DS Talk » is partially bankrolled by the government.His twe

NAPA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders sustained a significant blow Wednesday with the news that starting left tackle Jared Veldheer will need surgery on his torn left triceps and will miss a significant portion of the upcoming season. Veldheer has been bothered by the triceps throughout training camp and had a second MRI performed on Tuesday when it did not feel any better. After consulting with doctors and the team, Veldheer decided to have the surgery. "Its a disappointment for all of us," coach Dennis Allen said. "But again were going to play 16 games this year. The teams that are able to push through those things mentally, those are the teams that have success. Everybody has injuries. Thats one well just have to deal with." Allen said Veldheer would miss a significant amount of time but hoped he would be back at some point this season. Allen said Veldheer would be a candidate to be placed on injured reserve with a designation to return, which would require him to miss at least the first eight weeks. The Raiders can place Veldheer on that list starting Sept. 3. He would be required to sit for six weeks and then could practice for two more before being eligible to be activated in time for the teams eighth game on Nov. 3 against Philadelphia. Teams can only use that designation on one player and Allen said he wouldnt know for sure whether that would be an option for Veldheer until after the surgery. The injury to Veldheer gives a shot at a starting role to Alex Barron, a former first-round pick by the St. Louis Rams who has not played a game in the NFL since 2010. "Of course its an opportunity," Barron said. "First and foremost its an opportunity to be here, period. Its another opportunity obviously to go up on the chart and help the team as best I can. My whole thing is Im going to continue to work and try to help the team as best I can." Barron was drafted 19th overall in 2005 out of Florida State but struggled for almost his entire five seasons in St. Louis. He started 74 games and played both left and right tackle but was plagued by penalties and poor blocking. He committed 43 false start penalties -- including 13 in 2006 -- and 13 holding penalties while allowing 33 sacks, according to game tracking from STATS LLC. He was traded to Dallas in 2010 and played 11 games with the Cowboys. But Barron hasnt played since, spending a little time with New Orleans and Seattle without ever getting into a game. "I think Alex has been playing very well," quarterback Matt Flynn said. "I was with him in camp last year in Seattle. He seems like a different guy here. Hes playing well, playing aggressive and really coming into his own." Veldheer was perhaps Oaklands most indispensable player, given his talent and the importance of the position he plays. He had started the past 42 games at left tackle, missing only one offensive snap in that entire time. A third-round pick out of Hillsdale College in 2010, Veldheer was an emerging left tackle in the NFL who was counted on as a major piece of the Raiders rebuilding project. Veldheer was rated by Pro Football Focus as the eighth best pass-blocking left tackle in the NFL last season. He has been responsible for just four sacks in each of the past two seasons, according to STATS LLC. "Its a real big blow," right tackle Khalif Barnes said. "Jareds a big part of our line. Hes a big guy. He comes to work every day, you never hear him complaining, just tries to go in, get the job done, he just tries to perfect his craft every day at practice. Hes a good part of our team, a good leader for our team." The Raiders have been hampered by injuries on the line throughout camp. Right guard Mike Brisiel has been out all week as he struggles to recover from off-season ankle surgery. Lucas Nix, who is batting with Tony Bergstrom for the left guard spot, has also missed significant time in camp with an undisclosed injury. Second-round pick Menelik Watson has not practiced all camp with a calf injury. With Oakland changing blocking schemes from a zone system last year to more power blocking this season, the lack of continuity on the line is concerning. "It definitely hurts," centre Stefen Wisniewski said. "Weve had a couple of left guards in there, a couple of right guards in there, and now were working with a new left tackle. But I think were all communicating really well. I think its just a matter of getting your footwork right, and getting some of those combination blocks right." Cheap Custom Timberwolves Jersey . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Custom Timberwolves Jerseys . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. http://www.customtimberwolvesjersey.com/ . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Kevin Garnett Jersey Large . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Wholesale Custom Timberwolves Shirts .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Formula One could be on its way out of Malaysia after the countrys sports minister said we should stop hosting the grand prix and the chief of the Sepang International Circuit implied the dominance of Mercedes had stripped the sport of its excitement.There is a contract to hold an F1 race at Sepang through 2018 but the prospects of continuing beyond that are diminishing. An early exit could possibly be negotiated as F1s new ownership seeks to expand its presence in the United States without extending the season schedule.Amid falling ticket sales and television viewership, SIC chief executive Razlan Razali told local media that maybe it will do Malaysia good to take a break from hosting F1.The product (F1) is no longer exciting. Its being dominated by one team, Razali was quoted as saying.This criticism is despite Malaysias state oil company, Petronas, being both the major sponsor of the Mercedes team and the naming-rights sponsor of the local grand prix.The Malaysian sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin agreed with the SICs suggestion of taking a break from F1.I think we should stop hosting the F1. At least for a while. Cost too high, returns limited, he tweeted.When we first hosted the F1 it was a big deal. First in Asia outside Japan. Now so many venues. No first mover advantage. Not a novelty.Jamaluddin said the ticket sales weree declined, TV viewership is down, foreign visitor numbers have decreased because of competition from races in Singapore, China and the Middle East and returns are not as big.dddddddddddd.The opinion of the sports minister is significant given the Malaysian race, like many others on the F1 calendar, is partially bankrolled by the government.His tweets were met with agreement on his feed, while some questioned why Malaysias F1 crowds continue to diminish while those at the neighboring Singapore Grand Prix are much higher.(Singapore is a) Night race in the city. Novelty. Nowhere else in the world. Even then ticket sales are down. Its a hot race during the afternoon vs Singapore night race in the heart of city w/ no restrictions on concert acts, Jamaluddin said. Cost of lighting up SIC prohibitive. We looked into it.The Sepang circuit will host Moto GP this weekend, and tickets sales for that event have consistently been much higher than for F1.Jamaluddin said Sepang should continue to host Moto GP and add other race series that do not have the huge hosting fees which Formula One commands.The Malaysian GP has been a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar since 1999 and was included in the provisional 2017 calendar issued last month. ' ' '