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MARSEILLE, France -- The pressure is sharply increasing on Paris Saint-Germain and its coach, Unai Emery, heading into Sundays showdown with French league leader Nice. Michael Deiter Womens Jersey .With Nice already four points ahead, a defeat would further weaken Emerys position.Key players are out of form, the defense is leaking goals, and Emery is struggling to impose his workmanlike methods after joining from Spanish side Sevilla.A 3-0 loss away to Montpellier last weekend was followed by a dismal 2-2 home draw against Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with PSG coming from behind twice to salvage a draw against one of Europes least heralded sides.Hardly the form expected of a side hoping to conquer Europe, having dominated French football for the past two seasons under former coach Laurent Blanc, who was fired in late June.Nice also changed coaches in the summer, but for different reasons and with a hugely positive effect.Swiss coach Lucien Favre replaced Claude Puel, who moved to Premier League club Southampton after finishing in a credible fourth place.Nices defense is well balanced, while its slick midfield of Younes Belhanda, Jean Michael Seri and Wylan Cyprien oozes classy passing.Favre has also relaunched the career of striker Mario Balotelli, following his two dismal seasons with Liverpool and AC Milan, and given talented young striker Alassane Plea the chance to shine.The quick, skillful Plea has nine league goals so far, while Balotelli has six in six games.The powerful Italian forward earned a reputation for his controversial behavior on and off the field, notably when he let off fireworks in his home when he played for Manchester City. But Balotelli has kept his head lately and a good performance against PSG would strengthen his comeback.Favre has gained glowing reviews for adapting quickly to the French league after six seasons with German club Borussia Moenchengladbach.By contrast, the media is coming down hard on Emery.Following the Ludogorets match, in which PSG needed an injury-time equalizer to draw, sports daily LEquipes headline of Appalling summed up the general view.The manner in which PSG conceded goals against Ludogorets and Montpellier was alarming.The Brazilian central defensive pairing of Olympic champion Marquinhos and former Brazil captain Thiago Silva is not working well, with Silva taking on too much responsibility compensating for very basic errors from Marquinhos in terms of marking and concentration.Lynchpin midfielder Thiago Motta -- one of PSGs best players over the past three seasons -- is making unusually sloppy mistakes. The 34-year-old Italy international looks increasingly leg weary.PSG has already lost three league games this season, one more than last term.Despite guiding the club to a second straight domestic treble and winning Ligue 1 by a staggering 31 points, Blanc was fired for failing to get beyond the quarterfinals of the Champions League once again.Emery was chosen by the clubs cash-rich and ambitious Qatari owners because of his three straight Europa League titles with Sevilla.The Spanish coachs Sevilla side was based on intense fitness levels and speedy counterattacking, whereas Blanc favored a more technical, possession-based approach.The transition is proving complex and the only PSG player standing out is Edinson Cavani, with 14 league goals and six in Europe.But that is because Cavani is finally playing in his favored position following Zlatan Ibrahimovics departure, rather than Emerys methods. Jason Taylor Jersey . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Cameron Wake Jersey . 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. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolph...Wilkins-Jersey/ . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. WASHINGTON -- Tommie Smith and John Carlos were proud to raise their gloved fists in a symbolic protest at the Olympics, and now theyre proud that Colin Kaepernick and other athletes are staging national anthem protests to raise awareness about racial inequality and police brutality.The American sprinters who were sent home from the 1968 Mexico City Olympics for what they called a human rights salute say the San Francisco 49ers quarterback and others are right to use their platform in an attempt to affect social change 48 years later.Dont hate the kid because he stood up for something to change, said Smith, who won the gold medal and set a world record in the 200 meters in 1968. He stood up for the right to exercise Amendment 1.Speaking Wednesday at the Team USA Awards, the first U.S. Olympic Committee event theyve been invited to since their protest, Smith says hes backing Kaepernick because his protest is proactive and Carlos says theres no better platform than sports to stand up for something, even if it brings criticism.Protest is a good thing because youre trying to expose certain things through protest, said Carlos, who won the bronze in the 200. Then, when you sit back and say, `Well, I dont know whether its the right place to make statement here or there. In any protest, I think you make a statement to try and reach the far ends of the earth. What better way to do it than if youre in a sport.Several athletes have followed Kaepernick, who sat for the anthem, then modified his protest to kneel during it. Some have raised their fists like Smith and Carlos.Most recently, Nebraska football players Michael Rose-Ivey, Mohamed Baarry and DaiShon Neal kneeled during the anthem before a game at Northwestern, drawing criticism from Nebraskas governor. Dan Marino Jersey. . Rose-Ivey is expected to meet with the governor to discuss the issue next week.It is a sacrifice to deal with anything other than status quo, Smith said. As we know very well.While Smith said its important for athletes to study and understand why theyre protesting and what they want to come out of it, Carlos said backlash is part of the process.Any individual that makes a public statement or a public scene is saying we have issues that we need to deal with and we can no longer stick them under the rug or stick them behind the bus or what have you, Carlos said. By bringing attention to society, for them to be able to determine themselves why it was necessary that we take this thing called racism, violence and prejudice and bury it once and for all.It has taken almost half a century for the USOC to welcome Smith and Carlos back into the fold after being on the outside for breaking the rules. Carlos called their return a rebirth and both men hope they can be ambassadors and a positive influence on young people who werent born when they protested at the Olympics.We never denounced what we stood for, Carlos said. We stood for humanity. At the same time they loved the fact that we had courage. Thats what you need in athletics. For them to come and lower the drawbridge so to speak and welcome us across with open arms, its a beautiful situation. I dont think it gets any better. 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