or more yards on the same day for the first time in NFL histo

No one in the Socceroos camp is playing down the threat of Iraq in Thursday nights World Cup qualifier.Not when the prize is so great, and the margin for error so fine.The Socceroos are assembling in Perth before Thursday nights clash, which begins the final group stage on the long road to Russia.Alex Gersbach will complete the 23-man squad when he arrives on Tuesday night, with fellow left-back Brad Smith predicting a very difficult challenge.Once hes in well do team meetings and video sessions on what we need to work on and how we can take them down to get the win, he said.The first game is very important to get under way and get a good result.Itll be one of the tougher games in the group so we need to make sure were ready.Iraq were Asian Cup semi-finalists in 2015, the tournament won by the Socceroos on home soil.In the visiting squad is former A-League player Ali Abbas, as well as another familiar face to two Socceroos.Yaser Karim, a dangerous attacking midfielder, is a former teammate of Smith and Massimo Luongo at English club Swindon Town.Bizarrely, Iraq are the more settled nation in Western Australia.The bulk of the Lions side arrived well before the almost solely overseas-based Socceroos and drew a behind-closed-doors friendly with Perth Glory 2-2 last week.Luongo enjoyed just a few hours sleep after arriving in Perth early on Tuesday morning.He said his club manager - Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Queens Park Rangers - quietly suggested staying in London might be easier.I dont think many club managers like the idea of international duty. He does give a few little hints that he wants me to stay, he said.Its a big thing for me.All my focus is on the Australian team and getting over what jet lag I have.Smith, who will win a 10th cap if he plays on Thursday, said finding the motivation for intercontinental travel was easy when the lure was playing in a World Cup.Thatd be the best thing, the best thing in my career, he said.Its what you dream of as a boy ... we have a very good squad and we can do it.Two sides from the six-team qualifying group - containing Australia, Japan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Thailand - are guaranteed a place in Russia. Detroit Tigers Pro Shop . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Cheap Tigers Jerseys . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ .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. Tigers Jerseys China . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Tigers Jerseys 2019 . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. The NFL is down to one unbeaten team and, just as everyone expected after Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater were injured, its the Minnesota Vikings.Seriously? Yes, somehow, despite losing the 2012 MVP for at least several weeks and a starting quarterback for the entire season, not to mention putting their best offensive lineman (Matt Kalil) on injured reserve and missing their best receiver (Stefon Diggs) this week, Minnesota is 5-0 as it heads into its bye.Thats been the greatest thing about this team so far -- just its resiliency, quarterback Sam Bradford said. Weve overcome a lot of hurdles, some adversity early in the year. ... Weve had a lot of guys answer the call.And so the Vikings are atop the NFL with the season roughly a third of the way through.Not the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, who absorbed their first loss Sunday.Not the Philadelphia Eagles, who also lost for the first time this week.Certainly not the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers, who won only one of their first four games and lost Cam Newton to a concussion in the process.And not the New England Patriots (more on them later).The main reason, to be sure, for Minnesotas success is its tremendously good defense, chock full of talented players such as Xavier Rhodes, Eric Kendricks and Harrison Smith and overseen by head coach Mike Zimmer. That unit held the Houston Texans to 214 net yards in Minnesotas 31-13 victory Sunday.But plenty of credit needs to go to Bradford, who has thrown for six TDs and zero interceptions.He deserves an apology from everyone who mocked the Vikings for shipping a first-round draft choice (plus another pick) to the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire him.Only two clubs in the past 83 years started 5-0 without giving up an interception, and Minnesota is one of them.Were not satisfied, Bradford said. Obviously its early in the year. We havent accomplished anything yet.In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL seasons fifth Sunday:BRADYS BACK: You may or may not have heard about a certain Patriots QBs four-game Deflategate suspension. Tom Brady returned to action and looked as good as ever, throwing for 406 yards, three TDs and zero interceptions in a 33-113 win against the hapless and winless Cleveland Browns.dddddddddddd Brady showed what he can do with a pair of terrific tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and new teammate Martellus Bennett, who combined for 11 catches, 176 yards and 3 TDs (the scoring passes all went to Bennett). Hey, Tom, good to be back? Ready to take your anger at Commissioner Roger Goodell out on every opponent? It felt very much like a normal week for me, Brady said. Bill Belichick must be proud of that answer.BAD NEWS CHARGERS: San Diego keeps finding new ways to lose close games. This time, it was a bobbled snap on a 36-yard field-goal try that could have tied the game late in a 34-31 defeat at Oakland. A TV camera caught San Diego QB Philip Rivers on the sideline saying what appeared to be the phrase Bad News Bears. San Diego is 1-4, with the losses by a combined 14 points. Coach Mike McCoys job cant be all that safe, can it?SPECIAL AND NOT-SO-SPECIAL: There were three punt returns for TDs of 74 or more yards on the same day for the first time in NFL history: Washingtons Jamison Crowder went 85 for a score, Minnesotas Marcus Sherels went 79, and Miamis Jakeem Grant went 74. There was some awful special teams play, too. In addition to the Chargers blunder, there were flubbed fake kicks by the Ravens, Rams and Steelers.DALLAS DUO: As much as the Cowboys might say Tony Romos job is his to keep when he returns from his latest back injury, it sure seems itll be tough to bench Dak Prescott. Dallas is 4-1 after beating Cincinnati 28-14 as Prescott threw for 227 yards and a score; he has yet to throw a pick. The Cowboys are the first team in NFL history with a rookie QB with 1,000 yards passing and a rookie RB (Ezekiel Elliott) with 500 yards rushing after five games. Elliott has three consecutive 130-yards-rushing outings, equaling Emmitt Smiths club record, and his total of 546 on the ground so far is higher than 23 teams have.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '