ks mostly to its outstanding play on the defensive end of the floor

BEREA, Ohio -- Johnny Manziels No. 2 jersey has double meaning. Hes behind Brian Hoyer. Browns coach Mike Pettine said Hoyer is "securely ahead" in the competition to be Clevelands starting quarterback this season, but his lead over Manziel isnt "insurmountable." After the Browns ended their three-day mandatory minicamp Thursday, Pettine sized up the battle as a friendly fight that will heat up when the team opens training camp late in July. Pettine said Hoyer, who is recovering from knee surgery and has been limited during practices, still has a grip on the starting job -- for now. "Its been hard to evaluate because Brian hasnt been able to take the 11-on-11 reps, but when we put the depth chart together, Brian will be No. 1," he said. Pettine agrees with Browns general manager Ray Farmers evaluation that Manziel, the wildly popular 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and first-round draft pick from Texas A&M, has some catching up to do. Manziel is trailing Hoyer, but maybe not by much. "I dont think its insurmountable," Pettine said. "Brian is securely ahead of him right now, but we will compete and we will decide. The issue for us as a staff is finding the right time to name a starter. If you wait too late, then nobodys ready for the opener, if you do it too soon, then it wasnt a true competition. "That will be part of our discussions as well as far as OK, heres the plan, heres a date that we want to go ahead and name him." During recent workouts open to the media, Manziel has shown some of the flashes that earned him the Johnny Football nickname in college. But there have also been moments where he looked like another lost rookie. Pettine made it clear the Browns have not made any decisions and the competition is still in its infancy. "We havent really been in the mode of thinking, Hes this far ahead today. How much was the gap closed?" Pettine said. "Theyre still learning the basics of the offence. The rookies havent been here very long. Theyre playing catch-up from a playbook standpoint. So at this point, we really werent keeping score. " Pettine kept Hoyer and Manziel off limits to reporters this week, hoping to contain a story thats expected to only grow. In the next few weeks, Pettine and his staff will decide how to best divide the snaps between Hoyer and Manziel. Pettine said its safe to assume the duties will be shared. "I dont know how even well get it, but there will definitely be times when Johnny will be with the ones (starters)," Pettine said. "It would be hard to evaluate if we didnt that. If there wasnt a competition, then it would just be strictly ones and ones, twos and twos. We havent met to go over that." Pettine also plans to play Manziel with Clevelands starting offence in exhibition games. "If a guy has a chance to be a starter, I would think that youd want to expose him to a starting defence if he was going to be the guy opening day," said Pettine. Manziel has made some headlines with his off-the-field antics in recent weeks. He partied poolside in Las Vegas with Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and was filmed spraying champagne on patrons in a nightclub. Last weekend, he was in Austin, Texas, where he was photographed lying on an inflatable swan raft in a pool, drinking champagne. Pettine wont micromanage Manziel or any of his players as long as theyre not involved in anything thats criminal or affects their jobs. But with a long break coming up, hes hoping all the Browns steer clear of danger. "Its nervous any time your entire team is dismissed," he said. "As a coach, you hear your phone ring and you kind of look at it with one eye, hoping its not an issue coming up. We talked to them about it. We wanted to make sure that they handled themselves well. The advice was: Learn the system, stay in shape, stay out of trouble." Mark Stone Jersey . The 2014 edition will be the ninth meeting between the Caps and Vikes in a tradition that dates back to 2005. "Since the original Whitecaps, the club has enjoyed fantastic support from fans in Victoria and all across Vancouver Island," said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi. Ottawa Senators Jerseys . 1 overall pick in the draft by the Houston Texans, is recovering from sports hernia surgery. http://www.senatorssale.com/authentic-ja...enators-jersey/. PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. Matt Duchene Jersey . -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall. Daniel Alfredsson Jersey . Many of those eyes are in the United States of America, a country that the sport has wanted on its side for some time. On Sunday the football Gods delivered once again, only this time it was time for good old USA to experience as much heartache as joy.Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - The Butler Bulldogs will conclude a two-game homestand at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday night, as they face off against the Kennesaw State Owls in a non-conference affair. Although KSUs 3-6 record isnt impressive by most programs standards, its taking steps in the right direction after going just 6-25 in 2013-14 and 3-27 the campaign before that. The Owls closed out November on a three-game winning streak but have since dropped back-to-back games at FIU (59-38) and at home against Kent State (58-46). Butler began the season unranked but made a splash with a third-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, beating North Carolina (74-66) and Georgetown (64-58) in the process. The Bulldogs have won three in a row to improve to 7-1, most recently downing Northwestern at home on Saturday, 65-56. This marks the first-ever meeting between the programs. The Owls fell flat on their home floor their last time out. Despite holding Kent State to just 43.1 percent field goal shooting and 15 turnovers, they could not take advantage on the other end of the court, shooting 32.6 percent with 19 turnovers as they suffered the 12-point loss. Delbert Love and Bernard Morena were the only players to finish in double figures with 10 points apiece. The lackluster showing was unfortunately nothing new for KSU, which shoots only 39.5 percent from the field this season for 61.1 while allowing 73.4 ppg. Its also hindered by poor margins in both the turnover (-5.7) and rebounding (-44.dddddddddddd6) battles. Yonel Brown is one of the teams few bright spots with 13.0 ppg on 40.6 percent from 3-point range and 88.4 percent at the foul line. Nigel Pruitt (11.0 ppg), Love (9.2 ppg) and Orlando Coleman (8.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) have also been solid. The Bulldogs opened up a six-point halftime lead versus Northwestern over the weekend and never surrendered that advantage in the second stanza. Although they made just one 3-pointer on the afternoon and struggled to connect from the free-throw line (16-of-28), they made up for it by shooting 49 percent from the field overall and by taking care of the ball with only nine turnovers. Kellen Dunham led the way with 19 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-6 at the stripe. Roosevelt Jones helped out in a myriad of ways with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal, while Kameron Woods tallied seven points and nine boards. Butlers success this season has come thanks mostly to its outstanding play on the defensive end of the floor, as it allows just 54.6 ppg on 38.2 percenthan enough to support a stellar offense that shoots greater than 45 percent for 71.9 ppg. Dunham is the go-to scoring option with 16.8 ppg and is the teams only viable 3-point threat, as he makes 2.4 long-range buckets per game at a 46.3 percent clip. Jones brings 10.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 5.1 apg to the mix and Kelan Martin (9.8 ppg) and Andrew Chrabascz (9.0 ppg) are strong complementary options. ' ' '