BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Leonard Floyd figures he will take a moment to scan the stadium, soak it all in. Then it will be time to show what he can do.The Chicago Bears are counting on big things from the outside linebacker after drafting him with the ninth overall pick. That starts with the preseason opener against the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos on Thursday night.I try to do a circle and look at all the fans and stuff, Floyd said. And I get locked in on focusing on the game.It will be a big moment for Floyd and the Bears. Chicago drafted the Georgia standout with the idea that his speed and athleticism would help jolt a defense that lacked playmakers a year ago.Not only will the Bears be getting their first look at Floyd, they will also be seeing receiver Kevin White in a game situation for the first time.The No. 7 pick in the 2015 draft, he was sidelined last season by a fractured shin. Instead of forming a fierce tandem with Alshon Jeffery, White was a spectator.The Bears, meanwhile, are trying to pick themselves up after going 6-10 and finishing last in the NFC North. With just 11 wins over the past two years, they come into their second season under general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox looking for much more.The development of Floyd and White could go a long way toward determining if they get it.Its all about that `exam, Fox said. Those exams are those preseason games and I cant think of a better test than the defending world champs Thursday night.The Bears are trying to build a strong young core under Pace and Fox after years of shaky drafting under former GMs Jerry Angelo and Phil Emery. It sure would help if White and Floyd thrived, and there are big expectations for both players.The 6-foot-4 Floyd is a key addition to a defense that made big strides last season under coordinator Vic Fangio yet still had some huge deficiencies. Chicago rose from 30th to 14th in the rankings but tied for 22nd in sacks and was just 30th in interceptions.The Bears addressed that by overhauling their front seven, adding 336-pound free agent defensive end Akiem Hicks and backing him with inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman. With his speed and athleticism, Floyd brings a skillset that management believes will produce bigger numbers in the NFL than in college. Floyd had 4 1/2 sacks for Georgia last season, but he wont be dropping back in coverage the way he did in college.He will also be playing on both sides of the field and occasionally move inside, which could give him an edge over slower guards.It gives me an opportunity to make plays from different areas on the field, Floyd said. Pretty much all outside linebackers have the opportunity to play left, right and sometimes in the middle.The past two weeks have been eye opening for Floyd.Hes been soaking up as much as he can from the coaches as well as veterans such as Willie Young, Sam Acho and Pernell McPhee, trying to improve on his weaknesses. Hes trying to stay patient and focus on the big picture. But he also understands the pressure to make a quick impact.Ive got the highest expectations on myself, he said. I put the most on myself.Game notes Jeffery said no decision has been made about whether he will play on Thursday. The receiver practiced on a limited basis Monday and Tuesday after suffering a mild hamstring strain last week. Fox and quarterback Jay Cutler have said they hope Jeffery plays in the preseason, particularly after sat out the 2015 preseason and went on to miss seven games last season because of a variety of injuries.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Pat Lafontaine Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Evan Rodrigues Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. http://www.sabresauthority.com/ . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Dale Hawerchuk Jersey . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Pierre Turgeon Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup.PRETORIA, South Africa -- Oscar Pistorius stood for his entire 15-minute court hearing Tuesday, staring straight ahead, hands clasped in front of him and giving away little emotion as the world got its first close up view of the double-amputee Olympian and murder suspect in nearly four months. In stark contrast to the sobbing figure Pistorius presented through much of his bail hearing in February, the athlete appeared composed as Acting Chief Magistrate Daniel Thulare postponed the case until Aug. 19 to allow police more time to investigate the Valentines Day killing of his girlfriend. Pistorius spoke just three words in court after the magistrate asked him if he understood he was still bound by the same bail conditions and must reappear then. "Yes, your honour," Pistorius replied in a voice which croaked at first, but which also had an air of newfound calm ahead of a trial which wont start until September, at least, and will likely be a long, slow process. Pistorius faces a life sentence in prison, with a minimum of 25 years, if convicted of premeditated murder, the charge against him for the Feb. 14 shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp. Having faced up to the rows of television cameras and photographers that gathered around him Tuesday when he entered Court C, clamouring for their first images of him in months, Pistorius then kissed a family member and left the dock after the short appearance. He didnt comment to reporters. In a macabre coincidence, the case will continue on what would have been Steenkamps 30th birthday, and the model and law graduates parents this week pleaded in an interview with a British television channel for answers to the killing where only Pistorius and Steenkamp were present. "I want to know why he shot her because she must have been so afraid," Steenkamps mother, June Steenkamp, told Channel 5. The extension was sought by the prosecution, and will eventually give investigators six months to gather evidence, interview witnesses and prepare a case against Pistorius by the time he returns to court in August. Prosecutors said police should finish their investigation by then and the trial could start in September, but a verdict possibly wont come until next year. Since he was freed on bail on Feb. 22 -- just over a week after killing Steenkamp in his home -- Pistorius has been living as a virtual recluse, his family has said, with just two reported sightings of him in public. The 26-year-old Pistorius has said he shot Steenkamp accidentally through a toilet stall door, thinking she was a nighttime intruder. The staate alleges he and his 29-year-old girlfriend may have argued before her death and he intentionally killed her.dddddddddddd An athlete who had his lower legs amputated when he was a baby, and who then went on to run at the Olympics, Pistorius has faced up to challenges before -- although none with the immensity of his looming murder trial. Pistorius family said he was broken with grief in the immediate aftermath of Steenkamps death, but his uncle said he would be prepared for trial. "He will be ready once the court case starts and he will be able to stand as a man in that courtroom," Arnold Pistorius said in excerpts from a South African television interview Sunday and released by his family. Steenkamps family -- none of whom were in court -- also spoke out ahead of the hearing, with her parents telling Britains Channel 5 on Monday that they were still desperate to know the reasons behind the shooting, and also that their daughter had told them about previous arguments with Pistorius. "I just feel why couldnt I have warned her, or known something about this person (Pistorius), that they could be capable of doing something like that," June Steenkamp said in the interview. Pistorius arrived at the courthouse in a silver SUV with black blinds covering the windows, and used the main public entrance and not the back or side entrances he arrived at during his four-day bail hearing. He was then forced to walk past dozens more photographers and television crews which crowded him outside, with police roughly pushing back reporters to make way for Pistorius to pass. The Olympians news-dominating case has never been far from the worlds headlines, but Acting Chief Magistrate Thulare also warned Tuesday of "scandalous and possibly contemptuous" reporting by some media in Pistorius case following the publication of pictures by another British television station last week. The leaked photographs purport to show the blood-spattered bathroom where Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp, firing his 9mm pistol four times through the locked door of a toilet stall and hitting his girlfriend with three bullets. Prosecutors wouldnt comment on those leaked images or which areas of the police investigation were still ongoing. "The investigation is continuing and we believe by August, or even before August, we will have wrapped up everything," prosecution spokesman Medupe Simasiku said. "As soon as everything is completed the court will announce a trial date." Pistorius trial will likely be heard at Pretorias High Court. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '