Dozer. Jorge Polancos two-run triple in the ninth for his fir

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Drew Brees stood on the sideline throughout the Saints first scrimmage of training camp on Saturday, resting a strained abdominal muscle on his left side and likely watching with envy as his backups cashed in on the big-play potential of rookie receiver Brandin Cooks. "Hes explosive and hes a guy that, if you can get the ball to him in space, he has a chance to give you some run after the catch -- and he did that," coach Sean Payton said of Cooks, New Orleans first-round draft pick. "Youve just got to keep working with him on a lot of the nuances and specifics of the passing game, but it was good to see him make a few plays." Cooks racked up more than 100 yards receiving on six catches. His highlights included a twisting, falling catch along the sideline of Ryan Griffins deep pass. Cooks beat veteran cornerback Patrick Robinson on the play, which gained about 40 yards to the 1-yard line. Later, Griffin found Cooks along the sideline, and the receiver stopped suddenly to elude defensive back Rod Sweeting before sprinting nearly 30 yards down the sideline to the end zone. He also had long returns of both a punt and kickoff. The Saints did not make Cooks available after the scrimmage, but teammates unequivocally praised the rookies performance. "Hes electric," Saints career receiving leader Marques Colston said. "He can run all the routes and hes a big-play guy. ... Hes a guy that comes to work every day with the right mindset and I think thats why hes able to be as productive as hes been -- and I dont really see a change in that coming." Saints defenders agreed. "Obviously, today we were going against our offence, so I was quite upset, but its an amazing thing to watch," outside linebacker Junior Galette said. "Hes everything that we expected him to be so far." "I see that hes zero to 60 real fast. Thats why we took him with the first-round pick," inside linebacker David Hawthorne said. "Hes a young guy with a heck of a lot of potential." Also scoring touchdowns were tight end Jimmy Graham (on a short pass from Luke McCown), as well as running backs Mark Ingram, Travaris Cadet and rookie Derrick Strozier. Ingram scored on a 5-yard run, while Cadet used a hard cutback to his left to score from roughly 25 yards out. Strozier ran in a sweep from about 10 yards. New Orleans running game, which ranked 25th in the NFL last season, thrived in the scrimmage. Ingrams day included a long run through the middle. Right tackle Zach Strief said he can sense the chemistry between the offensive line and ball carriers improving. "Guys are more comfortable with it," Strief said. "The more confident you are in what you are in what youre doing, the faster youre going to play. And thats the key to this game, you know, how fast can you make the right decisions. ... There were some good creases there." A crowd of more than 4,200 fans filled stands and an embankment along the Saints picturesque training camp fields at The Greenbrier resort in the Allegheny mountains. Some could be heard expressing disappointment when they realized they would not get to see Brees play. Brees was disappointed as well, Strief said, but the star quarterback is expected to recover quickly. "I know its really hard for Drew to stand there and not be in pads and not be with his guys," Strief said, a playful smirk emerging as he continued to speak. "We do a lot of hugging and make sure hes feeling OK. Ive rubbed his obliques a few times. Im sure thats helped. ... The great thing about Drew -- you know hes going be in the training room twice as much as anybody, and hes going to get himself right." Notes: Beside Brees, others sitting out the scrimmage included CB Champ Bailey, S Jairus Byrd, G Ben Grubbs, WR Kenny Stills, NT John Jenkins. While Payton has declined to discuss specific injuries in training camp, he said Bailey should be back soon, adding he doesnt "think its anything serious." ... WR Joe Morgan, trying to make a comeback from a serious knee injury that sidelined him all of last season, saw limited action and made a catch. ... Newly acquired S Marcus Ball had an interception of McCown. Cheap Ray Ban Free China .J. -- After getting permission from his 7-year-old daughter, New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl has retired after an 11-year career that included two Super Bowl championships. Ray Ban China Wholesale . "Opinion: Womens World Cup is the best Soccer of the year," Hanks tweeted to his 8.73 million followers on Friday. "Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. http://www.raybanwholesale.com/ .J. -- New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is going to start the off-season training program with a surgically repaired left ankle. Ray Ban Wholesale . -- Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton will be sidelined for at least two weeks because of a strained calf muscle, and pitcher C. Ray Ban Outlet Stores . The Senators will put the busy off-season and training camp behind them when they open their regular season on the road. They kick things off Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and then head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington decided it was time to shake up his lineup a bit. With a few switches in the batting order, and an impressive performance by young starter Nick Tepesch, the Rangers ended their longest losing streak in nearly nine years. Adrian Beltre homered and Shin-Soo Choo had three hits in his return to the leadoff spot while Tepesch allowed only three singles over 7 1-3 scoreless innings, and the Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Friday night. "He was outstanding. We needed a well-pitched game and he gave it to us," said Washington, who liked his lineup. "Well run the same one out there tomorrow and see what happens." The Rangers went into the opener of the weekend series mired in its first eight-game losing streak since August 2005. "Its nice to end any negative streak," said Beltre, who added a sacrifice fly in the eighth that proved to be the margin of victory. "Its one of those things, you dont want to throw any at-bat away." Minnesota has lost its last nine road games, including a three-game sweep at the Los Angeles Angels before getting to Texas. The Twins came up short after scoring four runs in the ninth off Texas closer Joakim Soria, making only his second appearance since June 14. Choo led off for the first time in 18 games while Carlos Pena, in only his fourth game back with the Rangers, took over the No. 3 spot where Choo had hit .149 (10 for 67) since June 7. And Washingtons change paid off immediately when Choo had a leadoff single in the first and scored on Beltres ninth homer, which just cleared the fence and landed in the Rangers bullpen in right-centre field. "I said earlier that doesnt make a difference. I knew this would happen after the game and I was sure people would ask me about it, but its not ... I dont think anything changed as far as approach," Choo said about leading off, though he acknowledged thhat, "Im a little more comfortable there, Ive done it for the last two years.dddddddddddd" Tepesch (3-3) struck out five, walked two and hit two batters, while matching his longest major league start. He has won all three of his career starts against the Twins, allowing only three earned runs in 20 2-3 innings. "Just able to command all four of my pitches, and just commanding them in the zone and out of the zone," Tepesch said. Kevin Correia (4-9) allowed four runs and six hits over six innings. The right-hander, who struck out three and walked two, had given up only two earned runs over 18 innings his previous three starts. Jason Frasor and Neal Cotts each got an out in the eighth after Tepesch gave up a one-out hit to Minnesota leadoff hitter Brian Dozer. Jorge Polancos two-run triple in the ninth for his first major league hit that made it 5-4. Soria, who had given up just one earned over 20 2-3 innings his previous 22 games, then got a strikeout and grounder to end the game. Luis Sardinas and Choo had RBI doubles in the fifth, both on balls that left fielder Josh Willingham tried to catch. Sardinas hit a sinking liner down the left-field line that rolled into the corner after Willingham made a diving attempt to catch it. Choo hit a flyball that glanced off Willinghams glove when he ran into the 14-foot fence. "Diving full out down the line, diving up against the wall in left field," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "What cant you like about that? Hes trying to make a play." NOTES: Rangers ace Yu Darvish (7-4, 2.62 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday. He lost his last two starts, allowing 12 runs (eight earned) over 11 innings. ... Phil Hughes (8-3) pitches the middle game for the Twins. ... 1B/OF Brad Snyder declined an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock and took free agency Friday, three days after the Rangers designated him for assignment. ' ' '