CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Phil Kessel returned to work Friday hoping to talk about his blessedly short summer after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fourth Stanley Cup in June.Instead, the forward ended up walking back a critical tweet about Team USA following its disappointing performance in the World Cup of Hockey. Kessel, the leading scorer for the Americans during the 2014 Winter Olympics, was not invited to join this time. While he said all the right things last spring after getting passed over, his frustration bubbled up while watching the U.S. lose to Canada on Tuesday.Just sitting around the house tonight w/my dog, Kessel posted on his account. Felt like I should be doing something important, but couldnt put my finger on it.Kessel didnt delete the tweet even after some members of the U.S. team took exception. But he made it clear on Friday -- as the Penguins reported for training camp -- that it wasnt a personal attack on the group, which went winless in three games and failed to advance to the medal round.Obviously I meant no disrespect to any of the players, Kessel said. I have a ton of respect for all those guys there. I played with a lot of those guys. Theyre great players and great guys. I know this game is hard. I know its not an easy one to play.Kessel said he would rather focus on the 2016-17 season as the Penguins try to become the first team in nearly 20 years to repeat as champs. Hell spend the early days of camp seeing how his surgically repaired hand is responding after undergoing a minor procedure in July.Just going to take some time here, he said. Just kind of get back into it.Pittsburghs summer lasted all of 103 days, barely enough time to make sure everyone involved with the teams six-game victory over San Jose in the Stanley Cup finals got to enjoy some one-on-one time with their sports most valuable hardware.Its like we never left each other, defenseman Trevor Daley said. Looking around, didnt we just see each other the other day?Not that Daley is complaining. Theres a sweet reason for the short break, after all.Were the champs, obviously, Daley said with a laugh.Champs who insist theyre just as hungry as they were last spring, when they raced through the playoffs behind a mixture of speed, grit and the precocious goaltending of rookie Matt Murray. Pittsburgh did little to mess with its formula in free agency, keeping the core intact for what it hopes is another season that bleeds from spring until the edge of summer.Coach Mike Sullivan, however, is taking great pains during camp to keep his squad from getting complacent. He divvied the players into three groups hoping to keep things fresh.I think we have competitive guys by nature, Sullivan said. I think they like to compete. Its our job as coaches to put them in an environment where theyre allowed to compete. It took a lot of players for us to go through the playoff run that we did.Captain Sidney Crosby and center Evgeni Malkin are still in Toronto competing for their native countries in the World Cup. The two will meet in the semifinals on Saturday and are unlikely to return to their regular gig until the middle of next week. Their absence, however, will give others an opportunity to impress Sullivan and the rest of the coaching staff.Whats exciting from our standpoint is that we have the type of depth that we have and we have players that are competing for jobs, literally, Sullivan said. Thats going to keep everyone at their best. That internal competition is a critical component to drive our team to the level that it was at last year.Pittsburgh opens the preseason on Tuesday in Detroit. The Penguins exhibition home opener is next Friday against Chicago. Pau Gasol Spurs Jersey . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Dennis Rodman Spurs Jersey . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. https://www.spurslockerroom.com/George-Gervin-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Patty Mills Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Derrick White Jersey . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts talk incessantly about protecting their biggest investment.Andrew Luck is still getting hit far too often.Five games into his fifth season, Luck already has been sacked a league-high 20 times, knocked down 41 other times and finds himself on a dubious franchise-record pace -- if he can stay healthy for 16 games.Weve got to be better, coach Chuck Pagano said Monday. You never want to give up sacks, obviously. Weve got to get it corrected. But there is improvement and there will continue to be improvement.Right now, its hard to see.The Bears (1-4) entered Sunday with six sacks in four weeks and nearly doubled that total with five sacks in the Colts 29-23 victory .At this rate, Luck will go down 64 times. If that happens, it would be the fourth-highest single-season total in league history behind only David Carr (76 in 2002 and 68 in 2005) and Randall Cunningham (72 in 1986).Indys franchise record for sacks allowed (62) came in 1997 with the totals split among three players -- Jim Harbaugh, Paul Justin and Kelly Holcomb.The real concerns emerged last season when Luck missed nine games with an assortment of injuries and the Colts needed five quarterbacks, including Luck to finish the season.Indy actually finished in the middle of the league with 37 sacks allowed, but the injuries were enough to send the offensive line overhaul into overdrive .Team owner Jim Irsay called it the top offseason priority. General manager Ryan Grigson used half of his eight draft picks on linemen. Pagano hired former Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin to fix the offensive line, and the expectation was that things would improve.So far, they havent and theres plenty of blame to spread around.Rookie right tackle Joe Haeg allowed three sacks Sunday. Second-year right guard Denzelle Good allowed two more. Luck bobbled two snaps from rookie center Ryan Kelly, and the previous week against Jacksonville, it was veteran left tackle Anthony Castonzo who struggled.The linemen arent exclusively to blame.Indys coaching staff hhas spent countless hours working on Lucks footwork, his ability to get rid of the ball quicker and throwing the ball away more frequently.dddddddddddd. But there are still times he holds the ball too long, and it has produced mixed results.Andrew created a lot of (the downfield throws) by extending plays and thats something obviously he can do, Pagano said.When things arent there initially, we count on him to do that and we count on the receivers. We made some huge, huge things happen on extended plays.The problem is he also goes down on some extended plays, and Luck isnt about to blame that on the guys trying to keep him upright.I thought our guys up front battled their butts off all day, Luck said Sunday. By no means was it perfect. By no means was I perfect. Shoot, I feel like the delay of the game at the end, you feel like youre trying to lose the game.So can the Colts find a fix this season?Pagano insists that they will continue looking to upgrade the roster, continue coaching those already in town and continue working to eliminate the ugly numbers and even uglier images of Luck taking all those hits.Its obviously a big concern for all of us, Pagano said. You never want to get your quarterback hit and sacked and all those types of things.Game notes Cornerback Darius Butler was diagnosed with his third injury this season -- a fractured finger that will require surgery. Pagano said they would put a plate in the hand and did not provide a timetable for Butlers return. Butler missed the season opener with an ankle injury and the second and the third and fourth games with a hamstring injury. ... Starting cornerback Patrick Robinson is listed as day to day with groin and knee injuries. ... Pagano said inside linebacker Josh McNary (stinger) might be able to play Sunday at Houston (3-2).---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '