RIO DE JANEIRO -- One by one, as best they could, Emanuele Birarellis teammates made their way over to him for a hug or handshake.Their captain lay on the sideline with his right ankle elevated and freshly taped. He was injured in the third set of Italys 28-26, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23 victory over the United States on Tuesday, and his status for Thursdays preliminary match against Mexico is unclear.Whatever happens, Italy believes in its deep bench. The players assured their 35-year-old leader he need not worry.We have to wait the night. It seems swollen. Serious for sure, but we will see how it works, coach Gianlorenzo Blengini said. I have a team of 12 players.Birarelli was part of the Italian group that won a bronze medal four years ago at the London Olympics. On Tuesday, he pumped his right fist from his spot on the floor in one corner of the court at Maracanazinho arena. He motioned his hand back and forth to signal he felt so-so.The Americans -- ranked fifth in the world with eight first-time Olympians -- had to contend with a raucous crowd chanting Italy! They responded from a startling sweep by Canada in their Olympic opener two days earlier with a far more steady performance and improved serving, but it wasnt enough against powerful Italy.With the score tied at 23 in the fourth set, U.S. star Matt Anderson served into the net to give Italy match point. The Italians, ranked fourth in the world, closed it out to move to 2-0 in Rio. Birarelli stood and limped along, and teammate Simone Buti rushed over to embrace him.We are a team, Buti said. Injury, when it happens, its important to stay together.In London, Italy stunned the top-seeded U.S. in straight sets and eliminated the Americans in the quarterfinals before losing to silver medalist Brazil in the semifinals.Now, the winless Americans must figure out how to play better in a hurry because Brazil is up next Thursday night. They spent part of the off day Monday having a heart-to-heart talk, discussing what went wrong in the 3-0 loss to Canada on Sunday.U.S. coach John Speraw went with a youth movement from the start of this Olympic cycle and has known all along there would be growing pains. But to avoid an early exit from Brazil, things must come together now.The Americans won last years World Cup and didnt face the pressure of a last-ditch Olympic qualifier that might have prepared them for the task in Rio.For them to step out on this court with the balance between the moment and the expectation while being as inexperienced as they are, its been a really challenging thing for a lot of our young guys, Speraw said. This is what we signed up for. We knew this four years ago what we were going to do, and here we are. Its a tough journey.This is a strange position for U.S. captain and third-time Olympian David Lee, a gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games. He has never been in the hole of an Olympic tournament in the group stage. He is trying to support his young teammates.I feel like these guys have the weight of the world on their shoulders because they dont want to let down these older players, (Reid) Priddys last Olympics, my last Olympics, Lee said. 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NEW ORLEANS -- Saints coach Sean Payton sees Monday nights matchup with rival Atlanta as a separate event from the 10th anniversary of the Superdomes reopening after Hurricane Katrina.The game and the celebration will be going on in the same place at the same time, and the same two teams will be playing.Yet Payton sounds wary of blurring the line between the two, if for no other reason than out of respect for the unique, transcendent qualities of the Saints first true home game after being displaced by the storm for the entire 2005 season.Having been through the actual opening -- that was emotional, Payton said of the Saints 23-3 victory over the Falcons on Monday night, Sept. 25, 2006.The reopening of Superdome, and the rebirth of a community it symbolized, is not as significant to this game, Payton continued. This is an important division game ... one team is 0-2 and trying to get a win, and another team thats 1-1.That winless team happens to be the one from New Orleans, where only a handful of players remain from the 2006 squad.The Saints have a relatively youthful roster now. A number of players were in high school -- some in middle school -- a decade ago.By the time they joined the Saints, New Orleans was again home to a vibrant night life and restaurant scene, and the blue tarps covering roofs of damaged homes from horizon to horizon had long since vanished.So while the 2006 Saints drew a profound sense of purpose from playing for fans struggling through the early stages of disaster recovery, current realities in New Orleans simply do not provide for such a scenario, said veteran right tackle Zach Strief, who was a rookie when the dome reopened.You cant create that type of emotion. You cant create that type of a feel, Strief said, adding that the motivation to win Monday has more to do with the fact that guys are tired of losing and its a lot of work and theres a lot of prideful people in here.Falcons coach Dan Quinn still expects the energy in the Superdome to exceed that of a typical game.Quinn was a defensive assistant with Miami in 2005, when the Dolphins played the displaced Saints at LSUs Tiger Stadium.In 2006, Quinn caught moments of the domes reopening on television while working on a game plan at Dolphins headquarters.Quinn remembers how the Falcons were run out of the Superdome from the moment then-special teams standout Steve Gleason bllocked a punt on Atlantas fourth play from scrimmage.dddddddddddd But Quinn and his team sound pleased to be involved in another game in New Orleans with special billing.Getting a chance to play in games where the crowd is unique and there is a buildup for it, honestly, it is a real honor and a privilege to get to coach and play in games where it is rocking and loud, Quinn said. It is why we love to compete, because you get to be in moments like that.Here are some other story lines heading into the 94th regular-season game between Atlanta and New Orleans:OFFENSIVE DIP: The Saints offense looked prolific in Week 1, racking up a league-high 507 yards and 34 points, only to falter in Week 2, gaining 288 yards in a 16-13 loss to the Giants. But record-setting quarterback Drew Brees asserted that his unit could have been a lot more productive with just a few more clutch third-down conversions in New York, where the Saints were 3 of 13.NO NEAL, NO PROBLEM: Strong safety Keanu Neal, Atlantas first-round pick from Florida, has missed the first two games following arthroscopic knee surgery in the preseason. Neal returned to practice on a limited status on Thursday.Kemal Ishmael has played well as the fill-in starter, so the Falcons have no reason to rush Neals return. Coach Dan Quinn said Ishmael played a terrific game in last weeks win at Oakland.When (Neal) comes back, Ish will certainly still have a role, Quinn said. Hes very reliable in terms of his tackling and approach.DEFENSIVE HOPE: A Saints defense that looked porous against the Raiders in the season opener did not allow an offensive touchdown against the Giants despite a recent rash of injuries that has sidelined first-round pick and defensive tackle Sheldon Rakins, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, and cornerbacks Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams.RYAN ON A ROLL: Matt Ryan needed a strong start following a decline in his first year in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahans scheme in 2015, and Ryan has delivered. He is second in the NFL with 730 yards passing, with five TDs and only one interception. Ryan completed passes to nine receivers last week. Julio Jones and Jacob Tamme each had five catches.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '