Allgemeines » ended up getting the win after a scoreless seventh, and clo

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. Ray Allen Jersey . 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She joins Switzerlands Denise Biellmann as this years inductees to the Hall, based in Colorado Springs, CO.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Mitch Moreland will be the guy at first base for Texas if Prince Fielders neck problem keeps him out for any length of time. His bat was a big boost a few hours after a players-only meeting for a slumping team trying to halt a slide down the AL West standings. Moreland hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, Alex Rios had a two-run triple and the Rangers avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-2 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. "Id like to see him do that more often, then he can get more playing time," manager Ron Washington said after Moreland doubled in his final at-bat. "Mitch is a big part and today he stepped up huge for us." Washington expects Fielder to play in the next game Tuesday night against Seattle after he had an injection designed to ease the pain and pressure of a disk problem in his neck that he says goes back to last season. If the outlook on Fielder changes, Moreland says his approach wont. "Weve had to deal with adversity all year," said Moreland, whose second homer of the season was a line drive just over the wall in right field off R.A. Dickey (4-4) to break a 2-all tie. "You come in every day ready to play." The Rangers, who snapped a four-game losing streak and stayed seven games behind Oakland in fourth place in the AL West, had gone 23 innings without an extra-base hit when Rios drove one off the right-centre wall in the fourth. Juan Francisco and Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Blue Jays, who had won a franchise-record six straight in Texas, including a four-game sweep in their only visit last year. "Great teams find a way to sweep series," Dickey said. "Were definitely going in the right direction, but theres more there that we need to do. Today was a game we probably should have won." The Rangers were in position to add to the lead Moreland gave them in the seventh when Toronto manager John Gibbons got the Blue Jays out of the jam with a challenge after three previous visits with umpires ended without a video review.dddddddddddd. Michael Choice lined out to Francisco, who tagged third base with his glove as Robinson Chirinos was diving back to the bag. Dale Scott called Chirinos safe, but a review lasting nearly 3 minutes overturned it and gave Toronto an inning-ending double play. Gibbons move ended up not mattering much when Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre had run-scoring hits in the eighth. Moreland hit his second homer of the season after Rios just beat Franciscos throw for an error on one of the plays Gibbons considered challenging. Toronto had a season-high four errors. Texas rookie right-hander Nick Martinez left with a 2-1 lead after five innings but lost the chance for his first big league win on Encarnacions ninth homer, a shot to left field off Aaron Poreda in the sixth. Poreda (2-0) ended up getting the win after a scoreless seventh, and closer Joakim Soria pitched a shaky but scoreless ninth in a non-save situation on his 30th birthday. Franciscos home run into the upper deck in right field was among four hits allowed by Martinez in a solid outing that should give him a chance to stay in the rotation with four Texas starters on the disabled list. He had never pitched above Double-A before this year. "Each time he takes the ball its an experience for him," Washington said. "He knew where we were today and he did a good job just getting us through as many pitches as he could handle." Dickey allowed three hits and four runs in falling to 12-12 against the team that drafted him and gave him his first shot in the majors 13 years ago. NOTES: Rangers 2B Rougned Odor was a late scratch with a sore right wrist. He was replaced in the No. 9 spot by Luis Sardinas. ... Sunday marked the first of nine day games in a stretch of 14 for the Rangers. That hasnt happened since 1984. ... Julio Franco, who spent five of his 23 seasons in Texas and was 49 when he played his final game in 2007, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ' ' '