EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Other than the elastic brace on his right knee, there was no visible sign that age was catching up to Eli Manning as he entered his 13th season as the New York Giants quarterback.The 35-year-old hasnt changed much since taking over as the Giants starter halfway through his rookie season in 2004. Hes healthy, even after starting the last 183 regular-season games. He can make all the throws and seems to be enjoying himself working within Ben McAdoos West Coast offense.Even handling the media is a breeze: When asked two questions at the same time Monday following training camp, Manning wasnt thrown off in the least. He answered the first, then quickly answered the second without having to be reminded of the question.I used to just kind of roll out of bed and go practice, Manning said. Now I need about an hour to get loosened up. Its just maintenance. Ive gotten in the routine of doing it over the years. I see the difference and have stayed with it.The Giants rely on the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Without him, Odell Beckham would be wasting his time getting off the line of scrimmage. Its a role Manning accepts.I think as a quarterback you have a big responsibility, Manning said. You have to play well, take over and I have to do my job and play at a high level. I understand that, I demand that of myself anyway, so I dont think you try and put any added pressure.Manning, who has not thrown an interception since the opening 11-on-11 play of training camp, is going to be patient with his passing game early on this season.Other than Beckham and Victor Cruz, there are a lot of new people. Second-round draft pick Sterling Shepard shows promise, and Dwayne Harris and Geremy Davis are expected to do more entering their second season.However, they have a lot to learn, as do the seven other free-agent receivers in camp.I think you just understand that mistakes are going to happen. ... I try and kind of tell them things that it was tough for me to understand the first time, Manning said. That means talking the receivers through their mistakes, hoping they do better the next time.Theres one veteran who may benefit from Mannings help, too. Cruz has been limited to six games over the past two seasons by knee and thigh problems. Though Manning feels Cruz has looked sharp, he knows catching balls in game situations is different than in practice or catching from one thrown by a machine.Now hey, you have to turn back, youre running full speed, you have to adjust, hold a defender off a little bit, just making those tough catches and adjusting to the ball in the air are things that hes doing much better now Manning said. He just had to get some live action and is playing some football.Manning will get a chance to see how far the offense has come when the Giants host to the Miami Dolphins on Friday night.McAdoo has not said how long Manning will play Friday. He wont even say whether he or offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan will call the plays; McAdoo did it for the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator before taking over the head coaching job from Tom Coughlin.Game notes McAdoo said third-round draft Darian Thompson is the favorite to start next to Landon Collins at safety. ... McAdoo on Mannings reaction after being intercepted on the first play of training camp: Mike Sullivan has known him for a long time. He says it all the time, `If Eli wasnt playing football, hed probably be the worlds greatest poker player, and he didnt flinch. He just keeps playing.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Koke-Jersey/ . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Rodri-Jersey/ . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Thomas-Lemar-Jersey/ .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Vitolo-Jersey/ . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Thomas-Partey-Jersey/ . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. TALLADEGA, Ala. -- When Sweden beat the U.S. womens soccer team during the Olympics by using a conservative strategy, goalie Hope Solo was lambasted for calling the winners a bunch of cowards.NASCAR fans seemed to have adopted Solos attitude in response to Joe Gibbs Racings strategy Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. The team has four drivers and three were guaranteed a spot in the third round of the playoffs if they simply stayed out of trouble at Talladega.So they lollygagged at the back of the pack.All day.Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth raced with a purpose, but it wasnt to win the race. Their goal was to finish the race and move on to see another day in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.A vocal faction of fans seems outraged at the JGR strategy, even though it worked to perfection. Not only did Busch, Edwards and Kenseth advance in the Chase, but so did Denny Hamlin, who was forced to race as a one-man team because of the organizational plan.Hamlin just about needed a miracle to avoid elimination, and with his teammates offering no assistance in his bid to win the race, he had to find rival drivers to work with on Sunday. Hamlin wound up third, beating Kurt Busch for the position and the one point it was worth, by 0.006 seconds. That result tied him in the standings with Austin Dillon, and Hamlin got the last berth in the playoffs on a tiebreaker.There are eight cars left in the Chase field. Four of them come from JGR . For that, the team should be commended.Instead, fans are griping that they prefer to see drivers race and not ride around the back of the pack.To that, Kyle Busch had a simple answer on Monday.Dont hate the player... Hate the game, Busch posted on Twitter.Kenseth finished 28th on Sunday, Edwards 29th and Busch was 30th. All were satisfied with the result, although they didnt really love executing the plan. Busch found the strategy to be dull and not very motivating, but it accomplished what he needed.Two years ago, Busch went to Talladega in decent shape to advance in the Chase. He was involved in a wreck and eliminated from the playoffs.Theres no reward to go race and get wrecked, Busch said. Youve got to try to survive and do what you can.Kenseth seemed to acknowledge the pootential for disappointed fans, but rationalized it by pointing out what was at stake.dddddddddddd Kenseth was eliminated from the Chase at Talladega last year.It goes against everything you ever want to do as a race car driver, Kenseth said. You cant afford to go up there and get wrecked and not have a chance to race for a championship. I dont think any of us had any fun and none of us enjoyed it, but it was just what we had to do.Those upset with the way JGR raced likely fall into two camps. There are the people who just dont like the team, whether its because Gibbs uses Toyotas or because the organization has 11 wins this year. And there are the fans of the individual drivers who dawdled at the back of the pack at Talladega, and they wanted to see their favorites compete for the win.The first group is common in sports. People dont like the Yankees, or the Red Sox, or the Patriots, or the Cowboys. Theyll find fault in anything those teams do. In the case of Gibbs, the domination over the last two years has rubbed people wrong, and there are some who just dont like that they drive for a Japanese automaker.But you cant fault the team for figuring out how to work as, ahem, a team, and accomplish big-picture tasks. Remember, JGR worked flawlessly together along with Martin Truex Jr. at the Daytona 500, where Hamlin won and Toyota drivers took four of the to