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MOSCOW -- With Serena Williams decision to withdraw from next weeks WTA Finals, the final spot in the year-end tournament will be decided in Moscow.Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain each know that winning the Kremlin Cup will guarantee a place at the eight-player finals in Singapore.If neither Kuznetsova nor Suarez Navarro wins, the final spot stays with Britains Johanna Konta, who isnt playing this week as she tries to shake off an abdominal strain.Suarez Navarro is happy to have her destiny in her own hands as she aims for her first career finals appearance in singles.Sometimes at the end of the season, people are looking at other people, at other results, but its not my case, she said Tuesday. Now it all depends on me. I think its much better.Kuznetsova is already assured of her best year-end ranking since 2009 and is aiming to defend her Moscow title in front of a home crowd.If I can win the tournament it would be wonderful, great, and everything Im wishing for, but I dont want to look that far ahead, she said.Both Kuznetsova and Suarez Navarro have first-round byes in Moscow. The Russian will start Wednesday against either Frances Alize Cornet, while Suarez Navarro faces a tricky match against Russian-born Australian Daria Gavrilova.Williams, a 22-time Grand Slam singles champion, announced her withdrawal from the WTA Finals on Monday, citing a right shoulder injury. Its the second year in a row she will miss the finals.Custom Texas Rangers Jerseys . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Texas Rangers Pro Shop . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Rangers Jerseys China . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Texas Rangers Shirts . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from.BOSTON -- From his den in Huntsville, Alabama, Onree Jackson will quietly root to see Jacoby Brissett under center when he watches New England host Houston on Thursday night.Almost 50 years have passed, but Jackson still remembers his excitement when he was drafted out of Alabama A&M in 1969 by the Boston Patriots -- the franchises first black quarterback.Back then, the team hailed his potential to be the Willie Mays of pro football. But he never played in a regular-season NFL game.Now, Brissett could establish a footnote for a franchise born in a city with a complicated racial past, its first African-American player to start at quarterback. While the Patriots have been racially progressive in other ways, the New York Giants are the only other NFL team to have never started an African-American quarterback.Brissetts opportunity comes because of two unusual factors. Tom Brady, the teams cornerstone, is suspended four games for his role in using underinflated footballs in the playoffs in 2015. And Bradys backup, Jimmy Garoppolo, has a shoulder injury and is listed as doubtful for Thursday.While none have started a regular-season game, the Patriots have drafted eight African-American quarterbacks. Michael Bishop played the most, appearing in eight games in 2000.The potential distinction shows how much things have changed in 50 years.When I got there, there was a baseball player with the Red Sox and he said in the paper, `You know theyre not going to have an N-word quarterback here in Boston, Jackson, 69, recalled in an interview with The Associated Press.It was funny to him, I think, because they had a picture of him laughing in the papers, Jackson said. I had a shot, and I didnt make it under their rules.Bostons professional teams -- like the citys neighborhoods -- had different reactions to the civil rights movement and the integration of professional sports.While the Celtics and Bruins broke barriers in pro basketball and hockey, the Red Sox were the last Major League Baseball team to field a black player. Pumpsie Green took the field at Fenway Park in 1959 -- more than a decade after Jackie Robinson played for the Dodgers and even after Willie ORee took the ice for Boston in the all-white NHL. The Red Sox gave both Robinson and Mays tryouts in the 1940s before opting not to sign them.Meanwhile, the Patriots neither led nor trailed the pack on such issues.Jackson was drafted by Rommie Loudd, the AFLs first black assistant coach before he joined the Patriots in 1966. He moved to the teams front office and became its personnel director in 1969, one of the first black personnel directors in the NFL.Jackson said he thought everything was fine until he drew consisteent ire from then-coach Clive Rush, who told Jackson: Joe wouldnt do that.ddddddddddddHe was talking about Namath, Jackson said. Me being who I am, and where I was from and all, I just accepted that and went on.Jackson was waived after a few months. Rush told the Frederick Daily Leader at the time that Jackson was behind three other quarterbacks.As Ive grown older, I can see little signs that said, `You arent going to make it because youre a black quarterback. Thats the way I interpreted it, anyway, Jackson said.Rush was fired after a losing season in 1969 and 1-6 start in 1970.New England has never had a black head coach. Romeo Crennel, now defensive coordinator in Houston, held that job in New England before he was head coach in Cleveland and Kansas City. Bobby Grier, who is black, was an assistant coach with the Patriots who rose to be vice president of player personnel from 1997-2000.Richard Johnson, curator of the Boston Sports Museum, said while the quarterback milestone would be unintentional, there has never been talk of race influencing the Pats personnel decisions.Under Bill Belichick, the best player has always played, Johnson said.Richard Lapchick, who has pushed for diversity across college and professional sports from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, said the Patriots under owner Robert Kraft have consistently pushed for inclusion in several ways.They were working in the community on gender violence prevention in the early 1990s, 20 years before Ray Rice or even before O.J., Lapchick said.The Patriots were also one of the first teams to help NFL players finish their degrees.Josh Johnson, who is black and one of three Giants quarterbacks, was surprised when told his team could be the last to cross this particular racial benchmark.It shows progress, he said. Thats all you want to see, progress. Good luck to (Brissett), I hope he goes out and takes advantage of it. Opportunities come far and few.Though it didnt work out for Jackson, he said hes proud to have played a part toward seeing a day when no one notices who is or isnt under center.Its a pride thing now, he said. Im proud of what happened. Though I didnt make it, it was kind of a foot in the door type-thing.---This story has been corrected to show that Michael Bishop, not Rohan Davey, has played the most games for the Patriots as an African-American quarterback.---AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen in Boston and Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, contributed to this report.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower ' ' '