eading. Memphis was hampered by eight turnove

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The brief scuffle at Packers practice turned heads in the crowd. The dropped ball by a receiver during an offence vs. defence security drill drew roars from defenders. The team has grinded through off-season workouts with a work ethic that coach Mike McCarthy says is one of the best hes seen during his nine years as head coach in Green Bay. The energy is up. "Im not saying the other groups werent mature," McCarthy said. "It just seems like this group is further ahead than weve been, and you can sense the energy." Caveat: Its June, still more than six weeks from the start of training camp and three months from the start of the 2014 season. Almost every team feels good this time of year. The Packers, of course, have a championship pedigree. Confidence that comes with winning three straight NFC North titles, and just a few seasons removed from winning the Super Bowl. "The work ethic is very high. This group is really extremely competitive, in tune. Our new training environment has been unbelievable. It has put us so far ahead of where weve ever been, so I think with that brings more confidence so theres just a sense of maturity," McCarthy said. Changes on the coaching staff brought some new perspective. Quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo left to become the offensive co-ordinator of the New York Giants, while outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene left to spend more time with family. Sam Gash is the new running backs coach after Alex Van Pelt slid over to replace McAdoo. Winston Moss is the assistant in charge of all linebackers now, not just inside linebackers. Former Illinois and Florida head coach Ron Zook is now an assistant special teams coach. Green Bay hopes the defence will be improved this year with the addition of Julius Peppers and the anticipated healthy return of linebacker Clay Matthews from an injured thumb. Eddie Lacy has a full year of seasoning now as the lead rusher in a talented backfield that complements Rodgers. The 2011 NFL MVP, for one, likes the spunk hes seen on the practice field. "I love it. I love the energy, I love the passion. There will be those altercations in training camp. When guys remember this is a professional environment, not a personal environment, then you wont have any issues in the locker room," Rodgers said. "But every now and then you have to stir it up a little bit, you have to make some changes." Rodgers said he also likes the changes he has seen with new personnel and new coaches. "Its a natural progression. And when you have some new players theres always going to be stuff like that, guys getting used to this tempo," Rodgers said. "Sometimes guys dont like getting tossed down a little bit, and you need to work it out." Fringe players anxiously looking for a roster spot shouldnt get too overly worked up. Jobs arent won in June, McCarthy said, when practices are tailored to highlight agility and playing in space. But McCarthy likes some of the intangibles that he has seen so far. "I think youre seeing more player interaction as far as what goes on on the field. Guys self-correcting, and a lot more pro-active as far as sharing information," he said. "Those are good things. I see more of it this year." Note: The Packers signed rookie free agent Shaun Lewis on Tuesday. Lewis, a 5-foot-11 linebacker from Oklahoma State, tried out at Packers rookie minicamp in May. He had 73 tackles and three interceptions last season for the Cowboys. __ Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ___ Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP David Freese Jersey . The roster changes have been constant and continuous since late last year, but even with their 46-man roster set for the start of the season, the banged-up Bombers will be kicking off Week 1 with a handful of fresh faces and back-ups in the starting lineup. Clayton Kershaw Jersey . Coach Jorge Sampaoli resisted naming any major surprises in the list published Tuesday at the site of Chiles football association. Chile is pinning its hopes on the recovery of Vidal. http://www.dodgerssale.com/dodgers-justin-turner-jersey/ . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Rich Hill Jersey . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze. Fernando Valenzuela Dodgers Jersey . A 19-game winner with the New York Yankees in both 2006 and 2007, Wang spent most of this year at Triple-A for the Yankees and Blue Jays. The 33-year-old right-hander was 1-2 with a 7.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Marc Gasol had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Mike Miller added 19 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies made a strong push in the third quarter to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 117-95 on Friday night. Tony Allen scored 15 points to help the Grizzlies preserve their playoff hopes. Memphis entered the night trailing the Suns by a game for the Western Conferences final post-season spot. The Suns were playing San Antonio. Nick Calathes added 12 points for Memphis, while Zach Randolph finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Grizzlies won their 13th straight at home, matching the franchise record set last season. Tony Wroten and Thaddeus Young led the Sixers with 18 points apiece. Elliot Williams added 13 for Philadelphia, which lost its third straight and fifth in the last six. The Grizzlies held a 10-point lead at halftime and outscored the Sixers 30-17 in the third with Allen and Gasol scoring eight points each. Memphis continued to dominate on the interior, outscoring Philadelphia 60-48 in the paint and outrebounding the Sixers 49-36 for the game. The Grizzlies shot 54 per cent from the field, compared to 44 per cent for the 76ers. Memphis shot 55 per cent in the first half to carry a 57-47 lead at intermission. Miller was 5 of 7, including connecting on all three of his shots outside the arc, as he and Gasol scored 13 points each. Gasol converted all but one of his seven shots in the half. Young scored 10 points ffor Philadelphia.dddddddddddd Memphis led by as many as 12 in the first half, and its biggest problem was getting back on defence, allowing a couple of breakaways by Philadelphia. One of those irritated coach Dave Joerger so much, he called a quick timeout despite the Grizzlies leading. Memphis was hampered by eight turnovers in the half, and committed 16 on the night. The Grizzlies continued to build the lead in the third, turning up the defence as the Sixers seemed to lose whatever spirit they had at this point in a tough season. Near the end of the quarter and with the shot clock running down, Gasol connected from outside the top of the key -- only his second 3-pointer of the season -- to help the Grizzlies carry an 87-64 lead into the fourth. That was enough for Memphis to coast to the finish and get starters some rest heading into the final stretch run of the season. NOTES: The Sixers had several Memphis connections. Wroten was drafted by the Grizzlies. Elliot Williams and 10-day signee Adonis Thomas played at the University of Memphis, while Thaddeus Young was a high school standout in the city. Arnett Moultrie, who also played high school ball in Memphis, was inactive serving five-game suspension for violating league anti-drug policy. ... The Sixers have trailed by double-digits in 64 of their 79 games this season. ... Philadelphia is now 6-56 when it fails to reach 110 points. ... Memphis last home loss was Feb. 5 to Dallas. ' ' '