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ver the weekend.ddddddddddddEntries for both Saturday and Sundays programs at Gulfstream Park West were drawn
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sabres coach Ron Rolston added NHL experience to his new staff by hiring Joe Sacco on Tuesday. Sacco is a former NHL player who spent the past four seasons as the Colorado Avalanche coach before being fired in April after the team missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Sacco had a 130-134-40 record and was an NHL coach of the year finalist in 2010 after leading the Avalanche to the playoffs in his first season. In May, Sacco coached the U.S. national team to win a bronze medal at the World Championships in Sweden. Rolston described Sacco as an ideal fit because of his coaching experience and familiarity with teaching young players, as he had done with the rebuilding Avalanche. And Rolston had to remain patient in waiting for Sacco, who had been a candidate for at least two NHL head-coaching vacancies. "Once those opportunities passed, it was a situation where -- at that point -- he was obviously a no-brainer to bring in and talk to," Rolston said. "In terms of what we had here and the direction we were going, we thought hed be a perfect fit." The Sabres are in transition by rebuilding through youth. Rolston is part of the teams transformation. He took over as interim coach in February after Lindy Ruff was fired. He was then hired on a full-time basis in May after closing the season with a 15-11-5 record. Saccos hiring fills one of two openings in Buffalo after Rolston fired both bench coaches, James Patrick and Kevyn Adams. Rolston intends to hire one more assistant, while confirming hes retained two assistants, Teppo Numminen and goalie coach Jim Corsi. Rolston and Sacco have ties to USA Hockey, but have never worked together. Sacco was a forward during 13 seasons in the NHL before retiring in 2003. Drafted by the Maple Leafs in 1987, he finished with 213 points (94 goals, 119 assists) in 738 career games split between Toronto, Anaheim, the New York Islanders, Washington and Philadelphia. Earlier in the day, Sabres general manager Darcy Regier indicated he wasnt prepared to make a major splash once the NHLs free-agency period opens Friday. He is instead interested in targeting veteran role players who would be able to complement Buffalos young lineup. "Our focus is going to be on supporting this younger group," Regier said. "It means fit. And the fit may be positional, it may be character, it may be to add some scoring." Regier remains noncommital as to whether he intends to trade his two star veterans, goalie Ryan Miller and forward Thomas Vanek. Both players are entering the final years of their contracts, leaving their futures uncertain in Buffalo. "Its incumbent upon me to have a sense of what the marketplace is or re-sign them, versus allowing them to become unrestricted and just have very good assets walk out the door," Regier said. "It would be fair to characterize that Im actively finding out what the marketplace is." ---- NOTES: After an up-and-down rookie season, C Mikhail Grigorenko can expect to play all of next year in Buffalo. Though the 2012 first-round draft pick is still eligible to play at the Canadian junior level, Regier said he intends to have Grigorenko develop with the Sabres. ... Regier said D Alexander Sulzer will become a free agent. ... The Sabres will hold a three-day rookie development camp in Buffalo next week.St.Louis Blues Shirts . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Fake Blues Jerseys .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. https://www.cheapblues.com/ . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Custom St.Louis Blues Jerseys . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Blues Jerseys 2020 . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said.The opening of the Gulfstream Park West meet, scheduled for Wednesday, was pushed back to Saturday with Hurricane Matthew forecast to hit the area Thursday and into Friday. The 40-day session is scheduled to run through Nov. 27.Training has been canceled at Gulfstream Park West in Miami and Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. No mandatory evacuation of horses has been ordered at either track, although trainers stabled in the lower-lying areas of Gulfstream Park -- which is more prone to flooding -- were given the option of moving their horses to Palm Meadows.Trainer Mark Casse shipped all 28 horses he had stabled at Gulfstream Park to Ocala, Fla., on Wednesday due to concerns about flooding.Gulfstream Park remained open for simulcasting Wednesday, but was to close Thursday and Friday and reopen Saturday.The safety of our fans, horses, jockeys, horsemen, and employees is our top priority, said P.J. Campo, vice president of racing for The Stronach Group and general manager of Gulfstream Park, which leases the Gulfstream Park West facility from Churchill Downs. Because weather conditions the next few days remain uncertain, we tthought it was best to call off the next few days and kick off the Gulfstream Park West meet over the weekend.ddddddddddddEntries for both Saturday and Sundays programs at Gulfstream Park West were drawn Wednesday, with 10 races each day. Only two races were carded on the grass for Saturday, including the five-furlong allowance feature. Sundays main event mirrored the conditions of the statebred allowance feature from Thursdays canceled program.Gulfstream Park West, formerly Calder Race Course, has had to deal with several other hurricanes. The track sustained damage to the grandstand and barn area during Hurricane Wilma in the fall of 2005. Several months earlier, management was forced to postpone the Summit of Speed program one day due to the effects of Hurricane Dennis. Racing was also canceled at Calder for two days when Hurricane Frances passed through in 2004. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed areas of South Florida, but the track escaped serious damage.-- additional reporting by David Grening ' ' '