Ojibwa man launches rights challenge against Ottawa football team’s name

An Ottawa man has launched a legal complaint against a local youth football program over use of the name “Redskins,” saying the phrase is racially insensitive and should be changed.

The Canadian case is the latest in a long-running debate over the Redskins name, used most prominently by the National Football League’s Washington Redskins, which has resisted calls to rebrand.

The Ottawa complainant, Ian Campeau, had for roughly two years asked the Ottawa-area Nepean Redskins Football Club to change its name. The Ojibwa man ultimately filed the complaint Tuesday with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal on behalf of his five-year-old daughter, in a case that has the backing of the Assembly of First Nations.

The football club, meanwhile, says both rebranding and any legal fight could be too expensive for the volunteer-only organization, which took its name from the NFL team 32 years ago. It would require replacing player equipment, a scoreboard and other supplies. After early complaints by Mr. Campeau, who is not involved in the league, the football club asked the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition last year for input. The group felt the name wasn’t being used maliciously, and didn’t object.

“This was never taken on as a slight towards aboriginal people and to be a negative. That goes without saying, and it’s without question,” said football club president Steve Dean. “The question now is, given all the rhetoric that’s been presented, is this something that we want to maintain?”

Mr. Campeau isn’t seeking money. Instead, he’s asking the tribunal to order Ottawa’s National Capital Amateur Football Association to change the name and logo in the next five years. He argues the name is racially charged.

“What’s going to stop [people] from calling my daughter a redskin in the school yard?” he said in a written statement. “It’s marginalizing, dehumanizing and racial profiling. If my daughter wanted to play football, or even watch it, she wouldn’t feel welcome.”

AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo offered his support to Mr. Campeau’s battle, saying “the term ‘Redskins’ is offensive and hurtful and completely inappropriate.” He added “it is unfortunate that this step must be taken as a last resort.”

Mr. Campeau’s case is being handled on a pro-bono basis by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. The case could be settled through mediation before heading to a hearing, said Qajaq Robinson, a lawyer representing Mr. Campeau.

“Ian has been clear throughout that he admires the work that NCAFA does do. He appreciates the value of organized sport for children, youth and young adults. However, under this [Redskins] term and the moniker, there is a group in our community, an aboriginal group, who are being discriminated against. And the good [work] can continue without that term,” Ms. Robinson said.

Some volunteers contacted Wednesday declined to comment, saying only the long-simmering public fight is unfortunate for a youth sports organization. Asked whether some think the issue is being blown out of proportion, Mr. Dean says the feedback he’s seen “does have some of those sentiments.”

The Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition discussed the issue last October after being approached by Mr. Dean’s club, chairperson Marc Maracle said.

“We felt that the club didn’t select the name with any malicious intent to insult or criticize the community or aboriginal people in general,” he said in an interview, stressing the group doesn’t claim to speak for the broad aboriginal community. Mr. Campeau is “determined in his approach,” Mr. Maracle said.

“We’ve taken this issue, I think, in a more positive light. I know this is a huge issue in the States in terms of mascots and team names. You know, we’ve got enough challenges on our plate.”

The Nepean club serves about 250 children and teenagers, running tackle and touch football teams and a cheerleading program. It was founded in 1978 as the Barrhaven Buccaneers, but wore the same colours as the NFL Redskins, and so the name was changed in 1981. “Kids looked at that as a positive, in terms of dressing in NFL colours … that was really the starting point of it,” Mr. Dean said.

The NFL’s Redskins – valued by Forbes as a $1.7-billion franchise – have also faced regular calls to rebrand. Ten members of Congress reiterated the request in a letter earlier this year. Last month, former Oakland Raiders CEO Amy Trask said she, too, thinks the name should be changed.

“As a society, we should seek to inspire people to be tolerant and respectful of others, regardless of our differences. Using Redskins as the name of an NFL team does not further this goal,” Ms. Trask told NBC.

