ERST LESEN! » came back in a three-race deal with Pa

METAIRIE, La. -- Lately, Saints rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins has been reminding New Orleans interior offensive lineman that theyd be doing him a considerable favor by blocking as hard as they possibly can against him during practice.The 12th overall pick in Iast springs draft out of Louisville still has yet to make his NFL regular season debut because he fractured his left fibula during training camp in mid-August. But that is expected to change this weekend in san Francisco, when Rankins will be eligible to play for the first time.When Im going up against guys, I always tell them, `Just give me a real look. I havent done anything for a while, so I want as close to full speed without trying to kill each other as I can get, Rankins said. Theyve been good about that.Meanwhile, the offensive linemen whove been indulging Rankins request for difficult practice repetitions say the rookie has been wearing them out.To come back the way he has within the amount of time -- just the timeframe and to have as much strength as he has is really incredible right now, Saints guard Tim Lelito said. Hes basically picked up right where he left off. Theres a reason why he was a first-round draft pick, honestly. Hes quick, hes strong, got great hands ... so Im excited to hopefully see him out there in some live situations.Saints coach Sean Payton said Rankins is getting around well and we anticipate this is the week for him to come back.Rankins said coaches have begun rotating him into the first-team defense during 11-on-11 work in practice so he is up to speed with this weeks game plan.The recovery is going as expected. I havent had any setbacks, getting my strength back, getting my endurance back, Rankins said. Its fun to be out there playing. I feel fine. I feel I can be effective. If I didnt feel I could be effective, I wouldnt put myself out there.Saints coaches have said they see Rankins eventually being an every-down player because he is versatile enough to play several spots along the defensive line as either a run stuffer or pass rusher. But Rankins figures that in terms of stamina and experience, he would blame coaches for easing him into his first few games in a more limited role.Definitely coming off an injury as long as Ive been off, you definitely dont want to put the cart before the horse, so to speak, Rankins said. You want to do what you can but dont overexert yourself too much. You dont want to be out there trying to overcompensate and those other issues. So I think theyre going to do a good job of keeping an eye on me, giving me what I can handle, and Ill make the most of those snaps.The Saints defense could use help. The unit ranks 28th in the NFL, allowing 397.4 yards per game, and 31st in points allowed at 30.7 per game.In his last two seasons at Louisville, Rankins registered 14 sacks and 26 + tackles for losses.When Lelito was asked if Rankins looked ready to apply stress on the front of an opposing teams pass-protection pocket, he responded, Absolutely. He can put stress anywhere. The front of the pocket, the side of the pocket. Wherever you want to put him hes putting stress. Hes definitely someone that youre going to have to account for.Game notesS Kenny Vaccaro, who sat out Wednesdays practice with knee soreness, returned Thursday on a limited basis. ... Three other players who sat out Wednesdays practice -- T Terron Armstead (Knee), LB Dannell Ellerbe (Quad) and LB James Laurinaitis (Quad) -- also did not practice on Thursday. ... RB and special teams regular Daniel Lasco, who was not on Wednesdays injury report, missed Thursdays practice. ... LB Stephone Anthony (Hamstring), CB Delvin Breaux (Fibula), WR Jake Lampman (Knee), CB Sterling Moore (Abdomen) and C Max Unger (Shoulder) were listed as limited in practice.---AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFLAir Force 1 Outlet . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Sf Air Force 1 Mid Bianche .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. http://www.airforce1outletitalia.it/scontate-air-force-1-alte-07.html . PETERSBURG, Fla. Air Force 1 Alte Marble Pack . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Air Force 1 n7 . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that.SONOMA, Calif. -- The bright yellow paint scheme of Menards will be a familiar fixture in IndyCar next season as the home improvement store returns to the series with 10 races of sponsorship for Simon Pagenaud.The deal with Team Penske announced Saturday gives Roger Penske three sponsored cars for next season, but ended no speculation about his IndyCar lineup.Penske said he has the funding to field cars for Pagenaud, Will Power and Helio Castroneves next season, but the status of Juan Pablo Montoya and a fourth Penske entry is undetermined. Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 in 2014 for Penske, but lost the championship in the season finale.Penske said discussions regarding a fourth car are ongoing, and that he has not officially decided on bringing back the Colombian. The team owner also wouldnt discuss the potential to add American driver Josef Newgarden as the fourth Penske driver.Hes not available, I dont think, right now, Penske said. When pressed, the team owner only said no comment.Newgarden doesnt become a free agent until the end of this month. Penske did reveal his IndyCar lineup will be determined within the next 60 days.Meanwhile, the possibility exists that John Menard could ultimately move his sponsorship money in NASCAR over to Penske in the future, but it wont be immediate. Menard said his son, Paul, is signed to drive for Richard Childress Racing through 2017 in a deal that has been year-to-year for some time.Paul has a commitment with RCR next year, this doesnt affect any of our NASCAR relationships at all, John Menard said. This is a totally separate thing. Well see how it goes. Paul has reached the stage of his career where hes got to start thinking about what hees going to do post-racing.dddddddddddd When you hit 40 and have some kids, it changes your thinking on what your life journey is.Paul Menard, in his 10th full season at the Sprint Cup level, turned 36 last month. His father stressed that Paul Menard is not retiring from racing soon, but indicated he wouldnt mind having him return to Wisconsin to help with the chain, which spans 300 stores in 14 Midwestern states.Make no mistake, though, racing is still very much part of John Menards business and hes thrilled to be back in IndyCar. The billionaire was a team owner and sponsor in the series but walked away after the 2004 season to back his son in NASCAR.John Menard was tired of open wheel racing, both emotionally and financially, when he pulled out and his return has been gradual. Menard came back in a three-race deal with Pagenaud that included 100th Indianapolis 500, and that deal grew to cover five races.Im so glad to be back. There are certain aspects of this that are so fun, NASCAR is fun, too, but its a lot more relentless. This is a little bit more breathing room, Menard said. I certainly found its a lot more pleasurable to be part of Rogers team than it is to try to beat Rogers team.Pagenaud won one race with Menard sponsorship this season, and is on the verge of wrapping up his first IndyCar championship in Sundays season finale. He takes a 43-point lead over teammate Will Power into the race.All of a sudden this gentleman from France just ignited the IndyCar racing world and took off and became a legend in his own time, Menard said of Pagenaud. ' ' '