Der Fremde » The Suns added a third point guard

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns and point guard Eric Bledsoe have reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract, capping a long, sometimes-tense negotiation to keep him in the desert. ZaDarius Smith Super Bowl Jersey . The deal Wednesday is considerably more than the four-year, $48 million the Suns initially offered but well below the five-year, $80 million-plus maximum contract Bledsoes agent, Rich Paul, sought for the restricted free agent. The sides didnt budge in the negotiations until talks finally progressed in the last few days. "All summer, I knew that I really would be most comfortable coming back to Phoenix because of the great fans, my Suns teammates and our coaches," Bledsoe said in a statement released by the team. "I am very happy it was able to work out this way." Bledsoe faced an Oct. 1 deadline to sign a $3.7 million qualifying offer to play for the Suns this season, then become an unrestricted free agent. "I learned long ago that it doesnt matter how stormy the sea is as long as the ship comes in, and today we are thrilled that the ship has come in and Eric will remain a Sun for a long time," Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said in a statement. "He will be an integral part not only of our basketball team, but our Phoenix community." The Suns see Bledsoe as a critical part of their double point-guard system. He missed much of last season after undergoing his second surgery to repair a meniscus in his right knee. When Bledsoe teamed with fellow point guard Goran Dragic last year, the Suns won two-thirds of their games. But injuries kept the duo apart, most significantly the knee surgery. While the Suns coveted Bledsoes skills -- particularly his drives to the basket and defence -- as well as his obvious upside, they balked at giving the 24-year-old guard a max contract but felt highly enough of him to give a rich deal. "We are thrilled Eric Bledsoe will be in a Phoenix Suns uniform for years to come," general manager Ryan McDonough said. "Eric is one the most exciting and dynamic two-way players in the league. He played very well for us on both ends of the floor last season and we feel he is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the elite players in the NBA." Despite Bledsoes knee injury, the Suns won a surprising 48 games and just missed the playoffs. Bledsoe was the backup to Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers before the Suns acquired him and Caron Butler in a three-team trade that sent journeyman forward Jared Dudley to the Clippers and a second-round draft pick to Milwaukee. Bledsoe had knee surgery in October of 2011, then again last January. Injuries limited him to 43 games last season, 40 as a starter. He averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists. "Lon, Ryan and the Suns have shown confidence in me, and I am looking to take that responsibility and help our team get better from last year and position ourselves to win an NBA championship," Bledsoe said. "Its why I came back to Phoenix. Dragic, carrying a bigger load when Bledsoe was out, had a breakout season, averaging 20.3 points and 5.9 assists, shooting 50.5 per cent from the field, 41 per cent from 3-point range. The Suns added a third point guard to the mix in the off-season, signing high-scoring free-agent Isaiah Thomas. Elgton Jenkins Super Bowl Jersey .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl Jersey . DETROIT LIONS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 9:30 AM (ET) Detroit - RB Reggie Bush, TE Eric Ebron, TE Joseph Fauria, WR Calvin Johnson, QB Kellen Moore, TE Brandon Pettigrew, OT LaAdrian Waddle Atlanta - CB Javier Arenas, DT Jonathan Babineaux, OT Cameron Bradfield, WR Freddie Martino, QB Sean Renfree, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Seattle - DT Jordan Hill, CB Byron Maxwell, OT Andrew McDonald, TE Zach Miller, C Max Unger, LB Bobby Wagner, WR Bryan Walters Carolina - CB Bene Benwikere, LB Chase Blackburn, WR Philly Brown, G Amini Silatolu, G Trai Turner, RB Fozzy Whittaker, RB DeAngelo Williams HOUSTON TEXANS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Houston - OT Jeff Adams, DB Josh Aubrey, LB Brian Cushing, DB Darryl Morris, WR DeVier Posey, QB Tom Savage, LB Jeff Tarpinian Tennessee - RB Antonio Andrews, WR Kris Durham, TE Richard Gordon, DL DaQuan Jones, CB Coty Sensabaugh, OT Will Svitek, TE Taylor Thompson BALTIMORE RAVENS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS, 1:00 PM (ET) Baltimore - CB Chykie Brown, LB Arthur Brown, DL Chris Canty, TE Owen Daniels, G/C Gino Gradkowski, RB Bernard Pierce, OT Jah Reid Cincinnati - RB Rex Burkhead, DE Will Clarke, WR A. http://www.packersonlineteamstore.com/raven-greene-jersey.html . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad.San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Antti Niemi made 25 saves and six different Sharks scored as San Jose used a five-goal second period to ease past the Anaheim Ducks, 6-3, on Thursday. Patrick Marleau, Barclay Goodrow and James Sheppard each tallied a goal and an assist and Brenden Dillon, Matt Irwin and Joe Pavelski also scored for the Sharks, who have won seven straight home games against the Ducks. Special teams got us going and it was good to see, Pavelski said. Andrew Cogliano, Patrick Maroon and Matt Beleskey all lit the lamp for the Ducks, who had their six-game winning streak come to a screeching halt. Ilya Bryzgalov gave up all six goals on 25 shots and Frederik Andersen turned aside all eight shots fired his way in relief. If I made a couple of saves on some of those goals, it might be different, said Bryzgalov. The Sharks seized control with five goals during the middle stanza. Goodrow started the drastic momentum shift 2:15 into the frame as he shot the puck through Bryzgalovs pads and Marleau made it a 3-1 game four minutes later after he deflected Brent Burns point shot. Irwin stepped up into the slot annd wristed a shot past a screened Bryzgalov at 12:37, Sheppard found twine with a wrister off the rush two minutes later and Dillon made it a 6-1 game after his cross-ice feed on a short-handed two-on- one went in off a sliding Beleskey with 3:53 left in the second. Clay Matthews Super Bowl Jersey. Anaheim got one back after Beleskeys fluttering backhander fooled Niemi just 1:23 into the third and Maroon accounted for the final score with 1:10 to play as he took Hampus Lindholms cross-ice pass and ripped a wrister short side. Cogliano gave the Ducks an early lead after he deposited a rebound in front just 4:57 into the game. San Jose tied the game less than three minutes later as Pavelski redirected Joe Thorntons offering past Bryzgalov during a power play. Game Notes The Ducks last won in San Jose on March 19, 2012 ... Pavelski and Maroon each scored in a third straight game for their respective teams ... The Ducks suffered their first regulation loss when scoring first. They entered the game with a 23-0-5 record when doing so ... The Sharks improved to 3-1-1 on a seven-game homestand. ' ' '