It didnt take long for the first shoe to drop in the wake

TORONTO -- It didnt take long for the first shoe to drop in the wake of Kevin Paynes dismissal from the Toronto FC front office. Nike Free Schuhe. On Monday, just days after Payne was fired as the MLS teams president and general manager, his prize acquisition was shipped to the Portland Timbers In trading away 22-year-old Argentine forward Maximiliano Urruti and an international roster spot, Toronto received 26-year-old forward Bright Dike (pronounced Bright DEE-kay), a first-round draft choice in 2015 and allocation money, which the club can use to stretch its salary cap. The international roster slot in the deal expires on Dec. 31. Toronto also gets to hold 20 per cent of Urrutis rights, so it will profit if he is sold. And Toronto now has three first-rounders in the 2015 draft. In the wake of his dismissal Thursday, Paynes reserved parking sign was gone Monday as the 4-13-10 team returned to training following a 4-0 weekend defeat in Portland. Paynes loss was the gain of one of the two reporters who showed up for practice at the teams north Toronto training centre and unexpectedly found a primo parking place. The Urruti trade has to be seen in the context of other planned Toronto moves. Some could happen this week if the club can pull the trigger before MLS rosters are frozen Friday at 5 p.m. ET. But it still came as a shock. After all, Payne pursued Urruti like Captain Ahab in search of Moby Dick. "We are thrilled to finally get this deal concluded for Maximiliano Urruti," Payne said when the signing was finally announced Aug. 15. "He is a player that we have been aware of for nearly two years and we have scouted him extensively in person." All told, Urruti saw just 37 minutes of action with Toronto in two substitute appearances. The Argentine arrived in off-season shape so fans did not see him at his best. "For what were bringing in and what we got for Portland, it was just a deal we couldnt turn down," manager Ryan Nelsen said Monday of the trade. "And it works for us in a very big way." Change is in the offing at Toronto FC with Nelsen looking to fill a shopping list of needs. Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, told season ticket-holders Sunday at the teams annual barbecue that Toronto is after two designated player strikers. He added that the money is not a problem, given that the board had authorized $26 million for two such deals over the August transfer window. That cash was never spent, but Nelsen and Leiweke have specific marquee targets for the January window. Two star strikers would leave little room for Urruti. During the lengthy pursuit of Urruti, Toronto FC talked of the league coming up with a new category to enable marquee talent without labelling them designated players. And on Monday in an interview, Nelsen referred to Urruti as being a "league DP" with the league having signed the player and holding 80 per cent of the player. But in a hastily called conference call Monday night, a league official said there was no DP tag attached to Urruti and denied that the Argentine was anything but a normal international signing. "The terms of the Urruti acquisition or signing are confidential but he is not a designated player," Lino DiCuollo, the MLS vice-president of competition and player relations who signed the player, said in a subsequent interview. DiCuollo said there is no such thing as a league designated player. He also said the league was not involved in the Urruti trade. He did call the Urruti signing with MLS "definitely one of the most complicated transactions to work on" because of the many parties involved. Teams are allowed a maximum of three designated players (Toronto currently has two in midfielder Matias Laba and striker Danny Koevermans). Nelsen see Dike as a valuable piece of what will be a new Toronto puzzle. His career line with the Timbers reads like this: 23 games, nine starts and six goals over three injury-disrupted seasons (in 2011 he ruptured his Achilles tendon in pre-season). Dike blew out his knee in the pre-season but was on the Timbers bench for their 4-0 win over Toronto on Saturday and has played 80 minutes in a reserve game. He scored five goals in 12 games for Portland last season. At six foot one and 210 pounds, Dike is a physical presence. He has "power and pace," according to Nelsen. "And hes got lots of it," he added. And with a contract of US$60,6876.50, he will not break the bank. "Hes a completely different dimension to what were going to get and what we have," said Nelsen. "We dont have anything like him. Hes at a good age and hes hungry." Originally drafted 12th overall by the Columbus Crew