HOUSTON -- Texans left tackle Duane Brown said he will play on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, barring any setbacks during practice this week. Rickey Henderson Jersey .Brown returned to practice last week for the first time since he tore the quadriceps tendon in his right knee in the 2015 regular-season finale against the Jaguars.[Im] very excited, Brown said. I love this game, I love to be out there with my teammates. I love competing. Being sidelined for almost nine months now, its been tough.It was very difficult. It was the toughest injury Ive had in my career, and to have it going into Year 9, its taxing on your body. But mentally I had the right frame of mind going into it. Its just been a grind.Brown spent all of training camp and the preseason on the physically unable to perform list while rehabbing the injury. The Texans chose to put him on the active roster before the regular season instead of leaving him on the physically unable to perform list, which would have kept him out of practice for at least the first six weeks of the season.To play, Brown said, it will be important for him to make sure he can generate the same kind of power in his injured right leg as he can in his left. He said he wants to make sure he can be confident in his technique and make sure he can take the same steps he took before the injury without overcompensating for the injury.Brown said Wednesdays practice was the toughest test hes had in his recovery, but he was happy with what he was able to accomplish.It felt pretty good, Brown said. Just trying to stack the days consecutively. [Im] very encouraged by what happened today, and as of now, Im good to go. Custom San Diego Padres Jerseys . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Rollie Fingers Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http://www.padressale.com/padres-randy-jones-jersey/ .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. PHILADELPHIA -- A.J. Ellis, the Philadelphia Phillies recently acquired catcher, has made an immediate impact with his new team.The same cannot be said of Jake Thompson, the Phillies rookie right-hander.Thompson (1-3, 9.78) will be looking to get untracked Monday, when the Phillies open a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Tanner Roark (13-7, 2.99) gets the start for the National League East leaders.Thompson, called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in early August, has not worked more than five innings, nor allowed fewer than three runs, in any of his four major league starts to date. His last time out he lost on the road to the Chicago White Sox, surrendering seven runs on eight hits in five innings while striking out two and walking four.In 19 1/3 innings to date, he has walked 13 while allowing 22 hits, a far cry from the form he showed at Lehigh Valley, where he gave up 105 hits and walked just 37 in 129 2/3 innings.Im not used to this, Thompson said after the loss to White Sox, according to Major League Baseballs official web site. The issue is pretty evident. Im not throwing strikes, and when I am throwing strikes, theyre not good strikes. Its coming back to the drawing board and figuring it out a little bit.Thompson has never faced Washington.Ellis, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for fellow catcher Carlos Ruiz last Thursday, belted a tie-breaking two-run double in the seventh inning of his first game with Philadelphia, a 5-1 road victory over the New York Mets on Sunday.It felt good regardless of whats happened in the last four days, Ellis said, acccording to MLB. Manuel Margot Jersey. om. It feels good to drive in runs, feels good to help put your team ahead and help contribute to a team win.Roark, a model of consistency most of the season for the Nationals, is winless in his last two starts. His last time out he absorbed a 10-8 loss to Baltimore, going five innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out four and walking three.It was Roarks shortest outing in his last six starts, and the most runs he has allowed in the same span. All five of those runs came in the first two innings, when he threw 62 pitches and hit three batters.I couldnt locate; it was as simple as that, Roark said, according to MLB.com. I was trying to go inside to get them off the plate and make them feel uncomfortable. Thats how I pitch. Obviously not my best outing. What I love is that we came back and came pretty darn close to tying it up or possibly winning it.Roark is 4-5 with a 4.35 ERA in 10 career games against the Phillies, eight of them starts.The Nationals comeback attempt also fell short Sunday, in a 5-3 loss to Colorado. They spotted the Rockies a 4-1 lead after three innings, but could muster only three solo homers, by Trae Turner, Wilson Ramos and Bryce Harper.Harpers homer, his 23rd of the season, was a leadoff shot off reliever Boone Logan in the ninth inning. Adam Ottavino, Logans successor, then retired Anthony Rendon, Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman, sending Washington to its sixth loss in eight games. ' ' '