TORONTO – Two months ago, the Maple Leafs management team deemed that Randy Carlyle was the “right person” to continue lead their team, but felt the need for change somewhere in light of another late season spiral. Replica Soccer Jerseys . Three assistant coaches were fired that day in early May – in a unique move that saw the head coach remain – replaced Friday by Marlies coach Steve Spott and longtime Predators assistant Peter Horachek in a bid to further alter the atmosphere of a team deemed to be requiring “culture change” by MLSE president Tim Leiweke. “Im not the big culture change kind of guy,” said general manager Dave Nonis, shortly after the announcement of the new two new assistants. “I think you cant flip a switch with two coaches and say that everythings going to be different. I think people bring things to the table that either help you achieve success or dont. These guys theyve shown in the past that they can do that.” Carlyle bellowed long and loudly for change last year, frustrated by his clubs inability to compete to a level he deemed appropriate. Weak foundations – poor defensive play, possession and penalty killing – were propped up by terrific goaltending, a mostly potent power-play and a dominant first line. He saw the flaws early, but ultimately was unable to affect much change as the year lingered on. “6-1 is only a stat,” he said in mid-October after his team won six of its first seven games. “Its a nervous time in the coaches office because of the shot differential and the quality of chances that were giving up.” Employment of personnel didnt help matters, particularly an overreliance on veterans like Jay McClement and an underuse of young players on a fourth line fronted by heavyweight Colton Orr. Somewhere along the way his message didnt stick or perhaps grew stale. In shaking up the assistants who surround Carlyle, management is hoping that will change. “Part of the changes that we are looking to make is in the atmosphere and thats not a knock on the other coaches because they had their strengths for sure,” said Nonis. “But relationships and developing relationships with the players is probably as big an issue now around the league as anything. Players have to want to play for you. I think these guys have had a pretty good track record in that regard.” Leaf players were surprised by the late spring firings of Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon, particularly Farrish whose fate was thought to be tied to Carlyle, his longtime associate. Farrish, who ran the defence and Torontos sixth-ranked power-play, was known as a lighter voice in the room – a stark contrast to the harder-edged Carlyle – capable of brightening the mood in dark times.? Cronin and Gordon, who led the Leafs once hopeful but ultimately disastrous penalty kill, appeared to be sounding boards, often locked into long conversations with players after practice (Gordon on multiple occasions with Phil Kessel). Management deemed that their replacements have previous head coaching experience – Farrish, Cronin and Gordon were all head coaches themselves prior to coming to Toronto – believing that to be valuable in support of Carlyle. Both new hirings will be expected to share in dealings with the media, a considerable change from recent years where assistants under both Carlyle and Ron Wilson were consistently unavailable to press. “I think if youve walked in those shoes before it makes it easier to help,” said Nonis of head coaching experience. It wasnt immediately clear how duties would be split between Spott and Horachek – one will likely run power-play, the other penalty kill as with most clubs – but Nonis indicated Carlyle playing a “big or bigger role than hes had in the past” in terms of special teams. Spott, who did a terrific job guiding the youthful Marlies to within one game of the Calder Cup final, will be relied upon for his experience in guiding Torontos young talent. Management viewed him as a candidate to join the NHL staff from the outset, waiting to make their interest clear until his team was quieted in a Western Conference final loss to the eventual champs from Texas. “It wasnt just veterans carrying the ball,” Nonis said of Spotts success as a first-year American League coach. “He used young players all the time. He put them in different situations. He allowed some of those players to grow despite some mistakes that they were making.” Formerly the bench boss in Kitchener and the Canadian World Jr. team (2013), Spott has coached prospective Leafs like Petter Granberg, Carter Ashton, Stuart Percy, and Peter Holland, not to mention current Leafs such as Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly and David Clarkson, the latter maintaining a close relationship with Spott. The Leafs appear to be trending younger, team president Brendan Shanahan speaking earlier in the week of his desire for “our young players…to have job opportunities”. “We need our young players to have an impact,” Nonis said. “The assistant coaches will have a major role in that.” The Leafs continue to view Spott as a future NHL head coach. Horachek, a native of Stoney Creek, Ontario, spent nine seasons as an assistant to Barry Trotz in Nashville before being fired in 2013. He resurfaced as a head coach with the AHLs San Antonio Rampage the following season before ascending to the top job with the Panthers when Kevin Dineen was let go. The 54-year-old boasts an IHL championship from his days as the lead man in Orlando (Carlyle was the head coach of the IHLs Manitoba Moose at the time). Boasting a mismatched roster in Florida with uneven goaltending last season, Horacheks Panthers had awful special teams – last in both power-play and penalty kill – but decent possession numbers considering the talent. “Hes a firm guy,” Nonis said of Horachek, consulting with longtime Predators general manager David Poile prior to the hiring. “I think hes kind of a no-nonsense coach, but hes very well groomed. Hes got a players background and again a very long and I think impressive coaching background. “When it came down to it he was the guy that really fit the type of coach we needed and we feel that Randy needs as well.” In reconstructing their roster this summer the organization went hard after players with solid leadership and character credentials – Stephane Robidas, Dan Boyle and Josh Gorges among the targets – seemingly concerned by the mix that fell hard out of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. In adding Spott and Horachek, it appears they are trying to do the same with a coaching staff that missed a step a year ago – albeit with the same head man leading the charge. Consistent in managements view of both hires was their ability to build strong relationships with players, communication not known to be a strong suit of an old-school type like Carlyle. Whether that leads to a more consistent and successful product on the ice remains to be seen. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ .com) - American Madison Keys grabbed a first- round victory on Sunday in a rainy start to the Apia International Sydney tournament.OAKLAND, Calif. -- With one drive to determine whether Tennessee or Oakland would move right into the thick of the AFC playoff race, Ryan Fitzpatrick stepped up for the Titans. Fitzpatrick threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright with 10 seconds remaining to cap a mistake-free performance that led Tennessee to a 23-19 victory over the Raiders on Sunday. "That would have been a big, big loss for us in terms of what the rest of the season was going to look like," Fitzpatrick said. "We knew this was a gotta-have-it drive at the end of the game and the guys really stepped up." Fitzpatrick also threw a 54-yard TD pass to Justin Hunter and Rob Bironas added three field goals to give Tennessee (5-6) its second win in seven games. But despite the recent slump, the Titans find themselves in a six-way tie for the final playoff spot in the AFC. "We knew going into this one, in our world it was a playoff game," coach Mike Munchak said. "We couldnt fall to 4-7, we knew that. Im sure they felt the same way, so that was a huge drive." The Raiders (4-7) missed a chance to get into that group as the defence failed to hold onto a late lead and Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals. After Bironas put Tennessee up 16-12 with his third field goal, Matt McGloin led the Raiders on a 75-yard scoring drive. He completed all four attempts and accounted for all but 1 yard on the drive, capping it with a 27-yard pass to Marcel Reece with 6:10 to play. Fitzpatrick calmly moved Tennessee downfield, completing eight of 10 passes. Then facing third-and-goal from the 10, Fitzpatrick found Wright, who beat Tracy Porter on an out pattern from the slot and fell into the end zone for the winning score. "Ryan made a great throw," Wright said. "All I had to do was look it in and get in the end zone. Before the start of that drive we said we werent going to let Rob Bironas come out here and kick a field goal to tie it up. We wanted to go down there and score seven. Wed been in this predicament a lot this season where we had the ball and we couldnt finish. We finally put it together and finished today." The play flittingly came on third down, when Fitzpatrick was at his best on his 31st birthday. He converted 10 of 18 third downs in the game, often in long-yardage situations in his best game yet in place of the injured Jake Locker. He completed 30 of 42 passes for 320 yards --none bigger than the throw to Wright. Hunter and Wright were his favourite targetts, gaining 109 and 103 yards, respectively. Clearance Soccer Jerseys. "They just out-executed us, plain and simple," Porter said. "Whether it was game plan, guys out of position on certain things, coverages, landmarks, were supposed to get on the quarterback. We were just out-executed." Fitzpatrick and the Titans capitalized on a blown assignment for the first touchdown of the game on the opening drive of the third quarter. Hunter was left wide open and caught a pass 17 yards downfield before juking Phillip Adams and Brandian Ross and racing to the end zone for the score that put Tennessee up 13-9. The Raiders answered with a good drive before stalling at the 30. Janikowski missed his second field goal as his season-long struggles continue as he adjusts to new holder Marquette King after the departure of longtime mate Shane Lechler in the off-season. McGloin, an undrafted rookie out of Penn State, put the Raiders in position for a second straight win after his three-touchdown, no-interception performance last week in Houston. He completed 19 of 32 passes for 260 yards to earn a third start Thursday in Dallas, but also threw an interception that set up Tennessees second field goal. "Up and down day," McGloin said. "Youre going to have days like that. I thought we missed on a couple of opportunities offensively, but well go back to the drawing board." It was an ugly first half that featured five field goals, a blocked punt, a missed chip shot, a number of dropped passes, a poorly thrown interception and 12 penalties for 135 yards. The Raiders led 9-6 at the break, but could have had an even bigger advantage after Jeremy Stewart blocked Brett Kerns punt with 11 seconds left. McGloin threw a 23-yard pass to Rod Streater on the next play, but Janikowski pushed a 32-yard field goal wide left. That was his second miss from inside 40 yards this season after making 85 of 86 the previous five seasons. "Were not making them, not consistently enough," Allen said. "We have to continue to work to get better there." NOTES: The Titans had two 100-yard receivers and a 300-yard passer in the same game for the first time since Dec. 19, 2004, in a loss to Oakland. ... Raiders TE Mychal Rivera left in the first half with a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Titans S Michael Griffin. Oakland CB Mike Jenkins (concussion) and LB Kevin Burnett (bruised quad) and Tennessee TE Craig Stevens (concussion) also left with injuries. ' ' '