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GREEN BAY, Wis. Sio Moore Colts Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers has been cleared to return from a left collarbone injury, just in time to start Sunday for the Packers against the Chicago Bears in a game to decide the NFC North title. With no advance warning and little fanfare, the franchise quarterback received the long-awaited good news at the same time as the rest of his teammates Thursday. "This is a fun day for me, but I think the focus needs to be on this game and the opportunity we have to win the division," Rodgers said. Soon enough. But the spotlight for now is squarely on the return of one of the NFLs most irreplaceable players. Green Bay (7-7-1) is 2-5-1 since Rodgers went down during the first series of a 27-20 loss Nov. 4 to Chicago. The Packers have managed to hang on, with a shot to win a third straight division title with a victory Sunday at Soldier Field. "Ill start with the announcement that were preparing for the Chicago Bears with Aaron Rodgers as our starting quarterback," coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Thursday after practice. Win and Green Bay returns to Lambeau Field the following weekend to host a wild-card team in the first round of the playoffs. "Were in it. You know we have a chance against our rivals, and what a better way than to go down there and get some redemption and host a home playoff game," Rodgers said. The last two months have been filled with angst for Packers fans. Discussions about whether Rodgers should risk future injury or return to bolster Green Bays playoff chances have filled sports talk radio shows and holiday office parties. Now imagine what it was like for the Packers brass and team doctor. The organization made a big investment in Rodgers this past off-season, signing him to a five-year contract extension through the 2019 season worth as much as $110 million. "Every football player that plays in this game Sunday will have risk. I think we all understand that," McCarthy said. "So weve done our due diligence. Weve gone through all the evaluations and we feel it is time. Aaron is ready to play." Finally at 8:05 a.m. Thursday, McCarthy gave the official word at a team meeting. No rousing speeches or rounds of applause. "The scene? We were sitting in the team room and he told us," Rodgers said matter-of-factly. "That was the scene." Rodgers is returning just when pass-rushing linebacker Clay Matthews is leaving the lineup again with a right thumb injury. Green Bay also has gone the majority of the season without tight end Jermichael Finley (neck). Projected starting left tackle Bryan Bulaga went down in training camp. Defensive end Johnny Jolly (shoulder/neck) was the latest Packer to get knocked out for the year last week. Still, the Packers managed to start 5-2 despite the injuries with Rodgers leading the offence. Things changed drastically after the 2011 NFL MVP got hurt on a sack while scrambling out of the pocket in the Week 9 loss to Chicago at Lambeau Field. The Packers went on a five-game winless skid, shuffling through three more starting quarterbacks. Green Bay then won two straight with backup Matt Flynn before falling 38-31 last week to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Losses by Chicago and the Detroit Lions set up the winner-take-all finale Sunday with the Bears for the division. Rodgers impending return wasnt the only good injury news Thursday in Titletown. Rookie running back Eddie Lacy was held out of practice with a lingering ankle injury, though McCarthy expects his 1,100-yard rusher to play Sunday. Playmaking receiver Randall Cobb, out since Week 6 with a leg injury, is moving well in practice and appears to be getting closer to returning. While he wont make the final call, Cobb said "This week in practice Im going out and preparing to play." And now with Rodgers back, positive vibes are reverberating through the locker room. Rodgers has gained added perspective from having to watch from the sideline with a headset. Hes been there to help Flynn. He understands that every move he makes in Chicago will be dissected by armchair quarterbacks. "Its easy to talk about it with you guys and understand the risks," he said. "But when youre out on the field, its about performing and playing and not worrying about it." Phillip Dorsett Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Reggie Wayne Colts Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. http:///...anning-Elite-Jersey/ . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play.Steve Lancaster will watch Mondays CFL draft with interest not because he is a CFL coach or CFL player, CFL prospect or even a diehard CFL fan. Football isnt even his game. Lancaster is a rugby man with with a very real interest in the drafts outcome. As Rugby Canadas Manager of High Performance he is interested in finding potential crossover athletes, football players who could excel at rugby if given proper training and the right opportunity. That crossover isnt a stretch, considering the physical attributes required to excel in football are often also required in rugby. The CFL was, after all, initially two distinct leagues - the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union and the Western Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. Lancaster will use the draft to see which players go to which team, speaking only to players who go undrafted, out of respect for the league. "Were not going to try and poach players," he said, "but there will be some really, really good athletes that dont get drafted that may be good candidates for rugby and there will be some players who do get drafted that [might be available] a year or two down the track. [They would] still only be 23 or 24 years old and could have a 10 year career in rugby at that point so well keep an eye on them." Lancasters respect for the CFL has much to do with the hospitality extended to his organization by the CFLs Vice-President of Football Operations, Kevin McDonald. McDonald invited Rugby Canada officials to attend the 2013 CFL Combine in March. "Kevin was very welcoming, very open, he opened the door to us and we had full access which is fantastic," Lancaster said. "Were very respectful of the hospitality that the CFL has offered us so were not trying to convince players that might get a crack at the CFL that they should pass it up and come and play rugby but there are a number of athletes that we saw at the CFL Combine that could pretty readily transfer to rugby." For his part, McDonald says he saw a natural tie-in with rugby and is happy to give young Canaadian athletes a chance to extend their athletic careers if a stint in the CFL doesnt pan out. DQwell Jackson Jersey. "There are only so many jobs in the CFL for Canadian talent but if theres a window for guys to progress beyond football and they get evaluated through this than great," he said. "Im happy to help a Canadian national sports organization grow their foundation." Growing their foundation and further developing their player pool is exactly what Lancaster hopes to accomplish through the casual partnership. Hes looking to find more players like Jason Marshall, a former quarterback at Simon Fraser University who had a failed tryout with the Edmonton Eskimos before switching his focus to rugby. Since making that decision, hes joined Canadas national rugby team, toured Europe, played in the World Cup and accepted a professional contract in France, where he currently lives. Marshall admits he never seriously considered an athletic career in rugby. "When I was at SFU I had no idea about what kind of things rugby offered. Its not mainstream at all in Canada," he said. "I think [Rugby Canadas interest in CFL prospects] is a really good idea because there are guys out there who have the potential to be really good rugby players they just dont know it yet." He admits the untapped potential, both in Canada and south of the border, is staggering. "You see all the athletes within the United States and if a fraction of the guys that played football turned to rugby, its almost scary to imagine the potential America would end up having," he said. Ironically enough the Eskimos called Marshall back in 2011, three years after his initial tryout, offering him another shot, but by then he was content pursuing his rugby career. "It was a no," he laughed. So Lancaster will sit and watch Monday, hoping to find future Jason Marshalls, athletes who may one day compete in the Olympics, play in some of the worlds biggest stadiums and represent their country on the world stage.They just dont know it yet. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '