson led the Browns to a 19-11 win over New England, snapping a seven-game losing streak and giving Cleveland its only win in the final 13 games.It was almost like a relief, a weight, a burden off your shoulders, Pederson said this week. It was exciting obviously to get that win finally and just sort of the excitement that the guys felt walking off of that field, because I remember, too, that team that year was decimated with injury and there were a lot of new faces in Cleveland.---AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi ' ' '