DETROIT (AP) The Detroit Red Wings are bringing coach Jeff Blashill for a fourth season http://www.avalancheshoponline.com/authentic-j.t.-compher-jersey , sticking with him while they rebuild after missing the postseason for the second year in a row.”I’m big on experience,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said after announcing the decision on Tuesday.Detroit extended its postseason streak to 25 years in 2016 during Blashill’s debut season as an NHL coach. The Red Wings have fallen short since then and are 104-105-37 in three seasons under Blashill, who won one playoff game two years ago. Holland, who has been Detroit’s GM since 1997 and recently agreed to a two-year contract extension, decided to stay with Blashill as the Red Wings look for the right mix of youth and experience to get back in the mix in the Eastern Conference.”I’m certainly glad to still be the coach of the Detroit Red Wings. It’s a job I love,” Blashill said. ”I’m excited about moving this franchise … where everybody wants it.”The Detroit native will coach the U.S. team at the IIHF World Hockey Championship – for the second straight year – next month in Denmark.The Red Wings hired Blashill in 2015 after Mike Babcock’s contract expired and the Toronto Maple Leafs gave him a $50 million, eight-year contract. Blashill was on Babcock’s bench in Detroit as an assistant during the 2011-12 season. He went on to coach the Grand Rapids Griffins, leading the Red Wings’ American Hockey League affiliate for three successful seasons. Blashill also led Western Michigan University for one season, helping the Broncos reach the CCHA championship game for the first time since 1986.”He’s gotten better,” Detroit center Dylan Larkin said. ”That sounds different to say about a coach. He has become more mature. … He has a good grasp of the room.”— Trainer Bob Baffert is feeling pretty good about the chances of his latest Kentucky Derby contender, Justify Youth Matt Nieto Jersey , despite the horse’s lack of experience on the track.Baffert told “PodcastOne Sports Now” co-hosts Jim Litke and Tim Dahlberg that Justify – the early favorite for Saturday’s race – should be fine despite having only run three races in his life. Baffert said Justify has shown an ability to adjust quickly to race conditions, and he expects that to continue in the Derby.Baffert is seeking his fifth Derby win with Justify, which won the Santa Anita Derby last month. The horse will be trying to become the first to win the Kentucky Derby after not racing as a 2-year-old since Apollo turned the trick in 1882.One thing Baffert doesn’t want to see during Derby week, though, is an animal of another kind. Baffert says he has a thing about black cats, and hopes one doesn’t cross his path in Louisville.AP basketball writer Brian Mahoney joins the hosts to talk about NBA playoffs, and Dahlberg discusses the Vegas Golden Knights and the scene in Las Vegas for the NHL playoffs.And, of course, there’s some talk about food in the newly renamed Podcast One Sports Now show, backed by the worldwide reach of The Associated Press sports department.
