FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - For Julio Jones, eight months away from football "feels like an eternity." Jones was on the practice fields for the Atlanta Falcons organized team activities on Tuesday, but only for conditioning work. The star wide receiver said Monday his rehabilitation is progressing well but "extra precautions" have kept him from being cleared for practice. "I am ahead of schedule but were not pressing anything," Jones said. On Tuesday, Jones was on the field with the team only for exercises. That came only after he had extra time with a trainer for stretching. Then he worked on running and agility drills as other players went through practice. Jones said he cant guarantee hell be able to participate in the start of training camp next month. "I dont know when Im going to get cleared," Jones said. "Its out of my hands." Jones recovery is crucial for the Falcons, who finished 4-12 last season after five straight winning seasons. Jones, a Pro Bowl pick in 2012, was leading the NFL in receptions in 2013 when he broke a bone in his right foot in a loss to the Jets on Oct. 7. He suffered a similar injury during his college career at Alabama. "It is a freak accident, breaking the same bone," Jones said. The injury history makes it easy to understand why the Falcons have been cautious with the rehabilitation schedule. Even so, the long wait for medical clearance has been difficult for Jones. "It feels like an eternity, just not being out there with my brothers," Jones said during a promotional appearance for Vita Coco, an all-natural drink he endorses. "Its been a very difficult process as far as that aspect of it but Im just going through the treatment and just being smart about the whole situation. "Were just being careful about the situation and making sure Im 100 per cent before I go out there." Quarterback Matt Ryan said there is ample time for Jones to make up for missed time during OTAs. "Julio has been in the building pretty much every day this off-season," Ryan said. "While he hasnt been able to be out on the practice field with us yet, weve communicated a lot. Weve talked a lot and certainly have watched film together and tried to work on things in the classroom so that when we do get the opportunity to be out on the field we can hit the ground running. "Our biggest thing, and coach Smith talks about it all the time, is getting to Week 1 with all our guys fresh and healthy." White joined practice on Tuesday for the first time in OTAs. Whites brother was shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub last month. "Hes been through a lot the last three or four weeks with his family," said coach Mike Smith. "It was good for him to be back with his football family. He looked great." NOTES: The OTAs will continue this week and, following an off day on Monday, the teams mandatory two-day minicamp begins on Tuesday. ... Ryan said free-agent addition Devin Hester, best known as a return specialist with the Bears, has worked at different receiver spots and even in the backfield. "Im not sure exactly how its going to shake out when it comes to game planning, but certainly hes shown hes capable of being really productive," Ryan said. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Steve Young 49ers Jersey . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Deion Sanders 49ers Jersey . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-Jerry-Rice-49ers-Jersey/ . PAUL, Minn. Dee Ford 49ers Jersey . The former world No. 1 Djokovic, who is the top seed here despite being ranked No. 2, snuck past 35-year-old Czech showman Radek Stepanek in four high- quality sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), on Centre Court. Djokovic appeared relieved when he converted on his first match point by swatting a cross-court forehand winner that just caught the line to end an affair that featured only two service breaks. George Kittle 49ers Jersey . There is no argument that the line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek was one of the hottest in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal.CHICAGO -- Corey Crawford is playing so well right now that nothing seems to bother him. When the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal waved off in the second period Sunday, Crawford picked up the slack for his disappointed teammates. Crawford made 25 saves, Jonathan Toews had a big goal in the third and the Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. "Confidence has always been there," Crawford said. "Really the first thing is being prepared, having that preparation to try and have my game at the highest level it can be each time I get out there." He is on quite a roll right now, allowing only one goal in each of the past three games. The 29-year-old Crawford leads the NHL with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage in the playoffs. "He does a good job of never getting too high or too low because tomorrows another day," teammate Brandon Saad said. "He did a great job tonight." Saad had a goal and an assist for defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago, which remained perfect in seven home playoff games this year. Duncan Keith had a tiebreaking score in the third period. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night. Playing just two days after a Game 7 victory over Anaheim, the Kings got a second-period score from Tyler Toffoli and outshot the Blackhawks 26-20 in the opener of a rematch from last years Western Conference final. But Crawford made a couple of solid stops in another terrific performance. "I think we can do a better of getting in front of the net and make it harder on their goalie because we had some pretty good shots, but nobody was hanging around, so he was able to see everything," Kings centre Anze Kopitar said. With the Blackhawks clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third, Toews, Marian Hossa and Johnny Oduya got loose on a 3-on-1 break. Toews one-timed Oduyas pass right by Jonathan Quick for his sixth playoff goal at 16:10. Quick made 17 saves after he played a key role in Los Angeles rally from a 3-2 deficit in the series against the Ducks. The Kings also battled back from a 3-0 hole against San Jose in the first round. "We had a chance," Los Angeles forward Mike Richards said. "We shot ourselves in the foot a bit on their goals, and give them credit, theyre an opportunistic team. But we made a couple of mistakes and it ended up in our net." TToews 26th career playoff goal came after he had one waved off in a confusing stretch in the second period.dddddddddddd It looked as if Chicago had a 2-0 lead when Toews rush to the net resulted in the puck going off the skate of Kings defenceman Slava Voynov and into the goal. But it was waved off after a conference by the officials, prompting a round of boos from the crowd of 21,832 and a waving, yelling display from Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. According to the NHL, the original call of good goal was changed because the officials decided Toews made incidental contact with Quick before the puck crossed the goal line. The league said the ruling was not reviewable, so the call on the ice remained in place. The sequence seemed to wake up the Kings while deflating the Blackhawks. Los Angeles got its first goal about a minute later, with Tanner Pearson making a terrific pass to the middle to Toffoli for his fourth of the playoffs at 4:35. "I thought we lost a little momentum there," Quenneville said. The Kings then had a couple of chances to take the lead, but Crawford stepped up each time. He denied Kyle Clifford on a 2-on-1 break with 13:42 remaining, and stopped Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown in rapid succession midway through the period. Crawfords solid play bought Chicago some time to shake off the disallowed goal, and it paid off when Keiths slap shot went off the stick of Kings forward Trevor Lewis and bounced past Quick for a 2-1 lead at 11:54. Crawford made another big save on Jeff Carter in the first minute of the third, and Toffoli had a backhander go off the outside of right post on a breakaway opportunity in the final period. The Blackhawks turned a bad roughing penalty by Kings defenceman Alec Martinez into Saads power-play goal with 5:14 left in the first. The Kings had a prime scoring chance with 2:42 to go in the period, but Nick Leddy tied up Richards at the end of a 2-on-1 break. NOTES: Kings D Willie Mitchell was active for the first time since Game 6 of Los Angeles first-round series against San Jose, but D Robyn Regehr remained out with an injury. He has missed the Kings last seven games. ... Chicago killed off two power-play chances and is 44 for 48 on the kill in the playoffs. ... Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival was active after he was a healthy scratch for the last two games of their second-round series against Minnesota. ' ' '