NEWS » The Vikings used the 32nd overall pick in 2014 on quart

All Blacks captain Kieran Reads wrist surgery will delay his return to rugby next year until April.Read, who has been replaced as Crusaders skipper by Sam Whitelock for the 2017 Super Rugby season, underwent surgery earlier this month after being dogged by pain through the latter part of the season.Crusaders coach Scott Robertson says Read is unlikely to be available through the opening rounds in February and March.If the 31-year-old returns in mid-April, he will miss the first seven rounds but still be free to play up to 10 games before leading the All Blacks against the British and Irish Lions in June and July.Whitelock was already set to assume the captaincy on a fulltime basis, with Robertson keen for Read to enjoy playing by lightening the leadership load in 2017.Experienced Test lock Whitelock, 28, was captain during the opening weeks this year while Read was rested.Robertson believes the change will provide some zest for 31-year-old Read, who was dealt a heavy playing and captaincy role in 2016.Kieran has been an excellent captain, he is a courageous leader who the players admire and love, Robertson said.But this will allow Kieran to focus on just playing and enjoying himself in the Crusaders environment, rather than juggling the responsibility of being both All Blacks and Crusaders captain.It will also allow Sam to really take ownership of this position and influence the team in his own way.Whitelock, an 83-Test veteran, describes his new role as a privilege. Stars Jerseys 2021 . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Dallas Stars Gear . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Stars Jerseys 2020 . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Cheap Stars Jerseys . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- With Colin Kaepernick dealing with tightness in his throwing shoulder and Thaddeus Lewis out for the season with a knee injury, the 49ers signed free agent quarterback Christian Ponder on Tuesday.Ponder, 28, hasnt appeared in an NFL game since October 2014 with the Minnesota Vikings.San Francisco was down to two healthy quarterbacks, Blaine Gabbert and Jeff Driskel, as the team traveled Tuesday to Denver for two joint practices with the Broncos ahead of their preseason game Saturday.Kaepernick hasnt thrown during practice since Aug. 10 and was held out of the preseason opener Sunday against the Texans. Prior to the injury, he was competing with Gabbert to start under first-year coach Chip Kelly.Its really a day-to-day thing, Kelly said of Kaepernicks injury. Its nothing thats a long-term thing. Its just a day-to-day thing. He says he feels better as we go, but were not going to push him so that we can make a proper evaluation of him.Ponder becomes the third quarterback from the 2011 draft class on San Franciscos roster. He was taken 12th overall by the Vikings, two spots behind Gabbert and 24 selections ahead of Kaepernick.In 2015, Ponder played in the preseason with the Oakland Raiders before his release Sept. 5. He was signed by Denver on Nov. 25 and released Dec. 8 after being inactive two games.Lewis suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the second half of the 24-13 loss to Houston and was placed on injured reserve to make room for Ponder. Againsst Houston, Lewis led 49ers quarterbacks with 97 yards passing while completing 12 of 21.ddddddddddddWith Kaepernick out, Lewis replaced Gabbert after three possessions.Im just really disappointed for (Lewis) because I thought he played well yesterday and was really starting to come on, Kelly said Monday.With Minnesota, Ponder appeared in 38 games and made 36 starts. He completed 59.8 percent of his passes averaging 175 yards per game with 38 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. The Vikings used the 32nd overall pick in 2014 on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who started 12 games as a rookie and all 16 last season. They finished 11-5 and reached the playoffs.Kaepernick said the tightness is a result of his return from three surgeries that limited his participation in the 49ers offseason program.Taking it day-by-day, he said. Made a lot of throws, especially coming back from three surgeries, so want to make sure that were staying ahead of things.Kaepernick had a procedure on his left shoulder in November that landed him on injured reserve. In January, he had two more on his left knee and throwing hand. He wasnt cleared to participate in full-team drills until the start of training camp July 31.My arms always snapped back quick, so not too concerned about it, Kaepernick said.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '