Talk » go if invited.The Huskies played in the Poinsetti

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Some at-the-buzzer instant analysis from press row at the Carioca Arena 1 after Team USA narrowly completed a five-game sweep of its fellow Group A residents with a 100-97 victory over France on Sunday:How it happened: If you were excited for the opportunity to see Tony Parker lead France against his American buddies from the NBA, youll have to wait until the semifinals of this Olympic tournament.Assuming France can get that far.A victory Sunday would have given the French a shot at the top seed in Group A, but France coach Vincent Collet -- despite the encouragement he surely drew from Team USAs struggles against Australia and Serbia -- made the decision to risk nothing and sit Captain Parker.It turns out that Parker sustained a toe injury in Frances victory Friday night over Venezuela, according to a tweet from Frances official team account that wasnt issued until the start of the second half.Despite being fully dressed and taking part in pregame warm-ups, Parker is out until the quarterfinals.So ...Parkers absence definitely dilutes the quality of the win, as does the fact that Team USA had to endure yet another nervy fourth quarter after it appeared it had finally seized control by zooming into a 16-point lead in the third.To hearten coach Mike Krzyzewski somewhat, Team USA guard Klay Thompson rediscovered his shooting touch after four uncharacteristically chilly performances and finished with a team-high 30 points.Thompson was shooting a hard-to-believe 15 percent (4-for-26) from the floor and 18 percent (3-for-18) on 3s through four games before this much-needed bust-out. Krzyzewski restored Thompson to the starting lineup after giving that spot to Paul George, which certainly didnt hurt.But not until a follow slam by DeMarcus Cousins inside the final 90 seconds, good for a 100-90 margin, did the Yanks lead feel truly safe.As for that rematch with Parker in the lineup ... stay tuned.France will have to beat the second-place finisher in Group B in the quarterfinals -- an opponent that wont be determined until after Mondays slate of games -- while the United States (5-0) gets a quarterfinal date with Group Bs eventual fourth-place finisher.Give Collet this much, though: You have to believe that the French just got a major psychological boost for a potential semifinals rematch after they hung in as well as they did with Parker spectating.If they get there.The streak: Make it 73 wins in a row and counting for Krzyzewski; 21 consecutive victories in Olympic play, 19 in FIBA World Cup tournaments, 10 in Olympic qualifiers and another 23 wins in exhibition games. The Americans previously tasted defeat in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece and launched this streak on Sept. 2, 2006, with a 96-81 victory over Argentina in the bronze-medal game in Japan.Play of the game: The French had just cut the deficit to four with crunch time fast approaching. It could have been even closer had Denvers Joffrey Lauvergne not just missed three successive free throws.So the situation made Kyrie Irvings lob pass to Durant for a crucial alley-oop dunk even more special.At 85-81, Carmelo Anthony snatched a loose ball and flung a long outlet pass to Irving that sent him lunging toward the sideline to keep the ball in play.Irving took the pass in and managed to throw a lob to Durant with plenty of loft just as he was flopping onto his belly for the most memorable of his 12 assists.Numbers game: Kevin Durant had scored in double digits in each of his previous 12 games in the Olympics, so it was a reasonably sure bet that KD was going to manage the nine points he needed against France to move into the top five in all-time U.S. Olympic scoring.Durant got there by the end of the first quarter in this one and finished with 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting, after he only saw enough of the ball against Serbia to get up four field-goal attempts Friday night.The current leaderboard:Irving finished with 12 assists and no turnovers. The most assists Irving has had in an NBA game in which he had no turnovers is 10.With Parker not playing, France had four NBA players on the court Sunday: Charlottes Nicolas Batum, Lauvergne and the Utah duo of Rudy Gobert and Boris Diaw.Sundays win and Fridays 94-91 escape against Serbia marked the closest Olympic games for Team USA since its loss to Argentina in the semifinals in 2004.Seventeen of Krzyzewskis 21 Olympic victories lifetime have been decided by double digits. The only exceptions: Lithuania in 2012 pool play, Spain in the 2012 gold-medal game and this weeks scares against Serbia and France.Whats next: Team USA will enjoy two full days away from Olympic Park before the knockout portion of the tournament begins.Wednesdays quarterfinal will pit the Americans against the fourth-place finisher from Group B, which wont be determined until Mondays slate of three games (Nigeria vs. Brazil, Spain vs. Argentina and Lithuania vs. Croatia) completes the schedule in that pool.Nigerias 90-76 upset of Croatia on Saturday means all six teams go into the final three-pronged round of games with a chance of finishing in the top four and advancing to the quarterfinals.Monday will mark the second successive scheduled practice that Krzyzewski has elected to cancel, opting instead for a film session and walkthrough on the cruise ship that is housing Team USA in Brazil. The two-day break Group A teams get before the quarterfinals begin works to the Americans advantage in this regard, with Tuesdays scheduled practice at the Clube De Regatas Do Flamengo sure to go ahead.Fake Basketball Jerseys . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Fake MLB Jerseys . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. https://www.fakejerseys.us.com/ . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Fake Football Jerseys . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. Fake Baseball Jerseys . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006.As news about a football player boycott at Minnesota broke, Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier quickly realized his Huskies might have a chance to play in the Holiday Bowl.One problem: NIU was already on winter break.But in less than 24 hours of frantic work, Frazier and NIU coaches knew they had what they needed most to accept a postseason bid on short notice: a motivated team.With the Huskies having played in San Diego bowl games two of the last three seasons Frazier knew the logistics would fall into place for a game against Washington State on Dec. 27. Easy? No. But far from impossible.Because weve had a relationship with (Holiday Bowl organizers), we felt this was necessary to support the bowl and support our student athletes, Frazier told The Associated Press on Saturday in a phone interview. That was a major part of this. This bowl committee, which had been so nice to us, friends to us, that we would get ourselves together and mobilize.Earlier Saturday, Minnesota players announced they would end the boycott over the university suspension of 10 players accused of sexual assault. The Golden Gophers say they will make the trip to San Diego.Not even two days ago, that was in serious doubt.Frazier began getting text messages and email about what was happening at Minnesota on Thursday evening and immediately knew what that meant. It was time to start making calls.He informed his president and board of regents. Then he had to get his staff moving. Eight straight bowl appearances by NIU made Fraziers staff seasoned veterans when it came to bowl preparation.Most of all Frazier had to talk to coach Rod Carey to determine if NIU had a team that could play in 12 days -- in a top second-tier bowl, nonetheless.Picture me calling him up at 9, 10 oclock at night saying, `Rod, this is the scenario. Talk to me. Frazier said, He took a deep breath and said, `Sean, Ive got to get my guys back and some of them are training for the pros. Some of them are now on vacation. Some of them are here. As you could imagine he did a fantastic job. I definitely have to take him out to dinner.NIU finished its season the Saturday after Thanksgiving at 5-7, but having won four of five as it got healthy after early season injuries. NCAA rules allow bowls to select 5-7 to fill spots if thhere are not enough six-win teams.dddddddddddd The teams are selected in order of their latest Academic Progress Rate scores. NIU was next on the list, but the team hadnt even met since Nov. 27. Fall commencement was Dec. 11. The players had dispersed.Carey told Frazier early Friday morning the players were onboard. Most could drive back to campus, but some would need flights. Frazier said it would have cost the university $15,000-$20,000 to pay for travel expenses.The first practice would likely have been held Monday, Frazier said. The coaches had already started breaking down film of Washington State.Wanting to play is one thing. Being eligible is another. Frazier said he had compliance staff working on whether players, who now had fall grades to consider, would be academically eligible. Also, they needed to determine which players with professional aspirations had signed with agents. That would make them ineligible.We were in the middle of going through those re-certifications as well as those appeal processes to make them eligible, Frazier said. We feel confident we would have ... been able to reverse anything that might have happened.Holiday Bowl officials were not commenting publicly, but they were working on backup plans Friday. Frazier assured them the Huskies were good to go if invited.The Huskies played in the Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium last year and in 2013, a game run by the same group that handles the Holiday Bowl.Frazier said the plan for NIU was mostly to step into whatever Minnesota had already arranged. The Huskies would have redirected the charter flights Minnesota had lined up to leave from Minneapolis to go out of Rockford, Illinois. They would have used the Gophers hotel reservations and practice facilities.As for costs, Frazier said conversations never made it money. The Holiday Bowl payout to its contracted teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 was $2.8 million last year. NIU would not have been guaranteed that payout, but Frazier said he is confident all costs would have been covered.It would have been great exposure for the Holiday Bowl and NIU, Frazier said.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '