|
WASHINGTON - Randy Wittman learned long ago to focus on what he can control. wholesale nfl jerseys . Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners. Now hell have a chance to stick around following a 44-38 season, a 15-win improvement from last year, after the Wizards gave him a contract extension. "I think over the last couple of years what weve begun to establish here, continuity I think is important," Wittman said Wednesday in the hallway near the practice court at the Verizon Center. "Im appreciative of the opportunity to continue on." The Wizards reached the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and won their first post-season series since 2005. They accomplished it in the final year of Wittmans contract and under a preseason mandate to make the playoffs from owner Ted Leonsis. "I was here when it was not pretty. When you see it change, when you see the things that youve implemented begin to work, you want to continue on," the 54-year-old Wittman said. Wittman guided the Wizards to a first-round win over the Chicago Bulls before losing in six games to the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference semifinal. "Over the last 2 1/2 years really, Randy has established a great culture, a hard-working culture, a defensive-oriented team," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said. "Weve been a top-10 defensive team in the league the last two years. Weve made good progress. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but were headed in the right direction." Asked if retaining Wittman was an easy decision," Grunfeld stated," Yes, it was." Having already coached rebuilding squads with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, Wittman took over as head coach when Flip Saunders was fired in January 2012. As was the case in those other spots, losses starting piling up in Washington. Wittman has the worst regular-season record of anyone who has coached at least 400 NBA games — 191-329, a .367 winning percentage — since the league started in 1946. "Job security is fleeting, as we all know in this business," said Wittman, who played in the NBA for nine seasons. "If you worry about it, youre not going to do your job well." With John Wall sidelined, the Wizards opened the 2012-13 season with a 4-28 record. When their point guard returned, Washington finished 24-25. With Wall healthy and turning into a first-time All-Star alongside backcourt partner Bradley Beal, Washington ended the 2013-14 season fifth in the Eastern Conference. Washington has plenty of decisions remaining. Two starters — centre Marcin Gortat and forward Trevor Ariza — are unrestricted free agents. Overall, 10 players are entering some level of free agency or the organization must decide whether to exercise a team option. Though Wittman and Grunfeld have stated a desire to the keep the core intact, the roster could certainly look different next season. But the man on the sideline will be familiar. cheap jerseys . Patrick Deslisle-Houde and David Rose each scored in the second to give the fourth-seeded Redmen a 3-1 lead after Jean-Philippe Mathieu scored in the first. jerseys from china . -- Oakland Raiders running back Maurice Jones-Drew is being sued in Florida, accused of punching a bouncer at a St. ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- One night after being beaten by the lowly Hamilton Bulldogs, the St. Johns IceCaps bounced back in a big way. Spencer Machacek scored three goals as the IceCaps hammered the Bulldogs 6-0 on Wednesday night in American Hockey League action. IceCaps coach Keith McCambridge was clearly frustrated after Tuesdays 4-2 loss to Hamilton, but was very pleased with Wednesdays response. "We came out and played the way we set the bar to play all season long," he said. "Overall, we had everybody playing their A game tonight. The biggest thing was the work ethic, the compete, the checking was there, everything was in place that gives you a chance to win a game tonight." McCambridge said it was crucial for the IceCaps to avoid consecutive poor showings as the playoffs draw near. "Frustrating when you see what happened last night. Is that going to happen during the course of the season? Yes. The biggest thing is you want to make sure that you dont let those run in consecutive games," he said. "That was a really good bounce-back game for that team in the dressing room." Zach Redmond, Jason Gregoire and Aaron Gagnon also scored for the IceCaps (38-16-7). St. Johns captain Jason Jaffray had three assists. St. Johns goaltender Ed Pasquale had a quiet night in his shutout, making only 12 saves. The Bulldogs goaltenders both had a ton of work, with starter Nathan Lawson making 25 saves, and Robert Mayer stopping 20 shots in relief. The IceCaps opened the scoring when Machacek sscored at 15:18 of the first period. cheap nfl jerseys. Machacek pulled a spin move behind Hamiltons net before backhanding the puck towards Lawson, who misplayed the shot and the puck trickled into the net. "When (Machacek) is on top of his game, when hes playing in straight lines, hes a really effective player," McCambridge said. "It was good to see him get on the board tonight, good to see him play the way Spencer Machacek should play." Redmond scored at 17:11 when he launched a slap-shot through a screen. The IceCaps outshot the Bulldogs (27-28-7) 17-4 in the first period, which was indicative of how the rest of the game would go. St. Johns took the game by the throat in the second period, with Machacek completing his hat trick to put St. Johns up 4-0. The fourth goal of the game ended Lawsons evening. Gagnon made it 5-0 at 15:25 of the second period. Jaffray and Jason King exchanged slick passes before finding Gagnon open on the far post for the easy tap-in. Gregoire added the only third period goal when a Kevin Clark shot bounced off Gregoires chest as he was falling. "All four lines were going tonight for sure," Machacek said. "Sometimes the bounces are going your way, and tonight I thought we got some bounces. But we worked hard for them as well, and we definitely worked hard for the full 60 minutes." The IceCaps went 2-for-6 on the power play while Bulldogs 0-for-1. St. Johns faces off against the Manchester Monarchs Saturday and Sunday at Mile One Centre. ' ' ' |
