George Hill made a layup

RALEIGH, N. Aaron Nola Jersey .C. -- Ron Francis wasted little time putting his stamp on the Carolina Hurricanes. One week into his new job as general manager, Francis fired coach Kirk Muller and most of his staff. Now leading a franchise that has made the playoffs just once in eight years, Francis cited the need for a "fresh start" and warned that nobody on the roster -- from the marquee names, to the grinders at the end of the bench -- is untouchable. "I dont think changing the coaches lets the players off the hook," Francis said. "I think there has to be a lot of responsibility on their shoulders as well to turn this thing around. Hopefully we can do that going forward." Francis, a Hall of Fame player and former captain and assistant coach with the Hurricanes, took control of the team last week when Jim Rutherford stepped aside after a two-decade run as its GM. As part of his first big housecleaning move, assistants John MacLean and Dave Lewis also were fired and goaltending coach Greg Stefan was reassigned back to the teams pro scouting department. Rod BrindAmour, a third-year assistant who was the captain of Carolinas only Stanley Cup-winning team in 2006, was retained because Francis said "Roddy really didnt have, in my estimation, a prominent role on this staff." Francis says its "an open search at this point," is looking for "a guy whos a teacher" with strong communication and leadership qualities and ideally would like to hire his new coach before the June 27-28 draft. "I dont really have anybody in mind," he said. "Well start (with) a few names were putting on the list, and well go forward looking at that list and see who is the best fit for our team going forward." Muller was 80-80-27 in three seasons with the Hurricanes, who havent made the playoffs since 2009, the longest active drought in the Eastern Conference. Carolina finished 13th in the 16-team East this season. "The biggest thing was our inconsistency," Francis said. "Some nights we looked like a great team and other nights, we really struggled, looked like we didnt know how to play the game at times." Muller, 48, made six All-Star teams during a 19-year career with six clubs, most notably New Jersey and Montreal. He had never been a head coach in the NHL and was in his first season coaching the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL when he was hired during the 2011-12 season to replace the fired Paul Maurice. The relentlessly positive Muller spent the past month in limbo, saying in mid-April that upper management had not told him anything about his job status and that he was going about his business as if he would remain the coach. While owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said late in the season that he liked the coaching staff, he added last week that it would be entirely Francis call whether to retain Muller. During his formal introduction as GM, Francis said his impending decision on Mullers status "needs due process." Mullers final year was plagued by subpar years from the four highest-paid players on the roster -- forwards Alexander Semin and Eric and Jordan Staal, and goalie Cam Ward. When Ward was asked during his exit interview if it was tough for Muller to get his message across in the dressing room, the goalie said "for me, obviously, Im going to avoid that one." Francis said he didnt sense much friction between Muller and the players. "You look at our team, theres guys who didnt play well. They were told that by us in the exit meetings," the GM said. "Theres always going to be situations where, as a player, if you dont like the coach, youve still got to perform." Dave Cash Jersey . The 48th-ranked Williams made her first appearance in Dubai since she won her second straight title here in 2010. Shed missed the last three years either because of injury or Sjogrens Syndrome. Chuck Klein Jersey . - Mike Magee converted two penalty kicks in a 10-minute span of the first half and the Chicago Fire beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Sunday. http://www.baseballphilliesofficial.com/darren-daulton-jersey-c-13/ . - UFC 178, previously announced for Sept.INDIANAPOLIS -- Theres something about teams on a hot streak that makes the Indiana Pacers want to beat them. Dont expect to leave with momentum after playing in Indianapolis. "Its a different story when you come to play here," Paul George said. "Whatever youve done previously, when a team comes in hot, we make that commitment that its going to be tough to play here." George scored 31 points, making four 3-pointers, to lead the Pacers to a 116-92 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. David West had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Lance Stephenson added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Pacers (30-7), who have won five of six. The victory clinched the Eastern Conference coaching spot for Frank Vogel, since the Pacers are guaranteed to have the best winning percentage in the conference through games of Feb. 2 with Miamis Erik Spoelstra ineligible after coaching last year. "My name is on the release, but this is recognition of our teams success," Vogel said. "Its a team honour and Im really excited about it." George was fouled driving to the basket with 8:36 remaining and converted the three-point play before Luis Scola made a free throw to cap off a 16-2 run in the fourth quarter. George sparked the big run for Indiana with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Pacers an 86-74 lead at the end of the third quarter. The shot took away any hope the Kings (13-23) had left after Marcus Thornton made a 3 with seconds left to put Sacramento within nine. George then opened the fourth with another 3-pointer. "Throughout our whole locker room weve built that culture as were going to be dominant at home," George said. "And were working towards being that team on the road as well, but its just something about home that we just try to protect." The NBAs top defensive team had little trouble against a Sacramento team that scored over 100 points in 18 of the previous 19 games and held the Kings to under 100 points for the first time in 12 games. Greg Luzinski Jersey. . Sacramento coach Mike Malone said taking care of the ball played a big role. Indiana forced 15 turnovers and scored 22 points off the Kings mistakes. "To win on the road in the NBA against a great team, we cannot have the kind of turnovers we had," he said. "Theyre the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA for a reason." And despite breaking away with 19 third-quarter points, DeMarcus Cousins, who finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds, caused few problems for the Pacers. He scored 12 points in the first half, with just three defensive rebounds, before he scored nine of Sacramentos first 13 to open the second half. "He was really the only one to go off," Roy Hibbert said. "Everyone else was under their average, so Im happy about that." Rudy Gay, who finished with 12 points, was the only other player to reach double-figure scoring for the Kings, whose season-best, three-game winning streak was snapped. "I thought we reverted back to our old ways tonight," Gay said. "We have to do a better job of proving we are a changed team." Cousins picked up his third foul with 5:22 left in the third when Hibbert went up for a follow shot. Hibbert split from the line to give Indiana a 68-58 lead and Indiana kept just enough room. The Pacers host New York and the Los Angeles Clippers before making a trip to the West Coast for five games. Indiana didnt waste any time taking a lead on the Kings, opening the game on an 11-2 run. Hibbert converted a three-point play, George Hill made a layup and George dunked before Stephenson and West scored to give the Pacers the early lead with 8:27 remaining in the first quarter. Then the Kings scored eight straight. The Kings went on a late 7-2 run, but West scored to give the Pacers a 59-45 halftime lead. Notes: Vogel is 141-81 as Pacers coach. ... Thornton and Isaiah Thomas, Sacramentos starting guards, combined for one assist. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '