first full offseason that hes been healthy and hes

Todd Clever has been handed the captaincy ahead of the U.S. Eagles match against the NZ Maori on Friday night in Chicago at Toyota Park.?Clever heads up a team which includes Saracens prop Titi Lamositele and Newcastle second-row Nick Civetta.The team is void of Toulons Samu Manoa as the match falls outside the international window but Madison Hughes, the U.S. Sevens captain, could make his first appearance for the Eagles if he is given his chance from the bench.?The Eagles will come up against a Maori side packed with Super Rugby experience including the brilliant Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie and powerful No.8 Akira Ioane.?Culturally the Maori All Blacks bond extremely well and have their own spirit and ethos as a result of their wonderful Maori culture, USA coach John Mitchell said. Theyve also got the British & Irish Lions tour next year to look forward to, so a lot of these layers will be looking to impress.The boys have a tough job ahead of them but theyve trained smarter and we have challenged them in the decision-making space, and they are motivated for this match against arguably the best non-test team in the world.USA Eagles:?Mike Teo, Martin Iosefo, Bryce Campbell, Folau Niua, Matai Leuta, Will Holder, Nate Augspurger; Titi Lamositele, James Hilterbrand, Chris Baumann, Nate Brakeley, Nick Civetta, Todd Clever (captain), Tony Lamborn, Danny BarrettReplacements: Joe Taufetee, Angus MacLellan, Alex Maughan, Matthew Jensen, Al McFarland, Stephen Tomasin, Shalom Suniula, Madison Hughes Dave Kingman Cubs Jersey . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Daniel Descalso Cubs Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. https://www.cheapcubs.com/2200t-nico-hoerner-jersey-cubs.html . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Adbert Alzolay Cubs Jersey . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Dave Kingman Jersey . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The competitive environment of the NFL and plain old human nature usually trigger an extra injection of motivation for players facing their former teams.Thats particularly true after theyve been traded or released.Sam Bradford has no reason to be insecure about playing at Philadelphia this weekend. His new team in Minnesota has the last perfect record left in the league, and some of the best performances of his seven-year career have been on display over four starts with the Vikings.My approach is just try to keep it as normal as possible this week. I think I owe it to all of the guys in our locker room to not try and do anything special, not try to do anything extra, Bradford said. When you get caught up with things outside of football, thats when things can go wrong.The Vikings (5-0) paid a steep price for Bradford on Sept. 3. They sent their 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 selection that will range from the second to the fourth round to the Eagles four days after original quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down with a massive knee injury.The return on the deal couldnt have better so far, with Bradford leading the NFL with a 70.4 completion percentage, ranking second with a 109.8 passer rating, and taking his first 249 snaps without a turnover.Its like when you go to a new job, the first day you dont know anybody, youve got to learn everything, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. The protections are different, the terminology is different, the combinations, the players are different. ... For him to be able to do the things hes done, I think hes done a great job.The success hasnt exactly caught the Eagles (3-2) by surprise. They were prepared to hand Bradford the keys to the offense for the second straight season, planning to sit rookie Carson Wentz for the whole year. Then the Vikings made the emergency call to try to keep their Super Bowl goal on track.I felt Sam was in a great spot with us offensively and was set to have a good season, and I wasnt going to disrupt that if I didnt have to, new Eagles coach Doug Pederson said, echoing Bradford.I waas really excited about the year there, Bradford said.dddddddddddd I felt like I had a really good spring.Pederson, a quarterback himself who lasted 12 seasons in the league and was hired to replace Chip Kelly, had a mere 7+ months with Bradford, without any meaningful games. That was still enough time for a strong impression to be made.Hes smart. He makes good, accurate throws. Hes tough to defend that way, Pederson said. Ive always said this as a former quarterback: Its hard to defend the perfect pass, and he knows how to put the perfect pass out there.Skepticism has trailed Bradford since St. Louis took him in 2010 with the first overall draft pick, and two major knee injuries didnt help his profile. He finished 2015 on a relatively strong note, though, as he distanced himself from the one-year anniversary of his most recent ACL reconstruction.This is the first full offseason that hes been healthy and hes been able to get in the weight room and hes been able to get stronger, Pederson said. Hes throwing the ball with greater accuracy. The timing of throws, just getting it out of his hand. I think all of that is part of his success.When the Eagles took Wentz with the second selection in the draft, Bradford became an obvious short-timer even if he were to play the whole year with Philadelphia. Wentz has started his career in impressive fashion, making this matchup all the more intriguing even if the principals arent buying it.I did tell the team that this game is not about Bradford and Wentz, Zimmer said. Its about the Eagles and the Vikings.Bradford should have leading wide receiver Stefon Diggs back for Sunday after he missed the previous game against Houston because of a groin injury. Diggs was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday. Right guard Brandon Fusco, who departed the last game due to a concussion, took full part.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '