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MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Priefer stepped into the head coaching role Thursday morning when Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, recovering from his third eye operation in a calendar month, learned he would need to watch the opening game of Week 13 from his home.Zimmer required surgery Wednesday night for a detached retina in his right eye. It was the third and, according to general manager Rick Spielman, most serious, operation for the Vikings coach in November.Spielman said Zimmers role going forward would be evaluated Friday.After this mornings appointment, coach Zimmer will not be coaching tonight. We felt this was the best interest of his health, Spielman said on a national conference call Thursday morning.While Zimmer will have no direct contact with the team during the game, Spielman said it wont be easy for him to not be at work. However, one of the risks of retina surgery can be blindness.He realized maybe for the first time this morning how serious this can be, Spielman said.Zimmer was at every practice this week and Spielman said the Vikings have full confidence in the coaching staff against the team with the NFLs best record -- and perhaps best runner.Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is being hailed by many as the best running back to enter the league since Adrian Peterson.In a league where running backs have been devalued, Elliott has made Dallas decision to draft the Ohio State back fourth overall this year a wise move. Elliott leads the NFL with 1,199 yards and is second in rushing touchdowns with 11.Peterson debuted with 1,341 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2007 after being the seventh pick in the draft out of Oklahoma.Peterson is on the sideline with a knee injury, but his Vikings will be the next to try and slow Elliott. Minnesota knows what its up against at home on Thursday when the Vikings (6-5) host Dallas (10-1).Well, hes one of the better backs Ive seen in quite a while, Zimmer said Tuesday. Hes really an all-purpose guy that catches the ball very well out of the backfield. Hes quick into the hole; looks like hes got great vision ... Hes special.Zimmer, the former Cowboys defensive coordinator, had plenty of accolades to shower on Dallas offense this week. He was complementary of rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, who is fourth in the league with a 108.6 quarterback rating.One reason the Cowboys have had success with two rookies playing vital roles is the offensive line.Theyre really, really good, Zimmer said. Theyre the best line Ive seen in a long time in the NFL, physical, athletic, big.Many of those same descriptions have been offered about the Vikings defense this season. Thursdays meeting is a matchup of strengths.Dallas is third in the league in scoring, averaging 28.7 points per game, and is fifth in total offense with 407.6 yards per game. Minnesotas defense has allowed the second-fewest points per game at 17.5 and is third in total defense, giving up 307 yards per game.They have great players on defense, Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, a former Vikings offensive coordinator, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. They get a lot of people around the football. Teams that play hard and hustle and get lots of guys around the ball, good things happen for them. Weve got to be as good about our ability to get people around the football, protect the ball carriers and ultimately play aggressive football without getting loose with it.Only two teams have created more takeaways than Minnesotas 20 this season. The Vikings have 12 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries and are second in the league with a plus-12 turnover-differential.Prescott and Dallas have protected the ball, turning the ball over just seven times this season, the second-fewest in the league.That has given us a great opportunity to stay on the plus side of the ledger in turnover ratio, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told the Star-Telegram. Typically that gives you a good chance to win. We need to take the ball away more. We havent done a good job. We havent done a good job of that the last three or four ball games.Only four teams have fewer takeaways than Dallas 10.Blessed with a keep-away offense, though, the Cowboys have won 10 games in a row and are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. Dallas could become the first team in the NFL to clinch this weekend. The Cowboys need a win and either a Tampa Bay loss or tie, or a Washington loss.It would be great, but I think the goals for this team are bigger than that, guard Zack Martin told the teams website. Weve got five weeks left, and we know that this season really starts after Thanksgiving here, so were ready to make a push here and finish strong.Both teams play Thursday with a full weeks worth of rest after they played on Thanksgiving. Dallas held on at home for a 31-26 win against the Redskins. Minnesota lost for the fifth time in six games at Detroit in a 16-13 finale.Obviously, I think everyones a little bit frustrated right now, Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford said. For whatever reason, we just werent able to come back off the bye and play the way we have those first five games, and I think anytime you go through a stretch like weve had, people do get frustrated and its tough.Bradford showed up on Minnesotas injury report this week with an ankle injury. He was limited in practice on Monday and Tuesday but is expected to play. The line protecting Bradford is another story.Center Joe Berger missed two days of practice after leaving last weeks game with a concussion. Berger was ruled out Tuesday, meaning Nick Easton is expected to start at center. Right tackle Jeremiah Sirles (hip) also left last weeks game. He was limited in Mondays practice and a full participant on Friday. Zimmer said he expects Sirles to be all right.The Vikings cant afford any more blows to the offensive line. Minnesota has already lost starting tackles Matt Kalil and Andre Smith, along with Jake Long, who was signed to replace Kalil. Versatile backup Mike Harris has spent the season on injured reserve with an unspecified illness.Willie Beavers, who replaced Sirles in last weeks game at right tackle, became the sixth player to take snaps at tackle for the Vikings this season.Minnesota did get leading receiver Stefon Diggs back at practice this week on a limited basis after he missed last weeks game with a knee injury. As of Tuesday, he was considered questionable.Cornerback Terence Newman (neck) and punt returner Marcus Sherels (ribs) missed last week. Newman returned to full practice, but Sherels had not practiced by Tuesday.Dallas will likely be without cornerback Morris Claiborne (groin), linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring) and safety J.J. Wilcox (thigh). Safety Barry Church (forearm) has practiced on a limited basis and could return Thursday after missing four games. Fake Blue Jays Jerseys . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Wholesale Blue Jays Jerseys . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/ . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Toronto Blue Jays Store . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Cheap Blue Jays Jerseys .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. WALTHAM, Mass. -- Boston Celtics big man Al Horford,?responding to criticism for missing Monday nights game in?Miami after the birth of his second child, said Tuesday that he felt it was important to be there for his family.My familys very important to me, said Horford, who welcomed daughter Alia on Sunday. Im in more of a unique situation because this is our first year [in Boston] and my wife, we all moved in the middle of the pregnancy. And [there is] a lot going on. So I just felt like it was important for me to really be there, supporting her. And we have a son as well. So for her, its been a lot thrown at her these past few months.I know that it meant a lot for me to be there with her. ... So Im just very happy that the Celtics really take the time and they consider us not only as players but as people. And people that have families.Horford signed a four-year, $113 million contract this summer and had already missed nine games this season due to a concussion.?When the Celtics announced Monday morning that he would sit out, some fans grumbled on social media. The criticism seemed to diminish when the reason for Horfords absence was revealed.After the game -- a 112-104 victory -- Horfords decision was questioned during a segment on Comcast SportsNet, the broadcast home of the Celtics. Horfords sister, Anna, active on social media, responded swiftly to the criticism.Horford spent nearly all of his five-minute session with reporters Tuesday responding to the fallout.I dont really read into [the criticism]. I dont read Twitter and stuff, and the radio and all that, Horford said. I just kind of focus on the court, on my job here, and then, off the court, on my family.Everyboody has their opinion.dddddddddddd I respect anything that anybody has to say. I care a lot about the group and our guys. For my familys sake, it was important for me to be there for them. Just with our transition and everything. So thats that. Now I can put that behind me and get focused again on [Wednesdays game against the Pistons].Horford was the third player in the past six months whom the Celtics allowed to miss games for newborns (Jonas Jerebko and Avery Bradley?each welcomed children earlier in the calendar year).Coach Brad Stevens has stressed that family comes before all else for members of the organization.I think our greatest responsibilities are as sons, husbands, fathers. I think thats your No. 1 job, Stevens said. Were thrilled for the Horfords and were thrilled to have Al back at practice [Tuesday] and be ready to go [Wednesday]. Obviously, family is really important.Horford said his teammates were nothing but supportive before and after Mondays game.Added Horford: I was able to watch and I was just very proud with our guys, how they responded. I feel like in our short season already we havent been fully available, all of us, through all the games. Its just impressive to see a guy like Isaiah [Thomas] not making any excuses. And the list goes on. Not only Isaiah. All the other guys, but everybody just making sure they go in and they put in the work. And they dont make excuses.Horford reported that mother and baby are doing well.Everybodys healthy. That was the most important thing, Horford said. And [Alia has] been great so far. ' ' '