Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » right knee surgery some eight months ago

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Heath Miller, yet to practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers, took the next step in the rehabilitation process after right knee surgery some eight months ago when he was taken off the physically unable to perform list. The nine-year veteran tight end, who tore three ligaments in his right knee against Cincinnati last December, called the move a step in the right direction. He remains vague about a possible return date: The Steelers open the season hosting Tennessee on Sunday. "My mindsets not going to change," Miller said Monday. "I just want to keep improving each day and keep stacking those good days together. I still want to think short term, so thats day by day, and keep getting better. Thats brought me to this point, and that will take me to a good point soon." He left it up to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to determine when Miller can put the pads on. The two-time Pro Bowler, however, remains steadfast that he has never looked beyond incremental improvement. "I feel good, and Ive worked hard to get to this point," Miller said. "Hopefully, I can take these last few steps. Fortunately, the timing of the injury was pretty good, because I dont feel like I missed as much as I could have if I would have had to sit and watch through a whole season." Still, Miller anticipates a bit of a learning curve after sitting out training camp and each of Pittsburghs four exhibition games. "I did have to miss the preseason, which is never fun when youre not out there with your team, but I know that Im closer to the end than the beginning," Miller said. "So, thats a good thing. "As Ive said all along, and Im not lying to you guys, Ive just tried to take each day (and) get better, and I knew if I did that it would be a good outcome, whatever that was." Millers even-keel approach and tireless work ethic has rubbed off on his teammates, particularly fellow tight end David Johnson. Johnson missed the 2012 season after right knee surgery and was taken off the PUP list several weeks ago, but spent time working alongside Miller as they moved through the final stages of rehabilitation. "Its getting a whole lot better, and I think its going pretty good," Johnson said. "Im just blessed to be back out here and working. Its been a long road, but its feeling good. And every day its getting a whole lot better, and my running and blocking is getting a whole lot better every day as well." While Johnsons presence gives the Steelers one of the better blocking tight ends in the league, he is an afterthought in the passing game. Not Miller, who led Pittsburgh with 71 receptions and eight touchdowns last year. "The team needs Heath," Johnson said. "I feel like once he gets all the way back hell help the team even more. We ran a little bit together, and hes doing pretty good. So, I think hell be all right. And whatever the team needs me to do until he gets back, Ill be ready for it." Miller could follow the path running back Rashard Mendenhall took last season. Mendenhall missed the opening three games and returned after Pittsburghs bye week. This season, the Steelers play four games before hitting their bye in early October. NOTES: The Steelers signed free agent P Zoltan Mesko on Monday and waived P Drew Butler. Mesko averaged 44.2 yards per punt in three seasons with New England ... The Steelers also claimed CB Antwon Blake off waivers and released CB Isaiah Green ... Fourth-year RB Isaac Redman is the starter for the second straight season. Second-round pick LeVeon Bell (mid-foot sprain) said he is jogging now, but he likely will be deactivated for the opening game. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . Weise left the arena with a splint on his wrist and underwent tests to determine whether the tendon is torn. Winger Travis Moen will also miss some time after suffering a concussion in Mondays contest. Custom Basketball Jerseys China . Hall had a goal and three assists in a 5-4 loss to San Jose on Tuesday, had an assist in each of Edmontons next two games the capped the week with a goal and two assists in the Oilers 4-2 win over Anaheim on Sunday. http://www.basketballcustomjerseys.com/ .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence. Cheap Custom Basketball Jerseys Sale . For the Athletics, hes extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting. Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3. Wholesale Custom Basketball Jerseys Store .The league also seems to have a fairly active Twitter account www.twitter.com/bikinihockey that features the description “We provide a positive alternative to the hockey community and a venue for adult female hockey athletes to continue in their sport.As the New York Rangers made their run to the Stanley Cup final last spring, Martin St. Louis was their soothsayer. "It just seemed like whatever Marty was saying was kind of coming true," defenceman Ryan McDonagh said. Looking back, McDonagh said, its hard to imagine the Rangers getting so far had they not acquired the veteran winger at the trade deadline. St. Louis had been through a similar experience in 2004 winning the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning and now gets the opportunity he didnt 10 years ago because of the lockout. "I didnt have a chance at continuity," St. Louis said as part of a promotional media tour for new NHL sponsor Crest. "This year Im looking forward to that continuity. I know we didnt win or anything, but Im looking forward to that." St. Louis gets continuity: a first training camp under coach Alain Vigneault and more time to spend with the teammates who helped support him when his mother died during the playoffs. With an off-season house in Greenwich, Conn., now his and his familys full-time home, it was a more relaxing summer not having to pick up and move in August. The Laval, Que., native has gotten more time with his family, including wife Heather whos doing Crest marketing with him. It might be safe to assume a hockey players wife has a more perfect smile than her husband. But the Rangers are a team in some flux. Gone from the Eastern Conference-champion group are defenceman Anton Stralman and forward Brian Boyle, who signed with the Lightning, and centre Brad Richards, who was bought out and went to Chicago. New York added veteran defenceman Dan Boyle, a 2010 Team Canada gold medal-winner, and grinder Tanner Glass and expect younger players to also fill some holes. "I think every teams in that situation," St. Louis said. "Its what you make of it, its how you embrace those guys, how you welcome them. You cant look at them as replacing the players you lost. You want them to be themselves and play their game, so were going to make sure that happens." St. Louis has only been around since March, when the Rangers traded captain Ryan Callahan and draft picks to Tampa Bay for him. But as the search for a new captain is on, St. Louis is among the candidates along with McDonagh, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Rick Nash. The 39-yearr-old said hes more worried about being a teammate than having an official leadership position.dddddddddddd "Ive had a lot of experience in this league on and off the ice, Ive been in many situations," he said. "I feel like I help my teammates regardless because I can relate to them. Ive been a guy in the minors, Ive been a guy called up, Ive been a guy scratched, Ive been a third and fourth-liner, Ive been a top player. I feel like I can relate to them and I can help them out." St. Louis has already helped plenty. Not only was he tied for second on the Rangers in post-season points with 15 (eight goals, seven assists) but teammates looked to him as a calming influence. "I love that with players that, in stressful situations theyre still calm to make the decisions and say good things," goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. "But you still want to see the fire, you still want to see the edge and I think he has both sides of that." On the ice, St. Louis noticed practice habits that others didnt. "Theres no small play with him," McDonagh said. "If he sees something in practice that were working on on the power play or even just line rushes with his (other) winger and his centre, hes always grabbing guys, talking about what he sees and whats feeling to try to get on the same page with you and you get on the same page with him so that in a game hopefully the executions a lot better." St. Louis said the credit for the Rangers playoff run from teammates was flattering but brushed it off. "Its collectively everybody," he said. "I dont think its just me. I try to play my part as everybody thats important to the team (does), and collectively we were able to do the things that we did. I dont think it was one guy." No Stanley Cup final loser has made it back the next year since the Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 2009. Thanks to experience, St. Louis hopes the Rangers have what it takes to buck that trend. "Its so hard to repeat, its so hard to get back there," he said. "Were hoping to break that this year and get back there and not be disappointed with the result. "I know we have a lot of new guys, but you try as a team, you try to build it up and get the chemistry and get better as the year goes on and really try to hit your stride at the right time." 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