came off in the 80th minute. http://www.officialh

METAIRIE, La. -- Hardly two years removed from playing college football on a 12-man defence in western Canada, Akiem Hicks is primed to emerge as a full-time starter on an NFL defensive line. Just dont tell him that, because he wont even admit to being encouraged by the fact that he played with the starting unit in the New Orleans Saints preseason opener and is regularly practicing with the first team. "Not yet, because theres so much more to go," said Hicks said, referencing a metaphor defensive line coach Bill Johnson uses about each day of good work amounting to nothing more than a bean in a jar, which has to be full to represent a good season. "I dont have enough beans to be encouraged yet." Maybe not, but his effort in practice on Tuesday certainly seemed worthy of another bean. He was a force in 11-on-11 drills, registering what would have been a sack on Drew Brees if he were allowed to touch the quarterback. Later, during a 2-minute drill, he had two more standout moments. First he batted down one of Brees passes, then he perfectly read a screen pass to Darren Sproles, who Hicks wrapped up for a 4-yard loss in a 2-minute drill. The 6-foot-5 Hicks, who said he now weighs about 330 pounds, is currently playing the left defensive end in co-ordinator Rob Ryans new 3-4 defence (three linemen, four linebackers). Last year as a rookie, drafted in the third round out of the University of Regina (Saskatchewan), Hicks played reserve defensive tackle in a 4-3, then made the transition this year to what Johnson calls "the most physical position on our defence." It wasnt clear whether Hicks would emerge as a starter when 2013 training camp opened because the Saints had signed 11-year veteran defensive lineman Kenyon Coleman, who had played the past two seasons in Ryans 3-4 defence in Dallas. Last week, however, Coleman tore a pectoral muscle, which has likely ended his season. Third-year pro Tom Johnson also is in the mix to start at that spot, though he has missed more than a week of practice with a hip injury. Johnson conceded that Hicks is in position to win the starting job, but stressed that three weeks of evaluation remained. "Thing Ive said all along about Hicks is that hes raw but he has a lot of versatility," Johnson said. "I thought our scouting people did a great job watching him in Canada to know." Hicks, who grew up near Sacramento, was recruited by LSU out of the community college ranks, but an NCAA violation related to financial help provided by an assistant coach left him ineligible to play in the United States, hence his move to Canada, where he thrived as a stand-up defensive end. "What was hard was to evaluate him versus the people he was against," Johnson said. "It wasnt like if he had went to LSU and stayed. You could evaluate him against guys who would potentially be in this league. It was like guys that were just little kids and he was obviously dominating up there." Big NFL offensive tackles can find him tough to block as well. "Hes a good athlete that weighs (330 pounds) that moves like hes 300 or 290," said Saints right tackle Zach Strief, who has to block Hicks in practice. "Thats something pretty God-given thats pretty hard to find." NOTES: RB Pierre Thomas (left leg), OLB Martez Wilson (left elbow) and OLB Junior Galette (left leg) all returned to practice from injuries, participating to varying degrees. Thomas did the most, taking part in seven-on-seven drills. Wilson participated in a "walk-through" and Galette mostly watched. ... Courtney Roby, a veteran special teams leader and reserve receiver, needed help off the field after apparently hurting his left foot. Payton said Roby had a toe injury. He did not get more specific. ... Jerry Romig, who has been the public address announcer for Saints home games since 1969, and who also handled P.A. announcing for the first four Super Bowls in New Orleans, said his last game on the job will be this Fridays home preseason game against Oakland. Romig, 83, said his voice is fine but back problems have made it tough to get around. His 57-year-old son, Mark, who will take over, said his father wants him to show his own personality. But Mark Romig added, "My mother told me I have to do it just like my father." Deshaun Watson Jersey . LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p. J.J. Watt Jersey . Ronaldo netted his 14th goal of the season in Europes top competition to give Madrid a clear advantage ahead of next weeks quarterfinal return leg in Germany. But it came at a price as the Portugal forward, who came into the first-leg nursing a sore left knee, came off in the 80th minute. http://www.officialhoustontexanspro.com/...-texans-jersey/. The American secured his first back-to-back ATP match wins since June to leave Tsonga relying on his performance at next weeks Paris Masters to clinch one of the final three places for the season-ending event in London. Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals. Justin Reid Jersey . The Braves optioned outfielder Jose Constanza to Triple-A Gwinnett. As expected, the Braves also called up right-hander Julio Teheran from Gwinnett to start Sundays game and optioned backup catcher J. Arian Foster Jersey . Head coach Randy Carlyle confirmed the news after the Leafs morning skate on Monday. Kozun was hurt during Friday nights home game against the Red Wings and did not make the return trip to Detroit for Saturdays game. PHILADELPHIA -- Two same-day call-ups helped the San Francisco Giants stay ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Adam Duvall hit a two-run homer to spoil Cliff Lees return from the disabled list and Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 on Monday night. Hunter Pence had three hits and two RBIs, Buster Posey drove in two runs and the Giants are two percentage points ahead of Los Angeles for first place in the NL West. George Kontos (2-0) gave up one hit and struck out three in two innings in relief to earn the win. Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his sixth save in nine tries. Duvall and Kontos both arrived from Triple-A Fresno after midnight to replace Matt Cain and Brandon Belt on the roster. "Any time you get up here, it doesnt matter how late," Duvall said. Kontos hopes his third trip to the big leagues this season is his last. "Every time I come up I expect to be here for the rest of my career," he said. Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong gave up four runs -- three earned -- and 11 hits in three-plus innings. But San Franciscos bullpen combined for six scoreless innings. Making his first start since May 18 because of an elbow injury, Lee (4-5) had a rare rough outing against San Francisco. Lee was 5-0 with a 0.88 ERA in six career games against the Giants. He allowed five earned runs in 51 innings in those six starts before giving up six runs and 12 hits in 5 2-3 innings in this one with several scouts watching in the stands. If Lee shows hes healthy and pitches effectively, he is a prime candidate for a trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. The four-time All-Star and 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner already was traded once by the Phillies in December 2009 on the same day they acquired Roy Halladay in a separate deal. The Phillies are headed toward their second straight losing season and will be looking to acquire young players from contending teams for some of their high-priced veterans. "I could care less about the scouts or trade rumours," Lee said. "Ive never cared about themm.dddddddddddd My goal is to go out there and give my team a chance to win. Im in Philly and I want this team to win." The teams combined to hit 21 singles before Duvall launched a homer to straightaway centre to give the Giants a 5-4 lead in the sixth. Pences RBI single with two outs made it 6-4 and sent Lee to an early exit. Pence hit an RBI triple off Jeff Manship in the eighth. "Its pretty cool to hit a homer against a guy like that," Duvall said. Ryan Howard gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead in the fourth on a checked-swing single to left that chased Vogelsong. Kontos entered with runners on first and third, struck out Marlon Byrd and Domonic Brown and retired Cody Asche on a liner to right. Jimmy Rollins gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead with a two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the second. Posey hit a two-run single to centre to make it 3-2 in the third. Gregor Blancos RBI single to right in the second gave the Giants a 1-0 lead. Byrd threw out Michael Morse trying to score from second base on the play. Morse ran into catcher Cameron Rupp and was upended over the plate before being tagged out. Giants manager Bruce Bochy challenged the call, but a video review confirmed he was out. Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg had a successful challenge in the seventh inning when replays showed Asche beat a throw to first for an infield single. The game ended with a challenge when Brown grounded out to third and a review upheld the call. NOTES: The Giants signed three-time All-Star 2B Dan Uggla to a minor league contract. Uggla was released by the Braves last Friday. "Hes excited and we are, too," Bochy said. "Hell get at-bats at Fresno and hopefully he can help us." ... The Giants put RHP Cain on the 15-day DL because of elbow inflammation. They placed 1B Belt on the seven-day DL because of a concussion. ... Pence leads the NL with 37 multi-hit games. ... RHP Roberto Hernandez (4-8, 4.22) goes for the Phillies on Tuesday night vs. RHP Yusmeiro Petit (3-3, 3.86). 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