ekansekans's blog: "df"

One of the primary factors to consider when looking for sleepers that might exceed expecations is the potential for playing time. Andre Johnson Jersey . Its nearly impossible to produce without at least getting on the field. In Cincinnati this season, the wide receiver position opens up behind second-year rising star A.J. Green, especially now that Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell have moved on to new teams. Green, who led rookies with 1057 yards receiving last season, should continue his career ascent, but there will be others that need to be part of the passing game. There are three leading candidates for those roles. Speedster Brandon Tate, the former Patriots receiver who joined the Bengals as a kickoff and punt returner last season, made a mark with New England in 2010, catching 24 passes for 432 yards (18.0 yards per catch) in part-time duty, so if he turns out to be the tone starting across from Green, Tate could be a viable big-play deep threat. Armon Binns, a 6-foot-3 receiver who spent last season on the practice squad after he was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars, has opened eyes in camp. He scored 21 touchdowns in 25 games over his last two seasons at the University of Cincinnati and offers a sizeable target in the possession game. Tate might be more of a playmaker and his experience should give him the edge. A wildcard in the discussion could be Jordan Shipley, who had 52 catches for 600 yards in 2010, but only managed four catches for 14 yards before tearing his ACL last season. Shipley is in camp with the Bengals and trying to get back to his pre-injury form, but he may require some faith from the coaching staff -- based on his rookie year production -- if hes not up to full speed by the time the season starts. Ultimately, the Bengals passing game is going to be driven by quarterback Andy Dalton along with Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham, but there is an opportunity for a secondary receiver to step in and put up some yardage. Pick the right one and you might have a late-round value pick on draft day. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. J.J. Watt Red Jersey .J. Burnett doesnt have a trophy case filled with awards or a closet packed with All-Star jerseys. Brian Cushing Limited Jersey . -- The Minnesota Twins placed Carl Pavano on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain before Monday nights game against the Kansas City Royals. http://www.shophoustontexansgears.com/womens-brian-cushing-nike-jersey/ . His professional baseball career is just beginning. The Chicago White Sox agreed to terms on Monday with the 18-year-old outfielder, 13th overall pick in this years draft. Arian Foster White Jersey . Jacoby Ellsbury had a huge smile after his game-winning single. J.J. Watt Texans Jersey . The July 22 game will serve as the opening match of AS Romas United States Tour, with additional stops scheduled for Boston and New York. Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs home ballpark, last hosted a football match when the then Chicago Sting played the Vancouver Whitecaps.SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Zito pointed his finger at the cheering crowd as he walked off the mound to a standing ovation. Once the target of boos in San Francisco, Zito is hearing nothing but cheers this year from the home crowd. Zito pitched 8 1-3 scoreless innings for his 150th career win and Joaquin Arias snapped an 18 at-bat hitless stretch with an RBI single that led the Giants to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. "It feels good to have that support," Zito said. "The fans here are obviously coming out in droves and supporting us through thick and thin. It really fires us up. Thats why we love to play at home so much." Angel Pagan scored the games first run after doubling to set a Giants record by extending his home hitting streak to 27 games. San Francisco went on to its 12th win in 17 games and moved a season-high six games over .500. Travis Wood (0-2) was the tough-luck loser for the Cubs, allowing just one run and three hits in seven innings as Chicago fell for the 15th time in 18 games. The Cubs have also lost 10 straight road games for their longest skid away from Wrigley Field since dropping 10 in a row in September 2000. "Its a broken record," manager Dale Sveum said. "I dont know what to say to come up with something different to make it ... Just frustrating. I mean, golly. We hit a few balls good. Other than that it wasnt a lot of good at-bats going on." Zito (5-2) was rarely threatened by the struggling Cubs, allowing just four hits and two walks before leaving to a standing ovation after a one-walk to Darwin Barney in the ninth. Sergio Romo finished for his second save. The Cubs got only one runner as far as second base against Zito when Ian Stewart and Reed Johnson hit one-out singles in the fifth. But Zito escaped that jam with a strikeout-double play with Stewart easily being thrown out at third by Hector Sanchez. "I tried to establish all my pitches early," Zito said. "As a hitter, when you know a guy is throwing two, three, four pitches for strikes, it makes the at-bats difficult. So that was important to me." After struggling for most of his first five seasons of a $126 million, seven-year contract with the Giants, Zito has been extremely dependable so farr this season starting with a shutout his first start at Colorado. J.J. Watt Impact Jersey. He has won four of his past five starts and has lowered his ERA to 2.98 to help make up for the slow start by two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum. Zito got a standing ovation when he walked off the mound after the eighth inning and then a big cheer when he batted to lead off the bottom of the inning. The fans booed manager Bruce Bochys decision to replace Zito with Romo after 96 pitches. "Your heart is telling you give him a shot but your brain is telling you the right thing to do is to go get him," Bochy said. The Giants were held hitless until Pagan drove a ball over left fielder Alfonso Sorianos head for a one-out double in the fifth. That hit broke the Giants home hitting streak record of 26 games set by Mike Donlin in 1905-06, the Giants said in citing the Elias Sports Bureau. Wood then struck out Sanchez before Arias followed with a single to shallow right for his first hit since last Monday. Third-base coach Tim Flannery aggressively waved Pagan home and he slid in safely ahead of Johnsons one-hop throw that catcher Koyie Hill could not handle to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. "It was pretty textbook, to be honest with you," Hill said. "I dont know that I would have done anything different. I went to cover up the ball with my bare hand like youre taught to do and the ball just popped out of the end. Just one of those things. Priority number one is to catch the ball, and it didnt happen." The Giants added a run in the eighth when Gregor Blanco scored from first on Cabreras hit-and-run single to left. Soriano threw to second on the play and Blanco never stopped running to score. NOTES: Sanchez stayed in the game despite fouling successive pitches off his left leg in the seventh inning. ... The Giants have a major league-low six homers in 28 home games, including none in the past 12 games. Thats tied for the second longest drought since the team moved to San Francisco, behind only a 15-gamer in September 1980. The Giants are 8-4 during the homerless stretch at home. ... The Cubs fell to 2-11 this season against lefty starters. ... The Giants go for the four-game sweep Monday when Ryan Vogelsong (3-2) takes on Jeff Samardzija (5-3). ' ' '