Rodney, I think, is going to misfire a little bit, but hes

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer underwent emergency eye surgery Wednesday night, putting his status in question for the teams game against Dallas.Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said Zimmer was uncertain to recover in time for the matchup Thursday night against the league-leading Cowboys. Spielman said hed met with coaches and players to put a contingency plan in place in case Zimmer is unable to coach.Zimmer, who got his start in the NFL as an assistant with the Cowboys in 1994 and spent 13 years with the organization, has yet to face Dallas in the regular season as a head coach. The Vikings and Cowboys played last year in the preseason.The Vikings said Spielman wouldnt be available for further comment until Thursday morning, but they have two former head coaches on staff in offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur (Cleveland) and offensive line coach Tony Sparano (Miami).The news came about a month after the 60-year-old Zimmer first experienced trouble with his right eye. He complained of vision problems a couple of days before the Oct. 31 contest at Chicago and scratched the eye inadvertently during that game. That prompted team doctors to send him for further examination, which led to a diagnosis of a torn retina.He had a procedure done Nov. 1 and another one Nov. 8, which left his right eye noticeably red. It had cleared up significantly in recent days, though, but obviously all was not right. Left untreated, retina damage can lead to blindness.After first revealing the issue at his Nov. 2 news conference, Zimmer said hed been watching film with his good eye and using reading glasses to write down notes in preparation for that weeks game. With the Vikings mired in a slump with five losses in the last six games, the hard-nosed Zimmer sure hasnt appeared to back off his approach at all in the desire to help the team get back on track and catch up in the NFC playoff chase. Zimmer mentioned recently hes been arriving at his office even earlier than usual, around 4:15 a.m.Zimmer still keeps a home in suburban Dallas, which is where his son and current Vikings linebackers coach Adam Zimmer lived during his middle school and high school years. Mike Zimmer, while making sure this week to avoid sounding overly nostalgic, listed several people still working in the Cowboys organization he remembers well when asked this week to reflect.Anytime youre somewhere 13 years, Zimmer said, it kind of grooms you into who you are a little bit. We had some great teams there.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jackie Robinson Jersey . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Authentic . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. http://www.cheapdodgersjerseys.com/ .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Cheap Fernando Valenzuela Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Cheap Dodgers Jerseys China . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Joe Maddon says a solid stretch of play -- not a soft spot in the schedule -- has helped the Tampa Bay Rays get back into the AL East race. Chris Archer pitched six strong innings, while Matt Joyce and Kelly Johnson drove in two runs apiece to help the second-place Rays extend their winning streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over the sputtering Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night. The Rays matched their longest winning streak of the year, climbed a season-best 11 games over .500, and improved to 8-1 during a stretch of 14 consecutive games against the struggling Twins, Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros leading to the All-Star break. The Twins have lost nine of their last 10. "Were starting to play up to our capabilities," said Maddon, who shrugged off questions about Tampa Bays surge coming against teams with losing records. "We dont assume anything," the Rays manager said. "We arent looking at records. Were just playing." Archer (3-3) limited the Twins to an unearned run and three hits to outpitch fellow rookie Kyle Gibson (1-2), who was done in by one bad inning in his third career start for Minnesota. Joyce drove in two runs with a two-out, bases-loaded single that snapped a scoreless tie in the fourth, the outfielders first RBIs since June 15. Johnson followed with a two-run double for his first multi-RBI game since May 27 to give Archer all the support he would need. "The teams been playing really well the last couple of weeks and were starting to build a little confidence in each other," Joyce said. "Any big moment that comes up now, we have confidence in any guy in that position. ... I think thats how good teams win, and thats how they get on rolls like were on right now." The Rays starter yielded Joe Mauers first-inning double and singles by Trevor Plouffe and Chris Parmelee in the second. He retired 10 in a row before the Twins scored their only run without getting a hit, thanks to Brian Dozier being hit by a pitch, Archers two-base throwing error and Ryan Doumits sacrifice fly. Alex Torres, Jake McGee and Fernando Rodney each pitched a scoreless inning for the Rays, with Rodney getting the final three outs to finish a combined five-hitter and earn his 21st save. The Twins had two hits after the second inning -- singles by Mauer and Doumit leading off the ninth. Rodney struck out Justin Morneau, Plouffe and Oswaldo Arcia to end the game. "A tough night offensively for us," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. Gibson, meanwhile, allowed four runs and four hits over six innings. He walked four and struck out three. It was the second straight loss for the 25-year-old right-hander, who beat Kansas City in his big league debut on June 29 before being roughed up five days later by the New York Yankees.dddddddddddd Gibson limited the Rays to one baserunner through three innings, but ran into trouble after walking two batters to begin the fourth. James Loney drew a two-out walk to load the bases, and Joyce and Johnson followed with their big hits to dump the Twins into a 4-0 hole they couldnt escape with a sputtering offence. After going 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position while losing Mondays series opener 7-4, the Twins failed to take advantage a couple of early opportunities against Archer. They were 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position in the first two innings, then didnt have another batter reached base until Dozier was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth. Archers errant pickoff throw -- Tampa Bays first error in 10 games -- allowed Dozier to advance to third before Doumit delivered his sacrifice fly. "I thought Gibby threw the ball well all except one inning where he just lost the strike zone. I thought he settled in after that and went back out there for a couple more good innings. One bad inning un-done us," Gardenhire said. "Offensively early, we were banging some balls pretty hard. I thought we were hitting them on the screws at people, and their kid settled in there pretty decent. Did what he had to do, and got to the bullpen and they threw some really good arms at us there," Gardenhire added. "We all know Rodney, I think, is going to misfire a little bit, but hes got filthy stuff. We got him in a situation, but he made pitches when he had to." NOTES: Tampa Bay rookie OF Wil Myers, in a 5-for-31 slump, was out of the lineup for the first time since making his big league debut on June 18. With the Rays and Twins finishing up this series night game Wednesday followed by a Thursday matinee, Maddon said it was a logical day to give the young slugger a day off. ... Twins LHP Caleb Thielbar, whose grandmother died, will go on the bereavement list Thursday. He will rejoin the team this weekend and be eligible to pitch on Sunday against the New York Yankees. RHP Michael Tonkin will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to fill Thielbars spot on the roster. ... Minnesota OF Josh Willingham (left knee) has started doing light exercises. ... Twins OF Wilkin Ramirez (concussion-like symptoms) is still having headaches. He has missed the past 40 games. ... Despite losing its top two home runs hitters (B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena) from last season to free agency, the Rays are on a pace to hit 182 homers -- seven more than in 2012. ' ' '