preseason and forced him out of a loss to the Boston Celtics on Nov. 14, bringing the grand total of players officially out for Mondays matchup between the Pelicans and Grizzlies to 12.Gentry said he doe

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes put Vikings starter Christian Ponder on his back on the very first play from scrimmage. Rookie quarterback EJ Manuel then provided the knockout punch to start the second half in leading Buffalo to a 20-16 preseason victory over Minnesota on Friday night. And just like that, the new-look Bills -- coming off a near top-to-bottom off-season transformation -- continue to show signs of shedding their long-losing past by improving to 2-0. "Were breeding an attitude around here," centre Eric Wood said. "And were trying to be the toughest team out there each week. And you dont do that by going out and laying an egg in the preseason." So far so good for a team that has gone 13 seasons without making the playoffs and not enjoyed a winning finish since 2004, when Buffalo went 9-7. Hughes keyed a sturdy defensive effort with two sacks and a forced fumble, and backup linebacker Jamie Blatnick recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Hughes was starting in place of defensive end Mario Williams, who was held out after complaining of soreness following practice Wednesday. "Thats what weve been practicing for the first few months, since minicamp, weve been practicing being stingy," said Hughes, who was acquired in a trade with Indianapolis in May. "Everybodys flying around to the ball, just creating havoc. So us practicing like that, its great to see it put on game film." And Buffalo finally found its groove on offence when Manuel took over in the second half. Greeted by cheers as he took the field, Manuel hit all six attempts, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brad Smith, to cap a 14-play, 80-yard second-half opening drive in putting Buffalo ahead 20-3. Manuel, a first-round draft pick out of Florida State, finished 10 of 12 for 92 yards passing in continuing to inch his way toward securing the starting job after veteran Kevin Kolb struggled in the first half. The Vikings (0-2) again sputtered on offence without their top threat, running back Adrian Peterson, who continues to be rested through the preseason. Starter Christian Ponder went 5 of 12 for 53 yards passing through five series. Backup Matt Cassel wasnt much better in a first half in which the Vikings combined for 74 yards of offence and four first downs. "The only thing I could say to myself while that was happening was, Im glad its the preseason," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. "Lets get this out of the way now. We definitely dont want to be doing this in September." And yet Frazier had to acknowledge having some concerns, even though he wasnt anticipating the Bills to come at them with an exotic blitzing attack. "We couldve done some things better, no matter what they did," he said. "We didnt execute as well as we could have." Ponder certainly didnt see Hughes coming, when he was sacked for a 7-yard loss on the first play. "If this was a game that counted, itd be tough," Ponder said. "But its more practice for us." The Vikings could start by practicing snapping the ball. Backup centre Joe Berger snap the ball over Cassels head and into the end zone, which led to Blatnicks go-ahead touchdown with 8:45 left in the second quarter. The Vikings made the score respectable with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter behind third-string quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Running back Joe Banyard scored on a 1-yard plunge, and Bethel-Thompson hit Rodney Smith with a 35-yard touchdown pass with 4:36 left. The Bills have won two preseason games for the first time since finishing 2-2 in 2010. And coming off a 44-20 win at Indianapolis on Sunday, theyve now combined to score 64 points under new coach Doug Marrone. Thats five more than they managed in four preseason games last year under Chan Gailey. Not all they news was positive after Kolb struggled in making his preseason debut. The seventh-year player returned to practice this week after missing eight days because of a death in his family and after twisting his left knee while slipping on a wet rubber mat in practice Aug. 3. Though Kolbs knee looked fine, his accuracy was off. He went 10 of 17 for 66 yards and an interception on his first six possessions. He then hit three of four passes for 45 yards in the final 38 seconds of the first half on a drive that ended with Dustin Hopkins 35-yard field goal that put Buffalo ahead 13-3. NOTES: Bills backup receiver Kevin Elliott was carted off the field during the first half after it appeared he hurt his left leg. ... Vikings WR Jarius Wright sustained an upper body injury and is still being evaluated. ... Hopkins also hit a 35-yard field goal. ... Vikings kicker Blair Walsh hit a 36-yarder, and also missed wide right from 49 yards in the first quarter. Kieran OHara Jersey . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Andreas Pereira Manchester United Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer.com/womens-antonio-valencia-manchester-united-jersey/ . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Victor Lindelof Jersey . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Blank Manchester United Jersey . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. NEW ORLEANS -- Jrue Holiday, who missed the New Orleans Pelicans first 12 games of the season to tend to his ailing wife -- former USWNT soccer player Lauren Holiday -- will sit out his first game Monday since returning in mid-November because of turf toe.Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said Holidays injury likely was suffered in the first half of Sundays 101-92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he described it as one of those nagging things that is nothing serious.Anthony Davis, meanwhile, is expected to play after suffering a right foot sprain Sunday that required an X-ray.However, the 23-year-old scoring leader may be one of the few recognizable faces on the court at the Smoothie King Center when the Pelicans face off against the Memphis Grizzlies.ETwaun Moore also was a late scratch with a contusion to his right big toe that has lingered since the preseason and forced him out of a loss to the Boston Celtics on Nov. 14, bringing the grand total of players officially out for Mondays matchup between the Pelicans and Grizzlies to 12.Gentry said he doesnt know if the injuries to Holiday and Moore will linger but that he doesnt expect them to.Tyreke Evans (right knee/left calf stain) and Quincy Pondexter (left knee) have missed every game this season for the Pelicans, and Dante Cunningham has missed the past five games with a broken left fibula.ddddddddddddVince Carter (right hip), Mike Conley (lower back), James Ennis (right calf), Chandler Parsons (left knee), Zach Randolph (personal) and Brandan Wright (left ankle) are out for the Grizzlies.Pelicans second-round draft pick Cheick Diallo is on assignment with the D-Leagues Austin Spurs and is not with the team.New Orleans lost 351 games to injury and illness last season, the second most in the past decade. Memphis, also ravaged by injuries last season, set a record for most players to suit up in a single season with 28.I really dont have a reaction. I really dont, Gentry said with a laugh. Over the last year and a half, this is the way its kind of been. You cant do anything except plug in whos there and tell them they have to step their game up and play a little bit better, and then you move on.Said Grizzlies coach David Fizdale: I dont know what it is. [Injuries] hit teams at different times. For some reason right now, early on, its hitting a lot of guys. ' ' '