Jones declined to fight Chael Sonnen o

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TUKWILA, Wash. - When the collapse began last fall, the Seattle Sounders went from MLS favourites to a crumbling club that obviously needed change. Its the byproduct of having an unrivaled fan base and expectations that anything less than a league title is unacceptable for management. "To be honest it was time. Every couple of years a team is going to have to go through changes to grow and you get a certain amount of time with a certain group of players, and if you dont win you change it," Seattle midfielder Brad Evans said. "Most of the time its your star players you try and change and bring them in with other well-known players around the league and thats just the nature of the game and thats the business part of it. It kind of is what it is and we did lose some big names and some very good players but I think weve brought in some great players to fill in the shoes. And I think the group is a little bit stronger." Seattle will go into the 2014 season with the same belief that anything less than an MLS title is not success. But theyll do it with a completely overhauled roster, the result of the slide at the end of 2013. The question of whether changes were needed stretched from the bottom of the roster all the way up to coach Sigi Schmid. Eventually, general manager Adrian Hanauer and majority owner Joe Roth decided keeping Schmid and remodeling the team was the path Seattle would travel. It wasnt a complete overhaul. Evans is still around. So is Lamar Neagle, Obafemi Martins and rising homegrown star DeAndre Yedlin. Midfielder Osvaldo Alsonso was rewarded with a designated player contract and Seattle is about to get its first full season with Clint Dempsey on the roster. But the names that are gone are notable. U.S. national team striker Eddie Johnson is now with D.C. United. Defensive centre backs Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni are gone. Midfielder Mauro Rosales is now with Chivas USA. Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning is back in Europe. Its a completely new look for Seattle and only success on the field will determine whether the right choices were made. "Its not really up to me what changes we make on the roster but the new guys have been great and very positive," Yedlin said. "They are good players and Im excited to see what they can bring to the team." The additions made by Seattle arent on the same level as the move last summer to bring Dempsey back from Europe. But they could end up being more important. Up front, Seattle brought in veteran striker Kenny Cooper, along with Chad Barrett and Tristan Bowen. In the midfield, Seattle acquired Marco Pappa through allocation when he decided to return to MLS from Europe. Chad Marshall, who played for Schmid in Columbus, was acquired in a trade to anchor the middle of Seattles defence. And former Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei was brought in to compete with 41-year-old Marcus Hahnemann for the starting job. "It is pretty obvious the mentality they are going for," Neagle said. "They want to be more aggressive and a lot more pressure and I think the guys theyve brought in have that same mentality, so its nice. Its easy to get on the same page when you have similar guys on the field." While all the roster changes mean some sort of acclimation period, how Dempsey fits during his second season will be watched closely early in the year. His first few months with Seattle late last season were a disappointment as the American star recorded just one goal and one assist in his nine games. Getting fully entrenched as Seattles leader will be difficult this season as well with Dempsey likely getting called away for U.S. national team duties even before training camp for the World Cup in Brazil starts in May. Dempsey may not even be available for Saturdays opener after being called into national team duty for an exhibition match against Ukraine. "Were still getting to know each other. Were still getting to know what the tendencies are of each player, but I like the spirit of the team, I like their attitude," Schmid said. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Bautista led off the 10th inning with his second homer of the game, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night. Cheap Jerseys . The Lions traded their fifth overall pick in the 2014 CFL Draft to the Ottawa Redblacks for QB Kevin Glenn. http://www.cheapnfljerseysbest.us/. -- The Royals expect to place left-hander Bruce Chen on the disabled list with a swollen disc in his back that has already caused the club to juggle its starting rotation. wholesale jerseys . -- Having played six seasons with the Kings, Kevin Martin is very comfortable at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. nfl jerseys china . The United States-born Fiva, who was eliminated in the first round at the Sochi Olympics, won the final ahead of Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic, Didrik Bastian Juell of Norway and Christopher Del Bosco of Montreal. Duncan, from London, Ont., won the small final and is clinging to a tight lead in the standings as he aims to become the first Canadian to win a mens skicross Crystal Globe.Dan Henderson is on the hunt after a stunning knockout of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and his next target is middleweight title contender Lyoto Machida. Just two days after his third-round finish of Rua at UFC Fight Night 38 in Natal, Brazil, Henderson (30-11) tweeted at UFC president Dana White requesting a chance to replace injured middleweight champion Chris Weidman and face "The Dragon" at UFC 173 on May 24 in Las Vegas. "Hey @danawhite, let me have @lyotomachidafw, just like you let him have @jonnybones when I got hurt @ufc," Henderson wrote Tuesday. The main event at UFC 173 has been postponed due to a minor knee injury to Weidman. His injury will require surgery and the title fight against Machida (21-4) has been moved to UFC 175 on July 5. Hendersons tweet refers to a strange turn of events in the light heavyweight division back in 2012. Henderson was slaated to fight current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 151 on Sept.dddddddddddd 1 before he suffered a partial rupture of his MCL and was forced to pull out. Jones declined to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice and the event was subsequently cancelled, the first cancellation in UFC history. The title fight was pushed to UFC 152 on Sept. 22 and Machida was offered the vacant shot at the champ. He declined the bout in Toronto, where he had already lost to Jones in 2011. Henderson, who has won just two of his last five fights with one win coming against Rua, has fought for the light heavyweight and middleweight titles once before in the UFC, losing both times. He also lost to Machida once before in a split decision at UFC 157 on February 23, 2013 It appears as though the 43-year-old is looking for another championship shot at 185 pounds before he hangs up his gloves. ' ' '