PITTSBURGH, Pa. - On a defence in the middle of a generational shift, Lawrence Timmons is the constant.The faces that mentored the Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker when he broke into the NFL in 2007 are gone. James Farrior and Larry Foote have been replaced by youngsters Ryan Shazier, Sean Spence and Vince Williams.Now its Timmons who is among the elder statesmen in the meeting room. It is Timmons who is making the defensive calls. It is Timmons who is serving as 6 feet, 1 inch and 234 pounds of duct tape, going wherever is required to fix whatever problem arises.And it is Timmons — at last — who has finally filled the one gaping hole on his resume: Pro Bowler. The 28-year-old earned his first invitation to Hawaii on Wednesday, eight seasons into a steadily spectacular career that is no longer being taken for granted.From Day 1, LT has always worked hard, and you appreciate it, Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward said. And you want someone like that to be rewarded for it. And we were all happy to see Lawrence make it. There are a lot of good linebackers in this league right now, but LT has been one of the centre guys for a long time right now. So, it was long overdue.So much so that Hall of Fame defensive co-ordinator Dick LeBeau long ago developed a stump speech for Timmons, who leads the Steelers (10-5) with a team-high 121 tackles to go with two sacks and an endless stream of quietly sublime plays where his ability to do his job has freed his teammates up to do theirs.In my opinion, he can get out on the field with anybody in the National Football League and play well, LeBeau said. And I think thats what an All-Pro is, and Ive said that repeatedly.Even if Timmons rarely says anything at all. There is a thankless quality that comes with playing inside linebacker for the Steelers, where the outside LBs are the ones who rack up the game-turning sacks and serve as the de facto intimidators, a lineage that stretches from James Harrison to Joey Porter to Greg Lloyd to Jack Ham.Timmons main responsibility is to chase down running backs or drop into coverage. Only occasionally does LeBeau allow Timmons to unleash his freakish speed on a dead sprint to the backfield. Yet theres little doubt Timmons could be among the best pass rushers in the league if let loose. Hes shown flashes while filling in on the outside at times the last few years because of injury, though its always back to the inside whenever there are enough healthy bodies around him.He just does whatever we ask him to do, even though that inside backer position was probably his best position the year that we were strapped outside with some injuries, and he went and played great outside, LeBeau said.While Pittsburghs defence is no longer the force it was a few years ago, the Steelers have improved steadily against the run since early in the season. They are one of six teams to allow fewer than 100 yards rushing on average and are 6-0 in their last six games when opponents fail to reach 100 yards on the ground.The improvement has as much to do with Timmons role in helping the young guys around him figure out what theyre supposed to be doing as it does his textbook tackling. Consider the next four inside linebackers behind Timmons on the depth chart — Shazier, Williams, Spence and Arthur Moats — began the season with five years of NFL experience combined.Hes somebody you turn to, said Spence, who is playing regularly for the first time after missing 2012 and 2013 with a devastating knee injury. Hes so productive and he knows whats expected here. You ask him a question and he always knows the answer.And he knows how to prioritize. In typical fashion, he downplayed the biggest individual achievement of his career. And given a choice, Timmons hopes hes busy playing for a seventh Steelers title instead of hanging out in paradise.Ill take the Super Bowl, Timmons said with a smile.___Freelance writer Dale Grdnic in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Rollie Fingers Jersey .Y. - Carey Price had an early feeling that one goal might be enough to settle the latest matchup between his Montreal Canadiens and longtime Original Six foe, the New York Rangers. Cheap Dave Winfield Jersey . "There are a lot of things that are going very well in this organization. Im not coming in here to rip things apart," Nicholson told reporters Friday. "I know what Hockey Canada was when I started, and I know where this (Oilers) organization is today. http://www.cheappadresjerseys.com/. Harrison Barnes had 15 points and Reggie Bullock scored 11 for the Tar Heels (17-3, 4-1 ACC), who took the court for the first time without starter Dexter Strickland. The junior guard tore his right ACL last Thursday at Virginia Tech and will miss the rest of the season. Cheap Padres Jerseys China . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . -- Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:39 left in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Thursday night.NEW YORK -- Ruben Tejada singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning, Curtis Granderson hit a tying homer in the eighth and the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Monday night. David Wright went deep early, Travis dArnaud had an RBI double and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched seven shutout innings for the Mets, who have won three of four. They took the opener of a four-game series after getting swept by the NL East leaders in Atlanta last week. New York nemesis Freddie Freeman had three hits and a walk for the Braves, who won nine in a row before Sundays 3-1 loss to Arizona. Andrelton Simmons singled twice for his sixth straight multihit game. Carlos Torres (4-4) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Mike Minor allowed only two hits in seven innings on a 91-degree night, an encouraging outing for the Atlanta left-hander after he had a 5.21 ERA in his previous eight starts. He was in line for his first win since May 19 before Granderson connected off lefty Luis Avilan with two outs in the eighth to tie it at 3. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was ejected in the bottom of the ninth for arguing a call that was overturned on replay. After much discussion, Eric Campbell was ruled safe at second when replays showed Simmons came off the bag too soon as he took a throw and relayed to first. Shae Simmons pitched out of the jam for Atlanta. Juan Lagares doubled off Anthony Varvaro (3-2) with one out in the 11th, and Lucas Duda was intentionally walked before Lagares went to third on dArnauds long fly to centre. Tejada lined the next pitch up the middle and tossed his helmet aside after rounding first. His jubilant teammates chased him down to celebrate in shallow centre field. Matsuzaka was lifted after 100 pitches, a move that backfired on manager Terry Collins when Atlanta rallied for three runs with two outs in the eighth. Freemman doubled off Vic Black with one out and scored from third when reliever Josh Edgins first pitch sailed just over Jason Heywards head.dddddddddddd The ball kicked hard off the backstop and caromed up the third base line, allowing Freeman to come home easily on the wild pitch. Heyward then singled to centre, ending an impressive streak for Edgin. He had retired his first hitter in all 23 outings -- a club record to start a season. Collins went to closer Jenrry Mejia, and Chris Johnson doubled off the top of the centre-field fence to tie it 2-all. After an intentional walk to Tommy La Stella, fellow rookie Christian Bethancourt punched a go-ahead single to right. New Yorks improving bullpen had a 1.97 ERA in the previous 21 games. NOTES: It appears Braves RHP Julio Teheran wont get to pitch in his first trip to the All-Star game. Teheran is scheduled to start Tuesday night at Citi Field and then Sunday at the Chicago Cubs, two days before the July 15 showcase in Minnesota. He will likely be replaced on the active NL roster by a fresh arm. ... Teheran is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four career starts against the Mets. ... Freeman batted .407 with 18 RBIs in his previous 15 games against Mets. ... Atlanta C Evan Gattis (bulging thoracic disk) probably wont be ready to come off the 15-day DL right after the All-Star break, Gonzalez said. ... Mets RHP Dillon Gee (strained right lat) will be limited to 90-95 pitches when he comes off the disabled list Wednesday night, Collins said. Gee will start in place of LHP Jonathon Niese, put on the 15-day DL last weekend with a left shoulder strain. ... Collins and GM Sandy Alderson called 2B Daniel Murphy into the office Sunday to tell him he made the All-Star team. "He thought he got traded," Collins said, drawing chuckles. ... New York wore camouflage caps and jerseys as part of its Military Mondays theme. 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