TORONTO - It didnt take long for the Raptors to address their top priority of the summer. Alex Cappa Jersey . Less than 48 hours after the July 1 free agency window opened, the Raptors reached an agreement with their star point guard Kyle Lowry, bringing him back to Toronto for four more years at a reported $48 million, according to several outlets and confirmed by Lowry himself over Twitter. "Toronto will be my home city," the 28-year-old tweeted Wednesday evening, along with a picture of himself decked out in retro Raptors gear. The deal has an early termination option in the final year, allowing Lowry to become an unrestricted free agent after the third season if he chooses. Although the contract has been agreed to in principle, it cant be signed or made official until the NBAs moratorium period is lifted on July 10. Lowry spent the day mulling over Torontos offer and weighing his options with his family and agent after meeting with Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri and head coach Dwane Casey Tuesday afternoon in his hometown of Philadelphia. The Raptors point guard was visited by members of the Rockets front office, also receiving interest from the Heat and Mavericks. Ultimately, he opted to return to the team he helped lead to a division title, at a significant pay raise from what he was making when he enjoyed a career season in 2013-14. Earning $6.2 million last year, Lowry registered career-highs of 17.9 points, 7.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds while narrowly missing out on what would have been his first all-star selection during a breakout campaign with the Raptors. Entering his prime, the eight-year vet will be the eighth highest paid point guard in the league next season after finishing third in Win Shares among players at his position last year. His new contract will be more than twice the size of his previous one, a four-year, $23.5 million deal signed in 2010. Lowry has earned a total of $28.8 million over the first eight years of his career. Although a deserved raise played a role in his decision to re-sign - the Raptors had the advantage of being able to pay him more than any other team - Lowry became entrenched as a leader with the team both on the court and in the locker room, endearing himself to the city with his hard play. "At the end of the day its still a business and you have to be a businessman for the situation that youre in," he had said the afternoon after his team was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. "But I am very happy. This has been one of the best seasons Ive had, through and through. Best coaches, teammates, [front office]. Its been great. I am happy. Without a doubt I can say Im happy." "I love this place," he continued. "I love the situation. Its simple as that." For that very reason his return was hardly in doubt, though Raptors fans are generally conditioned to hope for the best and fear for the worst. The Raptors front office, coaching staff and even Lowrys teammates remained confident a deal would get done throughout the process but he did have other viable options to consider, given his desire to compete for a championship and his status as this summers most coveted point guard. Bringing him back, amid the long-time perception that players dont want to be in Toronto, is a major coup for a Raptors franchise that is determined to change their culture under the leadership of Ujiri and MLSE boss Tim Leiweke. The Raptors acquired Lowry in a trade from Houston during the summer of 2012 after he fell out of favour with Rockets coach Kevin McHale. Despite a turbulent first season in Toronto, one that saw him battle injury and feud with Coach Casey, Lowry came to training camp in the best shape of his playing career and took his game to a new level after a pre-season meeting with Ujiri sparked his competitive nature. With the Raptors contemplating a rebuild following the December trade of Rudy Gay, Lowrys best friend, Ujiri nearly moved the point guard in a deal that would have sent him to New York. Fuelled by Lowrys breakout, the resurgent Raptors continued to win and Ujiri slowly became a believer. Last season, Ujiris first at the helm of the Raptors, was always supposed to be a "show me" year for Lowry. Ujiri had always promised to be fair to Lowry and maintained he would be given the platform to sink or swim. Like any other investment, Lowry is a calculated risk but the Raptors are betting the 2013-14 version will be more of the norm than an anomaly going forward. Prioritizing continuity this offseason, Ujiri can now shift his focus to re-signing restricted free agents Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez, both of whom should attract varying degrees of interest on the open market. If retained, the Raptors wont have much more than their mid-level exception to spend and could flirt with the luxury tax this coming season. Buy Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys . Ireland was the last unbeaten side in the championship after France fell to Wales on Friday, and was favoured to end a three-match losing run to England with a side with more than twice as many caps, rampant momentum, and added incentive to celebrate Brian ODriscolls world record-tying 139th test cap. Carlton Davis Jersey . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries. http://www.cheapbuccaneersjerseyschina.com/jack-cichy-jersey/ .The Canadiens will visit the Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on New Years Day 2016, taking hockeys oldest rivalry outside.It was special in 2010 just to be there with the history behind Fenway Park and all that, Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron said.TORONTO -- R.A. Dickeys knuckleball finally danced like it did last year when he was the best pitcher in the National League. Dickey baffled the New York Yankees for seven innings and Colby Rasmus and Rajai Davis homered as the Toronto Blue Jays won the opener of a three-game series 2-0 on Tuesday. "What you saw tonight is what I saw last year for 25 starts," said catcher Josh Thole who accompanied the Cy Young Award winner to Toronto in an off-season trade with the Mets. "It was consistently that every night." Dickey (13-12) struggled in the first two innings then faced the minimum number of batters for the next five innings. He struck out eight in holding the Yankees to four hits and two walks to win his fourth decision in a row. "It was probably the latest action Ive had on it here in particular," Dickey said. "So its nice to continue to grow. These are important games for me in particular. Were going to be competing next year so its important to get it right now." Rasmus hit his 21st homer of the season -- and third in three games since returning from the disabled list -- in the fourth inning against left-hander Andy Pettitte (10-10). Davis hit his sixth of the season against right-hander Shawn Kelley in the seventh. The Yankees (79-72), who entered Tuesday 2.5 games out of an American League wild-card spot, have lost four in a row. The Blue Jays (69-81) have won only twice in their first seven games of a nine-game home stand. Sergio Santos took over from Dickey in the eighth. Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his 31st save of the season. Pettitte lost for the first time since Aug. 5 as he allowed six hits, two walks and one run while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings. He had three wins and four no decisions in his previous seven starts. "Its frustrating," Pettitte said. "Were playing terrible and its not good. Its a bad time to be doing that. If we pitch we got to score some runs. If we score some runs, weve got to pitch. It seems like we havent been doing a lot of mixing and matching together. Dickey pitched a good game. His knuckleball, he threw it well." Dickey left the bases loaded in the first when he struck out Mark Reynolds. He left two more runners stranded in the second, and struck out the side in the third before being helped by a fourth-inning double play. Discount Buccaneers Jerseys. "I didnt get discouraged the first two innings," Dickey said. "I was throwing good knuckleballs. I thought I had a couple of pitches there 3-2 and ended up being balls but outside of that it was moving pretty drastically tonight. Even in the first two innings, I knew I had a pretty good one. I just needed to stay the course with it." The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead with one out in the fourth when Rasmus homered to right on a 2-2 hanger. The centre-fielder came off the disabled list on Sept. 13 after not playing since Aug. 11 because of an oblique strain. "I made a terrible mistake to Rasmus and that was the ball game," Pettitte said. "He got me deep into an at-bat. I kept trying to bounce a cutter off the top of the plate see if I could try and get him to swing. Bad thought process." Kelley replaced Pettitte with two out in the seventh and Davis homered to left on a 1-0 pitch to extend the lead to 2-0. The way Dickeys knuckleball was working, that was all the Blue Jays needed. He even tried two sidearm pitches. "The knuckleball stayed hard for most of the night, it was moving all over the place," Thole said. "In the pen it was moving more than Ive seen since Ive been here. It was definitely a mental grind for seven innings tonight. "He got stronger as he went on I think. That was the difference. You could see it. His velocity kind of jumped up I think in the third inning, he was throwing the harder consistently and it was all over." Notes: Blue Jays 1B Edwin Encarnacion (left wrist) will undergo season-ending surgery to clean up the cartilage in his left wrist. ... LHP Brett Cecil (left elbow) has been put on the disabled list with discomfort in his elbow. The reliever first felt it late last month after pitching in Houston and it has flared up again. Cecil said indications are that it is a "nerve inflammation" and not serious. He will have an MRI. ...Yankees reliever LHP Boone Logan (elbow discomfort) who has not pitched since Sept. 6 will throw a bullpen session on Wednesday and could be ready to return on Friday. ...LHP J.A. Happ (4-6, 5.15 earned-run average) will start Wednesday against RHP Phil Hughes (4-14, 5.07 ERA). ... Attendance at Rogers Centre was 24,894. Wholesale Falcons Jerseys Wholesale Buccaneers Jerseys Wholesale Cardinals Jerseys Wholesale Bills Jerseys Wholesale Jets Jerseys Wholesale Panthers Jerseys Wholesale Ravens Jerseys Wholesale Texans Jerseys Wholesale Patriots Jerseys Wholesale Steelers Jerseys Wholesale Cowboys Jerseys Wholesale Packers Jerseys Wholesale Browns Jerseys Wholesale Chiefs Jerseys Wholesale Colts Jerseys Wholesale Rams Jerseys ' ' '