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27	August 2018

her first LPGA Tour victory

The text message lit up Troy Mann�s phone the morning after the Capitals eliminated the Penguins with a patchwork lineup featuring five rookies. It came from Barry Trotz.

�Thanks Manner for having all those rookie Caps ready Authentic JK Scott Jersey ,� Trotz wrote. �They all played well � you own a piece of this win last night.�

Mann beamed with pride when more than a half-dozen players he coached with the American Hockey League�s Hershey Bears contributed to the victory that got the Capitals into the Eastern Conference final. Many of those players are still playing key roles for Washington in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights � more than a month after Mann was fired from his job as Hershey�s head coach.

This is a bittersweet time for Mann, who had a hand in the development of Jakub Vrana, Chandler Stephenson and Christian Djoos as coach and was an assistant when Braden Holtby, John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, Andre Burakovsky, Jay Beagle and Tom Wilson went through Hershey on their way to the NHL. Considering the success of those players and Hershey products Nate Schmidt and Cody Eakin contributing for Vegas, the Cup Final is a validation of Mann�s methods of getting prospects ready for the next level.

�I called Troy Mann the other day and thanked him for producing a lot of good players,� Trotz said. �All the players he had the last couple of years are all playing in the Stanley Cup Finals. Guys who haven�t played a (playoff) game before. They�ve brought some of that winning tradition that they had in Hershey. It�s important for those guys to be a part of it.�

Mann has remained connected to the Capitals� playoff run by talking to Trotz and Hershey video coach Mike King, who�s in Washington. Amid interviews with other organizations for another AHL job or work as an NHL assistant, he has watched about 80 percent of the Capitals� games this postseason and can see the elements in players� games he and assistant Ryan Murphy harped on improving during their four-year tenure.

After giving Vrana some tough love by scratching him in the playoffs a year ago, Mann notices the 22-year-old winger getting between the faceoff dots to create offense like he asked. He watches Stephenson playing with the consistency that was sometimes lacking in Hershey, which was all part of the plan.

�We talked a lot during our time here about what they needed to do at the NHL level to be successful,� Mann said by phone this week. �The thing we�ve seen the most with our guys is just the improvement level from year to year and month to month.�

As much as Mann notices the improvement from afar, the players feel it Jason Witten Jersey Elite , too, and credit him for giving them the playing time to grow their games in Hershey, a market that expects championships as much as development.

�He just gave us a chance,� said Stephenson, who has seven points in his first Stanley Cup playoffs. �The type of franchise that Hershey�s been and having so many Calder Cups and things like that, he put a lot of faith in the younger guys and just trusted us. He wanted us to get to the next level more so than you wanted yourself. I really respected him as a coach and liked him as a coach and to have that faith and trust (from) him, it�s helped me a lot.�

His support several years ago helped Eakin become a full-time NHL player who said Mann �knows how to get the most out of his players.� Schmidt, who had Mann as an assistant and a head coach, appreciated pre-practice skills sessions to work on his hands and stick work and the honesty with which he deals with players.

�I thought he was great,� Schmidt said Saturday. �You always knew where you stood with him. That�s something that I really respect.�

But after three playoff appearances including a trip to the Calder Cup Final in 2016, missing the postseason this year led to the Capitals not renewing Mann�s contract.

�Troy is a dedicated and hard-working coach, and we appreciate all he has done for the Hershey Bears,� Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. �At this point, we feel a fresh approach and a change in leadership is needed in order for us to continue to develop our young players towards the next level and for success at the AHL level.�

That stung for Mann, who worked eight of the past nine years in the Capitals� system Youth John Franklin-Myers Jersey , made Hershey his home in that time and believed he did his job.

�I think it�s very difficult for anybody to tell me that I haven�t done my job here,� Mann said. �I�m very grateful they gave me my first opportunity. As much as I�d love to be the head coach of Hershey next year, the only thing I can hope for now is that other NHL teams are recognizing the work that we did here and that�ll help pay off in the next few weeks here of securing another opportunity.�

Mann was a finalist for one job already and is in demand as Ottawa, Arizona and Colorado all look to fill AHL head-coaching vacancies. He has a big supporter in Trotz, who said recently the Capitals wouldn�t be Eastern Conference champions without Mann and Murphy helping develop Stephenson, Vrana, Djoos, Nathan Walker, Travis Boyd and Madison Bowey.

�They did a really good job,� Trotz said. �They�ve developed well, and they�ve been a big part of it.�

�

More Stanley Cup coverage: Justify emerged from the fog and sloshed his way to another impressive victory, holding off several hard-charging challengers to win the Preakness on Saturday and keep alive the chance for trainer Bob Baffert�s second Triple Crown champion in four years.

On a sloppy track similar to the conditions in the Kentucky Derby, Justify improved to 5-0 and will go to the Belmont Stakes on June 9 looking to do the same thing American Pharoah did for Baffert in 2015.

Bravazo finished second and Tenfold took third in the 1 3/16-mile race.

HOCKEY

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) � Ryan Reaves scored the winning goal, Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves and the Vegas Golden Knights pushed their remarkable expansion season into the Stanley Cup Final Terrell Edmunds Jersey Steelers , beating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Sunday in Game 5 of the Western Conference final.

Alex Tuch also scored for the Knights. They lost Game 1 in Winnipeg before winning four straight to become the first expansion team since the 1968 St. Louis Blues � when the six initial expansion teams were put alone in the West � to get to the final.

Vegas will meet the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Washington Capitals in the final. Tampa Bay leads the Eastern Conference final 3-2, with Game 6 set for Monday night in Washington.

Josh Morrissey scored for the Jets, and Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves.

BASEBALL

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) � Reliever Sergio Romo started on consecutive days for Tampa Bay, becoming the first pitcher to start back-to-back games since Zack Greinke did it for Milwaukee in July 2012 after getting ejected from his first start after four pitches.

Romo is the first pitcher to pitch at least one inning in back-to-back starts since Steve McCatty did it for Oakland in 1980.

Romo, who made the first two starts of his 11-year big league career during the weekend, struck out the side in the first inning Saturday before striking out three more Sunday. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash used the unusual strategy with Romo to allow the two young pitchers who followed Romo to face the heart of the Angels� right-handed order less frequently.

ATLANTA (AP) � The Atlanta Braves released Jose Bautista a month after picking up the veteran slugger and will make Johan Camargo their starting third baseman.

General manager Alex Anthopolous said the team made the decision Saturday before Camargo drove in two runs in an 8-1 win over Miami. Camargo, a switch-hitter, will play every day.

The 37-year-old Bautista hit .143 with two homers and five RBIs in 12 games with the Braves after having his contract purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett. The six-time All-Star struck out 12 times in 35 at-bats.

PRO FOOTBALL

HAMILTON, Ontario (AP) � Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel signed a two-year contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League on Saturday, looking to salvage his football career after a turbulent and unsuccessful stay with the Cleveland Browns.

Manziel actively pursued an NFL contract this offseason and played in the developmental Spring League last month, his first action in organized football since the 2015 NFL season. He now comes to a team coached by June Jones, a former NFL and college quarterback and coach.

The 25-year-old quarterback won the 2012 Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M, and was selected in the first round � No. 22 overall � in the 2014 NFL draft by the Browns. He was released in March 2016 after posting a 2-6 record over two tumultuous campaigns.

GOLF

DALLAS (AP) � Aaron Wise cruised to his first PGA Tour victory Sunday, shattering the AT&T Byron Nelson record at 23 under on a new course in a race to finish before nightfall after a four-hour rain delay.

The 21-year-old rookie shot a 6-under 65 to beat Marc Leishman by three strokes as both became the first to finish the Nelson at 20 under or better in the first year at Trinity Forest. The treeless links-style layout was defenseless with softer fairways and greens and no wind once the morning storms passed. The Nelson celebrated its 50th anniversary with a return to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving. Rory Sabbatini set the previous record on that par-70 layout at 19-under 261 in 2009.

BIRMINGHAM Dolphins Jason Sanders Jersey , Ala. (AP) � Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Regions Tradition for his first senior major title, closing with a 2-under 70 for a three-stroke victory.

Jimenez held or shared the lead after every round, taking a three-shot edge into the final round at Greystone Golf & Country Club. The Spaniard finished at 19-under 269 for his fifth PGA Tour Champions victory.

Steve Stricker, Joe Durant and Gene Sauers tied for second.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) � Ariya Jutanugarn birdied the second hole of a playoff to win the Kingsmill Championship for the second time in three years.

Jutanugarn closed with a 5-under 66 to match Nasa Hataoka (67) and In Gee Chun (68) at 14-under 199.

Jutanugarn and Hataoka both birdied the first extra hole, with Chun dropping out. Hataoka putted first on the second extra hole and missed badly before the 22-year-old Jutanugarn rolled in a 15-footer for her eighth career victory. Her older sister, Moriya, won the HUGEL-JTBC Championship in Los Angeles in April for her first LPGA Tour victory.

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) � Adrian Otaegui of Spain defeated Benjamin Hebert by two shots in the final medal match to win the inaugural Belgian Knockout.

The nine-hole final match was tied when Otaegui ran off three straight birdies starting at the par-3 sixth. The Frenchman countered with a birdie at No. 7, but Oategui birdied the par-5 eighth to go two ahead with one hole to play.

Otaegui won for the second time on the.