Globale News » He has tremendous character

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs were red-hot the last time they faced the Carolina Hurricanes, but a lot has changed in the month that has passed since. The struggling Leafs try to bounce back from a horrid road trip on Monday evening when they host the Hurricanes. Toronto had won six in a row before suffering a 4-1 loss at Carolina on Dec. 18. That setback came at the beginning of a current 3-12-0 rut for the Leafs, who have fired head coach Randy Carlyle over this span while falling seven points back of a wild card spot. The Maple Leafs, who have been guided by interim coach Peter Horachek in the six games since Carlyle was fired, were shut out three times and held to one goal on a recent 0-4-0 road trip, capping the swing with Saturdays 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Jonathan Bernier allowed three goals on 33 shots in the road trips finale, one that left the morale of the team awful according to captain Dion Phaneuf. It feels absolutely terrible, the defenseman said. I dont know what more I can say than when you go through stretches like this, its awful. The Hurricanes have 12 fewer points than the Leafs, but have gone 5-2-1 in January and picked up a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Nathan Gerbe had the winning goal with 5:41 to play, snapping a 22-game goal drought with his first tally since Nov. 28. Justin Faulk had a goal and an assist and Brad Malone also scored for the Hurricanes, while Anton Khudobin stopped 30 shots in the win. It was a good effort, said Carolina head coach Bill Peters. Everyone played good, valuable minutes and we found a way. Carolina kept Ottawa off the scoreboard on all three of its power-play chances and the Hurricanes have now killed off 33 straight power plays over a 13-game span. The Hurricanes got short-handed goals from Faulk and Chris Terry in the win over the Maple Leafs a month ago, with Cam Ward making 25 saves. He is 15-9-2 versus the Maple Leafs with a 2.73 goals against average and .910 save percentage. Phaneuf scored and Bernier made 33 saves as he fell to 2-3-0 versus the Canes with a 2.64 GAA and .923 save percentage. Carolina has won seven of nine and 13 of its past 18 versus Toronto. Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest. Custom USA Soccer Jerseys . The 23-year-old Poland international is back as first choice at Arsenal after losing his regular spot in the team on occasions over the last three seasons. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/. -- Ryan Gropp scored in overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds shut out the Spokane Chiefs 1-0 in Western Hockey League play Tuesday. USA Soccer Gear . Pospisil, from Vancouver, and Sock will compete for the title against defending champions and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who defeated the 12th-seeded French duo of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . Left-handed reliever Boone Logan agreed to a $16.5 million, three-year contract on Friday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. DETROIT -- Jim Caldwell got a ringing endorsement from one of his mentors when Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew was doing his homework. The Lions hired Caldwell on Tuesday to replace fired coach Jim Schwartz, ending a search that included a phone conversation between Mayhew and Tony Dungy. "Martin called me and said were looking for a leader who can help turn our locker room into a winning one and to help us get the most out of our investment in Matthew Stafford," Dungy recalled in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I told Martin that Jim Caldwell is exactly what youre looking for. Hell lead by making people accountable and by being a role model on and off the field. And with his attention to detail and history of developing quarterbacks, Stafford is going to flourish just like Peyton Manning did with us in Indianapolis." Detroit wanted to replace Schwartz with someone with experience as a head coach, ideally with a track record of tutoring quarterbacks. Caldwell helped the Indianapolis Colts reach the Super Bowl after his debut season in 2009, but was fired two years later after a 2-14 season while Manning was injured, dropping his three-year mark to 26-22. Before Caldwell was hired by the Dungy-led Colts in 2002 to be their quarterbacks coach, he had the same job for Dungy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Caldwell was hired by Baltimore two years ago to be their quarterbacks coach and was promoted to offensive co-ordinator late in the 2012 season. The Ravens went on to win the last Super Bowl. The Lions will introduce Caldwell as their coach Wednesday during a news conference at Ford Field. "We believe Jim is the right man to lead our team and deliver a championship to our fans," Lions owner William Clay Ford said in a statement. The Ravens struggled on offence in 2013 and mightve replaced Caldwell if he didnt get another job. Baltimore ranked 29th on offence overall -- 30th rushing and 18th passing -- last season with Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice. Still, Caldwells body of work was enough to also make him a candidate to lead the Washington Redskins and Titans. Former Tennessee coach Mike Munchak and ex-Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak were also considered by the Lions. "Im excited because he has worked with some good coaches and he did a good job with the Colts," Lions offensive guard Rob Sims said in a telephone interview.dddddddddddd "Players seem to like him, so Im looking forward to being a part of the next chapter of Detroit Lions football with him leading us." Caldwell won his first 14 games with the Colts in 2009 before losing the final two games of the regular season while resting Manning and most of the other starters. The Colts lost to the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. Indy was 10-6 the following season and won another AFC South title, then lost to the New York Jets in a wild-card game. With Manning out for all of Caldwells third season, the Colts lost 14 games and Caldwell lost his job. In Baltimore, Caldwell replaced offensive co-ordinator Cam Cameron toward the end of the 2012 regular season and he seemed to give the offence a boost as it went on to win the Super Bowl against San Francisco. Helping the Lions win one playoff game would be a relative feat: Detroit has only one playoff victory -- more than two decades ago -- since winning the 1957 NFL title. Caldwell, who won two playoff games in his first season with the Colts, will be counted on to use his experience with quarterbacks to make Matthew Stafford better. Detroit drafted Stafford No. 1 overall in 2009 and after two injury-shortened seasons, he has been spectacular at times and shaky at others. When the Lions needed him most, he was at his worst last season. He had an NFL-high 14 turnovers from Week 11-16 as Detroit dropped five of six games, plummeting out of first place in the NFC North and wasting an opportunity to win a division title for the first time since 1993. Caldwells first job as a head coach was at Wake Forest, which fired him in 2000 with a 26-63 record over eight seasons. Caldwell, who is from Beloit, Wis., played defensive back for Iowa and began his coaching career in 1977 as a graduate assistant with the Hawkeyes. Caldwell later went on to coach quarterbacks, wide receivers and outside linebackers from 1982-84 for Bill McCartney at Colorado. "Hes one of the finest people Ive ever met," McCartney said in a telephone interview. "He has tremendous character. If he says something, you can take it to the bank and hang your hat on it. His players will trust them and theyll rally for him. Hes ready for this. "Every home, every business and every NFL team rises or falls because of leadership. And, the Lions have a leader now." ' ' '