CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Cornerback Leon Hall jogged toward the right side of the defence and took his customary place, matched against receiver Mohamed Sanu. The play was a handoff, so Hall didnt have to do much. Thats not what mattered. Hall lined up for the first 11-on-11 play in the Bengals first practice of training camp on Thursday, an encouraging sign for one of the NFLs top defences. "It means a lot," Hall said. The 29-year-old cornerback tore his right Achilles tendon midway through last season, the second time hes sustained such an injury. He tore his left Achilles in 2011, but was back as the starter the following year and played very well. Hes made another quick and full recovery. "There was never really a doubt in my mind," Hall said. "It was just trying to be patient enough to go through that long process again." Even though hes fine physically, Hall hasnt been able to be on the field during off-season workouts, so hes still got a lot of work to do on his form. At one point during the afternoon practice, he went to the sideline and worked on his side-to-side movement. "I felt good," he said after practice. "No pain. I felt strong. My footwork wasnt very good, but thats going to come in a few days." Defensive tackle Geno Atkins is coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and wanted to participate in the first practice, but was held out on Thursday as a precaution. Coach Marvin Lewis wants to give him a few days to ease in before hes cleared to fully practice. Hall is a mainstay on a defence that has ranked among the leagues top 10 for each of the past three years, finishing third overall in yards allowed last season. The Bengals never doubted that hed be ready despite his second significant injury in three seasons. "Leon, he works hard at everything he does," defensive co-ordinator Paul Guenther said. "If you can have a poster child for a coachs guy, thats him. Hell do whatever he has to do. He spent the whole off-season getting that thing back to go. Im excited to see him back on the field." After Halls Achilles surgery in 2011, there were doubts about whether he would still be quick enough to cover the other teams top receiver. When he got back on the field, he was just as good, if not better. "His speed became better last time, which is really something," Lewis said. "I thought he played faster in 2012 than he did before. I think thats what excites him about this: Maybe anatomically Ive got something that made me better." Hall doesnt know if he was that much faster after the first Achilles surgery, but all of the rehabilitation work has him in good shape for the start of camp. "I feel like I felt years ago, before I did the first one," Hall said. "Ive heard numerous times that your Achilles is technically stronger after you have the surgery. I wouldnt suggest going and tearing your Achilles, but thats just what I heard from the doctors and people in general. Thats good news. "I feel better. Lets just hope it translates to the field." Notes: The Bengals claimed first-year WR Conner Vernon off waivers from Cleveland and signed free agent WR Jeremy Johnson, a rookie from Southern Methodist. They waived punter T.J. Conley. ... OL Andrew Whitworth was held out of practice with a sore calf. ... At the start of practice, a couple of fans hung two banners from a public bridge that overlooks the practice fields. The first banner urged the Bengals not to sign quarterback Andy Dalton to a contract extension. The other said: "AJ to AJ, the future is now." The Bengals signed quarterback AJ McCarron in the fifth round. McCarron didnt throw to A.J. Green on Thursday -- hes resting a sore passing shoulder. Travis Shaw Jersey . "Uuufff," was all shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria could come up with after Stantons latest mammoth shot. Brent Suter Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Im sure youve received many emails wondering what your take is on the Spezza goal that looked like Neil blatantly kicked it in while standing directly in the middle of the crease where, you know, usually a goalie is to make a save but couldnt be due to Neil being there! Thanks! Jon - Westfield, MA Jon: Lets first ask Henrik Lundqvist what he thought of the scoring of the Sens second goal with . https://www.cheapbrewers.com/1919y-ryan-...ey-brewers.html. On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. Bj Surhoff Jersey . The ninth-seeded Safarova doused Swede Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-3 on the green clay at Family Circle Tennis Center. The Czech player was a finalist here two years ago and captured back-to-back doubles titles in 2012 and last year. Ben Gamel Brewers Jersey . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Neither rain nor the Kansas City Royals could stop the Los Angeles Angels from winning again. Albert Pujols and David Freese combined to drive in five runs as the Angels beat the Royals 6-2 on Saturday for their seventh victory in eight games. There were two rain delays with the second after the fourth inning lasting 3:58. The game didnt end until nearly 7 hours after it started. "We had a lot of waiting in between a baseball game," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. The official game time was 2:48, while the rain delays totalled 4:06. "Its a waiting game," said Eric Hosmer, who had one of the six Royals hits and scored a run. "You basically hang out. We heard it was going to be a couple of hours. It wasnt one of those things where we were thinking it could start any minute, so we had a little heads up. Its all part of the grind of the season. There are going to be days like that. Its what we all sign up for." Pujols, who has 14 RBIs in his past 13 games, singled home runs in the third and sixth innings. Freese, who had three hits, drove in three runs, two in the four-run sixth and the other in fourth. He has six RBIs in his past seven games, after driving in only three in his previous 26 games. "It was nice to come out and get some runs after the rain," Freese said. "It was almost like starting a new game so it was nice to get some runs, and nice to get the win." Kole Calhoun added three hits, scored two runs and drove in one. The Angels four-run sixth included four hits, two walks and three stolen bases. Rookie right-hander Mike Morin (2-1), who went to high school at a Kansas City suburb, allowed two runs on two hits over two innings to pick up the victory. "It was cool," Morin said. "Scioscia told me I was going to get the ball and I had all my family and friends here. They were probably the only ones left after the rain delay. Its been a great weekend. Ill never forget it. It was just fortunate that I could be in there to get the win in front of them."t; Angels left-hander Hector Santiago was not allowed to come back out after the second delay.dddddddddddd He pitched four scoreless innings, giving up four hits. "Somebody sent me a message and asked me did you make a witch angry?" said Santiago, who needed to pitch one more inning to claim his first victory of the season and losing his first seven decisions. "It seems like everything that can have an effect on me getting a win has happened. But I gave four scoreless innings and gave us a chance to win, and the team got the win, so thats what I care about." Royals rookie Yordano Ventura (5-7) took the loss, yielding two runs on seven hits over four innings. "I felt like I was in command of the strike zone, but unfortunately the rain got to me and I couldnt go back out," Ventura said with Royals catching coach Pedro Grifol acting as his interpreter. "I prepared to pitch today and I wanted to go back out, but there was no way I could go back after that long rain delay." Veteran left-hander Bruce Chen, who had not pitched since April 24 and going on the disabled list with a bulging disc, replaced Ventura after the game resumed. He allowed four runs on four hits, all in the sixth, walked two and struck out eight over five innings. Jason Grilli made his Angels debut after being acquired in a Friday trade with the Pirates and worked a perfect eighth, striking out one. Notes: LHP Brandon Finnegan, the Royals first selection and 17th overall pick in the draft, signed for $2,200,600. Finnegan, who went 9-3 with a 2.04 ERA as a junior and helped lead TCU to the College World Series, will report Monday to the Royals Class A Wilmington, Delaware farm club. ... Angels LHP Tyler Skaggs, who is on the disabled list with a right hamstring injury, threw in the bullpen and could make a start at Chicago, the Angels next stop on this trip. ... The Angels have won eight of their past 10 meetings against the Royals. ... The Royals have lost seven of nine after their 10-game winning streak ended on June 19. ' ' '