EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Driving a car for more than 30 minutes, standing up straight for extended periods and getting into his football stance all had the same effect on New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul last season. It hurt, and it hurt a lot. The 2011 All Pro player disclosed on Saturday that he played last season in pain, and it didnt go away until he had disk surgery on his back in June. "A back is a really, really horrible thing to have, back surgery period and you dont want to rush back," Pierre-Paul said Saturday before the Giants held their first practice. "Im not concentrating on the first game, the second game, the third game, fourth game, fifth game, sixth game. Im just trying to come back when I feel like Im ready to come back." While he feels better now, the catalyst of the Giants defence is not sure whether he will be ready for the season opener at Dallas on Sept. 8, although that is his goal. The Giants have placed him on their active physically unable to perform list, leaving him to continue his rehabilitation. "Honestly my plan is to get better, come out here and be a big part of the team and try to get to the playoffs because thats where it starts to make a Super Bowl run," he said. "And be a better player than I was last year." To be honest, Pierre-Paul had a sub-par 2012 season. After recording 16 1/2 sacks in helping the Giants win the Super Bowl in 2011, he had 10 less last year as New York posted a 9-7 record and missed the post-season. To his credit, Pierre-Paul never talked about his back or how much it hurt. He tried to reduce the pain level by strengthening his core during the season, and he admitted taking three shots during the year to numb the pain. It didnt work and it showed on the field. Pierre-Paul was not as dominant as he had been the previous year, although many suspected that was because opponents were paying more attention to him with double-and-triple team blocking. "Like I said, I dont know how much my back had to do with it or whatever," said Pierre-Paul, who added the pain started two years ago and only got worse. "It was a constant pain when I got down in my stance. When we played a 4-3, I always have to be down, and the push off that was there, and the pain takes away a big part of it." Pierre-Paul said he disclosed the pain with the trainers and talked to the team doctors about it, but they recommended that he continue his core training. The pain seemed to disappear after the season ended, but it returned during minicamp. Thats when the disk problem was discovered and the surgery was performed. The disk problem had also caused him to lose strength in his right leg, tests showed according to Pierre-Paul. After less than two months of rehabilitation, Pierre-Paul feels hes at 75 per cent. "The whole discomfort is gone," said the first-round pick who is entering his fourth season. "When I sit down I dont have that pain any more. When I am standing up I dont have that pain. I can stand up straight. Basically everything is gone. Thats a good thing. I am doing pretty good." Pierre-Paul believes he can regain the explosiveness that made him one of the NFLs most-feared defenders. "Its all on me. How I rehab," he said. "I am trying to get my core right, stronger, my back stronger. Its all on me. You dont want to go out there too early. You dont want to go out there too late. You want to be just enough so you can play the game." For now, Pierre-Paul sees his role as being there for his teammates. Hell watch practice and try to offer his insights. The downside is that he doesnt feel very much a part of the team. "I can do the rehab and all the things they tell me, but I still have to get a week under my belt in practice to see what I can do," Pierre-Paul said. "Going against two and three guys, getting double-teamed, is totally different from working by yourself. Thats what I have to be ready for." If he does get ready, the Giants are again going to be a threat to hassle opposing quarterbacks. Adidas NHL Jerseys China . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. http://www.cheapnhljerseysfromchina.com/ . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Adidas Hockey Jerseys China . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. TORONTO -- In a season where little has gone according to plan, its perhaps no surprise that the Toronto Blue Jays have found some unlikely heroes. Its too early to put Todd Redmond alongside Munenori Kawasaki, but the right-hander earned some new fans Sunday in Torontos 11-5 win over the Minnesota Twins. With the Jays needing to fill a hole in their starting rotation, the 28-year-old from St. Petersburg, Fla., did not give up a hit until one out in the fifth when Aaron Hicks, batting eighth in the Twins lineup, homered over the right-field fence with one on to tie the score at 2-2. Redmond struck out four and walked three in five innings, with the Toronto offence striking back for four runs in the bottom of the fifth to give him a 6-2 lead. "Its still a dream come true just to be here," said Redmond. "Youve just got to take it one day at a time, one start