News & Neuigkeiten » Dioner Navarro can stay healthy. Dickey,

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are changing directions on their rebuilding project -- again. Coach Greg Schiano was fired Monday after two losing years extended the franchises playoff drought to six seasons. General manager Mark Dominik was also ousted, ending an unsuccessful five-year stint that produced flashes of hope but far more disappointment than ownership felt was acceptable. "The results over the past two years have not lived up to our standards and we believe the time has come to find a new direction," Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in a brief statement released a day after a season-ending 42-17 loss to the New Orleans dropped Schianos record to 11-21. "Mark has been a valued member of our organization for two decades and we respect the passion he showed for the Buccaneers during his time here," Glazer added. "We thank Greg for his hard work and effort the past two seasons, but we feel these moves are necessary in order to achieve our goals." In typical Bucs fashion, the reclusive owners of the team announced the third coaching change in five years with a one paragraph statement and did not schedule a news conference to discuss the situation. Word broke less than 30 minutes after the team closed the locker room, where players were sorting through equipment and belongings before scattering for the off-season. They met with the coaching and medical staff for exit interviews and physicals and had not been informed of the dismissals before media was allowed into the room. Many, including Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, had hoped Schiano would keep his job. "Its tough for the players to see your coaches go. You never want to see anybody get fired," McCoy said after the announcement. "Me personally, I havent had any consistently in my career. Third head coach, going on my fifth year and three head coaches. Add up everybody, itll be six d-line coaches." The Bucs went 7-9 in their first season under Schiano, collapsing after a 6-4 start that had the team in playoff contention. After trading for three-time All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis and signing safety Dashon Goldson in free agency to bolster a porous defence, the team entered training camp this season with heightened expectations. But a messy split with former quarterback Josh Freeman, an outbreak of MRSA infections in the locker room and reports that Schiano was losing the support of players tiring of his rules and coaching style dogged the team during an 0-8 start that put the coachs job in jeopardy. Despite having a rookie quarterback and finishing with 16 players on injured reserve, including running back Doug Martin and receiver Mike Williams, the Bucs went 4-4 over the second half of the season. That hardly seemed like progress, though, because the offence got progressively worse and finished last in the NFL in passing and total yardage. Still, players seemed impressed with the way Schiano held the team together, insisting right up until the end that the coach never lost the locker room. "In times like that you see a lot of guys crumble, a lot of guys break. You never saw a different attitude with him," McCoy said. "You could never see if the media was getting to him or see if anything we were doing was getting to him. He came in every day and was the same person, regardless," McCoy added. "... Hes the most consistent thing in the building, I will give him that." Schiano was hired in January 2012, leaving Rutgers to take over a team that ended its final 10 games under Raheem Morris on a 10-game losing streak. He inherited one the NFLs worst defences, but also a young quarterback in Freeman, who won 10 games in his first full season as a starter and became the franchises first 4,000-yard passer in Schianos first year in Tampa Bay. But Freemans relationship with Schiano soured when the Bucs dropped five of the final six games of 2012, with Freemans inconsistency contributing to the slide. The fifth-year quarterback was benched and subsequently released after an 0-3 start this season, replaced by rookie Mike Glennon, a third-round draft pick who went 4-9 in 13 starts. The Bucs have not made the playoffs since 2007. They havent won a post-season game since their 2002 Super Bowl run that produced the franchises only Super Bowl title. Part of the blame for the poor performance rests with Dominik, who was named general manager in 2009 -- the year Morris was promoted from defensive co-ordinator to replace former coach Jon Gruden. Dominik survived Morris firing after a 4-12 finish two years ago. But in the end, a spotty draft record, the mishandling of Freemans situation, and the teams 28-52 mark during a five-season tenure as GM became impossible to overlook. Fake Balenciaga From China . Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points. Fake Balenciaga Shoes . According to Yahoo! Sports, the team has reached a five-year deal to play their home games on the roof of the Plaza Hotel and Casino. https://www.fakebalenciaga.com/ . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. Wholesale Balenciaga . Gomes drove in all three runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied for a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Cheap Balenciaga . The Raptors second-year forward has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the early-season trade, breaking out and becoming a vital part of his teams success on both ends of the floor. Around the league, teams are starting to take notice and feature Ross more predominately in their pre-game scouting reports but its not just the opposition that hes impressing.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Opening their season against a perennial playoff performer, the Toronto Blue Jays head into 2014 facing a Tampa Bay Rays team that has enjoyed the type of success the Jays are looking to duplicate. The division rivals are set to face each other Monday afternoon at Tropicana Field, with David Price and R.A. Dickey taking the mound in a matchup of 2012 Cy Young Award winners. The Rays are coming off a year in which they won 92 games and made the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons. The Blue Jays would just as soon forget 2013, when they battled injuries and finished in last place after being a popular preseason pick to contend for a championship. Toronto failed to bolster its starting pitching this winter and returns with essentially the same lineup as a year ago, yet Dickey thinks the results will be better. "I think the heartbeat is a lot different this year. I think, one, were very comfortable. If I had a word to describe what (spring training) has been, its been comfortable. Guys really know that this is a big year for us collectively," said Dickey, who was 14-13 with a 4.21 ERA last season. "Were kind of getting a mulligan this year," the knuckleballer added. "Last year, a lot of things went wrong. This year, were pretty much all healthy. ... Were in a much different place." Only the Yankees, Cardinals and Phillies have earned as many post-season berths as the Rays over the past six seasons. And after hiking one of baseballs lowest payrolls above $80 million to keep most of last years roster intact, Tampa Bay anticipates another strong run. Price was 10-8 with a 3.33 ERA in 2013 after winning AL Cy Young honours two years ago, but he went 9-4 with a 2.53 ERA in 18 starts following the first stint of his career on the disabled list. The 28-year-old lefty was the subject of trade speculation much of the winter before agreeing to a $14 million, one-year contract to continue anchoring one of the ALs strongest rotations. The Rays, often overshadowed in the AL East by the big-spending Yankees and Red Sox, dont shy away from taking about how good they believe they cann be.dddddddddddd "To be honest with you, I thought last year we had more expectations going into the season than we do this year — only because the Red Sox won the World Series and the Yankees have made some pretty big acquisitions. So, that kind of puts us in the shadows again," third baseman Evan Longoria said. "There are a lot of expectations from within this team," he added. "But from an overall perspective, well probably be picked down the ladder a little bit more this year ... which is perfectly fine with me because I think weve proven time in and time out that if you believe the right things and play the right way, then the rest will take care of itself." Toronto pursued free agent Ervin Santana in hopes of improving its rotation, but the right-hander wound up signing with Atlanta. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays offence has a chance to be potent if a lineup featuring Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera and off-season acquisition Dioner Navarro can stay healthy. Dickey, who had a solid spring, hopes to revert to the form that helped him capture the NL Cy Young Award with the Mets two years ago. "I feel prepared," Dickey said. "I feel confident." Besides not trading Price, the Rays re-signed first baseman James Loney, acquired free-agent closer Grant Balfour and traded for catcher Ryan Hanigan, reliever Heath Bell and utilityman Logan Forsythe. Longoria is confident the manoeuvring has made the Rays better. Still, he stops short of predicting another playoff berth. "Even when we were the favourites, I would say maybe we are on paper," the three-time All-Star said. "We should have that underdog mentality." The teams set their rosters Sunday, with the Rays placing injured pitchers Jeremy Hellickson and Juan Carlos Oviedo and shortstop Tim Beckham on the 15-day disabled list. The Blue Jays put closer Casey Janssen on the DL due to a strain in his left abdominal area and lower back. Backup catcher Erik Kratz was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. ' ' '