Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos continued towards his potential return on Friday, taking part in practice drills with light contact. Nike Air Max 2015 Pas Cher . While the 23-year-olds progress had some teammates saying he was looking pretty good, Stamkos offered a more tempered approach to his return. "I dont feel where I need to be in order to play a game yet, but its getting there," he told reporters after practice at the Bell Centre in Montreal. "Its nice to hear that the guys are saying that. Today I was in the corners a little more and getting bumped around (but) by no means was it full contact." Stamkos fractured the tibia in his right leg in a Nov. 11 game against the Boston Bruins and underwent surgery the following day. He returned to practice earlier than expected, leading each days progress to be closely monitored by Lightning fans as well as Canadians. Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman named Stamkos to Canadas 25-man roster for the coming Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, but with Canadas first game just two weeks away, the clock is ticking on his hopes to be healthy in time. "You just have to listen to your body," Stamkos said. "Were talking a lot about the Olympics and my goal is to try to be ready for those Games, but your body doesnt lie. If youre doing certain movements and you feel pain then thats an indicator that maybe its not quite ready. "It is tough mentally as well, going in there knowing that youre a little hesitant in certain areas. Ive said that before that thats what you dont want so you just try to overcome that as you progress and you take more contact in practice and hopefully that goes away." Stamkos scored 14 goals and 23 points in 17 for the Lightning this season prior to his injury. However, opportunities to get into game action before the Olympics are dwindling for the sniper. The Lightning have four games remaining before the NHL goes on break for the Games with the teams final game coming Feb. 8 against the Detroit Red Wings. While the Brampton, Ontario native wouldnt commit to a timeline, he acknowledged his progress thus far and expressed hope for it to continue over the next two weeks. "It has gotten better," he said. "Theres less and less pain every time I get on the ice but there is still a little discomfort. "Im hoping in the next week and a half, two weeks, that that feels a lot better and I can do certain movements without having that pain or at least with some pain thats manageable. Right now its still a little sharp in certain areas so thats what Im trying to improve." Nike Air Max Femme Solde. -- A year ago, Flavia Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis. Nike Free 3.0 v4 Femme . Another is a bunch of groundballs. Finally, theres a game that lasts two hours six minutes. Pavano kept up his recent surge with an efficient six-hitter for the Twins in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars expect to be without suspended receiver Justin Blackmon all season, maybe even longer. General manager Dave Caldwell said Friday it would be "relatively surprising" to have Blackmon back on the field this fall. "Its not something that were counting on," Caldwell said at the teams annual predraft luncheon. "It would be something that would be relatively surprising. Havent gotten a whole lot of updates from the league where hes at or from Justin, to be honest with you." Blackmon is suspended indefinitely without pay for repeated violations of the leagues substance abuse policy. He was previously suspended the first four games of last year for violating the policy. He played four games before getting suspended again -- at least for a year. But the Jaguars arent counting on Blackmon to return after eight games in 2014. NFL rules prohibit the team from having any contact with Blackmon -- aside from texts -- during his suspension. "Without having contact, we just have to protect the team now," coach Gus Bradley said. "Weve got to do whats right for the organization so we have to continue to move forward and project that. Weve got to get some guys in here at that spot and thats why youve heard Dave talk about wide receiver is a need because of that. Now, if everything works out to get him back, thats OK. We always will love to get very talented players in here. But its hard. But we just have to keep going forward." With Blackmons future uncertain, thee Jaguars are considering selecting Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins with the third overall pick in next weeks draft. Nike Roshe Run Femme Pas Cher. . If they dont take Watkins in the first round, they expect to use at least one of their other 10 picks on a receiver. The wideout class is considered one of the deepest in the draft. Blackmon has been involved in three substance-related incidents in three years. He was arrested on a misdemeanour DUI charge in Texas in 2010 after officers caught him speeding on a suburban Dallas highway. The charge was later reduced to an underage alcohol possession charge. A little more than a month after the Jaguars drafted him, he was arrested during a traffic stop in Stillwater, Oklahoma, after a breath test allegedly showed his blood alcohol content to be three times the legal limit. A subsequent violation landed him the four-game suspension. Another one got him the indefinite suspension. Blackmon caught 29 passes for 415 yards and a touchdown in the four games he played last season. He was the teams leading receiver during that stretch. While Blackmon sat out the first four games, the Jaguars averaged 224 yards of total offence. In the four games he played, Jacksonville hiked its offensive output to just over 350 yards per game. He has 93 catches for 1,280 yards and six scores in 20 games -- all since Jacksonville traded up to select the former Oklahoma State star with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft. Without him, the Jaguars relied on Cecil Shorts III, Ace Sanders and Mike Brown last season. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
