Ukrainian Olympic chief Sergei Bubka

TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizonas Ryan Lindley says hes ready for the challenge of starting in a playoff game after an at least somewhat successful performance in the regular-season finale.Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday that Drew Stanton would have to complete at least one practice to be able to play Saturday in the wild card game at Carolina.And since Stanton had his injured knee scoped just last Wednesday, such a comeback seems improbable, even if Arians wont say so.That leaves the job to Lindley, who completed 23 of 39 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted three times in Sundays 20-17 loss at San Francisco.Guys made catches for him, Arians said. Thats what we talked about. No matter who is playing quarterback, you put it out there, somebodys got to make a play. And theyre all capable of making whatever play.Lindley wasnt on the Arizona roster this season until he was signed off the San Diego practice squad after Carson Palmer went down with a season-ending knee injury.Now hes on the brink of starting at quarterback in a playoff game for an Arizona team that released him at the end of the preseason.Asked what he would have said six weeks ago if he was told that would be the case, Lindley said, I would probably have told you that was a dream, but Im excited now that its a reality.Arians said that the players gained confidence in Lindley based on his play against San Francisco, particularly in the first half, when he threw for 260 yards.Thats as good a half of football as weve had anybody play quarterback this year, Arians said.Lindley said added preparation was the main reason he was able to play so much better than he did in a blowout loss at Seattle the previous week.I think that if you know what youre doing, you stay within the game, he said. You kind of just let it flow the way it will and you feel more comfortable.Largely because of their issues at quarterback, the Cardinals (11-5) are 5 1/2-point underdogs against the Panthers (7-8-1), who won the NFC South despite a losing record.Lindley had an NFL-record 229 pass attempts without a touchdown before he threw a 20-yarder to Michael Floyd on a flea-flicker play on Arizonas opening possession in San Francisco.It was good to get the monkey off my back a little bit, he said, but Im glad I got it out of the way in the beginning and just finished up the game and let it roll.Looking back, Lindley said, the streak without a TD was slightly bothering him.In a sense, its like, When am I finally going to get one? he said. The biggest thing this week is that I really just said, Calm down. Its going to come when it comes.The second touchdown pass also went to Floyd, who had eight catches for 159 yards in easily his best game of the season.Lindley said the San Francisco game taught him to just to go out there and have fun.Just play with confidence, he said. One thing that (quarterbacks coach) Freddie (Kitchens) told me jokingly during the game was, Its fun and easy when you know what youre doing. Its funny how simple, yet complex, the game is in the NFL. If you do everything you can to prepare, and you know what youre doing and youre confident, then you can go out there and have fun.Not many teams can succeed in the playoffs with a third-string quarterback, but Arians said thats not the way the Cardinals look at it.We dont look at it as a team with a third-string quarterback, its our starting quarterback, he said. Hes a Cardinal so wed look for the same level of efficience that wed see if Carson or Drew were out there. I think last week gave everybody, defensively and offensively, more confidence that theyre ready to go this week.Notes: The Cardinals moved their schedule up a day and will travel to Charlotte on Thursday, then have a walk-through practice on Friday. ... Inside linebacker Larry Foote proudly sported a University of Michigan T-shirt in the locker room, joking that hed picked Jim Harbaugh up at the airport the previous day.___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Jaelene Hinkle Jersey . UEFA said Wednesday that the champions of England and France only have to include five home-trained players in their 21-man squads next season instead of the expected eight. Only one of the five players needs to be trained by the club itself. Hope Solo Jersey . The light-heavyweight champion and number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world is on an 11-fight UFC winning streak, the longest in the history of the weight class. http://www.uswntproshop.com/c-23-adrianna-franch-usa-jersey.aspx . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Megan Rapinoe Jersey . The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday. Alyssa Naeher Jersey . - Young and old.SOCHI, Russia -- Ukrainian Olympic chief Sergei Bubka said he has "great sympathy" with the desire of his athletes to wear black armbands to remember those killed in the political unrest in Kyiv. But he says it was agreed "after consultation with the IOC" that wearing armbands would not be in line with the Olympic Charter. "Both parties agreed that another way of allowing Ukraine athletes to mark their respects should be found," he said, adding that athletes on the team had observed a minute of silence in the Olympic Village and issued statements or gave interviews about thhe crisis.dddddddddddd Bubka, a pole vault great, issued a statement Thursday following "erroneous reports" that he had prevented athletes from wearing armbands. The International Olympic Committee denied that it had received a request from the Ukrainians to wear armbands during the games. Ukrainian skier Bogdana Matsotska withdrew from the Sochi Olympics in response to the deaths of anti-government protesters in Ukraine. Bubka has urged Ukrainian athletes to remain in Sochi as a sign of unity. But he has also said he respects the rights of athletes to make their own decision. 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