Not even the most dominant player of his era, Tiger Woods,

METAIRIE, La. -- Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday will play for the first time this season on Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, general manager Dell Demps said Tuesday.Meanwhile, guard Tyreke Evans returned to practice on a non-contact basis Tuesday. Demps said it is unclear when Evans will play, but that he appears to be in great shape.Holiday has been on indefinite leave since summer to care for his wife, retired international soccer star Lauren Holiday, who had brain surgery last month, just weeks after giving birth to the couples daughter.The Pelicans play in Orlando on Wednesday night, and Demps said Holiday is slated to practice with the team on Thursday before making his debut the following night in what will be New Orleans 13th game of the season.Demps said he expects Holidays return to be gratifying for Pelicans players and staff on both personal and professional levels.Hes just a great person -- just bringing him back and getting him back with the group, from a social standpoint, is most important, Demps said. From a basketball standpoint, we dont want to put pressure on him and make him feel like hes the savior.Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said he wasnt certain whether Holiday, who has been working out on his own in North Carolina the past couple months, would start or how much hed play.I just know we wont play him 35 minutes the first game back, Gentry said. Were not going to do anything like that. I think weve got to be smart about it. Hes been working out twice a day. Hes in great shape. Theres a big difference in being in great shape and being in basketball shape.New Orleans has won just two of its first 11 games, but also two of its last three after and 0-8 start.Its good for us -- a big, key component to our team that were able to get back, said forward Anthony Davis, who has been averaging 30.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, but has lacked the help he need to produce more victories. Its good for everybody and well try to get this thing going.Holiday is expected to return as healthy as he has been in several seasons.He began last season on minute restrictions following his rehabilitation from a nagging lower leg injury that had sidelined him for much of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.A former Eastern Conference All-Star with Philadelphia before his trade to New Orleans in 2013, Holiday wound up playing in 65 games with 23 starts during the 2015-16 season, averaging 16.8 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 28.2 minutes per game. He scored 20 or more points 25 times and recorded six double-doubles.Jrues very good offensively and very good defensively, Davis added. Hes going to bring that passion, that energy, that fight. So its going to be good to have him back on the floor for us and have Jrue being Jrue.Tim Frazier has been starting in Holidays place this season, averaging 11.4 points and 7.9 assists. He said hes been in constant contact with Holiday, particularly after games to ask for his evaluation.Coming from the point guard spot, I know what you see outside is different from what I see on the court, Frazier said. He just told me what hes seeing and hes been positive, telling me to keep my head up and continue to fight and that he was on his way back soon.As for Evans, the Pelicans will gradually ramp him up to contact practices within the next couple weeks, Demps said, raising the prospects that the versatile 6-foot-6 guard and wing player could be playing in early December.Itll all be based on how his rehab goes in the next days, weeks, Demps said, peering through a conference room window with a view of Evans running through basketball drills on the practice court. If you just look at him right now, its pretty close.Demps said the Pelicans also hope by the end of next week to receive a medical update on small forward Quincy Pondexters recovery from multiple knee surgeries, which might provide a clearer timetable on his return. Chandler Jones Cardinals Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Larry Fitzgerald Jersey Youth . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. http://www.arizonacardinalsshoponline.com/patrick-peterson-cardinals-jersey.html .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald Jersey . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Christian Kirk Football Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Mens golf gets four days to make up for four months of negative chatter about whether it even belongs in the Olympics.Not even a dreary sky with occasional rain could dampen the enthusiasm Wednesday on the final day of practice at Olympic Golf Course.No matter what happens this week, its the greatest week of my life, two-time major champion Martin Kaymer said.Bubba Watson was buzzing about watching Michael Phelps win the 200-meter butterfly the night before. British Open champion Henrik Stenson, an imposing figure in golf, felt small next to some of the other athletes in the gym at the Olympic Village.If you want to get motivated, thats definitely a place to be, he said. Theres a lot of athletes from different sports in there, and I didnt try and go for some dead lifts of 80, 90 kilos when there was a guy holding up 180 kilos on both arms.The biggest thrill for so many has been hanging around so many Olympians.Now its their turn. Adilson da Silva of Brazil was chosen to hit the opening tee shot Thursday morning.Not since 1904 in St. Louis has golf been part of the Olympic program, with George Lyon of Canada winning the gold medal. Every major golf organization lobbied for its return, pledging support from the best players in the world. And thats what golf had until four months ago, when the deadline began approaching and players began bailing out for reasons ranging from the Zika virus to safety concerns to other priorities.Most damaging was losing the top four players in the world -- Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. The Rio Games effectively are an audition before the International Olympic Committee votes next year on whether golf should stay beyond 2020.Its certainly not helpful, but now we are looking forward and concentrating on those players who are here, International Golf Federation President Peter Dawson said.The best golf can do now is put on a memorable show.The course, designed by American architect Gil Hanse specifically for the Rio Games, features wide fairways and no rough to account for wind that can get up to about 40 mph, and already has this week. It also offers a three-hole finish that could leave the outcome in doubt until the laast hole.ddddddddddddDoes it need a big name winning the gold medal, like Stenson or Kaymer or Watson? A surprise winner from a developing golf nation like Li Haotong of China or Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand? A playoff like the way Rickie Fowler won The Players Championship? A dominant performance like Stenson at Royal Troon?If you genuinely want the best thing thats going to happen, youre going to have four or five players in with a chance of winning with three or four holes to go ... and Padraig Harrington finishing eagle-birdie-eagle to win it outright, Harrington said.One unknown remains the size of the gallery. Golf is used to being the biggest show when it comes to down, especially the majors. Now it is but one of 39 sports or disciplines, many of them with a much greater tradition in the Olympics. The IGF said about 58 percent of the tickets have been sold, with Sunday a sellout of 12,000.The other mystery is golf itself. Not even the most dominant player of his era, Tiger Woods, could guarantee victories in any given week.I think I can give you a list of 10 to 15 guys who I think are going to find the medals, and thats going to be among the strong players that are here, most likely, Stenson said. Were a different sport. It not like some of the other sports where if you jump a certain distance or swim at a certain time, you can pretty much figure out who is going to win. Ours is a bit more down to the form for the week and on any given day. Its a little trickier to find the golf and silver and bronze.For three days, this has looked and felt just like any other tournament except for players being in team uniforms (even though this is only 72 holes of individual stroke play for the medals). Still to be determined is how it feels with a gold medal -- any medal -- on the line.For me, Ill approach it like any tournament, Kaymer said. But when Sunday comes, you will approach it differently, because whether youre fourth or 20th, no one really cares. At the end of the day, you play for the top three or you play for the golden pineapple, which no one cares about. ' ' '