FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - For Julio Jones, eight months away from football "feels like an eternity." Jones was on the practice fields for the Atlanta Falcons organized team activities on Tuesday, but only for conditioning work. The star wide receiver said Monday his rehabilitation is progressing well but "extra precautions" have kept him from being cleared for practice. "I am ahead of schedule but were not pressing anything," Jones said. On Tuesday, Jones was on the field with the team only for exercises. That came only after he had extra time with a trainer for stretching. Then he worked on running and agility drills as other players went through practice. Jones said he cant guarantee hell be able to participate in the start of training camp next month. "I dont know when Im going to get cleared," Jones said. "Its out of my hands." Jones recovery is crucial for the Falcons, who finished 4-12 last season after five straight winning seasons. Jones, a Pro Bowl pick in 2012, was leading the NFL in receptions in 2013 when he broke a bone in his right foot in a loss to the Jets on Oct. 7. He suffered a similar injury during his college career at Alabama. "It is a freak accident, breaking the same bone," Jones said. The injury history makes it easy to understand why the Falcons have been cautious with the rehabilitation schedule. Even so, the long wait for medical clearance has been difficult for Jones. "It feels like an eternity, just not being out there with my brothers," Jones said during a promotional appearance for Vita Coco, an all-natural drink he endorses. "Its been a very difficult process as far as that aspect of it but Im just going through the treatment and just being smart about the whole situation. "Were just being careful about the situation and making sure Im 100 per cent before I go out there." Quarterback Matt Ryan said there is ample time for Jones to make up for missed time during OTAs. "Julio has been in the building pretty much every day this off-season," Ryan said. "While he hasnt been able to be out on the practice field with us yet, weve communicated a lot. Weve talked a lot and certainly have watched film together and tried to work on things in the classroom so that when we do get the opportunity to be out on the field we can hit the ground running. "Our biggest thing, and coach Smith talks about it all the time, is getting to Week 1 with all our guys fresh and healthy." White joined practice on Tuesday for the first time in OTAs. Whites brother was shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub last month. "Hes been through a lot the last three or four weeks with his family," said coach Mike Smith. "It was good for him to be back with his football family. He looked great." NOTES: The OTAs will continue this week and, following an off day on Monday, the teams mandatory two-day minicamp begins on Tuesday. ... Ryan said free-agent addition Devin Hester, best known as a return specialist with the Bears, has worked at different receiver spots and even in the backfield. "Im not sure exactly how its going to shake out when it comes to game planning, but certainly hes shown hes capable of being really productive," Ryan said. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Grayson Greiner Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Sergio Alcantara Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. https://www.cheaptigers.com/1939z-billy-...sey-tigers.html. As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. The Games in southern Russia, which run from Feb. 7-23, are being staged amid unprecedented security and under global warnings of danger. Cheap Tigers Jerseys .And although FIFAs investigators are preparing to release the findings of a World Cup corruption probe, Hassan Al Thawadi dismissed any chance of Qatar losing the showpiece event. Stitched Tigers Jerseys . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15.We dont like penalty shootouts to end matches. Thats what they tell us. Play on until they score. Argentina and Netherlands may still be playing until Sundays final if that were the case. It was a drab affair, arguably the worst game of the World Cup. With so much on the line, no team came close to proving why they deserved to win it. Fittingly, the record books will show it as a draw: A stalemate in every sense of the word. It was a chess match where both players didnt make moves for long stretches. Just when it looked like either of them could capture their queen, along came two of the best pawns on the board. It was Javier Mascherano vs. Ron Vlaar. Both players were magnificent for their team but their standout performances said a lot about the oppositions weaknesses. Argentina have been waiting for a player to step up to a level that Lionel Messi has been at during this World Cup, but on a night when their current captain didnt get close to that level, their former skipper stepped up with an absolutely immense performance. Mascherano sat deep, allowed the defenders to play deep as well and flat out refused the Dutch any space in front of them. It forced their opponents to play long balls to try and get Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie into the match. In possession, Mascherano was also excellent with distribution helping his side attack down the right and target Bruno Martins Indi. Louis van Gaal reacted quickly at half-time by removing the Feyenoord man. That Argentina forced them into a move so quickly played a big part in how the game was played. When Nigel De Jong, back after a thigh injury, had to come off in the second half, suddenly van Gaal only had one move left. A move he decided to use by removing the ineffective van Persie in extra time. No one could argue that the Dutch team needed Klaas Jan Huntelaar but for a game that looked so destined for penalties, the removal of the Manchester United striker could be questioned. What definitely needs to be questioned is the order of the penalty takers for the Dutch. It was clear that van Gaal wanted to keep as many of his players in the same spot as they were used in the shootout victory over Costa Rica. That day the Dutch went four-for-four in order: van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, Kuyt. Huntelaar was the fifth taker but wasnt used. Against Argentina, van Gaal looked at his team and knew the only one he had to replace was van Persie at number one. Every credit to Ron Vlaar, the Aston Villa player, to step up and replace van Persie in the shootout but making him the first shooter was the wrong decision. In 24 previous World Cups the team that missed first lost 20 times. You cannot ask a player to take tthe first penalty in a key shootout when he wasnt even in your choice to be in the top five in the last shootout.dddddddddddd. Vlaar had had a wonderful match. Argentina tried to force things wide but ultimately they were drawn back centrally and Vlaar, in the middle of the back three, won every tackle and aerial duel he went for. After 120 minutes, though, his job was not done. Showing nerves, he stepped up quickly, from the prompt of the whistle, and it wasnt a good penalty. The moment Vlaars effort was saved by Sergio Romero the momentum changed. Lionel Messi was the right choice for Argentina to take the first penalty and, to no ones surprise, he scored. Messi had struggled throughout the game, which was the first World Cup game he has played when he didnt get a touch in the opponents penalty area. It was clear the Dutch had done their homework and their mandate was to shut down Messi. He will receive his fair share of criticism based on this performance but, once again, this match was another shining example of how much he needs his teammates to take him to glory. The Barcelona man has carried Argentina to this stage, it is only fitting that some - in this case Romero, Mascherano and the rest of the shooters - helped carry him to the final. They are, however, a team that arrives in the final with flaws. This is nothing new. Many teams have reached the World Cup Final when not playing very well but few have won it. Argentina showed a lot of grit and fight in this semifinal, just like they did in the 120 minutes against Switzerland and the narrow 1-0 defeat over Belgium. However, despite their fight they do look very ordinary. They arrive in the final after scoring just two goals in three knockout matches. The only team in World Cup history to do that was Argentina in 1990 and that was a terribly average side who frustrated Germany for over 80 minutes in arguably one of the worst games in football history. No one will be hoping for a repeat on Sunday but I am sure it will cross Argentinas mind that they will be naive to think they can play an open, expansive game against Germany. The Dutch end their quest to be world champions with their heads held high. They went further than most imagined and many of their young players, players produced by their own clubs in their own league, will grow and get better for this experience. Many will also find new clubs, too. However, they will also reflect on just how close they were – once again – to getting over a significant hurdle on penalties. Van Gaal departs for Manchester United after a very good World Cup but ultimately his decision on the order of the takers had a massive impact on this result. ' ' '