NEWS » g in the argument in a 45-7 victory Saturday

TORONTO – The Maple Leafs intend to fill what remaining holes they have on their roster through internal competition. That was the pledge, at least, of team president Brendan Shanahan from the clubs annual prospect camp. “We want our young players to have job opportunities,” Shanahan said. “We want to have competition. We want to create that internal pressure, that there are jobs to be had here.” Unraveling toward another playoff miss last year, Toronto did some roster restructuring this offseason through trade and a prudent first week of free agency. And although much of the lineup can be jotted down in pen for returning head coach Randy Carlyle, there are gaps that will be left in pencil, to be decided in competition at training camp. “Youve got to have a few holes with the big club so that not only these guys,” said Shanahan, referring to the 29 prospects on hand for the week-long camp, “but our Marlie guys who are in the gym in the mornings know that theres a reason to be working out this summer, that theres an opportunity and a job to be won possibly.” A glut of departing free agents left most of the openings at forward. At centre, the third and fourth-line positions are there to be had for a combination of Mike Santorelli, Petri Kontiola, Peter Holland and perhaps even Sam Carrick and Greg McKegg. Further jostling on the wing will come down to who shows best amongst a group that includes Matt Frattin, Carter Ashton, Josh Leivo, Troy Bodie and William Nylander, the eighth overall pick in the draft this past June. At least one spot – and maybe two, depending on Cody Fransons future – will be up for grabs on defence, there for Petter Granberg, Stuart Percy, Korbinian Holzer or Andrew MacWilliam to snatch. Carlyle, who received a two-year extension in early May after a trio of his assistant coaches were fired, had been reluctant to lean in that younger direction in the past, preferring the veterans at his disposal. But at the urging of management it appears hell no longer have much of a choice. The club had no talks, for instance, with Jay McClement, the coachs most trusted crutch, opting to let him walk via free agency this summer. Tragically collapsing for the second time in three seasons, Toronto did however, look to inject some leadership and veteran know-how in their roster remake this summer; Roman Polak, a feisty sort long of St. Louis, was added in a trade for Carl Gunnarsson; 37-year-old Stephane Robidas and returning Leaf Leo Komarov were signed to multiyear deals on July 1st. Upside bids like Santorelli and Kontiola were added from the free agent market in the days that followed. “These were not plan Bs,” Shanahan said. “These were guys that we had targeted. “With all due respect to the players that were signed for big dollars and big term, we looked at July 1st this year and decided that we didnt want to be too involved with some of those big signings … Its a bad habit to try and build your team on July 1st year after year after year.” Instead, it appears the Leafs will start the prudent trend of building internally, improved draft and development key in the still-to-be-sorted Shanahan platform. Discount Nike Shoes . Jose Bautista homered for the fifth straight game in the sixth inning, following a two-out solo homer by Melky Cabrera. Edwin Encarnacion led off the seventh with a homer to tie the game 3-3 and, with two out in the seventh, Munenori Kawasaki came through with the two-out single to score pinch-runner Steve Tolleson with what proved to be the winning run. Cheap Nike Shoes China .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard. http://www.cheapnikeshoesdiscount.com/. Cavaliers shooting guard Craig Ehlo makes a solid play on the ball, but still Jordan hits the amazing shot. Cheap Nike Shoes . "He came up to me and said, I want to train," said Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen. The 26-year-old midfielder is expected to play Saturday night when Toronto hosts D.C. United, returning to his Major League Soccer squad with mixed feelings about the Americans World Cup run -- sad that it ended when it did but proud of his teams performance.As college football prepares for the final Bowl Championship Series, featuring a Florida State-Auburn championship game, its easy to see why the coming four-team playoff wont solve all the post-season problems. Heck, we might just miss the BCS. Maybe? It sort of worked out this season. Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion. Auburn (12-1) won the Southeastern Conference, and among the teams with imperfect records the Tigers resume is best. "We all complain about the BCS, but isnt it funny how often they get it right," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. The pairings became official Sunday night when the final BCS standings came out. There was no question about 1 and 2. Itll be the Noles and Tigers at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 6 for the national championship. In the other marquee bowls: -- Alabama will play Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. -- Clemson will play Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. -- Michigan State will play Stanford in the Rose Bowl. -- Baylor will play UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. Of course, Big 12 champion Baylor (11-1) and Big Ten champion Michigan State (12-1) might argue with that top two. But over 16 seasons college football fans have built up what can be called BCS acceptance, learning to live with the fact that there is only room for two. Fans of particularly aggrieved teams (2000 Miami, 2004 Auburn, 2008 Texas, just to name a few) still burn over the slights. Generally, though, by the time the championship game kicked off, most everybody was on board. And only eight times before the BCS did No. 1 play No. 2 in a bowl game. "Its been a remarkable seismic change for this sport," executive director Bill Hancock said. "That was unthinkable before the BCS." Now think about this season playing out under next seasons format. In the new world order known as the College Football Playoff, a selection committee will pick four teams to play in national semifinals. The winners play for the championship. So how would a panel that includes Tom Osborne, Archie Manning and Condoleezza Rice sort out this seasons top four? Florida State and Auburn, of course. And ... Baylor and Michigan State? But what about Pac-12 champion Stanford (11-2)? Sure the Cardinal have two losses, but as Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said Saturday at the end of a week in which he and the rest of the SEC practically begged voters to overlook the number in the loss column and focus on quality of opposition: "I have nine words.dddddddddddd Strength of schedule. Strength of schedule. Strength of schedule." Among this seasons best teams, Stanford played the toughest schedule. And then there is two-time defending champion Alabama (11-1). "Were not a natural playoff sport," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who was the offensive co-ordinator at Tennessee when it won the first BCS championship game against Florida State in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl. "I think we can make this work with four. "And the reason I think well make this work is I think what were all going to find out is the arguments are going to get bigger. Were going to go from a few schools being angry to a lot of schools being angry, and maybe thats going to be a good thing. I just want to be in the argument." Florida State showed Cutcliffe how far away Duke is from being in the argument in a 45-7 victory Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. In a season defined by blowouts, the only drama for Florida State came off the field, when quarterback Jameis Winston was investigated for sexual assault. The state attorney said there was not enough evidence to charge the redshirt freshman with a crime two days before the Seminoles played Duke. Winston is the runaway favourite to win the Heisman Trophy next Saturday. Auburn completed its worst-to-first run with a 59-42 victory in the Southeastern Conference championship game against Missouri. The Tigers didnt win a conference game last season. "This time last year, we were home, hanging out watching other guys play ball," running back Tre Mason said. "Thats not really what you want to be doing." Mason ran for 304 yards and four TDs against Mizzou to make a late Heisman push of his own. The Tigers have had some good fortune, including improbable plays to beat Georgia and Alabama. That left Auburn to try to extend the SECs BCS championship game winning streak to eight games against the school that played for the first three BCS titles under Bobby Bowden. ' ' '