Even though my knees still pretty banged up

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ALLEN PARK, Mich. Dez Bryant Jersey . - Calvin Johnson is expected to return this week as the Detroit Lions enter a critical stretch of the season.Johnson said Wednesday he is back to his normal practice routine and will play Sunday when Detroit (6-2) hosts the Miami Dolphins (5-3) at Ford Field.Feeling good, Johnson said. Extremely motivated, especially with where we are as a team right now. Weve got Miami coming to our house so (lets) go ahead and get off to a good start in the third quarter of the season.Johnson sat out three games with an ankle injury while Detroit carried on and went 3-0 in his absence, albeit with less-than impressive offensive numbers.The Lions have not gained more than 400 yards since getting 417 in a Week 1 win over the New York Giants.But Johnsons return brings renewed hope with Detroit holding a one-game lead over Green Bay (5-3) in the NFC North.It changes (our offence), obviously, quarterback Matthew Stafford said. Maybe not so much in the plays we run but in how defences treat us. ... Were dangerous in the pass game when hes out there, so teams are probably worried about defending him scoring an 80-yard touchdown first.Golden Tate emerged as a reliable No. 1 target with Johnson sidelined, grabbing at least seven receptions in each of the past four games. Extra reps for he and rookie wideout Corey Fuller over the past month could pay dividends during the second half of the season.Golden had a big opportunity this year with Calvin and a bunch of other guys going down to step up, Stafford said. He grabbed that role and played extremely well for us. ... With the addition of him and hopefully getting Calvin back and some of the other guys at some point, (the offence) could be dangerous.Detroit has also been without tight ends Joseph Fauria, Brandon Pettigrew and rookie Eric Ebron, all three of whom did not play against Atlanta. Running back Reggie Bush was also unavailable against the Falcons, but said Wednesday he will be back for the Miami game.Detroits rushing offence is second-worst in the NFL and in need of a spark entering a key three-game stretch against Miami, at Arizona (7-1) and at New England (7-2). Bush said everyone must do a better job in the backfield, but a healthy Calvin Johnson should help too.Hes a running backs best friend, Bush said. Having him out there, even if hes just a decoy its great for the run game. I think thats going to have an (impact).Miami is one of the hottest teams in the NFL having won four of its past five games, including a 37-0 home win against San Diego last week.Weve got a lot of work cut out for us because were playing a team thats playing extremely well on both sides of the ball, coach Jim Caldwell said. This one presents every challenge that we could possibly think of.The Lions started 6-3 last year, but dropped six of their last seven games to miss the playoffs. Bush said its important to keep that in mind as the Lions prepare for three straight games against teams with a winning record.They dont give out any awards after the first half of the season, Bush said. If anybody should learn from last year its us. We shouldnt be looking ahead, we shouldnt be talking about the playoffs. We should be looking at this game and thats it.___AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Donovan Wilson Jersey . The 42-ranked Czech saved seven break points while converting his one chance, and defeated the No. 3 seed in 1 hour 46 minutes. Rosol, who lost in the final in Stuttgart against Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday, awaits the winner between Philipp Kohlschreiber or 2011 champion Gilles Simon. Leighton Vander Esch Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. https://www.cowboysjerseysale.com/295p-c...wboys.html . The Padres made the moves before Fridays game at Washington. They promoted infielder Jace Peterson from Double-A San Antonio and right-hander Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El Paso. KVITFJELL, Norway -- Erik Guay has never been a fan of skiing with pain but is showing he can adapt and overcome. The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. And it came on one of his favourite courses as two of his victories and four of his 22 podium finishes have come at Kvitfjell, where theres a super-G scheduled for Sunday. "There are a lot of similarities (between Norway and Quebec)," Guay said during a conference call. "When I left Quebec it was raining and warm and thats pretty much exactly what its here but it can easily be -30 C, again, a lot like Quebec. "I feel comfortable when I come here." Guay finished fourth in a downhill event Friday. The impressive showings came following a respectable 10th-place effort in the downhill at the Sochi Games. But Guay said he battled knee issues in Russia. He had knee surgery in the summer and claimed a World Cup downhill in Val Gardena, Italy, in December but didnt feel anywhere near 100 per cent in Sochi. "It (knee) affected me a lot," he said. "I have a hard time skiing through pain, I have a hard time really finding that courage, that determination to fight through it and push on the ski. "I was trying not to mention it too much in the media because I wanted to put it out of my head completely and sort of pretend and focus that it wasnt even there. You definitely have that on the brain and it was affecting me because I couldnt do a proper preparation for the Games." However, Guay said hes working on improving his mental ability to deal with injury much like teammate Jan Hudec of Calgary, who has overcome numerous ailments to succeed on the world scene. "The ideal situation is to not have that pain and I plan to deal with it in the off-season," Guay said. "Right now Im trying to work through it and I think its an important thing. "If I look at a guy like Jan Hudec, probably one of his biggest strengths is that strength and character he shows when he has those injuries. I know he skiis in a lot of pain so I like to watch those circumstances and try to emulate them. Its not always easy for me. I think when I dont feel 100 per cent its tough for me to go out and attack it but id like to think its getting better." Guay, 32, finished ahead of Frenchman Johan Clarey and Olympic champion Matthias Mayer of Austria. American Travis Ganong, who was third Friday, narrowly missed out on another podium, finishing 0.62 seconds back in fourth. Cooper Rush Jersey. Bode Miller, a bronze medallist in the super-G at the Sochi Olympics, was eighth. Conditions were overcast and a little foggy but unlike Fridays downhill the rain stayed away. Guay had a time of one minute 22.17 seconds, finishing 0.35 seconds ahead of Clarey -- who secured a third career podium. "Its difficult conditions, soft snow. I think you need a really well-balanced touch," Guay said. "If youre too aggressive or leaning in a little bit, its easy to lose (time)." Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant finished 17th while Manuel Osborne-Paradis of North Vancouver, B.C., was 21st. Benjamin Thomsen of Invermere, B.C., was 43rd, finishing one spot ahead of Hudec. Other Canadians included: Conrad Pridy of Whistler, B.C., (50th), Torontos Dustin Cook (59th) and Morgan Pridy of Whistler (60th). Meanwhile, it was the best result of Clareys career. "It shows anything can happen, even late on. Better late than never," Clarey said. "Im not hugely confident at the moment and the Olympics were difficult for me to cope with mentally." Clarey had pondered retirement after the Sochi Games, where he didnt finish the downhill and was 19th in super-G. "This changes my ideas a little bit from a psychological point of view," he said. "Even though my knees still pretty banged up." Despite already having an Olympic gold medal, the 23-year-old Mayer clinched his first career podium in World Cup downhill and only his third overall. "I had a lot of things to do, with celebrating the Olympic victory back home. I hadnt much time for me to be prepared," Mayer said. "I can be happy with this result. Its very difficult to be fast here, with the soft snow its not the best conditions." Ganong finished fifth in the downhill at the Sochi Olympics. "I really thought I could (win), so I pushed a little harder and had a couple mistakes. I was able to make up a lot of time on the bottom and salvage fourth place," he said. "Its really fun skiing right now. Im having a good time and the results are coming." Olympic super-G champion Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, who tied for the win Friday with Austrian Georg Streitberger, placed fifth. "I made a couple of mistakes which I didnt think I would make," Jansrud said. "Fell on my inside ski a couple of times, I had to support myself on my hand." Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was tied for sixth with Switzerlands Silvan Zurbriggen. ' ' '