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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Veteran Dwight Freeney and rookie Keanu Neal, newcomers who carry big expectations on Atlantas defense, are expected to make their preseason debuts against Cleveland on Thursday night.Freeney, the defensive end, was held out of last weeks preseason opener against Washington after reaching a deal with the team early this month.Neal, the teams first-round draft pick from Florida, is projected as the starting strong safety. He has returned from a trunk/torso injury.The Falcons hope Freeney, 36, can boost the teams long-suffering pass rush. The Falcons have ranked no higher than 28th in the league in sacks since 2012 and were last with only 19 last season.Itll be good to get that rust off a little bit, Freeney said Tuesday.Freeney had eight sacks in 11 games in 2015 with Arizona. Vic Beasley Jr. led Atlanta with only four sacks as a rookie last season.Freeney wont start in the base defense but should have plenty of chances to chase quarterbacks. Coach Dan Quinn expects to use a nickel package in about 60 percent of snaps.Quinn said he has been impressed with Freeneys passion for football, even when hes just walking down the hallway, staring at his iPad watching pass rush from the day over and over.I think his passion for what he does just totally shows up in the way that he trains, the way that he prepares, his stretch routine to come out to practice, Quinn said. He just has his world in order in terms of doing everything he can in order to max it out.Freeney, a three-time first-team All Pro, signed with the Cardinals six weeks into the 2015 season. He said joining the team without the benefit of training camp was an anomaly that has helped him enjoy his more normal preparation with the Falcons.If I could do it all over again, Id probably take some time in training camp to get right, Freeney said of his 2015 season.I think thats all part of it. Its finding your legs, getting your feet under you, knocking off the rust, getting your timing back. I think thats the benefit of training camp.Quinn said Neal has full clearance for the game.We want to make sure we get him the right amount of reps to get going, Quinn said. Were anxious for him to get some quarters here in the next three weeks.Game notesThe Falcons waived/injured DT Chris Mayes, who suffered a foot injury in Mondays practice. Mayes signed with the team as an undrafted rookie from Georgia. The Falcons also waived G Shahbaz Ahmed and claimed G Jordan Walsh of Iowa off waivers from the Saints. Walsh was undrafted from Iowa before signing with New Orleans following the draft. ... Tuesday was the final open practice for fans. ... RB Terron Ward (ankle), PK Matt Bryant (leg tightness) and S Kemal Ishmael (shoulder) wont play Thursday night.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFLWholesale Custom Mets Shirts . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Mookie Wilson Jersey Large . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. http://www.custommetsjersey.com/ . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Mets Jerseys China .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Custom Mookie Wilson Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does.CHICAGO -- Marian Hossa was back on top of his game and the Chicago Blackhawks got back in control of theirs.Hossa had two goals, Scott Darling made 22 saves and the tight-checking Blackhawks beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-0 on Tuesday night to snap a two-game slide.Artem Anisimov and Dennis Rasmussen also scored to help Chicago maintain a three-point lead over St. Louis in the Central Division.The 37-year-old Hossa scored his team-leading 13th and 14th goals in his 27th game -- surpassing his total of 13 last season in 64 contests.I feel more recharged, and with the puck going in, you feel more confident, Hossa said. But I try not to be just a goal scorer. I try to play both ways and even if I dont score in a bunch of games, I try to make some plays for the team.And the Blackhawks turned in one of their better defensive and puck management efforts this season, according to coach Joel Quenneville.I like what we gave up tonight -- not much, Quenneville said. When we check well and dont play much in our own end, we generally play well and we have the puck a lot more. Tonight was a good step.Darling made a handful of tough stops but wasnt heavily tested in his first shutout this season and third of his career. He started his third straight game in place of No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford, who had an appendectomy in Philadelphia on Saturday.I cant remember one extremely good Grade-A chance that we gave up, Darling said. The guys were great, the D were great, the forwards were great on defense.It feels good, especially that one. It was a team shutout.Mike Smith blocked 23 shots as the Coyotes lost their fifth straight and completed a quick road trip, playing their second game in two nights. Arizona lost 4-1 on Monday night at Columbus with Louis Domingue in goal in the second contest of a home-and-home set with the Blue Jackets.Playing in back-to-back games, we did not have the energy we needed to get back into the game, coach Dave Tippett said. We do not make enough plays to get anything done, whether it is defensively or offensively.Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews sat out his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury. Quenneville said earlier on Tuesday he hopes Toews wwill rejoin the Blackhawks when they travel to New York next week to face the Rangers and Islanders.ddddddddddddChicago defenseman Brent Seabrook left with an upper-body injury with 6:38 left in the second period following a hit from Jordan Martinook that threw him awkwardly against the boards.Well see how is he is tomorrow, Quenneville said.Anisimovs power-play tip-in from the edge of the crease with 4:23 left in the first period opened the scoring. He was set up by Patrick Kanes pinpoint feed from the lower right corner and deflected the puck just under Smiths pads.Barely a minute after Darling made a point-blank save on Tobias Rieder, Hossa and Rasmussen struck for goals 19 seconds apart early in the second to boost Chicagos lead to 3-0.It was the turning point of the game for sure, Tippett said. As the game went on, our energy wasnt there.Hossa flashed his skill to complete a 2-on-1 with Ryan Hartman at 6:26 that made it 2-0. Hossa controlled Hartmans cross-ice pass with his right skate, kicked it to his stick and then stuffed a shot under Smiths glove from the edge of the crease.Smith stopped Richard Panik from the doorstep moments later, but Panik jumped on the rebound behind the net and shoveled it in front to Rasmussen.Hossa completed the scoring by converting a breakaway with 3:16 left. He beat Smith with a wrist shot on the stick side after being sent in by Niklas Hjalmarssons pass.Game notesReferee Gord Dwyer left after the first period with an illness. ... Crawford, expected to miss two to three weeks, has begun off-ice exercises. ... Arizona entered having allowed a league-high 850 shots. ... Chicago D Trevor van Riemsdyk played in his second contest since being activated from IR (upper body) last Friday and missing 20 games. He skated at Philadelphia on Saturday, but sat out Sunday against Winnipeg. ... Chicago Ds Michal Kempny and Michal Rozsival were healthy scratches, as were Arizona C Tyler Gaudet and D Kevin Connauton.UP NEXTCoyotes: Host Calgary on Thursday night.Blackhawks: Host the New York Rangers on Friday night. ' ' '