EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. Wesley Matthews Jersey . - The sprained left ankle for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is not considered serious, and the Minnesota Vikings are optimistic the rookie will play against Green Bay despite only three days to rest for Thursday nights game.Coach Mike Zimmer said Bridgewater was feeling a lot better the day after the injury. He had an MRI test that showed no major damage.Hopeful, was Zimmers answer Monday when asked if he believes Bridgewater will be able to face the rival Packers. Bridgewater was not present for the portion of practice that was open to reporters.Bridgewater passed for 317 yards and a key 2-point conversion and rushed for 27 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start, a 41-28 victory over Atlanta that could hardly have been better for the first-round draft pick from Louisville until his left foot rolled underneath him during a short run early in the fourth quarter.He had X-rays, which were negative, and returned to the sideline without crutches by the end of the game. The perpetually upbeat Bridgewater acknowledged Sunday the decision on whether hell play this week will be up to the coaching staff and athletic trainers, but he said he wasnt worried about his ankle as he rode off on the cart. Bridgewater said he probably could have come back in the game if it were necessary.Christian Ponder, the starter for the majority of the previous three seasons, took over but did not attempt a pass.Bridgewater has experience recovering from injury in a shortened week. He broke his left (non-throwing) wrist and sprained his right ankle during a game in 2012 against Connecticut, and the Cardinals had to play at Rutgers five days later. Bridgewater didnt start the game, but he came off the bench to throw two second-half touchdown passes to lead a Louisville rally for the win and the Big East Conferences bid in the Bowl Championship Series.Hes the toughest quarterback in the nation, one of his teammate, Preston Brown, said after that game.The Vikings, after raving over the last several months about Bridgewaters poise, athleticism and grasp of the game, will now have their first true assessment of that toughness. With Matt Cassel out for the season with a broken left foot, Ponder started the week as the only healthy quarterback on the active roster. McLeod Bethel-Thompson was signed to the practice squad last week, and Chandler Harnish was signed to the practice squad Monday.Harnish played at Northern Illinois under coach Jerry Kill, now the coach at Minnesota.The Falcons talked all week about needing to heed Bridgewaters ability to run with the ball, how that changes the entire dynamic of an offence, and he showed that on a few of his five carries.Hes a special player, running back Jerick McKinnon said.The Packers have struggled to stop the run, allowing a league-high average of 176 yards per game, and mobile quarterbacks like Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson have especially given them trouble in recent years. So the Vikings probably cant afford to be without one of their best assets against a Packers team that revived its offence Sunday in a 38-17 win at Chicago over the Bears.The Vikings forced back-to-back punts in the fourth quarter Sunday while trailing 28-27, but for the game the Falcons converted 10 of 15 third downs. Over the last two weeks, the Vikings have allowed 19 of 28 third-down conversions. Theyre tied for the second worst in the NFL in that category.Its terrible. Weve got a lot of work to do. Im extremely disappointed in that. Well put a lot more time and effort into it than what we have, Zimmer said.NOTES: TE Kyle Rudolphs recovery from sports hernia surgery remains on track for less than two months, reinforcing the teams decision to avoid designating him as the one player who can be put on injured reserve with intent to return each season. Rudolph said he was dealing with the injury since the beginning of training camp and had the muscle tear fixed on both sides of his abdomen. Just get it fixed now so in November, December, January, Im playing at a high level, Rudolph said. ... LB Chad Greenway was not at practice after missing the game Sunday with a broken hand and a broken rib. Zimmer said he wasnt sure if hed be ready in time to play Thursday.___Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Dirk Nowitzki Jersey . The third baseman whipped the ball across the diamond to second baseman Aaron Hill. He quickly tossed it to shortstop Chris Owings, who flipped over his shoulder to left fielder Cody Ross. Steve Nash Jersey . Founding members of the Genie Army, a group of Eugenie Bouchard supporters who cheered for the rising tennis star during the Australian Open in January, will be in the city for the Rogers Cup, beginning this weekend. http://www.nbamavericksauthority.com/customized-c-3/ . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. The Magic fought off repeated challenges from the Brooklyn Nets, many of them in the final two minutes, to claim a 115-111 victory over a playoff-bound team. It was the second win a row where Orlando executed better than its opponent in the final minutes of a close game. "Were continuing to learn at the end of games and not panic," Vaughn said. "I want these guys to enjoy what they do for a living. We come to work, we get better. Thats what we do." Arron Afflalo scored five of his 25 points in the final two minutes. Jameer Nelson was 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the final 13 seconds and Kyle OQuinn had a key assist and block as Orlando made every play it needed to stop the Nets. Reserve ETwaun Moore made all six shots, five of them 3-pointers, to tie his season high of 17 points. Tobias Harris added 16 points and eight rebounds. "We are better in close games and it shows the maturity and confidence were gaining as a group," Afflalo said. "The Nets are one of the hottest teams since the new year and we got good performances from a lot of our role players." The Magic needed a lot at both ends in the second half to stop a hot-shooting Brooklyn team that was making shots from everywhere. Joe Johnson led the Nets with 31 points, but had a potential game-tying 3-pointer blocked by Quinn with 10 seconds left in the game. Mirza Teletovic, who was 1 for 10 from the field in the first half, hit four 3-pointers in the third period to start the Nets on their way to 23 of 37 (62.2 per cent) shooting in the second half. Teletovic finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Mason Plumlee had 16 points and Marcus Thornton 13 off the bench for Brooklyn, which played without injured starters Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston. "At the end, we executed offensively, but defensively, we didnt," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "We pretty much had five guards out there, playing Joe at the centre. We probably put him in a bad way, trying to make a 3 on a 7-footer (OQuinn). Jose Barea Jersey. . As coaches we can get better. This was a learning experience." The Magic led 107-101 after Afflalos 3-pointer with 1:58 left in the game, but Brooklyn cut it to 110-109 on a layup by Johnson with 14 seconds remaining. Nelson made two free throws for Orlando, then OQuinn cleanly blocked a 3-pointer by Johnson with 10 seconds left. Nelson and Afflalo combined for three free throws to put the game away from there. The Magic led by as many as 16 in the first half and carried an 83-78 lead into the fourth quarter, but had to withstand some sharpshooting by Brooklyn in the second half. The Nets hit 23 of 37 shots (62 per cent) in the final two quarters and got seven 3-pointers and four three-point plays, but it still wasnt enough to overcome Orlando. The Magic kept pace with a hot-shooting second half of their own, making nearly 57 per cent, and got key shots from Afflalo, Moore and Nelson every time Brooklyn got close. The Nets hit six 3-pointers, four by Teletovic, in the third quarter and Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett added three-point plays to help Brooklyn rally from a 55-43 halftime deficit. The Nets tied the game at 78 on a dunk by Plumlee with 35 seconds left, but Victor Oladipo countered with a perimeter jumper and Moore hit his fifth straight 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Magic an 83-78 lead going into the final period. The teams traded baskets for the first 15 minutes of the game before Moore knocked down four 3-pointers to ignite a 20-3 run that helped Orlando to a 55-43 halftime lead. The reserve guard hit three straight 3s from nearly the exact same spot on the left side of the basket, then crossed to a similar spot on the right side and drained another. In between, he added a fast-break layup for 11 straight points, before being taken out of the game. NOTES: Magic C Nikola Vucevic missed his third straight game with a sore Achilles tendon. The Magic are 3-18 in the 21 games hes missed this season. . The Nets said Pierce had a sore hip and Livingston a sore toe. . The Magic outscored the Nets 22-6 on fast-break points. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '