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d a career-best three blocks from centre Zaza Pachulia. T
MONTREAL - There were no flashy new signings on the field as the Montreal Impact opened camp Monday. Nike Air Max 1 Sale Cheap . But there was a new head coach in Frank Klopas, the former Chicago Fire boss who hopes to take the Impact further this season with mostly the same personnel. "I know the team from playing against them," said Klopas, who was hired Dec. 18 to replace Marco Schallibaum. "I knew I was coming to a team with a good foundation to build on." Missing from his first 90-minute workout on the indoor pitch at Marie Victorin College were Italian defender Alessandro Nesta, who has retired, and former captain Davy Arnaud, now with D.C. United. Midfielder Andres Romero was also absent, but only temporarily due to a visa problem. Reserve midfielder Andrea Pisanu was let go. What was really missing was the presence of any new talent to make up for the loss of two key veterans and to raise hopes the club may go farther than in 2013 when they squeaked into the playoffs in only their second Major League Soccer season. It was main rival, Toronto FC, that stole the off-season spotlight with big money signings — Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe and U.S. international midfielder Michael Bradley. In Montreal, management was quiet, although they hope to bring in two or three new faces before the season opens in March. "Great for Toronto and great for the league," said Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier. "They were talking about the league in a lot of places. "Its their eighth season so I guess for their ticket holders, they had to bring something. But now theres added-on pressure because theyre going to have eyes like L.A. and New York on them for pretty much the whole season. "But I concentrate on our team. Weve got pretty much the same team and I think the organization will be looking at bringing in that extra two or three players that can bring us across the edge so we have more depth and are strong all year long." For now, the Impact has only 22 roster players and one of them, Spanish defender Adrian Lopez, wont be ready until April after knee surgery. Returning starters include goalkeeper Troy Perkins, central defenders Matteo Ferrari and Nelson Rivas, fullbacks Jeb Brovsky and Hassoun Camara, midfielders Bernier, Hernan Bernardello, Justin Mapp, and Felipe Martins and striker Marco Di Vaio, a 20-goal scorer. Veteran goalie Evan Bush, midfielders Sanna Nyassi, Collen Warner and Blake Smith and forward Andrew Wenger are also back. Klopas said hell likely wait until after the first phase of camp to name a captain but is leaning toward assistants Bernier and Di Vaio. The 34-year-old Bernier, of Brossard, Que., would welcome wearing the armband. "It would be a logical next step, having been the assistant behind Davy," he said. "It would be great, coming from here, to have the captaincy and hopefully hold it for the rest of my career. "That would be a great ending." Its Berniers third season with the Impact and hes on his third head coach after Jesse Marsch led the way in the teams 2012 MLS expansion season before Schallibaum arrived last year. Camara goes one farther as he has been with the Impact five years, since before they were in MLS, and has had five different coaches. "Its part of the game," said Bernier, who spent most of his career in Europe. "This is may be my 15th coach in 13 years. Its something that happens. "The office realizes we needed someone to bring us to another level. The decisions been made and Im looking at 2014. I thank Marco for 2013. We had a good year." The Impact was the talk of MLS through the first half of 2013, and not just because Schallibaum got suspended four times for sideline tantrums. They were first in the league at mid-season and had won the Amway Canadian championship, although they crashed out in the first round of CONCACAF Champions League play. They faltered down the stretch and just made it into the fifth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. They were dominated 3-0 by Houston in their only post-season game, which saw Di Vaio and Romero ejected for initiating a skirmish. Both will be suspended for the first three games of this season. Bernier liked what he saw of Klopas when he coached Chicago, particularly his ability to make in-game adjustments when his team was behind. The 47-year-old Klopas hopes to get Montreal to play sounder team defence and figures the Impact has enough up front to provide goals. Hes already had dinner and a chat with Di Vaio, who will turn 38 on July 15. "I hope to do well like I did last year," said Di Vaio. "I want to score goals. I dont know how many, but to score goals to help the team. "Last year we did better than the year before and this year we have to try to be better. Last year we did well up to the last 10 matches, so we have to find a way to keep it going and do well through the entire season." One newcomer was former OFI Crete defender Nikos Kounenakis, who has not officially signed as an assistant coach but is likely to do so soon. Klopas wants him to handle the defence. "Nick played at a high level, he has a UEFA Pro license, hes played in the back line and I think he can complement the coaches we have," said Klopas, also a former Greek league player. Also in camp are four players taken in the MLS SuperDraft, including first pick Eric Miller and forward and Edmonton native Jordan Ongaro. Three players from the Impacts under-23 squad were also invited. Air Max 1 Clearance .C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. Nike Air Max 1 Canada . "I love the game, its the best job you can have," he explained Tuesday as the players left Joe Louis Arena for the summer. "Ill sit down with my wife and well go from there.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Josh Smith saved his only 3-pointers for when the Detroit Pistons needed them most. His first started a 12-0 run midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Pistons the lead for good and the next gave Detroit breathing room in its 116-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. Greg Monroe matched his season-best with 28 points and had 14 rebounds to help Detroit end a three-game skid in a matchup of the NBA Central Divisions worst two teams. Smith scored eight of his 26 during the decisive run. "It kind of was a relief," Smith said of his first 3-pointer, which got the Pistons within 98-95 with 5:2 left in the game. "I knew if I just stepped into it and shot it with confidence we could make a push." He had a 3-point play later in the run and added his second 3-pointer and a subsequent dunk with a minute to play to put the game away. Smith finished the fourth with 15 points and was 11 for 19 from the floor overall. "It seemed like every shot he made in the fourth quarter was a big shot," Monroe said. "We obviously needed him to kind of pull away." Brandon Knight had 25 points and Ramon Sessions added 20 and 11 assists for Milwaukee, which lost its 10th consecutive road game and dropped the season series with the Pistons 3-1. The Bucks outscored the Pistons 13-6 in the final four minutes of the first half and took a 61-52 lead to intermission. Detroit trailed by as many as 11 points early in the third but took the lead with a 12-0 run before heading into the final period trailing 82-81. Cheap Air Max 1 Canada. Andre Drummond had 10 points and 16 boards and Brandon Jennings added 20 points and 13 assists for Detroit, which won despite going to the line 21 times to Milwaukees 36. "We just stopped doing the things that we did for three-and-a-half quarters," Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said. "We took some tough shots. We rushed a lot of quick shots around the basket and missed a lot of easy ones." Drew was content with his teams job on Smith, who entered the game making 42 per cent of his field-goal tries. "I thought we did a good job from a game strategy standpoint," Drew said. "We did what we were supposed to do. He just started making shots." The Bucks got 12 points, 13 rebounds and a career-best three blocks from centre Zaza Pachulia. They went almost five minutes without a field goal late in the fourth quarter while Detroit made the decisive run. Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo each added 14 points. Pistons coach John Loyer was whistled for a technical foul midway through the third quarter. Two nights earlier he was ejected from the Pistons 123-98 loss at Philadelphia. NOTES: Drummond and Pachulia each were assessed technical fouls in the first half for arguing calls. . The Bucks finished March 0-9 on the road. Their last win away from home was Feb. 24 at Philadelphia. . Drummond had his Eastern Conference-best 49th double-double. . Bucks G O.J. Mayo (right ankle) was in uniform Monday but did not play for the third straight game. Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike Basketball Jerseys Hockey Jerseys China Supply Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Sale Authentic College Jerseys MLB Jerseys ChinaStitched Soccer Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Jerseys ' ' '
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