Pirate Galaxy » an Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui E

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills signed first-round pick Sammy Watkins to his rookie contract Wednesday. The Bills announced the signing shortly after the teams first session of organized team activities. "Its great just to put all that behind me, just to know you have financial stability," Watkins said. "Now its just all football. Every day I have to come in and worry about football and my plays and my job and just work out there." Buffalo is counting on Watkins to immediately step into the starting lineup for a team that has not been to the playoffs since 1999, the NFLs longest current drought. The Bills moved up five spots in the draft in a trade with the Cleveland Browns to select Watkins fourth overall. The 6-foot-1, 211-pound wideout is known for his playmaking abilities and has tremendous speed and hands. Wednesday was Watkins first official practice with quarterback EJ Manuel and the rest of the offence. He lined up with the starting unit at receiver alongside fellow off-season acquisition Mike Williams. Watkins and Manuel had a slow start to the session. An early pass intended for Watkins was off the mark and intercepted by cornerback Corey Graham. But the duo responded accordingly. The two later hooked up for receptions over the middle and down the left sideline. "Its coming along," Watkins said. "Weve got a lot to work on, a lot of different routes and schemes weve got to clean up a little bit. But its a process." Watkins will miss Buffalos remaining two sessions this week as he heads to Los Angeles to participate in the 2014 NFLPA Rookie Premiere. He made it clear he would prefer to be on the football field adjusting to life with the Bills. "I would rather stay here and get the connection with the quarterback. I dont want to fall behind," Watkins said. "Its kind of sad that I have to leave for three to four days and everybody has that two to three days ahead of me. So I really have to study the plays and get out there running and training, not get behind too far." Trent Alexander-Arnold England Jersey . Wheeler said Kane was just making a joke that was misunderstood and misinterpreted by "Winnipeg folks" and the media once again. Wheeler repeated that he believes Kane is a player who has the ability to help the Jets get to the next level as they try once again to reach the playoffs in 2014. He made the comments initially in an interview, when asked how the Jets could compete in the Central Division with teams that have made some high-profile off-season signings. Nick Pope England Jersey . The Missouri Tigers Defensive End and SEC Defensive player of the year is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft in May. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Jordan-P...England-Jersey/. Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit. Fabian Delph England Jersey . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury. Ashley Young Jersey . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.NEW YORK -- The Toronto Raptors are the only thing standing between the Brooklyn Nets and a perfect 2014. Patrick Patterson stole Deron Williams inbounds pass and made the go-ahead jumper with six seconds left, and the Raptors stopped a five-game winning streak by the Nets for the second time this month with a 104-103 victory Monday night. Toronto dropped Brooklyn to 10-2 in January and opened a 2 1/2-game lead in the Atlantic Division over the Nets, who would be on the doorstep of the division lead if they could solve their neighbours to the north. "These guys are chasing us but theyre putting it together. Theyre playing well," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. "Were the only team that beat them in 2014. I mean, thats a tough team. They had the game and we made a play and we made a shot." Brooklyn had a three-point lead with 17 seconds left behind Paul Pierce in his best game with the Nets, but John Salmons scored on a drive with 12 seconds remaining before Brooklyn took its last timeout to move the ball into the frontcourt. Patterson stole the pass and fed Lowry, who got it back to Patterson for his jumper. Pierce was well off on a final attempt. "We knew they didnt have any timeouts. We guessed right and Patrick looked like Richard Sherman out there with that steal," Lowry said, referring to the Seattle Seahawks defensive back who attended the game with a number of his teammates. Lowry finished with 31 points and seven assists for the Raptors, who clinched a winning record in consecutive months for the first time since December 2009 and January 2010. Pierce scored 33 points, making seven three-pointers in a strong bounce-back performance after going just 2 for 10 in his emotional return to Boston on Sunday. He had the Nets in position to win after scoring their last nine points before Toronto stole it. "Last night was a tough game to play in, so many emotions," Pierce said. "It was good to just get some normalcy back today and I felt comfortable, relaxed. But it wouldve been better if we got the win today, though." The stunning turnaround deflated the crowd at Barclays Center for a back-and-forth game that drew a visit from several Seahawks, who will hold their Super Bowl media day Tuesday at the Nets last home, the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Sherman and Bobby Wagner ggrabbed a baseline seat in the first half, while Russell Wilson and other players sat above in a private box.dddddddddddd Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who played without injured leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. Terrence Ross, who tied a franchise record with 51 points and made 10 3-pointers Saturday, had a quiet 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting. But Toronto got a big boost from Patterson, who ditched the mask he began the game with for a recent broken nose and finished with 15 points off the bench. "This is all about our toughness, our resiliency," Patterson said, "no matter whos out there during the course of the game, no matter whos not playing." Andray Blatche scored 20 points for the Nets, who lost 96-80 in Toronto on Jan. 11, a night after they played two overtimes in a victory over Miami. Lowry scored six straight points before Amir Johnson made a pair of free throws during an 8-0 run that gave Toronto a 94-85 lead with about eight minutes to play. The Nets answered with nine in a row to tie it on Alan Andersons jumper, and after Valanciunas basket, Pierce nailed consecutive three-pointers to make it 100-96 with 2:37 remaining. "Paul played well," teammate Kevin Garnett said. "He totally carried us for that fourth quarter, that second half, and we all came in and just said at the end of the game weve got to make plays, weve got to close games out and tonight we didnt do that." Toronto cut it to one and had a chance for the lead when Lowry stole Williams pass intended for Pierce, but Williams redeemed himself by drawing an offensive foul on Lowry with 19 seconds left. Pierce then made two free throws, but the Nets couldnt overcome Williams next giveaway. "Two turnovers in the last minute of the game, its not what I typically do, but thats how it goes sometimes," Williams said. There were eight lead changes in an entertaining second quarter, two in the final 1.3 seconds. Andersons three-pointer put the Nets up by two, but Lowry beat the buzzer from beyond halfcourt to give Toronto a 57-56 halftime lead. NOTES: DeRozan had made 125 consecutive starts. ... Ross, DeRozan and the Nets Mirza Teletovic were all nominated for last weeks Eastern Conference player of the week award, which was won by Atlantas Paul Millsap. ' ' '