WASHINGTON -- Half the U.S. Senate urged NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday to change the Washington Redskins name, saying it is nothing less than a racist slur and the time is ripe to replace it. In a letter, 49 senators cited the NBAs quick action recently to ban Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life after he was heard on an audio recording making offensive comments about blacks. They said Goodell should formally push to rename the Redskins. "We urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports," read the letter, which did not use the word "Redskins." All the senators who signed the letter are Democrats. Another, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., wrote his own letter urging the name change. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has refused to change his teams name, citing tradition. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., led the letter-writing effort. Last month, Reid took to the Senate floor to say Snyder should "do what is morally right" and change the name. President Barack Obama and lawmakers from both parties have previously pressed for the name change. The letter said tribal organizations representing more than 2 million Native Americans across the U.S. have said they want the Redskins name dropped. Despite federal laws protecting their identity, "Every Sunday during football season, the Washington, D.C., football team mocks their culture," the senators wrote. "The NFL can no longer ignore this and perpetuate the use of this name as anything but what it is: a racial slur," the letter said. Discount Shoes Online Free Shipping . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. 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The Detroit Tigers slugger fell short in his bid to become the first player to win the Triple Crown in successive seasons.WASHINGTON -- Doug Fister pitched eight shutout innings, and Anthony Rendon had three hits and two RBI for the Washington Nationals, who beat the Atlanta Braves 3-0 victory on Saturday night. Washington took a half-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East after dropping the first two games in the series. Ryan Zimmerman also drove in a run for the Nationals. Coming off his second loss of the season, Fister (6-2) allowed five hits -- three over his final seven innings -- with three strikeouts and one walk. Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 16th save. Rendons RBI single in the third gave Washington its first lead of the series and his run-scoring double in the seventh made it 3-0. Braves starter Julio Teheran (6-5) struck out a season-high 10 batters. He allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings. Atlanta had won five straight against the Nationals, seven of eight this season, and was 20-7 since the start of the 2013 campaign. Braves catcher Evan Gattis extended his major-league leading hitting streak to 20 games with a sixth-inning single. Fister and Teheran lived up to the hype and locked up in a pitchers duel.dddddddddddd Fister, who has won six of seven starts, has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of nine starts this season. Atlanta had back-to-back one-out singles in the first inning, but Fister fought back. He got out of the jam and started a streak of nine straight batters retired. He didnt allow another hit until the fifth inning in front of a sellout crowd. Teheran, who frequently stepped off the mound during his outing, struck out the side in the fifth inning. After walking Adam LaRoche in the sixth, and with a 1-0 count on Zimmerman, Teheran again shuffled around on the mound, and was called for a balk. Two pitches later, Zimmermans single drove home LaRoche. NOTES: Justin Upton went 0 for 3 in his return to Atlantas starting lineup. The left fielder missed three games due to dizziness caused by "a real bad case of allergies," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. ... Zimmerman entered Saturday batting .197 since returning from the disabled list on June 3. ... RHP Ervin Santana (5-4, 4.12) will pitch the series finale for Atlanta on Sunday against RHP Tanner Roark (6-4, 2.85). ' ' '