Lockes pass from the slot, blowing it by the Swedish netmind

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork. Wes Hopkins Eagles Jersey .com) - The Chicago Cubs formally ushered in another new era by introducing former Tampa Bay Rays skipper Joe Maddon as their new manager on Monday. The team also announced that Maddon agreed to a five-year contract in which financial terms were not disclosed, though ESPN reported the deal to be worth $25 million and includes incentives tied to making the postseason. The Cubs moved quickly to obtain Maddons services after the two-time American League Manager of the Year opted out of his contract with the Rays on Oct. 24, shortly after Tampa Bay general manager Andrew Friedman left the organization to become the president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maddon, who guided the small-market Rays to four playoff appearances and the 2008 AL pennant over the past seven seasons, joins a long-suffering Cubs franchise that has endured five consecutive losing campaigns and last won the World Series in 1908. This is a 1-in-107 a year opportunity for me, said Maddon during Mondays press conference. The challenge is so outstanding. How could you not want to be in this seat? The Cubs future appeared bright even before the hiring of the enthusiastic and ever-optimistic Maddon, though. Chicagos present farm system is ranked among baseballs strongest and the Cubs are expected to be significant players in free agency this offseason, something Maddon never experienced during his successful nine-year run with the low-budget Rays. Those factors, coupled with Friedmans departure and the presence of Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein -- who nearly hired Maddon as the Red Sox manager in 2004 while then Bostons GM -- played a role in Maddons decision. I knew there was a lot of common ground philosophically, said Maddon. I know that the synergy between the front office and the manager is really, really important. This is a really good fit for me personally. I feel very comfortable here. The 60-year-old takes over a Cubs team that showed improvement in Rick Renterias lone season as manager, with Chicago posting a 73-89 record in 2014 after winning 66 and 61 games the previous two years. Despite those strides, Epstein informed Renteria last week of his intention to pursue Maddon and make a switch. Renteria was offered another position within the organization but predictably declined. Even though they annually operated with one of the lowest payrolls in the majors, the Rays were a consistent contender for much of Maddons reign. Lauded for his ability to work with young players and to maximize the available talent on hand, the charismatic manager guided Tampa to six consecutive winning seasons that began with the unexpected 2008 World Series run. Joe is a combination of just about everything we look for in a manager, said Epstein. Everyone associates him with new-school because theyve used analytics in Tampa and hes so open-minded and so progressive. But this is an old-school baseball guy with a wealth of knowledge. Its hard to find old- school and new-school in the same package. The Rays, who had never won over 70 games in their first 10 seasons prior to that 2008 breakthrough, also reached the playoffs in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Maddon amassed a 754-705 overall record in Tampa Bay, easily the most of any manager in club history. Reggie White Eagles Jersey . Mission accomplished. Now the Royals will take the field on Saturday with a World Series lead for the first time in team history when they play Game 4 of the Fall Classic against the Giants at AT&T Park. JJ Arcega-Whiteside Womens Jersey .C. United to a 4-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night. https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Miles-Sanders-Inverted-Jersey/ . -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not.ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Utica Comets needed someone to step up Saturday night. Enter team captain Colin Stuart. Stuart scored twice to lead the Utica Comets to a 3-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Stuart now has 15 goals on the year and is tied for third on the team despite scoring just twice in the previous 15 games. "We challenged our leaders to bring a better game tonight, and (Stuart) was one of the guys who stepped up," said Comets head coach Travis Green. "Hes been good for us all year. You expect your captain to make plays and step up at the right time. You need all your best players this time of the year and it was good to see him do that." The Comets had their four-game winning streak snapped Friday by the Heat, but moved to within eight points of a Western Conference playoff berth with the bounce-back victory. "I didnt like the way we skated last night and the way we competed in certain areas of the ice," said Green. "The guys responded well tonight. These are desperate times for our team and we played like it tonight." Stuart, who signed with the Comets NHL-affiliate Vancouver Canucks during the summer, played in Abbotsford during the Heats inaugural season in 2009-10. Hes now registered six points in six games against the Heat this year. "Its still neat coming here," said Stuart. "And not just the arena, but the city itself. Its interesting to see how things have changed around town. And obviously I was here in the inaugural season so it was pretty special too." Brandon DeFazio also scored for the Comets for his third goal in four games. Alex Friesen had two assists for Utica (27-27-7), while Joacim Eriksson made 38 saves in the win. "(Eriksson) was good the whole game," said Green. "I like him last night and really liked him for the last three months. Hes been real solid for us. He had a tough start to the year but hes starting to develop." Eriksson gave the Abbotsford offence fits Saturday, making several key stops. "We keyed on getting the puck to the net but obviously we didnt take away the guys eyes as well as we should have," said Heat defenceman Chad Billins. "Theyre big bodies back there and they box out very well. Weve got to get some more bodies to the front of the net. And also hhes a good goalie, so youve got to give him credit too. Fletcher Cox Womens Jersey. quot; Ben Street scored the only goal for the Heat and Olivier Roy stopped 31 shots for Abbotsford (34-21-7), which has just one win in its last nine games. The Heat actually had the best opportunities to open the scoring, getting four power plays in the first period, but had nothing to show for it, including just one shot through 10 minutes. "We had four straight power plays, and we didnt generate anything off of that," said Heat head coach Troy Ward. "We didnt gain some momentum, we didnt put ourselves in a position physically or mentally to get some emotion or get some charge out of those power plays. I thought that was one of the biggest differences in the game." Stuart mirrored that idea. "We got into a little bit of penalty trouble in the first period," said Stuart. "We just kept battling back. Wed kill off a penalty and gain back a little bit more momentum and build on it. They kept coming at us and we weathered the storm when we needed to and controlled the game when we needed to as well." The Comets finally opened the scoring at 8:47 of the second period. Yann Sauves long shot was kicked out by Roy right to DeFazio down low and he made no mistake in beating Roy stick side for his 12th of the year. The Heat had some opportunities to get on the board. Corey Locke forced a turnover behind the net and centred for Max Reinhart, but Eriksson stopped him and made it look easy as well. While Locke has 14 assists with the Heat this season, he still has not scored in 18 games. "Its frustrating," said Locke. "Ive been getting looks but cant find a way to get the puck behind that goal-line. It cost a goal today. I stayed out to try and score, extending a shift, and they go back and score that second goal. Thats unacceptable." Stuart made it 2-0 at 15:25. Friesen made a perfect pass off the boards, around a Heat defender, to Stuart and he beat Roy blocker side. The Comets captain got his second of the game at 3:05 of the third. He skated to the left faceoff dot and wired a shot short side on the Heat netminder, putting the visitors up 3-0. The Heat had a two-man advantage with eight minutes to go in the third and finally beat Eriksson. Street one-timed Lockes pass from the slot, blowing it by the Swedish netminders glove for his 23rd of the year. ' ' '