in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, the Oklahoma-born Dike has one cap for the Nigerian national team. He is eligible to play for the African country through his parents, who are both natives of Nigeria. Dike was of one four players to be announced as the Timbers first MLS signings on Oct. 19, 2010. He played collegiately 86 games at Notre Dame, leading the team and the Big East Conference in scoring as a junior and a senior. Much of this season has been spent by Toronto trying to free itself of the shackles of large, unwieldy contracts. Designated player Torsten Frings retired, as did veteran defender Danny Califf. Captain and defender Darren ODea was encouraged to move on, while midfielder Terry Dunfield was one of many players to be released. Backup goalie Stefan Frei (whose salary is $200,000) and fullback Richard Eckersley ($310,000) are both big-ticket items in a $2.95-million salary cap world although, Freis contract expires at the end of the season. The future of Welsh forward Robert Earnshaw may also be in question, given the arrival of Dike and promise of star strikers to come. At $155,500 and with a proven scoring touch, Earnshaw may be easy to move, with the possibility of a trade to fill in other holes in the lineup. Portland sees Urruti as a young talent who gives Argentine playmaker Diego Valeri another weapon. Urruti made 56 appearances and scored 12 goals for Argentine club Newells Old Boys from 2010 to 2013. "Maximiliano is a player we know well, one we feel will be a great fit in our system and scouted extensively prior to him signing with Toronto," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said in a statement. "He is a quality young player who has cut his teeth with one of the top clubs in the Argentine first division. "Urruti will complement the depth we have in the striker position, and once he is acclimated and match-fit, will bring a dimension to the No. 9 role that weve been looking for." Toronto hosts the Chicago Fire (10-11-5) on Wednesday. Nike Free Schweiz. Looking to lead his team into the playoffs, Curry scored 30 points and the Warriors won easily for the second straight night, 93-72 over the struggling New Orleans Hornets on Monday. "This is a game that validates last night, how big a win that was for us to start the road trip," Curry said, alluding to Golden States 30-point victory at Houston on Sunday. nike Free Online Schweiz.Y. -- Amare Stoudemire will go into next season with $45 million left on his contract and no guarantee of a starting job. http://www.nikefreeschweiz.ch/nike-free-6-0-dm-96/. The more recent spat is buried. With the regular season winding down, the Dallas Mavericks are tuning up nicely for the playoffs. Nike Free Run+ 3 Laufschuhe.E.I. Rocket 7-0 in the lone game in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Luca Ciampini added a goal and two assists for Halifax (43-6-3), while Konrad Abeltshauser and Stephen MacAulay each chipped in with a goal and an assist. Nike Free 3.0 V3 Laufschuhe Blau Dunkel Blau Weiß. Like an ordinary fan, he watched the Heat, who had some guy named Jarvis Varnado playing for them.Just when it appeared as though the Boston Bruins might secure the services of Calgary Flames RW Jarome Iginla, the Pittsburgh Penguins swooped in and completed a trade, their third of the week, as they load up for a Stanley Cup run. Numbers Game examines Pittsburghs latest deal, adding a proven veteran scorer to what is already the leagues highest-scoring team. The Penguins Get: RW Jarome Iginla. Iginla, 35, has scored 525 goals and 1095 points in 1218 career games (plus 28 goals and 49 points in 54 career playoff games), but his production is down this year. Through 31 games, Iginla has nine goals and 22 points with 100 shots on goal and a minus-7 rating, playing 19:18 per game. Iginlas goal total is lower than usual thanks to his shooting percentage (9.0%), his lowest since his second year in the league, 1997-98. While his shots per game (3.23) is down from his peak years, it matches up well with two of the past three seasons and those were years in which Iginla finished with 32 goals, so hes not completely ineffective at the offensive end, even if his numbers arent measuring up to his typical season. Advanced stats suggest that Iginla has been relatively unlucky this season, at both ends of the rink. That doesnt mean hes still the same old Iggy but, with his track record of being able to put the puck in the net, even if hes lost a step, hes generating enough shots on a consistent basis to believe that he could still be a valuable scorer for a contender. In fact, moving to Pittsburgh could very well provide even better opportunities for Iginla. One of the longstanding issues in Calgary has been the lack of a bona fide playmaking centre to take full advantage of Iginlas scoring ability. While his ability has naturally decreased over time, the opportunity to join the Penguins and play with Sidney Crosby could afford Iginla a bounty of quality scoring chances. How that shakes out the rest of the Penguins lines remains to be seen, particularly while the Penguins wait for Evgeni Malkin to return from injury but, ultimately, if Iginla were to join Crosby and Chris Kunitz (because it seems unlikely to break up that duo), then Pascal Dupuis and Brenden Morrow would be left to vie for a spot on the wing with Malkin and James Neal. Dupuis production this year would figure to give him the edge and allow the Penguins to roll Morrow through their bottom six, along with wingers Tyler Kennedy, Beau Bennett and Matt Cooke. Thats rare depth for todays NHL. Iginla comes at a $7-million salary cap hit this season, and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. If all goes well, which means Iginla scores and the Penguins win a Stanley Cup, there may be an appetite to work out a contract extension but, if not, hes free to hit the open market in the summer and the Penguins arent tied into any long-term commitment. For the relatively modest assets that they gave up to acquire Iginla, the Penguins are big winners. They were already Cup contenders and just raised the bar for other contenders by landing one of the best available pending free agents on the trade market. The Flames Get: LW Ken Agostino, LW Ben&nnbsp;Hanowski and a first-round pick. Nike Free 3.0 Run+ 2S Laufschuhe Agostino is a 20-year-old junior at Yale, who has scored 96 points in 97 career games in his collegiate career. He was a fifth-round pick of the Penguins in 2010 and while there may be some offensive upside to his game, hes not an elite prospect. Hell have a chance to be a pro winger, but may never have an impact on the Flames lineup. Hanowski, 22, is a winger with good size (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) who just wrapped up a four-year college career at St. Cloud State, where he scored 39 goals and 72 points in 73 games over his last two seasons. He has some offensive ability, but it may not translate to the pro game. If he can use his size effectively, though, he might be able to earn an NHL role at some point. The most valuable piece of the puzzle coming to Calgary is the Penguins first-round pick. Even if it ends up being 30th overall, or thereabouts, there is close to a break-even chance that the player will turn out to be an NHL regular and thats better than can be said for Agostino and Hanowski, whose NHL futures are uncertain. This isnt to condemn the Flames for their return (Bostons rumoured offer of C Alexander Khokhlachev, D Matt Bartkowski and a first-round pick was more appealing), however. Its a function of a veteran player with a no-movement clause getting to decide where he would like to play. The Penguins had better prospects (including at least a handful of defencemen), but why bother offering them if Iginla selects Pittsburgh (over Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, reportedly) as his preferred destination? Either the Flames play ball and get what they can from the Penguins or end up with Iginla playing out the string until the end of his contract this summer. With Iginla moving on from the only NHL franchise for which hes ever played, the Flames now have to be prepared to undergo a serious rebuilding effort. Veterans like Mike Cammalleri, Jay Bouwmeester and Miikka Kiprusoff may not be shed before the trade deadline (or maybe they will), but could be part of the roster overhaul before next season. The Flames have put off rebuilding for so long that its going to take some time to turn the franchise around, stockpiling young talent so that they can be a playoff team year after year instead of a team just good enough to miss the postseason, as they have the past three seasons. In the short-term, wingers Jiri Hudler and Lee Stempniak could see more playing time with Iginla gone from the top of the depth chart and prospect Sven Baertschi could get another look after his latest stint in the American Hockey League. Its a changing of the guard in Calgary, as they move out one of their franchise icons and while the return is underwhelming, its the change of direction for the franchise that is more significant. Theres plenty of heavy lifting required to improve the Flames for the long haul and the trade of Jarome Iginla to the Penguins begins that process in earnest. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. 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