CORTLAND, N. William Moore Jersey.Y. -- All the begging might finally be paying off for Antonio Cromartie. The speedy and athletic cornerback has been lobbying Rex Ryan to let him play at wide receiver, and he might get that opportunity this season with the New York Jets. Cromartie participated in individual drills with the receivers for the first time during practice Monday, running routes and catching passes as coaches watched him. "It felt good," Cromartie said. "At this point, Im just learning the steps and trying to learn more about the position, running routes. I felt pretty good today about catching the ball, too." He made waves early in training camp when he said he would rank himself as the teams second-best wide receiver behind Santonio Holmes. The Jets (No. 17 in the AP Pro32) are dealing with a number of injuries at the position, including to Holmes, so Cromartie getting time on offence and defence in a game might not be such a long shot anymore. "Im definitely hoping," he said. "Im looking forward to it. Ive been waiting for the opportunity to try to play both ways in the NFL for a while." Actually, Cromartie said he has been asking to do it since his rookie season with the San Diego Chargers in 2006. "Its fun," Cromartie said. "Its an opportunity to get the ball in your hands and another challenge. Im looking at going out and playing receiver as a challenge for me." After defending NFL wide receivers for the first six seasons of his career, becoming one -- at least part-time -- is an intriguing idea for Cromartie. "Well see how excited he is when he gets smacked by a safety," a joking Ryan said. Cromartie played both ways in high school in Tallahassee, Fla., and was slated to play some at wide receiver during his junior year at Florida State. But he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the off-season and missed that season. Still, he was drafted in the first round by the Chargers. Cromartie has flashed tremendous playmaking ability on defence and as a kick returner on special teams. Next up: wide receiver. And theres one major reason, in his mind, that hell get that shot this season. "Uh, because we got a different co-ordinator," Cromartie said. "Plus, I bugged Rex every opportunity to put me on offence, so I finally get my chance. I got a couple plays last year, but this year, Ill actually get a chance to play a little more receiver." Brian Schottenheimer, replaced by Tony Sparano, actually used Cromartie at wide receiver for five snaps last year, but his work at the position wasnt extensive. Cromartie has talked to Holmes about playing wide receiver, trying to learn the nuances of the position and getting any tips he can. "Any help I can get right now is going to be big," Cromartie said, "and Im going to try to add it to my game." Matt Bosher Jersey. -- Andrea Bargnani scored 21 points, Kyle Lowry added 18 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 120-106 on Friday night in the final preseason game for both teams. Sean Weatherspoon Jersey. Frank Francisco walked a pair of batters with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, then gave up a two-run double to Martin Prado that put the potential tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second. http://www.falconsofficialteamstore.com/autographed-desmond-trufant-jersey-uc-92... Armstrong resigned from the board of directors for Livestrong on Nov. 4. He had resigned Oct. 17 as chairman from the charity he founded but had kept a seat on the board. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ordered Armstrong banned from the sport for life and stripped of his titles. Garrett Reynolds Jersey. Headley drove in two runs, finishing the season with a league-leading 115 RBIs, and the San Diego Padres beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 on Wednesday night. Osi Umenyiora Jersey. Wilin Rosario hit a two-run homer and Colorado took advantage of four Dodgers errors to romp past Los Angeles 13-3 Friday night for its season-high fifth straight win.Ryan Strome scored twice and defenceman Morgan Rielly had a goal and two assists as Canada overcame two game misconducts and a pair of two-goal deficits to rally past Slovakia 6-3 at the World Junior Hockey Championship. The Slovaks struck early in the first period with Marko Dano cashing in with traffic in front of Canadian goaltender Malcolm Subban for his first goal of the tournament. Things didnt get any better for Team Canada after J.C. Lipon received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for making contact to the head of forward Tomas Mikus. With a lengthy power play, Mikus cashed in and gave the Slovaks a two-goal lead. "I think we knew what to expect," Rielly explained of the Slovaks first period play. "After the first 20 minutes we knew we had to go in there and play better." Strome finally got Canada on the board in the second period, but the team got into a deeper hole just four minutes later when forward Anthony Camara took another five and a game for charging after a hit along the boards on Patrik Luza. The Slovakian blueliner - who had his head down as he was hit - had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher. "In my eyes, the two hits were dirty," Mikus said. "I didnt see the second one, so I cant comment on it, but there was...blood in the face so not clean. Just dirty. We scored two fast goals. We should have played defence better, but stupid penalties and we paid the fine." The Canadian squad, already missing forward Boone Jenner who served the second game of a three-game suspension, will have 11 forwards for their game against the U.S., as Lipon was handed a one-game suspension early Saturday. The IIHF indicated after the game that there will be no supplementary discipline review for Camara. "There was a lot of frustration, a lot of questions on our bench as to what is acceptable and what isnt," said Team Canada head coach Steve Spott. "The challenge for us is to adjust to the standard thats here. Travian Robertson Jersey. But thats something that our supervisors will have to deal with and well deal with it from there. Our job is to make sure we keep the focus of our hockey club." With Strome going to the box for tripping just over two minutes into the penalty kill, Dano scored his second goal of the game to regain the two-goal lead. But with Canada getting their own 5-on-3 shortly after, Rielly made the score 3-2, beating goaltender Adam Nagy for his first goal of the tournament. With Slovak forward Martin Reway sent to the penalty box for cross-checking, Canadas power play clicked again on a goal by Ty Rattie. Mark Scheifele then gave Canada its first lead of the game, tipping in a shot by Xavier Ouellet to make it 4-3. "We just had to go out there and win the game," Scheifele told TSN. "Everyones willing to play every position and do whats best for the team and thats a good sign." Canada added to the lead at 3:32 of the third period on Ryan Nugent-Hopkinss second goal - and seventh point - of the tournament and Stromes second goal of the game three-and-a-half minutes later. "Were just happy to overcome adversity like that," Strome told TSN after the game. "We liked how everyone stepped up and came up with the win." Subban made 25 saves for the victory to improve to 2-0 at his first World Junior tournament. The Boston Bruins prospect said after the game that allowing the first two goals didnt rattle him. "Not so much, especially after the first goal - not really," he said. "So I controlled my emotions pretty well." "He played great," added Scheifele. "Hes an outstanding athlete having to deal with some big scrambles during the game and were happy he got the win." Canada is now 7-0-1 all-time against Slovakia at the world juniors, with the lone tie coming back in 1998. Canadas next game is against the United States, which can be seen Sunday at 4am et/1am pt on TSN and TSN.ca. ' ' '