After 112 years of amateur competition, the Olympics are welcoming professional boxers.All three of them.The International Boxing Associations high-profile plan to entice prominent pros to Rio de Janeiro didnt work, leaving the sport without the star-studded tournament many apparently wanted.Only a trio of traditional pros will compete for gold medals, and only hardcore boxing fans have ever heard of them: Cameroons Hassan NDam, Thailands Amnat Ruenroeng and Italys Carmine Tommasone.The Rio tournament will be more notable for what the men arent wearing. AIBA has removed headguards from male Olympic fighters for the first time since 1980.The biggest stars again could be the women, who are back for their second Olympics after providing the best moments in London.Here are some more things to know when the 286-person tournament begins Aug. 6:REIGNING CHAMPSAll three gold medal winners from the inaugural womens tournament in London are back to attempt to defend their titles. Britains Nicola Adams, Irelands Katie Taylor and American middleweight Claressa Shields all stuck with their sport, which has grown rapidly in prominence and quality over the past several years. In fact, only the dominant Shields is a strong favorite to repeat, given the improved competition at flyweight and lightweight.CAN YOU SEE MEAIBA announced its plan to remove Olympic headgear from the men three years ago, citing research claiming the bulky pads actually cause more concussions than they prevent. The quality of their science is considered dubious by many, but many fighters prefer to compete without the gear, and the sport is undeniably more telegenic when fans can see the fighters faces.UNKINDEST CUTThe biggest problem with the headgear removal is likely to be cuts, which will develop more frequently without the facial protection. Qualifying tournaments have been filled with fighters unable to continue to their next bout after getting cut, and Olympic stars seem likely to meet the same fate.BIG NAMESAIBA has tried for years to become a player in international professional boxing under President Wu Ching-Kuo, but it has succeeded only in nations without an established pro boxing culture. The Olympic-style sports growth in former Soviet republics will be obvious in Rio, where Kazakhstan (12 fighters), Azerbaijan (11), Uzbekistan (11) and Russia (11) will be well-represented along with the likes of Britain (12) and China (11). Cuba (10) has a fighter in every mens weight class, but still wont allow women to compete.EVEN THE SCOREAnother big change for Rio is the scoring system, which is no longer based on punch-counting. Fighters will be judged on the 10-point must system traditionally used in pro boxing, with the decision of each judge reduced to a single number. The final scores in the fights will be announced as 3-0 or 2-1. Unlike the headgear change, the move away from reviled punch-scoring has been greeted with broad approval. Still, it probably wont stop more than half of the losing fighters from claiming they were robbed, just as they do in every Olympic-style boxing tournament.YOUNG AMERICANSThe U.S. team is the historic leader in total Olympic boxing medals and golds, but the Americans are sending just eight fighters to Rio after four men and one woman failed to secure spots through qualifying tournaments. The team might be small, but Shields and lightweight Mikaela Mayer are both medal contenders. The U.S. men didnt win a single medal in London, but touted bantamweight Shakur Stevenson has a great shot to end that drought in Rio.THE GREATESTYoure not seeing things on the schedule: Thats Muhammad Ali competing in Rio. The 20-year-old British flyweight with the conspicuous name is among the medal favorites after training in the same gym as Athens silver medalist Amir Khan.HES BACKRussian ex-world champion Albert Selimov is best known for losing his first fight in Beijing to Ukraines Vasyl Lomachenko, the two-time gold medalist whose amateur legend truly began with that masterful performance. While Lomachenko reigns as a professional world champion eight years later, the 30-year-old Selimov is back at his second Olympics, fighting for Azerbaijan as a naturalized citizen. He is a medal favorite at lightweight.WATCH OUTCuba, another traditional world power, could return to prominence in Rio after winning just two gold medals in London -- a down Olympic cycle by its standards. Among its several strong medal contenders are London flyweight gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez, now fighting at bantamweight; three-time amateur light heavyweight world champion Julio Cesar La Cruz; and lightweight Lazaro Alvarez, a three-time world champion in two classes. Chris Terry Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Noah Juulsen Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. http://www.canadiensauthority.com/authentic-jordie-benn-canadiens-jersey/ . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Jacques Plante Jersey . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Custom Montreal Canadiens Jerseys . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars already are off to better-than-usual starts this season.One of them will take another big stride Sunday.The Raiders (4-2) are looking to open the season 5-2 for the first time in 15 years.The Jaguars (2-3), who have won two in a row , are trying to get to .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2010.Its huge, Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis said. Its a great opportunity for us, and we understand that. Our expectations have been high from the start. We came into this thing wanting to be better than what we are right now.Obviously, we cant change whats happened in the past, but we have an opportunity to kind of dictate our future by going out there and handling business.The Raiders have handled every road trip so far this season, winning at New Orleans, Tennessee and Baltimore.Thats three games east of the Mississippi River, and all three have been early start times for the cross-country traveling Raiders. They have two more 10 a.m. PDT starts, beginning in Jacksonville.Coach Jack Del Rio said he would have appreciated a later kickoff in at least one of those.We make those suggestions to the league. Theyre mostly ignored, Del Rio said. It is a demanding schedule and so were just going to do what we can to prepare our football team and come out there and compete our butts off.Oakland is coming off its worst game of the season, a 26-10 loss to Kansas City in which it punted three times, fumbled and turned it over on downs in the second half. Equally troubling, Del Rios defense couldnt stop the run.The Raiders rank last in the NFL in total defense, giving up 445 yards a game. They have allowed at least 390 yards in every game and are on pace to allow the most yards per play (6.9) of any team since the merger.We havent played well enough, but the good thing is that you get a chance to redeem yourself and get the bad taste out of your mouth, pass rusher Khalil Mack said.They could find things easier against the Jaguars, who have been mostly inept trying to move the ball with any consistency. Blake Bortles has turned the ball over too often and has been inaccurate with passes. Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson hasnt topped 75 yards in any game this season.And the biggest issue offenssively has been Jacksonvilles inability to get much going on the ground, and defenses havent needed to stack the line of scrimmage to slow it down.ddddddddddddWeve got to be able to run the ball against some of the seven-man boxes that were seeing, offensive coordinator Greg Olson said.Here are some other things to know about the teams as the Raiders seek their first win in three trips to Jacksonville:RUN DOWN: The Raiders hope to get a boost in their running game with the expected return of Latavius Murray, who missed the past two games with turf toe. After rushing for 148.3 yards per game the first three weeks, Oakland has been held to 72 a game the past three games as Murray has been either out or limited.I want to be out there every time we step on the field, Murray said. I know its part of the game, and Im ready to be out there now.DEL RIO RETURNS: Del Rio spent nine years as Jacksonvilles coach and will be back on the sideline for the first time since being fired with five games remaining in the 2011 season. He said he has no idea what kind of reception hell get Sunday, but its sure to be a mixture of boos and cheers.Theres always an appreciation to go back to a place you spent a good portion of your career, Del Rio said.HURRY UP? The Jaguars created a spark last week at Chicago when they went to an up-tempo offense in the fourth quarter. Bortles played better, and Jacksonville did enough to overcome a 13-0 deficit in the final quarter. Could they use it earlier in the game?I think its easier to find a rhythm, he said. Our offense feels good and comfortable in it, and we do a good job moving the ball so its definitely good to see that and have confidence in that package and know we have that in our back pocket if we need it.LONG TRIP: The Raiders will stay in Florida after the game, practicing for the week in Bradenton before playing next Sunday at Tampa Bay. Coach Jack Del Rio opted against an extra cross-country flight for the chance to keep the team together for a week in what will be like a mini-training camp setup.---AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '