with the Rangers trailing the Penguins by two points for se

WASHINGTON - After years of turning to high-profile names — Robert Griffin III, Mike Shanahan, Joe Gibbs and more — to rescue the franchise and turn it into a long-term winner, the Washington Redskins have gone in another direction.The Redskins on Thursday evening confirmed the hiring of Scot McCloughan as general manager, an anticlimactic announcement after days of negotiations that had put a deal essentially in place by Wednesday afternoon.McCloughan, who will be introduced at a news conference on Friday, is a former executive with the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks and has spent more than two decades in the NFL working either as a scout or in a front office.He will have authority over the draft and free agency, giving the club a highly respected personnel evaluator in charge and separate from the coach for the first time since Charley Casserly was dismissed in 1999.McCloughan is credited with helping craft championship-level rosters with the 49ers (2005-09) and Seahawks (2010-13), including the two seasons he served as San Franciscos GM. He left both teams due to personal reasons and spent last season as a private consultant to NFL teams.He has no easy task in front of him. The Redskins have finished last in the NFC East in six of the past seven seasons, and poor draft decisions and unwise free agency signings have left the talent pool wanting.In addition, McCloughan must decide if Griffin — who has been benched twice in two years — truly is the franchise quarterback he appeared to be when he won the leagues Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2012.McCloughan will also work with Jay Gruden, who went 4-12 in his first season as an NFL head coach. Gruden is in search of a defensive co-ordinator after Jim Hasletts departure last week.McCloughan takes the job previously held by Bruce Allen, who has been the Redskins general manager for the past five seasons and gained final say over roster matters after in-charge-of-everything coach Mike Shanahan was fired a year ago. Allen did not have a strong reputation as a player-personnel manager when he came to Washington, and the team is 28-52 during his five full seasons.Allen, a close confidant of team owner Dan Snyder, will remain team president, concentrating on business and other off-the-field matters.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP Chris Doleman Jersey . Bookies were offering odds of 13/1 before kickoff that the home team Houston Dynamo would prevail by three goals to nil. Paul Krause Jersey . They are back to a game above .500 on the year and back to .500 on the road. It was their 10th extra time game of the year, and only the second one that did not got to a shootout. http://www.vikingssale.com/Vikings-Alan-Page-Draft-Jersey/.C. -- Steve Spurrier was much happier about South Carolinas improved performance than about his lastest career milestone. Adam Thielen Jersey . As deep as their roster is, they need their superstar. Rose scored 23 points in his return from a five-game absence due to back pain, and Chicago hung on to beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 on Monday. Mike Hughes Jersey . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins hope to get their defense back on track and avoid a third straight loss when they visit the rival Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. Pittsburgh is allowing 2.46 goals per game in 2014-15, tying the club with Boston for eighth in the NHL. However, the Penguins had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net over the weekend, surrendering a total of 11 goals over a pair of setbacks against Metropolitan Division rivals. The Pens dropped a 6-3 road decision to the New York Islanders on Friday and were then dealt a 5-2 home loss by the New York Rangers on Sunday. Pittsburgh is currently sandwiched between the two New York clubs at the top of the Metro standings, with the Rangers trailing the Penguins by two points for second place and the Isles holding a five-point lead atop the division. Marc-Andre Fleury took both losses this weekend for the Pens. The franchise goaltender allowed five goals on 34 shots against the Islanders and was pulled early in the second period on Sunday after giving up four goals to the Rangers on 17 shots. Fleury could get a rest from Thomas Greiss over the next two days, as Pittsburgh is scheduled to complete its pre-All-Star break docket tomorrow at home against Chicago. Fleury is 24-16-2 with a 2.88 goals against average in his career against Philly and 5-2-2 with a 2.60 GAA versus the Blackhawks. Greiss, has a lifetime 2-0 record with a 1.00 GAA in two outings against the Flyers. Greiss stopped 13-of-14 shots after Fleury was pulled from Sundays loss to the Rangers, who received two goals from both Rick Nash and Derek Stepan. David Perron had a goal and an assist in the loss and Sidney Crosby also scored for the Penguins, who have lost four of their last six games and are just 4-6-2 over the last 12 games. When you play like that you dont give yourself a good chance of winning, said Crosby. We have to come out with better efforts against teams like this, because they were real motivated to play this game and we werent. The Pens have lost six of their last seven road games to fall to 10-5-4 as the guest. They have four wins over their past six trips to Philly, but tthe Flyers have won five straight in the series overall.dddddddddddd. This is the second of four meetings this season between the Flyers and Pens. Philly won 5-3 in Pittsburgh on Oct. 22 behind a three-point night from Sean Couturier, who had a goal and two assists in the road victory. After tonight, Philly and Pittsburgh wont meet again until getting together April 1 in the Steel City. The Flyers enter tonights encounter with their cross-state rivals 11 points out of a playoff spot in the East and coming off a 7-4 road loss in Mondays clash with the New York Islanders. Philadelphia never led on Monday and trailed the Islanders 3-0 at one point. Although the Flyers eventually got their offense going, the loss marked just the third time this season Philly lost when scoring four or more goals (14-2-1). The Islanders had put up four goals just past the midway mark of the second period, resulting in the Flyers pulling netminder Rob Zepp after he stopped just 16-of-20 shots. Ray Emery saved 18-of-20 attempts in relief of Zepp. Weve got to do a better job in front of our goalies, Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. Our best defense is our offense, so we have to go play offensively and keep the puck down there. The Flyers, who have lost three of four, received goals from Giroux, Michael Del Zotto, Mark Streit and Chris VandeVelde. Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek added two assists apiece. Voracek has an NHL- best 55 points on 17 goals and 38 assists, Philly blueliners Carlo Colaiacovo and Nick Schultz both left the game with an upper-body injuries and did not return. Schultz will miss tonight, while Colaiacovo is questionable. The Flyers are already without defensemen Braydon Coburn (broken foot) and Nicklas Grossmann (upper body) and recalled D-men Oliver Lauridsen and Brandon Manning from their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Both Lauridsen and Manning are available for tonights game if needed. The Flyers are 11-7-3 at home compared to a miserable 7-15-4 mark on the road. Philadelphia begins a five-game stay at Wells Fargo Center tonight and the second test of the homestand is scheduled for next Tuesday. 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