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[b]Zach Strief Jersey[/b] .J. -- Josh Freemans career keeps spiraling. The New York Giants released the quarterback Freeman on Friday, five weeks after signing him. Freemans stock has plummeted since the beginning of last season, when he was Tampa Bays starting quarterback. He was benched and then cut by the Buccaneers, signed with Minnesota and started one game. That was in a lopsided loss to the Giants when he appeared unprepared for the assignment, going 20 of 53 for 190 yards with an interception. New York signed him as its 15th veteran free agent in the off-season, adding Freeman to the roster in part because starting quarterback Eli Manning and backup Curtis Painter had undergone surgery. But Manning was back at practice this week, Painter is expected back before training camp, and second-year QB Ryan Nassib will get a long look for the second-string job behind Manning. So Freeman was expendable, and his work in recent organized team activities was not impressive enough for the Giants to keep him. Freemans quarterbacks coach in Minnesota was Craig Johnson, now the Giants running backs coach. Freeman went 0-3 as a starter in 2013 with the Buccaneers before being cut on Oct. 3. He signed with the Vikings five days later, but other than his start against the Giants, he was a nonfactor in Minnesota. He was the Buccaneers first-round draft pick in 2009 out of Kansas State. He became a starter in November of that year and started 60 games for Tampa Bay. The Giants also were awarded offensive lineman Rogers Gaines off waivers from the Bears. Gaines, 6-foot-6 and 334 pounds, entered the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in May 2013. He played in all four preseason games for Baltimore last summer but was waived on Aug. 30. Gaines signed on with Chicagos practice squad on Sept. 24 and spent the rest of the season there.
[b]TreQuan Smith Jersey[/b] . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own.
[b]Bennie Thompson Jersey[/b] .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 20th consecutive win across all competitions by cruising to a 4-1 victory at Almeria on Friday.MELBOURNE, Australia - Victoria Azarenka is packing her bags and leaving the Australian Open far earlier than years past, but the two-time former champion sure had fun while she was here.For the Belarussian, who is putting forth a more carefree image these days, this might be just as important as winning.Unseeded after an injury-marred season, Azarenka had the toughest draw of any of the top female contenders at Melbourne Park, yet she moved through three rounds with ease, not dropping a set to Sloane Stephens, Caroline Wozniacki or Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.On Monday, though, her run came to an end against 2014 finalist, Dominika Cibulkova, in a match filled with extended rallies, momentum shifts and impressive shot-making. The two women combined for 76 winners.It was Azarenkas earliest exit from the Australian Open since 2011, but rather than be disappointed, she looked at the upside.I take it as progress. I think there are a lot of the positive things to take from here, she said. Overall, I can be pretty happy.Its been her mantra for the whole tournament. In years past, Azarenka hasnt seemed to fully enjoy her time at the Australian Open, despite her success. This year felt different — she seemed to buy into the tournaments informal Happy Slam nickname.Forget the twirls — Azarenka put on impromptu dance performances on the court after her matches. She playfully scolded the crowds for calling her Vicky instead of Vika or Victoria when they cheered her on. And she flirted with Australian teen sensation Nick Kyrgios on Twitter — she asked how she could learn to serve as big as him, and he responded, private lessons, of course!!Even her encounters with the media, which used to cause her to bristle in the past, were lighthearted.
[b]Jahri Evans Jersey[/b]. The topic of conversation routinely veered from tennis to other less weighty subjects, such as Vegemite and her multi-colored leggings.Theres not many players who can pull that off, she said after her third-round win over Zahlavova Strycova as she raised her leg to show off her white, purple and green leggings. What do you think about them?Azarenka also opened up about the pressures she felt in the past to publicly present a more packaged, less authentic version of herself.This came to a head at the Australian Open two years ago when she struggled to explain herself and looked overwhelmed when repeatedly questioned about a medical time-out she took at a critical time in her semifinal against Stephens. The controversy hung over her final against Li Na, with some in the crowd booing her and mimicking her high-pitched grunting sounds.Azarenka maintains she was legitimately hurt and felt she was unfairly criticized at the time.Now, she says, she has learned the importance of being true to herself, even if not everybody likes her.I dont think Ive changed as a person. I think I grew as a person. I think Im able to speak my thoughts more freely, which before I think I was holding back and really was trying to fit into some kind of image that a lot of people, a lot of players do, she said.Im just being me. I say what I want to say. I laugh when I want to laugh. I play how I want to play. I grunt when I want to grunt. ' ' '
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