RIO DE JANEIRO -- The blowouts are over. The Olympics are underway.After nothing but pushovers this summer, the U.S. mens basketball team faced someone who pushed back.This is the real world now and thats good for us, coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Finally tested, Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving had the answers.Anthony scored 31 points on the night he became the U.S. mens Olympic career scoring leader, combining with Irving for all the Americans baskets in the fourth quarter of a 98-88 victory over Australia on Wednesday night.Irving -- born in Australia -- added 19 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:35 left after Australia had closed within four.A team that won its first two games by a combined 101 points could never get a comfortable lead -- and for a while couldnt get one at all. The Australians, with big bodies inside, quality point guards to counter the American pressure and a wealth of NBA championship experience, stood toe to toe with the team that had blown them out of the last two Olympics in the quarterfinals.But Anthony, the first U.S. male to play in four Olympics, steadied the Americans in the first competitive game most of this new team had ever experienced.We kind of expected a game like this, a physical game, a grind-out game from playing against Australia over the past couple years, Anthony said, and going into tonight we knew it was going to come down to the end of the game where we were really going to have to buckle down and focus in and make plays down the stretch.Kevin Durant capped off the scoring with two free throws, making him the only other player than Irving or Anthony to score in the period.The Americans, who had barely broken a sweat in Brazil, trailed early in the fourth quarter before Anthony hit a flurry of 3-pointers to put the Americans on top.Patty Mills, the tournament scoring leader, had 30 points for Australia.After five easy exhibitions preceding routs of China and Venezuela to open the tournament, the Americans trailed 72-70 with about 9 minutes left. Anthony scored to tie it, hit a 3-pointer to give the Americans the lead for good, and then hit a couple more 3s that pushed it to 83-76.The team staying on a luxury cruise ship could never relax until scoring the final five points in the last 27 seconds on free throws, with Irving hitting the first three.The Americans, so carefree in their opener that reserves DeMar DeRozan and Jimmy Butler played rock, paper, scissors to determine who would shoot a free throw, realized they were in a fight in this one.It got real, Paul George said. It definitely got real.An enraged Krzyzewski screamed at an official after Andrew Boguts hard foul on Irving just in front of the U.S. bench in the third quarter, his face looking as red as the shirts the coaching staff wore.Bogut finished with 15 points for the Australians, who have never won a medal but four of their players own NBA rings. They nearly became the first team to knock off the Americans in the Olympics since Krzyzewski took over in 2005.We have a pretty gritty group thats pretty tough and we battled all night, Bogut said.Australia had opened the Olympics with impressive victories over France and Serbia, both ranked among the top six in the world. Then the Aussies gave the team ranked No. 1 all it could handle.The Americans clinched a spot in the medal round, though that was never going to be in doubt.This game, though, was.It was the second straight game the Americans were tied after one quarter. They quickly blew away Venezuela after it was 18-all, but the only second-quarter surge in this one was made by Australians.They used a 15-3 burst to make it 46-39, and Krzyzewski actually needed a timeout to calm his team that by then can usually make its postgame plans.Anthony moved past LeBron James as the U.S. career leader in Olympic scoring and did it quickly, using a hot start to make up the 11-point advantage James had entering the game.Irving once considered playing for Australia, where he was born while his father was playing there professionally. He exchanged a pregame hug with Matthew Dellavedova, his former backup in Cleveland, but things didnt stay nice for long.The Aussies hit hard and the Americans hit back, with George getting a technical foul for a shot at Dellavedova.It was a welcome test for the Americans, who have been so dominant under Krzyzewski that it sometimes seems the U.S. players are the only ones who dont make a gold medal sound assured.Theyve said it wont come easily.Now theyve finally had a game that wasnt.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney Bills Hoodies Jerseys Outlet . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Cheap Bills Hoodies Jerseys . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. http://www.cheapbillshoodiesjerseys.com/ . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Harrison Phillips Hoodie . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Jim Kelly Hoodie . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. PHILADELPHIA -- Carson Wentzs excellent start is nothing compared to what Ben Roethlisberger did his rookie season.Wentz is 2-0. Big Ben was 13-0 in 2004.The two quarterbacks share an agent and other similarities. Theyll meet Sunday when the Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) host their intrastate rival Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0).I think hes doing a really good job of just kind of letting the game come to him, Roethlisberger said of Wentz. Hes not forcing it. You see him throwing balls away and not trying to make too many crazy throws down the field, and using his legs when needed.Hes a really smart guy, smart player, physically gifted, so I think all of that kind of helps. And his preparation is very good.Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick, worked out with Roethlisberger and had dinner with him in California this summer. Roethlisberger thought hed see much more of Wentz.I thought I was going to be facing him two times a year in Cleveland, Roethlisberger said.The Browns traded the pick to the Eagles and began the season with Robert Griffin III as their starting quarterback. Theyre 0-2 and Griffin is injured.Wentz was slated to be Philadelphias No. 3 quarterback until Sam Bradford was traded to Minnesota. Hes been so impressive in the first two games that hes already drawn comparisons to Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Roethlisberger.Ive always found it intriguing the way that guy plays the game differently than a lot of guys, and hes fun to watch, Wentz said of Roethlisberger. That guy can make some really big plays and its pretty impressive.Roethlisberger started his first game in Week 2 of his rookie season after Tommy Maddox was injured in the opener. He didnt lose until the AFC championship game against New England.I was blessed with a great defense, and you werent afraid to make mistakes because you knew they were either going to get the ball back for you, or stop them, Roethlisberger said.Heres some things to know about the first Steelers-Eagles game since 2012:DAUNTING TASK: Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartzs much-improved defense -- the Eagles are No. 4 in yards allowed after finishing in the bottom five the past three seasons -- has a tough assignment against Roethlisberger, All-Pro wide receiver Anttonio Brown and NFL leading rusher DeAngelo Williams.dddddddddddd. This will be the most complete team that well play this year, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said.Stopping Brown is an even bigger challenge with starting cornerback Leodis McKelvin sidelined for the second straight game. Ron Brooks and rookie Jalen Mills take his spot.You got to keep him in front of you and when hes in front of you, you got to tackle him, safety Malcolm Jenkins said. Hes a great route runner. Hes got speed and he can get behind the defense. If you play too soft, hes a hard tackle in the open field.FAMILIAR LOOK: The Eagles are playing a 3-4 defense for the third straight week. They handled the Browns and Bears well, scoring 29 points against each team. The Steelers actually play a true 3-4, Pederson said. You will see more of that front with this group. They still play their under front and over front and mix it up a little bit in their base packages. As far as the three games, this is more of a 3-4 look.FIELD FLIPPER: One of the reasons the Steelers have allowed just 32 points despite giving up a lot of yards is field position. Punter Jordan Berry has already dropped half of his 10 kicks inside the 20 and his 42.8 net yard average ranks seventh overall. The Bengals started five of their 15 possessions last week inside their 10.NO PRESSURE: The Steelers have just one sack through two games, and that came on a scramble by Cincinnatis Andy Dalton for no gain. Dont expect a lot of changes as Pittsburgh faces Wentz. Our front four is so good, we dont need to blitz, said linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Pittsburgh has focused on dropping more players into coverage to protect a secondary working in rookies Artie Burns and Sean Davis.HEAD START: Wentz has led the Eagles to 10 points on the opening possession. He is 12 of 14 for 102 yards and one TD on those drives. The Steelers havent scored on their first drive yet.---AP Sports Writer Will Graves contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi Stitched NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Outlet Disocunt Football Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap China NFL Jerseys White ' ' '