their young starting guards and opted for backups with morre

Who could have expected this?Going into Sunday, not even Juan Martin del Potro, his career ravaged by wrist injuries, thought he could summon the kind of consistent, forceful tennis capable of tossing Novak Djokovic from the Rio Olympics singles draw. Del Potro admitted as much after playing one of the best matches of his career under a dark evening sky: I didnt expect to win, the Argentine said after his raucous 7-6 (4), 7-6(2), upset over Djokovic, the worlds top-ranked male player by a wide margin.This was a match significant on many levels.It showed that del Potro -- one of tennis great talents and winner of the 2009 US Open -- was rounding into form after spending the past several years largely watching from the sidelines.It showed that Djokovic, far and away the best player in mens tennis since 2011, is maybe, just maybe, losing a little firmness on his solid grip over the game.And for Andy Murray, the upset led to a simple revelation: Suddenly devoid of his most potent nemesis -- a man who the irrepressible Brit has lost to in 16 of their past 19 matches -- this tournament is now his to lose.Sunday evenings turn of events was unforgettable. While Djokovic had suffered an ugly upset early at Wimbledon, losing to American journeyman Sam Querrey, it seemed like hed built back confidence by winning the Toronto tour stop in late July. But from the beginning of this Olympic match he seemed the lesser player. Del Potro served solidly, kept his backhand in play and absolutely dominated with his favorite shot: a forehand that he consistently poleaxed with such power that his opponent, among the games best-ever movers, was constantly wrong-footed.In the end, del Potro hit 29 forehand winners. Djokovic struck seven. The final point featured a sequence symbolized the whole affair: Del Potro hit a scorching forehand down the line and drew a weak reply. The lanky Argentine then wheeled back and hit nearly the same shot, only this time crosscourt. It struck the net, but was traveling with so much heavy force that it popped onto his opponents side. Game. Set. Match. New tournament.The crowd, which had sung and clapped and danced all night in a way that made Centre Court feel like a stadium hosting soccers World Cup, once again went apoplectic. Del Potro and Djokovic -- who played a similarly stirring match for the bronze medal in London, with the Argentinian winning then too -- embraced at net. As Djokovic left the court, his face flashed with a look of agonized disappointment and he appeared to be crying.One can reliably assume that Murray, the singles medal winner at the 2012 London games, wasnt shedding any teams. He survived the day, easing through a 6-3, 6-2 win over Serbias Viktor Troicki on a wind-swept afternoon. There are no unnerving threats in his half of the draw. The highest seeded is Frances Gael Monfils, ranked 11th on the ATP tour. Murray has won four of their six matches, and the talented Frenchman has a penchant for crumbling on the biggest stages.With Djokovic out of the way, the Olympic draws upper half is now led by Rafael Nadal, who on Sunday tore through Argentinas Frederico Delbonis, 6-2, 6-1. But Nadal of late has been a shadow of his former self. Nursing an injured wrist, he hasnt played a tournament since June. Its not too much to say that if Del Potro continues showing the form he did against Djokovic, he may well offer Murray his sternest test.After his match against Troicki, Murray admitted to being nervous before his match began -- less because this was the Olympics than the fact he hadnt played competitively since winning Wimbledon on July 10, hadnt performed at a hard court tournament since losing early at the Miami Open in March.Having the Olympics come so soon after Wimbledon for me, it may have been easy to have a bit of a lull, but thats not going to happen with the Olympics, Murray said. I hope to make a run.Little did he know that by Sundays end, Novak Djokovic would be gone. That run just got a whole lot easier. Jaxson Hayes Pelicans Jersey . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Zylan Cheatham Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. https://www.pelicanslockerroom.com/Darius-Miller-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Jrue Holiday Jersey . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Jahlil Okafor Pelicans Jersey . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints?and six-time Pro Bowl guard Jahri Evans agreed to a contract on Wednesday, a fitting signing bonus to go along with quarterback Drew Brees contract extension.A league source told ESPNs Adam Caplan that Evans received a one-year deal.To make room, the Saints are releasing second-year quarterback Garrett Grayson, according to a league source.Evans was already participating in practice with his Saints teammates Wednesday afternoon.The Saints deemed Evans, 33, expendable because of age and salary issues when they released him back in February. But their young guards havent progressed as well as expected and struggled mightily in the preseason. So they brought in Evans for a visit Tuesday after he was released by the Seattle Seahawks.His preseason in Seattle was, we thought, pretty good. Hes in good shape, hes big, he knows our system, Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday. Those would be some of the traits that draw us to a move like that or the potential of bringing him in.Evans signed with the Seahawks in early August but was unable to crack the roster since they liked their young starting guards and opted for backups with morre flexibility.dddddddddddd.Evans started at right guard for all 10 of his years with the Saints after being drafted in the fourth round out of Bloomsburg in 2006. Its unclear if he will resume that role immediately, or if the Saints will stick with projected starters Tim Lelito at right guard and Andrus Peat at left guard.Evans established himself as one of the NFLs premier offensive linemen during the past decade. He was named first-team All-Pro four times and signed a seven-year, $56.7 million contract in 2010 that was the richest for a guard in NFL history at the time.Evans started the first 114 games of his career before he began battling a series of nagging injuries in recent years -- including knee and ankle issues that sidelined him for five games last year.Grayson was drafted in the third round out of Colorado State last year, but the Saints apparently didnt see enough progress in Year 2. Its possible they will re-sign him to the practice squad, but its likely they will seek a new developmental QB in next years draft regardless. ' ' '