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ROME -- Having signed Gonzalo Higuain in the most expensive transfer in Italian football history, it seems a foregone conclusion that Juventus will win a record sixth consecutive Serie A title.With the Milan clubs still forming new identities amid ownership -- and coaching -- changes, Juventus is chasing history.Since Serie A was founded in 1929, no club has won more than five straight titles.Torino won five consecutive titles from 1943-49 (including a season that was canceled due to World War II), Inter Milan took five straight from 2006-10 and Juventus claimed a handful from 1931-35 before its current streak.Weve done so much as a team but there is still much more to achieve, Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon said ahead of his teams season-opener at home to Fiorentina on Saturday. This club teaches you to never rest on your laurels. There are plenty of lessons to be learned from last season so we can avoid making the same mistakes again.Last season, Juventus won just one of its opening six matches before surging up the table as it overcame the departures of Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal.While there have also been key departures this offseason -- Paul Pogba returning to Manchester United and Alvaro Morata back to Real Madrid -- they have been overshadowed by the arrivals of Higuain and several other top players.Higuain transferred from rival Napoli for 90 million euros ($99 million) after scoring 36 goals last season to break a 66-year-old Serie A record for goals in a single season.Other signings include playmaker Miralem Pjanic from Roma, winger Dani Alves from Barcelona and defender Medhi Benatia from Bayern Munich.These are guys that are used to shining on the big stage and carrying themselves in a way befitting of top players, Buffon said. The important thing in the coming weeks is that we gel together as a group and bed in the new boys as quickly as possible. We can only confirm the notion that we are favorites by demonstrating it on the pitch.Here are a few other things to know about the Italian league:---THE CHALLENGERS: Such is Juventus dominance that last seasons runner-up Napoli, Roma and Inter are each considered challengers for second place, while AC Milan could be in for another difficult season under yet another new coach, Vincenzo Montella.Napoli will need to overcome the psychological blow of losing Higuain to Juventus. The Argentines departure opens the center forward position to Manolo Gabbiadini, who has been a reliable backup, but club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is under pressure to use the windfall from Higuains sale to recruit another top striker.Luciano Spalletti has a chance to put his stamp on Roma after taking over as coach from Rudi Garcia midway through last season. Roma lost just once under Spalletti last season but then lost perhaps its best player, Pjanic, to Juventus. The defense, often a weak point last season, is reinforced with the arrivals of Juan Jesus from Inter, Thomas Vermaelen from Barcelona and fullback Bruno Peres from Torino. Captain Francesco Totti is entering his 25th and likely final season with Roma.Inters preparations were slowed by the departure of Roberto Mancini less than two weeks before the start of the season amid a reported lack of communication with the clubs new owners, the Chinese retail giant Suning. New manager Frank de Boer, however, can count on consistent scorer Mauro Icardi and the arrival of solid midfielders Antonio Candreva from Lazio and Ever Banega from Sevilla.---OPENING WEEKEND: The season kicks off Saturday with Roma hosting Udinese and Juventus facing Fiorentina.On Sunday, its: AC Milan vs. Torino; Atalanta vs. Lazio; Bologna vs. Crotone; Chievo Verona vs. Inter Milan; Empoli vs. Sampdoria; Genoa vs. Cagliari; Palermo vs. Sassuolo; and Pescara vs. Napoli.---PROMOTED CLUBS: Calabrian club Crotone could have a difficult debut in Serie A. With its Ezio Scida stadium undergoing renovations and expansions, the team will have to play its opening home matches 600 kilometers (373 miles) away in Pescara.Pescara is also back in the top division, for the first time since 2013.Of the bunch, Serie B champion Cagliari has the best chance to stay up following the arrivals of former Italy international Marco Borriello and fullback Simone Padoin from Juventus.---VIDEO REPLAYS: Serie A is one of seven leagues selected for a trial of video assistance for referees this season.However, the technology wont have any impact on matches yet.The tests will be conducted on two matches per round but results will not be made public.If the tests go well, the replay system could be used for real in next seasons Italian Cup.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf Los Angeles Lakers Shirts .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Lakers Jerseys 2019 . 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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Eric Kendricks had an up-and-down rookie year for Minnesota, learning on the job as the starter at middle linebacker, and a hamstring injury during training camp kept him out of all four preseason games last month.The growth process has only begun for Kendricks, playing a vital position in coach Mike Zimmers complex defense. Mistakes were made in the opener on Sunday at Tennessee, to be sure.The sign of his potential, though, was as clear as ever on one game-changing play by an instinctual, athletic player.With Everson Griffen pressuring Marcus Mariota, the Titans quarterback made a quick throw to wide receiver Harry Douglas that Kendricks leaped to intercept and return 77 yards for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 12-10 lead with 1:24 left in the third quarter. That was one of two scores by the defense in the 25-16 victory .Turnovers are big, man, Griffen said. If you can get two touchdowns like that a game by the defense, its going to be hard to get beat.Mariota faked an inside handoff on that play and shuffled back into the pocket, but Griffen wasnt fooled. The rush prompted a hurried pass by Mariota, who didnt see Kendricks moving to his right to dart in front of Douglas and undercut the route.The kid is amazing, Griffen said, and weve got a lot of players like that who can do that anytime.The key for Kendricks was reading Griffens rush, which told him pass and not run.I knew he was either going to get sacked or throw it, Kendricks said.The soft-spoken Kendricks, who was drafted in the second round last year out of UCLA, was a reluctant participant in the large-group conversation with reporters in the locker room on Monday about his highlight-reel play.I think we just know what we expect on defense, Kendricks said. We have a standard, and we just want to meet it.That was his first career interception, a feat he apparently told his mother he was aiming for in a text-message conversation prrior to the game .ddddddddddddKendricks posted a screen shot of the message thread on his Instagram account, showing his response to moms initial encouragement for him to sack Mariota for her. After he wrote he wanted the interception, she even upped the ante to the touchdown.Kendricks was credited by Vikings coaches with seven tackles, including one for loss, in the game. He was one of five defensive players who never left the field, facing all 67 snaps by the Titans.I still have so much to improve on. Last game, I wasnt perfect by any means, and I made a lot of mistakes, Kendricks said. Im just trying to correct that this week in practice and work from there.Zimmer, naturally, agreed.There were some things that he was out of place. He was seeing ghosts a little bit a couple times, and really, all of our guys were at times, especially in the first half, Zimmer said. I think we settled down. We got under control. We figured it out.Early in training camp, before Kendricks was hurt, Zimmer praised Kendricks for his improvement.Last year, it was like he had too much coffee to drink, the coach said. Now hes settled down. I think he feels really comfortable.Game notes Kendricks became the eighth winner of the NFC Player of the Week award under Zimmer, who has started his third season. Five have been on defense and three have been on special teams. ... The Vikings held four players, including three starters, out of practice Wednesday: DT Sharrif Floyd (knee), CB Xavier Rhodes (knee), TE MyCole Pruitt (knee) and LT Matt Kalil (hip). Rhodes and Pruitt missed the first game, with Trae Waynes starting in place of Rhodes. Floyd and Kalil were hampered throughout training camp with their injuries.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '