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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Tim Johnson Blue Jays Jersey . - Peyton Manning was disgusted with the Denver Broncos offence after the first of three practices with the Houston Texans. "I thought our offence stunk today," Manning said after Tuesdays two-hour practice in shells and shorts. "I thought their defence totally kicked our butt." And when the five-time MVP isnt happy, nobodys happy. "I dont feel like we had our best day as a group, especially on the offensive side of the ball," Demaryius Thomas said. "There were a lot of penalties, not converting well, I dont think I had one of my best days." Asked specifically what had set him off, Manning stared at a reporter like he had stared down receiver Bubba Caldwell after a poorly run route or two an hour earlier. "Were you watching?" Manning retorted. What observers saw, actually, was a Broncos offence that produced its share of big plays in both 7-on-7 and team drills against a Romeo Crennel-designed 3-4 defence led by J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney but also some sloppy moments less than 48 hours after a chest-thumping 34-0 shutout of the San Francisco 49ers. The Texans had an extra days rest, having played Atlanta on Saturday night. "They executed better than we did," Manning said. "They just did their jobs a lot better." Denvers starters have looked solid in preseason wins over Seattle and San Francisco, games in which Manning has completed 22 of 27 passes for 182 yards and a TD, leading some to suggest the Broncos are ready for the regular season right now. "I think that story ought to die pretty quickly after todays performance out there," Manning said. He said there was no ulterior motive to his harsh assessment, denying that he was just trying to light a fire under his team so it didnt start to feel like the next two weeks didnt matter. "I kind of call it like I see it. When you have a pretty below-average practice, youve got to call it a below-average practice," Manning said. "So, I think this team does a pretty good job staying pretty even-keeled. I dont think anybody is overly excited about beating a San Francisco team that didnt have Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, that didnt blitz us one time, playing kind of a pretty vanilla scheme. They will be a different animal when we play those guys in the regular season, trust me." The Broncos will also see the Seahawks again in September, but after Saturday nights game against Houston, they wont see the Texans again this season unless they meet up in the playoffs. Manning said hes thrilled to get three workouts in against the Texans and Crennel, who is in his first season as Texans defensive co-ordinator, having joined the staff after another former Bill Belichick disciple, Bill OBrien, was named head coach. "Romeo Crennel is one of the best coaches out there," Manning said. "Overall, it will be a good week for us. But weve got to do better than we did today on offence." While the Texans, who went 2-14 last year, talked all about how beneficial it was facing the defending AFC champs, it was the Broncos who were talking up the Texans. Thomas said the Texans had plenty to do with Denvers discombobulated performance that so upset Manning. "They came in and did what they were supposed to do. They put pressure on us. They stopped us on a couple of third downs, fourth downs and two-minutes," Thomas said. "They get a lot of credit." To be sure, Denvers defence also got the best of Houstons offence. "I feel like we had a pretty good practice," Von Miller said. "Today had a game-type atmosphere. We still made some errors. Thats what practice is for, you just go out there and try to smooth everything out." The teams will suit up in full pads Wednesday. That, combined with Manning calling out his teammates, promises to ratchet up the intensity. Notes: Watt said hed like a new contract soon, but hes not stressing over it: "I get paid to go after quarterbacks. There are people who get paid to decide how much I get paid to go after quarterbacks," he said. ... Texans RG Brandon Brooks participated in his first practice after missing camp with an undisclosed injury and CB Johnathan Joseph is back after missing all of camp following off-season toe surgery. ... WR Andre Johnson, RB Arian Foster and LB Brian Cushing, who didnt play against the Falcons, ramped up their workload Tuesday. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ___ Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Matt Shoemaker Blue Jays Jersey . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. Billy McKinney Blue Jays Jersey . This is not some token job for a prominent, popular former player. All of those areas need a lot of work, so Molitor is going to be busy. "Hes certainly got a history and knowledge and a high baseball IQ," general manager Terry Ryan said. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/416h-jordan-romano-jersey-blue-jays.html . Bayern led second-place Leverkusen by 10 points with a game in hand, while Dortmund was another four points off the pace. Freiburg midfielder Felix Klaus scored in the last minute as his side twice came from behind to climb provisionally out of the relegation zone.HOUSTON -- James Shields kept the Houston Astros off-balance all night. Then late in Thursdays 5-1 win, the Kansas City ace really heated up. He struck out the side in the sixth and did the same in the seventh before striking out the first batter in the eighth to make it seven in a row. Astro after Astro simply watched the pitches zip past them -- five players in that span struck out looking. Shields finished with 12 strikeouts in eight innings as the Royals completed a three-game sweep of the Astros. "He moved it around very effectively," manager Ned Yost said. "He was locking guys in, was locking up guys down and away, just had it all going." Shields (1-2) gave up one run and four hits, all singles. "We were pounding the strike zone and getting strike one and getting ahead of the hitters and thats an aggressive team over there and when you get ahead in the count and make your pitches youre successful," he said. His 12 strikeouts were his most as a Royal and the most by a Kansas City pitcher since Zack Greinke also struck out 12 on June 13, 2010, against Cincinnati. The seven straight Ks by Shields were one shy of the franchise record of eight in a row set by Blake Stein in 2001. The right-hander got back to his winning ways after seeing his nine-game road victory streak snapped in his last start at Minnesota when sloppy defence led to six unearned runs in a 7-1 loss. Scott Feldman (2-1) yielded four earned runs and nine hits in six innings. It was the first tough outing for the Astros newcomer after he had allowed just one run and seven hits combined in his first three starts. "It seems like they found a lot of holes," Feldman said. "Theyre a tough lineup, for sure." The Royals were up by two when Alcides Escobar hit a two-run double in the fourth to make it 4-0. Salvador Perez added an RBI double in the fifth. Kansas City scored 15 runs in this series after managing just five runs combined last weekend while getting swept by the Twins. The Royals got to Feldman early, with Nori Aoki hitting a leadoff double and later scoring on a groundout by Eric Hosmer. Alex Gordon, Billy Butler and Mike Moustakas hit consecutive singles to start the second to push the lead too 2-0. Danny Ainge Jersey. There were runners at second and third with one out in the fourth when Escobar sent them both home with a double to centre field. Aoki singled to begin the fifth before a one-out single by Hosmer. Perez hit a ball that diving centre fielder Dexter Fowler missed for a double that scored Aoki and pushed the lead to 5-0. Hosmer was out at home on the play. Shields allowed a pair of singles in the first inning before retiring the next 10 Astros. Houston didnt have another baserunner until Chris Carter drew a leadoff walk in the fifth. Carter advanced to third on a single by Matt Dominguez, but Dominguez was out trying to stretch it into a double. Manager Bo Porter was clearly frustrated when asked if he wishes Dominguez would have been more cautious on the play, pausing 18 seconds before answering the question. "Its just not smart, obviously," Porter said. "And sorry for taking so long to answer the question. I went and asked Matt Dominguez: Do you think youre invisible? You are down 5-0 and the ball is right in front of you. So, to answer your question, no, I dont like it. There was nothing smart about it, and next question." Carter scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Presley to cut the lead to 5-1 later in that inning. Presleys out was the first of nine straight Astros retired by Shields, including the seven strikeouts in a row. A single by Presley came with one out in the eighth and Jonathan Villar drew a walk, but Shields ended the threat by striking out Fowler before a fly out by George Springer. NOTES: The Royals challenged a call after Presley was called safe on a grounder in the second inning. The play was overturned for the third out of the inning. ... Royals LHP Bruce Chen, who was scratched from Thursdays start a day before with a sore back, said he was feeling better on Thursday and expects to be ready to start on Saturday. ... Kansas City OF Lorenzo Cain was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain and LHP Justin Marks was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take his place on the roster. ... Houston selected the contract of LHP Raul Valdes from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned LHP Kevin Chapman there before Thursdays game. ' ' '