Forget the extravagant claims of greatness and fight-of-the-year talk. Last Saturdays Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev bout was boxings version of a beggars banquet -- nothing epic, just a decent meal after a steady diet of stale sandwiches and flat beer at pay-per-view prices.Wards unanimous decision victory (114-113 on all three official cards) didnt really settle much, and had it been a fight between lesser lights, its unlikely we would still be talking about it.But boxings core audience was emotionally invested in the match. It was the showdown it craved and lobbied for, a fight between a pair of undefeated light heavyweights who seemed made for each other. A relentless power puncher against a master craftsman, but with a double twist: The puncher could box, and the craftsman had a mean streak.Expectations were high, a little too high as it turned out. But thats the burden all major matches must bear during boxings seemingly never-ending winter of discontent.Ward-Kovalev had no shortage of tension and suspense, but with the possible exception of Kovalev knocking down Ward in the second round, there were few memorable highlights. Clinches were more numerous than meaningful exchanges, and neither man ever mounted an all-out attack, even though they must have known it was close.We should have learned by now that the best-fighting-the-best formula does not necessarily guarantee a great fight. Thats up to the fighters. But the odds in favor of something exceptional happening are obviously enhanced when the combatants are among the elite.During the prefight hype, Ward-Kovalev was likened to the first bout between Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya, in 2000, a superb example of a brilliant fight between exceptional fighters at the peak of their careers. Shane and Oscar held nothing back and tore into each other virtually nonstop from first bell to last. It was magnificent stuff fought at the highest level.We werent that lucky Saturday. Neither Ward nor Kovalev seemed as eager as Mosley and De La Hoya to risk all in the quest for glory, which is, of course, a prerequisite for true greatness.But these are trying times. Boxing has been sinking in a sea of mediocrity since the crushing disappointment of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fiasco and the ensuing backlash.Ward-Kovalev didnt quite live up to expectations but provided enough of a boost to keep boxings bent nose above water. That has to count for something.Its easy to understand why a sizable number of viewers believed Kovalev deserved to have his hand raised and were ticked off when he didnt.I, too, had the Krusher ahead, 115-113. But theres a difference between a robbery and a controversial decision, and Ward-Kovalev fell into the latter category. It was that kind of fight. Neither ever gained total control.At first it looked as if Kovalev were about to dispatch Ward with the sudden violence of a man who laughs at his victim as he falls. He staggered Ward in the first round with a jab and knocked him down in the second with a right to the head. Nothing to it, right?Ward seem seconds away from oblivion, but in the face of the greatest crisis of his career, he found the resiliency to keep going. He hung in there through the first half of the fight, taking his lumps, getting in his own share of the blows, but generally falling further behind.As things progressed, however, Wards subtle but highly effective work to the body began to sap Kovalevs strength. You could see the change in the Russians face, and Andre had the better of it most of the way down the stretch. Not by much, but apparently enough to win by a single point on each card.The promoters ambitiously named Ward-Kovalev Pound for Pound, alluding to the notion that the winner would ascend to the top of the mythical rankings. It didnt seem that big a leap of faith at the time. Going in, Kovalev and Ward were No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in ESPN.coms P4P hierarchy. Now, not so much.Pound-for-pound is such an arbitrary and subjective concept, an argument can be made for the inclusion of any number of boxers, depending on ones criteria. For me, P4P is an arena of the mind, where all the boxers are the same size and compete against one another.Playing by those rules, nothing that took place at T-Mobile Arena last Saturday convinced me that either Ward or Kovalev should advance above Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez and Gennady Golovkin, currently No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Others, Im sure, have different ideas.Putting too much emphasis on P4P rankings can backfire. Right now boxing is like an unfaithful spouse trying to patch things up with its partner. Its going to take a long time and a lot more than one or two good fights. Ward-Kovalev was a good start, but only a start. A rematch could be another.An occasional good fight is nowhere near enough. Continuity is vital to even a minor boxing renaissance. The hardcore audience isnt going anywhere. Theyre hooked on boxing and are in it for the duration. The sport has to round up the strays and seduce the casuals to thrive. And thats not going to be easy.The answer is the same as in any business: consistent quality at a reasonable price -- not exactly boxings governing business model. But every now and then we get lucky. The next few months might, just might, be one of those times.The upcoming schedule is PPV free and features Vasyl Lomachenko-Nicholas Walters on Nov. 26 and Terence Crawford-John Molina on Dec. 10. Molina is unlikely to last long with Crawford, but Lomachenko-Walters is intriguing.Badou Jack-James DeGale (Jan. 14), Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz II and Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia (Mar. 4) await us in the new year. All have promise, and with a bit of luck, could keep things going.Its boxing were talking about, so undue confidence is foolish. Fights fall apart for countless reasons. It comes with the territory. But the upcoming schedule is promising, and if things fall into place, we could look back on Ward-Kovalev as the start of a roll.It was, at the very least, a time when arguably the two best fighters in their division chose to fight each other. Thats never a bad thing. Cheap Nike Air Max Free Shipping . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Cheap Air Max Shoes With Free Shipping .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. http://www.airmaxfreeshipping.com/ . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Air Max Wholesale Free Shipping . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Air Max Free Shipping . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Spending a lot of money to sign free agents is never a guarantee that it will turn a losing team around. Sometimes, the new people just dont work out. Sometimes, the chemistry never develops.Two games into the NFL season, the New York Giants decision to sink more than $100 million into the NFLs worst defense is working out just fine.The Giants are off to their first 2-0 start since 2009, and the defense has played a major role, allowing a combined 32 points in wins over Dallas and New Orleans (0-2).Steve Spagnuolos unit was outstanding Sunday in limiting Drew Brees and the Saints high-scoring offense to 288 yards in a 16-13 decision that was decided when Victor Cruz hauled in a 34-yard pass to set up Josh Browns winning 23-yard field goal as time expired.I didnt really know what to expect to be honest, said cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who was signed as a free agent, along with defensive end Olivier Vernon and defensive tackle Damon Harrison. But as spring went on, I started working with guys like DRC (Dominique Rodger-Cromartie) and Eli Apple and the linebackers and we realized that we could have something special.The last time the Giants faced the Saints, Brees threw for 511 yards and tied a single-game NFL record with seven touchdown passes in a 52-49 win. His longest pass Sunday was 23 yards and New Orleans was limited to 3 of 13 on third down.Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul says the defense is a lot better than a year ago.It wasnt fifty-plus points, he said. Thats a good quarterback out there and everybody knows that. He was getting rid of the ball quickly and I was getting frustrated out there and those guys, too, were frustrated but we just had to keep our composure and got the job done.The Saints blamed themselves for a second straight close loss. Their defense forced three turnovers and did not allow a touchdown.Dont get me wrong, thats a good defense over there, but they didnt do anything special to stop us, Saints receiver Brandin Cooks said. We felt like we bit ourselves in the foot so many times, we stopped ourselves on the offensive side.Things we learned as the Giants improve to 2-0 under new coach Ben McAdoo with a win over the Saints:THE BIG THREE: There was talk throughout training camp that Eli Manning was going to have a big year if Odell Beckham Jr., rookie Sterling Shepard and Cruz could play together.The three came through against the Saints, combining for 20 catches for 294 yardss.dddddddddddd Beckham had eight catches for 86 and drew a pass interference on the final drive. Shepard had eight catches for 117 and caught a third-down pass for 6 yards to keep the final drive alive. Cruzs 34-yard catch came on a third-and-8 on the final drive.As long as we continue to understand what each others best roles are and what our best attributes are, and continue to do them, said Cruz, who had four catches for 91 yards, with his longest of 40 yards, ending in a lost fumble, I think the sky is the limit for us.NOT OUT OF IT:Despite their 0-2 start, the Saints are far from out of it. They have lost two games by a total of four points.We know what we can do, we know the type of performance we had on defense today kind of showed that, cornerback Sterling Moore said. We can go out there with anybody, no matter what talent level they have, no matter how young we are on defense. So were going to get frustrated, were going to go back to work and keep grinding.DONT GET TOO EXCITED:While the Giants are winning, they have outscored their two opponents by a total of four points. They need to improve to get back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 season.And that 2009 team, it won its first five games. It finished 8-8.INJURIES:Saints coach Sean Payton did not have an update on cornerback P.J. Williams after the game. The second-year player was taken off the field on a stretcher after hitting his head against tight end Larry Donnells knee and seconds later being hit in the back of the helmet by a helmet.New Orleans also had right tackle Zach Strief leave with a chest injury.Giants RT Marshall Newhouse left with a calf injury and S Mykkele Thompson had a knee injury.BROWN BACK:Brown kicked field goals of 48, 19 and 23 yards in his return after serving a one-game suspension for violating the NFLs personal conduct policy.Its good to be back, said Brown who spent the week at home with his daughter. Long week last week. It was hard to watch the game. It was great to be out there and be able to kick again.Brown refused to answer questions about his former wifes allegations that he subjected her to domestic violence more than 20 times. No charges were filed relating to his arrest in that May 2015 incident.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '