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CINCINNATI -- For a few days, the Bengals defense gets to remind Mike Zimmer of what he built.Zimmers Minnesota Vikings were in town Wednesday for the first of two joint practices leading up to their preseason opener Friday night at Paul Brown Stadium. Zimmer was the Bengals defensive coordinator from 2008-13, developing one of the NFLs top defenses.The defense hasnt changed a whole lot -- most of the same players, most of the same schemes -- while Zimmer has turned the Vikings back into a winner. And the Bengals defenders were looking forward to reminding Zimmer of why theyve been so good.He changed the culture around here, and I have much love and much respect for coach Zimmer, defensive lineman Domata Peko said before their first combined practice. I cant wait to go out and hit some of his players.Zimmer has been friends with the Bengals Marvin Lewis since their days as college coaches. Lewis likes to work out against opposing teams during training camp; its more of a challenge. Last year, the New York Giants practiced in Cincinnati for a couple of days before their preseason game.The Vikings were a natural preseason matchup for practice, given the links between the teams. Zimmer and Lewis worked out the practice schedule together, allowing both teams to work on what they need the most.Its pretty easy, Lewis said. Its simple when you do it with people youre friends with and respect that way.The Bengals were eager facing Teddy Bridgewater in practice. A year ago, they were excited to go against Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr., and they got the better of the matchup.Oh yeah, we were very dominant last year in the practices, cornerback Adam Pacman Jones said. But this is a new year. Weve got a lot of new guys in the locker room. Itll be fun, though.Bridgewater had an easier time of it on Wednesday, completing passes early in 11-on-11 drills. George Iloka picked off one of his passes in a later drill. Early in the session, one of the Vikings got knocked to the ground and players formed a scrum and did a little pushing, but order was quickly restored.Paul Guenther, who succeeded Zimmer as the defensive coordinator, made it clear there were boundaries that shouldnt be crossed during practice. The Bengals gave up the second-fewest points in the league last season, but had their worst moments in an 18-16 playoff loss to the Steelers. Personal fouls on Jones and linebacker Vontaze Burfict moved the Steelers into range for their winning field goal in the closing minute.Guenther has been emphasizing that the defense must be smart, and that goes for the two days of practices with Minnesota.Dont get near the quarterback, Guenther said. We dont want anybody getting hurt here.Game notesAndy Dalton had a tough time in the first 11-on-11 drill. The first time he dropped back to pass, he wound up having to scramble. The next two times, he would have been sacked -- players arent allowed to touch the quarterback, so the play gets ruled dead when pass rushers close in. Dalton threw the ball at the ground in frustration after the second one. ... Bengals DT Andrew Billings, a fourth-round pick, suffered a leg injury during a line drill and was taken off the field on a cart.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFLRyan Ellis Predators Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Colton Sissons Jersey . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Miikka-salomaki-predators-jersey/ . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Yannick Weber Predators Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Ryan Johansen Predators Jersey . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said.CHICAGO -- Finding ways to win in the American Leagues Central Division has been an issue for both the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins this season.But as the White Sox look to return to their winning ways and the Twins hope to build on whats been their most successful month to date, reversing course against divisional opponents moving forward will be key.The White Sox and Twins wrap up their three game series at U.S. Cellular Field Thursday before both teams venture outside the Central this weekend.For the White Sox, in-division competition of late has been especially painful even after the White Sox won for only the fourth time in their last 20 divisional games with Wednesdays 9-6 victory.Although the White Sox will clinch their third consecutive series with a win on Thursday, they havent been nearly as successful against their Central Division neighbors -- and the teams they face the most each season.You have to pick it up a little bit in your division, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said this week.Thursdays game will mark the ninth time the Twins and White Sox have faced one another this season. The White Sox won the first six games and outscored Minnesota 30-9 before being shut out 4-0 in Tuesdays series opener. Chicago regained some of their form Wednesday behind James Shields first win for Chicago since coming over in a trade with San Diego.But the Twins are about the only division opponent the White Sox have had success against during their recent troubling stretch. Chicago is 1-6 aggainst Cleveland, 2-7 against Kansas City and 2-4 against Detroit.ddddddddddddAnd even after improving to 7-1 against Minnesota, Ventura knows things have to improve against other divisional opponents. White Sox third baseman said familiarity with one another may play a factor in Chicagos troubles.Maybe they know us a little bit, Frazier said. They may know our tendencies a little more. There is no real rhyme or reason.Twins manager Paul Molitor is hoping his players have taken their struggles against divisional opponents personally. Teams like the White Sox had their way with the Twins earlier this season.And yet after coming within a win of earning their first series victory over the White Sox since last September, Molitor said his team has to find ways to build off wins like Tuesdays 4-0 shutout.Wednesdays loss -- which included a five-run, ninth-inning Twins rally that saw the tying run come to the plate -- was the latest example of the Twins being unable to string together multiple wins.Its not like youre expecting to go out and reel off a long winning streak -- it would be great if you were able to do that, Molitor said. You just want to see more consistency. We dont make a tough play (Wednesday), we have a base-running mistake that I thought it was costly -- those can be momentum-changers -- and you go from being in a pretty close game to trailing by eight runs. ' ' '