e Giants are playing the Royals

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DETROIT -- Even by the Detroit Pistons recent standards, this was an abrupt change. Wholesale Cheap Jerseys . Detroit fired coach Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after less than a year as coach, with the Pistons languishing well below .500 despite off-season moves aimed at putting the struggling franchise back in contention. Detroit is 21-29, and although the Pistons still have a decent chance to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, their new roster has performed erratically. "This was a difficult decision for the organization to make but we needed to make a change," team president Joe Dumars said in a statement. "We have great respect for Maurice and appreciate his hard work." A person with knowledge of Detroits plans said assistant John Loyer will take over as interim coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced an interim coach yet. The Pistons havent made the playoffs since being swept in the first round in 2009 -- in Michael Currys only season as their coach. Since then, Detroit has gone through two seasons under John Kuester and two under Lawrence Frank. After neither of them could make any real progress, Cheeks was brought in as Detroits ninth coach since the 1999-2000 season. In addition to hiring Cheeks last off-season, Detroit signed forward Josh Smith and traded for point guard Brandon Jennings, trying to bolster a roster that already included young big men Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. But the mix has been uninspiring for the most part. The Pistons have had problems defensively and have struggled to close out games in the fourth quarter. The poor attendance thats become commonplace at The Palace hasnt really improved -- and Detroits 11-15 home record hasnt helped. "Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change," Pistons owner Tom Gores said Sunday. "We have not made the kind of progress that we should have over the first half of the season. This is a young team and we knew there would be growing pains, but we can be patient only as long as there is progress." Detroit is only a half-game out of the final playoff spot in the East, but thats largely because so many teams in the conference are having similar problems. The Pistons are only three games better than they were after 50 games last season. Cheeks became the first coach to leave or be fired after 50 games or fewer with an NBA team since Bob Weiss, who coached only 30 games for Seattle in 2005-06, according to STATS. That does not include interim coaches. "The responsibility does not fall squarely on any one individual, but right now this change is a necessary step toward turning this thing around," Gores said. "I still have a lot of hope for this season and I expect our players to step up. I respect and appreciate Maurice Cheeks and thank him for his efforts; we just require a different approach." The Pistons have won four of six, including back-to-back blowouts at home against Brooklyn and Denver on Friday and Saturday. They host San Antonio on Monday night, and the team has not made any announcement about who will coach that game. Cheeks previously coached Portland and Philadelphia, a team he won an NBA title with as a point guard. The Pistons gave him his third shot to be an NBA head coach in June. Gores was in attendance at a recent game and said he thought the team was better than its record. "Im not satisfied. Our job is to make sure that our players are at their maximum," Gores said after that Feb. 1 game against Philadelphia. "Im not satisfied with the job Im doing. Im not satisfied with the job anyone is doing." At that point, speculation centred around the upcoming trade deadline and the possibility that Detroit might shake up its roster again. Now, the Pistons are hoping another coaching change can improve the franchises outlook. Detroit made the conference finals six straight years from 2003-08, but the teams fall was swift after that, and rebuilding has been difficult. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Pistons championship in 2004 -- and the atmosphere at The Palace could hardly be more different. "Were focused on how to make our players the best," Gores said earlier this month. "I dont think weve done our best job of making sure they are at their best. They are working at 100 per cent, but these are young men who need a lot of preparation." The Pistons became the third major pro team in Detroit to make a coaching or managerial change in the past six months. Jim Leyland of the Tigers stepped down and was replaced by Brad Ausmus after last season, and the Lions fired Jim Schwartz in late December, eventually replacing him with Jim Caldwell. So Ausmus, who has yet to manage a game, is now the second-longest tenured manager or coach of the citys four major pro teams. Yahoo Sports first reported Cheeks firing. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China .com) - Jahlil Okafor had 21 points, Tyus Jones scored 16 with 10 assists and No. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Beckham finished 2 for 4, adding a double in the first inning. Chicago has won eight of 12 to get back to .500 (27-27). The White Sox are 6-3 against Cleveland this season after losing 17 of 19 to their American League Central rival in 2013. Mike Aviles went 1 for 2 with a walk and drove in Clevelands run. http://www.cheapnfljerseys.tv/ . -- Top-seed Shahar Peer and Canadian Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the second round of the inaugural WTA Citi Open.Going back to 1998 - a stretch of 16 World Series - the team with the highest payroll in baseball has won the Fall Classic only three times. No surprise that it would be the Yankees in all three years, 1999, 2000 and 2009. However New York also lost twice while paying out the most money in 2001 and 2003. I chose 1998 as a point of reference since the Blue Jays won 88 games that season, their high water mark since winning their second of back-to-back World Series in 1993. Eighty-eight is also a number they havent been able to match since. In 1998, the Blue Jays payroll was 19th highest in the Majors at $34,158,500. The Yankees had the second-highest player overhead in 98 at $65,663,698 and swept No. 9 San Diego (at $53,066,166) four straight in the World Series. There are those who believe you cant win the World Series unless you spend your brains out. Well that has not always been the case. In 2003, the Florida Marlins had the 25th ranked payroll at $49,050,000, less than a third of that of the Major League-leading Yankees who clocked in at nearly $153 million. The Marlins won that World Series, their second in seven years. The Blue Jays payroll that year was actually higher than the Marlins at $51,269.000. In 2007, Colorado was ranked 25th at about $54.5 million, and played No. 2 Boston. The Red Sox rolled to victory in four straight with a cash outlay of nearly three times as much as the Rockies. Perhaps the most extreme example was 2008, when Tampa Bay made it into the Fall Classic with the 29th-ranked payroll at $43,820,597 and ultimately lost to the 12th-rated Phillies, who shelled out just over $98 million. The Blue Jays incidently that season paid out just a shade less than the Phils at $97,793,900. If you go back and look closely over the 16 World Series that have been played since 1998 and then throw in this years match-up the Blue Jays have actually outspent one of the two Worlld Series participants five times. NFL Jerseys From China. In the last two years, the Jays have actually set franchise records for how much they have spent. In 2013 they laid out the ninth-highest total of $117,527,800 and though they dropped a notch to 10th in 2014, they set a new franchise mark at $132,628,700. Now dont get me wrong, it hasnt always been onwards and upwards in terms of the Jays spending. Seven times in the past 17 years theyve cut payroll, sometimes significantly. Their highest ranking going back to 1998 was ninth in 2013 and their lowest was 25th in 2005, but generally they are on the fringe of the upper third of clubs or in the middle of the pack. The most interesting year in terms of numbers was 2002. The Giants and Angels met in the World Series, with the Halos defeating Barry Bonds and company for their first and only World Series victory. The Jays payroll was $76,864,333, more than $15 million more than the Angels spent and about a million and a half less than the Giants. Heres another one to think about. In that last 16 World Series, the team that has spent the most has won 11 times and lost only five times. That brings us to this season, where the Giants are playing the Royals. San Francisco has the seventh-ranked payroll at just over $154 million. The Royals check in at 19th-highest at $92,034,345. Im still picking Kansas City in six games because of that great bullpen, all that speed and defence and the home park advantage. The off-season activity will really start to percolate soon. The General Managers meetings run November 10-12 at Phoenix, then the Winter Meetings take place in San Diego from December 8-11. Two of the biggest names who could be on the move include Colorados star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who wants to play for a winner, and Yoenis Cespedes, who apparently doesnt want to sign long-term with the Red Sox or play right field at Fenway Park. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '