finished with nine, while Marshall

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ray Shero as general manager eight years ago with the mandate to build a roster around two of the games brightest stars and turn ticker-tape parades through downtown into an annual rite of spring. Nearly a decade -- but just one Stanley Cup later -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin find themselves on a perennially underachieving team. And Shero finds himself out of a job. The Penguins fired Shero on Friday, three days after another early playoff exit, this one a seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Coach Dan Bylsma remains in charge until Sheros replacement gets a chance to evaluate the entire organization top to bottom. "We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons," co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement. "We believe that new leadership in the general managers office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form." Assistant general manager Jason Botterill will serve as general manager on an interim basis. Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse called Botterill a candidate to take over and believes whomever the team brings in wont need to make major changes on a club that won 51 games in 2013-14. "Its not a complete rebuild," Morehouse said. "This is a team that has had a level of success. What were trying to do now is get from good to great." Its a destination the Penguins reached only briefly during Sheros tenure, spending most of the time in a murky middle ground that made them one of the leagues model franchises during the regular season but a symbol of disappointment once the calendar crept into May and beyond. Pittsburgh won the franchises third Cup in 2009 but has failed to produce a bookend. Pittsburgh is just 4-5 in playoff series over the last five years after blowing a 3-1 series lead against New York. Morehouse didnt blame the 51-year-old Sheros ouster on one specific misstep. "This is a decision thats been in the works for a long time since weve won the Cup," Morehouse said. "We wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup finals and we havent and were going to make some changes." The Penguins brought Shero in before the 2006-07 season and tasked him with finding the right kind of players to complement Crosby and Malkins otherworldly offensive talent. It culminated on a giddy night in Detroit in 2009, when the Penguins edged the Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 to earn the franchises third Cup, a run that included the crucial trade deadline acquisitions of forwards Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It was supposed to mark the beginning of a dynasty. Yet five seasons have come and gone with the Penguins in a familiar position: watching the final stages of the playoffs go on without them. It hasnt been for lack of trying. Shero remained aggressive in investing in a "win now" mode as the ensuing disappointments piled up. He enthusiastically said the Penguins were "all in" last year after trading for Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. The moves often created headlines but little else, and boatloads of regular-season victories and a sellout streak seven years and counting proved no longer good enough. Whether Bylsma will be along for the ride remains unclear. The affable, open-minded Michigan native was a revelation when the Penguins promoted him from their American Hockey League affiliate in the spring of 2009, hoping his optimism would help a loaded team break out of a midseason funk. It worked brilliantly. Four months after taking the job, the former NHL nomad who spent nine seasons as a gritty fourth-line forward was raising the Cup in ecstasy. Considering Crosby and Malkin were both in their early 20s at the time, champagne toasts were expected. A half-decade later, Bylsma is the winningest coach in franchise history with 252 wins but the wait for another Cup run continues. While Pittsburgh enjoyed nearly unparalleled success from October to April -- including easily capturing the Metropolitan Division this year despite losing more than 500-man games to injury -- the Penguins again struggled to adapt in the post-season. Morehouse said the new general manager will determine whether Bylsma and the rest of the staff gets another shot. The 43-year-old Bylsma has two years remaining on his contract, the product of an extension he received last June as a vote of confidence from Shero following a four-game sweep at the hands of Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The deal came with a promise to adopt a more defensive-minded approach. The Penguins even brought in longtime NHL coach Jacques Martin as an assistant, an old-school yin to Bylsmas new-school yang. Crosby took the blame for the teams underperformance as the Penguins cleared out their locker on Thursday. A day later the general manager ordered to put the leagues leading scorer in a position to keep Pittsburgh at the top was cleaning out his office. Whoever ends up redecorating will have his tough choices to make. At the same time, he gets to start with Crosby and Malkin firmly entrenched. Both players are signed through the rest of the decade. There are worse places to start. "A lot of teams would like to be where we are," Morehouse said. "However we do have high expectations and we do want to get to them." Keanu Neal Jersey . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. LaRoy Reynolds Jersey . Summers has seen scant playing time with the Coyotes since being selected 29th overall by the club in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, having played in 47 career NHL games. http://www.falconsapparelsshop.com/vic-beasley-falcons-jersey-c-25/ . Fourteen players were suspended last summer by Major League Baseball as part of the Biogenesis drug scandal, ranging from All-Stars to also-rans. Wes Schweitzer Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Brooks Reed Jersey . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Oklahoma State won for the second straight day after blowing a comfortable lead. Marcus Smart scored 17 points as the No. 5 Cowboys survived a major scare in a 69-67 win over Butler in an Old Spice Classic semifinal on Friday. "A great game," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "It was very emotional and very high-level. It felt like an NCAA tournament-type game. Two teams that were wanting to win really badly." Oklahoma State (7-0) again came out flat to start the second half, one day after the Cowboys saw a 23-point halftime lead dwindle to four with 3 minutes to play before beating Purdue 97-87. "Were not paying attention to details as much as we are in the first half," Ford said. With the Cowboys holding a 68-67 lead in the final minute, Smart missed three free throws, including the front end of a 1-and-1. Butlers Khyle Marshall was fouled with 8.4 seconds remaining, but missed both free throws. "Its always tough to lose," Butler coach Brandon Miller said. "When you lose, and its a one-point game or a two-point game, sometimes you can beat yourself up over one mistake here, one mistake there, especially at the end of the game. I think mistakes, or a lack of execution, or a missed shot at the end of the game sometimes gets highlighted more than what it should. "Basketball is a 40-minute game. We didnt execute very well at the beginning of the game. The first half of the game got us." LeBryan Nash made it 69-67 by hitting 1 of 2 from the line before Butlers Elijah Brown had his last second 3-point shot blocked by Michael Cobbins. Nash added 15 points for the Cowboys, who will face No. 21 Memphis in Sunday nights championship game. "My first initial thought is Oklahoma State is a heck of a basketball team," Miller said.dddddddddddd "Obviously, very talented. When you have one of the best players, if not the best player in the country in Marcus Smart and the way he fights and leads his team, he sets the standard for his team." Butler (5-1) got 15 points from Brown. Kellen Dunham, who set a tourney record with 32 points in Thursdays 76-69 victory over Washington State, finished with nine, while Marshall, coming off a 30-point performance Thursday, had eight. This was the first meeting between the teams since Butler beat Oklahoma State 49-26 on Feb. 12, 1934. Alex Barlow keyed Butlers initial surge by connecting on a pair of 3-pointers to get the Bulldogs within 48-41 five minutes into the second half. Phil Fotre made two long-range jumpers and Smart had a couple driving baskets as Oklahoma State responded and grabbed a 66-57 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to play. Dunham and the Bulldogs made a final run, pulling within 68-65 with three minutes remaining when the guard hit a 3 and then converted a three-point play. Smart had the ball stolen by Erik Fromm on Oklahoma States next possession and Marshall got a rebound basket at the other end to make it 68-67. "In the second half, we werent scoring quite as much. We were taking some questionable shots that led for easy points for them," Ford said. Nash had 10 points, helping Oklahoma take a 44-30 halftime advantage. Five different Cowboys had at least six points during the opening 20 minutes. Smart had a slam and Markel Brown made a jumper to give the Cowboys their biggest lead of the first half, at 44-28, 1:48 before the break. Smart had 30 points in Thursdays tournament opener. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '