the NFL with nine passes defensed. Quarterback Joe Flacco could look long and hard to the other side and throw at fill-in starter

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Copacabana Beach is an Olympic construction site. The beach volleyball venue is going up, broadcast studios rise on scaffolding above the sand and a mammoth tent is jammed with thousands of pricey souvenirs.But there are few signs across town in crumbling, working-class areas that the Rio de Janeiro Olympics open in just a month.Promises that hosting the Games would remake even Rios most ramshackle neighborhoods have been eclipsed by myriad problems: security threats and soaring violence, the Zika virus, slow ticket sales, and water pollution in venues for sailing, rowing and distance swimming.Hanging over it all is the impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff, expected to start days after the Olympics end.Where I live, we dont see changes like these, said Julia Alves, an 18-year-old student speaking in the citys renovated port area. She was among almost a dozen people asked by The Associated Press how the games would change the city -- or individual lives -- in interviews at the port, outside the Olympic Park and on the streets in a working-class neighborhood.They are things for foreigners, Alves added.Rios organizers have budgeted about $2 billion for operations. In addition, another $10 billion-$12 billion in public and private money is being spent on urban transportation projects driven by the Olympics.Rio has installed new high-speed buses and a light-rail system to serve downtown. And theres a still-unfinished $3 billion subway line extension to connect the upscale Copacabana and Ipanema beach areas with the western suburb of Barra da Tijuca -- site of the Olympic Park. Its unclear if the subway line will be running when the Summer Games open on Aug. 5.The public-works splurge has generated civic pride, suspicion and some anger.The Olympics are bringing an incomparable legacy, in regard to the changes in the citys infrastructure, said Marco Araujo, a 48-year-old badminton coach speaking outside the Olympic Park. We are still working on these projects. But I think that once they are completed, these projects will benefit the population.A bike lane, suspended high above the sea and built as an Olympic legacy project, collapsed in April and killed two.The Olympics touch mostly the wealthy areas south and west of the city, where the real estate market was booming until a few years ago. Rios northern favelas, the citys infamous slums, feel only a ripple, underscoring the vast gap between the rich and poor -- the white, brown and black, in a divided city.Maria da Penha is bitter. Her home in a favela abutting the Olympic Park, known as Vila Autodromo, was demolished to make way for new construction.For me the Olympics were awful, said the 53-year-old, who led a yearlong eminent-domain battle against Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes. They destroyed my life, my dream. I had my own house and I wont have it anymore.Then she added: But it (Olympics) is a very cool event. Brazilians are athletic. We like sports. I just didnt imagine that the Olympics in my country would be so expensive. The truth is I think my country was not prepared to host the Olympics. That is the great truth.Raquel Oliveira, a 25-year-old publicist, spoke while waiting for a bus on a busy road in front of the Olympic Park. She complained bus routes have been changed, reportedly a security move to make it difficult for criminal gangs to access upscale areas.In reality, it didnt change for the best because a lot of bus lines got cut, she said. I have to wait for hours and I live in front of the Olympic Park. I really hope things will improve with the express-bus system or something like that.In a poll published Sunday in the Rio newspaper O Globo, 49 percent of Rio residents said they were in favor of the Olympics, and 61 percent said they would be successful. Asked what could make the games a failure, 85 percent said the lack of security.The poll size was 2,400, but the newspaper did not give the margin of error.Wolfgang Maennig, an Olympic gold-medal rower who studies the economics of the games at Hamburg University, said the Olympics usually produce a feel-good factor when they get going. But he was unsure about Rio.For 17 days, its normally a honeymoon, he said. But you never know what will happen in the case of Rio. Im not sure it will be a typical Brazilian Samba or Carnival atmosphere, but Im sure it will be better than normal, or better than now.Gustavo Nascimento, Rios venue management director, promises everything will be ready. He said a massive cleanup of the venues is set for July 15, and athletes are to have access to the venues on July 24.He also said ticket sales are slow.There are still tickets available, very, very high-quality tickets, he said.About 10,500 athletes and up to 500,000 foreigner visitors are expected for the games.Few will see the real Rio, where the poor are being pummeled by Brazils worst recession since the 1930s, soaring crime and unemployment over 10 percent. Most cant afford an Olympic ticket or a $100 souvenir soccer ball emblazoned with the Olympic logo.Australia and several countries have instructed their athletes to stay away from favelas.Mayor Eduardo Paes, who initially bragged about using the games to push pet projects, has backed away from those promises.You cant expect the Olympics to solve all the social problems here, he said. We are not a city like London or Chicago. You cant expect as much from us.IOC member Carlos Nuzman, the president of the organizing committee, has stuck to his guns, saying repeatedly: Rio will be the Olympic city with the greatest transformation. He said residents are the ones who will get the most from the games.Oliver Stuenkel, who teaches international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation -- a Brazilian university -- said politicians view the games as an amazing place to gain visibility and bolster their careers.If its not a catastrophe, the Olympics could provide Brazil with greater legitimacy, Stuenkel told the AP. You bring in a lot of people from around the world. You have heads of state coming in. It puts you on the map, and if youre doing well, it could have a tremendously positive impact. But it will require a lot to compensate for the negative press that is inevitably going to be out before, during and after the Olympics.Brazilians are also wary of public-works projects, which typically produce only embezzlement and empty promises.People are not against the Olympics, but most people I know are indifferent to the event, or at least very, very skeptical that it will have any tangible effect beyond simply short-term visibility, Stuenkel said.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade Custom Winnipeg Jets Jerseys . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Blake Wheeler Jets Jersey . 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LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. ASHBURN, Va. -- Steve Smith doesnt see the same Josh Norman everyone else sees.The veteran Baltimore Ravens receiver remembers the young cornerback hed always run into in the film room back when they were Carolina Panthers teammates, the man he considers almost like a little brother. Smith knows Norman has become a top-tier, elite, All-Pro, Pro Bowl cornerback -- one the Washington Redskins are thankful they picked up when the Panthers relinquished the franchise tag and let him go.Its difficult to imagine where the Redskins would be a quarter of the way through the season without Norman, whom they signed to a $75 million, five-year deal in April. As injuries have decimated the defense and especially the secondary, Norman is among the NFL leaders in passes defensed and had a key interception against Cleveland to help Washington improve to 2-2.That was the reason we brought him in because hes always around the ball, coach Jay Gruden said. He makes plays. Hes forced fumbles, hes recovered fumbles, and hes got a big interception so far in four games. He makes his presence felt, presence known. Thats why we went out and got him.Norman is proving his value as a shutdown cornerback and will be tested again Sunday against Smith and the Ravens in Baltimore. Whether Norman matches up against Smith or Mike Wallace, the onus is on him to make plays, especially with No. 2 cornerback Bashaud Breeland out for a second consecutive week because of an ankle injury.Smith, now 37, doesnt pay attention to the TV specials or magazine articles that have increased Normans national exposure. But hes noticed the 28-year-olds rise as one of the more imposing defenders in the game.I mean, hes a Pro Bowler. Thats self-explanatory, Smith said. He wasnt a Pro Bowler when he first came on the scene. He was a guy, like every other young guy, trying to figure out which way is up. Hes developed into the player that he is.Norman, an All-Pro who helped get Carolina to the Super Bowl last season with four interceptions, believes hes still developing and adding new skills each season to keep opponents off guard.Smith wont be caught off guard by Norman or vice versa.dddddddddddd. Epic practice matchups in 2012 and 2013 made each player better, as Norman said he learned from their on-field tussles.Every time youre out there is a time to get better, every play, Norman said. Theres not a time to take off because hes going to be hunting to get one up over you, and when he does, hes going to let you know about it. For me, I know Ive just got to be smart and be keen and cunning.Norman has talked the talk against a receiver known for trash-talking as much as he does. Smith said jokingly that the Ravens wouldnt put him up against Norman, a preemptive jab that Norman brushed off because hes relishing the chance to resume this one-on-one rivalry.A lion against a lion, a dog against a dog, a beast against a beast, man, Norman said. His will imposing upon mine and mine imposing upon him and trying to edge out and see who can get the best of each other that day. It was always a trying to steal your food, eat your food, take your dog plate kind of matchup. It was fun and it was definitely challenging. I know what I face when I get him.Opponents know what they face in Norman, whos tied for second in the NFL with nine passes defensed. Quarterback Joe Flacco could look long and hard to the other side and throw at fill-in starter Quinton Dunbar as part of Baltimores plan.Theres a significant number of weeks during the year that you go against a top-level corner like Josh, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. You have to always account for those guys. Those guys are the guys that can turn the game and they do it. You have to try to figure out ways to not let that happen.Game notes In addition to Breeland, CB Dashaun Phillips (hamstring), LB Sua Cravens (concussion) and WR Josh Doctson (Achilles) are out Sunday. ... Doctson wont go on injured reserve yet, Gruden said, even though the first-round pick has been bothered by the sore Achilles tendon since May.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '