Pirate Galaxy » coaches decision.Both developments

FRISCO, Texas -- For the first time since suffering a compression fracture in his back on Aug. 25, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo?was on the practice field.Wearing a blue Cowboys T-shirt, blue shorts and his game cleats, Romo was able to throw passes without any issues during the portion of practice open to the media Wednesday.Aside from longer throws during pre-practice warm-ups, Romos throws were anywhere from 5 to 25 yards in length and had good velocity. He took some turns simulating dropbacks and rollouts. He also alternated with Dak Prescott and Mark Sanchez in throwing passes to the Cowboys backup receivers and tight ends.Hes looked sharp every time hes out there, said Prescott, who noted that Romo has been doing stuff behind the scenes that the media hasnt seen.Thats a vet that takes care of himself, going to get back healthy, Prescott said. Hes doing all the right things to do that.Wide receiver Dez Bryant said it was good to see Romo participating.?It feels good, especially seeing him out there, supporting the guys, coaching everybody up, making sure everybodys doing the things that need to be done,?Bryant said. That motivates you. That gets you going. That type of stuff, if that dont get you going, somethings got to be wrong.At his news conference, coach Jason Garrett said Romo would not practice Wednesday and was unsure whether the quarterback would do more later in the week.Well just take it day by day, Garrett said. Hes had some good days of rehab, though, lately.Romo suffered the injury on the third play of the Cowboys preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks. At the time of the diagnosis, he was given a six- to 10-week recovery period. It will be nine weeks on Thursday.Romo has been doing resistance training in his rehab for the past two weeks and has been adding to his throwing program over the past few weeks.Prescott will start Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. He has seven touchdown passes and just one interception, helping the Cowboys post a 5-1 record to start the season.The Cowboys have not stated what they will do at the position once Romo is ready to play. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones has said Romo is the Cowboys No. 1 quarterback, but he has also said they will let it play out.With Romo one more step closer to playing, that decision will have to come soon. Joe Corona USA Jersey . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Sebastian Lletget Jersey .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. http://www.usasoccerauthority.com/tim-howard-usa-jersey/ . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Walker Zimmerman USA Jersey . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Jozy Altidore Jersey . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. METAIRIE, La. -- Reinforcements are on the way for the New Orleans Saints defense.First-round draft choice Sheldon Rankins is expected to make his NFL debut Sunday at the San Francisco 49ers after the defensive tackle began the season on injured reserve with a broken fibula suffered in training camp.Hes gettin around good. And we anticipate this is the week for him, Saints coach Sean Payton said of the defensive tackle from Louisville, whom the Saints selected with the No. 12 pick in the draft.This is the first week Rankins is eligible to play under the NFLs rule for players coming off of injured reserve. He began practicing the first day he was eligible two weeks ago.The Saints injury-riddled defense is also likely to get top cornerback Delvin Breaux back Sunday from his own broken fibula, which he suffered in Week 1. Breaux declared himself 115 percent healthy on Wednesday after participating in team drills for the first time -- though he stressed that it remains a coaches decision.Both developments are huge for a defense that got off to an abysmal start this season bbefore showing recent signs of growth.dddddddddddd After an 0-3 start, the Saints are now 3-4. And after two solid defensive performances in a row, they now rank 28th in yards allowed per game (397.4) and 31st in points allowed per game (30.7). Only the 49ers are worse.Rankins will probably be on some sort of pitch count in his NFL debut -- especially at a defensive tackle position where the Saints do a lot of rotating in general. The good news is that veteran Nick Fairley has been a strong addition for New Orleans at the same three-technique tackle position, with 3.5 sacks. The two of them might even play side-by-side in pass-rushing situations.Rankins (6-foot-2, 305 pounds) was a versatile and disruptive presence at Louisville, with 14 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss over his final two seasons. He showed signs of promise in the summer -- highlighted by an interception against Tom Brady during joint practices with the New England Patriots. ' ' '