PHILADELPHIA -- Carson Wentz is the rookie version of his favorite player.The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback grew up rooting for Brett Favre.Now, hes throwing more passes than even the Ol Gunslinger.Wentz has 498 pass attempts and hes on pace to break Donovan McNabbs team record of 571 attempts in a season. If he throws 130 more passes in the final three games, Wentz will break Andrew Lucks rookie record of 627 in 2012.Favre never fired away that many times in a season -- 613 was his high.I guess its hard to say that I expected to throw this much, but its just kind of the way games have gone, Wentz said. By no means am I complaining about it.The Eagles had more success when they ran more and Wentz threw less. They were 4-2 in the first six games when Wentz averaged 30.8 passes per game and 1-6 in the past seven when hes averaged 44.7.Playing catch-up often means having to pass more, but that hasnt been the case each week. Coach Doug Pederson called 51 passes and only 24 runs in last Sundays 27-22 loss to Washington , even though the score was close throughout and the Eagles led in the fourth quarter.You never want to ask your rookie quarterback to throw the ball 60 times and then 46 times like he did. Its usually a recipe for disaster, Pederson said.Have we asked a lot of him? Yeah, we have, and hes handled it extremely well. Its just making him a better quarterback for not only the rest of the season, but for the future.Wentz had no interceptions in his first three games when he tossed 102 passes. The Eagles won all three. He threw his first pick on his 135th attempt -- the final pass in a 24-23 loss to Detroit in his fourth game -- and has 12 interceptions total.While Philadelphia (5-8) plays out the string, Wentz has gained valuable experience during a rebuilding season. All those pass attempts should help him down the road.Theres no doubt that Carson is seeing a lot, offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. Hes seeing every kind of pressure, every kind of coverage. Hes figuring out what throws he can make, what throws he cant make, how he can improve here. Those are all good things that I think are going to help him in the long run.Wentz faces the NFLs fourth-ranked defense on Sunday when the Eagles visit Baltimore (7-6). The Ravens were No. 1 before Tom Brady and the Patriots racked up 496 yards in a 30-23 win on Monday night .Across the sideline is another small-school quarterback who had the kind of success Wentz strives to achieve. Joe Flacco, who grew up rooting for the Eagles in nearby southern New Jersey, played college ball at Delaware.The Ravens drafted him 18th overall in 2008 and he helped them reach the playoffs as a rookie. Of course, Baltimore had Ray Lewis and a great defense. Flacco then led the Ravens to a Super Bowl title four years later.Having a guy thats come from that level and to go in the way he did and have the success early, I think it just made people believe that it could be done again, said Wentz, who guided North Dakota State to consecutive FCS championships.I think he set the bar -- set the standard for that, at least in recent times. I think it was huge that teams could go and look at him as an example.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP-RobMaaddi Buy Vans Old Skool Australia . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Vans Old Skool Australia . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. http://www.wholesaleoldskoolaustralia.com/ . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Vans Old Skool Shoes Sale . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Vans Old Skool Shoes Australia . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Ibtihaj Muhammad came to the Olympics determined to show the world that Muslim-American women can excel in sports.She will return home to New Jersey with proof that she was right.Muhammad, who became the first U.S. Olympian to wear a hijab during competition earlier this week, won a bronze medal with her teammates on Saturday in the womens team sabre event. The U.S. routed Italy 45-30 to clinch third place and the first womens fencing medal for the Americans in Rio de Janeiro.This is sport. It doesnt matter what hair color you have or what religion you are. The point is to go out there and be the best athlete you can be, American teammate Dagmara Wozniak said. Were the best explanation of what American is: a mix of so many different cultures and races and everything all together.?Russia won its fourth fencing gold medal of the Rio Games in the final, beating Ukraine 45-30. Muhammad made headlines around the world Monday by wearing a head scarf on the piste to adhere to the tenets of her Muslim faith. The attention for the team event was focused simply on fencing, and Muhammad reminded folks why she made the Olympic team.This has been a long journey for us, Muhammad said. To be able to compete at the level that weve worked toward, on the worlds biggest stage, the Olympic Games, is truly a blessing for us. ... Ill never forget this moment.The Americans opened against Poland by blowing an 11-point lead before two-time Olympic champion Mariel Zagunis got the U.S. through with a deft torso touch for the win. Russia won the first four of the nine-bout semifinals to go ahead 20-12, but Muhammadd slowed Russias momentum with a narrow victory over second-ranked Yana Egorian.ddddddddddddAfter Zagunis picked up another win, Muhammad had by far her best moment of the Olympics. She peppered Ekaterina Dyachenko with touch after touch, 10 in all, until the U.S. found itself with an improbable 35-34 edge.Our plan was that, no matter what happened, to just focus on these four voices, Muhammad said of teammates Zagunis, Wozniak and Monica Aksamit. We were only listening to each other, and I just kept hearing, Just get one. Just get one.But Sofia Velikaya pulled the Russians back in front with six straight points, a margin not even Zagunis was able to overcome. Still, the U.S. team had yet to medal in a tournament all season. The Americans seized their chance to do so in Rio. The U.S. built a 25-15 lead after five matches, and Zagunis -- who declined to speculate on her future in the immediate aftermath of her fourth straight Olympics -- made that edge insurmountable.Russia was just as dominant as Muhammad and the Americans in the finals. The top-ranked Russians won their first four bouts and seven of nine, and top-ranked fencer Sofya Velikaya went undefeated as they nabbed their seventh medal in fencing so far.The Olympic fencing tournament concludes Sunday with the mens epee team event. France, which has a proud history in fencing, will be the favorites, and there will be a lot of pressure on the French to come through with the nations only gold in a sport it used to dominate. ' ' '