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EDMONTON - The Edmonton Eskimos will have one of their top defensive players back in the lineup today for a key West Division battle against Saskatchewan. Phil Loadholt Jersey . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN Mobile TV at 4pm et/1pm pt. Linebacker J.C. Sherritt will return after missing Edmontons victory over Hamilton last week with knee and foot problems. The Eskimos are in the midst of a desperate push to gain some ground in the standings. A victory at Commonwealth Stadium will move Edmonton within two points of the third-place Roughriders. A loss will likely leave the Eskimos fighting with Hamilton for the crossover playoff berth. The Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders head into the weekend tied for second place in the West Division. Calgary holds the edge over the Riders because it has won the season series between the teams two games to one. The Riders would need a superior record than Calgary to move into second place and play host to a playoff game. A Riders victory over the Eskimos today would clinch a playoff berth. Halfback Chris Thompson is one of several defensive players who stepped up in Sherritts absence. He was rewarded for his fine play by taking the latest defensive player of the week honours. Every so often coaches will team up a veteran like Thompson with a rookie in key positions and the pair will find the desired chemistry. Their talents complement each other, their work ethics are similar and they develop the type of friendly rivalry that makes both of them better. Such is the case with Thompson and rookie cornerback Joe Burnett. When Thompson took this weeks CFL honour, it gave them matching awards after Burnett earned the nod in Week 4. "I told him, Congratulations, now I need one more," Burnett said with a smile this week. "Its a battle between us ... whos going to finish the season with the most interceptions, the most turnovers and yardage." So far its pretty much a toss-up. The six-foot Thompson and five-foot-10 Burnett are enjoying similar seasons playing beside each other on the left side of the Edmonton defence. Both players have 39 tackles and are tied for the league lead with five interceptions entering play Friday. Burnett has 167 return yards and two touchdowns while Thompson has 84 yards in returns. Thompson has forced two fumbles while Burnett has returned a fumble for a 44-yard touchdown. Burnett has five knockdowns, one more than his teammate. "Were making some plays over there," said Thompson. "Hes a good young player whos making plays available to him. Its a process and were still learning each other. Were going to keep on getting better." Burnett agreed and said they are always talking to each other on and off the field, telling the other that theyre playmakers with the ability to lock down their side of the field. "Im a young guy and hes been here for a while so Im feeding off his energy," said Burnett, who signed as a free agent last year after two seasons in the NFL. "Feeding off his experience has helped me out. We do a lot of things together as far as coverage and things." Thompson originally joined the Eskimos in 2007 as a free agent after two seasons in the NFL. He was traded to Hamilton in 2008 and was re-acquired in 2010. Defensive co-ordinator Mark Nelson said he had high expectations coming out of training camp and while some of those have been met, theres still room for improvement. "Chris is a smart player, very athletic, gifted in some aspects," he said. "I expected him to have a better year than in the previous, and he has. But hell be the first to tell you I expect him to play better." "Joe is a good player but he can play a lot better than he has," Nelson added. "He will be the first to tell you he has to improve. Im not being mean or harsh, just honest. He does some really good things and he does some things that are not really good. "We have to keep him working on the things hes not really good at. The things hes good at, those are God-given talents and we just need to keep polishing those." Jasper Brinkley Jersey . -- Matt Kenseth won for the second time in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in a caution-marred race at repaved Kansas Speedway. Antoine Winfield Jersey . Juan Arango opened the scoring with a spectacular goal in the eighth minute and Luuk de Jong doubled the lead in the 24th. Eintracht dominated the match but went behind when Olivier Occean lost the ball in his half and Arango took a few steps before unleashing a fierce left-foot shot from more than 30 metres (yards) out. http://www.minnesotavikingsroom.com/percy-harvin-jerseys . A global panel of soccer writers chose Messi as the clear leader in a top 10 list of players for his performance in the week ending Oct. 29. The Argentine forward has been scoring almost at will for Barcelona in the Spanish league and Champions League, and he added two more in Saturdays 5-0 victory at Rayo Vallecano. Everson Griffen Jersey . The former AC Milan defender and Italian national team stalwart is to play at least 45 minutes of an exhibition game Tuesday night against seven-time French League champion Lyon at Saputo Stadium. Adrian Peterson Jersey . The six-foot-two, 216-pound Jeffers-Harris was added to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats practice roster in November after spending two seasons in with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.When the Carolina Panthers traded a seventh-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Louis Murphy, the transaction justifiably didnt generate massive headlines the world over. However, the 25-year-old burner is an intriguing sleeper candidate for fantasy football as he joins a team needing an upgrade at wideout. Behind five-time Pro Bowler Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell (74 catches over two seasons) is the most proven receiver on the Carolina roster, so Murphy has an opportunity to not only earn playing time but, because of his deep speed, has a chance to make big significant plays in the offence. That Murphy crossed paths with Panthers star QB Cam Newton at the University of Florida, where neither one played much in 2007 and 2008, shouldnt hurt matters either. Even that tiny bit of familiarity can help the connection between a quarterback and receiver. Ovver the last three seasons, there have been 24 receivers to have at least 15. Fran Tarkenton Jersey. yards per catch (with at least 50 receptions) and Murphy fits into that group, averaging 15.2 yards per reception. None of this is to suggest that Murphy is a surefire performer, as injuries wreak havoc with a wide receiver whose game is predicated on speed. He missed time with a groin injury last season and has nagging hamstring issues currently. If hes healthy, though, Murphy could be a player to keep an eye on. If he earns playing time through training camp, Murphy could be decent secondary receiving option for the Panthers, which could be good enough for 600 yards and six touchdowns if he stays healthy. 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. ' ' '