Rob Gronkowski practices with New England Patriots

INDIANAPOLIS — Good news for the New England Patriots: Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski practiced Thursday for the first time since suffering a high ankle sprain Jan. 22 in the third quarter of a 23-20 victory over Baltimore in the AFC championship game.

"He did some things. He didn't do everything," Patriots Coach Bill Belichick told pool reporter Alex Marvez. "We'll see how he is tomorrow. I think that will be the big key — how he responds to this today."

Asked how encouraged he was by what Gronkowski was able to do at practice, Belichick said: "It was good. It was fine. We'll see where he is tomorrow — whether that set him back, whether it didn't and whether he's able to continue to progress on a daily basis. But it was a good test for him."

Gronkowski caught 17 touchdown passes during the regular season, the most by a tight end in NFL history.

BROTHERLYLOVE?:EliManning doesn't often tell colorful stories about his big brother, Peyton — at least not publicly — but the New York Giants quarterback got reporters laughing this week when asked about the typical sibling scrapes the two would have.

"His most popular move," Eli recalled, "he would pin me down and take his knuckles and knock on my chest and make me name the 12 schools in the (SoutheasternConference). I didn't know them all at the time, but I quickly learned them. It was a great learning technique. I don't suggest anyone else try it out, but it definitely made me learn the schools of the SEC.

"Once I figured those out, he moved on. There were 28 teams in the NFL at that point, so all teams in the NFL. I had to get my studying on for that. Then once I figured that out — the one I never got was the 10 brands of cigarettes.

"When he really wanted to torture me and knew I had no shot of ever getting it, that's when I just started screaming for my mom or dad to come save me, or maybe Cooper (the eldest of the three Manning sons). That was his go-to move."

POWERFULMEMORIES:MichaelWalker, the father of Giants receiver VictorCruz, died of an apparent suicide four years ago.

Cruz, the salsa-dancing sensation, has a much more somber ritual before every game. He goes to the far end zone, away from his team, drops to a knee, closes his eyes and thinks of his father, who was a firefighter in Paterson, N.J.