Bewerbungen » , Duncan Keith of the Blackhawks and the

When NFL training camps begin there are always battles being waged for playing time. Some of those battles have been more or less decided -- Michael Vick is the starting quarterback in Philadelphia, Daryl Richardson is set to start at running back for St. Louis, Blaine Gabbert is starting at quarterback for Jacksonville -- but there are other situations that are still to be sorted out over the final couple weeks. Here are some of the more intriguing position battles for fantasy owners to watch: Montee Ball vs. Ronnie Hillman, Denver RB With an offence focused on passing, the Broncos may not place high priority on which of their backs is running more often. Hillman has the early edge, working with the first team, but the second-year back only had 327 rushing yards (3.9 per carry) as a rookie, so hes not anywhere close to secure in that position. Ball was a thundering force at Wisconsin, scoring 61 touchdowns in his last two seasons. The big concern with Ball has to do with pass protection, but hell have to be more effective all around if hes going to knock Hillman from the role. If neither one of these young backs takes hold of the job, Knowshon Moreno could sneak past them into more playing time. Kevin Kolb vs. E.J. Manuel, Buffalo QB The Bills seemed set to make the rookie Manuel their starter, but then he suffered a knee injury and will miss the rest of the preseason, opening the door for Kolb, who had missed time in camp with his own knee injury, to take the starting job. Kolb has 21 career starts and figures to get the starting job for Week One, when the Bills host New England. Even if the expectation is that Manuel will take over the starting job, it will be harder to make the change if Kolb is productive in that starting role. Dallas Clark vs. Ed Dickson vs. Visanthe Shiancoe, Baltimore TE Considering that the Ravens had big plans for Dennis Pitta in their offence this season, prior to suffering his season-ending hip injury, there is an opportunity for at least one of the Ravens tight ends to fill that void. Clark has the track record and a history with offensive co-ordinator Jim Caldwell; Dickson, who is hurt right now, had a 54-catch season with the Ravens and QB Joe Flacco in 2011, and Shiancoe is 34, but did have 18 touchdowns in the 2008 and 2009 seasons with Minnesota. DeAngelo Williams vs. Jonathan Stewart, Carolina RB Ankle problems continue to plague Stewart, which gives Williams the opportunity to not only be the Week One starter, but a chance to get significant touches in that role. Its been three years since Williams last rushed for more than 1,000 yards, but hes averaged 4.9 yards per carry throughout his career, so if he could get 200 carries, a 1,000-yard season could be achievable. Of course, if Stewart gets healthy, hes sure to get his share of carries too, effectively sabotaging the fantasy value of both backs. Demaryius Thomas vs. Wes Welker vs. Eric Decker, Denver WR There isnt really a battle for position so much as competition for targets from QB Peyton Manning. Thomas and Decker had tremendous seasons for the Broncos last year, with Thomas racking up 1,434 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, while Decker added 1,064 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. How will those numbers shake out with the addition of Welker, who has at least 100 catches and 1,000 yards in five of the last six seasons? Sure, Welker in the slot can take some touches away from the tight ends in the Broncos offence, and maybe they will pass a bit more with a suspect running game, but dont some of the targets have to get pulled away from Thomas and Decker? Thats my suspicion, but well have to see how Manning chooses to distribute the football. Nate Burleson vs. Ryan Broyles, Detroit WR Coming off injuries, the pair of Lions wideouts are competing for the job across from superstar Calvin Johnson. Burleson hasnt put up big numbers (under 50 yards per game) in three seasons with Detroit, but is a reliable complementary receiver. Broyles is the up-and-comer who had six catches for 126 yards against Houston in Week 11 last season, only to suffer a torn ACL the following week. If Broyles can become the viable second receiver for the Lions, he has a chance to be a productive part of an offence with a quarterback, Matthew Stafford, that has passed for more than 10,000 yards in the last two seasons. Eddie Lacy vs. Johnathan Franklin vs. DuJuan Harris, Green Bay RB When the Packers were bounced from the playoffs by San Francisco last season, without a potent rushing attack, it was a position to address in the offseason. Drafting Eddie Lacy, out of Alabama, in the second round and Johnathan Franklin, out of UCLA, in the fourth round was a clear effort to upgrade the running game and while Franklin hasnt impressed in camp, Lacy looks like he can be the kind of physical runner that the Packers seek. If Lacy isnt up to the job, though, a trio of holdover vets are still pushing for time. DuJuan Harris is a smaller, quicker option, who could be a change-of-pace back if Franklin doesnt improve. Alex Green rushed for 464 yards last season, but only 3.4 yards per carry, while James Starks has run for 934 yards in 22 games for the Packers over the last three seasons. With this cast of characters, Lacy should emerge as the most valuable of Green Bays ball carriers. Lamar Miller vs. Daniel Thomas. Miami RB In some circles, Lamar Miller is getting pub as a breakthrough candidate, following a rookie season in which he rushed for 250 yards (4.9 per carry), but the latest reports suggest that both backs will be getting carries. Since Thomas has averaged only 3.5 yards per carry in his first two seasons, he doesnt seem like a great challenger to Miller but even if Thomas only turns out to be the short yardage and goalline back, that will negatively affect Millers value. Jerome Simpson vs. Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota WR Simpson struggled through an injury-marred season last year, his first with the Vikings after showing promise in Cincinnati, but hes currently ahead of the Vikings first-round pick, Patterson, for the starting spot opposite veteran Greg Jennings. There may not be much appeal for the Vikings No. 2 wide receiver, given their focus on RB Arian Peterson, a still-developing quarterback, Christian Ponder, and an improving young tight end, Kyle Rudolph, who can play a bigger role in the passing game. Nonetheless, it appears that Simpsons lead isnt by a large margin, so Patterson should be expected to challenge for the role throughout the season and its likely just a matter of time before Patterson is in the starting lineup. Darren Sproles vs. Pierre Thomas vs. Mark Ingram, New Orleans RB Having three backs consistently involved in the Saints offence effectively ruins the fantasy value for all three. Ingram has some upside, if the Saints were to ever make him their primary everydown back, but hes averaged 3.9 yards per carry through his first two seasons, so hes not exactly breaking down the door. Thomas is a steady contributor who has at least 800 yards from scrimmage in four of the last five seasons. So long as hes getting touches, that limits Ingrams appeal. Sproles is a different animal, more targeted as a receiver than a runner out of the backfield, but in two seasons with the Saints, Sproles has gained 2,224 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, so hes not going to get pushed aside and that means shared duty in the New Orleans backfield. Chris Ivory vs. Bilal Powell vs. Mike Goodson, N.Y. Jets RB Ivory comes from New Orleans, where he was struggling to find playing time with the other three backs on the roster, and he still has a chance to earn a significant role, but Powell, who has 458 rushing yards (3.7 yards per carry) in his first two seasons, appears to be the leading candidate to start. Goodson is reportedly expected to arrive in Jets camp soon, but weapons charges have derailed Goodons offseason, so now hes more of a player to watch during the season rather than an actual threat to open as the starter. Mark Sanchez vs. Geno Smith, N.Y. Jets QB Not only do the Jets have questions in the running game, there is still the possibility that rookie Geno Smith can unseat Mark Sanchez as the starting quarterback. He is Mark Sanchez, after all. At the same time, Smith actually has to do something to push Sanchez aside and Smith will get a good opportunity to do so when he starts against the Giants this week. David Wilson vs. Andre Brown, N.Y. Giants RB Second-year runner David Wilson may get more carries in the Giants backfield, thanks to higher upside, but the job appears to be a timeshare at this point, which hinders the value of both and even if Wilson gets more carries, Brown could get the short-yardage and goalline work. Jonathan Dwyer vs. Isaac Redman, Pittsburgh RB Rookie RB LeVeon Bell was likely to emerge as the starter for the Steelers, but a foot injury has sidelined him for six-to-eight weeks, leaving Dwyer, who rushed for 623 yards last season, in the lead for carries in the Pittsburgh backfield. Redman rushed for 410 yards last season, with a similarly powerful running style, while LaRod Stephens-Howling could offer a different look as a smaller and quicker option. 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. Charles Oakley Jersey . According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, it doesnt appear the offer was warmly received by the team. Blue Jackets director of hockey operations John Davidson and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said on Wednesday the team has made offers of $6 million for two years, $32 million for six and $46 million over eight years but each one was refused by the restricted free agent centre and agent Kurt Overhardt. Trey Burke Jersey . Patrik Bartosak turned away 50-of-52 shots for the Rebels (28-26-4), who halted their losing streak at seven games. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Feser forced overtime with his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the third period. http://www.knickssale.com/kids-walt-frazier-knicks-jersey/ .C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. Sheets recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season to tie the Riders club record. Custom New York Knicks Jerseys Frank Ntilikina Jersey . Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday.The Calder Memorial Trophy is the award given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition. The future is looking bright for the Tampa Bay Lightning as forwards Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat were both finalists for the Calder. Unfortunately for the T-Bay rookies, theyre going up against the Colorado Avalanche phenom Nathan MacKinnon who was simply awesome all season. Gerry Dee had some career advice for the first overall pick in the 2013 draft earlier this year on the third season of Mr. D… I wonder if MacKinnon took it seriously.The James Norris Memorial Trophy is handed out to the defense player who demonstrates the greatest all-round ability at the position. This years candidates are Bostons Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith of the Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators Shea Weber.To determine the winner of the Norris Trophy, we will hold a hardest shot competition between the finalists:The Vezina Trophy is aawarded to the best goaltender of the NHL season.dddddddddddd This years nominees are Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche.Lets all pray Rask wins, because we know how much he hates losing...And finally, the Hart Memorial Trophy is the annual award given to the most valuable player to his team. This years finalists for the award are Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks, Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Of course, our savior Sid the Kid will take home the award, but I would quickly enjoy entertaining the idea of it being a competition.Heres a throwback of our friend Cabbie having a little fun with Crosby!Roll out the red carpet and get ready for a night of glamour, as the awards will be presented with the help of current and former NHLers, as well as celebrity hockey fans. We hope you enjoy the show! ' ' '