side today, certainly 16, 18, are really tough holes," Kuchar

LATROBE, Pa. - LeVeon Bell kept watching the tape over and over, equal parts pleased and puzzled by what he saw. There were times during his rookie season when the Pittsburgh Steelers running back would place his hand on an offensive linemans back and wait patiently for the hole to open. Sometimes, one would appear. Sometimes it wouldnt, mainly because whatever sliver of daylight existed had already been swallowed by darkness while Bell was still trying to read the blocks in front of him. Guess which plays kept eating away at him during the off-season? Not the ones that turned into one of his eight rushing touchdowns during a record-breaking year he grudgingly gives a "C-plus." "At the time, I thought I was doing pretty good," Bell said. "Then when I started breaking it down, I realized I wasnt doing what I thought I could." So Bell spent the spring focusing on his footwork to avoid the mincing steps that hes certain cost him valuable yardage a year ago. His Instagram feed is peppered with video of the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Bell doing his best "Dancing With the Stars" impersonation. During one he jabs his way through four octagons, does a pair of 360-degree spins around yellow cones then nimbly races over rope placed about 6 inches off the ground. The goal is to avoid outstretched hands from fallen defenders while also developing a more aggressive style. "Its definitely going to help me with my burst and my explosion coming out of cuts," Blount said. It might be the one thing that was missing during an otherwise productive 2013 in which his 1,259 all-purpose yards broke the club rookie record set by Hall of Famer Franco Harris more than 40 years ago. Bell proved to be a workhorse after missing the first three weeks with a foot injury, averaging more than 22 touches in 13 games. Problem is, too often those touches didnt go anywhere. His 3.5 yards per carry ranked 38th in the league. Part of the blame goes to an injury-ravaged offensive line that didnt really find its footing until late in the season. Yet Bell allows he also missed plenty of opportunities to make something happen because he waited too long to get going. "If I could have got my feet down quicker, I could have gotten a lot more yards," he said. "When its third-and-1, youve got to go get it. If its a first-and-10 run, take your time run, let the play develop and get what you can. " The Steelers will be asking for more from Bell in 2014 in hopes of taking some of the pressure off quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh hasnt had a 1,000-yard rusher since Rashard Mendenhall ran for 1,273 yards in 2010 while helping the franchise to its eighth Super Bowl. The past three seasons have seen a steady decline in production on the ground. The Steelers finished tied for 27th in yards rushing last year, a number they believe needs to go up. Though Roethlisberger expects to be more effective while expanding the shotgun-heavy no huddle offence that worked so well during a 6-2 finish to 2013, Bell knows some of that production needs to come when the quarterback takes the snap, turns to Bell and gets out of the way. "I think this year is going to be more open," Bell said. "Guys are going to be doing more different things. I cant wait to see what this offence can do." Even if he finds himself watching from the sideline. Bell became firmly entrenched as the starter a year ago as Jonathan Dwyer, Isaac Redman and Felix Jones struggled to stay healthy or productive. Hes still atop the depth chart, but hell be pushed by free agent signee LeGarrette Blount. The Steelers signed the burly Blount to a one-year contract during the spring after Blount ran for 772 yards (and a whopping 5.0 average) for the Patriots last year. Bell insists hes not looking over his shoulder. "I love coming in and competing, getting my work in," he said. "Last year for the Patriots I felt like (Blount) was the best runner over there watching on film. Im glad we got him, Im not arguing over it ... hes a guy that is going to help us win." Shoes Wholesale Online Store . "If we only consider this season," Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, "there is just one club in Manchester -- and its ours. Cheap Clearance Shoes Online . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. http://www.shoeswholesale.us/ . - Doug Kalitta led Top Fuel qualifying Friday in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway with a 3. Wholesale Cheap Shoes China . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were second with 77.01 points, just behind Olympic bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The four-time world champs lead at 79. Shoes Wholesale China Free Shipping . For the Miami Heat, that was outstanding news. LeBron James scored the last of his 32 points on a layup that put Miami up for good with 11. MELBOURNE, Australia -- Representing the United States for the first time and making his first trip to Australia, Kevin Streelman wasnt over-awed by a tough Royal Melbourne golf course on Thursday. Streelman birdied five of the first six holes on the back nine before making bogey on two of the final three to share the first round lead at the World Cup with Thomas Bjorn at 5-under 66. K.J. Choi, Martin Laird and Stuart Manley were tied for third at 67, and Jason Day (68) was sixth place, two strokes behind the leaders. Another American, Matt Kuchar, shot 71 after four bogeys on the back nine. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is the top Canadian after the first round. Hes in a tie for ninth at 1-under 70. Ottawas Brad Fritsch opened at even 71. The Americans and Denmark were tied for the team lead, three strokes ahead of Portugal. Traditionally a team event, an individual stroke-play competition was added to the tournament this year to mirror the format to be used at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Only 12 of the 60 players in the no-cut field broke par. "I made some good birdie putts today and some par saves as well, so pretty happy," Streelman said. "On 18, the wind tricked us a little bit and it floated me on a hair and it came down in the middle of that bunker and plugged pretty deep. I had no shot. Its going to happen out here, you expect it." Bjorn had a poor start to his day, four-putting the fourth hole. "I thought, Well, this could be a long day, but I just kind of kept my composuure and made some good birdies and kept playing solid," the Dane said.dddddddddddd"It is, in my eyes, probably the finest golf course you can ever play." Kuchar said he wasnt disappointed with his score. He bogeyed 18, a hole he double-bogeyed at the Australian Masters on Sunday to give Adam Scott as two-stroke win. "The back side today, certainly 16, 18, are really tough holes," Kuchar said. "I was not able to finish those off as well as I would like to have today, but even par is not a bad score." Scott, who won the Australian PGA before his Australian Masters victory, had a quintuple-bogey 9 on the 12th hole and shot 75. Trying to drive over a dog-leg with his tee shot, Scott hit his first ball on the par-4, 440-yard 12th into the bushes in the right rough, then hit a provisional in the same area. He didnt find his first ball and his second was unplayable, so he returned to the tee and hit his fifth shot. Scott hit through the green on his approach, got on the green for seven and two-putted for nine. "Just a couple of lazy swings and I paid the price," Scott said. "Just away with the fairies on that hole. When you play good tracks like this you need to be switched on at all times and I paid the price." The system being used to determine the entries at the World Cup -- world golf rankings and the number of players eligible from each country based on those rankings -- will be used at the Rio Games when golf returns to the Olympic program in 2016. ' ' '