It’s not an idea that team owner Dan Snyder has left the door open to, telling USA Today this year that “we’ll never change the name.” The NFL’s commissioner has also resisted calls to change the name of one of the league’s flagship franchises. They have public opinion on their side: A poll earlier this year found that four out of five Americans say the Redskins should keep their name, while only 11 per cent said it should be changed.

View the original article here

Crosby discusses lengthy recovery road from concussions, safety of the game

After four straight shortened seasons due to injury and entering his ninth NHL campaign, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has declared himself healthy and ready for the upcoming season.

Crosby discussed his battle back from concussions, the NHL’s ongoing battle to make the game safer and some of the unconventional treatments that helped him recover in an interview with the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge that aired Wednesday night.

“Concussions are still kind of a mysterious thing. We do know a lot more now, but there are still things that we can learn and hopefully ways and methods we can learn to either heal or to find out more about the actual extent of the injuries,” Crosby said.

On Jan. 1, 2011, during the Winter Classic, Crosby received a hit from David Steckel of the Washington Capitals that resulted in his first reported concussion in the NHL. Four days later Crosby's head was driven into the boards by Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman. Although Crosby continued to play in both contests, his symptoms worsened and after missing the next game against the Montreal Canadiens the team announced that he would be out of the lineup for a week.

However, Crosby was unable to return to game action until Nov. 21, 2011 over 11 months since being sidelined. He would only play eight games before recurring symptoms forced him back to the sidelines. Crosby didn’t return to game action until mid-March, 2012.

There were some dark days when the thought he may never play hockey again at the professional level entered his mind.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I thought about it,” Crosby told Mansbridge.

The standard recovery protocol when recovering from a concussion is rest, something that is extremely difficult for professional athlete who is used to competing on a daily basis.

“When you get a typical injury you’re given a time frame, you’re gradually working towards getting back," Crosby said. "With concussions there is not generally a time frame or a span where you’re feeling better. You feel like you’re getting better and it can be one day and you’re back to where you started. It’s a frustrating injury and one that anyone has gone through can relate. It’s a hard one to understand unless you’ve gone through it.”

During the interview, Crosby also discussed some of the alternative treatment options he sought to alleviate his lingering concussion symptoms when typical treatment failed to work, including his visits to Dr. Ted Carrick, the founding father of “chiropractic neurology.”

Through his work with Carrick, Crosby was eventually able to return to the ice. When asked if he had any concussion-related symptoms since returning to action over year and half ago, Crosby emphatically said he had not, including after taking a puck to the face that broke his broke his jaw and forced him to miss the final 12 regular season games and the Penguins first playoff game.

“I’ve had a good couple of bumps along the way," Crosby said. "Obviously getting shot in the face was a good test.”

Crosby still finished tied for third in league scoring (15 goals, 41 assists for 56 points) and captured the Ted Lindsay Award (player of the year selected by the NHLPA).

The Cole Harbour, N.S., native said the league’s intent to curb dangerous hits has improved, but as time goes by, hockey at every level will need to adjust and adapt as the game changes to make sure it is as safe as possible.

However, Crosby did say that the game is fast and physical and it is impossible to protect everyone.

Going forward, Crosby said he will not change the way he plays the game for fear of getting hurt.

“I still feel that the physical part is just as enjoyable. I don’t go into the corner thinking twice about my head,” Crosby said.

While recovering from any injury can be frustrating, even more so from a concussion, Crosby is pleased with the way the process played out.

“Going through (recovery) so long and making sure there wasn‘t still any underlying things and forcing myself to (be completely healthy), it might be a different story. Maybe I wouldn’t even be playing now. Looking back, as frustrating and long as it seemed, I am happy with the way that it went.”

View the original article here

Year after missing U.S. Open with bad knee, Nadal cruises into semi-finals

It’s as though Rafael Nadal never left.

