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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Peyton Mannings top target is back. Demaryius Thomas returned from bereavement leave Monday. He had missed the first 4 1/2 days of training camp for the AFC champs following the death last week of his paternal grandmother, Gladys Thomas, who helped raise him. "Im good. It was tough yesterday to bury my grandma, but ever since then everythings been better," Thomas said. "Shes in a better place now, so Im fine and Im ready to play football." Thomas flight from Georgia didnt get back in time for him to participate in a spirited morning practice at Dove Valley that featured three scuffles, but he participated in the teams evening walkthrough in shorts. "It was good," Thomas said. "All the guys keep me smiling, thats the main thing, and just being back out here to do what I love, it was great." Gladys Thomas had been battling Alzheimers disease for two years, he said. She died last week, one day before Thomas reported for training camp. The Broncos excused him from camp for as long as he needed to be with his family. "They were great," Thomas said. "They sent flowers and everything. So, I want to want to take my hat off to the Broncos for allowing me to go and also looking out for my family and me." Bubba Caldwell filled in, with Emmanuel Sanders and rookie Cody Latimer also getting more work during the seven workouts Thomas missed. Thomas arrived at the teams headquarters toward the end of Mondays workout. With a day off following an evening walkthrough, he wont get his first true practice until Wednesday at Sports Authority Field. "Were eager to have him back and understand his situation and feel for him and whenever hes ready, hes ready," receiver Wes Welker said. "We know what type of player he is, what type of person he is and were eager to have him out here on this football field with us." Thomas said he was able to watch practice film on his iPad over the weekend. "Im not behind, I know whats going on," Thomas said. "Its just the fact of getting out here and getting in football shape." The Broncos wont turn him loose right away. "Once he gets back he will just jump right in (but) well probably be smart with him, make sure that we dont do anything crazy," offensive co-ordinator Adam Gase said. "Hes not going to come out here and just run all go routes -- none of that on the first day. Well work him back in, well be smart, make sure he gets caught up to speed with his conditioning but then he will slide right in. The mental aspect of the game with him is a non-issue." Thomas caught a team-best 92 passes for 1,430 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. He also set a Super Bowl record with 13 receptions. Hes entering the final year of his rookie contract and his agent and the Broncos have exchanged proposals on a long-term deal. Denvers defence was missing its star on Monday, too. DeMarcus Ware bruised his right leg Sunday during a practice at the Broncos stadium and was replaced in the front-line defence by Quanterus Smith, who had an impressive day that included a sack. Terrence Jones Jersey Signed . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Bob Cluggish Jersey Signed . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale...-jersey-signed/. - After three days of light, make that very light, workouts, Team Irvin and Team Carter are ready for tonights Pro Bowl. Nick Shaback Jersey Signed .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. Malik Allen Jersey Signed .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders.LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Naadir Tharpe finally got to stand in the middle of the court at Allen Fieldhouse, bask in the adulation of another sellout crowd and celebrate a conference championship. The junior guard, who wrapped up his first two Big 12 titles on the road, had 19 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures Monday night, and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks held off Oklahoma 83-75 to ensure a share of their 10th consecutive league crown. "Just a great feeling," Tharpe said. "To be at home, to hear the fans and all that, its a beautiful feeling. It just shows the tradition of Kansas and what it means to us." Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins added 15 points each, and Joel Embiid had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks (22-6, 13-2), who poured off the bench at the buzzer to celebrate the latest addition to their nation-leading 57 conference titles. It might be the only one for Wiggins and Embiid, the dynamic freshman duo projected to be lottery picks if they come out this season. Wiggins has already stated his intention to do so. "Winning the championship," Wiggins said, "just a great feeling on the court." Only two schools in mens Division I basketball have won more consecutive conference titles than Kansas: UCLA captured 13 straight from 1967-79 in the Pac-10, and Gonzaga won 11 straight in the West Coast Conference from 2001-11. "Its something you know," Selden said. "When you come in here, thats the standard." Cameron Clark had 18 points and Buddy Hield finished with 16 for the Sooners (20-8, 9-6), who have lost 12 of their last 13 games against the Jayhawks, including both this season. Oklahoma still has not won in the Phog since 1993, when Billy Tubbs was on its sideline. "Its so tough here for a lot of reasons," current Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. "Bill does a great job, theyre very talented, the atmosphere is great, the difference really is in the runs they make, and thats what you have to avoid. Easier said than done." The first half Monday night boiled down to an old-fashioned Big Eight tussle. The Jayhawks threw the first body punnch, picking up right where they left off in a rout of Texas by taking a 15-4 lead.dddddddddddd Oklahoma answered with a few haymakers of its own, going on a 13-2 charge and eventually pulling ahead 27-25 with 5:26 left in the half. Selden took over down the stretch, though, scoring seven straight points to give Kansas the lead back. Frank Masons three-pointer capped a 10-0 surge and made it 42-33 at halftime. "We handled the ball well, made tough plays, but two or three stretches is why Kansas is so tough," Kruger said. "We gave them moments of run that you have to try to avoid." The Jayhawks, arguably the deepest team in the Big 12, forged their lead despite playing without a handful of players due to foul trouble. Wiggins, Tharpe, Perry Ellis, who finished with 11 points, and Jamari Traylor all had two fouls, and Connor Frankamp was on the bench with three. Wiggins picked up his third on the first play of the second half, when Ryan Spangler drove to the basket for an and-one. It was the start of a 10-2 run that got the Sooners back in the game. "They made a couple shots, we made a couple shots," Clark said, "but the main thing is we didnt take care of the ball at critical times." Clarks hot shooting and a couple of timely three-pointers by Hield gave Oklahoma the lead, only for Kansas to come back once more. Wiggins scored on a putback of his own miss with 8:01 left to give the Jayhawks a 60-59 lead, and their advantage grew to 69-63 a few minutes later. The Sooners kept finding answers. When Wiggins hit a three-pointer to make it 74-66, Isaiah Cousins promptly scored in the paint. When Tharpe got a home-rim bounce on a pull-up jumper, Hield was there to hit a fall-away three-pointer to close within 76-71 with 1:30 left. Oklahoma simply ran out of time, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock, another sellout crowd at the Phog began to chant, "Ten straight! Ten straight!" "In a league this competitive, thought by many to be the toughest league in the country, to have a three-game lead with three to play is pretty special," Kansas coach Bill Self said. ' ' '