peaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The preseason expectations for the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers were at opposite ends of the spectrum.A year after making it to the NFC title game, the Cardinals believed they had the ingredients to take that next step and possibly win the Super Bowl. The Niners were more in a rebuild situation with first-year coach Chip Kelly and an unsettled quarterback situation.A quarter of the way through the season, the teams are surprisingly in the same spot: last place in the NFC West heading into Thursday nights meeting after opening the season 1-3.We feel like our backs are against the wall because when we came into the season, everyone was patting us on the back, Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson said. Now its like, `these guys are pretenders. Thats kind of the persona we had in years previously, that we had to prove something.Arizona will have to do it without starting quarterback Carson Palmer, who is out with a concussion. The Cardinals will turn to Drew Stanton, who went 5-3 as a starter in 2014 when Palmer was injured.San Francisco is sticking with Blaine Gabbert at quarterback despite having the least productive passing offense in the NFL through four games. Kelly has said backup Colin Kaepernick is not 100 percent after three offseason surgeries and Gabbert showed signs of progress in last weeks loss to Dallas.He started the game by leading two straight TD drives before the offense stalled and got just one field goal the rest of the game.I think the improvements going to happen every week, Gabbert said. The more reps you get in a game, the more and more Chip and I are on the same page. Hes calling a certain play, I know why hes calling that play. He sees something on the field. When we get on that same page were really going to take off.Here are some other things to watch when the Cardinals visit the Niners:STANTON THE SUB: Stanton will make his first start since 2014. Hes thrown just 40 passes the past two seasons. He completed 54.9 percent for 1,626 yards, six TDs, five INTs and a 76.3 rating during his half season as starter two years ago.We dont change anything we do, coach Bruce Arians said. Hes extremely knowledgeable in the offense and I feel very comfortable with him in there.REPLACING BOWMAN: The Niners lost their top defensive player and spiritual leader when linebacker NaVorro Bowman ruptured his Achilles tendon last Sunday against Dallas. Nick Bellore, mostly a special teams player in his 36 career games, is slated to make his first start on defense.Ive been the next guy up for a long time and now my time has come, so its time for me to prepare and perform like I know I can, Bellore said.CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals made it all the way to the NFC title game last year in part because of their ability to pull out wins in close games. Arizona won five of six in the regular season in games decided by eight points or fewer, and also beat Green Bay in overtime in the playoffs. That hasnt been the case this season when a botched snap on a potential winning field goal led to a Week 1 loss against New England, and a big punt return and two late interceptions of Stanton led to last weeks 17-13 loss to the Rams.Close games are always won on one play here, one play there, Arians said. In the past weve made them and right now were not making them.WHERES TORREY: San Franciscos most accomplished receiver, Torrey Smith, was mostly invisible last week against Dallas. He wasnt targeted on a single pass until the fourth quarter and finished with one catch for 3 yards. Smith had a chance for a go-ahead TD when he got behind the defense on one play, only to have it turn into an interception on a bad throw by Gabbert. His only other target came when he caught the 3-yard pass on fourth-and-6 to end San Franciscos comeback attempt.Ive been getting open, he said. You can go look at the film. Ive been getting open.TOUGH TASK: The Niners have allowed Fozzy Whitaker, Christine Michael and Ezekiel Elliott all to run for more than 100 yards the past three weeks. Thats the first time since 2004 that San Francisco has allowed a 100-yard rusher in three straight games. The job doesnt get any easier this week against Arizonas David Johnson, who has 510 yards from scrimmage this season and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---AP freelancer Jose Romero in Tempe, Arizona, contributed to this report Yeezy 700 Pas Cher Femme . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Destockage Balenciaga . 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NICE, France -- The European road cycling championships in the French city of Nice have been canceled for security reasons.Nice mayor Philippe Pradal said the Sept. 14-18 event required a large police presence, but city officials had not received any guarantee about their deployment.The news came hours after Nice officials said the July 14 truck attack on the ffamed Promenade des Anglais had claimed an 85th victim.ddddddddddddThe European Cycling Union said the decision was justified on the grounds of safety and it plans to hold the event on the same dates in another unspecified location. ' ' '