ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills signed first-round pick Sammy Watkins to his rookie contract Wednesday. The Bills announced the signing shortly after the teams first session of organized team activities. "Its great just to put all that behind me, just to know you have financial stability," Watkins said. "Now its just all football. Every day I have to come in and worry about football and my plays and my job and just work out there." Buffalo is counting on Watkins to immediately step into the starting lineup for a team that has not been to the playoffs since 1999, the NFLs longest current drought. The Bills moved up five spots in the draft in a trade with the Cleveland Browns to select Watkins fourth overall. The 6-foot-1, 211-pound wideout is known for his playmaking abilities and has tremendous speed and hands. Wednesday was Watkins first official practice with quarterback EJ Manuel and the rest of the offence. He lined up with the starting unit at receiver alongside fellow off-season acquisition Mike Williams. Watkins and Manuel had a slow start to the session. An early pass intended for Watkins was off the mark and intercepted by cornerback Corey Graham. But the duo responded accordingly. The two later hooked up for receptions over the middle and down the left sideline. "Its coming along," Watkins said. "Weve got a lot to work on, a lot of different routes and schemes weve got to clean up a little bit. But its a process." Watkins will miss Buffalos remaining two sessions this week as he heads to Los Angeles to participate in the 2014 NFLPA Rookie Premiere. He made it clear he would prefer to be on the football field adjusting to life with the Bills. "I would rather stay here and get the connection with the quarterback. I dont want to fall behind," Watkins said. "Its kind of sad that I have to leave for three to four days and everybody has that two to three days ahead of me. So I really have to study the plays and get out there running and training, not get behind too far." Nike Vapormax Scontate . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Nike Air Max 95 Offerte Uomo .com) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/sco...-95-outlet.html. The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No. Nike Air Max Plus Italia . Many of those eyes are in the United States of America, a country that the sport has wanted on its side for some time. On Sunday the football Gods delivered once again, only this time it was time for good old USA to experience as much heartache as joy. Air Max Scontate Online . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season.Its halfway through the season and there has been some interesting storylines so far in the crease. We have had some unreal performances, some guys getting an opportunity to show their stuff at the NHL level and some players still looking for their A game. Lets begin with the obvious: ALL WORLD Pekka Rinne (29 wins, 1.96 GAA, .931 SV%) - the best player in the league and could be a front runner for Hart Trophy, not just the Vezina. And anyone who believes that a goalie should not be in the Hart conversation because they have their own award, remember that players have those individual awards as well (Richard Trophy, Art Ross, Ted Lindsay). GREAT SEASONS - Goalies who are having great seasons and deserve some love Roberto Luongo (17 wins, 2.32 GAA, .924 SV%) - Main reason why Florida is not a bottom feeder team and we are not just talking about them having a bright future. Carey Price (22 wins, 2.19 GAA, .928 SV%) - Model of consistency, elite goalie, elite play every night for the Habs. Numbers through the roof this year. Sergei Bobrovsky (15 wins, 2.88 GAA, .914 SV%) - Blue Jackets struggled mightily without him when he had a broken finger. Now he is healthy and they have made a push to climb the standings. Ben Bishop (21 wins, 2.41 GAA, .909 SV%) - Continues to play well for a real good team Jaroslav Halak (23 wins, 2.22 GAA, .917 SV%) - Really helped stabilize a position the Islanders have been really missing Marc-Andre Fleury (22 wins, 2.16 GAA, .926 SV%) - Outstanding for the Penguins amidst a team that has been decimated by injuries and sickness. Was snubbed for the All-Star game, although he may get there if the injury to Howard is serious. Jhonas Enroth (11 wins, 3.20 GAA, .906 SV%) - Numbers are not reflective, but