who showed no signs of a hand contusion suffered on Friday. Anaheim then explode

A group of 13 U.S. Senators is trying to ratchet up the pressure on soccer officials to hold next summers FIFA Womens World Cup on a natural grass field instead of on artificial turf. TSN has obtained a copy of a letter the senators sent Nov. 7 to FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation to ask for their support after recent efforts by a group of 40 top international players to lobby the Canadian Soccer Association have been met by silence. The players say they are being discriminated against because the mens World Cup has never been played on artificial turf. Turf, they say, increases the risk of injury and overheating. Artificial turf both increases the risk of serious injury and fundamentally changes the way the game is played. FIFA has never used turf fields for the mens World Cup… As members of the United States Senate, we are deeply concerned with FIFAs treatment of these players. We urge you to begin good faith negotiations with these athletes, free of retaliation and with the equal treatment that they deserve, the senators wrote. The letter is signed by Senators including New Yorks Charles Schumer from New York, Californias Dianne Feinstein and Ohios Sherrod Brown. Its unclear how much leverage the U.S. Soccer Federation has over FIFA and the CSA. In a letter sent Nov. 7 to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the senators wrote: FIFA itself has recognized the inferiority of turf to natural grass. In March, FIFAs weekly magazine published an article titled, How Bad are the Artificial Turf Pitches? in which the author points out that male athletes routinely refuse to play on artificial turf, deeming it unacceptable, and widely regarded as deeply problematic. The letter comes a week after lawyers alleged some of the aggrieved players have been illegally threatened with reprisals for their complaint by groups including the U.S. Soccer Federation. In an Oct. 27 letter to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, obtained by TSN, lawyer David Wright asks for three players to be removed from the list of applicants: Teresa Noyola of Mexico; and Camille Abily and Elise Bussaglia of France. While the reprisal threats are reprehensible and actionable, they have thankfully backfired in terms of reducing the total number of named players in this action, Wright said in his letter. As three have withdrawn, we are now able to list at least 60 current individual applicants. The players complaint over the turf dispute was filed Oct. 1 with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, days after FIFA officials started to inspect the six venues that will host the June 6-July 5 competition. The tournament will be held in Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Moncton and Montreal. A spokeswoman for the Canadian Soccer Association has repeatedly declined to comment, referring questions to FIFA. Miles Boykin Youth Jersey . The Rays hope to stay alive for the postseason and salvage the finale of this series Sunday at Rogers Centre, where they dropped a 7-2 decision Saturday. Chris Archer lasted 2 1/3 innings in the no-decision, charged with a run and five hits, and Alex Torres suffered the loss in relief. Justice Hill Youth Jersey . Costa injured his right thigh muscle against Barcelona last Saturday and had sought treatment in Belgrade from a doctor specializing in using fluid derived from horse placenta to repair damaged cells. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Jaylon-Ferguson-Jersey/ .Y. - The Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Sam Reinhart to the WHLs Kootenay Ice on Friday. Trace McSorley Jersey . 9 Baylor Bears just needed some time to get on track in their first game after the Christmas break. Ray Lewis Womens Jersey .Y. - Urijah Faber walked out on a Madison Square Garden stage in a Wes Welker jersey, the UFCs fun nod to that other "super" show this weekend. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- For a guy who loves to talk on the field, New Englands Aqib Talib sure has been quiet lately. The Patriots cornerback injured his hip in the Patriots win against New Orleans on Oct. 13 and missed the next three games. He hadnt spoken after practice until Thursday, when he said hes eager to return to the field Monday night for New Englands game against the Carolina Panthers. "Im practicing good," Talib said, with a wide grin. "Day to day. Trying to get back." Fresh off the Patriots bye last week, Talib was a limited participant in Thursdays practice. Thats the same designation hes had for a while, and he said watching his teammates play without him was "the worst thing in the world." Coach Bill Belichick was more candid than usual when asked about the player who leads the team with four interceptions and whos been solely responsible for shutting down some of the leagues elite pass catchers. "Hes continued to progress. Well keep doing, as they can tolerate it, do more and evaluate how they do at a little bit higher level," Belichick said. "Then if that goes well, then ramp it up and see where we are as we go through the week." New Englands secondary withstood the absence of its top playmaker, going 2-1 during the stretch. The Patriots (7-2) could benefit from his return against the Panthers (6-3), who have won five straight games and scored 30 or more points in five of their past seven. "Unbelievable player, happy to have him on the field with us," said defensive end Rob Ninkovich. "I think the guys that stepped in when he was gone, they did a great job, but having him back is just going to help us as far as have more depth and keep guys rolling." Should Talib return for New Englands only Monday night game this season, he likely will be matched up with one of the most successful receivers of the past decade in Steve Smith. Talib, who spent his first fouur-plus seasons playing in the NFC South with Tampa Bay, is familiar with the flashy veteran.dddddddddddd "He brings it every Sunday or Monday or whenever the game is," Talib said. "I think if youre competitive like that, youre going to be pretty successful." Smith has tallied more than 800 receptions and 11,000 yards in his career, and has a team-high 42 catches for 450 yards and three touchdowns this season. Talib knows exactly what to expect from Smith -- his best effort and a lot of chatter. "Youve got a lot of guys who do a lot of talking to (the media), and we get out there and they dont say too much on the field," Talib said. "But Steve is definitely one of those guys, hes going to do it on the field." Not unlike Talib. "Yeah," he said with a smile, "I say a couple words." Shadowing the oppositions top threat is becoming commonplace for Talib. Julio Jones was near the top of the league in every major category when Talib held him to a season-low six catches. He caught just three of his first 10 for 22 yards. The following week, Talibs talents helped limit Cincinnatis A.J. Green to five catches for 61 yards. Green now leads the league in yards and ranks second in receptions. And still to come was his premier performance, spearheading an effort to shut down New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham, who tops all receivers with 10 touchdowns but was held without a catch against New England for the first time in a span of 46 games. Belichick went so far as to compare Talib to former Patriots cornerback Ty Law. "Maybe Ty would be similar in that he was a good corner and you could put him on a lot of players and not maybe feel like you need to give him a lot of help," he said. "I think Talib is a guy that we have a lot of confidence in and probably would treat his matchups a little bit differently than weve treated some other ones in the past." ' ' '