Carlyle said of the decision beforehand. It’s been more than two wee

RENTON, Wash. -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted. He was proven to be correct. Bennett now has a Super Bowl title and a new four-year contract that will keep him with the Seahawks. "I dont know if there was any doubt, but there was a lot of speculation a lot of teams tried to get me to come there," Bennett said Monday after signing his new deal. "But ultimately I wanted to come back and play with these guys and win some more games." Bennett was considered one of the top free agents in the NFL after a breakout season with the Seahawks where he led the team in sacks and proved a versatile option as a defensive end and defensive tackle. But he never made it all the way to the start of free agency Tuesday after the Seahawks came up with a satisfactory deal. Terms were not announced by the team. Pro Football Talk reported Bennetts deal was worth about $28.5 million with $16 guaranteed. Bennett said there were other teams offering more money, but the guaranteed amount was most important. Bennett was thought to have been strongly pursued by Chicago, where he had a chance of joining his brother, Martellus, with the Bears. But he ultimately decided to return to Seattle. "Yeah there was more, but I wanted to be here man. There are a lot of young guys here, and there are a lot of winning ways and I just love the organization and the things that they are about. I love the staff, from the equipment staff to the medical staff; it just goes on and on." Lost in the speculation about Bennetts future was his history with Seattle and specifically defensive co-ordinator Dan Quinn. The Seahawks signed Bennett as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M in 2009 and gave him a spot on their roster for the start of that season when Quinn was his defensive line coach. Even though he was eventually waived and claimed by Tampa Bay, that initial relationship with Seattle remained strong. Its partly why Bennett jumped at the chance to return last off-season with Quinn as the new defensive co-ordinator, even if it meant playing on a one-year deal that paid only $3 million in base salary. Its also a factor in why hes staying now. "At the end of the day, it was about being comfortable and being in a good situation," Bennett said. "Sometimes going to a whole other organization doesnt work out the way it worked out for me coming here and being with these guys. A lot of times people take a lot of money and they go to places and theyre not what they turned out to be. I know what this place is. Im familiar with the staff and players and it makes a big deal to be here." Seattle seemed to understand what it would take to retain Bennett. The Seahawks parted with defensive end Red Bryant and wide receiver Sidney Rice to create additional salary cap space. Coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have been steadfast that their top priorities in free agency were retaining their own players and not making big splashes by signing others. Bennett was at the top of the list with wide receiver Golden Tate not far behind. Bennett had 8 1/2 sacks in the regular season and a fumble return for a touchdown. His numbers would have likely been higher had the Seahawks figured out earlier in the season how best to utilize their defensive line rotation. Bennett had even more impact in the playoffs. He had a forced fumble and recovery that gave Seattle an early lead in the NFC divisional playoff win over New Orleans, and added one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the NFC championship game against San Francisco. "We had hopes he would be a real contributor and he exceeded our expectations and were excited to keep him," Carroll told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday. "Hes got great energy, a terrific motor and hes a very versatile football player. We really need to play him more. He didnt play a lot of plays the first half of the season, we specialty played him, and then we played him more as the year went on. We got better and he helped us. Were excited about it." Andre Johnson Jersey . 1 player in the world. So Duval gutted it out Thursday at the Byron Nelson Championship despite the pain from a muscle issue in his right elbow, a day after his stepson had to drive him because he couldnt even use that arm. Cullen Gillaspia Jersey .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal. http://www.cheaptexansjerseysauthentic.com/. -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Texans Jerseys China . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. Max Scharping Jersey . “Im not sure well get Melky Cabrera at all,” said Gibbons. The 29-year-old left fielder struggled all season with knee and hamstring problems. Cabrera was first on the disabled list from June 27-July 20 with tendinitis in his left knee.TORONTO – The Maple Leafs hit rock bottom two weeks ago. They haven’t lost a game in regulation since. Behind a scorching offence that struck for five more goals, and 35 saves from Jonathan Bernier, the Leafs won for the fourth time in five games Tuesday (4-0-1), edging off the defensively-challenged Stars in a wild affair at the ACC. Yielding 38 shots themselves in victory, this was not the kind of performance they’d been proud of recently, a fact stressed by Randy Carlyle in his post-game address with players afterward. “I just said ‘We’re going to take the two points, but we can’t be happy with the sloppiness in which we played’,” said Carlyle after the 5-3 victory. “‘Lets be realistic and let’s be honest with ourselves that we have to come to work [Wednesday] to improve on that because we cannot continue to play that style of game and think we’re going to have success.’” It was the second straight game in which the Leafs have allowed more than 35 shots after holding opponents to less than 30 in the three before that. They were sloppier on this night, more prone to individual works, less focused on their defensive pursuits, and more like the flawed team of recent seasons. “I thought tonight was probably our worst game I’d say in the stretch that we’ve had [recently],” said Bernier. “But when you score that many goals it’s hard mentally to stay sharp and play defensively.” Scoring five for the eighth time already this season, the Leafs have managed 23 goals during the five-game run, that offence coming from 12 different sources, only one of whom being Phil Kessel. They were opportunistic in the run-and-gun show against the Stars – the worst defensive team in hockey – capitalizing on turnovers and easy rebounds, though prone to giving up more than a few themselves. Newly united with Leo Komarov sidelined (more on that below), Nazem Kadri, Joffrey Lupul and Mike Santorelli combined for three of the five goals. It was two Tuesdays ago at the ACC that the same group hit their low point. That night the Leafs were pummeled for nine goals by Nashville, hammered for six three days earlier in Buffalo. Carlyle’s job security was questioned. And times were as tense as could be imagined in the second month of the season. It became painfully evident to all involved that change was needed in some form. “Well I think sometimes you have to hit rock bottom in anything,” Leafs assistant Steve Spott said Monday. “We hit rock bottom. No one can deny that game in Buffalo and our home game here against Nashville were probably as low as we can get – let’s hope anyways.” And after hitting that low point, change was embraced, the coaching staff given a “full reset” in its demands from the group. “It [allowed] us to now go into that dressing room and demand how we have to play,” Spott said. Players and coaches alike adopted a mantra that hinged upon playing “the right way”, though that mindset drifted in the back half of Saturday’s game against Washington and again Tuesday versus Dallas. All of which is just one more reminder to these Leafs of how quickly results can change if they stray from structure, a lesson they were forced to learn in those two embarrassing losses last month. Lupul, who scored a pair in the win, stressed such caution afterward. “We’ve still got plenty to work on,” he said. “Things are headed in the right direction, but we know what can happen if we get complacent.” Five Points 1. Dry Spell Over The first real quiet spell of Phil Kessel’s season ended Tuesday. Kessel broke a string of five straight games without a goal, also scoring for the first time in 10 games on the power-play. Carlyle called that power-play Kessel’s “bread and butter” and noted just how differently teams were defending him recently. The Leafs head coach observed how the opposition was “squeezing” the 27-year-old in his customary spot on the left half-wall, preventing him from rolling out and shooting the puck. “So if you noticed he’s not scored, but his assist totals have went up in those areas,” Carlyle said. “He has to make some adjustments of maybe rolling up a little higher. And with the addition of Kadri [on the right point] it becomes more of a two-dimensional power-play where we can work both sides of the ice. We hope that frees up some space for Phil.” The Stars cut down his options with two attackers often on this night, but when they let up even slightly Kessel found an opening. He fired a quick shot on a second period power-play, beating Kari Lehtonen with the help of a screen from James van Riemsdyk. “He’s going to get his goals,” said Tyler Bozak, who also scored for the sixth time in four games. “He hasn’t been happy with the way it’s been going for him lately, but I’m sure he’s going to start streaking here pretty soon and put a pile of them in there.” In light of the adjustments against him, Kessel’s shot attempts on the power-play are down some from last season, but the extra attention paid to him hhas mostly created space for Bozak, who has six power-play goals already this season, matching a career-high.dddddddddddd 2. Better on the Wing Playing to the right of Kadri in each of the past five games, Santorelli landed three helpers against the Stars. The 28-year-old started the year down the middle, but the Leafs moved him to the wing after Lupul went down with injury and believe he’s a better fit there moving forward. “What we found is that he’s a much better winger than a centre,” said Carlyle. “He’s much more comfortable. His work ethic is very noticeable on the wing. And I think that has been enlightening to everybody that he’s a much more dynamic player when he plays the wing versus centre.” Inked for one year at $1.5 million, Santorelli is proving a bargain. He’s already amassed 16 points in 24 games, tied for fifth on the Leafs in scoring. 3. Bernier Starts Like his team, Bernier has been victim to slow starts this season. In fact, the 26-year-old has given up nearly half of his goals this season in the opening period – 17 of 43 – sporting a modest .910 save percentage. He was perfect on Tuesday against the Stars, however, stopping all 15 shots he faced. Bernier was making his sixth straight start in goal. “We just think Bernie’s on a roll,” Carlyle said of the decision beforehand. It’s been more than two weeks since James Reimer’s last start, something the Leafs are obviously aware of while still preferring to ride what Carlyle dubbed “the hot hand” in Bernier. “We don’t want Reims to get too rusty, that’s for sure,” Carlyle said. “I’m sure he’s going to see the net.” More than half of Reimers starts this season have come on the back half of back-to-back sets. Torontos next such set isnt until next week. 4. Robidas/Holzer It was in the moments before his return to the NHL last week and Korbinian Holzer was predictably nervous. There to calm those nerves was 37-year-old Stephane Robidas, his partner on defence that night in Pittsburgh and a veteran of more than 900 NHL games. Holzer says Robidas helped settle him down ahead of what proved to be a standout night against the Penguins. The performance drew positive reviews from Carlyle, who opted to move the 26-year-old higher in the lineup three nights later against Washington, onto the team’s second pairing with Jake Gardiner. “He earned the opportunity to move up, simple as that,” said Carlyle. “I thought he was outstanding in his first game. He played the way we envisioned him [playing] and now he’s got to maintain that consistently.” Holzer was overwhelmed in his first go-around with the Leafs in 2013, but with an added year of experience and the recent birth of his first child – daughter, Emily – he’s admittedly more settled in round two. He’s long been a fan of Robidas too. Holzer remembers watching the longtime Star play with the Frankfurt Lions during the first NHL lockout in 2004. Just a teenager then but an avid watcher of Germany’s top league, Holzer recalls Robidas being the best player on the ice; he compiled 15 goals and 47 points in 51 games. 5. Symptoms Clipped by Alex Ovechkin over the weekend, Komarov sat out Tuesday’s game. He underwent league protocol for a concussion following the Saturday night game against Washington, though Carlyle couldn’t say for certain whether he passed that testing nor whether he had a concussion. “I don’t know what that test is anymore,” he said. “I’ve heard so many frickin’ explanations for ‘test this, test that, ride the bike here, jump up and down on one foot’, I don’t know what that test is anymore. It just seems that there’s a protocol that when the player has symptoms then there’s a time-frame that he has to be symptom-free and we’re working on that now.” Komarov didnt feel well after the hit from Ovechkin, but those symptoms subsided, according to Carlyle. The 27-year-old even managed to work out on Tuesday morning. “It’s not like he’s in there lying on the bed doing nothing, he’s active,” Carlyle said. “So we don’t foresee this as being as long-term thing, but we don’t control that.” Stats-Pack 4-games – Point streak for Mike Santorelli, who has seven assists in that span. 6 – Goals in the past four games for Tyler Bozak. 10-0-0 – Leafs record when scoring first this season. 23 – Goals scored by the Leafs in the past five games. 1 – Power-play point for Nazem Kadri on Tuesday, his first this season. 13 – Even-strength points for Kadri and Santorelli, tied with Komarov for second-most on the Leafs this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-7 Season: 20.6% PK: 5-5 Season: 84.5% Quote of the Night “I don’t know what that test is anymore. I’ve heard so many frickin’ explanations for ‘test this, test that, ride the bike here, jump up and down on one foot’ I don’t know what that test is anymore.” -Randy Carlyle, questioned on whether Leo Komarov passed concussion tests. Up Next The Leafs host the Devils on Thursday night. 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