NEWS » Garrett Richards threw off the

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has touched base with suspended pair Josh Thomas and Lachie Keeffe ahead of their impending return to the AFL club.Buckley has confirmed the Magpies remain committed to the duo who are nearing the end of two-year doping suspensions handed down last year by ASADA.When the bans - for taking illicit drugs laced with banned substance clenbuterol - became public last August, chief executive Gary Pert said it was incumbent on the club to provide a light at the end of the tunnel for them.Buckley revealed he had spoken to the players this week and confirmed they were both keen to resume their AFL careers, albeit on the clubs rookie list.Theyre tacking well, theyve been away overseas for the last four or five weeks and I believe theyve been staying in decent physical shape ... clearly, we dont get access to them until early December when theyre back, Buckley said.But for them now, you can only imagine the emotions theyve been through over the last couple of years and the fact thats coming towards a close where they get their opportunity to come back and prove themselves at AFL level again.Theres still a lot of work for them to do and were looking forward to them doing that, but they seem to be in good spirits.Keeffe, who has played 40 AFL games, will be 26 on his return to the club and Thomas, who has made 32 senior appearances, will be 25.They will remain as rookies and they will come on and have the opportunity to prove, through their training, their capacity to come up on to the senior list, Buckley said.That was the commitment we made to them a couple of years ago. , we stick to that, and hope that we are bringing in a couple of players that have played senior footy that can use that experience to assist us from 2017 onwards.James Worthy Lakers Jersey . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Jerry West Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar-Lakers-Jersey/ . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics got a morale boost from ace Sonny Grays return Wednesday night, but it wasnt enough.Kole Calhoun homered, Alex Meyer earned his second major league win and the Los Angeles Angels held off a late rally from the As to sweep the three-game series with an 8-6 win.Gray was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to his start. Gray, who was sidelined with a right forearm strain from Aug. 7-Sept. 27, was limited to only one inning and threw 18 pitches, 13 of them for strikes. He gave up one hit and faced four batters in his first start since Aug. 6.As manager Bob Melvin said his return made a noticeable difference in the clubhouse culture.Thats our guy, Melvin said. It was sort of an off season for him, but he went out there and was healthy and looked like the old Sonny. Psychologically, hes good for the whole ball club.Khris Davis, who played at nearby Cal State Fullerton, hit his 41st home run and his sixth against the Angels this season in the sixth inning, making the score 8-3. Marcus Semien brought the As to within two runs with a three-run homer, also his sixth against Los Angeles, in the eighth.But J.C. Ramirez pitched a perfect ninth to convert his second save.Thats a big blow for us right there, Melvin said. You feel like, now were back in the ballgame and hold them down. We thought going into the ninth wed have a chance.Mike Trout was hit by a John Axford fastball in the back of his left shoulder in the eighth inning and was removed from the game. Hell have imaging done Thursday to determine whether or not he can play through the weekend against the Houston Astros.Trout said the pitch his his shoulder blade and left him with a sizable, sore welt.I want to (play), Ill tell you that, Trout said. Weve got three games left, so Im going to try to grind it out. After going down 2-0 early, the Angels rallied for eight runs in the fourth inning. Ross Detwiler (3-3), who replaced Gray in the second, got the first out but then put then put the next four batters on and gave up two runs before getting the second out.Meyer (2-3) limited the As to two runs on five hits over ffour innings and struck out five.ddddddddddddI think theres no doubt that Alex is moving forward in many ways, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. I think first and foremost, I think his delivery is getting more consistent. Hes able to repeat it, his arm angle is where hes working towards getting it, and hopefully hell continue to improve with his consistency.With runners on the corners, Shane Robinson cleared the bases with a double to left and took third on the throw. Calhoun homered for the 17th time this season to give Los Angeles a 6-2 lead and Mike Trout singled to keep the inning alive.Detwiler was finally replaced after giving up a double to C.J. Cron, the 10th batter of the inning. Reliever Chris Smith couldnt end the threat as he walked the next two batters to walk in a run and Stephen Vogts failure to throw to first on a grounder by Jett Bandy allowed Cron to score for the eighth run of the inning.Gregorio Petit, the 14th batter, finally ended the inning by grounding out to Smith.Early on, it looked like he had good stuff, Melvin said. The ball was down, the ball was moving, it looked like he had good nicks right away. But then he left some balls up and got into some funky counts.TRAINERS ROOMAngels: RHP Garrett Richards threw off the mound to hitters for the first time since tearing his ulnar collateral ligament May 1. Richards, who has been throwing for a month after stem cell treatments showed significant healing in the ligament, will throw another bullpen this weekend before continuing his season in the instructional league.UP NEXTAthletics: RHP Kendall Graveman will start the As final series of the season, Thursday in Seattle. Graveman is 0-3 with a 5.28 ERA in his last five starts and has posted similar numbers against the Mariners, going 1/3 with a 5.40 ERA in seven career appearances.Angels: Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia declined to name a starter for Fridays series-opener against the Houston Astros. RHP Daniel Wright or RHP Jhoulys Chacin are likely candidates. ' ' '