SAN DIEGO -- Manti Teo is back practicing with the San Diego Chargers instead of working on a side field. "Its way better than running gassers, thats for sure," the inside linebacker said Monday, when the Chargers started their third and final week of organized team activities, which are practices in shorts, jerseys and helmets. Until Monday, Teo had been working on a side field with other players recovering from injuries. He had surgery on his right foot in late January. "Im very confident coming into the off-season and today was a great day to be out with the guys," he said. His rookie season got off to a slow start after he injured his foot in the exhibition opener. At the time, the team said it was a sprain but after the season, Teo said it was a stress fracture. "Its getting there," the former Notre Dame star said. "Today was my first day out and it felt pretty good and we are going to continue to work and get better so Im not taking any steps back." Asked to what extent the injury bothered him last year, he said: "Every NFL player, you are never fully healthy. You just make sure you are able to do what you got to do on Sundays and I was able to do what I was able to do and now Im looking forward to this year with a year under my belt and it will be good." After missing the first three regular-season games, Teo started the final 14 games, plus the two playoff games. He was credited with 93 tackles in the regular season. Teo said hes about four or five pounds lighter than last season. "Im a little lighter than I was last year," he said. "A lot of people think Im heavier because Im bigger. I feel good. I feel in control and that is something as a football player that is very, very important." He said he wanted to get "more explosive and stronger. Obviously, it was a little tricky with my foot so we really focused on the muscles around it and got the work necessary and when my foot stated to progress and get better, I was able to do more things with my feet. Everything is a process and now I can start focusing on other things: my drops, getting out of breaks and closing speed and all that good stuff. It is a very exciting time." After practice, coach Mike McCoy aired out his team for several minutes. At one point, he invoked the loss at Denver in the divisional round of the playoffs. "We set a standard around here for whats acceptable and whats not," McCoy said later. "There are certain things you like and certain things you dont like." Tight end Antonio Gates hasnt been at the practices that have been open to the media. McCoy wouldnt say if the absence was medical related. "Gates is accountable for," the coach said. Swell Black Friday Sale . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start. Swell Cyber Monday Sale .com) - Patrik Elias registered the winner in the shootout as New Jersey nipped Toronto 2-1 at Prudential Center on Wednesday. http://www.waterbottleblackfriday.com/. Espanyol midfielder Sanchez intercepted Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizozs clearance and, having spotted a gap, risked using his less-favoured left foot to fire a beautifully precise long-range shot that bounced in from high up the near post in the 24th minute. Swell Cyber Monday .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway. Hydro Flask Cyber Monday Sale . Bradley is one of eight players selected to the team who also played in this years World Cup in Brazil. The MLS all-stars will compete against German giants Bayern Munich in Portland on Aug.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Derrick Rose heard the fans chanting his name, and yes, he wouldve loved to give them what they wanted. But after missing most of the past two years and with still a long summer of basketball ahead, hes willing to take this return slowly. "Just trying to protect myself, just knowing that this is a long, long schedule and this is the most basketball Ill be playing in two years," Rose said. "I want to be out there, but at the same time my health is the No. 1 issue right now." With Rose sitting out, Kyrie Irving started and made all five shots, scoring 12 points as the U.S. national basketball team beat the Dominican Republic 105-62 on Wednesday night in an exhibition game. James Harden also scored 12 in limited playing time for the Americans, who used their subs for most of the second half. Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan each scored 13 points. Rose and U.S. assistant Tom Thibodeau, Roses coach with the Chicago Bulls, both said he was experiencing general soreness, though Rose was quick to point out it was nothing related to his multiple knee surgeries. Roses absence allowed U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski to take a longer look at other players with cuts coming soon. The Americans have 16 players on the roster and have to get down to 12 before the upcoming Basketball World Cup. "When we do eventually make decisions on the 12, it will be very, very difficult," Krzyzewski said. Krzyzewski said there would be no cuts before Fridays game against Puerto Rico, and he said Rose would play that night. Fans chanted loudly in the third quarter for Rose to get into this one, but Krzyzewski decided shortly before tip the Chicago Bulls star wouldnt play. Rose had sat out practices the past two days after starting in Saturdays exhibition victory over Brazil on his home floor, saying Tuesday he just wanted extra rest as he tries to play his way back into shape after missing most of the past two seasons because of knee surgeries. "Hes feeling a lot better, he was probably feeling good enough to play tonight, but because he hasnt played and hes trying to shake off some rust, the best thing to do was to give him the day off," Thibodeau said.dddddddddddd Houston Rockets forward Francisco Garcia scored 14 points for the Dominican Republic, coached by South Floridas Orlando Antigua. The Dominicans are without their best player, the Atlanta Hawks Al Horford, who is recovering from a torn right pectoral muscle. Karl Towns played 10 minutes for the Dominicans, though he wont accompany them to Spain as the highly touted freshman heads to Kentucky. The team shot 34 per cent. "Wouldve liked to shot the ball a lot better, but I thought we did a lot of good things throughout the game. We showed some good points," Antigua said. The teams will meet again in Bilbao, Spain, where they are both in Group C. The Americans leave Saturday for Spain, where they will finish their preparations with a final exhibition against Slovenia. The World Cup opens on Aug. 30. The Dominicans took a 6-4 lead, the Americans answered with 14 straight points to make it 18-6, and that was about it. The Americans expanded a 28-17 lead after one quarter to 53-31 at the half, as Harden and Klay Thompson each scored 10 points by the break. The U.S. pushed it to 69-34 with a little more than 4 minutes left in the third after a flurry by Irving, allowing for extra playing time for players at the back end of the roster such as Andre Drummond and Gordon Hayward. Drummond finished with 12 points for the Americans, who shot 58 per cent. Chandler Parsons, Kyle Korver and Mason Plumlee were the only Americans who didnt play. Before the game, U.S. military members presented each player with two dog tags. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint