Rose, who had surgery to repair a tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on May 12, has been videotaped dunking off each foot, but more casually than he would during a game. A source said that although he has been practicing and scrimmaging hard, he told the Bulls that until he feels “in his mind” he can confidently dunk off his left foot in a game situation, he is not 100 percent mentally ready to return to competition.

The team is not pressuring Rose, the source said, but the Bulls are confident he will return this season and are still hoping for a mid-March return, which would mark 10 months after his surgery. The Bulls play at Golden State on March 15.

The source said the team has been assured by Rose’s doctor that there is no more chance of the former MVP getting injured upon his return than anyone else and that the doctor told the Bulls that physically “he can play now.” Rose is now dealing with the psychological side of trusting his body.

Rose, 24, raised the possibility that he wouldn’t return at all this season during an interview on Feb. 13 after the Bulls lost to the Celtics in Boston, which was the last time Rose spoke publicly.

“I’m feeling good, but like I said, if it’s where it’s taking me a long time and I’m still not feeling right, I don’t mind missing this year,” he said. “I would love to [return]. I would love to. That’s why I approached my rehab and my workout so hard. I’m trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible, but if I have anything lingering on, it’s no point.”

Since that interview, Rose has taken part in 5-on-5 scrimmages, beginning on Feb. 18.

He began sitting on the bench with the team on March 3.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after practice Friday that there are no new developments with Rose, and that the clearance for Rose to play in a game “hasn’t been finalized yet.”

“He’s doing everything there is to do in practice, so he’s been cleared from that standpoint,” Thibodeau said.

When asked whether Rose would be able to play in a game if he says he is able to, Thibodeau said: “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. We’re just going day by day. Just keep improving.”

“Definitely getting stronger and stronger every day,” guard Nate Robinson said. “Hopefully, he’s right on time and right on schedule. He’ll be back when he’s ready.”

Thibodeau said the decision for Rose to play will be made by several people.

“There’s a lot of people that got to sign [off],” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, he’s the most important piece. But from Jerry [Reinsdorf, Bulls owner] on down, everyone has to sign off on it.”

As far as what Rose is doing in practice, Thibodeau said: “He’s doing everything. He’s participating in every part of practice.”

Thibodeau also said the Bulls are prepared to move on with or without Rose. “We’ll see what happens,” he said.

The perception that Rose wouldn’t return this season was enhanced on Feb. 22, when his brother Reggie Rose told ESPNChicago.com that the Bulls’ lack of activity before the trade deadline would be a “big factor” in whether his brother would return.

“It’s frustrating to see my brother play his heart and soul out for the team and them not put anything around him,” Reggie Rose said at the time.

Derrick Rose assured the Bulls, the source said, that he did not share his brother’s sentiment and issued the following statement: “I have always felt that the Bulls organization’s goals have been the same as mine and that is to bring another championship to this city.”

Bulls officials from Thibodeau to general manager Gar Forman, vice president John Paxson and all the way up to Reinsdorf have said they won’t rush Rose back. Reinsdorf told ESPN Chicago in August 2012 that he didn’t want to make the same mistake he made with Michael Jordan after Jordan broke a bone in his foot during his second season in 1985. Jordan returned and didn’t suffer another injury, but Reinsdorf has said that it was a risk he didn’t want to take with Rose.

The Bulls have told Rose that while they will support whatever decision he makes, they would prefer he return this season, the source said, “and get it under his belt, rather than wonder all summer if he could.”

Rose is considered the franchise cornerstone and signed a five-year contract extension worth more than $94 million in December 2011.

“There are a lot of kids out there that would love to see Derrick Rose come back and play,” Robinson said. “He’s a role model. Everybody looks up to him, including my kids. My son asks every day, ‘Dad, when’s Derrick coming back?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s funny. Derrick’s sitting right next to me on the flight, so when I Skype my son, I take a little peek. He’s like, ‘There he is, let me talk to him.’ I’m like, ‘You can’t talk to him, just let him be.’ But (Rose) is working extremely hard, and that’s one thing I definitely respect about him. He’s very humble and he works extremely hard in the game that he loves.”

The Bulls enter action Friday in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

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The plan was detailed in an NHL memo sent to all 30 clubs Tuesday, which a team source leaked to ESPN.com.

The new plan calls for divisional playoffs, not conference playoffs as the NHL currently has. The division winner with the most regular-season points will play the lowest-seeded wild-card team in the first round, with the other division winner playing the other wild-card team.

The plan still needs approval from the NHL Players’ Association plus the NHL’s Board of Governors. The NHLPA and NHL have been working on these changes for the past three weeks.

If approved by all parties, the plan would go into effect for next season.

The Eastern Conference would feature the Atlantic and Central divisions while the Western Conference would have the Mid-West and Pacific divisions.

The Pacific Division would feature Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver.

The Mid-West: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg.

The Central: Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto.

The Atlantic: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington.

Elliotte Friedman of CBC’s “Hockey Night In Canada” was first to report about these four new groupings over the weekend.

The playoff format as detailed in the league memo Tuesday calls for the top three teams in each division to earn postseason berths. The remaining four spots would go to wild cards, the top two records in each conference. That means there’s a possibility five teams make it from one division and only three from another.

The schedule matrix would see each team play teams in the other conference both home and away.

The NHL’s 30 owners voted yes to a new realignment plan in December 2011 that was based on a four-conference format but also saw Detroit and Columbus still in the West.

The change from the December 2011 configurations sees Detroit and Columbus go to the East plus Colorado join the Mid-West teams.

The NHLPA blocked the December 2011 plan, citing travel concerns for its players plus playoff inequity of having the top four teams in each conference make the playoffs under that format, unfair for the two eight-team conferences.

The changes proposed by the NHL in this realignment format come as a result of those concerns from the NHLPA, the two sides negotiating for the past three weeks on finding a better solution for realignment.

The NHLPA wants to further address it with its players before consenting to it.

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“We expect a full recovery and it is everybody’s hope and belief that due to Robert’s high motivation, he will be ready for the 2013 season,” Andrews said in the statement.

“The goal of his treatment is to give him the best opportunity for a long professional career,” he said.

Griffin’s torn ACL was diagnosed late Tuesday as a complete tear of the patella graft that was used to repair his torn ACL suffered at Baylor in 2009. A team source told ESPN Tuesday that Andrews was likely to use a patella graft from Griffin’s left knee to repair the most recent tear.

Griffin’s recovery is projected at six to eight months, barring any setbacks, sources said. The rehabilitation plan will focus primarily on strengthening Griffin’s quadriceps to help protect and help stabilize the knee, according to sources. The reconstruction of the LCL is considered a complication, but sources said Andrews informed the Redskins it should rehab well during the same six-to-eight-month time frame as the ACL injury.

Under this projected time frame of surgery, recovery and rehab, Griffin should be able to participate at some level during training camp in August and be ready to open the season in September, according to the sources.

Griffin thanked his fans for their support in a tweet Wednesday morning.

“Thank you for your prayers and support. I love God, my family, my team, the fans, & I love this game. See you guys next season,” he wrote.

The NFL Network reported that, after looking at the game file, coach Mike Shanahan believes Griffin suffered his knee injury on the play before the errant snap where his knee gave out as he tried to plant his leg. On that penultimate play, Griffin was sacked by Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin.

The first major injury to the knee came in 2009, when Griffin tore the ACL in the third game of the season while playing for Baylor. Griffin missed the rest of the year but returned in 2010 and won the Heisman Trophy in 2011.

Griffin sprained the LCL last month when he was hit by Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata at the end of a 13-yard scramble. Griffin missed one game and returned to play three more while wearing a bulky knee brace, his mobility clearly hindered.

According to Stats & Information, Griffin led the league in scrambles (43) and scramble yards (411) before his Week 14 injury against the Ravens. However, after the injury, Griffin scrambled only once in his last three games (for 1 yard), including Sunday’s playoff loss.

On Sunday, Griffin hurt the knee again as he fell awkwardly while throwing a pass in the first quarter against the Seahawks. He remained in the game, with Shanahan saying he trusted Griffin’s word that all was OK.

Griffin finally departed in the fourth quarter, after the knee buckled while he was trying to field a bad shotgun snap.

The No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft, Griffin was one of several rookie quarterbacks to make an instant impact on the NFL this season. He set the league record for best season passer rating by a rookie quarterback and led the Redskins to their first NFC East title in 13 years.

But he also had to leave three games early due to injuries — two because of his knee and one because of a concussion — and missed a fourth altogether because of the knee.

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Owner Ralph Wilson, 94, relinquished his title as team president to Brandon, who already held the title of CEO. In his new role, Brandon will report directly to Wilson.

Brandon said Buddy Nix will remain the club’s general manager. A team source told ESPN, however, that the Bills will transition to Doug Whaley at GM at some point. Whaley will be involved in the coaching search as well.

The Bills fired coach Chan Gailey on Monday after their second consecutive 6-10 this season and are in the midst of their fifth coaching search since 2001.

“As soon as we get off this podium, we go to work,” Brandon said Tuesday. “We’re heading out of here and starting that process.”

First stop: Arizona.

That was the destination of a plane Brandon, general manager Buddy Nix and several other key front-office members had boarded to immediately begin the process of finding a coach.

Though the team, on its website, didn’t divulge any details beyond Brandon’s travel plans, Arizona is home to three potential candidates: Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton as well as former Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt and his assistant Russ Grimm, who had both been fired a day earlier.

Buffalo has asked for permission to interview Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy for its coaching vacancy, a league source told ESPN.

Brandon discussed his promotion at a news conference following a Monday meeting with the 94-year-old Hall of Fame owner at his home in suburban Detroit.

“It was a rather emotional visit,” Brandon said. “He told me he was passing the torch to me to run the franchise in totality. He has granted me full authority to run the franchise with zero restrictions and zero limitations.”

Buffalo extended the NFL’s longest playoff drought to 13 years this season. Over that stretch, Buffalo only once had a winning record — 9-7 in 2004.

Wilson, the franchise’s founder, has only once before given up the title of president. That was in 2001, when he hired Tom Donahoe to also serve as general manager. Donahoe was fired after the 2005 season, at which point Wilson took back the title and said he had no plan to ever give it up again.

“These past 13 years have been very difficult on our fans and we have not produced the type of winning team that they deserve,” Wilson said in the statement. “It has been frustrating for our organization and for me as well. We want our team to be one that our fans are proud of. I believe that Russ has the unique abilities to assemble and lead the talent we will need to get the job done.”

Brandon said the coaching search will be “exhaustive” as he attempts to revive a once-proud franchise whose brand and relevancy, he believes, is “tarnished.”

“We haven’t won enough games. And that’s on us,” Brandon said. “And we’re going to change it. We need to change it. And I will go to the end of the earth to make sure that we change it.”

Nix will report directly to Brandon, while maintaining authority over football operations.

Nix declined to be pinned down on the what he’s looking for in a coaching candidate, saying: “This time, I think it’s wide open.”

That’s a switch from three years ago, when Nix narrowed his parameters on hiring someone with previous head-coaching experience and an offensive background.

On other issues, Nix called it “an organizational” decision to fire Gailey. Nix backtracked on the unconditional support he voiced toward Gailey in November by saying: “Things change, and it changed some with us. We kind of collapsed at the end. That made a difference.”

As for starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s future, Nix said that will be left up to the next coach.

Brandon completed his 16th season with the Bills, and has been serving as the team’s chief operating officer since 2008. He was initially hired to work as the Bills director of business development and marketing. He previously served as general manager in 2008 and `09, taking over after Marv Levy stepped down.

During his time with the team, Brandon’s played a key role in expanding the franchise’s small-market base both east into Rochester, and north into southern Ontario and Toronto.

In 2008, Brandon played a significant role in spearheading the Bills playing games in Toronto, located a two-hour drive from Buffalo. The team reached a five-year deal to play eight games — including five annual regular season games — in Canada’s largest city and financial capital.

The deal with Toronto-based Rogers Communications expired this year, but the Bills and Rogers have expressed confidence that the series of games will be renewed in the coming months.

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