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NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints made their first major moves of what is expected to be a challenging off-season on Wednesday, releasing strong safety Roman Harper, outside linebacker and defensive end Will Smith, and cornerback Jabari Greer. Malik Hooker Womens Jersey . General manager Mickey Loomis also says the club does not intend to re-sign free-agent linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who has been hampered by recurring knee injuries the past few seasons. "These were not easy decisions to make," Loomis said in written comments released by the club. "Since we acquired them, Jabari, Roman, Will and Jonathan have all been excellent players on the field for us. Each of them were integral parts in turning this program around and winning a Super Bowl. They were a great example to our players as team leaders in the locker room as well. "However, a new NFL year is about to begin and, with the start of free agency in March, these difficult moves allow us to position our team under the salary cap to move forward for 2014," Loomis added. The Saints have said they intend to retain free-agent Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham, either through a franchise tag or long-term extension, and both options will require financial flexibility. Wednesdays moves will save nearly $17 million in 2014. Saints coach Sean Payton said Smith, Harper, Vilma and Greer were "right there at the top" of all the great players he has coached or been around in his coaching career. "These are disciplined, smart, tough and team-oriented individuals," Payton said. "They all played an important role in helping this team and this city win its first Super Bowl and they have all enjoyed multiple playoff appearances and wins." Smith is a former first-round pick of the Saints in 2004 and had a team-leading 13 sacks during New Orleans Super Bowl season. However, he was widely expected to be released after this season, which he missed after tearing knee ligaments late in the preseason. He was scheduled to be paid $10.4 million in base salary alone this season. He has played in 139 games for the Saints, accumulating 67 1/2 career sacks. Harper was New Orleanss second round draft choice in 2006 and has since started 104 games. He went to Pro Bowls after the 2009 and 2010 season and his 17 career sacks are the most ever by a Saints defensive back. His base salary for 2014 was set at $2.35 million. As the moves became public, Harper posted a note on the social media website Twitter, thanking New Orleans fans for "the 8 years of .GreatMemories .WHODAT .SBXLIVCHAMPS." Greer, scheduled to earn $4 million in base salary next season, joined New Orleans as a free agent in 2009, immediately sliding into a starting role he held until a serious knee injury against San Francisco in mid-November, which ended his season. He intercepted nine passes in his five seasons in New Orleans, returning two for TDs. Vilma was acquired in a trade with the New York Jets in 2008. He led New Orleans in tackles during his first three season with the club and selected to Pro Bowls in 2009 and 2010. In 70 games with New Orleans, he was credited with 530 tackles, eight sacks, six interceptions, five forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. Last season, however, Vilma began the season on the physically unable to perform list because of his recurring knee problems. He returned for only one game before sitting out the rest of the season, and on Wednesday he seemed to be comfortable with the Saints decision not to engage him in further contract talks. On Twitter, he wrote: "Couple pro bowls and a superbowl ring later, I couldnt have written that chapter any better. .WhoDat" Like Smith, he was a defensive captain, but also like Smith, was implicated by the NFL as a ring-leader in a cash-for-hits bounty program that the league said the Saints ran from 2009-2011. Both players have always denied they ran a bounty pool as described by the NFL and successfully overturned suspensions. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, meanwhile, has maintained the leagues findings were accurate. Malik Hooker Jersey . Saltalamacchia drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, Henderson Alvarez won for the first time in three starts and the Miami Marlins beat the Braves 3-2 on Thursday night. Malik Hooker Colts Jersey .S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice. 403 Forbidden . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135.MONTREAL -- Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre welcomes the decision by the Nevada Athletic Commission to ban mixed martial arts fighters from using testosterone replacement therapy. 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." The commission voted unanimously in Las Vegas on Thursday to quit granting therapeutic use exemptions for fighters undergoing TRT. "Its not the UFC (thats) the problem," said St-Pierre. "I believe its the sport, the system." St-Pierre added he thought the ban is a move in the right direction. "I believe theres a lot more things to do. I believe they need to allow testing too -- testing by an organization that doesnt have any interest in the money surrounding the fight." St-Pierre said the decision by Nevada state regulators is "great for a lot of guys -- good, honest guys will be happy." The decision by the commission that regulates boxing and mixed martial arts in Nevada came several weeks after the Association of Ringside Physicians labelled so-called "unmerited testosterone" a health risk for athletes who practise combat sports. UFC president Dana White said he also supported the Nevada ruling and encouraged all athletic commissions to adopt the ban. "We believe our athletes should compete based on their natural abilities and on an even playing field," he said in a statement. White also said the UFC would honour the ruling in international markets, "where due to a lack of governing bodies, the UFC oversees regulatory efforts for our live events." Several UFC fighters have been granted exemptions in recent years to use testosterone before their bouts, ostensibly for medical reasons. The decision is already having effects on UFC. Vitor Belfort, who usedd TRT, dropped out of his upcoming middleweight title shot against Chris Weidman. Quincy Wilson Jersey. As for his own future in the UFC, St-Pierre wasnt telling reporters much, except to say that hes in the best condition hes ever been in his life. The 32-year-old suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and did not sleep much for about a decade. "Whats changed is that Im sleeping better," he said. "Before I slept around five hours a night because of stress, but now Im around seven hours and thats made a big difference in my life." St-Pierre said hes living a more healthy lifestyle, the stress is gone and hes happier. He took a break from UFC last December for personal reasons and still hasnt decided whether he will return to the octagon. "I dont know if Im going to stop," St-Pierre said. "I dont know what Im going to do. I need a bit of time to decide what Im going to do." But he hasnt completely ruled out a career in the movies, after getting a small part as the villain Batroc the Leaper in the upcoming "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." "I dont know if Im ready to do that full-time," he said. "I dont know if Im a good actor." St-Pierre said he may have to come on as a bad guy in the ring, but thats whats necessary in his sport. "I dont believe in bad persons," he said. "I believe people are shaped by their genetic environment. "Some people say they look at a serial killer and say hes a bad person. Hes not a worse person than you are because he had been shaped by his genetic and social environment and that makes him what he is -- thats what I believe." The former champ may have hinted at his future Friday as he spent almost an hour coaching a group of 18 enthusiastic amateurs in the finer arts of ultimate fighting. The group included a number of winners of a cross-Canada contest by Bacardi Canada, one of St-Pierres main sponsors. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '