ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions are alone in first place, and their top competitors in the NFC North have been floundering.Its an opportunity for the Lions to win their first division title since 1993 -- but their outlook could change awfully quickly if the next few weeks go badly.Confidence is building, but one thing we know about the league is, it will humble you, defensive lineman Kerry Hyder said.The Lions play three of their next four games on the road, starting this weekend at New Orleans. With road games against the New York Giants and Dallas also coming up, there are plenty of potential pitfalls awaiting a Detroit team that is in this position only because of its success in close games.The Lions (7-4) havent had a game decided by more than seven points all season. Theyve won enough of them to take a one-game lead over Minnesota in the division, and Detroit has the tiebreaker over the Vikings after sweeping them. But the Lions have room for improvement in all phases.Like anything else in our system, we can get better, coach Jim Caldwell said. We can get better defensively. We can get better offensively. We can get better in our kicking game.Detroit has had its share of chances recently to end its division title drought. In 2011, the Lions won their first five games, but they finished 10-6, well behind Green Bay. In 2013, the Lions were 6-3 and in sole possession of first place. The Packers were dealing with major injury problems, but Detroit lost six of its last seven games, costing coach Jim Schwartz his job.The following season, the Lions went 11-5 but lost a showdown at Green Bay in a regular-season finale that decided the division.Detroit has won six of its last seven after beating Minnesota on Thanksgiving , and the Vikings have dropped five of six. Green Bay is below .500. If the Lions win two of their remaining five games, that might be enough to keep them in first place. They have home games against Chicago and Green Bay still to come.The road games will be tough, though, starting with Sunday at New Orleans.Obviously Drew (Brees) has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league for a long time, pretty prolific. Those guys have been together, Caldwell said. Hes been in the same system.The Saints (5-6) arent in great shape in the playoff race, but unlike Minnesota, New Orleans has been playing fairly well lately . The Saints have won five of eight since an 0-3 start.New Orleans has scored at least 32 points in six of its 11 games. Detroit has reached that total only once.They have a powerful offense, Hyder said. They can run the ball well, they can throw the ball deep well. As a defense, weve got to bring our lunch pails.Game notes TE Brandon Pettigrew, who tore his left anterior cruciate ligament late last year and hasnt played at all this season, spoke for a bit in the locker room Monday. He did not rule out the possibility of returning this weekend. Well see where it goes. Im not going to say for certain, he said. ... The Lions signed TE Logan Thomas to the practice squad and released LB Brandon Chubb from the practice squad.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Cheap Air Jordan 4 Canada Sale . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Air Jordan 4 Canada Free Shipping .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. http://www.airjordan4canada.com/ . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Wholesale Air Jordan 4 Canada . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Air Jordan 4 Canada Sale .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. MILWAUKEE -- One big swing released a little frustration for Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer.After an intentional walk loaded the bases for him with two outs in the sixth inning, Mercer hit his first career grand slam just over the wall in left-center to help the Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 Friday night.Puts a little chip on your shoulder, for sure, Mercer said.With runners on second and third with two outs, starter Matt Garza walked Francisco Cervelli to bring up the eighth-place hitter, Mercer.Garza got ahead in the count 0-2. Then he hung a pitch over the plate.I floated a slider in there, he said.He didnt get help from third baseman Jonathan Villar that inning. He committed errors on consecutive at-bats to open the sixth.Villar bobbled a bouncer by Andrew McCutchen, then threw wildly to second after making a diving stab on Gregory Polancos hard shot.Starling Marte followed with an RBI double off Garza (4-6) to break a scoreless tie. Three batters later, Mercer connected.You take advantage of those opportunities, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. In the big leagues, if you want to be an elite team, those are opportunities you need to cash in on.The Brewers rallied in the bottom of the sixth behind a three-run shot from rookie shortstop Orlando Arcia, his first in the big leagues.Pittsburghs problematic bullpen barely held on from there to back starter Ryan Vogelsong (3-3).NERVOUS NINTHDomingo Santana popped out to end the game with the potential tying run at second.Tony Watson escaped the jam for his ninth save. He had allowed a two-out single to Ryan Braun and a walk to Chris Carter, and they pulled off a double steal before getting stranded.The game boiled down to a couple of mistakes, a bad 0-2 pitch and that was the game, manager Craig Counsell said.MOUND MENA pair of veteran right-handers, Vogelsong and Garza, kept the bats quiet over the first five innings.VVogelsong won for the second time in three outings, allowing four hits in 5 2/3 innings while striking out six and walking four.dddddddddddd He has a 2.48 ERA in five August starts.Ive always been a guy that gets out of stuff, sometimes better than others, Vogelsong said. Most of the time, get some traffic and make pitches and get out of it.Garza struck out a season-high nine, but stomped off the mound after Mercers two-out blast.Thats a tough one to swallow for him over there, Hurdle said.ORLANDO BLOOMSVillar was the Brewers starting shortstop until a few weeks ago when top prospect Arcia was called up from the minors. Villar, who has 50 steals, is still working on the glove at third.Arcia, known for his defensive prowess, got a huge confidence boost at the plate. He was hitting .182 coming into the night.He pointed into the stands after crossing the plate. Somewhere in Miller Park, his sister and two friends were watching.Arcia said teammate Martin Maldonado, who was on deck, told him to watch for Jared Hughes to leave a sinker up in the zone.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) was scheduled to make his next rehab start on Saturday for Triple-A Indianapolis.Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra (elbow) was scheduled to make on rehab start before returning to the team, likely when rosters expand on Sept. 1. Counsell said the team will likely move to a six-man rotation when Guerra returns. ... 3B Will Middlebrooks (right leg) will start a rehab assignment at Double-A Biloxi this week.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (3-3) has a 2.25 ERA over his last eight starts, going at least six innings in each game.Brewers: RHP Jimmy Nelson (7-13) is 5-2 in seven career starts against the Pirates with a 2.55 ERA.---Follow Genaro Armas at: https://twitter.com/GArmasAP ' ' '