FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Fresh off their bye week, the New England Patriots returned to the practice field Tuesday and players said they took advantage of the time off to get their bodies ready for the second half of the season.The Patriots, 7-1 after reeling off four wins with Tom Brady back following his Deflategate suspension, open their second half at home Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks.It was nice. Much-needed rest, mentally and physically, so hopefully everybody maximized that time, and time to get back to work, special teams captain Matthew Slater said before practice. Our focus just needs to be as high as its been all season and worry about preparing for Seattle. It will be one of the best teams that well see at any point in the season, so we have to be ready for the challenge.With some of their bumps and bruises healed. This is a healthy team that will have back running back Dion Lewis either this week or Nov. 20 at San Francisco.Wide receiver Chris Hogan was excited about returning to work.Weve got a big game coming up, he said. Sunday night. Its easy to get excited for something like that, so well spend this week preparing ourselves for the game.Added linebacker Rob Ninkovich: It was nice to get a little time to watch some football and spend time with the family. Now its back to work.The team traded Pro Bowl linebacker Jamie Collins to Cleveland at the start of the break.To cap off their week, the Patriots got to watch their next opponent play Monday Night Football, giving them a look at two mobile quarterbacks, Tyrod Taylor, whom they just faced in Buffalo, and Seattles Russell Wilson, who nearly beat them in the Super Bowl two years ago.Its difficult any time you have a guy thats mobile that can make every throw on the field, is very accurate, is a very good quarterback in the pocket and yet when things arent looking so good he can pull the ball down and try to run for a first down, Ninkovich said.Asked again about attacking the rest of the season refreshed, the 31-year-old Slater said: Its definitely needed. An NFL season is a grind on you physically -- especially when they start to add up, when you get a little bit up there, so to speak. That rest is needed. I think we did a good job, from what Ive seen, of taking advantage of it. Hopefully it will benefit us down the stretch.Game notes While the players didnt want to comment on who they were voting for, or on the letter of support Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he received from coach Bill Belichick, Slater made it clear he planned to vote. Tonight . after practice, he said. My mom, my wife . Im getting a text today to make sure I vote. Too many people . especially as an African-American, in America, too many people have had to sacrifice . and die for me to have the right to vote, so I definitely need to exercise that. . Hogan also said he was going to vote and that there wasnt much chatter about it in the locker room. The locker room, I dont think, is really a huge place for guys to really talk politics, he said. Theres always a couple of guys in here that will be in here butting heads or something like that.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Bruins Jerseys . 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Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Cheap Bruins Jerseys Authentic . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. TORONTO -- Steven Stamkos makes his first return to Toronto on Tuesday night after electing to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the offseason rather than entertain an offer from the Maple Leafs.Five games into the 2016-17 season and it appears Stamkos made the right decision. The 26-year-old center has three goals and two assists and the Bolts sit second in the Atlantic Division behind only the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-1-0 record.The Markham, Ontario native signed an eight-year, $68 million deal in June prior to becoming an unrestricted free agent.I made the decision to stay with the team that drafted me and brought me up as an 18-year-old kid and its my second home now, Stamkos said. Theres no regrets and Im looking forward to hopefully winning another hockey game here on our road trip.This year, having the contract done, theres no distractions, just coming to the rink with a clear mind and thats something as an athlete sometimes you take for granted: just being able to come to the rink and have fun doing what youre doing and help your team in anyway you can.Tampa Bay is currently in the middle of a six-game, 11-day road trip, which began with a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.The Maple Leafs limp home to Air Canada Centre following a three-game road trip, which saw Toronto lose in Winnipeg, Minnesota and Chicago while picking up two of a possible six points.The Maple Leafs will have a familiar face in the lineup as they begin a brief two-game home stand on Tuesday after claiming Ben Smith off waiivers from the Colorado Avalanche.ddddddddddddSmith, a 28-year-old forward, appeared in 16 games with Toronto last season and another five games with their American Hockey League affiliate before signing with the Avs as a free agent in in the offseason.(Smith) gives us a right-hand faceoff guy, can penalty kill too, said Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. That was a concern for us. (Zach) Hyman and Leo (Komarov) are taking all the draws for us and they dont play center so (we) want to shore that up.In order to make room for Smith on the roster, Toronto placed veteran forward Milan Michalek on waivers on Monday. If he clears, the 31-year-old will report to the clubs AHL affiliate.Toronto won its lone home game this season, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Oct. 15, but are 1-1-3 five games into the season and sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division.The red flag is the goals-against, said Babcock. I like that we score lots, and were entertaining, but I like winning, too, so weve got to keep it out.Ben Bishop, who is 2-1-0 with an .861 save percentage and a 3.68 goals-against average, likely gets the start in goal for the Lightning while the Maple Leafs will counter with Frederik Andersen. The 27-year-old Danish puck stopper is 1-0-2 in three starts this season while posting an .879 save percentage and a 3.64 G.A.A.Toronto concludes its home stand on Thursday when it plays host to the Florida Panthers. ' ' '