ORCHARD PARK, N. Nike Cheap Jerseys .Y. -- Whether resolving questions on injuries or inconsistency, Bills quarterback EJ Manuel knows he has plenty to prove in showing hes a bona fide starter entering his second NFL season. Another reminder of how far Manuel has to go came this week when he was bypassed for one of six team captain designations in a vote of Bills players. Thats fair and understandable, Manuel said Wednesday, noting his own votes were restricted to established veterans. "You have to earn your stripes in the NFL," Manuel said. "Nothings going to be handed to you in the NFL. You have to work for it. And Im going to continue to allow it to motivate myself and be better for my teammates." The process resumes Sunday, when the former first-round draft pick out of Florida State begins his second season behind centre in Buffalos opener at Chicago. "I think being able to show that on Sunday is huge," Manuel said. "And thats why I say I want to keep my focus on Chicago, because thats the most important thing to me. I cant control whats happened in the past. You have to move and look forward." Manuels past in Buffalo is a mixed bag of promising flashes, failed opportunities and hampered development after an injury-shortened rookie season. He got the Bills off to a 2-2 start, including a 24-23 win over Carolina, which he won with a touchdown pass to Stevie Johnson with 2 seconds remaining. The wheels fell off in Week 5, when Manuel was sidelined with the second of three knee injuries he sustained last season. In missing five of the final 11 games, Manuel finished with a 4-6 record. He threw 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions and finished with a 77.7 passer rating that ranked 25th among players with 250 or more attempts. Though hes been injury-free so far, the big step in development the Bills want from Manuel hasnt been evident on a retooled offence that struggled to finish this preseason. Manuel and the starters failed to score a touchdown on their first 18 preseason drives before finally scoring on consecutive third-quarter possessions against Tampa Bays second-stringers in a 27-14 loss on Aug. 23. Buffalos starters finished the preseason with two touchdowns and four field goals on 23 possessions. Manuel and coach Doug Marrone chalk up the lack of production to not wanting to reveal too much of their offence in preseason games. The results, however, werent encouraging for a unit that upgraded its receivers by adding veteran Mike Williams and selecting Sammy Watkins with the No. 4 pick in the draft. No worries, said Marrone. "Im excited. Im not really looking at it and saying, Oh, gosh," said Marrone, who said Manuel has made better throws and been more decisive in his reads. The focus now is not putting too much on Manuels shoulders. "Theres 11 guys out there," Marrone said. "So youve just got to go out there and do whats asked of you and not try to press." That doesnt mean Manuel has arrived just yet. "When youre a young quarterback, youve got to prove yourself, so theres a reason he feels that way," veteran running back and captain Fred Jackson said. "He has to go out there and make plays for us, lead for us, put guys in situations to make plays. And we expect that from him. He knows everybody in this locker room is behind him." Centre Eric Wood, another team captain, also has confidence in Manuel. "He showed me enough over the past year to make me think hes going to go out and play well. Im fired up," Wood said. Manuel shrugged off questions of his past deficiencies by saying hes focused solely on playing Chicago. "Thats the first thing. I dont focus on answering criticism or anything like that," Manuel said. "I think if we win games, thatll alleviate everything." Authentic Cheap Jerseys . -- Floridas smothering defence returned to form just in time for the third-ranked Gators to keep their winning streak going. Fake Cheap Jerseys .5 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, a deal that covers his final two arbitration seasons. https://www.cheapjerseyslines.com/bruce-thornton-jersey-retro/ . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona.Despite deep political and ideological differences over the years, Cuba and the United States always have shared a love of baseball.From the Negro Leagues to the current crop of Cuban stars, the communist island and the U.S. are linked by century-old baseball ties. It was during spring training in 1947 in Havana that the Brooklyn Dodgers got an extended look at Montreal Royals star Jackie Robinson, who later that year became broke the major league colour barrier.Major league teams regularly held spring training camps in Cuba and played exhibition games there, and the Cincinnati Reds even had a Triple-A affiliate in Havana before Fidel Castro banned professional sports.Cuban Hall of Famers Jose Mendez, Martin Dihigo and Cristobal Torriente were some of the biggest stars in the Negro Leagues in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and eventual Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella played in Cuba in the 1930s and 40s as parts of careers that led to Hall of Fame induction.President Barack Obamas announcement Wednesday that the U.S. is restoring diplomatic ties with the island nation could usher in a new era in U.S.-Cuba baseball relations, which were strained after the Fidel Castro-led revolution and the U.S. economic embargo. If Congress lifts the trade embargo, American-owned teams might one day return to Cuban soil, and Cuban players could sign with major league teams without defecting.Some key moments in the history of U.S.-Cuba baseball ties:—1864: Baseball is introduced in Cuba by Cuban students returning home from the U.S.—May 1, 1871: Cuban Esteban Steve Bellan becomes the first Latin American player in U.S. baseball, making his debut with the Troy Haymakers of the National Association.—Dec. 29, 1878: First official baseball game in Cuba, between Habana and Almendares. Bellan coached the Habana team, which won 21-20.—1937: New York Giants hold spring training camp iin Havana. Myron Pryor Jersey Retro. —1941-42, 1947: Brooklyn Dodgers hold spring training camps in Havana.—1953: Pittsburgh Pirates hold spring training camps in Havana.—1954-60: The Havana Sugar Kings, a Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, play in the U.S. minor leagues. The team was born in 1946 as the Havana Cubans in Class C.—March 21, 1959: Less than three months after Castros revolution, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds play what would be the last game between major league teams in Cuba for the next four decades.—Jan. 14, 1962: Castro bans professional sports in Cuba.—September 1995: Pitcher Livan Hernandez leaves the Cuban national team during a training camp in Monterrey, Mexico, one of the first in a series of high-profile players to defect and sign multimillion dollar contracts with MLB teams.—March 28-May 3, 1999: Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban national team play a two-game series in Havana and Baltimore. Game 1 in the Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana was the first time a major league team played in Cuba in 40 years. It was attended by Castro, and Baltimore won 3-2 in 11 innings. Cuba won the second game 12-6 at Camden Yards, led by future Yankees starter Jose Contreras.—Sept. 27, 2000: The U.S. beats favoured Cuba 4-0 in the gold medal game at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.—2012: For the first time since 1996, a Cuban national team and U.S. college players meet in an exhibition series in Cuba.—Nov. 11, 2013: Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is voted the NL Rookie of the Year, the first Cuban to win the award in either league since Jose Canseco in 1986. Jose Abreu wins the AL Rookie of the Year in 2014.—Aug. 23, 2014: Rusney Castillo signs a $72.5 million, seven-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, the largest baseball agreement for a Cuban defector.—Dec. 17, 2014: President Barack Obama announces plans to restore U.S.-Cuba diplomatic ties. ' ' '