There was a time, as ridiculous as it seems now, when the Dallas Cowboys made a show of trying to tamp down expectations for Ezekiel Elliott.On a sun-splashed practice field in Oxnard, California, in early August, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan stood and talked about his rookie running back. At this time, Elliott had a hamstring injury that was keeping him out of practice a bit. Linehan said all the right things.Weve got to do the right thing by him. Hes a rookie, and so you have to make sure he gets the time he needs to develop, Linehan said, then he smiled. But then I watch what he can do out here, and I think its going to be pretty hard to take him off the field.The Cowboys arent going to take Elliott off the field. Their greatest current fear, as a matter of fact, is that commissioner Roger Goodell might take him off the field. But unless the NFL decides to suspend Elliott as a result of its investigation into domestic violence allegations against him, there appears to be nothing that can stop the former Ohio State star at the present time.With 1,005 rushing yards through nine games, with three touchdowns (including the game winner) in Sundays comeback-over-and-over victory in Pittsburgh, Elliott is dominating the league. Running behind the NFLs most dominant offensive line and taking handoffs from the only man besides him who has half a case for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Elliott is currently the most potent offensive force in the game.At this point, even with Tony Romo healthy enough to play, Dak Prescott deserves to be the Cowboys quarterback. But Ezekiel Elliott deserves to be the leagues MVP.Theres a lot going on in Dallas that has put the Cowboys star rookies in position to succeed. Merely decent offensive line play gives you a weekly advantage in the NFL of 2016, but the Cowboys are, in this area, dominant. Entering Sundays games, Elliott had 495 rushing yards before first contact this season -- third most in the league. He added 82 more (out of his 114 total) on Sunday night. After ambling through a hole the size of an airplane hangar door on the game-winning touchdown, Elliott said, It parted like the Red Sea. All I had to do was run.But neither Elliott nor anyone else should sell him short as a runner. He also carried with him into Sundays action a league-leading 396 yards after first contact. He?has the ability to shed tackles and maintain his momentum. He has the ability to separate from pursuers in the open field. Hes strong enough as a pass protector that the Cowboys dont have to take him off the field on third downs.?They also view him as a strong receiver, though they havent used his receiving skills much. His 83-yard catch-and-run touchdown Sunday showcased another breathtaking element of Elliotts game that may be yet to come.Elliott is, through nine games, everything the Cowboys expected him to be when they used the No. 4 pick in the draft on him. They knew they had the killer offensive line; they saw Elliott as a player who could help them maximize it. Together, he and the slobs (as he calls them) up front are executing the Cowboys offseason vision in a way even their most optimistic decision-makers could not have envisioned. They thought hed help make Romos life easier. Its a major bonus that hes doing that instead for fellow rookie Prescott.Eight of the past nine NFL MVP awards have gone to quarterbacks, and before its all said and done guys like Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Derek Carr and even Prescott may have their say in who wins it this year. But at this point in the season, it looks like one of those years when a running back stands out from the crowd as just too dominant to deny.The Cowboys cant take Elliott off the field because hes too valuable. And thats what the V in MVP stands for, after all. Shoes Australia Outlet . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Fake Shoes Australia .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/ . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Cheap Nike Shoes Australia . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Shoes Australia . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. RIO DE JANEIRO -- All by themselves on the massive track, the four U.S. women took their positions in Lane 2.Tianna Bartoletta kneeled into the blocks and waited for the starters pistol. It sounded and away she went -- alone -- in a first-of-its-kind Olympic relay race against the clock.The Americans won that contest Thursday night to earn their spot in the final eight of the 4x100.As is the case with so many relays the U.S. has run over the years, this was anything but routine.Our coach told us before we went out there, `Its just like practice, just the whole world will be watching, said English Gardner.Returning to the track 7 1/2 hours after they left, the team of Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Gardner and Morolake Akinosun finished in a time of 41.77 seconds to bump China out of the last spot in the final.The rerun of their preliminary heat came about after Felix, running in the second position, got jostled by a Brazilian, stumbled and tried, unsuccessfully, to flip the baton ahead to Gardner.The stick fell, and after being disqualified, the Americans lodged a successful protest.But unlike some races, in which an additional runner could simply be added to the final, relays are limited to eight teams because there are only eight lanes that wrap completely around the track. So, the judges brought the Americans back to run in the same lane, in the same order, in what USA Track and Field said was the first rerun of its kind in Olympic history.Their only goal was to beat Chinas eighth-place time of 42.70 seconds, and that was no problem for a team that had two members -- Bartoletta and Felix -- who were on the team that set the world record (40.82 seconds) at the London Games in 2012.The exchanges were smooth, and a few moments after Akinosun crossed the line in a time that not only beat Chinas, but was the best that any team had run all day, the four runners huddled for a quick hug.Bartoletta peeled off to receive the gold medal she won in the long juump the night before.ddddddddddddThe others were off for rest and another quick turnaround.The final is Friday night, and the United States will run out of either Lane 1 or 8 -- the least-desirable lanes because the Americans, despite their top time, were not among the top three finishers in their heat.I dont know how much more I can take, said Felix, whose season has been filled with injuries, disappointments and, now, this. My bodys fine, my mind will be fine. Its different, just not the year I was expecting.Earlier, in more-conventional news, the U.S. mens team coasted through the preliminaries, winning its heat in 37.65 seconds. Jamaicas relay team also made it through, finishing second in its heat without Usain Bolt, who was resting up for the 200-meter final later in the evening.It puts Jamaica, and Bolt, in position for a third straight title in the sprint relay.The only pressure is to make sure we get the stick around, said Asafa Powell, the former world-record holder who ran the third leg.Its been more of a problem with the United States than the Jamaicans over the years.The U.S. women botched the exchange in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics to give away potential medals in an event that was virtually made for the team with the deepest pool of sprinters. At last years world championships, a minor bobble in the less-technical 4x400 cost a precious split second that made the difference in a loss to Jamaica.The U.S. men have either been disqualified or failed to get the baton around the track eight times at Olympics or world championships since 1995.This years mens team was in the holding room when the women bobbled the stick. A jarring reminder.First thing I did is told the young guys, `We got this, veteran Tyson Gay said after running the mens third leg. Youve got to be positive. A lot of things happen out there. ' ' '