NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Its deja vu all over again for the Tennessee Titans, who are starting out 1/3 for a third straight season and fourth in the past five years.Even with a new coach, they are struggling to clean up penalties and turnovers that have cost them in back-to-back losses. The latest mistakes cost special teams coordinator Bobby April his job on Monday, a day after his unit gave up 10 points in a 27-20 loss at Houston.Coach Mike Mularkey said he just didnt see improvement out of special teams before deciding to fire an assistant who worked for him in Buffalo in 2004-05. Mularkey spoke with Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk on Sunday night and says he isnt worried about his own job security.He also insists the Titans are better.Were very close. I know people are tired of hearing that, Im tired of saying it. But its a fact, Mularkey said.Theres a few plays, four to five plays a game, that have made a difference in the outcome of these games. I know in the past two years if we had been down 14 points in Houston, that would not have been a pretty outcome. And this team is competing with every team that weve played and had a chance to win every game we played. Weve got to find a way to win.The Titans came into this season expecting a turnaround behind a new general manager with Mularkey fully in charge, having been given the job permanently in January along with 23 new players on the roster. Now a month into the season, they are on the same track that wound up costing Ken Whisenhunt his coaching job after a 1-6 start.Linebacker Derrick Morgan sees a difference in this team from previous squads, especially in how the Titans responded when falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter in Houston.In years past, we more than likely wouldve folded in that situation, Morgan said. But I think we did a great job battling back and tying it up and actually making it a four-quarter game. ... We still lost the game, but you can kind of see incremental improvements in the team.The Titans have had the ball late in each of the last two losses with a chance to either force overtime or go for a 2-point conversion and the win. But theyve put themselves in catch-up mode with too many mistakes.The second-least penalized team in the NFL last season, the Titans have been flagged for 19 penalties for 163 yards combined the past two games. A penalty for 12 men on the field at the end of the first half turned a punt by Houston into a 45-yard field goal and a 20-17 halftime lead for the Texans.The Titans also gave up a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter that decided the game, which certainly didnt help April. Steve Hoffman, who is in his fourth season as an assistant with Tennessee and his 27th in the NFL, will take over special teams.Tennessees losses have come against teams with a combined 9-2 record in Minnesota, Oakland and Houston. The schedule for the rest of October gives the Titans a much more even playing field against opponents who are 3-13 combined. They visit Miami (1-3) on Sunday before hosting Cleveland (0-4), Indianapolis (1-3) and Jacksonville (1-3).Weve got to find a way to win, and weve got to find a way to cut down on critical mistakes at crucial times in the game and just play a complete game, Morgan said. Right now each phase is taking a turn at coming up short.Game notes Mularkey said DL Al Woods will miss up to a month after pulling a calf muscle at Houston. S DaNorris Searcy will be held out of practice Wednesday but may have a chance to return. ... The Titans signed NT Antwaun Woods to the practice squad and released WR Jordan Leslie.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFLFollow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Joe Morgan Astros Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Ivan Rodriguez Jersey . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. https://www.cheapastros.com/303o-joe-smith-jersey-astros.html .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Billy Wagner Astros Jersey . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Joe Biagini Astros Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. STOCKTON, Calif. -- If there is a way to summarize the lasting effect Nate Diazs hometown has had on him, its that it taught him this: Always be all the way in when it comes to a fight.That might sound like an obvious lesson, one that doesnt necessarily require growing up in Stockton to figure out. But at this point in his life, Diaz is fairly convinced few truly live with this mentality.His older brother, UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, calls it a curse. Nate refers to it as a kill or be killed state of mind. The Diaz brothers are fighting. Add bells and whistles around it for financial gain, thats great. But this is still a fight.Ive been a lot more real than other fighters, Nate Diaz said. Im putting my middle finger up, saying, F--- you, and theyre sitting there like were not even fighting. No, we are fighting. And this will remind you of that real quick. These other guys are trying to make this a sport, but Im just keeping it real with what the hell is going on.I dont ask my mom to watch fights -- or my girlfriend, my friends, nobody. If anybody wants to watch, they can watch, but dont get offended when I get ugly. This is not an attractive sport. Its not like, Oh, my grandson does MMA. Dont tell people that. You might disappoint a lot of people youre trying to impress.Im all the way in this fight game. Im not one foot in, one foot out. Im not here to impress people. Im here to get mine, get ahead and do what Ive got to do.On Saturday, Diaz (19-10) will fight Conor McGregor at UFC 202 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Its a rematch of a last-minute welterweight bout at UFC 196 in March. McGregor (19-3), the sports biggest star, lost his original opponent, Rafael dos Anjos, to injury weeks before the pay-per-view event. Diaz stepped in on 11 days notice and submitted McGregor in the second round.If you want to make Diaz quiet, ask him about fighting McGregor for a second time. Over the course of a three-hour conversation, Diaz essentially said the same thing every time about his upcoming opponent.Conor is a guy who is training to take me out, Diaz said.?Drop the McGregor topic, however, and Diaz will talk. Hell get so lost in telling stories hell ask more than once if hes rambling. Even if he is, you tell him to keep going. The stories are fascinating.Because no matter what happens at UFC 202, Diaz is worth listening to at the moment. He conquered the fight game in 2016. Anyone can argue that he couldnt have done so without McGregor, but thats missing the point.In a span of eight months, Diaz went from foot soldier to paid mercenary, and in the fight game, thats a win. Getting paid is the win.Diaz didnt always know that, but he certainly does now. And he was able to do something about it.If anybody sees what Ive done and doesnt think its brilliant ... then they just dont like the way I look or the way I fight or talk, Diaz said. But thats what f---ing sells.Every fighter has a hometown. Not many of them represent theirs as much as the Diaz brothers have pushed Stockton.When Nate Diaz whacked McGregor with an open palm during their first fight, the internet knew to refer to it as the infamous Stockton Slap. Stocktons 209 area code is as well-known as the Diaz name. UFC commentator Jon Anik has the numbers tattooed on his arm,?the result of an ill-advised bet against Diaz in his last fight.Historically, the city of Stockton has dealt with a relatively high violent crime rate. It is one of the largest U.S. cities to ever declare bankruptcy.Diaz grew up in a small, one-story house in Lodi, just north of Stockton. He lived with his mother, older brother and sister. His father was not around much during his childhood.He hesitates making any references to a rough neighborhood, because he feels like its very cliché -- a cage fighter, coming from a rough area. But he cant deny the indirect effect that Stocktons violence had on his life.Its not necessarily we were sitting in the middle of [violence], we were just very aware of everything, Diaz said. If someone was getting into it, there was a fight. You would see fights all the time. Ill go other places, and nobody fights.When Nick was first fighting in the UFC and going, What, m-----f-----?! and people were like, Wow, this guy is crazy, that was just a natural thing to us. All that was normal. You say that in places outside of Stockton, and guys are like, Woah, whats the problem here? Were like, Arent we fighting right now?When Nate was about 13, Nick began training how to fight. He started lifting weights at Animal House Gym and met Steve Heath, a professional fighter who fought?Chuck Liddell in 2000. While Nick trained at Animal House, Nate worked as a cook at a restaurant next door. Eventually, he joined his brother in training.Nate was naturally good at boxing, but he really fell in love with jiu-jitsu. After he stopped going to high school, Diaz says he was a little anti-social. He was selling marijuana, and his social circle was basically reduced to his smoking buddies.But at jiu-jitsu, Diaz would tap some chiropractor, and suddenly the two had something in common. A successful businessman wanted to know how Diaz choked him out. It built confidence.When I found jiu-jitsu, I knew at that time that a blue belt could take out anybody in the world, Diaz said. I was saying, Dude, Ill choke out anybody.Nick had mats, a weight bench and a TV he would watch old fights on in his bedroom. People would come over to challenge Nick to a fight, and he would say, If you tap out my brother, Ill roll with you. Nick would come in my room and wake me up. Im this skinny 15-year-old kid, and hed say, Roll with this guy, quick.I would go in his room and choke these guys out. And if anybody could choke me out, the first thing Id say was, All right, now lets box.Diaz started a professional fight career without even really noticing. Jiu-jitsu tournaments and triathlons transitioned into cage fights. His former coach, Cesar Gracie, told him what to do and when to do it. Whatever money Diaz got as a result was what it was. He simply accepted it and didnt ask questions.During one contract negotiation, Diaz remembers sitting in the lobby, sipping water while something as significant as a multiyear deall was being discussed.ddddddddddddIt took me a second to come out of soldier mode, Diaz said. Whats smart, whats better for me, whats really going on here? I kind of woke up and was like, Hold up. What have I been doing? It just continued from wherever it had first started: me being down to fight anybody, being told to fight whoever, no questions asked.I had never asked a question before. It was, Fight that guy? OK. That guy? OK. It was a psycho-militant lifestyle.It eventually led to an ugly realization for Diaz. In 2014, just one year after signing a long-term deal with the UFC, Diaz asked for a complete release from the promotion. UFC president Dana White responded by telling him to get back to work. The UFC even dropped Diaz from its official fighter rankings, citing a refusal to accept bouts.Diaz eventually did accept a bout against Rafael dos Anjos in December of that year. In an uninspired performance, Diaz missed weight and then lost badly to dos Anjos in a three-round fight. The UFC does not disclose information on fighter pay -- so, the exact earning for athletes are largely unknown -- but Diazs reported fight purse to the athletic commission for that fight was $16,000.At the post-fight press conference, White said Diaz needed to get his head together or retire.It would be one full year until Diaz fought again.At first I just flipped out, Diaz said. I started looking at numbers and I was like, Woah, you guys are making this much? That guys making this money? The company is bringing in this much? Its time to get paid! I spoke right up.Over time, I realized, Wow, I need to get some leverage.On Dec. 19, 2015, Nate Diaz stood in the Octagon next to commentator Joe Rogan with network television cameras rolling live. Diaz had just defeated Michael Johnson in a highly entertaining lightweight fight.Rogan asked Diaz a question, something about how the fight went. Whatever, the question didnt matter. Diaz wasnt even listening. He looked up at his own image playing on the arena monitors, scowled and unleashed an expletive-laced speech that Rogan would eventually be forced to cut off.Conor McGregor, youre taking everything I worked for, m-----f-----, Diaz said. Im gonna fight your f---ing ass. You know whats the real fight. Whats the real money fight? Its me.McGregor initially opted for a fight against dos Anjos instead, but fate intervened, and McGregor and Diaz were paired up 11 days before UFC 196. Diaz was happy to accept the fight and the biggest payday of his career.Fast forward to March 5. Diaz and Rogan stood side-by-side in the Octagon again, moments after Diaz submitted McGregor via rear-naked choke in the second round. Again, it felt like Rogans question to him could have been anything. It didnt matter. Diaz was going to say what he had to say.Im not surprised, m-----f-----s, Diaz said.The words Im not surprised, accompanying a towering depiction of Diaz flexing, now live in the form of a mural on the side of a building in downtown Stockton. He doesnt really say it, but its a spot he clearly takes pride in.In May, White and former UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta flew to Stockton to negotiate terms for a massive rematch against McGregor. The meeting did not go particularly well.The UFC felt a deal should have already been in place, because the sides had previously agreed to have the rematch headline UFC 200 in July. But after the UFC pulled the fight in the midst of a public spat with McGregor, Diaz circled back to the negotiating table with a higher number in mind.An agreement wasnt reached during that Stockton meeting, but they all still drove to Diazs mural for a photo-op before parting ways. So, you had Fertitta and White standing there, smiling, directly under an image of a moment that gave Diaz an enormous amount of leverage in his contract negotiations with them. For the record, it was Diazs idea to visit the mural.Two weeks later, Diaz signed a new contract for the rematch. Terms were not disclosed, however its safe to assume the deal is worth seven figures.This is long overdue, you know what Im saying? said Diaz, referring to his improved financial situation. And it goes by the moment. Who knows whats going to happen after this fight? What happens if I get murked? What happens if I lose this fight? They better give me a m-----f---ing rematch like they gave him. But I doubt if they will.This is the blueprint. Fighters need to start imagining themselves as the product, because were the product of this business. I aint free. I dont know why everybody is acting like they are.A less publicized aspect of this weekends rematch is that Diaz and McGregor share a healthy respect for one another. Mutual respect headlines dont really sell a fight, but it does exist between these two.As much as Diaz is known for talking trash, he claims he does very little of it. Its just that as a fight gets closer, part of his mental preparation is to see it for what it is.These other guys say, I love to fight. Im excited to fight, Diaz said. Thats some bulls---. No one is excited or loves to fight.Of course, the feeling of winning a fight, succeeding at your objective and your goals, its exciting when its done and over with. But who the hell wants to jump up, hop inside a cage in front of the whole world and maybe get knocked out? Thats not exciting. Thats not fun, and I dont love that s---.Diaz enjoys training in martial arts. Hell do it his entire life -- in Stockton. He says hell never move away from his roots. The Diaz brothers front doors are within running distance (for them at least) of each other. Mother, father and sister also share a home close by.In a way, Diaz has all but left the fight part of Stockton. He doesnt enjoy being in a fight anymore. Hes drawn to the alpha male part of it and it has provided him a better life. Training for it motivates him, gives him something to pursue on a daily basis.At the same time, it genuinely seems like another part of him would be quite comfortable if he never got into a fight again. Until then, if Diaz is going to be in a fight, hes going to be all the way in. ' ' '