Welterweight world titleholder Danny Garcia, idle since winning a vacant 147-pound title on Jan. 23, will make his first defense on Nov. 12 in his hometown of Philadelphia, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the plans.Garcia does not yet have a set opponent, but the bout, which will headline a Premier Boxing Champions card on Spike, will be held at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University. A news conference is being planned for next week to announce the event, one of the sources said.Garcia has not fought in Philadelphia since 2010 and will be fighting in his hometown for only the fourth time in his career, which began in 2007. He has fought once previously at the Liacouras Center, notching a second-round knockout of Enrique Colon in 2009 on the undercard of Philadelphia legend Bernard Hopkins lopsided, 12-round decision against Enrique Ornelas.Garcia (32-0, 18 KOs), 28, the former unified junior welterweight world champion, vacated his title and moved up to welterweight last year. In January, he won a unanimous decision -- 116-112 on all three scorecards -- against Robert Guerrero to win the welterweight title belt that Floyd Mayweather vacated upon his retirement in September 2015.A victory by Garcia next month could lead to a unification fight with titleholder Keith Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs) in early 2017. That is one of the more attractive bouts in the deep weight class and figures to be somewhat easy to make, since Garcia and Thurman are both managed by PBC creator Al Haymon. . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. DAVIE, Fla. -- Hes 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds, yet easy to overlook.Ndamukong Suh plays tackle but seldom makes one because hes almost always double-teamed, engaged in a scrum in the middle of each play that often determines how well it works.And while the performance of the Miami Dolphins $114 million man can be difficult to assess, hes disinclined to help.I havent graded it, and probably wont until the end of the season, Suh said Tuesday. Its not important to make a grade midway through the year. Its about what you can do each and every week, and finding ways to help this team win.That he has done the past two games, as the Dolphins (3-4) come off their bye week and prepare to face the New York Jets.Coaches and teammates cite Suh as a big reason for the teams improvement.Suh has played well all year, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. Hes doubled by a lineman every play, but he is disruptive in there, especially on pass downs. He can push the pocket. He can be special, but its tough to be special every play being doubled.With four-time Pro Bowler Suh leading the way, the defensive front -- which was expected to be the strength of the team -- has been better of late.The Dolphins still rank third-worst in the NFL against the run, and theyre tied for 18th in sacks. But in victories over the Steelers and Bills in the past two games, Miami was the more physical team on both defense and offense.Jay Ajayi topped 200 yards rushing in each game , which helped Miami control the ball. And the front four looked fresh even in the fourth quarter.We have the ability to make a lot of plays, Suh said. Thats what we want to go out there and do.Ends Cameron Wake and Mario Williams, four-time Pro Bowlers, made more big plays in the past two games, as did end Andre Branch.Credit Suh, Branch said.It makes it way easier, because hes the main focus of the offense, Branch said.dddddddddddd He has been playing at a high level for a long, long time. Hes going to take up blocks, and as a D-line we just have to do our job, and well make the plays.Actually, there were doubts about the level of Suhs play last season, his first with Miami after he signed a six-year contract that was a record for a defensive player.The Dolphins won only six games and finished sixth-worst in rushing defense. For the first time since 2011, Suh failed to make the Pro Bowl.This season is trending in a more positive direction, and while Suh clogs things up in the middle, hes also making more big plays. He leads the team with 3+ sacks and nine quarterback hurries, and is tied for the lead with four tackles for a loss.Thats impressive for any position, and especially at tackle. Since Suh entered the NFL in 2010, hes second in sacks among tackles with 45+, behind only Geno Atkins 46+.Suh leads all tackles during that span with 45+ stuffs, which are tackles behind the line on rushing plays. And he has been durable, missing only two games in his career.Coach Adam Gase said Suhs game-to-game consistency has been unbelievable, and his productivity unique.It has been pretty consistent with what he has done over his career, Gase said. When you have a guy who plays the position he plays, and gets double- and triple-teamed as much as he does, and still somehow finds a way to get through, it says a lot about him.---AP NFL website:
www.pro32.ap.org and
http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at
http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine ' ' '
