VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Giants have hired Troy Ward as their new head coach. Ward takes over the WHL team after three seasons as coach of the AHLs Abbotsford Heat, the Calgary Flames former top minor-league affiliate. "Its an honour," Ward said in a statement. "You talk about the WHL and the history of the league and everything that goes with it and the exposure, and obviously Vancouver is right there at the top." Ward takes over for longtime head coach Don Hay, who left for the Kamloops Blazers. Houston Astros Jerseys . - For a general manager who preaches building through the draft, Reggie McKenzie has struggled to find impact players his first two years in Oakland. J. R. Richard Jersey . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win. http://www.baseballastrosproshop.com/roy...-astros-jersey/. Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep. Jimmy Wynn Jersey .Chanathip Songkrasin opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Kroekrit found the target twice in the 57th and four minutes from fulltime.Vietnam and Malaysia play their second leg on Thursday. Vietnam won the first leg 2-1. Carlos Lee Jersey . "Im very pleased to be able to add a quarterback with Adrians experience and skill set," Calgary head coach and general manager John Hufnagel said in a statement.WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets have given head coach Claude Noel at least a small vote of confidence, signing him to a one-year contract extension. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff says the rest of the coaching staff will also be offered some job security as well. "You deal with whats right in front of you and the coaching staff now has got an extension to move forward beyond this season and thats something that we all feel comfortable with," Cheveldayoff said Monday. Noel is entering his third season with the team and the one-year extension will take him to the end of the 2014-15 NHL season. Cheveldayoff and Noel said the fact that it was only a one-year extension wasnt that big a deal. "The term really doesnt determine how you do that job. For me the extension is great," said Noel. "Would you rather have a longer term? I think this is fine." Noel led the Jets to a 24-21-3 record last season as Winnipeg finished ninth in the Eastern Conference, four points behind the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot. He coached the Jets to a 37-35-10 record in 2011-12, the clubs first season in Winnipeg after relocating from Atlanta, also missing the playoffs. The former Thrashers havent seen the playoffs since the 2006-07 season, when they were swept in the quarter-finals by the New York Rangers. "I clearly see that we have to make the playoffs but its not easy to make the playoffs," the coach said Monday on a conference call. Prior to the Jets arrival, Noel coached the American Hockey Leagues Manitoba Moose to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs in 2010-11. Before moving to Winnipeg, he spent four seasons in Columbus as an assistant coach and was head coach for the final 24 games of the 2009-10 seasson after Ken Hitchcock was fired.dddddddddddd The Blue Jackets went 10-8-6 over that span but Noels contract was not renewed. Cheveldayoff also talked about the upcoming NHL draft and his dealings with both restricted and unrestricted free agents. He says the team would like to move up from their current 13th pick in the entry draft but there are also teams lower down that would like to move up as well. There is the potential for deals either way. He has started talks with all the teams restricted free agents and is looking to get them signed. As for unrestricted free agents, they have had some discussions with defenceman Grant Clitsome and goaltender Al Montoya about returning. As for the others, such as defenceman Ron Hainsey, Cheveldayoff said he expects they may try the market but he didnt rule out some returning. He still wants to add depth at forward but with the 13th pick, says its difficult to know who might be available. They will take the best player they can get. Centre Mark Scheifele, their top 2011 draft pick, is expected to join the team this season after playing the last two seasons with his junior squad in Barrie. With so many players able to move, exactly what Noel will have to work with this season is up in the air. "Were not quire sure where our roster is right now but that will be determined through time." He says they still have to work on being more consistent and improving their goals for and against average, but he sees lots of room for growth. "I like our team. I like our players. I like a lot of what they bring to the table," he said. Next season the Jets also move to the Western Conference. "It will be a fun time for us and a big challenge," said Noel. ' ' '