TORONTO -- After taking a sip of water at the start of his news conference, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis made sure to thank the players who were around last season and left on the first day of free agency. Cecil Cooper Brewers Jersey . "I just wanted to thank them for what they attempted to do over the last 12 months and wish them all the best going forward," Nonis said. Attempted might be the most important word after the Leafs went from being almost surely playoff bound to collapsing with an eight-game losing streak. Gone from that group are centres Dave Bolland and Mason Raymond, who signed elsewhere Tuesday. In come defenceman Stephane Robidas, signed to a US$9-million, three-year deal, and forward Leo Komarov, signed to an $11.8-million, four-year deal, along with forward Matt Frattin, re-acquired in a trade that sent winger Jerry DAmigo to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Its Noniss hope that those players change the Leafs mix back to more of what it was like in the lockout-shortened 2013 season, when they made the playoffs. "The compete level that we had two years ago, I think was at or near the top of the league," Nonis said. "We got more out of our players, the coaches did, the players themselves did in terms of pushing each other, than we did last year -- no question about it. Some of the players that were talking about either were here and will help us get that back or have a history of doing that. That was a focus for us." Robidas at 37 brings 885 games of experience to Toronto, along with a right-handed shot. He broke his leg while playing in the playoffs for the Anaheim Ducks but started skating last week and expects to be ready for Day 1 of training camp. Komarov returns from the 2013 Leafs after a year with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL. He had four goals and five assists in 42 games that season, but the 27-year-old Finn is expected to have a much bigger role this time around. "Leo offers a lot more than I think even we got out of him two years ago," said Nonis, who met with Komarov in Finland and "laid that out so that he knew that he wasnt just a fourth-line guy that was playing six minutes a night, that we feel that he can do more." Komarovs return could help fill the void left by the departure of Bolland, who signed for five years and $27.5 million with the Florida Panthers. Bolland said on a conference call with local media that the Leafs were close to bringing him back. "We were getting there," the 28-year-old Toronto native said. "We were just a little bit apart." Nonis did not begrudge Bolland for taking the more lucrative deal with the Panthers. "We feel our offer was very fair, very strong, it reflected his value to us," he said. "He chose to go somewhere else, thats his right. Hell be a good player for them ... The only way to prevent that from happening was to spend more than we felt was appropriate, and I dont think thats something we wanted to get into." Raymond also got more money than the Leafs were willing to pay: three years and $9.5 million from the Calgary Flames. Being closer to home was part of the Cochrane, Alta., natives decision to go there. Even before signing in Calgary, Raymond expected changes around the Leafs under new president Brendan Shanahan and after the teams late-season collapse. "I think we all wouldve loved to finish a lot better," Raymond said in a phone interview. "When you have new management or different changes within the organization, that (roster moves are) susceptible to happen." What Bolland and Raymond have in common is they werent around for the Leafs somewhat-expected 2013 season that Nonis seems to want to replicate. Komarov and Frattin, who was sent to Los Angeles a year ago in the deal that brought goaltender Jonathan Bernier to the Leafs, were. "We talked a little about the chemistry that we had two years ago and the work ethic and i think players playing outside their comfort zone," Nonis said. "Those are two players that played a big part in it." Notes -- Nonis said if a trade for restricted-free-agent goaltender James Reimer was there and made sense, the Leafs would make it. Otherwise, he reiterated, Reimer could be back next season. ... The process of hiring assistant coaches is still ongoing with no resolution as of Tuesday. Rob Deer Jersey . (January 11, 2014) – Once again Kevin Martin proved why he is the all-time TSN skins leader, winning $11,500 in prize money and a spot in the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game presented by Pintys final following a semifinal victory over Brad Jacobs earlier this evening at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alta. Eric Thames Jersey . J.J. Hardy drove in a run for the Orioles, who bounced back from an 8-4 loss in the series opener on Friday. Fresh off the 15-day disabled list, Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Jake Arrieta (7-3) gave up three runs on five hits over six innings to pick up the win.ATLANTA -- A month ago, Jarred Cosart was a struggling pitcher on a team out of playoff contention. Now, he is trying to help Miami inch closer in the wild-card race. Cosart pitched seven effective innings, and the Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Saturday night to stop a three-game losing streak. Cosart (3-1) allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked one. The right-hander, who was acquired in a July 31 trade with Houston, is 3-0 with a sparkling 0.65 ERA in his last four starts. "This was exactly what we needed," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "Some guys need that adrenaline. He wants it. He wants to help us get to the playoffs." Cosart struggled in July, giving up 19 runs in 21 1-3 innings, but he said the trade to Miami has energized him. "I took it as a slap in the face when I got traded from one of the worst organizations in baseball the last three years," he said. "No disrespect to the Astros, but hopefully one day I can make them feel like they got the bad end of that trade." Donovan Solano hit a solo homer in the first and finished with three hits for Miami, which is 8-7 against Atlanta this year. Giancarlo Stanton had two hits and drove in a run. Atlanta had won three in a row. Aaron Harang (10-9) yielded four runs, three earned, and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings. The Braves were one game out in the wild-card race at the start of the day. Atlanta threatened in the eighth inning, loading the bases with one out. But A.J. Ramos struck out Andrelton Simmons and Mike Dunn retired Freddie Freeman on a groundout to first, preserving Miamis 4-0 lead. Steve Cishek then got three outs for the Marlins, completing the nine-hitter. Cosart has provided a boost for the sagging Marlins since the trade. On Saturday, he induced three double plays to prevent the Braves from putting a rally together. Leading 4-0 in the sixth, Cosart faced his first serious jam of the night. The Braves put runners on first and second with one out, but Cosart struck out Simmons and got Freeman to ground to second to end the threat. "Its not often you see a guy, especially a starter, that throws that many cutters," Braves third baseman Chris Johnson said. "He was good at it, working it inside, outside. Its something weve got to get used too, him being in our division now, and work out a plan for the cutter. Tyrone Taylor Jersey . " Stanton singled in Christian Yelich to make it 2-0 in the third, and Yelich scored again on Solanos base hit in the fifth. Jarrod Saltalamacchia scored the fourth run on a wild pitch in the sixth. Cosart retired 10 straight after giving up a single to Jason Heyward to lead off the game. Four of those came on strikeouts, with Cosart striking out the side in the second. TRAINERS ROOM Marlins: Reliever Dan Jennings made his fourth minor league appearance on Friday since being diagnosed with a concussion on Aug. 8, pitching two scoreless innings. He has pitched seven scoreless innings in four rehab games. ... Reliever Bryan Morris will rejoin the team when it returns to Miami following the series. He has a strained groin but will not be placed on the disabled list. Braves: Reliever Shae Simmons said before the game he has not started throwing off flat ground. He has been on the disabled list since July 27 with a strained right shoulder. It does not appear he will return this season. UP NEXT The Braves and Marlins wrap up their three-game set on Sunday. Braves starter Alex Wood (9-10) has given up just 10 runs in his last six starts for a 2.23 ERA. Nathan Eovaldi (6-9) will take the mound for the Marlins. Eovaldi has faced the Braves four times already this season, limiting them to three runs in 21 innings in his first three starts before being reached for five runs in seven innings in a losing effort on July 23. SEPTEMBER CAN MEAN OCTOBER The last two seasons, the five teams in playoff position in the National League on Sept. 1 have been the five teams to qualify for the post-season. The last team not to make the post-season when in position at the beginning of September was the 2011 Braves, who lost their final five regular-season games. Both the Braves and Marlins currently trail the Cardinals and Giants for the two NL wild cards. FEELING TURNER FIELD Solano has eight career home runs in 280 games with the Marlins. Three have come at Turner Field and seven of the eight have been away from home. PENNY GETTING A START Redmond said veteran Brad Penny will start Tuesday against the Mets. It will be Pennys third start and fifth appearance since Miami brought him up from Triple-A in August. ' ' '

Tucson, AZ (SportsNetwork. Alexei Ramirez Jersey .com) - Stanley Johnson had 18 points as No. 3 Arizona routed Oakland 101-64 on Tuesday night. Brandon Ashley posted 15 points and eight rebounds, while Gabe York added 15 points for the Wildcats (11-0), who closed out their five-game homestand. Kahlil Felder tallied 20 points, nine assists and four steals to lead the Golden Grizzlies (4-7). Final Score: (9) Texas 106, Lipscomb 61 Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Myles Turner scored 19 of his 26 points in the first half to lead No. 9 Texas to a 106-61 win over Lipscomb on Tuesday. Turner also grabbed nine rebounds with six blocks in the lopsided win. Jonathan Holmes and Jordan Barnett added 17 and 11 points, respectively, for the Longhorns (9-1). Malcolm Smith tallied 17 points and Josh Williams deposited 13 for the Bisons (4-6). Final Score: (11) Wichita State 53, Alabama 52 Wichita, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Fred VanVleet fed Darius Carter for the game-deciding dunk with 11.9 seconds remaining as No. 11 Wichita State survived Alabama, 53-52, on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide led by 11 with under five minutes to play before a furious comeback pulled the Shockers even. Alabamas Levi Randolph, a 90-percent free throw shooter coming in, made 1- of-2 from the foul line with 32.1 seconds left. Following Carters dunk, Rodney Coopers rushed 3-point try missed everything at the buzzer as Wichita State (8-1) hung on for a school-record 23rd straight home win. Carter and Ron Baker led the Shockers with 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Randolph and Shannon Hale each netted 13 points for the Tide (6-3). Final Score: (15) Oklahoma 85, Oral Roberts 53 Norman, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Buddy Hield had 16 points, TaShawn Thomas scored 14 and No. 15 Oklahoma rolled to an 85-53 win over Oral Roberts on Tuesday night. Ryan Spangler and Isaiah Cousins added 13 points each for the Sooners (7-2), who have won three games in a row since a 69-56 loss to Wisconsin on Nov. 28 in the Bahamas. Bobby Word buried five 3s for a game-high 19 points to lead Oral Roberts (4-5) and Albert Owens scored 12. Final Score: (24) North Carolina 79, UNC-Greensboro 56 Greensboro, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Kennedy Meeks netted 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting to lead No. 24 North Carolina in a 79-56 rout of UNC Greensboro on Tuesday. Joel James scored 11 points off the bench, Brice Johnson finished with eight points and five rebounds and Justin Jackson chipped in seven points for the Tar Heels (7-3), who rebounded from an 84-70 loss to Kentucky on Saturday. Kayel Locke paced the Spartans (4-7) with 17 points, while Diante Baldwin and Nicholas Paulos scored 13 and 12, respectively, in the loss. Jeff Keppinger White Sox Jersey . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit. Fielder Jones White Sox Jersey . Azarenka needed exactly one hour in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Austrian Yvonne Meusburger to start the night session at Laver Arena. Sharapova had a much easier time earlier in the day with cooler conditions and took full advantage in 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, while Radwanska had to rally for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - San Jose Earthquakes striker Yannick Djalo was named the Player of the Week on Monday for Week 20 of the 2014 Major League Soccer season. Djalo notched a goal and two assists in San Joses 5-1 defeat of the Chicago Fire on July 23. His first assist of the night came in the 45th minute when he lobbed a pass down the left wing for midfielder Shea Salinas drift into the box, evade a defender and send a curling right-footed shot into the upper right corner. Djalos goal came in the 79th minute when he latched on to a pass from Cordeell Cato and hit a first-time chip over the keeper to make the score 4-1. Steve Carlton White Sox Jersey . His final stamp on the game came five minutes when he spotted Chris Wondolowski in stride in Chicagos defensive third. Wondolowski played the ball central to find Cato, who finished off the move with an acrobatic volley inside the six-yard box. The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from the North America Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. ' ' '

RIMOUSKI, Que. Gerardo Parra Jersey . - Vincent Dunn had a four-point night with three goals and an assist to lead the Rimouski Oceanic to a 6-4 win over the Gatineau Olympiques in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Tuesday.Alexis Loiseau scored two goals, including one short-handed into an empty net, while Christopher Clapperton also scored for the East Division-leading Oceanic (11-4-1), who found the back of the net three times in the first 12 minutes of the game.Louick Marcotte, Alex Dostie, Yakov Trenin, and Alexis Pepin replied for Gatineau (7-6-3).Rimouskis Philippe Desrosiers made 19 saves for the win. Nicolas Lachance started in net for the Olympiques, stopping 2-of-5 shots through 11:48. Anthony Brodeur made 30 saves on 32 attempts the rest of the way. Brian Dozier Nationals Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. Patrick Corbin Jersey . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring.Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Madison Bumgarner watched as Pablo Sandoval worked his way under the ball. Moments later, the San Francisco Giants ace was swarmed by teammates near the mound after punctuating one of the great postseason performances in any sport. Some of them stopped first to congratulate Sandoval, who was on his back after catching the last out. And on the edge of the celebration, Buster Posey dropped to his knees, a smile on the catchers face that showed both happiness and relief. This is some dynasty, and it almost unraveled on an error. Bumgarner pitched five scoreless innings out of the bullpen and the Giants held on to beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in Game 7 on Wednesday night, capturing their third World Series title in five years. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, after Bumgarner had retired 14 batters in a row, Alex Gordon sliced a hit into left-center field that bounced past Gregor Blanco and went to the wall, suddenly giving the Royals a sliver of hope. Left fielder Juan Perez bobbled the ball on the warning track and Gordon made it all the way to third on a two-base error. Im not sure what happened. I didnt see it, Bumgarner said. But I was starting to get a little nervous. He was digging around a little bit and its a big outfield. It was a little nerve-racking. But Bumgarner threw six fastballs to Salvador Perez, who popped up into foul territory near third base, where Sandoval squeezed it before falling onto his back with his arms in the air. Relief, said Bruce Bochy, who has managed each of these three championship teams. Because anything can happen -- a bloop, a wild pitch. Theres a man on third base there and (Bumgarner) just made some great ppitches. James Bourque Jersey . Bumgarner pitched on two days rest after pitching a four-hit shutout in Game 5 on Sunday for his second win of the series. He was named World Series MVP, to no ones surprise, after throwing 21 innings and giving just up one run, nine hits and one walk. Sandoval, due to be a free agent, reached base four times in Game 7 and scored twice, including the go-ahead run on Michael Morses single back in the fourth inning. Sandoval had three hits, giving him an MLB-record 26 this postseason. The Royals, trying to win a title for the first time in 29 years, came up a win short. They forced Game 7 with Tuesdays 10-0 blowout, extending their magical season for another day, but scored their only runs Wednesday in the second inning. You work all year to climb to the top of the mountain and then Boom! You fall back down and have to restart next season, Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. The wild-card Giants, an 88-win team that finished six games behind the rival Dodgers in the NL West, rode a Bumgarner shutout to an 8-0 win in Pittsburgh on Oct. 1 and finished their title run two days shy of Halloween. Bumgarners wins in Games 1 and 5, and his five-inning save in the clincher, cemented his role at the age of 25 as a postseason star on a Giants team that has carved an odd dynasty into recent baseball history. The Giants have made the postseason only three times in the last 11 years -- winning the World Series each time. Wednesdays celebration followed titles in 2010 over Texas and 2012 over Detroit. They snapped a nine-game losing streak by road teams in World Series Game 7s, becoming the first team to win that way since the 1979 We Are Family Pirates, who clinched in Baltimore. ' ' '