after replacing Jared Veldheer, who is out for the season with a tor

Aside from a postseason getaway to Cancun, Mexico, and attending friends weddings every other weekend, its been a summer of intense rehab for Tampa Bay Lightning and Team USA goaltender Ben Bishop, who said hes physically and mentally ready to take on the world in the World Cup of Hockey.From a personal standpoint, Bishop, 29, has plenty of unfinished business to attend to when he and the rest of Team USA report to Columbus, Ohio, for the start of World Cup training camp on Sept. 5.Injured in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, which the Lightning lost in seven games to eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, Bishop said his strained ankle ligaments are completely healed, allowing him to hit the ice a month earlier than normal this summer.Bishop, a 6-foot-7, 216-pound native of Denver, went 8-2 with a 1.85 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in last seasons playoffs and is expected to challenge Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and New Jersey Devils netminder Cory Schneider for the starting job with Team USA, which will be coached by Columbus Blue Jackets bench boss John Tortorella.I feel good, said Bishop, who was a backup to John Gibson when the U.S. won the bronze medal in the 2013 IIHF Mens World Championship. Ive been doing rehab all summer, and Im stronger this summer than I was last summer going into camp as far as test results. Thats a good thing.Bishop said hes especially eager to see who will start in goal for the Americans when they open their World Cup pre-tournament schedule with a Sept. 9 game against Canada at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The eight-team tournament starts for real on Sept. 17 in Toronto and ends on Oct. 1.Its going to be a little different than NHL exhibition games, Bishop said. Canada-U.S.? I dont think thats going to be an ease-in process. Exhibition games are going to be a little more intense, especially for goalies who like to slowly get into it. My first game could be against Team Canada, but after practicing for a week and some intrasquad scrimmages, Im sure Ill be ready.With eight rosters filled with NHL stars, ESPN.com quizzed Bishop on which World Cup opponents have the best offensive skills in a variety of categories:Hardest shot: Alex Ovechkin, RussiaHes got one of the best shots in the game. Its really tough to read off of his stick. He usually comes down on it almost like a knuckle ball. Its tough to read.Most accurate shot: Steven Stamkos, CanadaLuckily, hes on my team in Tampa, but Ive seen him score a lot of goals. Hopefully I can keep them out if hes shooting against me. I think [Vladimir] Tarasenko from Russias got one of the best wrist shots in the game. Some guys have a heavy, hard shot and its got more weight behind it, but a guy like Steven Stamkos has one of the more accurate shots in the game. I dont think its as hard as others, but he can put it wherever he wants. Theres a big difference.Shootout specialist: T.J. Oshie, United StatesIm glad hes on my team. Everybody saw what he did in the [2014] Olympics, so its nice to have a guy like that on your team and not have to go against him. I think Tarasenko is one of the better guys in the league in shootouts. Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby -- those guys can be pretty lethal in a shootout.Best setup man: Nicklas Backstrom, Sweden[He] is one of the better passers in the league, I think. Sidney Crosby, obviously. Those guys stand out, especially Backstrom. The Sedins [Henrik?and Daniel], those guys can find each other almost anywhere on the ice. Its hard to pick because every team has great talent. I mean, every teams got two top lines that will be future Hall of Famers.Speediest forward: Pick a Team North America forwardIm just happy I dont have to race up and down the ice with those guys. Im sure some of those young guns on Team North America [Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Dylan Larkin] will be pretty quick. Theyve got a lot of fresh, young legs -- thats for sure. Its almost all top-10 picks in the last few years and all those players are supposed to be stars in this league. I dont think anybody is going to take them lightly. They have a lot of skill, and they kind of have nothing to lose, so theyre going to be one of the more dangerous teams, I believe.The Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks lead all NHL teams with 12 players competing in the World Cup, and Bishop said the chirping has already begun.Im sure theres going to be lots of friendly fire when we get to Columbus, said Bishop, who will sport a glow-in-the-dark mask for the tournament. Itll be fun-hearted until we step on the ice, and then its going to be all business. Its obviously a big tournament, but its going to be fun to play against your teammates, which doesnt happen too often.Team USA will begin the tournament in a group with Canada, the Czech Republic and Team Europe, while Group B will consist of Russia, Sweden, Finland and Team North America. The top two finishers in Groups A and B will advance to the semifinals, with the semifinal winners facing off in a best-of-three finals.You cant predict, Bishop said. I think the way the tournament is set up its going to be fun because I think every team has a legitimate chance to win. Patrick Omameh Jersey . