FOXBOROUGH, Mass. Francisco Cervelli Jersey . -- Fumbles plagued Stevan Ridley even when the ball was dry. A steady rain presents another challenge to the New England Patriots running back. It wasnt a problem for him Thursday. The Patriots continued their organized team activities on a soggy day and Ridley gripped the ball as if his job depended on it. It might if he keeps fumbling. "I told one of the young guys today, thats the quickest way to get off the field," Ridley said. "You can ask me first." Hes speaks from experience. Ridley lost fumbles in three consecutive games last season. After the third, in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos on Nov. 24, he was benched for the rest of New Englands 34-31 comeback win in overtime. He lost a total of four fumbles last season leading to three touchdowns and a field goal. So hes been focusing on avoiding a repeat this year. "All you can do is really squeeze (the ball) high and tight," Ridley said. "I think that was a lesson I had to go through and, hopefully, I wont have to go through it again, but who knows? "A little bit of adversity never hurts anybody. ... You take your mistakes, you learn from them and you grow and you just keep on pushing." The third-round pick from LSU fumbled just once as a rookie in 2011, but the Patriots recovered it. He lost two of his four fumbles in 2012 before the problem escalated last year. And his rushing production dropped -- from 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns on 290 carries in 2012 to 773 yards and seven touchdowns on 178 attempts. So hes concentrating on improving his overall focus on every play. "I think if I can do that I can become a better player," Ridley said. "When you lose focus on the small things -- whether its small assignments, whether its carrying the football, whether its running a route, whether its blitz pickup -- those are things that cost you your playing time." LeGarrette Blount emerged as the top back late in the season, rushing for 431 yards and eight touchdowns in three straight games before both runners were shut down in a 26-16 loss at Denver in the AFC championship game. Blount left for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent, leaving Ridley, Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden as coach Bill Belichicks veteran backs. "You can go out there and be a starter one game and the next game youre two or three guys behind," Ridley said. "Thats what Coach stresses to us every week. We have to go out there and be as competitive as we can be. Hes going to play the matchups game and we just have to be unselfish enough to capitalize on the plays that we get." Ridleys four fumbles last year came on dry days. It rained during the last regular-season game, a 34-20 win over the Buffalo Bills, and the first playoff games, a 43-22 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Both games were at Foxborough. On Thursday, three months before the regular season, rain fell throughout practice. "Theres no contact so you should be running your routes perfect. You should be catching every ball thats thrown to you. You shouldnt be dropping anything on the ground," Ridley said. "Rain, sleet, whatevers out there, whatever the conditions are, you have to find a way to fight through that." Some had trouble. One receiver fell while trying to cut. "When you have a wet surface, you have to stick to your fundamentals," wide receiver Julian Edelman said. Wet or dry, Ridley knows he must do that all the time. "Were practicing either way. Coach says he doesnt care about the conditions -- rain, sleet, snow -- were playing in them," he said. "You just never know, but whatever it is there are no excuses." Ridley is entering the final season of his contract and tries not to think much about it. "I have to go out there and play football and hit it hard and run the ball and get wide open," he said. "I just have to be the same player Ive been." Anything else? "Try to go out there and be mistake-free." Roberto Clemente Jersey . The announcement was made by the hall on Friday, March 14. She joins Switzerlands Denise Biellmann as this years inductees to the Hall, based in Colorado Springs, CO. Dave Parker Jersey . After losing Brett Cecil to groin tightness on Friday, the Blue Jays watched as R. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirates-Felipe-Vazquez-Kids-Jersey/ . Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell.QUEBEC -- Eugenie Bouchard wasnt thrilled with her play, but she was more than happy with the end result as she helped move Canadian womens tennis to new heights. The Montreal native won both her singles matches in a playoff tie with Slovakia, including the clinching match on Sunday, as Canada advanced to the 2015 Fed Cup World Group. Bouchard, at No. 18 in the WTA singles rankings, beat Jana Cepelova 7-6 (6), 6-3 in front of a spirited home crowd on the campus of Laval University. The win gave Canada a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five tie, and moved the Canadians into the elite World Group for the first time. "I wasnt happy with my level of play in both of my matches, but I am proud that I managed to win them both," said Bouchard, 20. "It was a difficult adjustment for me to switch to hard courts from clay, but sure both victories feel great. "It feels great to know that weve made history here. I played a lot of matches for Canada in the Fed Cup, and I won most of them, so I am proud that I kind of lead this team to the World Group." On Saturday, Bouchard beat No. 137 Kristina Kucova 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 in a close match, to give Canada a 2-0 advantage, after teammate Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., defeated Cepelova 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Canada will now join the eight best teams on the planet in the World Group. A June 4 draw will determine Canadas next opponent, and whether that tie will be held at home or on the road in 2015. "Its a huge accomplishment in my opinion," team captain Sylvain Bruneau said. "Weve never been there. It all started with last years win over Columbia, then we beat Ukraine, a team that was ranked well ahead of us, then Serbia, and now Slovakia." Joining Bouchard and Wozniak (ranked No. 157) on the Canadian team were Torontos Sharon Fichman (No. 89) and Ottawas Gabriela Dabrowski (No. 199) Fichman and Dabrowski lost to Slovakia Janette Husarova and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 4-6, 7-5, (9-11) in a doubles match later Sunday. After each team took a set, and with the 10-point tiebreakk tied 9-9, Fichman missed her final two shots to hand Slovakia the doubles victory. Adam Frazier Jersey. Because Canada had already defeated Slovakia in the tie, the match was simply a formality. Bruneau said playing in the World Group will test Canadas depth. "We have to keep improving," he said. "Eugenie has to play at the level she is capable of, Aleksandra Wozniak needs to stay healthy, and Sharon Fichman -- who is still young at 23 -- can play both singles and doubles for us. We simply need depth, because there are no weak teams in the World Group, and many of the teams that play to qualify for the World Group have players ranked in the top 20." Bouchards win Sunday, particularly her strong second set, was crucial for Canada because she was struggling on Saturday and was very unhappy with her level of play. "I have to play much better, have to find consistency in my game," said Bouchard after her Saturdays win over Kucova. She struggled with that rhythm again on Sunday in a very close first set. Cepelova took a 5-3 lead, but just like during her match against Wozniak, she couldnt finish off points and lost a first set tiebreaker. Bouchard jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in the second set. When it looked like the last points would be just a formality, Cepelova put up a fight winning three games in a row and pushing Bouchard to make unforced errors. Serving for the match, Bouchard settled down and won last four out of six points to seal the victory. "It was a very good match" said Cepelova. "Just like yesterday I had my chances in the first set and couldnt close, but Eugenie was playing very well in those moments putting a lot of pressure on me." "We are very said as a team because we are not going to play in the World Group" added Cepelova. "It was very tough playing without our top three players (Dominika Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova and Magdalena Rybarikova) but Canada definitely deserved to win this tie. I think they are going to do very well in the World Group." ' ' '