Tagebuch » Antonio Garcia converted a pair of disputed penalties inside

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz has shed the protective boot hes been sporting, and expects to play in the regular-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys Sept. 8. "Feeling good," Cruz said Tuesday, a day after the boot came off his injured left foot. "Its been better, feels a lot better, a lot of the swelling has gone down. Obviously, looking forward to better days coming." Cruz was sidelined more than a week after hurting his heel in a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts Aug. 18. He jumped to catch a pass from Eli Manning on the opening series and a defender landed on his foot. Two days later, he used crutches to walk to the podium with his foot in a boot. Cruz missed the third preseason game, vs. the Jets, and will also skip Thursdays exhibition finale at New England. He hopes to practice Monday and play the following weekend. "Absolutely. I knew initially that it was just a small bump in the road and that I just needed some time off to get some down time off the boot and off the foot and get things going the right way," Cruz said. "Dallas was definitely a target date for me and I knew that I had to be ready. I still have some time to recuperate. It feels even better." The only pain he has is getting out of bed. "Theres swelling in the morning when I first put my foot down, thats about it," the Paterson, N.J., native said. "Other than that, once I get it going and get it warmed up, it seems to loosen up a little bit and feel better. We still want to take it easy and take it one day at a time." Cruz is still getting treatment on the foot, including an exercise where he has to pick up marbles with his feet. Cruz has led the Giants in receiving the past two seasons, catching a combined 168 passes for 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns. He scored one of the two touchdowns the offence has generated this preseason. The offence will improve, Cruz insists. "With the amount of reps that we get, its hard to develop a rhythm," he said. "We just need to get it going a little bit and I think our balance isnt there yet; our balance of running the ball and passing it. Slowly but surely, well get that back. Days of practice and getting everybody back out there, I think that will help us. "But I think we just need to build some fluidity within the offence." ---- NOTES: Coach Tom Coughlin said his first team will play up to 15 plays against the Patriots. ... James Brewer will start at left guard with Kevin Boothe moving to centre in the new alignment on the offensive line. ... DE Jason Pierre-Paul took some snaps on Tuesday, one day after coming off the physically unable to perform list. ... Rookie DE Damontre Moore returned to practice for the first time since hurting a shoulder in the preseason opener. San Francisco Giants Store . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. Cheap Giants Jerseys .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. https://www.cheapjerseysgiants.us/ . Smiths former Atlanta teammates were glad to hang on for an ugly win. Custom San Francisco Giants Jerseys . These days, just about anyone can get a taste of the friendship that has blossomed between All-Star Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden, most famous in the past two weeks or so for the elbow to the head he took from the Los Angeles Lakers Metta World Peace. Giants Jerseys 2020 . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit.ALMERIA, Spain -- Almerias stoppage time winner secured a wild 4-3 victory over Real Sociedad to dampen its hopes of qualifying for next seasons Champions League. Hicham Khalouas late goal improved Almerias chances of avoiding relegation in a match dominated by contentious calls, including three penalties. One day after Barcelonas 4-3 win at Real Madrid featured three penalties, referees again dominated a wide-open game that saw Almeria ultimately move out of the relegation zone and one point ahead of Getafe which took its place. Angel Trujillo handled inside the area to set up Carlos Velas penalty that was subsequently cancelled out by Oscar Diaz before Real went ahead again in the 58th-minute through Imanol Agirretxes sublime lob over goalkeeper Esteban Suarez. Jose Antonio Garcia converted a pair of disputed penalties inside five minutes after Sociedad defenders Carlos Martinez and Mikel Gonzalez were perhaps harshly booked for separate fouls that led to Almeria getting ahead again after 71 minutes.dddddddddddd Markel Bergara headed home an equalizer in the 85th for Sociedad, which slipped nine points behind fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish league when fullback Alberto De la Bellas clearance came straight off Khaloua into goal. "Were not eyeing fourth-place as our objective," Sociedad coach Jagoba Arrasate said. "If you score three goals away from home you should win, but we werent strong enough when we had to be and we defended poorly, especially on the last goal." After 29 rounds, Atletico Madrid leads with 70 points -- the same as Real Madrid, but it holds the head-to-head advantage over its crosstown rival. Barcelona trails the pair by one point. The 30th round of the league kicks off on Tuesday with Malaga playing Espanyol and Bilbao at Elche. Fourth-placed Athletic, which holds the final Champions League qualifying place, is eight points better than Sevilla, which is one point ahead of Sociedad. ' ' '