CINCINNATI - One of AJ McCarrons early throws in practice was so far off the mark that it deflected off the wall of the University of Cincinnatis bubble-covered field.Didnt dent his mood at all.The fifth-round draft pick hadnt done anything with the Cincinnati Bengals until this week, when he returned from a sore passing shoulder that sidelined him since the start of training camp. McCarron spent the last few months strengthening his right shoulder and waiting to be declared ready.He finally got to practice with the team on Wednesday.I had a smile on my face the whole day, McCarron said on Thursday. I cPhiladelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Nobody in the FCS steps up to greater competition like David Johnson. The Northern Iowa running back could be the first FCS offensive player selected in the 2015 NFL Draft, and for good reason - he knows how to compete against the big boys. Johnson showed that this past weekend as his Panthers took down previously unbeaten Illinois State, 42-28, in a Missouri Valley Football Conference showdown. Johnson was named The Sports Network FCS Offensive Player of the Week after rushing 29 times for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while also registering 121 kickoff return yards, which included a 98-yard touchdown. The Panthers are not only fighting for their playoff lives week in and week out, as they currently sit on a 5-4 record and a 3-2 mark in conference play, but they have three incredibly difficult matchups remaining on the regular- season slate. This upcoming weekend, Johnson and UNI will be tasked with the seemingly insurmountable job of taking down top-ranked North Dakota State, which just extended its FCS-record win streak to 33 games dating back to 2012. The Panthers get the Bison at the UNI Dome, and will be looking to unleash Johnson against the nations eighth-best run defense. Northern Iowa will close out the regular season with a game on the road against Southern Illinois and then at home against Missouri State. Like Johnson did earlier this season against FBS opponents Iowa and Hawaii (356 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns combined), hell look to replicate against tough conference opponents in crunch time. Johnson, along with Stetsons Donald Payne, North Dakota States Kyle Emanuel, Tennessee States Darion Hall and Butlers Sam Schrader have all been named The Sports Network National Players of the Week following Week 10 action at the FCS level. OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: David Johnson, Northern Iowa, RB, Sr., 6-1, Clinton, Iowa Not only did Johnson play a huge role in taking down then-No. 7 Illinois State, but he yet again became a Northern Iowa legend in the process. His 129 rushing yards in the game were enough to move him into first place in UNI history in terms of career rushing yards. The senior now has 4,051 yards on the ground in his four years in Cedar Falls, and has set three new school records this season alone. His 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Redbirds was also a career long in the category, and Johnson finished the day with 255 all- purpose yards (129 rushing, five receiving, 121 kickoff return). CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Donald Payne, Stetson, DB, So., 6-0, 215, Fayetteville, Georgia Payne is used to filling up the defensive stat sheet with his excellent all- around play for the Hatters, but Saturday the sophomore went a bit overboard against Campbell. Payne recorded a Pioneer Football League-record 27 tackles in Stetsons 28-24 edging of the Fighting Camels, which accounted for more than one-third of Campbells 79 offensive plays. Ten of those tackles were solo stops, and he chipped in with a pair of half-tackles for loss. It was the second time this season Payne has recorded more than 20 tackles in a contest (in Week 8 against Jacksonville, he had 21). He added a missed field goal return for 20 yards to his stat line Saturday. Kyle Emanuel, North Dakota State, DE, Sr., 6-3, 251, Schuyler, Nebraska This is the second Defensive Player of the Week award for the North Dakota State lineman, who set a career mark on Saturday in his teams 37-17 thrashing of South Dakota State. Emanuel registered a career-best 10 tackles, adding 4.5 tackles for loss and four sacks to the effort. The senior had three sacks by halftime, but his fourth and final sack was the most momentous. With four minutes left in the game, Emanuel recorded a strip sack on SDSU quarterback Austin Sumner. The ball was recovered by the Bison and it led to an NDSU touchdown five plays later in the Missouri Valley clash. SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Darion Hall, Tennessee State, RB/RS, Sr., 6-0, 190, Naples, Florida Halls Tigers faced a tough test on Saturday and ultimately fell to Eastern Kentucky, 56-42. But the senior running back managed to do something only nine other players in the history of the Ohio Valley Conference have ever done: return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. He finished the day with 174 yards on five returns, and had 262 all-purpose yards. It was the first time since the 2011 season that any OVC player has returned a kick 100 yards for a score. The feat gives TSU four of the 10 OVC players in history who have returned a kick the full length of the field. FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Sam Schrader, Butler, RB, R-Fr., 5-10, 185, Mishawaka, Indiana Schrader didnt just help his Butler squad hold off Morehead State this weekend, the redshirt freshman back bulldozed the opposing Eagles. The 5- foot-10 tailback registered three second-quarter scores en route to earning 162 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries in the win. He did most of his damage in the second quarter, carrying the ball just four times but gaining 82 yards with the three touchdowns of 21, 55 and 4 yards. Schraders performance was the third four-touchdown game in the Pioneer Football League this season - the other two belong to Dayton back Connor Kacsor. Latavius Murray Jersey . On Sunday, hell attempt to become the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Nationwide race on Iowas short track. The 20-year-old Blaney wont be the only kid pushing a podium finish. Patrick Robinson Jersey . With the Pirates in the thick of the race in the NL Central, the timing couldnt be better. Liriano struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season and Pittsburgh beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 on Tuesday night. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom...arge-2272e.html. PETERSBURG, Florida – Its been almost seven years since the Blue Jays last won a series at Tropicana Field. Justin Hardee Jersey . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St. Krishawn Hogan Jersey . The 26-year-old Redditch, England, native played three of his past four seasons under Rennie with the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League.Legendary comedic actor and huge sports fan Will Ferrell goes one-on-one with TSNs James Duthie in the prime-time special Will Ferrell on Sports and Stuff premiering Thursday at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt on TSN. Fresh off of Ron Burgundys much publicized appearance in the TSN curling broadcast booth for the opening of the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, Ferrell sits down with Duthie to discuss how sport has played such an important role in hiis career.dddddddddddd In addition to revealing some of his favourite sports moments, Ferrell also breaks down some of the hot-button issues in the world of sports – including finally answering the burning question of who is the best fake athlete of all time. CTV will feature an encore presentation of Will Ferrell on Sports and Stuff on Saturday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt (visit CTV.ca for local listings). ' ' 'ould have messed up the whole practice. I was just having fun. I felt like a kid again out playing the game in the backyard. I was just excited to play football.McCarron led Alabama to national titles in 2011 and 2012. He went 36-4 as the Crimson Tides starter and set school records for touchdown passes, yards passing and completion percentage. The Bengals took him with the 164th overall pick, looking to develop him into a reliable backup to Andy Dalton.The sore shoulder sidelined him at the start of training camp. The Bengals put him on a strengthening program that involved throwing from short distances at the outset and building up to longer throws as the shoulder allowed. He was finally cleared to join practice this week.The Bengals moved their practices on Wednesday and Thursday to Cincinnatis covered field — the Bengals are the most northern NFL team without one of their own. It took McCarron a little while to settle in and start completing his throws.I havent thrown to receivers, he said. Getting the timing with the guys at first was different at first. That was the first time I had thrown in shoulder pads since (the Sugar Bowl). Thats almost a year.I completed the first one, sailed the next two. I could have messed up 100 times, I was just so happy to be playing football.The question is how the Bengals will handle him for the rest of the season.Dalton has been one of the NFLs most durable quarterbacks, missing only half of a game due to injury during his four seasons. Veteran Jason Campbell is the backup. The Bengals envisioned McCarron growing into the backup role, but the injury has prevented him from making much progress.If Dalton continues to struggle in big games — hes 0-3 in the playoffs and 2-6 in prime time games — the Bengals could make a switch at quarterback in a couple of years, which would provide an opening for McCarron.The Bengals have a three-week roster exemption for McCarron. Theyll have to decide whether to add him to the active roster for the rest of the regular season — and bump someone off the roster — or leave him on an injury list the rest of the way.The Bengals (6-3-1) lead the AFC North heading into their game on Sunday at Houston (5-5).I just want to go out and have fun and then be ready to go whenever they need me, whether they call on me this year or next year, McCarron said. The old saying you dont realize what you have until its taken away? It really is true. Being out that long, it felt like it was taken away. Being back, I felt like a kid again. I was having fun.Notes: Linebacker Vontaze Burfict was held out of practice again on Thursday, an indication hell miss his fourth consecutive game following knee surgery. ... Defensive end Margus Hunt was still walking with a boot on his sprained right ankle Thursday. Offensive lineman Mike Pollak sat out practice with a sore knee. ... Running back Giovani Bernard fully participated in practice for the first time. Hes likely to be active on Sunday after missing three games with a sore shoulder and hip, although rookie running back Jeremy Hill is expected to get the bulk of the plays.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Charvarius Ward Super Bowl Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Darrel Williams Super Bowl Jersey .Y. - Everyone expected Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout, and he did — a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth...-Chiefs-Jersey/. Petersburg of the KHL. Belov was a free agent last summer when he signed a one-year contract with the Oilers. In 57 games this season he had one goal and six assists with 34 penalty minutes in Edmonton. Reggie Ragland Super Bowl Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Harrison Butker Super Bowl Jersey . Cammalleri suffered a concussion in the Flames 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The 31-year-old forward did not travel with the team to Carolina.New York Rangers forward Daniel Carcillo is appealing his 10-game suspension for abuse of an on-ice official. The NHLPA announced on Saturday that Carcillo has asked NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to review the ban handed down after Carcillo applied force to linesman Scott Driscoll in Thursday nights 3-2 overtime lloss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.dddddddddddd Carcillo had 72 hours to appeal the decision. In 8 games this post-season, Carcillo has two goals and 22 minutes in penalties. If the suspension stands, this will be the King City, Ontario natives sixth suspension. ' ' '
