months ago, Silva said his desire to help UFC in a time of need prompted him to ask for the fight.I havent trained in a few months, but I think Im in good condition to go in there and put on a good fig

As general manager of the NHLs expansion Las Vegas franchise, George McPhee wants to build a team that will entertain fans in a unique market and bring hockeys hallowed trophy to the desert sooner rather than later.Named the first GM in franchise history Wednesday, the seasoned McPhee had the deep resume to convince owner Bill Foley to choose him from among seven candidates. Now its up to him to build Las Vegas from scratch to begin play in 2017-18, a task he knows wont be easy.Our mission here is clear: Were going to build an organization and a team that people in Nevada and Las Vegas will be proud of, and were going to do it quickly and were aiming at the Stanley Cup, McPhee said. Its that simple.McPhee most recently served as special adviser to New York Islanders GM Garth Snow and before that spent 16 seasons as GM of the Washington Capitals. As the Capitals GM, McPhee oversaw a complete rebuild around star winger Alex Ovechkin that led to six consecutive playoff appearances before he was fired in 2014.He took Washington from being a team that was scrambling and sort of turned it around, so I think that experience will be a big plus, said Doug MacLean, who was the Columbus Blue Jackets GM when they entered the league in 2000. I think its a real good fit.McPhee has a strong history of drafting and developing players, and his extensive NHL experience earned him the position over younger candidates. Foley said McPhee got the nod over two other finalists because of his communication skills.Foley said he wanted a GM who was focused, dedicated and had a take-no-prisoner attitude and feels he got that in McPhee.We all want to win, and hes going to win for us, but I like to have people that I really get along with and that I can communicate with, Foley said. We had great candidates, they were all good. I just felt there was a little something extra with George.Despite not winning the Cup in Washington, McPhees success with the Capitals is what made him a sought-after candidate for openings in Toronto and Boston a year ago and now in Las Vegas. His experience in taking the second-oldest team in the league, tearing it down and creating a perennial playoff contender in the salary-cap era will suit him well in his new endeavor.I think Ill be hopefully even better the second time around, McPhee said. There are lots of GMs in this business that have done a good job in one place and gone to the next place and won Cups. Id like to be one of those guys.A long rebuilding process McPhee said can be negative fun and called taking over a brand new team a phenomenal opportunity.Here you come in and its a clean slate and you get to pick everyone in your organization, McPhee said. This is what every GM wants to experience at some point in his career, to be able to start with a new franchise.With Las Vegas -- which Foley said doesnt have a name yet because of trademark issues -- McPhee will have it a bit easier based on stricter NHL rules on how many players can be protected. The 58-year-old from Guelph, Ontario deemed it a much more generous pool of players than previous expansion teams have been able to choose from.McPhee expects to have a nice start from the June 2017 expansion draft but cautioned that in the NHL teams dont win by spending big in free agency. He pointed to his enormous success in drafting well in Washington and said that will be the key to Las Vegas being a short- and long-term winner.McPhee helped construct back-to-back gold-medal winners for Canada at the past two world hockey championships. Brad Treliving, his co-GM at the 2016 worlds and GM of the Calgary Flames, selfishly would have liked to see McPhee working outside the Pacific Division and the Western Conference.I was hoping maybe George could go back to the East, just take the team and move it to the East, Treliving said by phone Wednesday. Youre really happy for him. Then you take a deep breath and go, `Oh great, another excellent manager that youre competing against. But thats the game, everybodys good.McPhees duties with the Islanders included scouting, which will be one of his primary jobs next season in preparation for the launch of the franchise. McPhee expects to begin hiring staff next week and will spend the 2016-17 season watching plenty of games to find players at the amateur and pro levels.For all his talk about wanting to win right away and win the Cup within Foleys eight-year window, McPhee has shown restraint and patience as a GM. A title is his goal, but first its about putting a team on the ice that will thrill the 15,000-plus fans who signed up for season tickets to make the NHL in Vegas happen.The whole thing is a process, McPhee said. Well play a brand of hockey that people will like. Ive never enjoyed that sit-back style of hockey. I like a team thats attacking all the time, pressuring pucks all over the ice. I love the way Pittsburgh played this year and they won the Stanley Cup. Well be doing the same sorts of things.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno . Wholesale Custom Saints Shirts . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Cheap Custom Saints Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-erik-mccoy-jersey-large-72e.html . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Authentic Custom Saints Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Custom Saints Jerseys . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. LAS VEGAS --?Daniel Cormier will remain on Saturdays UFC 200 card and fight former middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a three-round, nontitle light heavyweight fight.UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to ESPN on Thursday evening. Cormier, the light heavyweight champion, was originally scheduled to fight Jon Jones at UFC 200, but that fight fell through Wednesday, when Jones was informed of a potential anti-doping violation.Silva, 41, has fought three times at 205 pounds, defeating James Irvin in July 2008, Forrest Griffin in August 2009 and Stephan Bonnar in October 2012, all by first-round knockout.Asked if the Cormier-Silva matchup makes up for the loss of Jones, White said he believes it does.I think its an interesting, fun fight, White said at a postfight news conference for Thursdays UFC Fight Night. Anderson Silva is undefeated at 205, and not just undefeated, but devastatingly undefeated. Every time hes moved up to 205, hes looked better than he did at 185.The new booking comes just one day before official weigh-ins for UFC 200. The fight will be three rounds, White said, because Silva is fighting on two days notice.Anderson is giving Daniel the opportunity to fight, to make money and to perform on UFC 200, White said. So if Anderson wants three rounds, if Anderson wants two rounds, hell get it.Silva does require final medical clearance by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, but UFC expects Silva to be cleared.Silva (33-7) hasnt fought since he suffered a decision loss to Michael Bisping inn February.dddddddddddd He was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 198 in May but was forced to pull out the week of the fight when he experienced abdominal pain. He was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder later in the week.Although that was less than two months ago, Silva said his desire to help UFC in a time of need prompted him to ask for the fight.I havent trained in a few months, but I think Im in good condition to go in there and put on a good fight, a smiling Silva said through a translator.Silva is winless since the Bonnar fight. He defeated Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January 2015, but that result was overturned when Silva failed multiple drug tests for steroids. Arguably the greatest fighter of all time, Silva holds the UFC record for consecutive title defenses with 10.According to White, three options were considered to fight Cormier: Silva, Gegard Mousasi and Dan Henderson. Mousasi is already scheduled to fight on the card, and White said the promotion has other plans for Henderson.Additionally, a female bantamweight title fight between Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes has been elevated to the UFC 200 main event. White told ESPN that, after further consideration, the promotion thought Tate deserved the headlining role. A heavyweight fight between Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt will serve as co-headliner.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '