LaberFred » ason, has signed a three-and-a-half year

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Three times in the past five years, the Detroit Lions have drafted an offensive lineman in the first round.Now its time for that young group to show some real progress.One of the things youre going to notice is that were bigger and stronger. Its going to be more competitive, coach Jim Caldwell said recently.We have a couple spots were going to be fairly young, but I think in the grand scheme of things if we can keep them all healthy, keep them battled and fighting, were going to come out of there with a really big unit up front. Im certainly convinced of that.With Calvin Johnson lost to retirement, the Lions still have their share of skilled offensive players in Matthew Stafford, Golden Tate and Ameer Abdullah.The big question is whether Detroit can build on its encouraging finish in 2015 -- or whether the offense will look as it did when the team lost seven of its first eight games.A lot will depend on the offensive line.The Lions have had to reshuffle their line quite a bit over the past few seasons, with Jeff Backus, Rob Sims and Dominic Raiola having moved on into retirement.Detroit used valuable first-round draft picks on tackle Riley Reiff (2012), guard Laken Tomlinson (2015) and tackle Taylor Decker (2016) -- and the Lions also took guard Larry Warford (2013) and center Travis Swanson (2014) in the third round.Those five players all figure to play significant roles this season as Detroit tries to recover from its disappointing 2015. Stafford was sacked 44 times last season, bringing his total to 89 over the past two years. The Lions also averaged only 83.4 yards rushing per game, the worst mark in the NFL.Both those stats were a bit of an indictment of the offensive line.We learned from the mistakes we made, and weve moved on, Warford said. Weve got to focus on what were doing now as a group.Reiff has started every game hes played for the past three years, and Tomlinson was a starter for most of last season. The Lions have high hopes for Decker -- Caldwell said he could play either left or right tackle.Reiff now seems like the veteran of the bunch, and Caldwell said he expects plenty of intensity from the 27-year-old tackle no matter which side of the line hes on.Riley is a warrior. Riley does not care about anything other than wanting to play his position and play it well and he doesnt care where he plays, Caldwell said.Hes a talented guy thats tough and hard-nosed, the exact kind of guy that youre looking for to lead your group.Much of Detroits resurgence toward the end of last season could be attributed to a schedule that eased up down the stretch, but the Lions hope that improvement was a sign of things to come.In late October, Detroit fired its offensive coordinator and two line coaches. Tight ends coach Ron Prince took over the offensive line.Now the offensive linemen have had a chance to work with Prince for a while and become comfortable with Jim Bob Cooter, who was promoted to offensive coordinator during last years shakeup.That familiarity -- and the natural maturation process with top draft picks -- could pay dividends at the line of scrimmage this season.With offensive line play -- in all of football -- theres two aspects, theres mental and physical, Warford said. When you start getting the plays down, it enables you to play faster.Game notes The Lions removed S Don Carey from the active/non-football injury list, and they put WR Ryan Spadola on injured reserve because of a torn pectoralis. Spadola was waived/injured on Tuesday.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Fabinho Liverpool Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Georginio Wijnaldum Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.footballliverpoolstore.com/Women-Kamil-Grabara-Liverpool-Jersey/ ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Pedro Chirivella Liverpool Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Lazar Markovic Liverpool Jersey . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Stradivari, who ran in two of the three Triple Crown races, suffered a lateral condylar fracture of his right foreleg during a workout Friday morning at Saratoga.As of late Friday morning, he was at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital being evaluated for possible surgery.The X-rays were not as bad as we first feared, trainer Todd Pletcher said. The sesamoids are intact. Just waiting to hear back.Stradivari was galloping out following a five-furlong workout over the main track that was done in company with Destin, the Belmont Stakes runner-up. Straadivari was pulled up abruptly in the middle of the turn by exercise rider Patti Krotenko.dddddddddddd Stradivari was vanned off.Stradivari, a son of Medaglia dOro, ran fourth in the Preakness and fifth in the Belmont Stakes. He was being pointed to the $100,000 Curlin Stakes on July 29.Stradivari, owned by John Gunther, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, has won 2 of 5 starts, including an allowance at Keeneland by 14-1/2 lengths. ' ' '