Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in

HOUSTON -- Houston defensive end Antonio Smith apologized Monday for using the word "spying" about New England, but didnt exactly back down from the accusations he made after the Texans loss to the Patriots. On Sunday after Houstons 34-31 loss, Smith told reporters that the Texans had some new wrinkles in their defence and it was "miraculous" how the Patriots changed their offence to key on the defence. He said then: "Either teams are spying on us or scouting us. I dont know what it is." On Monday, he said that he thought reporters in Houston knew him well enough to know that he could be joking and still be curious about something like this at the same time. "Im sorry I said the word spying because of a prior engagement of them being caught spying before," he said. The NFL fined New England coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away a first-round pick in the 2008 draft for videotaping New York Jets signals during a game on Sept. 9, 2007. Belichick said he thought that was allowed and apologized for what he said was a mistake in his interpretation of the rule prohibiting it. Belichick was asked on a conference call Monday morning if he saw Smiths comments. "Yeah, I saw them," he said. "I dont have any comment on them. I think thats a league matter." Houston coach Gary Kubiak also was questioned about what Smith said and refused to address them directly. "I have the utmost respect for their organization, their players, their coaches, their head coach and the standard that theyve been setting for a long, long time in this league," he said. "So ... they did a great job yesterday and have been doing it a long time." The loss extended Houstons franchise-record skid to 10 games. The Texans were up 17-7 at halftime before New England rallied for the win. Smith said Monday that he was surprised his comments caused such a stir and wondered why no one had a sense of humour about what he said. "Though it may be something I was curious about that kind of didnt seem right," he said. "Like how all of a sudden the change here? It wasnt a serious matter to where I was thinking: Aw man, theyre spying on us. Theyre cheating. Things like that to the point where it gets to a big story about me accusing them of cheating. Its me being me, being funny." Houston will try to end its skid Thursday night at Jacksonville. Air Max 95 Sale Canada . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. Air Max 95 Cheap Sale . Costa Rica followed up its wins over Uruguay and Italy by holding England to a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday, enough to finish first in Group D. http://www.cheapairmax95canada.com/ . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. Air Max 95 For Sale Canada . Curtis Davies and Robert Koren secured the victory with goals inside 35 minutes of the fifth-round replay against the second-tier side. Cheap Air Max 95 Canada . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U.The Calgary Stampeders have named Bo Levi Mitchell as their starting quarterback to start the 2014 season. Stampeders head coach John Hufnagel made the announcement to the assembled media Monday at McMahon Stadium. Mitchell was battling for playing time with Drew Tate for the starters job. The Stampeders open their 2014 campaign Saturday at home against the Montreal Alouettes. The 24-year-old appeared in 11 games with the Stamps in 2013, splitting the duties under centre with Tate and Kevin Glenn.dddddddddddd With Glenn now a member of the B.C. Lions, it left the two to battle it out to become the first-choice quarterback. In 11 appearances with the Stamps in 2013, Mitchell completed 94 of 135 passes (69.6 per cent) for 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. Tate, 29, appeared in seven games with the Stamps in 2013 completing 59 of 87 passes (67.8 per cent) for five touchdowns and one interception. ' ' '