ASS News » set here.Defensive lineman Antonio Smith said Sp

NEW YORK -- Marc Bergevin of the Montreal Canadiens, Dean Lombardi of the Los Angeles Kings and Bob Murray of the Anaheim Ducks are the three finalists for the NHL General Manager of the Year Award. Bergevin guided the Canadiens (46-28-8) to their second 100-point season since 1992-93 and their second playoff berth in as many years. He bolstered the offence with the summer signing of Daniel Briere and also added grit with the off-season acquisitions of Douglas Murray and George Parros. Bergevin then shored up the roster with mid-season trades for Thomas Vanek, Mike Weaver and Dale Weise, all of whom played critical roles in the team advancing to the Eastern Conference final for the second time in the past five seasons. Under the direction of Lombardi, the Kings (46-28-8) earned their fifth consecutive playoff berth, recorded their fourth 100-point season in franchise history and made their third straight appearance in the Western Conference final. He solidified the teams blue-line by re-signing defencemen Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin and Slava Voynov and did the same up front by bringing back Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford, Trevor Lewis and Jordan Nolan. Lombardi then kick-started the clubs offence with the addition of Marian Gaborik at the trade deadline. Murray helped lead the Ducks to their second straight Pacific Division title. Anahem (54-20-8) had the top record in the Western Conference for the first time in club history and franchise records in wins (54) and points (116). Murray set the Ducks up for success by re-signing Matt Beleskey, Saku Koivu, Ben Lovejoy and Kyle Palmieri as well as enticing Teemu Selanne to return for one final season. Murray also traded for Mathieu Perreault during the pre-season and added depth players in Mark Fistric, Tim Jackman, Stephane Robidas and Jakob Silfverberg. He oversaw the development of young goaltenders Frederik Andersen and John Gibson. Bergevin and Murray are finalists for the second consecutive season, while Lombardi is a finalist for the first time. The winner will be announced June 24 at the 2014 NHL Awards in Las Vegas. Cheap Authentic Jordan 1 Nz . Ho-Sang is a highly regarded prospect, as seen in TSNs Midseason Rankings. This was Game 3 of their playoff series and that wasnt the only strange incident in Londons 10-2 win over Windsor. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Nz . The win puts Arsenal four points clear of Everton in fourth place with two games to play in the Premier League, a position which would qualify the club for Europes top competition for the 17th straight year. http://www.cheapairjordan1nz.com/ . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Nz Online . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. Authentic Jordans Shoes Wholesale . Hicham Khalouas late goal improved Almerias chances of avoiding relegation in a match dominated by contentious calls, including three penalties. One day after Barcelonas 4-3 win at Real Madrid featured three penalties, referees again dominated a wide-open game that saw Almeria ultimately move out of the relegation zone and one point ahead of Getafe which took its place.ALAMEDA, Calif. - Tony Sparano won over the locker room and changed the mindset of the Oakland Raiders in 12 games as interim coach.That garnered him widespread support in the locker room despite getting only three wins. Whether it proves to be enough for him to keep the job next season will ultimately be up to owner Mark Davis.Sparano wrapped up the season Monday by holding a brief team meeting with his players and then emphatically stating his case for keeping the job in a season-ending news conference.All I want to do right now is be the head coach of the Raiders, Sparano said. How badly? Very, very badly. This is my team. I left my team today. Im looking forward to starting over again with them. Those decisions will be made down the road. I only have one concern now and thats to be head coach of the Oakland Raiders.Sparano appeared to be talking to Davis as much as anyone during the news conference. He cited the spark he has with his team, the improvement following the firing of Dennis Allen in September and the 27 first- or second-year players who participated in more than 10,000 plays this season.Im confident. I know the direction this is headed, Sparano said. Ive done this before, not quite like this. Ive got a lot of work done right here. I want that work to be for me, for this organization.Sparano will get the chance to talk directly with Davis when he interviews for the job shortly. Davis will also interview other candidates but big names like Jim Harbaugh and Jon Gruden are no longer options.Sparano and the players also talked about the importance of continuity, citing the eight head coaches and more than 100 assistants Oakland has had in 12 seasons since last going to the playoffs in 2002.Defensive end Justin Tuck,, one of the many proven veterans brought in this off-season to help instil a winning mindset in Oakland, said he hopes that there will not be major changes on the coaching staff.dddddddddddduck, who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, said the Raiders are not as far away from becoming a winner as most outsiders might think.Were not far off, he said. Obviously you look at the record and say, Theyre at the bottom of the league and things like that. I think Ive played this game long enough and a lot of guys around here have played this game long enough to know that the foundation has been set here.Defensive lineman Antonio Smith said Sparanos best trait was his ability to keep the team together through an 0-10 start. The Raiders played their best football late in a lost season and never showed signs of giving up on the field.Smith said without that leadership from Sparano, this team could have joined the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams ever to go winless in a 16-game season.Definitely. It could have easily went that way, Smith said. Oh, yeah. If everybody wouldnt have bought in, if he wouldnt have been able to relate to players enough to get them to buy in, it would have been exactly that.Left tackle Donald Penn praised Sparanos honesty, motivation and leadership and said it only would be fair to get a full season to show what he could do with his own team.You have to understand, he inherited somebody elses team, Penn said. If you give him an off-season to make his moves and bring in the guys he wants to bring and give him a year with his own team, a full year, I think he will make some changes and I think things will get better.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '