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WASHINGTON -- Add two fresh entries to the increasingly popular genre of non-apology apologies.In a span of 15 hours, politician Donald Trump and Olympian Ryan Lochte both coughed up carefully crafted words of contrition -- each without fully owning up to exactly what hed done wrong.Trump, the serial insulter of the 2016 presidential campaign, said hed sometimes said the wrong thing and acknowledged that his words had caused personal pain.Lochte, the gold medal-winning swimmer, said he should have been more careful and candid in describing an incident during the Rio Olympics in which he claimed to have been the victim of an armed robbery that police said wasnt really an armed robbery at all.What both are trying to do is take a topic out of the news and turn the page, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in the politics of rhetoric. Neither one of them has done it in the classic form required of an apology.These days, laments Wayne Fields, a professor who studies political rhetoric at Washington University in St. Louis, popular culture is churning out apologies that really suggest the problem is with you -- not me -- or the problem is with circumstances that I cant control.Its essentially, `Im sorry you dont understand me, said Fields, calling it part of the phenomenon of the public relations apology.Heres a closer look at Trump, Lochte, and the delicate politics of contrition:---TRUMPAs you know, Im not a politician. Ive worked in business, created a great company, created lots of jobs, rebuilding neighborhoods, thats what Ive done all of my adult life. Ive never wanted to learn the language of the insiders. And Ive never been politically correct. ... Truthfully, it takes far too much time and can often make it more difficult to achieve total victory. Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you dont choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And, believe it or not, I regret it. And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues. But one thing I can promise you is this, I will always tell you the truth.---Trumps remarks, read from a teleprompter during a speech Thursday night, were part of an effort to reset a campaign thats slipped in the polls and lacking direction as the candidate picks one distracting fight after another. The candidate who in the past has declared he prefers not to regret anything apparently made the calculus that a little remorse would be good for the soul -- and his campaign.Linguists found several things lacking in Trumps blanket mea culpa, starting with specifics about what he did wrong and to whom. Also, his contrition was prefaced by a litany of self-congratulatory statements designed to puff himself up and lessen the humbling aspects of his regrets. Further, Trump managed to suggest that part of the problem somehow rested with those who felt injured by his remarks. Finally, his declaration that hell continue to tell the truth suggested maybe he didnt really regret what hed said at all.Robin Lakoff, a retired linguistics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, says Trumps underlying message was: If you have to have this politically correct expression of regret, Ill give it to you, but really, youre the one in the wrong. ... Donald Trump is being magnanimous to the poor, sick person.Jamieson, listing some of those targeted by Trumps verbal volleys, added: The question is to whom is he apologizing? Is this an apology to Megyn Kelly? Is this an apology to John McCain? Is this an apology to the Khan family? Is this an apology to Hillary Clinton?Fields, for his part, said Trumps bottom line seemed to be: If this is what I need to do to win, sure, Ill apologize.---LOCHTEI want to apologize for my behavior last weekend -- for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely.Its traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country -- with a language barrier -- and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event. I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio `16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories. There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes.---Lochtes statement, posted on his Instagram account Friday, was designed to quell the global firestorm that erupted after his claims about being the victim of an armed robbery outraged his Brazilian hosts and were sharply disputed by that nations police.The Olympic gold medalist, who initially said hed been robbed at gunpoint, held to his view that a stranger pointed a gun at him and demanded money. But Brazilian police said he and three other swimmers vandalized a gas station bathroom while drunk and were confronted by armed security guards.Lochte does explicitly say hes apologizing. But linguists note that as with Trump, hes fuzzy about what exactly hes sorry for. Theres no admission that he didnt tell the truth or of any attempt at a cover-up. He throws out factors designed to mitigate blame: he was far from home, he didnt speak the language. He makes reference to the behavior of others, suggesting hes not the only one blame. He works in prominent mention of the Olympic Games, where he brought home gold. And he makes the case its time to change the subject.Its one of those mistakes-were-made apologies, Fields said. It doesnt take full responsibility.The key unanswered question, Jamieson said, is Did you lie to us?Lakoff credits Lochte for sounding truly penitent, but said he still manages to work the apology thing around to `Look at how wonderful I am with all his talk about the successes at the Rio Games.---Overall, Lakoff said, Trump and Lochte offered two different ways of weaseling out of making a true apology.These are both masterly ways of talking out of one corner of your mouth but indirectly implying something else out of the other, he said.---Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/nbenac Joe Pepitone Yankees Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. 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ASHBURN, Va. -- A year after so much success in the red zone, Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins are about as bad as it gets in the NFL from inside the 20 right now.Heading into Sundays game against the visiting Cleveland Browns, the Redskins (1-2) rank 31st out of 32 teams in turning red-zone possessions into touchdowns, going just 3 for 14 so far -- a success rate of 21 percent.That includes an 0-for-4 showing last week during what Washington managed to turn into a 29-27 victory over the NFC East rival New York Giants.That is an emphasis of ours, left tackle Trent Williams said Wednesday, and were going to continue to work the kinks out.Last season, when the Redskins went 9-7 and made the playoffs by winning their division, Cousins led the team to TDs on 58 percent of their red-zone chances, which ranked 11th in the league.Any time we get close, weve got to make plays, thats all. Regardless of what we call, its about executing it. Each individual has to hold himself to a higher standard and try to change whats been happening, receiver DeSean Jackson said.Field goals are good to put points on the board, but instead of having three points, we would rather have six.A lot of last seasons success came via passes to tight end Jordan Reed, a route-running marvel with size and speed who proved to be pretty much impossible for foes to cover 1-on-1.Especially down close near the end zone, Cousins always seemed to be able to rely on finding Reed in a favorable matchup, they connected for 11 TD passes.This season? Zero.One reason: Teams are sometimes using two defenders against Reed in the red zone, and the Redskins arent taking advantage of the opportunities that creates for other members of the offense.There is a combination of things that make it go astray, but he has to be a big part of the red zone moving forward, coach Jay Gruden said. But if he does get doubled, someone else has to win.So what else is at the root of the red zone woes?For one thing, save for the late drive that led to the go-ahead points against the Giants, the running game has been almost non-existent.The Redskinss average 19.dddddddddddd7 rushes per game, 29th-most in the NFL, and gain only 3.8 yards per carry. So that limits their options down near the end zone.For another, the play-calling has been questionable at times, particularly when the Redskins repeatedly tried -- and repeatedly failed -- to complete fade routes for scores in a Week 2 loss to Dallas.Cousins hasnt always been at his best in these situations. He threw an interception on third-and-goal at the 6 in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys. There was the wasted opportunity at the end of the second quarter against New York, when Washington left a timeout in its pocket and let the clock run out.And so on.Whats, I guess, comforting, but also troubling, is that we were so productive in the red zone last year, so we know we can do it, Cousins said. We know we should be doing it. And when its not happening, thats when you feel like, `Weve got to be better, because we can be.Game notes Jackson (knee and ankle), CB Bashaud Breeland (ankle), LG Shawn Lauvao (ankle), WR Josh Doctson (Achilles), and DB Dashaun Phillips (hamstring) all missed practice Wednesday. Jackson said: I should be ready to go by the end of the week. ... Gruden described himself as very, very concerned about Doctsons inability to play last Sunday and continued Achilles issues. Weve had all of the tests and there is really nothing there that we should be concerned about from a long-term problem, its just he is dealing with some pain, Gruden said. We dont know why it is, but we have to try and figure out what it is and get it fixed. ... K Dustin Hopkins was picked as NFC special teams player of the week after tying a team record by making five field goals against the Giants. He is 11 for 11 on field-goal attempts this season and has made 15 in a row going back to last season.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '