h Mike McCoy said. Weve made the most of those opportunities.The Texans l

Three months after House Democrats issued a report concluding that the NFL improperly sought to influence a major government study on football and brain disease, their Republican counterparts called for an independent review into the controversy.In a 21-page letter to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, Republican leaders from the Energy and Commerce Committee requested the review to determine whether proper procedures were followed by officials with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its fundraising arm.The letter suggests that NIH officials engaged representatives from the NFL throughout the process and tried to resolve the conflict by offering a compromise solution -- reinforcing the perception that there was nothing improper about the NFLs actions.The questions and concerns raised by these events are vital to the integrity of research and the grant award decision-making process, concluded the letter, written by Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Tim Murphy and Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania, and Michael Burgess of Texas.In May, Democratic leaders from the committee issued a 91-page report that described a behind-the-scenes campaign by top NFL health officials to strip a $16 million grant from a prominent Boston University researcher who has been critical of the league. The Republican letter provided little new information about the NFLs campaign, but it suggested that the league may have been convinced that its input was welcomed by senior NIH officials who agreed to discuss the matter, in possible violation of NIH regulations.The Democratic report stemmed from interviews with officials at the NIH and the Foundation for the NIH (FNIH) as well as the NFLs top health and safety official. It also cited emails between the parties. The report singled out Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, the co-chair of the NFLs Head, Neck and Spine Committee. Ellenbogen was a co-investigator on a competing grant proposal, which the report said NFL officials tried to convince the NIH to fund. Ellenbogen was a primary example of the conflicts of interest between his role as a researcher and his role as an NFL adviser, according to the report.Ellenbogen, however, was not interviewed by the Democrats, and he denied to the Republicans that he ever had sought to influence the NIH process, as he had previously to Outside the Lines and other media outlets.Ellenbogen, the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington, is the subject of an internal investigation at UW over the findings by the Democrats.The Republican letter said the review was necessary because this controversy has tarnished the reputations of some leading brain trauma experts.We stand by our findings that the NFL improperly attempted to influence NIH on its brain injury research, and that FNIH did not adequately fulfill its role of serving as an intermediary between NIH and the NFL, an Energy and Commerce Democratic Committee spokesperson wrote to Outside the Lines.The controversy stems from a $30 million donation the NFL made to the NIH in 2012. At the time, the league described the grant as unrestricted, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell insisted that the league would let NIH make the decisions on how best to spend the money. The first $12 million of that funding was allocated in 2013 to two groups to study the defining characteristics of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease that has been found in dozens of deceased NFL players and that experts have linked to repetitive head trauma. However, Outside the Lines reported in December that the NFL had backed out of using most of the remaining funds on a $16 million study that had been awarded to Robert Stern, a prominent Boston University researcher.Soon after, the Democratic committee launched its investigation.The league has said that its officials expressed concerns about Stern but that they did so appropriately. And the Republicans letter suggests that if the NFLs actions were inappropriate, the NIH should have addressed that with the league rather than encouraging ongoing discussion.The NFL issued a statement Thursday afternoon repeating prior comments that it had never wavered in its commitment to advance the science and understanding of concussions and that it looked forward to cooperating in a review.Ellenbogen and three other members of the NFLs Head, Neck and Spine Committee issued their own statement, saying they welcome a fair and balanced review and look forward to engaging fully in the process, a courtesy we were not provided by the committees minority staff.The Republican letter comes one day after the NFL announced a $100 million initiative designed to focus on concussion research and technologies to lessen head trauma. Hydro Flask 32 OZ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Hydro Flask Tillbehör . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. http://www.sverigehydroflask.com/ . 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. Hydro Flask Sverige ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Hydro Flask Ombre . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. HOUSTON -- San Diegos Philip Rivers read all week about the Texans being 5-0 at home. He decided the Chargers should be the ones to end their perfect record in Houston.I dont like getting caught up in too much bulletin-board stuff, but I liked that, the fact this team was unbeaten at home, so lets go change that, Rivers said. It was in my head all week that we could stop the streak.Rivers did just that, throwing for 242 yards and three touchdowns to give the Chargers a 21-13 win over the mistake-prone Texans on Sunday. Dontrelle Inman had 119 yards receiving and a touchdown to help San Diego (5-6) to the victory.The Texans (6-5) were done in by four turnovers, including three interceptions by Brock Osweiler . He was so bad Sunday that coach Bill OBrien was asked twice after the game if hed considered benching him for backup Tom Savage.OBrien said he wouldnt be benched but didnt elaborate, and Osweiler took the blame for the loss.I need to play better for us to win, he said. I feel like our team gave us the opportunity to win today and I didnt play up to what Im capable of doing, and thats on me and Ill get that cleaned up.The Chargers were up by four in the fourth quarter when Rivers evaded the rush and delivered a 25-yard pass to Inman. Kareem Jackson was flagged for unnecessary roughness for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the play, leaving San Diego at the 12-yard line. Rivers delivered a touchdown pass to rookie Hunter Henry on the next play to push the lead to 21-10.Osweilers second interception came after that when he badly overthrew C.J. Fiedorowicz and Dwight Lowery made the easy grab.Houston added a field goal with 37 seconds left and recovered an onside kick. But Osweilers first shot at the end zone was knocked down, and the second one was intercepted as time expired.It was yet another shaky performance for Osweiler, who has struggled in his first year in Houston after leaving to Denver to sign a $72 million contract. He has 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Despite his inconsistent play and a second straight loss, the Texans still have a 1/2 game lead on Tennessee in the weak AFC South .Houston was driving in the third quarter when Lamar Miller fumbled at the eend of a 20-yard run.dddddddddddd. He was initially ruled down, but San Diego challenged the call and it was overturned. But it didnt matter much as an interception by Quintin Demps gave Houston the ball back four plays later.The Texans had a first down at the 6-yard line on their next drive before the offense stalled and they settled for a 19-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 early in the fourth quarter.Rivers found a wide-open Inman for a 52-yard touchdown pass that tied it at 7 in the second quarter. Osweiler was intercepted by Casey Hayward on the next drive, and San Diego took a 14-7 lead when Rivers connected with Tyrell Williams on a 21-yard scoring pass.Our defense has done an outstanding job ... of creating turnovers, San Diego coach Mike McCoy said. Weve made the most of those opportunities.The Texans led 7-0 after a 1-yard touchdown run by Osweiler in the second quarter. Rookie Will Fuller had a 33-yard reception on that drive to put Houston in scoring position.COMIC RELIEFAt the conclusion of the first quarter referee Jeff Triplette turned on his microphone to announce that it was the end of the third quarter. He immediately realized his mistake and corrected himself while laughing and smiling.CHASING 1,000San Diegos second-year RB Melvin Gordon had 70 yards rushing on Sunday to leave him 92 yards away from reaching 1,000 yards for the first time. The last time the Chargers had a 1,000-yard rusher was in 2013 when Ryan Mathews had 1,255 yards.MISSING OUTSan Diego rookie fullback Derek Watt was disappointed he missed a chance to play against his brother J.J. Watt on Sunday with the Texans star defensive end out for the season after back surgery.Obviously that would have been a pretty special experience, Derek Watt said. We never had that opportunity in athletic competition outside of just messing around stuff.UP NEXTChargers : Host Tampa Bay next Sunday.Texans : Play their next two on the road, starting with a trip to Green Bay next Sunday.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '