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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz has shed the protective boot hes been sporting, and expects to play in the regular-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys Sept. 8. "Feeling good," Cruz said Tuesday, a day after the boot came off his injured left foot. "Its been better, feels a lot better, a lot of the swelling has gone down. Obviously, looking forward to better days coming." Cruz was sidelined more than a week after hurting his heel in a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts Aug. 18. He jumped to catch a pass from Eli Manning on the opening series and a defender landed on his foot. Two days later, he used crutches to walk to the podium with his foot in a boot. Cruz missed the third preseason game, vs. the Jets, and will also skip Thursdays exhibition finale at New England. He hopes to practice Monday and play the following weekend. "Absolutely. I knew initially that it was just a small bump in the road and that I just needed some time off to get some down time off the boot and off the foot and get things going the right way," Cruz said. "Dallas was definitely a target date for me and I knew that I had to be ready. I still have some time to recuperate. It feels even better." The only pain he has is getting out of bed. "Theres swelling in the morning when I first put my foot down, thats about it," the Paterson, N.J., native said. "Other than that, once I get it going and get it warmed up, it seems to loosen up a little bit and feel better. We still want to take it easy and take it one day at a time." Cruz is still getting treatment on the foot, including an exercise where he has to pick up marbles with his feet. Cruz has led the Giants in receiving the past two seasons, catching a combined 168 passes for 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns. He scored one of the two touchdowns the offence has generated this preseason. The offence will improve, Cruz insists. "With the amount of reps that we get, its hard to develop a rhythm," he said. "We just need to get it going a little bit and I think our balance isnt there yet; our balance of running the ball and passing it. Slowly but surely, well get that back. Days of practice and getting everybody back out there, I think that will help us. "But I think we just need to build some fluidity within the offence." ---- NOTES: Coach Tom Coughlin said his first team will play up to 15 plays against the Patriots. ... James Brewer will start at left guard with Kevin Boothe moving to centre in the new alignment on the offensive line. ... DE Jason Pierre-Paul took some snaps on Tuesday, one day after coming off the physically unable to perform list. ... Rookie DE Damontre Moore returned to practice for the first time since hurting a shoulder in the preseason opener. 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He made the comments initially in an interview, when asked how the Jets could compete in the Central Division with teams that have made some high-profile off-season signings.BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara will captain Slovakia at the Sochi Games next month, hoping to improve on fourth place at the Vancouver Olympics. Other major Slovak stars, including Chicago Blackhawks forwards Michal Handzus and Marian Hossa and St. Louis Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak are also on the 25-man squad that coach Vladimir Vujtek announced on Tuesday. Defencemen Lubomir Visnovsky of the New York Islanders and Michal Sersen of HC Slovan Bratislava together with forward Marian Gaborik of the Columbus Blue Jackets made the team although they are still injured. Slovakia starts the Olympic tournament on Feb. 13 against the United States before facing Slovenia and Russia in Group A. In Vancouver in 2010, Slovakia surprised by placing fourth, its highest finish in Olympic ice hockey.dddddddddddd The complete roster is as follows: Goaltenders: Peter Budaj, Jaroslav Halak, Jan Laco Defence: Ivan Baranka, Zdeno Chara, Dominik Granak, Martin Marincin, Andrej Meszaros, Andrej Sekera, Michal Sersen, Lubomir Visnovsky. Forwards: Milan Bartovic, Marian Gaborik, Michal Handzus, Marcel Hossa, Marian Hossa, Tomas Jurco, Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Marcinko, Michel Miklik, Peter Olvecky, Richard Panik, Tomas Surovy, Tomas Tatar, Tomas Zaborsky. Marian Hossa and the late Pavol Demitra finished first and second in tournament scoring with 10 and nine points respectively. - With files from TSN.ca ' ' '