Jalen Ramsey got his hands dirty Tuesday for the first time since the birth of his daughter.

Ramsey reported to Jacksonville Jaguars training camp and jumped right into the mix with the first-team defense [url=http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-brandon-lafell-jersey]Brandon LaFell Jersey[/url] , taking part in drills, talking trash and breaking up passes.

Sweat, grass, dirt. It might have been the messiest Ramsey’s hands have been since he skipped the start of camp to remain in Tennessee with his girlfriend, Bre, and newborn daughter, Breelyn. That’s because the All-Pro cornerback, whose hands might be as valuable as anyone’s on that side of the ball, made a deal with Bre that he wouldn’t have to change diapers.

”We’ve been best friends since high school so we’ve always kind of talked about how the process would go a little bit,” Ramsey said. ”Of course, everything’s different when it actually happens, but for the most part, we have really good agreement that I won’t necessarily have to change diapers.”

So what is Ramsey’s part of the trade-off?

”She changes the diapers; I feed her,” he said.

Ramsey became a first-time father last Wednesday, the day the Jaguars reported for camp. He missed four practices to spend extra time with his family. Coach Doug Marrone excused his absences.

”It is good when everybody is together, everyone is back in and everyone is in a good place mentally,” Marrone said. ”Just having that balance in your life, making sure everyone is good at home [url=http://www.broncoscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-peyton-manning-jersey]Peyton Manning Jersey[/url] , making sure everyone is OK, making sure everything is set. Then you can get here and then you can focus and put your mind on what you need to do. It is always good when you can get everyone back in here, and I am glad everything worked out well.”

Marrone had planned to work Ramsey in slowly, but the ultra-competitive, lock-down cornerback refused to stay on the sideline during his first day back. The Jaguars had to like what they saw, even though they’ve seen similar from him for two years now.

Ramsey played in every game in two seasons and emerged as one of the league’s top defenders.

He expects to be even better in Year 3.

”We’re going to see when the season starts, right?” he said. ”We’re going to see. And y’all will see. Y’all will see. I never give myself like goals. I guess you could say like, `Oh, I’m going to have this many interceptions; I’m going to have this many” pass breakups.

”But what I can tell you, though, that I will do is I’ll make sure I prepare myself and I’m ready to go out there and give it my all so I’m not letting anybody down, my teammates, coaches, my family, y’all, fans. I can tell you that much.”

He gets one of his toughest tests in the team’s season opener at the New York Giants and against three-time Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

”Let’s get this out the way right now: He’s a good receiver. We all know that,” said Ramsey, the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. ”But y’all know me at the same time. Yeah [url=http://www.broncoscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-jake-butt-jersey]Jake Butt Jersey[/url] , he’s good. But I’m good, too. If y’all want to say he’s the best at his position; I’m the best at my position, so we’re going to go at it. We’re going to give the people a show the first game of the season.

”He’s going to have some wins; I’m going to have some wins. I just plan on having more wins.”

Ramsey is the outspoken face of Jacksonville’s vaunted defense, a unit that was among the best in the league in 2017. The Jaguars return 10 starters on that side of the ball, including all four in the secondary, and expect to be even more dynamic in their second season together.

”At the end of the day, win games,” he said. ”If we can win games on the defensive side of the ball. We can always ask for more: More turnovers, more touchdowns, more opportunities giving the ball back to the offense. Just more of everything.”

Except diapers.

”It feels good” to be back, Ramsey said. ”Miss my little girl already, but it feels good. It was cool. It was good. Long few days, but everything that I could have dreamed of.”

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Nashville Predators players stood around the locker room after beating the Washington Capitals 4-3, huddled around cellphones watching and rooting for more franchise history.

Seconds after the Boston Bruins lost to the Florida Panthers in regulation on Thursday night, Mattias Ekholm yelled out, ”Yeah boys!” as teammates high-fived to celebrate the first Presidents’ Trophy in the team’s 19-year history.

A year after the Predators made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, they’ve clinched home ice throughout the playoffs as the top team in the NHL during the regular season.

The road to the Cup now runs through Nashville.

”It’s a pretty good night for us,” captain Roman Josi said. ”Obviously the big goal for every team is to win the Stanley Cup [url=http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-deshawn-shead-jersey]DeShawn Shead Jersey[/url] , but you can’t win the Stanley Cup right now. It was something we took a lot of pride in, and I think it’s a big accomplishment for us.”

Josi, who scored a power-play goal in the clincher, said he and fellow Predators players looked at the rafters of other buildings this season and wanted to earn more than just the one ”Western Conference Champions 2016-17” banner that currently hangs in Bridgestone Arena.

They accomplished that in Washington thanks to two goals from Craig Smith, a game-winner from Ryan Johansen and 29 saves from backup goaltender Juuse Saros, setting a franchise record with 52 wins in the process.

”It’s always just been about home ice and trying to stay in our building, give ourselves the best chance to be successful in the playoffs,” coach Peter Laviolette said. ”With that, those things happen. You end up winning a division, a conference and first place in the league.”

David Poile, who has been general manager since the franchise’s inception, shook hands and congratulated each player as he walked out of the locker room.

While Laviolette and his staff watched the end of the Bruins-Panthers game in the coaches’ office and players took it in on hockey operations manager Brandon Walker’s phone, Poile watched alone from the concourse on one of the prouder nights in Predators history.

”We all have goals. That was part of it,” Poile said. ”It feels real good. When we get to a week from now and we start the playoffs, we’ll be moving on to something else, but I’m very proud of our franchise. This is the first time we’ve done it and it means a lot and I’m proud of everybody, all the effort that was put in all year.”

It was almost poetic that the Predators won the Presidents’ Trophy by beating the Capitals, who won it the past two seasons and three times since 2010.

Days after the five-year anniversary of his now-infamous trade from Washington to Nashville [url=http://www.cowboyscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-demarcus-lawrence-jersey]Demarcus Lawrence Jersey[/url] , star winger Filip Forsberg remarked: ”We’ve seen especially here (in Washington) that the trophy doesn’t mean that much going forward. But I think just the home ice is going to be huge.”

The Metropolitan Division-champion Capitals, who have home ice through at least the first two rounds, got two goals from Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin’s league-leading 47th of the season and 25 saves from Philipp Grubauer in the loss.

Washington could still face New Jersey, Philadelphia, Columbus or back-to-back defending Cup-champion Pittsburgh in the first round.

”I like the way we’re playing,” said coach Barry Trotz, who was in Nashville for that franchise’s first 15 seasons and has Washington in the playoffs for the fourth time in four years. ”We’re playing with lots of speed, we’re playing with lots of pace, and that was a good test.”

The Predators know there are more tests upcoming, this time as the Cup favorite that won’t fly under the radar. But after going 9-2 at home on their run to the final a year ago, they assured themselves of more playoff hockey in Music City than on the road.

”We learned what it was like to play at home in the playoffs,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. ”To have the home ice is huge for our team.”

NOTES: Smith’s two goals gave him a career-high 25. … Johansen scored the go-ahead goal with 5:27 left. … Kuznetsov has seven goals and 11 assists in his past 10 games. … Capitals F Alex Chiasson left the game with an illness. … Ovechkin was honored before the game for playing in 1,000 NHL regular-season games. In addition to the traditional silver stick and Tiffany crystal from the team and league, Ovechkin’s teammates got him and his wife a trip to Spain, presidential suite tickets to see FC Barcelona and a Lionel Messi jersey. … Rookie Eeli Tolvanen was a healthy scratch for the Predators after playing three games in a row.

UP NEXT

Predators: Return home after three-game road trip to face the Columbus Blue Jackets in each team’s season finale Saturday.

Capitals: Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in a potential playoff preview.

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