at a time. And hopefully continue on." Colby Rasmus, Jose Reyes and Rajai Davis homered for Toronto, which outhit Minnesota 13-5 before 43,795 under a stuffy dome at Rogers Centre. Redmond, earning his first career win in his second major league start, has probably earned another start for the Jays (43-45). His debut win -- in his fifth career appearance -- came after a 74-62 record in the minors that dates back to 2005. It was a welcome shutdown performance after the first six games of a homestand had seen the Toronto starters post a 6.06 earned-run average. "The ball was jumping out of his hand," Twins first baseman Joe Mauer said of Redmond. "It was a tough day for us offensively." Redmond was 3-1 with a 5.06 ERA in six appearances for the triple-A Buffalo Bison before being called up by Toronto, which claimed him off waivers in March. His only previous major league start was last year for Cincinnati. The Jays and Twins traded shutouts and victories in the first two games of the series with Toronto taking the opener 4-0 and Minnesota (37-48) winning the second game 6-0. "If were going to win, weve got to score runs. Thats no secret," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "But you go through those stretches, whether its an individual or as a team, where hits are hard to come by, things like that. Thats when youve really got to have the good pitching. But we broke loose today." Toronto sent nine men to the plate in the fifth, scoring four runs on a pair of homers to jump into a 6-2 lead. There was another four-run outburst by the home side in the seventh. "It was a game we had to have, to be honest with you," said Gibbons. "We kind of approached it that way. The bullpen was pretty rested. And with a day off (Monday), we were either going to pitch good or turn it over to the bullpen. And he (Redmond) stepped up for us. "And we swung the bats ... Runs were hard to come by (in recent games) but we swung it today." Sundays loss was the Twins seventh in eight games. The Jays, who came into the game having won just four of their last 13 after reeling off 11 straight wins, have now won 10 of ttheir last 13 against Minnesota.dddddddddddd Redmond (1-1), who has also made three appearances out of the Jays bullpen this season, became Torontos 13th starter this season. He now has the same number of wins this season as Josh Johnson, who is making US$13.75 million. Minnesota had a man on third with no outs in the first inning thanks to a leadoff walk, stolen base and throwing error, but a strikeout and two popouts spared the Jays any damage. "The key was getting out of that first inning without giving up a run," said Gibbons. Said Redmond: "After the first inning, I wasnt really sure what I had but I was able to get the ball down, stay on top of the ball and keep my off-speed stuff for strikes." After walking the first batter he faced and having some trouble throwing strikes (only six of his first 16 pitches found the plate), Redmond regrouped to retire the next 11 before issuing a walk to Morneau, a native of New Westminster, B.C., in the fourth. A third walk cost him in the fifth, putting Clete Thomas on ahead of Hicks home run. Redmond was followed by Aaron Loup, Dustin McGowan, Brett Cecil, Neil Wagner and Casey Janssen. Rasmus, who came into the game leading all AL centre-fielders in home runs with 15, knocked in two runs with another blast to give Toronto a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Reyes put Toronto ahead 3-2 with a leadoff homer in the fifth, his fourth home run of the season. Davis then hammered a ball into the second deck in left field, driving in Edwin Encarnacion and Mark DeRosa, who had walked and singled, respectively. Davis said the offence was contagious. "Im watching Reyes jog around the bases. He looked like he was having fun," said Davis. "I wanted to have fun too." That chased the Twins starter Scott Diamond. The 26-year-old left-hander from Guelph, Ont., lasted 4 2-3 innings in his 50th career major league appearance and start. "Its fun to return home, its fun to play in front of a crowd that knows youre Canadian and is kind of hostile to you at the same time," he said. "It kind of makes for a fun atmosphere, makes for a fun challenge. Sadly, I didnt answer up to it today." Diamond (5-8) gave up six earned runs on eight hits, walking four and striking out one. "He kind of unravelled from there," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said of Diamond after Reyes homer. "He just couldnt make a pitch after the home run. Maybe he kind of let that home run leading off the bottom of the fifth get to him. "They made us pay today, the put some really nice swings out there. They had some great at bats." Minnesotas Trevor Plouffe also homered, off Cecil, in the eighth. Toronto catcher J.P. Arencibia, on his bobblehead day, went 1-for-3 with a walk, single and throwing error. He flied out to the warning track in the second and seventh and hit another long ball just foul in the fourth. Sundays game wrapped up a seven-game (3-4) homestand for the Jays, who open a series Tuesday in Cleveland. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '