and is third with 2,728 wins as a manager

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PHILADELPHIA - Dave Schultz would drop his gloves in a flash, his bare fists pummeling away at unprotected faces in fits of fury so ferocious he became known as The Hammer. Cheap Michael Thomas Jersey .Schultz was the intimidating backbone of Philadelphias Broad Street Bullies teams of the 1970s that won a pair of Stanley Cup championships. The Flyers rugged style of play became their calling card, and rare was the NHL team that didnt have a tough guy or two whose primary role was to protect his teammates by brute force.Fast forward 40 years since the Flyers last championship and players like Schultz are having a harder time sticking in the NHL. The role of the enforcer is seemingly going down without a fight as speed and skill on every line have become the norm.In a league that is also facing head injury concerns — and lawsuits — is it finally time to say goodbye to the goon?They just wanted to take fighting out of the game, Schultz said. Its not the same game.But not necessarily a worse one.The true signal the culture in the NHL has changed comes from Schultzs old stomping grounds. For the first time since the organization was in its infancy, the Flyers opened the season without a true enforcer on their roster. Heck, their biggest threat might be goalie Ray Emery, who headlined a fight last season against Washingtons unwilling goalie, Braden Holtby.Weve got some toughness on our team, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. Weve got some guys that can handle themselves. But I think when you look, there werent a lot of fights in the preseason. There are never any fights in the playoffs. In between, theres been less and less.The numbers back up the former NHL goalie.There were 143 fights through the first 408 games of the season, which projects to 431 fights overall, according to hockeyfights.com. Thats a dramatic dip from 734 fights in 2008-09 and 714 fights in 2009-10. The number of fights fell into the 500s in 2011-12 and the 400s last season (there were 347 fights in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season).The NHL has toughened instigation penalties in place since the 1930s. It added a two-minute minor for the player who started the fight in the 1990s, looking to both cut down on brawling and perhaps attract more casual fans. Of late, the NHL is dishing out longer suspensions for cheap shots and illegal hits, erasing some of the players unwritten code of justice.That tells you, lets just play hockey, Schultz said. And when theres a problem, the league will take care of it.That role used to be left to the enforcers, the de facto bodyguards for the stars. Back on the put-up-your-dukes heyday, even Wayne Gretzky had his own personal great one watching his back: Marty McSorley was the Hall of Famers first line of thuggish defence, serving and protecting Gretzky in stints with Edmonton and Los Angeles.I remember when guys like Gretzky said, we want guys to be able to protect us, Schultz said. (Sidney) Crosby doesnt want to be protected. By the league, yes. But not by one of his teammates.Stu Grimson, the colour analyst on Nashville Predators TV broadcasts, was known as The Grim Reaper with 2,113 career penalty minutes in his NHL career. He said fighting still has a role in the game, especially at home games where one entertaining scrum can shift momentum and liven up the fans.I think the fight itself, there is a purpose for it, and you can put your finger on that purpose, he said. I think it makes sense to keep that in the game, and I think its valuable to the game for that reason.Chicago Blackhawks forward Dan Carcillo said fights arent going to completely vanish, either.I dont think the mindless, senseless, go out and fight, rah-rah, for no reason, I dont think that has a place in the game anymore, Carcillo said. If guys take runs at other players, I think those players that take the run at them, whether they fight or not, they have to know in the back of their mind that theres still fighting in this game and theyre going to have to answer the bell or respond to it if theyre going to take dirty runs or cheap shots.But in the back of everyone minds is the risk of concussions and other long-term health risks that come with trading punches on the ice. The idea that brawling was as much fun as a nasty wreck in NASCAR or bench-clearing brawl in baseball came to a jarring halt in 2011 when three former enforcers were found dead.Derek Boogaard, once named in a Sports Illustrated players poll as the NHLs toughest fighter, died from an accidental mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone. Wade Belak hanged himself and Rick Rypien was discovered at his home after suffering from depression for a decade.The 65-year-old Schultz said he suffered nothing more than a couple of minor concussions and feels fine.We didnt hit anyone near as hard as they do today, Schultz said.There are just now far fewer of those hits.Its still an exciting sport, Schultz said. Its just evolving. Its the way it is._____AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver and Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report. Womens Hau oli Kikaha Jersey . He was 24. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington had no additional details, but he said in a statement the team was "shocked" and "saddened" by Chambers passing. Michael Thomas Saints Jersey . Henrikh Mkhitaryan opened the scoring in the 12th and Robert Lewandowski scored his 100th goal for Dortmund to secure the victory in the 43rd. http://www.thenflsaintsonline.com/Youth-Cameron-Jordan-Elite-Jersey/ . You can catch all of the action live on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Trade rumours continue to swirl around the Team USA netminder and Wednesday night could be the final time the East Lansing, Michigan native suits up as a Sabre in front the of the First Niagara Center faithful.PHOENIX -- Tony La Russa has never missed the managing part of baseball since retiring in 2011. He did miss the competition and, most particularly, the winning. Thats what drew him back to the big leagues. Bolstering their front office, the Arizona Diamondbacks hired La Russa as their chief baseball officer on Saturday, hoping the Hall of Fame manager can help turn around the team after one of the worst starts in franchise history. "Its the first day I woke up and I felt a difference," La Russa said. "Because for the first time since then youre back with an organization and at the end of the day youre going to be judged by how well your contribution is to the organizations competition. Thats how I grew up." La Russa last worked as a manager in 2011, walking away after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to their second World Series title with him at the helm. He spent time working for Major League Baseball as a special assistant to Commissioner Bud Selig and was itching to get back into baseball on a day-to-day basis, appearing at Diamondbacks games a few times the past few weeks. La Russa will report to Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall and oversee the entire baseball operations department. He will work with general manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibsoon in shaping the future of the Diamondbacks, who were 16-28 heading into Saturday nights game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hau oli Kikaha Jersey. "It is going to take time, but I think having him here and helping us lead this department, it looks good for us," Hall said. "Any decisions that are going to be made personnel wise, hes going to have final say." La Russa won three World Series titles and six league championships and was a four-time manager of the year in 33 seasons before retiring in 2011. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July and is third with 2,728 wins as a manager and second with 70 post-season wins. La Russa played parts of six seasons in the majors before starting a managerial career that began in 1979 with the Chicago White Sox and took him to Oakland and St. Louis, where he won World Series rings in 2006 and 2011. He also won a title with the As in 1989, joining Sparky Anderson as the only two managers to win World Series in both leagues. "I understand the levels of decision making," La Russa said. "And all Im saying here is that you include everybody in the process. But I think the advantage that we hope to have is that everybody on the competitive side is working from the same thought philosophy." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '