as UEFA Supercup match against Champions League winner Bayern Munich. ------ MADRID (AP) -- Brazilian recruit Neymar

Three months after House Democrats issued a report concluding that the NFL improperly sought to influence a major government study on football and brain disease, their Republican counterparts called for an independent review into the controversy.In a 21-page letter to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, Republican leaders from the Energy and Commerce Committee requested the review to determine whether proper procedures were followed by officials with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its fundraising arm.The letter suggests that NIH officials engaged representatives from the NFL throughout the process and tried to resolve the conflict by offering a compromise solution -- reinforcing the perception that there was nothing improper about the NFLs actions.The questions and concerns raised by these events are vital to the integrity of research and the grant award decision-making process, concluded the letter, written by Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Tim Murphy and Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania, and Michael Burgess of Texas.In May, Democratic leaders from the committee issued a 91-page report that described a behind-the-scenes campaign by top NFL health officials to strip a $16 million grant from a prominent Boston University researcher who has been critical of the league. The Republican letter provided little new information about the NFLs campaign, but it suggested that the league may have been convinced that its input was welcomed by senior NIH officials who agreed to discuss the matter, in possible violation of NIH regulations.The Democratic report stemmed from interviews with officials at the NIH and the Foundation for the NIH (FNIH) as well as the NFLs top health and safety official. It also cited emails between the parties. The report singled out Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, the co-chair of the NFLs Head, Neck and Spine Committee. Ellenbogen was a co-investigator on a competing grant proposal, which the report said NFL officials tried to convince the NIH to fund. Ellenbogen was a primary example of the conflicts of interest between his role as a researcher and his role as an NFL adviser, according to the report.Ellenbogen, however, was not interviewed by the Democrats, and he denied to the Republicans that he ever had sought to influence the NIH process, as he had previously to Outside the Lines and other media outlets.Ellenbogen, the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington, is the subject of an internal investigation at UW over the findings by the Democrats.The Republican letter said the review was necessary because this controversy has tarnished the reputations of some leading brain trauma experts.We stand by our findings that the NFL improperly attempted to influence NIH on its brain injury research, and that FNIH did not adequately fulfill its role of serving as an intermediary between NIH and the NFL, an Energy and Commerce Democratic Committee spokesperson wrote to Outside the Lines.The controversy stems from a $30 million donation the NFL made to the NIH in 2012. At the time, the league described the grant as unrestricted, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell insisted that the league would let NIH make the decisions on how best to spend the money. The first $12 million of that funding was allocated in 2013 to two groups to study the defining characteristics of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease that has been found in dozens of deceased NFL players and that experts have linked to repetitive head trauma. However, Outside the Lines reported in December that the NFL had backed out of using most of the remaining funds on a $16 million study that had been awarded to Robert Stern, a prominent Boston University researcher.Soon after, the Democratic committee launched its investigation.The league has said that its officials expressed concerns about Stern but that they did so appropriately. And the Republicans letter suggests that if the NFLs actions were inappropriate, the NIH should have addressed that with the league rather than encouraging ongoing discussion.The NFL issued a statement Thursday afternoon repeating prior comments that it had never wavered in its commitment to advance the science and understanding of concussions and that it looked forward to cooperating in a review.Ellenbogen and three other members of the NFLs Head, Neck and Spine Committee issued their own statement, saying they welcome a fair and balanced review and look forward to engaging fully in the process, a courtesy we were not provided by the committees minority staff.The Republican letter comes one day after the NFL announced a $100 million initiative designed to focus on concussion research and technologies to lessen head trauma. Evan Turner Hawks Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Mike Bibby Jersey .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. https://www.thehawkslockerroom.com/Allen-Crabbe-City-Edition-Jersey/ . JOHNS, N. DeAndre Hunter jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Allen Crabbe Hawks Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand.ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Arsenal answered its early season critics with a 3-0 victory at Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Champions League playoff Wednesday. Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud scored in the second half in front of a noisy crowd in Istanbul, plus hostile media and Gunners fans at home after an off-season of failed transfer deals for the cash-rich club. Under-fire manager Arsene Wenger now looks all but certain to lead his team into the Champions League group stage for the 16th straight season after the return match next Tuesday. The winners of the playoff matches earn a spot in the lucrative 32-team group stage. "We could have been a little bit shaky after what happened on Saturday," said Wenger, whose team lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League opener. "So for us it was very important to start on the front foot. That was vital tonight for us and we did it well." Away teams dominated Wednesdays five playoff matches, as Swiss champion Basel won 4-2 in Bulgaria against Ludogorets Razgrad and Austria Vienna won 2-0 at Dinamo Zagreb. Schalke drew 1-1 at home to PAOK Thessaloniki and it was also 1-1 between Steaua Bucharest and Legia Warsaw. All the return legs are played next week. Arsenals neat passing impressed from the start, although Giroud and Ramsey spurned the teams only half-chances before the break. The visitors lost defender Laurent Koscielny to a nasty-looking kick in the face from Fenerbahce forward Pierre Webo, who was booked. Koscielny was left bleeding from an open wound and was taken to a hospital for a checkup after the match. "Its very deep, its very, very deep," Wenger said of Koscielnys wound. Yet Wengers players surged on and defender Gibbs struck in the 51st when connecting with Theo Walcotts slick pass across the goalmouth. Ramseys 22-yard shot in the 64th slipped under Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirels diving grasp, and Walcott earned a penalty by drawing a foul from defender Michal Kadlec. Giroud fired the 77th-minute spot kick decisively to Demirels right, and Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny preserved the clean sheet with excellent late saves. ------ LONDON (AP) -- Branislav Ivanovics second-half header gave Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa onn Wednesday, moments after he avoided a red card in a fiery second match of the Premier League season.dddddddddddd The right back was only booked for elbowing Christian Benteke in the head, and then sent Frank Lampards free kick into the net in the 73rd minute. "This is English football, for some reason the world loves it more than any other league -- one thing is (because of) a real aggression I would call it," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "Another thing is duels that are handled in a certain way and I think the referee did very well. Chelsea fortuitously went in front after seven minutes when the ball inadvertently bounced off Antonio Luna into his own net. Although Chelsea faded, allowing Benteke to level in first-half stoppage time, Villa couldnt find the net again and replicate its surprise victory at Arsenal on Saturday. Instead, Ivanovic ensured Mourinhos second spell at Stamford Bridge has started with back-to-back league wins. "A draw wouldnt have been an unfair result -- they fought a lot," Mourinho said. "They created great difficulties." It was the only Premier League game played Wednesday after the match was moved forward by almost two weeks because of Europa League winner Chelseas UEFA Supercup match against Champions League winner Bayern Munich. ------ MADRID (AP) -- Brazilian recruit Neymar scored his first goal for Barcelona to secure a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday after Lionel Messi left the field injured in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Atleticos David Villa enjoyed the perfect start against his former club by scoring the opening goal in the 12th minute. Villa left Barcelona following the arrival of Neymar in the off-season. Messi was replaced at halftime with a left thigh problem and Neymar went on in the 59th. Just seven minutes later, he headed in the equalizer from a pass by Dani Alves. The 21-year-old Neymar joined the Spanish champions from Brazilian club Santos for 57 million euros in June, the eighth most expensive signing in football history. And after two appearances, both as a substitute as he recovers from anemia, he has his first goal. The return leg will be played at Barcelonas Camp Nou next Wednesday after this weekends league fixtures. ' ' '