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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New Englands offensive line was a work in progress that wasnt showing much progress.The player the Patriots could least afford to lose was under pressure in the very first game behind a rebuilt line that had just lost its toughest blocker.Four sacks of Tom Brady in that 33-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins 12 days after six-time Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins was traded to Tampa Bay didnt bode well.But the linemen stayed confident as they grew accustomed to their first-year assistant coach Dave DeGuglielmo and are ready for Saturdays divisional playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens.Its just a matter of going through a lot of things together and gaining that familiarity, left tackle Nate Solder said after that game. I think it will all work together as long as we continue to do the things that were coached to do.The cohesion and communication improved as the season went on.The Patriots (12-4) allowed 10 sacks in the first four games, going 2-2. They finally settled on a starting line in the fifth game and allowed just 16 sacks in the final 12 games with a 10-2 record.Thats 26 total sacks, 14 fewer than the Patriots allowed last season.The big thing is communication and working together, said Dan Connolly, the teams most veteran lineman who started the first three games at centre before settling in at Mankins position. Were kind of the team within the team. The five of us have got to work together in our blocking combinations.That togetherness will be tested Saturday against one of the NFLs most aggressive pass rushing teams.The Ravens (11-6) were tied for second with 49 sacks. A bunch of those came with just three or four pass rushers.Were blessed with a number of guys that can really rush the passer, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. It gives you one extra guy in coverage. So the fewer guys you can send to get pressure on the quarterback, the better off youre going to be.At least admitted plodder Brady has shown a greater tendency to scramble this season.He had his longest run since 2007 in the 14th game, a 41-13 victory over Miami.Brady ran 17 yards for a first down before taking a hard hit that knocked him out of bounds at the Dolphins 3-yard line. On the next play, the Patriots scored on LeGarrette Blounts 3-yard run for a 21-13 lead on the first possession of the third quarter.Against the Ravens, Brady will try to avoid Elvis Dumervil, who had 17 sacks, Terrell Suggs, who had 12, and the rest of their pass rushers.They do a great job getting after the quarterback, Brady said. They blitz a decent amount of times, so were going to need to be able to move around in the pocket and try to buy ourselves a little more time. All of these guys can still run me down. It doesnt matter. Im still slower than all of those guys.The emergence of rookie centre Bryan Stork was critical to the lines improvement. Hes been helped by having former centres Connolly and Ryan Wendell on either side of him.Connolly said Stork is growing up and becoming a good professional.Weve got to let him just run the show. Hes the centre. Hes got to do those sorts of things, Connolly said. But it always helps to have guys next to you that know whats going on.When Connolly missed a Jets game with a knee injury, Brady was sacked four times. Connolly and right tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back injury) missed the last game and the Patriots allowed four sacks, three against backup Jimmy Garoppolo.Both linemen might have played in the finale had the Patriots not clinched the AFCs top seed before that 17-9 loss to Buffalo.Brady will need all five regulars against the Ravens.All of those guys are tied together. That job is tough to do, Brady said. Theyve got the best athletes, maybe in the world, sitting on the other side trying to go kill the quarterback and theyve got to do everything they can to defend and not hold.And keep Brady safe.Its a lot of pressure on us, Connolly said. Its our job to make sure Tom stays upright, so thats what were going to try to do this week.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Nick Brossette Jersey . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. Tyree St. Louis Jersey . The Austrian ski federation said Morgenstern was "conscious and well responsive" and his condition would be monitored in the intensive care unit of a Salzburg hospital for the next 72 hours. The federation said it was "way too early" to judge Morgensterns chances of competing in Sochi, and that an update on his condition was not expected before Monday. http://www.cheappatriotsjerseysauthentic...-edelman-jersey. The Cubs made the moves before Thursdays game against Arizona. They promoted left-hander Zac Rosscup and right-hander Neil Ramirez from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Blake Parker to their top minor league team. Matt LaCosse Jersey .5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2. John Hannah Jersey . Both had to wait out a rain interruption lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major. SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs beat the Heat. Miami couldnt beat the heat. And there was the story of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. With LeBron James unable to play in the final 3:59 because of cramps throughout the left side of his body, and on a night where an air conditioning failure inside San Antonios arena had temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, the Heat simply withered in the final minutes. As their four-time MVP could only watch, Miami watched as San Antonio pulled away in the final minutes for a 110-95 win on Thursday night in the opener of the title series. "Its frustration and theres anger," James said as he lay on a training table long after the game. "But at the same time, its something you try to prevent, you try to control. I got all the fluids I needed to get. I did my normal routine Ive done. Its something that was inevitable for me tonight. "It just sucks not being out there for your team, especially at this point of the season." James scored the last of his 25 points on a layup that got Miami within two. That was the end of his night; he stood still on the baseline afterward, unable to move his left leg because of cramping. His night was over, and soon, so was the game. The Spurs outscored the Heat by 13 the rest of the way, and took the series-opener for the second straight finals. The Heat were outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, Chris Bosh added 18 and Ray Allen scored 16 for Miami. Rashard Lewis added 10 for the Heat. "I think it felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping like that back to the bench," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But at the same time we still had an opportunity." James has dealt with cramping issues several times in the past, including during the 2012 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City -- in a game in Miami. "Were used to having the hotter arena," Spoelstra said. Spoelstra insisted that the Heat would not use the temperature as an excuse, and said James tried to return to the game shortly after the cramp knocked him out. "I just looked at him and said, Dont even think about it. You cant even move," Spoelstra said. James didnt need much convincing.dddddddddddd He knew. Cramps, he said, were affecting nearly the whole left side of his body. "Any little step or nudge, it would get worse," James said. "It would lock up even worse. My muscles would just spasm at a 10 out of 10." Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tony Parker added 19 points and Manu Ginobili finished with 16 points and 11 assists for San Antonio, which improved to 10-1 at home in the playoffs. James was affected throughout the second half, asking for breaks more than once, and some players placed ice bags on the backs of their necks in an effort to combat the temperature. Duncan said the heat was a significant factor in the game. "I dont know what happened to LeBron, but I think all of us were feeling the heat," Duncan said. "We were all dehydrated." If there is a bright side for James -- who used cold towels, drank what he could and even changed uniforms at halftime -- its that Game 2 isnt until Sunday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich acknowledged afterward that James departure obviously played a role in the finish, though lauded the way his team executed in the deciding minutes. "Certainly could have been a different story. Theres no doubt about that," Popovich said. Its not the first time electricity has had a significant impact on a championship event in recent years. The Super Bowl in 2013 between Baltimore and San Francisco was marred by a power outage at the Superdome in New Orleans, interrupting play for 34 minutes. Power was the culprit in Game 1 of the finals as well, arena officials said. "An electrical failure for the power that runs the AC system in the AT&T Center has occurred," Spurs Sports and Entertainment said in a statement distributed in the second half. "We are continuing to work on resolving the problem. We apologize for any inconvenience." Many fans removed the giveaway black T-shirts handed out before the game, obviously wanting to wear as few layers inside the steamy building as possible. "Not NBA Finals worthy," Wade said of the conditions in the locker room afterward. "Ill tell you th