If anything, he’s playing better than ever.

A year after skipping the U.S. Open because of a bad knee, Nadal powered his way back to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows, overwhelming 19th-seeded Tommy Robredo 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday night.

“I’m sure that’s the way I have to play to keep having chances to be successful in every surface, but especially on this one,” said the second-seeded Nadal, who is 20-0 on hard courts in 2013. “I was able to do it today. I hope to be able to do it in two days.”

On Saturday, Nadal will face No. 8 Richard Gasquet, who edged No. 4 David Ferrer 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3.

That one took nearly 3 1/2 hours, and was filled with plenty of ebbs and flows, allowing Gasquet to reach his first major semifinal in six years.

Nadal, meanwhile, was never challenged even the slightest bit by Robredo, who was coming off a fourth-round upset of 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. That stunning result scuttled the possibility of a Nadal-Federer showdown, which would have been the rivals’ 32nd meeting on tour, but first at the U.S. Open.

Robredo had been 0-10 against Federer before finally beating him Monday. Perhaps that allowed Robredo to enter Wednesday believing he’d have a chance against Nadal, despite an 0-6 mark in their previous matches.

So much for that. This one lasted 1 hour, 40 minutes, and it really was over after 22 minutes. That’s how long it took Nadal to dominate the first set, not only winning every game but also 24 of 29 points, including all seven that lasted 10 strokes or more.

“I played great the first set,” Nadal said. “It’s my first set so far this year 100 per cent.”

That’s really saying something, considering that he is 58-3 this season with nine titles, including his record eighth championship at the French Open in June. At the next Grand Slam tournament, though, Nadal flopped, exiting in the first round at Wimbledon.

That surprising defeat, against a guy ranked 135th, came on June 24. Feels like eons ago. Nadal hasn’t lost a match to anyone since. His 12 major trophies include the 2010 U.S. Open, and he has reached at least the semifinals the past five times he entered the tournament. Nadal did not come to New York in 2012, part of about a seven-month absence due mainly to a left knee problem.

No sign of that Wednesday.

“He was up very quick,” said Robredo, who is 0-7 in Grand Slam quarter-finals, “and then there was nothing else to do. He was too good.”

It took Robredo 39 minutes to finally win a game, the ninth of the match, and some fans stood to applaud, probably hoping for a more competitive evening of tennis. At the changeover moments later, the videoboards in Arthur Ashe Stadium showed Donald Trump in his suite, and the cheers turned to boos.

With loud grunts, Nadal announced his violent, uppercut forehands, and they cut through the 20 mph wind, thick with spin, landing right near lines.

Through two sets, Nadal compiled a 19-2 edge in winners — the final tally was 28-10 — and that forehand of his also forced Robredo into plenty of errors. Actually, every aspect of Nadal’s game worked.

One backhand lob was curled so well, Robredo tossed his racket up in the air toward the ball, knowing he had no chance of reaching the perfectly placed shot. Nadal never faced a break point, and through five matches so far in New York this year, he has not lost serve once, a run of 67 games.

Nadal played at the French Open and Wimbledon with tape below his left knee, but not at the U.S. Open. He looks healthy as can be, covering the court well and tracking down shot after shot by his opponents.

Now Nadal becomes Gasquet’s problem. They’ve played 10 times on tour, and Nadal has won all 10.

“Last time I beat him, I was 13,” Gasquet said, referring to a junior match he looked up on YouTube. “It was a long time ago.”

When Nadal was told about that, he smiled broadly.

“Yeah, I think I lost 6-4 in the third,” Nadal said. “Yeah, I remember.”

The other two men’s quarter-finals are Thursday, with No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 21 Mikhail Youzhny, and No. 3 Andy Murray against No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka. Murray beat Djokovic in last year’s U.S. Open final.

In the women’s semifinals Friday, No. 1 Serena Williams faces No. 5 Li Na, and No. 2 Victoria Azarenka plays unseeded Flavia Pennetta.

Azarenka and Pennetta won their quarter-finals Wednesday.

Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion and last year’s runner-up to Williams at Flushing Meadows, eliminated 48th-ranked Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-3.

The 83rd-ranked Pennetta, who missed the 2012 U.S. Open because of right wrist surgery, reached her first Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over 10th-seeded Roberta Vinci.

Pennetta spoke Wednesday about sitting at her parents’ place in Italy, watching on TV as the U.S. Open went on without her. She was asked whether, at the time, she could have imagined playing at this level 12 months later.

“I hoped so. It’s what I hoped for at the start of this year, to be honest. It didn’t happen as easily or as quickly as I’d hoped,” she said. “But I definitely hoped.”

Nadal, too, was far away when the 2012 tournament took place, at home on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

He was concerned about how long it would take his knee to recover, how long it would take for him to play well.

And between then and now, he worked with Toni Nadal, his uncle and coach, on improving his hard-court game.

Things seem to be going to plan so far.

In an interview during ESPN’s coverage of the match, Toni Nadal said it “was necessary” to change the way Rafael plays on hard courts.

“Rafael has problems in his knees, and we talked about playing more aggressive and more near the baseline,” Uncle Toni said. “At the moment, (it’s) going good.”

In the mixed doubles semifinal, Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic and Max Mirnyi of Belarus, defeated Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and France’s Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 12-10.

View the original article here

Flames hire Brian Burke as president of hockey operations

Welcome to the Calgary Flames’ age of truculence.

Brian Burke, known for his smash-mouth style of hockey, was unveiled Thursday as the Flames’ new president of hockey operations. The announcement was made at a conference room inside the Scotiabank Saddledome and capped a whirlwind 24 hours of speculation.

According to the Flames’ new management flow chart, Ken King will remain as the CEO of the Flames sporting group, which includes the CFL Stampeders, the WHL Hitmen and the National Lacrosse League Roughnecks. Jay Feaster also remains as the general manager and will work in tandem with Burke, who described his role as an advisor.

“This is a relatively new structure in professional hockey,” said Burke, who was relieved of his president and GM duties with the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this year. “There are few teams in the NHL have this type of management structure. There are a number of teams in the NFL that do. There are a number of teams in MLB that do. A number of teams in the NBA that do and it works. And it’s going to work here.

“I’m not the general manager of the Calgary Flames,” added Burke. “Jay Feaster is. Jay and I have been friends for a long time. We met this morning and talked about how to make this work and we’re both committed to winning. I think I can provide some help but I think that Jay’s got great ability and he’s already made some very important steps in fixing things here.”

The 58-year-old Burke was in Calgary on Wednesday and met with King and Flames’ owner Murray before agreeing to come aboard. Two months ago, the Flames flew NHL chief of player safety Brendan Shanahan into Calgary, where he dined with Edwards and King and discussed a position with the organization. In the end, Shanahan passed on the possibility and Calgary went back into search mode.

Burke was asked how big a rebuilding job he faces in Calgary, compared to the one he inherited when he took over the Maple Leafs.

“In Toronto, there was a lot of work that needed to be that took longer than I thought, in terms of getting some assets out of there. Obviously, we made a major acquisition in acquiring Phil Kessel. The compensation that was paid turned out to be higher than expected. But I’d do the trade again tomorrow.

“I think Jay has already taken some of the major steps to rebuild,” Burke insisted. “I think Calgary had the best draft of anybody. It’s hard in a cap system to turn your team around. I don’t like time frames. I see guys who say this is a three-year rebuild and I think they’re just buying three years for themselves. I have seen (the Flames’ AHL affiliate) Abbotsford play and I do think there’s help on the way.”

View the original article here

Champion Ravens return to Denver to open new season against still-smarting Broncos

John Elway has been down this lonely road before, trudging through the tunnel in deafening silence after a stunning loss at home as the AFC’s prohibitive Super Bowl favourite following a 13-3 regular season.

