Chat » season. "The new CBA will allow us to improve

CLEVELAND -- Brian Hoyer has held off rookie Johnny Manziel for at least another week. Browns coach Mike Pettine has chosen Hoyer to start at quarterback ahead of Manziel in Clevelands second exhibition game on Monday night at Washington against Robert Griffin III and the Redskins. Pettines decision is somewhat surprising since he has stated that the quarterback competition is "open" and Hoyer started the preseason opener last week at Detroit. Pettine has said the two quarterbacks will share the snaps with Clevelands first-team offence against the Redskins. "Its just something right now where we are comfortable with Brian going out there to start the game," Pettine said Thursday. "I think its a little overblown as to who the starter is going to be. The key component, as Ive stated earlier this week, is that we are going to balance the reps. "We will play it a little by ear as it goes on, we havent truly decided as far as the rotation but the goal is, for when we look at the stat sheet at halftime, that they both have the same amount of repetitions and hopefully they both get a good amount of work." Earlier this week, Pettine did not know if the quarterbacks would rotate by series or quarter. Pettine did say Clevelands starter would play "in the neighbourhood" of a half. Hoyer and Manziel have been competing for the starting job since training camp opened last month, and their back-and-forth battle appears to be headed into its final days. Neither QB has taken control of the job, leading to endless speculation about who is leading and who needs to make up ground. Working exclusively with Clevelands starters last week, Hoyer, in his first game action since sustaining a season-ending knee injury in 2013, completed 6 of 14 passes for 92 yards and set up two field goals. Manziel, the immensely popular first-round pick from Texas A&M, only played with the second-stringers and completed 7 of 11 passes for 63 yards. He also rushed for a team-high 27 yards on six carries. Manziels pro debut helped NFL Network set a ratings record for an exhibition game. Pettine said he had no issues with Manziel starting against the Redskins in a nationally televised game expected to draw a large audience. "Im not concerned about Johnny on a big stage," he said. "Hes proved throughout his career he can handle it." Hoyer began camp with a lead on Manziel, but the former Heisman Trophy winner has been closing the gap as he learns offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahans detailed system. On Tuesday, the team signed veteran quarterback Rex Grossman, who has played under Shanahan and should be able to help Hoyer and Manziel get more comfortable with the offence. Pettine wants to name his starter for the Sept. 7 season opener at Pittsburgh before the Browns third preseason game on Aug. 23 against St. Louis. Its possible the QBs performances against the Redskins could factor heavily into Pettines decision. NOTES: The Browns did not practice Thursday. Theyll return to the field on Friday morning. ... The team signed LB Caleb McSurdy, originally drafted by Dallas in 2010. The 6-foot-1, 241-pounder spent his rookie season on injured reserve and part of the 2013 season on the Rams practice squad. He played college ball at Montana. Cheap Barry Bonds Jersey . Starting from pole, the 26-year-old Vettel turned in a trademark clinical performance to win the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday and join F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as just the third driver to win four consecutive championships. Cheap Bill Mazeroski Jersey . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. http://www.cheappiratesjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-roberto-clemente-jersey . Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Cheap Pirates Jerseys . As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. The Games in southern Russia, which run from Feb. 7-23, are being staged amid unprecedented security and under global warnings of danger. Cheap Willie Stargell Jersey . The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell.The National Lacrosse League and the Professional Lacrosse Players Association announced on Tuesday that the two sides had come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement that runs to the conclusion of the 2020 season. "The new CBA will allow us to improve our business model," said NLL Commissioner George Daniel in a release. "This deal should foster a great era of growth for the league. I would like to thank everyone from both sides who worked on reaching this deal, but I would like to especially thank the players who participated in the barrgaining sessions for their high level of professionalism during this process.dddddddddddd" Among the highlights in the new CBA are an expanded schedule (from 16 to 18 games,) an expanded playoff format (including a two-game series in the Divisional Finals and Championship rounds from previous single-game elimination format, the lowering of the qualifying age for unrestricted free agency from 32 to 30 and a reduction of the number of franchise designations per team from two to one. The 2013-14 NLL regular season begins on December 28th. ' ' '