on, Holliday said. Its clearly not 100 percent. Its still fractur

Separation in the AFC, a jumble in the NFC.Closing in on December, fans can expect New England to grab a bye in the AFC, as well as whoever emerges from the NFLs best division, the AFC West. Two wild cards out of the West wouldnt be a surprise either, while the North is a two-team crawl and the South likely belongs to Houston if it can find a way to win a road game.The NFC has powerhouses in Dallas and Seattle, and, well, who knows?No team in the North is particularly inspiring, and Atlanta keeps coming back to the field in the South. The East is intriguing with no teams under .500, and there remain five head-to-head matchups among the Cowboys, Redskins, Giants and Eagles.Maybe the surest bet in the entire league is that the Browns and 49ers will bumble it out for the top overall draft pick. Imagine opening with a win and then losing 15 straight -- and not getting the first selection next spring. Could happen to San Francisco.A look at the division races with Thanksgiving behind us.AFC EASTThe only unexpected item here might be that the Patriots (8-2) havent clinched yet. They went 3-1 without the suspended Tom Brady, and hes come back with a vengeance, among the league leaders in passing. But New England has shown some vulnerability on defense -- not that Miami (6-4), Buffalo (5-5) nor the Jets (3-7) have shown a penchant for doing much with the ball.The Dolphins, riding a five-game winning streak, are in the wild-card mix, with their only opponent that currently owns a winning mark being the Patriots in the finale.AFC NORTHA two-team slog between banged-up Pittsburgh and inconsistent Baltimore. As long as the Steelers have their offense on track, they are dangerous. And the Ravens, who beat Pittsburgh earlier, have a solid defense.This one could come down to Christmas Day in the Steel City, though Baltimore must navigate successive matchups with the Dolphins, Patriots and Eagles before then.AFC SOUTHNo one outside of Houston seems to want to believe in the Texans, yet they have a relatively simple path to the division crown. They have no one on the upcoming schedule that currently has a winning record, and have three of their final four contests within this weak sector.Tennessee might be the team of the future in this division, but seems too fragile to steal the AFC South title this year.AFC WESTThe leagues best group -- yeah, we know that everyone in the NFC East is at or above .500.Oakland (8-2), for the first time since it went to the Super Bowl in 2002, seems headed for a winning record. Who knows, the Raiders could challenge the Patriots for home-field advantage throughout the AFC postseason.But they need to get stingier on defense, and they have to navigate games at all three division rivals.That not only makes for an intriguing December in the AFC West, but perhaps a wild scramble with the defending NFL champion Broncos (7-3) and the usually study but currently injury-prone Chiefs (7-3).And dont discount San Diego (4-6) playing a spoiler role.NFC EASTHow `bout them Cowboys? At 10-1, with a dynamic offense led by rookie stars Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott and the leagues best line, they seem destined to win this highly competitive division. The stumbling block could be the Giants (7-3), whose five-game winning string pales compared to Dallas 10-gamer. Of course, that opening loss for the Cowboys was at home to the Giants.New York will need someone else to knock off Dallas, a major challenge right now, and also must beat the Cowboys in prime time on Dec. 11.Washington (6-4-1) and Philadelphia (5-5) would be in the mix anywhere else in the NFC and might finish on the outside despite being better than some playoff qualifiers.NFC NORTHGreen Bays collapse, due to injuries, poor blocking and some strange coaching decisions, opened the path for Detroit (7-4) and Minnesota (6-5). The Lions big win on Thanksgiving -- yet another comeback success -- gave them a sweep of the Vikings, and a clear path to their first division crown since 1993.The Packers (4-6) have dropped four in a row and dont look capable of any sort of surge.NFC SOUTHThe Falcons (6-4) got off to their second straight fast start. They faded badly to 8-8 in 2015 and they havent looked great in dropping three of their last five. They sure can score -- a league-high 320 points -- and are well coached. But their defense, like Oaklands, needs shoring up.Carolinas plummet to 4-6 has been almost shocking, leaving Tampa Bay (5-5) as the closest challenger. Similar to the Titans, the Bucs need more nurturing, but are getting closer to true contention.New Orleans (4-6) plays lots of tight games, usually losing them. As long as Drew Brees is around, the Saints will scare opponents, though their defense never does.NFC WESTSeattle (7-2-1) has a habit of coming on as the mercury decreases, and seems to be doing so again despite a long line at the infirmary. Russell Wilson has the look of an MVP candidate, and the Seahawks passing offense is formidable. They need to find a running game, and Thomas Rawls return to health is essential.That defense is as physical as they come and will keep Seattle in every game.The rest of the West is hard to look at, especially the Cardinals (4-5-1), a club many called the most talented in the NFL back in September. All that talent has wilted in the desert this season.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Celtics Jerseys . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Boston Celtics Pro Shop . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. https://www.cheapceltics.com/ . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Cheap Celtics Jerseys .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Custom Boston Celtics Jerseys . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. SAN FRANCISCO -- Oh, Buster Posey knew all about how long he had gone without a home run.Yeah, Ive had a few reminders over the last week or two, Posey said with a chuckle.All that talk about the star catchers second-half power drought was answered with one mighty swing in a September game that mattered, and his two-run shot helped the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 Friday night in a matchup of playoff contenders.Posey drove in four runs and the Giants stayed four games back of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, who won at Arizona. San Francisco maintained its one-game lead over the New York Mets for the leagues top wild card, moving three games up on the Cardinals in the wild-card standings.Left-hander Matt Moore (4-4) allowed two runs over five innings, struck out four and walked three while facing the Cardinals for the first time in his career. He won for the fourth time over five starts in his ninth outing since joining San Francisco in a trade with Tampa Bay.Posey was all smiles in the dugout after his fourth-inning drive, his first home run in 185 at-bats and exactly two months -- he last connected on July 16 at San Diego.It was a good feeling, he said.Posey also had a two-run single and followed up his four-hit game Thursday night with three more.It was great to just see him start smiling and laughing after he touched home plate, Brandon Belt said. Its kind of out of the ordinary with him. Hes pretty stone-faced most of the time. When you know what hes capable of doing and when hes had a stretch like hes had, its good to see.Belt hit a two-run double to highlight San Franciscos six-run third. Posey singled in a pair of runs that inning, when all the runs were unearned off rookie right-hander Luke Weaver (1-3).For the second straight day, Giants manager Bruce Bochy gave his team a late report time to the ballpark and the players went without batting practice. This time, it came on the heels of Thursdays 6-2 victory behind Johnny Cuetos five-hitter.A couple days off the field will serve them well, said Bochy, who is sticking with the same routine for Saturday nights game.It proved the right call again. After a demoralizing three-game sweep by San Diego earlier this week, San Francisco suddenly looks like a playoff team again. The Giants have had World Series-winning seasons in every even year this decade: 2010, `12 and `14.Weavers night was done after 2 2/3 innnings and he is winless in four starts since beating Oakland on Aug.dddddddddddd26. He allowed five hits, struck out four and walked two.Yadier Molina drove in both runs for the Cardinals, including a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.We just have to play better, thats all there is to it, manager Mike Matheny said. The standings are the standings and we know what they are. You cant run from them, hide from them. The standings say were right there, so just keep playing the game. Thats all it is. Same as always.Denard Span hit eighth for the Giants again after his strong performance, with a two-run single among his two hits in that spot a night earlier.NINTH-INNING DELAYA fan ran on the field in the top of the ninth and a member of security who slid approaching the man had to be helped off the field with an injury.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: OF Matt Holliday will face live pitching Saturday with the hope he still might return from a broken right thumb as St. Louis makes a playoff push. The slugger hasnt played since Aug. 11, when he was hit by a pitch in an 11-inning loss to the Cubs. He had surgery to insert a screw for the fracture. Id love to play but I cant do it at jeopardizing putting my finger in a bad situation, Holliday said. Its clearly not 100 percent. Its still fractured but theres a screw in there. Its more stable than it would be if I had not had the surgery. ... SS Aledmys Diaz returned to the lineup after being held out Thursday. He came off the disabled list Sunday after he had been sidelined since July 31 with a broken right thumb, and the medical staff and Matheny are being cautious to determine if Diaz can handle playing every day.Giants: The team activated OF Gregor Blanco from the 15-day disabled list after he missed 22 games with a right shoulder impingement. ... Bochy has been looking to rest Posey and will aim to give him a break in Sunday afternoons series finale following a night game Saturday.UP NEXTCardinals: RHP Mike Leake (9-10, 4.60 ERA), who spent the second half of last season with San Francisco, looks for his second win in seven starts since July 29.Giants: RHP Jeff Samardzija (11-10, 4.07) seeks his first victory in four starts since Aug. 26. He is 4-4 with a 4.61 ERA in 20 career outings vs. St. Louis, losing to the Cardinals on June 4. ' ' '