TORONTO – Given his history, Joffrey Lupul had some concerns when he began to experience tightness in the lower back just days before training camp was due to begin. "But I felt great all summer," said Lupul. "I said that to the training camp staff, I havent had any issues. I was training, skating, golfing – which is hard on your back – so it hasnt been something thats been bothering me all summer. It just came one day." Sidelined with back spasms for the first six days of camp, Lupul joined his teammates at practice for the first time on Wednesday morning. As was the plan, the 29-year-old participated in the first of two practice sessions, looking and feeling like his old self. "Everythings fine," he explained after about an hour on the ice. "Obviously not the way I wanted to start the camp, but just happy everythings feeling better now." "Hes moving much better, felt much better," observed Leafs coach Randy Carlyle following the practice. "We think hes an option for us in the next couple exhibition games." Entering his fourth season with the Leafs, Lupul first sensed tightness in the back during the final week of informal workouts – working extensively with skating coach Barb Underhill – but rather than exercise caution, he decided to push through it, "which probably wasnt the right idea the week before camp" as the tightness worsened into "pretty painful" spasms. Held to just 16 games in 2013 because of injuries – broken right forearm and concussion – Lupul had his first serious bout with the back in the fall of 2009 when he required multiple surgeries while still with the Anaheim Ducks. Given that scary history – which included a debilitating infection from surgery – and the relative unimportance of exhibition play for a player of his status, he and the team opted for patience and precaution. "I obviously have some history there and some issues with the low back," he said, "but I believe since I had surgery, this would be the first time Ive ever missed time with it. These arent regular season games. I would probably be handling this different if we were playing regular season games." Lupul didnt believe the injury would linger into the regular season and expects to be ready for October 1st. "At this stage in the season," he continued, "you take things slow and make sure youre feeling good for October 1st. Thats our plan right now." Jahlani Tavai Jersey .com) - Guess whos back, back again? Josh Gordons back, tell a friend. Wholesale Lions Jerseys . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. http://www.cheapdetroitlionsjerseysauthentic.com/. Four years after winning gold on home ice in Vancouver, the Canadians will get a chance to make it two in a row Sunday against Sweden after beating the United States 1-0 in the Olympic semifinals Friday at Bolshoy Ice Dome. Cheap Authentic Lions Jerseys . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. Austin Bryant Jersey .com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season.Providing positive messages can help make football more inclusive for LGBT people, says Kick It Outs Education and Development Manager Troy Townsend. Townsend was speaking to Sky Sports News HQ at a screening of the new short film WONDERKID on Monday night.The film, directed by Rhys Chapman, depicts a rising star breaking into the professional game who expresses his talent on the pitch, but finds life difficult off it due to other peoples attitudes about his sexuality. Players need a positive environment, according to Troy Townsend Last month, Football Association chairman Greg Clarke told a Culture, Media and Sport select committee of MPs that football still needs to create a safe space free from abuse and that he felt personally ashamed that no current players had come out.Clarke told the committee he would not recommend that a footballer come out as gay at the moment, adding they would be taking a risk of vile abuse and could not yet be offered the required protection.Townsend acknowledges the intense scrutiny on footballers and says for any player who might consider coming out, the response of their team-mates, friends and family are crucial. WONDERKID is about a young player struggling with attitudes towards his sexuality Footballers crave adulation, said Townsend. They crave people shouting their name for the positive reasons... we need to make sure that the environment that they work in every single day doesnt change just because they want to tell people who they are. Take a look at the trailer for the new short film WONDERKID, which portrays the inner turmoil of a young footballer The focus is going to be incredible.ddddddddddddNo one can tell us any different. But we need to make sure the people around them, the closest people to them, are not talking or thinking negatively about them just coming out and being natural.Sophie Cook, AFC Bournemouths official club photographer, came out as transgender to her club colleagues and the Cherries squad last summer. She says their response and her ongoing experiences in football have been overwhelmingly positive. Sky Sports Geoff Shreeves meets WONDERKID director Rhys Chapman Before I came out, I was terrified that Id never work in football again because there was no history of a transgender person working in football, said Cook, who took part in a panel Q&A discussion on homophobia in sport after the WONDERKID screening.But when I actually came out to the players - I was introduced as Sophie to the team at a training session - they all clapped me.I was like wow guys! I wasnt expecting it. When my story broke in the press, and people really started to know about what had happened, I had fans coming up to me shaking my hand, hugging me, saying good on you, thanks for being brave and were really glad youre happy. Chris Mason plays the lead character in WONDERKID The second hearing of the Culture Media and Sport select committee inquiry into homophobia in sport takes place on Tuesday morning at Westminster, and WONDERKID director Chapman believes growing interest in his film reflects the progress being made.The more momentum we got, the more support we were able to get, said Chapman, when asked about how he secured backing for the project.And the message I am getting from within the game is that people realise this needs to change. Were getting towards the tipping point. 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