he has been outstanding for a team that has tried to bottom out during a rebuild. Has been great in the shootout and at 510 the smallest goalie in the league has stood tall. Frederik Andersen (23 wins, 2.36 GAA, .915 SV%) - Been real good for a top team that has had injuries and sickness as well, but they have played him a ton. Needs a few nights off in the second half so well see if Bryzgalov is the answer. Braden Holtby (21 wins, 2.23 GAA, .923 SV%) - Has had a resurgence under new goalie coach Mitch Korn. Jimmy Howard (16 wins, 2.11 GAA, .920 SV%) - Pillar of consistency, large workload and delivered wins for Detroit Corey Crawford (17 wins, 2.15 GAA, .924 SV%) - Voted in by fan base, shows every year why the guys in the room value him when the chips are down TURNED THE CORNER Henrik Lundqvist (20 wins, 2.31 GAA, .917 SV%) - After slow start (which he is becoming known for), he has rounded into form and the Rangers are on fire because of his work. Some may even use the word snub when it comes to the All-Star game. Tuukka Rask (18 wins, 2.49 GAA, .913 SV%) - Has dug out after a real slow start for himself and the team. OPPORTUNITY Scott Darling (5 wins, 1.97 GAA, .937 SV%) - Great story of local boy who does well. Grew up a Hawks fan and got the call when Crawford got hurt. A 6 6 goalie who has played in the minors for years was getting starts in front of Antti Raanta, who was struggling to find his game early on.dddddddddddd Rob Zepp (2 wins, 3.00 GAA, .885 SV%) - At age 34, gets his NHL opportunity after years of playing in the minors. Seizes it for a few wins for the Flyers, who are in desperate need of wins and stability in net. Calvin Pickard (6 wins, 2.18 GAA, .936 SV%) - With injuries to Semyon Varlamov and terrible play of Reto Berra, has kept the Avalanche close to a playoff spot while Varlamov recovered and got back to his top form. Andrei Vasilevskiy (3 wins, 1.76 GAA, .937 SV%) - Will be a starter in the NHL sometime. Tampa is doing it the right way, allowing him to develop in the AHL. NIGHTMARE Mike Smith (7 wins, 3.52 GAA, .885 SV%) - was on the Olympic team last season, has been the backbone of the Coyotes for years and a big reason why they have had some success in the desert. But it has been the worst start of his career, looks like a shell of his former self and has to find his game quick or the Coyotes will be in the McDavid sweepstakes. Ben Scrivens/Viktor Fasth (8 wins, 3.05 GAA, .896 SV% /2 wins, 3.47 GAA, .886 SV%) - Or anyone who is playing in net for the Oilers - a team that refuses to play hard in their own zone. Scrivens has carried the bulk of the load and is in over his head most nights. Kari Lehtonen (17 wins, 2.95 GAA, .904 SV%) - Dallas is another team that can score but not a lot of attention is paid to keeping it out of their net. They rely heavily on their goalies to win them games and Lehtonen has been allowing one stoppable puck a night. Needs to lock it down if the Stars have a chance of making the playoffs. Minnesota goalies - Unreal start for Darcy Keumper and then, through injuries and inconsistency, it has really gone downhill for not only him, but Niklas Backstrom. The mumps and injuries have hurt the team in front of them, but they cant keep it out of their net right now. COMPETITION Michael Hutchinson (12 wins, 2.00 GAA, .931 SV%) - has been pushed into a more prominent role in Winnipeg and not only pushed Pavelec for minutes in net but has helped the Jets to be in a wild card spot. BOUNCE BACK SEASON Devan Dubnyk (9 wins, 2.72 GAA, .916 SV%) - has worked hard at his game to get back into the NHL, bouncing around from Edmonton to Nashville to Montreals AHL team last season. By the time the playoffs came around, he was their fourth goalie in the system and a lot of people had written him off. He is back and has been the only bright spot in net in Arizona, earning an opportunity to get more playing time in Minnesota. UNDER THE RADAR Craig Anderson (11 wins, 2.35 GAA, .928 SV%) - has been the Senators MVP. His win/loss isnt glorious, but his save percentage has been up with the league leaders all season long. Brian Elliott/Jake Allen (11 wins, 1.95 GAA, .928 SV% /13 wins, 2.65 GAA, .900 SV%) - their team never gets a ton of fanfare out West, but they have been good and continue to rack up wins Ryan Miller (20 wins, 2.48 GAA, .912 SV%) - has 20 wins this season. ' ' '