It happened to Elway the quarterback after the 1996 season when Denver lost to Jacksonville 30-27. It occurred again for Elway the executive in January when the Broncos were beaten 38-35 by Baltimore in the divisional round.

Elway rebounded the first time to win back-to-back Super Bowls. He said the pain of that pratfall against the Jaguars was the impetus to make them into champions.

“It was a great incentive for us to come back and have an even better year the following year,” Elway said.

After engineering a $125-million off-season spending spree and acquiring wide receiver Wes Welker and massive right guard Louis Vasquez — to help new centre Manny Ramirez fend off the likes of Ravens nose tackle Haloti Ngata — Elway is aiming for history to repeat itself after this latest heartbreak.

Five things to watch for as the Broncos kick off the season Thursday night against the champion Ravens:

ROAD RAVENS: Joe Flacco looms larger than life in Denver, and not just because he engineered the stunning playoff upset with his 70-yard touchdown throw to Jacoby Jones that tied it at 35 with 31 seconds left in regulation.

The NFL’s marketing machine put up gigantic banners of Flacco alongside Peyton Manning on the Broncos’ stadium to promote the league’s first game of the 2013 season.

Fans are furious, Manning is miffed and Flacco is flummoxed.

Still, Flacco reasoned, “being hated is not a bad thing.”

This flag flap could have been avoided had baseball’s Orioles moved their game Thursday night to accommodate the champs for a customary home kickoff.

“I’m not too worried about it,” Flacco said. “It’s not like they’re taking a home game away from us. They’re just making us play on the road maybe earlier than we wanted to.”

ELVIS RETURNS: “Doom & Gloom” is what Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller called themselves in Denver, where the Pro Bowl pass rushers combined for 29 1/2 of the Broncos’ league-leading 52 sacks in 2012.

Dumervil signed with the Ravens in free agency after his infamous fax foul-up in Denver led to his release by the Broncos.

He won’t see Miller on Thursday night because Denver’s All-Pro linebacker is serving a six-game drug suspension.

“He’s like a younger brother,” Dumervil said. “We’ve spoken. We talk all the time. He’s dealing with tough times and he’ll fight through it.”

RAHIM’S REDEMPION: Safety Rahim Moore is out to make amends for the most memorable mistake in Denver’s playoff loss, when he mistimed his jump on Flacco’s heave to Jones.

“I haven’t seen it from him one snap or one second where he’s dwelled on that,” Broncos secondary coach Cory Undlin said. “If anything, he’s used it as motivation.”

Veteran cornerback Champ Bailey appreciates Moore’s accountability but noted there were plenty of goats in that game.

“He wasn’t the guy that put us in that situation,” Bailey said. “So, we’ve all got to own that one.”

RAVENS REBUILT: For the first time in the Ravens’ 18-year existence, Ray Lewis isn’t manning middle linebacker. Daryl Smith, who signed a free agent deal in June, is the veteran replacement. He’s a sure tackler entering his 10th season and could help provide some of the veteran presence the Ravens lost.

Smith was part of a Ravens defensive revamp as they also said goodbye to starters Ed Reed, Bernard Pollard, Paul Kruger and Cary Williams, and hello to Dumervil, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears and Michael Huff.

Flacco parlayed his fantastic playoff run into a six-year, $120.6 million contract, but also lost his two favourite targets as receiver Anquan Boldin was traded and tight end Dennis Pitta is sidelined with a fractured hip.

RECORD RETURNER: As a former special teams co-ordinator, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he had “reluctant admiration” for Trindon Holliday, who piled up an NFL-record 248 yards in returns against the Ravens in January.

Denver’s diminutive returner became the first NFL player to take back both a punt and a kickoff for TDs in a playoff game. Those touchdowns were the longest punt (90 yards) and kickoff (104 yards) returns for scores ever in the post-season.

Of course, Holliday was a footnote when Jones’ tying TD grab made him the star instead.

Otherwise, it might have been Holliday and not Jones putting his fingerprints on the Lombardi Trophy, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s late show and then prancing across the floor with Karina Smirnoff on Dancing With The Stars.

View the original article here

Ujiri goes back to Africa to help grow the game that has given him so much

Masai Ujiri’s priority is to inject life into the terminally ill Toronto Raptors, but his basketball roots will forever run deep in his native Africa.

Ujiri, hired in May to be the Raptors’ new general manager, recently returned from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he led a handful of NBA stars, past and present, on a four-day pilgrimage designed to try and grow the game on the vast continent.

It was the 12th annual Basketball Without Borders mission into Africa. The NBA’s global development and community outreach program’s aim is to unite young basketball players, promote the sport and encourage positive social change in the areas of education, health and wellness.

The NBA has run the program, in collaboration with the sport’s global governing body, FIBA, since 2001, and this summer, similar camps were also staged in Argentina and Portugal.

Ujiri, 43, was born in Nigeria, and he overcame incredible odds to become the first African-raised GM of a major North American professional sports team.

At one point during his career, Ujiri worked as an unpaid international scout for the Orlando Magic, sharing rooms with scouts and players during his travels while he bird-dogged talent for the NBA team.

For as long as is able, Ujiri says, he will continue to return to Africa to give back to the game that has provided him with so much.

“Coming here to Toronto, I want to win, I want to build and grow,” the GM said Wednesday, during an interview in his sunlight-flooded corner office that overlooks Union Station in downtown Toronto. “I also think I’ve been put in this position to give back to the kids of Africa. It is a 100-per-cent obligation for me.”

Ujiri was joined in Johannesburg by Kyrie Irving, the first-overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, African-born NBA players Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls.

NBA legends and African sporting heroes Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon also took part, as did current players Al Horford and Jerryd Bayless.

There was also a strong NBA coaching component, including Ty Corbin, head coach of the Utah Jazz, Monte Williams of the New Orleans Pelicans, and Lionel Hollins, who was fired by the Memphis Grizzlies at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season.

NBA senior executive Adam Silver, who is slated to succeed David Stern as NBA commissioner when he steps down in February, was also among the visiting party.

Ujiri, primarily because of his vast knowledge of African basketball, has been the African camp director since the program’s inception, and says its growth has been phenomenal.

“I remember when I took Marcus Camby during one trip and one morning, we both went down to wake up the campers,” Ujiri said. “It was like Marcus Camby waking up a kid from Sudan, a kid from Niger or Cameroon. This is a big deal for these kids and they never forget it.”

Nearly 100 campers who have participated in the program (some 60 of Africa’s top young players, 17 and under, are selected each year to attend) have gone on to play U.S. college basketball, including Luc Mbah a Moute, who is entering his sixth season in the NBA.

This summer’s camp featured players from 25 African countries.

After three days of life-skills seminars, basketball skills-development sessions and competitive games each afternoon, the highlight of the final day was an all-star game and skills competition featuring the most promising players from the continent.

Ujiri is convinced Africa will become the next big breeding ground for future NBA stars, provided much-needed infrastructure continues to be built.

“Soccer is the game I started playing when I was 6, and all you needed to play was an open field and four stones to represent the goal posts,” he said. “It’s easy to learn. I think once there are more basketball courts, more facilities, that will make it easier for kids to pick up the game at a younger age.”

Ujiri was in Africa for two weeks, and was able to attend the African championship tournament, hosted by the Ivory Coast (won by Angola).

He, along with Olajuwon, also attended the One Man, One Nation Celebration at FNB Stadium in honour of former South African president Nelson Mandela. The cultural festival included a soccer match and a rugby game.

Ujiri was asked why basketball wasn’t included.

“We’ll work on that,” he said.

View the original article here

Rookie QB EJ Manuel to start for Bills in opener against Patriots

Once Bills quarterback EJ Manuel practiced Sunday for the first time in two weeks, coach Doug Marrone had an inkling the rookie first-round draft pick might be ready to open the season.

On Wednesday, Marrone was convinced, announcing Manuel had fully recovered from a left knee injury and will start against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

“He’s 110 per cent. He looks good out there,” Marrone said following practice. “And that’s what we’re going to go with.”

That’s a relief for Marrone. He was expressing uncertainty about Manuel’s status since the quarterback was hurt scrambling during a 20-16 preseason win over Minnesota Aug. 16.

“Obviously, being a Catholic, there were a lot of prayers to that,” Marrone said. “I mean, honestly, you go home and say ‘Gosh, I hope he’s healthy,’ but you really don’t know.”

Manuel was far more confident he would be ready, especially after taking part in individual drills on Sunday in his first practice since having what the team called a “minor procedure” Aug. 18.

“I felt I would be good to go a few days ago as far as my knee,” Manuel said. “I know mentally, if I had the chance to go out and play, I’d be ready for it.”

Manuel showed little sign of a limp despite wearing a small brace during practice.

“I haven’t had any hesitation,” Manuel said, noting he hasn’t determined whether he’ll wear the brace on Sunday. “It feels fine. It feels strong, so I can do all my normal movements.”

He opened practice as he had done in training camp. Taking the snap, Manuel dumped a short pass over the middle to C.J. Spiller, and then took off running without a sign of a hitch toward the end zone with the rest of the starting offence.

Manuel also spent another half-hour throwing passes following practice.

His return is the first bit of positive news for the retooled and rookie-laden Bills, who have been stung by a series of setbacks over the past week.

Starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore will miss the first month with a broken left wrist. Starting safety Jairus Byrd’s status is uncertain because of a foot injury and after he missed most of the off-season before signing his franchise tender two weeks ago.

Kicker became an issue after rookie Dustin Hopkins hurt his right groin in practice Monday. Marrone called the injury minor, but ruled Hopkins out from playing Sunday. Dan Carpenter will fill in after the fifth-year player signed Tuesday.

Quarterback has been the Bills’ most pressing need over the past two weeks.

Had Manuel not been ready, the Bills would’ve been forced to start undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel, the only other quarterback on their active roster. Buffalo was placed in this position after veteran free-agent addition Kevin Kolb sustained a season-ending concussion.

The Bills scrambled to add quarterbacks by signing free-agent veteran Matt Leinart and acquiring Thaddeus Lewis in a trade with Detroit. Leinart was cut on Friday, a day after he struggled in a preseason loss to the Lions. Lewis was also cut, but has since been signed to Buffalo’s practice squad.

Manuel now gets his opportunity to be the opening-day starter, just as the Bills had envisioned in April, when they selected him with the 16th pick in the NFL draft. The Florida State product was the first and only quarterback taken in the first round.

He arrived in Buffalo with the expectation of filling a position that’s been unsettled since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season.

Marrone isn’t lowering his expectations with Manuel set to make his NFL debut, and against an AFC East rival that has won 18 of the past 19 games against Buffalo.

“I’d be lying if I’m sitting here saying, ‘I don’t expect him to do great things,“’ Marrone said. “We expect not just EJ, but all of our players that are out there to perform at a very, very high level.”

Manuel is a strong-armed and mobile player, who best fits Marrone’s up-tempo approach to offence.

In two preseason games, Manuel was inconsistent, but showed encouraging signs of developing as a starter. He went a combined 26 of 33 for 199 yards passing, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Center Eric Wood was excited about Manuel’s return, and believes the rookie will be ready Sunday.

“I don’t think it’ll be too big for him,” Wood said, noting Manuel had a 25-6 record, including four Bowl victories, at Florida State. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

View the original article here