Carolinas improved performance than about his lastest career milestone.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ray Shero as general manager eight years ago with the mandate to build a roster around two of the games brightest stars and turn ticker-tape parades through downtown into an annual rite of spring. Nearly a decade -- but just one Stanley Cup later -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin find themselves on a perennially underachieving team. And Shero finds himself out of a job. The Penguins fired Shero on Friday, three days after another early playoff exit, this one a seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Coach Dan Bylsma remains in charge until Sheros replacement gets a chance to evaluate the entire organization top to bottom. "We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons," co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement. "We believe that new leadership in the general managers office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form." Assistant general manager Jason Botterill will serve as general manager on an interim basis. Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse called Botterill a candidate to take over and believes whomever the team brings in wont need to make major changes on a club that won 51 games in 2013-14. "Its not a complete rebuild," Morehouse said. "This is a team that has had a level of success. What were trying to do now is get from good to great." Its a destination the Penguins reached only briefly during Sheros tenure, spending most of the time in a murky middle ground that made them one of the leagues model franchises during the regular season but a symbol of disappointment once the calendar crept into May and beyond. Pittsburgh won the franchises third Cup in 2009 but has failed to produce a bookend. Pittsburgh is just 4-5 in playoff series over the last five years after blowing a 3-1 series lead against New York. Morehouse didnt blame the 51-year-old Sheros ouster on one specific misstep. "This is a decision thats been in the works for a long time since weve won the Cup," Morehouse said. "We wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup finals and we havent and were going to make some changes." The Penguins brought Shero in before the 2006-07 season and tasked him with finding the right kind of players to complement Crosby and Malkins otherworldly offensive talent. It culminated on a giddy night in Detroit in 2009, when the Penguins edged the Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 to earn the franchises third Cup, a run that included the crucial trade deadline acquisitions of forwards Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It was supposed to mark the beginning of a dynasty. Yet five seasons have come and gone with the Penguins in a familiar position: watching the final stages of the playoffs go on without them. It hasnt been for lack of trying. Shero remained aggressive in investing in a "win now" mode as the ensuing disappointments piled up. He enthusiastically said the Penguins were "all in" last year after trading for Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. The moves often created headlines but little else, and boatloads of regular-season victories and a sellout streak seven years and counting proved no longer good enough. Whether Bylsma will be along for the ride remains unclear. The affable, open-minded Michigan native was a revelation when the Penguins promoted him from their American Hockey League affiliate in the spring of 2009, hoping his optimism would help a loaded team break out of a midseason funk. It worked brilliantly. Four months after taking the job, the former NHL nomad who spent nine seasons as a gritty fourth-line forward was raising the Cup in ecstasy. Considering Crosby and Malkin were both in their early 20s at the time, champagne toasts were expected. A half-decade later, Bylsma is the winningest coach in franchise history with 252 wins but the wait for another Cup run continues. While Pittsburgh enjoyed nearly unparalleled success from October to April -- including easily capturing the Metropolitan Division this year despite losing more than 500-man games to injury -- the Penguins again struggled to adapt in the post-season. Morehouse said the new general manager will determine whether Bylsma and the rest of the staff gets another shot. The 43-year-old Bylsma has two years remaining on his contract, the product of an extension he received last June as a vote of confidence from Shero following a four-game sweep at the hands of Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The deal came with a promise to adopt a more defensive-minded approach. The Penguins even brought in longtime NHL coach Jacques Martin as an assistant, an old-school yin to Bylsmas new-school yang. Crosby took the blame for the teams underperformance as the Penguins cleared out their locker on Thursday. A day later the general manager ordered to put the leagues leading scorer in a position to keep Pittsburgh at the top was cleaning out his office. Whoever ends up redecorating will have his tough choices to make. At the same time, he gets to start with Crosby and Malkin firmly entrenched. Both players are signed through the rest of the decade. There are worse places to start. "A lot of teams would like to be where we are," Morehouse said. "However we do have high expectations and we do want to get to them." Alex Goligoski Jersey . Mauer struck out to end the inning, with a runner on third base in the seventh on Wednesday and the Twins trailing 1-0. 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Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. Clayton Keller Jersey .C. -- Steve Spurrier was much happier about South Carolinas improved performance than about his lastest career milestone.(SportsNetwork.com) - Best record in the NBA. Check. Best road record in the league. Check. A franchise-best winning streak. Check. The Golden State Warriors have it all together and they will shoot for a 16th consecutive win Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans in the Big Easy. Golden State opened a three-game road trip with Saturdays 105-98 victory against the Dallas Mavericks, so the record winning streak could be at risk on short days rest. The Warriors became the first team to reach 20 wins (20-2) and Stephen Curry led three players with at least 20 points in Big D. Curry finished with 29 points and handed out eight assists, and is shooting 50 percent from the floor and averaging 24.0 points and 7.6 assists over his past 10 games. Klay Thompson netted 25 points and made 5-of-11 3-pointers, while Draymond Green delivered 20 points and eight boards. Fifteen wins in a row, its hard to fathom, said Thompson. This is a special group. The Warriors have been special on the road, going 12-1 with nine straight wins outside of Oakland. Golden State has won 30 of the last 39 road games. It is first in field goal percentage (48.0) and third in scoring with 106.7 ppg. Opponents are scoring 95.7 ppg against the Warriors. Golden State hasnt lost since Nov. 11 versus San Antonio and will close the road trip Tuesday at Memphis. The Pelicans recently disposed of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with Fridays 119-114 victory, but it came with a price. Young star Anthony Davis suffered a bruised chest in the first quarter and diid not return.dddddddddddd Davis played only seven minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing one rebound, and is questionable Sunday. The Pelicans picked up the slack without Davis in the lineup and were led by Tyreke Evans 31 points and 10 assists. Ryan Anderson hit 8-of-14 3-pointers en route to 30 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in 16 points and eight assists. James paced the Cavs with 41 points on 17-of-24 shooting, but New Orleans shot 55.7 percent and hit 12-of-28 from beyond the arc. To beat a team like that without AD (Davis) and have as many contributions across the board was special, Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. Anderson felt the same way about the teams play without Davis. This was a game that we knew that we had to fight extra hard without (Davis), Anderson said. This was a huge win for us so Im really happy with the way we played. Davis, who spent Friday night at a hospital, is averaging 24.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. New Orleans has won three of four games and improved to 7-2 at home. The homestand will conclude Tuesday versus the Utah Jazz. The Pelicans and Warriors will play the second of four meetings Sunday, and Golden State posted a 112-85 win on Dec. 4 out west. Curry had 19 points and 11 assists in that one, and Davis pumped in 30 points and 15 boards. Golden State has won eight in a row against New Orleans and is unbeaten in the previous six trips to the Big Easy. Sundays game will feature some of the best long distance shooters in Curry, Thompson and Anderson. 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