Herzlich Willkommen » in franchise history at 233-8, trailed by only a p

With the news of MLSE reaching out to Brendan Shanahan for a front office job with the Leafs coming on the heels of Trevor Lindens hiring in Vancouver, there appears a clear trend of teams hiring former stars – and preferably alumni – to run their hockey operations. Joe Sakic is running things in Colorado; Steve Yzerman is in charge in Tampa Bay; and Ron Francis, currently the No. 2 in Carolina, is widely expected to one day take over the Hurricanes hockey ops. There are several success stories with this business model, the benchmark perhaps set by former Bruins great Cam Neely who has been President and Alternate Governor of the team since 2010. But it doesnt always work, as some Edmonton Oilers fans would surely argue. Pat Lafontaines short-lived period as Buffalo Sabres President of Hockey Operations serves as a cautionary tale as well. The move can make sense from a business standpoint. A flashy hire of a former fan favourite can do a lot to curb poor season ticket sales – a rumoured consideration in the Canucks hiring of Linden – although that wont factor into any Leafs decisions. Toronto went down this path before, hiring former Montreal Canadiens great Ken Dryden as President in 1997. He lasted seven years with the Leafs, overseeing some of the most successful Leafs teams in recent memory. Will a similar hire lead to comparable results, or - Leafs fans hope - even better ones? Is hiring a former star player to run hockey operations a good move for a team? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As always, its Your! Call. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping .com) - Manchester City will face a steep test in the Champions League knockout stage as the English champions were drawn with Barcelona on Monday. Wholesale Jerseys . The Oilers will try to get back in the win column on Monday when they continue a four-game road trip with a battle against the Buffalo Sabres. Edmonton won its third straight game last Wednesday against visiting San Jose, beating the Sharks 3-0 as Scrivens stopped 59 shots to set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout. http://www.chinawholesalenfljerseysauthentic.com/. The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player. Cheap NFL Jerseys . The thinking at the time was Clowney could have already been promised he would be selected first overall by the Houston Texans, therefore negating any need to meet with any other teams. The plot took another twist this week. Wholesale MLB Jerseys Authentic . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one.Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Conley filled the stat sheet with 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists to guide the Memphis Grizzlies to a 95-87 win over the short-handed San Antonio Spurs. Marc Gasol chipped in 17 points and nine boards for the Grizzlies, who exacted a bit of revenge on the Spurs. San Antonio snapped Memphis franchise-record 22-game home winning streak on Dec. 5. The teams then played a triple-overtime thriller won by the Grizzlies, 117-116, on Dec. 17. Tayshaun Prince totaled 12 points for the Grizzlies, who have won back-to-back contests following a four-game skid. We executed defensively, Gasol said. Offensively I think we did a pretty good job of moving the ball. The Spurs, who played without Kawhi Leonard (bruised right hand) and Tony Parker (strained left hamstring), lost for the seventh time in nine games. Marco Belinelli and Cory Joseph each had 18 points for San Antonio. Tim Duncan chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds. It hurts to be in a position like this and still be able to hypothetically win a game, but just cant get over that hump, Duncan said. The Grizzlies, off to their best start in franchise history at 233-8, trailed by only a point, twice.dddddddddddd Both of those times came in the early stages of the game. Memphis shot 13-of-21 in the first quarter, led by a 7-of-8, 16-point effort from Conley. The hosts embarked on an 11-1 burst, capped off by a layup from Tony Allen and a technical free throw from Courtney Lee for a 13-4 lead. Conleys 3-pointer in the waning seconds provided a 30-20 cushion after 12 minutes. The Spurs struggled to a 6-of-19 shooting performance in the second quarter, and trailed 52-38 at the break. The visitors were behind 74-63 going to the fourth. Duncans jumper had the Spurs within 80-77 midway through the fourth, but Gasol countered with a jumper and Prince nailed a long-range 2-pointer for an 84-77 edge. Conley then made two from the charity stripe with 3:37 left to cap the 6-0 run and essentially seal the outcome. Game Notes Conley went 10-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range ... Patty Mills scored 10 for the Spurs, who were 5-of-22 from beyond the arc. Belinelli made four of those shots ... San Antonio had won its previous five in Memphis. ' ' '