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. Nike Vapormax Danmark . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Vapormax Herre Zalando .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. http://www.vapormaxdanmark.com/ . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Vapormax Plus Herre Danmark .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Vapormax Herre Danmark . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Wally Lewis is concerned by the push to move Josh McGuire out of position to lock as a long-term replacement for retired NRL great Corey Parker at Brisbane.The Broncos and Queensland legend has also predicted the club could struggle to find their feet next year without former captain Parker, who called time on his stellar 347-game career at the end of the season.McGuire has said his sights are set on filling the lock role in 2017 and beyond despite playing most of his 150 NRL games at prop.Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett has kept the 26-year-old in the dark about whether hell get first crack in the No.13 jumper next year ahead of young contender Jai Arrow.But McGuire has the backing of Australian coach Mal Meninga, who recently described him as the ideal candidate despite missing selection for the Kangaroos Four Nations campaign.Lewis expressed confusion at the prospect, saying it would be a difficult transition for McGuire after he led the Broncos for metres gained from the front-row in 2016.Im not sure about that, Lewis told AAP.Thats strange, going from front-row to lock forward. Itll be tough.Lewis said the Broncos will sorely miss not only Parkers leadership, but also his reliability and consistency in holding down the lock positiion.ddddddddddddI think itll probably take them 6-8 weeks to get used to life without him, Lewis said at the Jack Newton Classic in the Hunter Valley.It does take a while to adjust. Coreys one of those blokes who looked after a certain position for a long time.Hes been their most consistent player over the last seven or eight years.Lewis also urged oft-criticised halves pairing Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford to improve next season if the Broncos were to better this years semi-final exit.He said Hunt in particular suffered from inconsistency in 2016 and was possibly affected by high expectations.He came up last year and everyone thought this is the one, Lewis said.Any halfback at the Broncos over the last few years is going to get compared to the little bloke (Allan Langer).I know Ben himself was extremely disappointed with his efforts last year.Consistency will be his number one priority this year.Lewis expressed shock the Broncos threw a lifeline to Benji Marshall after his exit from St George-Illawarra, but he backed the veteran playmaker to surprise some NRL observers with his contribution to the club. ' ' '