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. Blake Bortles Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. http://www.jaguarsfootballpro.com/Jaguars-Dante-Fowler-Jr-Jersey/ . 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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona coach Bruce Arians was candid as usual when he was asked what would have happened had the Cardinals lost at home to the San Francisco 49ers.Its over, he said.But the Cardinals escaped with a 23-20 victory on Sunday, Chandler Catanzaro kicking a 34-yard field goal as time expired to win it.At 4-4-1, Arizona can still make a push toward a playoff berth, but the going will be tough.The Cardinals play five of their remaining seven games on the road, beginning with a trip to Minnesota on Sunday.Cant even think about five out of seven, Arians said at his Monday news conference. If we just think about them one at a time, well be fine. This is a great new stadium (at Minnesota). Very, very loud, so well have our hands full.Larry Fitzgerald was having an MRI on his sore knee but Arians said that was just a precaution.Arians said Fitzgerald and outside linebacker Alex Okafor (calf) have a chance to practice Wednesday or Thursday.As for the possibility of Fitzgerald sitting out Sundays game, I would be shocked if he misses a game at home, Arians said.Fitzgerald was born in Minnesota and grew up there.He caught 12 passes for 133 yards against the 49ers, his first 100-yard game this season and 42nd of his career.I wish I could have done it with less targets (18), Fitzgerald said after the game. You give me 18 targets in 2006, I might have had 200 yards.It was the first time in his long career that the 33-year-old receiver had double digit catches in consecutive games. Fitzgerald caught 10 passes in Arizonas previous game, a loss at Carolina.He acknowledged he was hurting, but hes long been accustomed to playing with pain.You dont play 13 years without it, Fitzgerald said. Its football. Youre going to get banged up. Its just part of it. Theres a difference between being hurt and being injured. A lot of guys are hurting.Fitzgerald has missed six games in his 13 NFL seasons.Theres a chance the Cardinals will have do-everything defensive back Tyrann Mathieu back this week. Mathieu injured his shoulder against Carolina and sat out Sundays win.Well just see how he is, Arians said.dddddddddddd His strengths back. Its good. So hell be cleared to go and I want to see him practice and see how he looks.If he does come back, it might be without the knee brace that has slowed him this season. Mathieu was without the brace when he was running during a portion of a practice last week that was open to the media.Its about the time we had talked about the brace leaving, so Im not sure, Arians said. Again, thats going to be up to him.Arians said he hasnt decided who the team will lift from the injured list. NFL rules allow a team to bring one player back from the disabled list. Running back Chris Johnson and safety Tyvon Branch are the leading candidates. Both would be eligible to practice this week but couldnt play until the Dec. 4 home game against Washington.The Cardinals were rooting hard for New England on Sunday night but the Patriots came up just short in a loss to Seattle. The Seahawks remain two games up on Arizona in the NFC West. The Cardinals best shot at a playoff berth might be as a wild card. They are just behind a number of teams in those standings, including the Vikings, who are 5-4 but have lost four in a row.Arizonas running game was shut down for the second consecutive game. The 49ers (1-8) entered the game ranked last in the NFL in run defense but held Arizona to 80 yards in 23 plays. David Johnson gained just 55 yards in 19 carries.Arians did not place the blame on John Wetzel in his first start at left tackle after replacing Jared Veldheer, who is out for the season with a torn triceps. Arians said he thought Wetzel played a really solid game.He was not so kind to the rest of the offensive line.They kicked our butt, Arians said. They had safeties down in there. They did a couple of different stunts we hadnt practiced. A different front, but nothing we havent seen all year. 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