raid to try and run with them. The Japanese quickly got the ball up and down the court and hit open jumpers, taking it right at the No. 1 ranked team in the world.Just as the Americans seemed to be pulling away in the second quarter, opening up a double-digit lead, Japan responded with a 10-2 run.And

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Wade Phillips returned to work Monday, his sense of humor still intact after a scary fall when San Diego running back Melvin Gordon plowed into him on the sideline Sunday.I am ok today and back to work at what I love, Phillips wrote on Twitter. I get the big hit award for the week!Oh, and about that tumble ...They say it was a collision on the sideline but actually I got run over, Denvers 69-year-old defensive coordinator tweeted.His defense didnt.The reigning Super Bowl champs hit the halfway point at 6-2 even though their offense remains stuck in neutral and managed just two touchdowns in a half-dozen trips inside the red zone in their 27-19 win over San Diego .The Broncos broke up 13 passes, hit Philip Rivers 17 times and picked off three of his passes even though they were missing two starters in cornerback Aqib Talib and linebacker Brandon Marshall and lost backup cornerback Kayvon Webster to a pulled hamstring Sunday.After Phillips was carted off the field in the second quarter and taken to a hospital, linebackers coach Reggie Herring took over defensive play calls, sending in signals to backup Corey Nelson, who played 77 of 81 snaps in place of Marshall.Phillips was released shortly after the game ended and cleared to return to work.Hes sitting in the back of the meeting just now, hes got a big smile on his face, coach Gary Kubiak said. Hes sore but hes feeling good and back at it. Im trying to get him to go home and rest a little bit today. He didnt want to do that. But hes good. Hes himself today.Asked for specifics on what happened to Phillips, Kubiak said, He just got the heck knocked out of him. I saw the play finally late last night. The turnover, the running back was chasing the ball. He ran through the sidelines, kind of caught Wade up high and it looked like the back of his head hit the ground pretty hard. So, you know, just a scary situation right there. But ... he was talking to us and responding to us on the field. So, we just feel very fortunate that hes OK.Moving Phillips to the coaches box upstairs didnt seem to be something the Broncos are seriously considering at this point.Well see how Wades feeling, Kubiak said. What Im seeing today, hes himself today and the fact hes battling me today when Im trying to get him to go home and get some rest makes me know hes back to his old self.Besides, Kubiak said, theres a lot of guys down here who cant move very good. It really is scary sometimes, when you have turnovers, field position change, gunners on punt team, youve got to really pay attention and boy, he got caught pretty good. Hes just got to move quicker, I guess.Bradley Roby scored on a 49-yard interception return on the play.Darian Stewarts interception also led to a touchdown, but the Broncos failed to convert T.J. Wards interception into points when rookie running back Devontae Booker fumbled at the 2, one of four failures inside the 20-yard line that kept this one close despite Denvers defensive dominance.Were not even close to what we need to be, said Kubiak, whose team has a Sunday night showdown next weekend at Oakland, also 6-2. We didnt play well yesterday, but the team still found a way to win. So, thats a good sign for the football team.The Broncos rushed for just 57 yards six days after piling up 190 -- but that was with C.J. Anderson, who went on IR after right knee surgery Thursday -- and Trevor Siemian completed just 20 of 38 passes with no touchdowns and a pick-6 on a ball that went off Jordan Norwoods hands.Siemian responded with completions of 40 and 31 yards on his next two throws, leading to a field goal that made it an 8-point game. Then, after Denvers goal-line stand, rookie punter Riley Dixon had his best punt of the season, a 68-yarder.There was no bigger play that that, kicking the ball out of our end zone, Kubiak said. Heck, we had two almost holding calls down there. It was a mess, and the bottom line is we needed the best punt of the year from him and we got it.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapletonCustom Baseball Jerseys . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Custom Basketball Jerseys . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. http://www.customjerseysnearme.com/ . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Custom Uniforms Outlet .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Custom Soccer Jerseys . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Diana Taurasi and the U.S. womens basketball team brushed aside yet another opponent at the Rio Games after being challenged for the first time in the Olympics, albeit for just one half.While Japan played the Americans tough in the first half, the end result was another blowout victory for the U.S., although the 110-64 dismantling of the Japanese team may have come at a cost.Point guard Sue Bird didnt play the second half after injuring her right knee in the second quarter. She told The Associated Press after the game that she felt a pop.Nothing really happened, Bird said of the play. I just felt the pop and anytime you feel that, its a little alarming. So going just to have to get it evaluated afterwards and see whats up. Truth I really have nothing to tell you. It happened so fast like. Is it possible I stepped on her shoe or she stepped on mine? I dont really remember but yeah it felt funny.U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said that they would evaluate the injury.I really dont know. I said well know on Wednesday, Auriemma said. Theres no way of knowing anything right now. Im sure Sues bummed out about it as you can imagine. Lets just wait and see.Coming into the quarterfinals, every U.S. game was virtually over at the half. Not this one.Japan, sticking to its up-tempo style of basketball, shooting 3-pointers and pushing the pace, trailed just 56-46 at halftime. But the Americans, who won their five group games by an average of 40.8 points, had just too much offensive firepower and eclipsed the 100-point mark for the fifth time in six games, outscoring Japan 54-18 in the second half.That is a really good team, they make you work, Taurasi said. They have a system of playing that Im really familiar with. ... We knew it would be a tough game. They put a lot of pressure on you and we felt it in the first half.The Americans, who will play France in the semifinals Thursday, have played nearly flawless basketball in Rio and their performances apparently have made an impression on Japan.The Japanese players posed for a team picture with the U.S. after the blowout -- the second straight opponent to get a postgame memento with the Americans. China took a photo after their game against the Americans in pool play. Its reminiscent of how opponents reacted to the Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Games.ddddddddddddI dont even know. Its the second time now in a row, said Bird. Yeah I dont know what happened.In the first 20 minutes against Japan, the Americans were challenged as the Asian nation wasnt afraid to try and run with them. The Japanese quickly got the ball up and down the court and hit open jumpers, taking it right at the No. 1 ranked team in the world.Just as the Americans seemed to be pulling away in the second quarter, opening up a double-digit lead, Japan responded with a 10-2 run.And they looked impressive doing it.Ramu Tokashiki -- who plays for the WNBAs Seattle Storm -- shook free from her defender for an easy backdoor layup that got Japan within 48-46 and capped the burst. It brought a loud contingent of Japanese fans to their feet.Thats as close as they would get. The U.S. (6-0) scored the final eight points of the half with the last four coming from Seimone Augustus, which brought cheers from?Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony?and several other members of the U.S. mens basketball team in attendance.Japan scored the first four points of the third quarter, but then Moore started a 10-0 run with five straight points. Brittney Griners layup capped the spurt and the U.S. never looked back.The Americans continued their torrid scoring pace and are still above the 102.4 mark set by the 1996 team that started the run of five gold medals and 47 consecutive Olympic wins.Tokashiki scored 14 points to lead Japan (3-3), which was playing its first Olympics since 2004. The three victories equaled the most ever for the team in the Games, which it will host in 2020.While this game provided the first real test for the Americans, their road to a sixth consecutive gold medal got a little bit easier when Australia lost to Serbia 73-71 early Tuesday. The Aussies had been the only team to hold a halftime lead over the U.S. at the Olympics in the past 16 years when they led by four in the semifinal game in the 2012 London Games. The U.S. won that game by 13. Serbia plays Spain in Thursdays other semifinal. ' ' '