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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings fired coach Leslie Frazier on Monday morning, one year after they made the playoffs and one day after they finished a 5-10-1 season. Buddy Jeannette Jersey . After going 10-6 in 2012, the Vikings regressed this year, done in by a leaky defence and an ongoing inability to find stability at quarterback. Frazier finished 21-33-1 in three-plus seasons. The 54-year-old Frazier had one season remaining on his contract. "We have tremendous respect and appreciation for Leslie and what he has done for the Minnesota Vikings," owner Zygi Wilf said in a statement distributed by the team. "He stepped in and established a strong positive culture here, and he has been the consummate professional as our head coach and in this community. Making this change is difficult but what we determined is best for the organization." The Vikings planned an afternoon news conference at Winter Park. Quarterback Christian Ponder sputtered and produced three straight turnover-plagued performances to start the season. The Vikings lost all three, on last-minute touchdowns to Chicago and Cleveland. They lost two other games and tied one in similar fashion, squandering leads inside the 52-second mark in all five of those. Though veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield was cut before the season to save space under the salary cap, the defence that has been Fraziers expertise faltered badly. Drafting Ponder 12th overall in 2011 was the primary responsibility of general manager Rick Spielman, but the shaky quarterback situation was far from the only problem for this team. Hired by Brad Childress to be the defensive co-ordinator in 2007, Frazier interviewed for seven head coach openings over a three-year span: Atlanta and Miami in 2008, Denver, Detroit and St. Louis in 2009, and Buffalo and Seattle in 2010. Finally, his opportunity came with the Vikings when Childress was fired in the middle of a messy 2010 season. Credited with keeping the team on an even keel while attention swirled around Brett Favre and the Metrodome roof collapsed the night before a scheduled game, Frazier went 3-3 as the interim, including an improbable win at playoff-bound Philadelphia after the NFL postponed that contest by two days because of a forecast snowstorm. Frazier got the job for good in 2011, but after a lockout-shortened off-season, the Vikings went 3-13 behind an ineffective Donovan McNabb and then rookie Ponder at quarterback. In 2012, they staged a remarkable turnaround, riding Adrian Peterson to a spot in the playoffs. Childress had his contract extended in 2009 while the Vikings were on their way to the NFC championship game, but the team came unglued the following fall. Wary of a similarly expensive over-commitment, Wilf and the front office merely picked up a fourth-year option on Fraziers deal last January, putting him in a prove-it situation for 2013. Right away, his future here turned grim. And as widely liked as Frazier has been throughout the organization, the ultra-competitive landscape of the NFL rarely allows coaches with two double-digit-defeat records in three years to keep their jobs. His playing career as a cornerback for Chicago cut short by a knee injury in the Super Bowl, Frazier soon ventured into coaching, building the program at Trinity College from scratch in 1988. Fifteen years later, he became the defensive co-ordinator for Cincinnati. With two years as an assistant in Indianapolis, Frazier came from the Tony Dungy mould of coaches, a soft-spoken man of deep Christian faith who has excelled at creating a culture of harmony and respect around the locker room. After the Vikings beat Detroit on Sunday to wrap up the season, Frazier stumped to stay. He said he was proud of the job he has done here. "I just have a lot of belief in my abilities as a coach and have a lot of belief in the guys on our team, a lot of belief in our staff, and for that reason you dont have to walk in fear," Frazier said at the Metrodome. "You just know that things are going to work out." Detroit Pistons Pro Shop . The Stampeders announced the move on Wednesday. Bell spent his first two CFL seasons with the B. Christian Wood Jersey .28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games.MELBOURNE, Australia - Serena Williams loves having Venus back to keep her company in the second week of a Grand Slam, and credits her older sister with giving her the motivation to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.The Williams siblings, with 25 Grand Slam titles between them, will have a couple of Madisons joining them, too.Madison Keys had a 6-4, 7-5 upset win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday night, and Madison Brengle beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in an all-U.S. third-round match. The two Madisons will meet in the round of 16, meaning one of them will become a first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist.The last time four or more American women reached the second week in Australia was in 2003, when Keys coach Lindsay Davenport was playing and Serena beat Venus in one of their Williams-sister finals. That cant happen this time, because theyre in the same half of the draw.Serena Williams, who is aiming for her sixth Australian and 19th Grand Slam title, has long been the standard bearer and has been asked all too often what has happened to the depth of U.S. womens tennis.I think American womens tennis has come so far. We have so many options now, which is so great because for years I had to answer the question: I dont know, I dont know, the No. 1-ranked Williams said after her 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 26-ranked Elina Svitolina. Just so many American players that are playing really, really well. So much to look forward to.None more, in her mind, than Venus return to the fourth round at a major for the first time since Wimbledon in 2011.When Serena walked onto Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, Venus was down a set and a break on nearby Margaret Court Arena. Venus, who was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition called Sjogrens syndrome in 2011 and has struggled at the highest level ever since, rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 win over Camila Giorgi. And that was powerful inspiration.I thought, Wow, shes been through so much with her illness, with everything that shes had to do. Gosh, if she can do it, Im perfectly healthy, Im fine. I should be able to do it, too, Serena Williams said.On the mens sside, top-ranked Novak Djokovic and defending champion Stan Wawrinka advanced with straight-set wins, while U. Tim Frazier Jersey. S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori and Wimbledon semifinalist Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., continued their quests for a first major title.Four-time Australian Open winner Djokovic beat Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (8), 6-3, 6-4 in the first night match on Rod Laver, then asked the crowd of 15,000 to help him sing Happy Birthday to his mother, Dijana.Its my moms birthday, can you sing happy birthday? he asked the crowd. He sang the whole song live on camera and then left the court to start preparing for a match against Gilles Muller, who beat No. 19 John Isner 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-4.Wawrinka had a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Jarkko Nieminen and will have a score to settle in the next round against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat him in the first round of the French Open last year.No. 5 Nishikori beat Steve Johnson 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 and will next meet former French Open finalist David Ferrer, who struggled to finish off No. 18 Gilles Simon in four sets. No. 8 Raonic fired 22 aces in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Benjamin Becker and will next play No. 12 Feliciano Lopez.Serena Williams will have to be top of her game when she meets No. 24 Garbine Muguruza, who beat her in the second round at the French Open last year.In the other fourth-round match in that quarter, two-time champion Victoria Azarenka will meet 2014 finalist Dominika Cibulkova.Azarenka, who is unseeded because of an injury-interrupted 2014, had a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 25 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, while Cibulkova beat No. 19 Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-2.Venus Williams was delighted after her win, beaming a smile as she turned to wave to all sides of the stadium and doing some dance moves to the loud music. She said Serena had helped her, too.Weve had the fortunate relationship to be able to motivate each other and grow from each other, she said.The 34-year-old, seven-time major winner is determined to make sure her run doesnt end in the next round against sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska.I like to win titles ... thats what I play for, she said. ' ' '
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Activity: May 25 '20
