when coach Mano Menezes was still ahead of the national team. "We won that match but it wasnt easy," Brazil striker Hulk said. "We faced a lot of difficulties in the beginning of that match

CINCINNATI -- The Bengals defensive coordinator has told cornerback Adam Pacman Jones to put the lid on his trash talk.Jones went off on Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor after a 23-10 win in snowy Cleveland on Sunday, using a garbage can as a prop during an extended diatribe to reporters. He called Pryors name into the garbage can, pretending the Browns receiver was inside.Terrelle Pryor is garbage, Jones said.Coordinator Paul Guenther knew that Jones and Pryor -- who tried out for a quarterback spot with the Bengals last season -- had an on-field exchange during pregame warmups, but he didnt realize that the cornerback kept it going afterward in the locker room.I had no idea what that was about, Guenther said on Monday. But we dont want to deal with that (trash talking). Were not like that. We just play football.Typically youll have some guys that are competitive guys that know one another that -- in a good, competitive spirit -- are two guys going at it.But to take it to the extent that Adam did ... We need to move on. Adams too old for that stuff right now. And I told him that after the game.The 10th-year cornerback wasnt available on Monday during the teams open locker room session. Coach Marvin Lewis also said on Monday that Jones was out of line with his postgame comments.Its not the thing we want to get into, and Adam knows that, Lewis said.The Bengals (5-7-1) finished a series sweep of their winless intrastate rival, keeping them temporarily in contention for the playoffs.They needed to win the rest of their games and have Baltimore (7-5) to lose at New England on Monday night and beat the Steelers (8-5) in Pittsburgh on Dec. 25.The Steelers and Ravens then need to lose their other games to give Cincinnati a chance at winning the division with an 8-7-1 mark.The Bengals host the Steelers on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, a game that was originally scheduled for the night, but has been moved to daytime.The defending AFC North champions lost at Pittsburgh 24-16 in the second week of the season, when Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and Steelers running back LeVeon Bell were serving three-game suspensions from the NFL.Burfict has rounded back into form in the past two months, and Bell rushed for a Steelers-record 236 yards during a win in Buffalo on Sunday.Last January, the Steelers ended the Bengals season by rallying for an 18-16 win at Paul Brown Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.Burfict and Jones each had personal fouls that moved Pittsburgh into range for the winning field goal in the final minute.Although players from both teams continued to go at one another on social media in the offseason, there were no incidents during their matchup in Pittsburgh on Sept. 18.I think the last game in Pittsburgh was cleanly played, Guenther said. I think were over all that stuff at this point.Game notesLewis said theres a chance that WR A.J. Green could return to practice this week. Green has missed the past three games with a strained right hamstring, but is hoping to play again this season. Hes been working out on a side field during practices. ... Rookie Jeff Driskel was active for the first time this season against the Browns as the No. 3 QB but didnt get into the game. Lewis said Driskel has also practiced as a receiver and as a special teams player and could have been used in those roles on Sunday if needed. The Bengals had six players hurt.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLAdidas NMD Pharrell Williams Human Race Yellow . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Adidas NMD R1 Triple Black . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/wholesale-adidas-nmd-r1-china.html . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Adidas NMD XR1 For Sale . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Pharrell x adidas NMD Human Race Black . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls.BRASILIA, Brazil -- Brazil will be playing for more than a victory when it faces Japan in the Confederations Cup opener on Saturday. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said Friday that a victory in the first match will be crucial to winning the support of demanding home fans and to put the squad on the right track for its fourth title in the World Cup warm-up tournament. "Its fundamental to win this match and thats what Ive been telling the players." Scolari said. "We need to have the fans on our side, so its important we get off to a good start." Brazil hasnt won a significant title since the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa and home fans have criticized and jeered the national team following a series of poor results recently. "We need to take advantage of the home fans, and to do that we need to play well," Scolari said. "Our team is not fully ready yet and we know its not going to be easy, but we need to work hard to keep the fans on our side." Scolari led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title but has endured disappointing results in the seven matches he coached since returning to the national team in December. Brazil is coming off a convincing 3-0 win over France in its final warm-up, but it had won only one of its six matches until then, against Bolivia. Scolari and the Brazilian players were loudly jeered and booed by nearly 50,000 home fans after a 2-2 draw in a friendly against Chile in April. Scolari knows first-hand how an opening loss at home could make the teams path to the title more difficult. He was head of the home team when he coached Portugal at the 2004 European Championships, when the hosts lost the opening match but eventually reached the final. "Its horrible to lose the first match at home, just horrible," he said. "Its tough to handle and thats something we have to avoid at all costs. If we lose, its going to be difficult with the fans, the media, with everything." Scolari said its even tougher because Brazil is not as respected at home as it is abroad. Brazilian fans often feel distant from the national team, in part because most of the players are from foreign clubs. This time the coach included 11 players from domestic clubs in the Confederations Cup squad, repeatiing the winning formula of the 2002 team that thrived in South Korea and Japan, when 13 members played at home.dddddddddddd Since then, the national team has had only a handful of domestic players in most tournaments. The current players know the responsibility that comes with playing at home. "Theres always a lot of pressure when it comes to the Selecao, but even more now here at home," said Neymar, the 21-year-old Barcelona striker touted to lead Brazil to the title. "We know there is a lot of pressure and we know of our responsibility. But we have a great group and we will do everything we can to reach our goal of winning the Confederations Cup and then the World Cup next year, which everybody knows is the most important thing for us." Brazil has won the last two Confederations Cups, in 2005 in Germany and in 2009 in South Africa. It also won the 1997 tournament in Saudi Arabia. The five-time world champions havent won a significant title since the 2009 tournament. Only goalkeeper Julio Cesar and defender Daniel Alves were in that squad. "The team has been revamped and its always hard when you start from scratch," Neymar said. "But we are starting to put a team together and thats the most important thing right now. We know we have talented players who can make a difference in the end." Brazil beat Japan 4-0 in a friendly last October, when coach Mano Menezes was still ahead of the national team. "We won that match but it wasnt easy," Brazil striker Hulk said. "We faced a lot of difficulties in the beginning of that match and we expect the same in the opener here." Japan arrived just two days ago because it was playing World Cup qualifiers in Asia, and Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni said he expects his team to face some difficulties against the hosts on Saturday. "Our team has improved lately and our goal in this competition is to show the world how we improved," he said. "We are going to be playing against teams that are ahead of us in the (FIFA) rankings, so Im curious to see what happens. Maybe we are not the best team in the world but we know how to play football and we have very good players." Italy and Mexico are the other teams in Group A. ' ' '