Allgemein » have a chance to fix their communication proble

Despite the awe-inspiring athleticism of the members of Team USA, which often makes them appear otherworldly, there is one person who can turn some of our Olympic heroes into regular gushing fans: President Barack Obama.After a morning White House tour, members of Team USA were greeted by President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden. Obama honored the Team USA attendees, giving shout-outs to many, including Simone Biles, Simone Manuel, Claressa Shields, Kristin Armstrong, Kim Rhode, Allyson Felix and, of course, Katie Ledecky.I was nervous she was going to ask me to hold all of her medals while I was speaking, Obama joked, referring to when Ledecky had baseball star Bryce Harper hold her medals before tossing the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game.Athletes who had the chance to meet Obama freaked out accordingly.Laurie Hernandez tweeted a picture featuring the Final Five (sans Gabby Douglas, who is recovering from wisdom teeth removal), the Obamas and the Bidens. Awaiting confirmation regarding whether this tops meeting Zac Efron.Simone Manuel was in tears, appropriately.Paralympic cyclist Jamie Whitmore received a hug from the first lady.And synchronized swimmer Mariya Koroleva somehow got the president to do a synchro arm -- something we all would like to see.Seriously, Mariya, if you have a picture of Obama doing a synchro arm, forward that ASAP.Sean Hurd is a digital media associate at ESPN. Follow him at @seanahurd Mike Webster Jersey . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. L.C. Greenwood Youth Jersey . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Mike-Wagner-Jersey/ .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Kevin Greene Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. James Conner Jersey . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Midway through this week, Alex Smith was still pondering the misfires that plagued the Kansas City Chiefs in their loss at Houston when he normally would be focused on the upcoming opponent.It was an unmistakable reminder of the enormous price of those missed opportunities.And just how rare they have been.Ive been thinking about it and Id be lying if I said I wasnt, Smith said.We havent had a day like that in a long time. I cant remember the last time. I was going through missed connections -- there were probably seven or eight of them and a lot of yards.Indeed, Smith completed just 20 of 37 passes in the 19-12 defeat, his worst completion percentage since Week 5 last season.But he was even worse when it came to his wide receivers, completing half of his 24 attempts to Jeremy Maclin, Chris Conley, Albert Wilson and Tyreek Hill.Most confounding about that statistic? Hes been working with all but Hill for more than a year, so it stands to reason the chemistry between quarterback and wide receiver should be better.There were a lot of missed connections, a lot of offense and a lot of plays that ultimately changed the day, Smith said.The games are fast, you get going and playing fast and youre not always 100 percent. There were certainly a lot of plays out there that we normally make.Take the 15 passes directed at Maclin, his most sure-handed wide receiver. Not only did Maclin drop a pass -- hes only dropped four the past two years combined -- but he only hauled in just six of them. Three of those completions came on the final drive, the game already out of reach.Two of the missed completions were on third down, scuttling potential drives.In fact, Smith dropped back to pass 11 times on third down last Sunday. One snap over his head resulted in a lost fumble, two more plays ended in sacks and two completions were shy of the first-down marker. Only twice did he hit for a first down, and just one of those was to a wide receiver.It was a big reason why Kansas City was just 3 off 14 on third downs, and why the Chiefs failed to score a touchdown.dddddddddddd They had to settle for four field goals from Cairo Santos.It wasnt necessarily accuracy, it was just being on the same page -- the wide receivers and quarterbacks on the same page, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.Thats something I have to work with. If youre a hair off it can affect things. Thats why we practice so much.Practice can certainly help. But remember, Smith has been working with Maclin, Conley and Wilson the past two seasons, through two training camps and countless practices.I would definitely say its a fluke, Conley said. But it also comes down to the way we practice, so we have to be consistent here. We have to hold ourselves accountable, and we have to do some things better in practice as well.Smith and Co. should have a chance to fix their communication problems on Sunday.The New York Jets have one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, and will no doubt get plenty of pressure on the quarterback.But when given time to throw, opposing passers have been able to shred their secondary, even beating perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis a couple of times.The Jets are allowing more than 315 yards per game through the air the first two weeks.You dont panic. You go back to the fundamentals a little bit, Smith said. You go back to the work, communicating, making sure were on the same page and getting those things worked out.Game notes S Eric Berry (knee) and LBs Tamba Hali (knee) and Sam Barrington (hamstring) were back at practice Thursday after missing the previous day. ... There was no change in the status of OLs Jah Reid (ankle), Parker Ehinger (concussion) or Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff (ankle). Reid and Ehinger did not practice Wednesday and Duvernay-Tardiff has been limited this week.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '