signs of regaining the form that made him the Opening Day start

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 more flexibility.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. Wholesale Shoes NZ . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. New Balance Shoes NZ . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. http://www.clearancenewbalancenz.com/ . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Wholesale New Balance Shoes NZ . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Cheap Shoes NZ . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. The first time the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays met this season, each teams situation was a lot different than it is now.The Athletics were on a roll. When they beat the Blue Jays 8-5 on the opener of a three-game series at Rogers Centre on April 22, they increased their winning streak to six games to go to 10-7 and they were 7-0 on the road.The Blue Jays dropped to 8-10 as they were slow out of the gate in defense of their American League East title.Sonny Gray was the winning pitcher that night. He has not won since, and emerges from the All-Star break at 3-8. The losing pitcher was Aaron Sanchez, who has not lost since and his 9-1 record earned him an appearance in the All-Star Game.The Blue Jays won the next two games of the series in April and hold a 2-1 edge on the season series when they visit the As for a three-game series on Friday.Toronto right-hander Marcus Stroman (7-4, 4.89 ERA) will oppose Oakland right-hander Daniel Mengden (1-4, 4.54 ERA).The Athletics left Toronto and lost 12 of their next 16 games. They lost seven of their final 10 games before the All-Star break and sit at 38-51 and are 15 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the American League West.I feel that the best of this team is yet to come, As third baseman Danny Valencia said. We havent played our best baseball yet.The Blue Jays still stalled around the .500 mark before entering the All-Star break on an 18-7 roll and were 51-40 at the break, third in the AL East and only two games out of first place. They currently occupy a wild-card spot and are 24-20 on the road,Our goal is still to win the division, Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson said. We feel very comfortable. I think we were seven back at the break last year and now we are just two back. We feel like we are just now starting to play our type of baseball and feel very comfortable with the position we are in and moving forward.Donaldson is in his second season with the Blue Jays. The Athletics traded him to Toronto before the 2015 season and watched from afar as he won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.In 36 games since June 1, Donaldson has hit .376/.506/.722 with 10 homers and 34 RBI.This will be his second visitt to his former home ballpark.ddddddddddddLast year when the Blue Jays visited Oakland, he was 5-for-13 with a home run, two doubles and five RBI.As first baseman Yonder Alonso has batted .307/.367/.439 with three homers and 12 RBI in 36 games since June 1.Im very optimistic and I definitely feel were not that far away, Alonso said. With that being said, weve got a lot of work to do.I think we have a chance to be a lot better in the second half, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. We have guys back now as far as health goes. If we can stay healthy, we have the potential to have a lot better half than we had in the first half.While the As may be talking a good game of optimism, the Blue Jays have genuine hopes that they will continue their surge because they have accomplished what they have so far while Stroman has often struggled. They also have been without right fielder Jose Bautista, who has been out with turf toe since June 17 and is expected to return in late-July,Stroman has shown signs of regaining the form that made him the Opening Day starter. He is 5-4 with a 5.04 ERA in his past 15 starts but has made some adjustments and the results have been encouraging. He held the Kansas City Royals to three hits, one walk and two runs in eight innings in winning on July 6.That was as good as youre ever going to see him, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. He had everything working, really sharp. A really good breaking ball, you name it. He had starts in which he struggled, but the last two or three have been really good. I know he feels good about that, thats what weve been looking for.Stroman has faced the As once in his career, in 2014 at Oakland when he allowed three hits, three walks and no runs over seven innings. He struck out seven in the no decision and Oakland won 1-0 in 12 innings.Mengden, a 23-year-old who was called up on June 11, will get the start in the opener, replacing Rich Hill who was scratched because of a blister.Mengden will be making his seventh start. He allowed six runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings last Friday in a no-decision at Houston. ' ' '