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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.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bucks Jersey . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Jason Smith Jersey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. https://www.bucksrookiesshop.com/Vin-Baker-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Sterling Brown Jersey . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Thon Maker Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far.ASHBURN, Va. -- Trent Williams got several of his fellow Washington Redskins offensive linemen to fly to Texas during the offseason. His pitch was pretty good.Williams wants to harken back to the days of the Redskins famous Hogs -- the offensive linemen of the 1980s and early 1990s who paved the way to three Super Bowls. Williams has branded the 2016 Washington line as Hogs 2.0, complete with shirts, hats and the mentality that the group will follow the footsteps of Russ Grimm and Joe Jacoby.The four-time Pro Bowl left tackle hosted a three-day workout at a training facility in Houston attended by starters Morgan Moses, Spencer Long and 10 other linemen. Williams debated the Hogs 2.0 name because he didnt want to add extra pressure, but the goal of the workout was to set a goal for a work ethic.Not putting the expectation that we plan on being the Hogs, but were just showing that respect that we want to play like them and we admire them and we know thats the standard, Williams said during the teams training camp in Richmond, Virginia. I didnt want to just bring a bunch of guys together to come and hang out and have beers or whatnot. I told them before they came we were going to work pretty hard. You cant get in shape in three days, but we were going to put it to the test, see where everybody was, and we were going to (enhance) fellowship at night over dinner.Offensive line coach Bill Callahan sees the benefit as twofold: not only did Williams put younger, less experienced linemen through drills and help them with fundamentals, but the group got to bond. For all the extra work Callahan puts linemen through after practices, theres already the buy-in for voluntarily going to Williams event, and the memories from going through it.Williams said that made the players closer as a group.We put the hard work in the bank, the 28-year-old offensive line leader said. We did it together. We can go in the locker room and sit and talk about how hard it was to get through it.The workouts took place at O Athletik, a new facility Williams owns along with Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and others. According to the Houston Chronicle, O Athletik includes a boxing gym, sand pit, indoor artificial turf, a steep man-made hill and underwater treadmills.ddddddddddddThe workouts were really challenging and that helps when you have to rely on each other to push each other through that kind of stuff as an offensive line, because thats what we do in games, said Long, whos competing with Shawn Lauvao to start at left guard.Tight end Niles Paul didnt attend this specific workout but said he threw up after Williams put him through the rigors before. He has noticed a marked improvement in the offensive line over the years, with Williams as the guiding force.Williams, entering his seventh NFL season, sees strides in his teammates even since last year. He missed the first two preseason games with a sore right knee and liked what he saw from backup Ty Nsehke.He definitely got a lot better over the offseason, Williams said Monday. I think if you watch him closely you can see the improvements. Its glaring. It (isnt) anything you would have to search hard for. Thats just a good credit to Ty and the coaching and how hes received the coaching.And its a credit to Williams, who has taken a leadership role for the Redskins as a whole, not just on the offensive line. Kirk Cousins carries some of that now as the starting quarterback, but Williams has the seniority and the long-term track record as an elite performer.Trents one of the guys in the locker room that people gravitate to, Paul said. Hes probably the most respected guy in the locker room. His leadership is important out here, and to have him step up and say, `Hogs 2.0, thats a big thing, thats a big deal and he means that.Game notesCoach Jay Gruden said Tuesday he has a total expectation rookie WR Josh Doctson will be ready for Week 1 against the Steelers. Doctson still hasnt practiced with the team because of an Achilles tendon injury. ... Gruden said WR Jamison Crowder hurt his knee in the second preseason game against the Jets and doesnt know if hell be ready to play Friday against Buffalo.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '