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LONDON -- Sam Allardyce pledged to make England proud of its perennially-underperforming national team after being hired as its manager on Friday, following an embarrassing European Championship showing under Roy Hodgson.In a break from previous lengthy deals for managers, the English Football Association only handed Allardyce an initial two-year contract through the 2018 World Cup after securing his release from Premier League club Sunderland.Allardyce takes over one of footballs most high-profile and challenging jobs after a 25-year management career that yielded no major trophies but won him plaudits for over-achieving with modest teams.It is no secret that this is the role I have always wanted, Allardyce said. For me, it is absolutely the best job in English football. I will do everything I can to help England do well and give our nation the success our fans deserve.Above all, we have to make the people and the whole country proud.The 61-year-old Allardyce, like Hodgson, was never selected by England during his playing career.Hodgsons hopes of extending his four-year stint with England were dashed when its Euro 2016 campaign ended in June with a humbling loss to Iceland in the round of 16.The FA also said Allardyce has a mandate to shape a strong, purposeful team identity and maximize the performance potential of a young, talented England squad at a major tournament.Allardyces immediate priority is to take England to the 2018 World Cup, with qualifying starting in September.I know we have talented, committed players, Allardyce said, and it is time for us to deliver.Allardyce has never managed a leading club, once joking if his name was Allardici he would have secured one of the top Premier League jobs that typically go to foreign coaches.Allardyces only experience outside England is in the now-defunct UEFA Cup with Bolton, where he spent eight years. It was while at Bolton, where Allardyce spent much of his playing career, that he was overlooked for the England job in 2006.Allardyce, who has also managed Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham, has a reputation for improving struggling teams -- qualities which the FA recognized in hiring a respected and passionate homegrown coach.His excellent managerial credentials, including his ability to realize the potential of players and teams, develop a strong team ethos and embrace modern methods that enhance performance, made him the outstanding choice, FA chief executive Martin Glenn said.Allardyces appointment was the result of what Glenn called a thorough process over three weeks.We could not help but be energized by his personal perspective on Englands future and how it complemented the extensive work that we are looking to build on at St. Georges Park, Glenn said, referencing the England team training base in central England.Allardyces England debut will be a friendly at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 1, before taking his team to Slovakia for the first World Cup qualifier on Sept. 4.Cincinnati Reds Gear . 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Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL.MIAMI -- Pat Rileys pitch to Miami Heat free-agent targets will include an optimistic view of Chris Boshs potential return to the court next season and the long-term stability of coach Erik Spoelstra, league sources have told ESPN.com.Bosh is making progress in his recovery from recurring blood clots that have cut short each of his past two seasons, according to a source with knowledge of Boshs condition. Both Bosh and the Heat continue to work toward the goal of having the perennial All-Star power forward available for the start of training camp, sources said.Neither Bosh nor the Heat have said publicly where Bosh is in his recovery or whether the 13-year veteran has continued a regimen of blood-thinning medication. Bosh was the Heats leading scorer and best 3-point shooter when he was sidelined at the February All-Star break and went on to miss the final 29 games of the regular season as well as Miamis playoff run into the second round.Boshs $23 million salary due next season will count against the Heats salary cap regardless of whether he plays, but that salary would come off the books in February if he is unable to play in a game next season and retires because of the medical condition. Last month, Riley said Boshs status was the X factor in determining where the Heat stood entering free agency.That is the difficult thing for me in evaluating how far weve come and how good we are, Riley said entering the summer. It really cant be answered. It can only be answered hypothetically if Chris was healthy. Then you would have a real idea, probably, about how everything would fit.Meanwhile, the Heat have determined that Spoelstra will be a long-term fit with the roster as the two sides finalize a contract extension that will keep the coach in place for at least the next three seasons. Spoelstra, 45, was set to enter the final season on his contract, but the team had always planned to extend a deal that would grant him a pay raise and increased role in personnel matters, sources said.Miami has roughly $42 million in salary-cap space, nine free agents to address and a Sunday meeting in New York scheduled in an effort to woo marquee target Kevin Durant to South Florida. Before then, the Heat must determine whether to offer center Hassan Whiteside a contract of $98 million over four years or let the top big man on the market bolt for another team eager extend him a max deal.Whitesides journey has been well-chronicled during his two seasons in Miami, where the former second-round pick of the Sacramento Kings landed after he initially washed out of the league and toiled through stints in LLebanon and China.ddddddddddddRiley recently met with Whiteside to set the course for free agency, but the NBAs leading shot-blocker has lined up sessions with the Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers in the initial hours of free agency. Keeping Whiteside remains among the top goals for the Heat, but Riley is also prepared to pursue secondary options among a group of available centers that include Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Al Jefferson, Bismack Biyombo and Roy Hibbert.Whiteside, 27, said last week that loyalty to the Heat wouldnt be a major tipping point in a decision on his future he hopes will crystalize by Friday night. After earning the league minimum of $990,000 last season, Whiteside could command as much as $22 million in first-year salary on his next contract.I hope its an easy decision, said Whiteside, who finished third in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting and ranked in the top five in blocks, rebounds and field goal percentage last season. I find it flattering because in my past I was trying to call teams [for tryouts]. Now its the other way around.Franchise pillar Dwyane Wade, 34, has privately warned against taking him for granted and has not ruled out exploring opportunities with other playoff teams.Wade, who has spent all 13 seasons of his career with the Heat, has said for months that his hope is to remain in Miami his entire career. Wade also said he didnt foresee going through another difficult negotiation similar to the one last summer, when his agent and Riley eventually stepped aside as Wade and Heat owner Micky Arison met at Wades home to hammer out a one-year, $20 million deal.But I dont pay myself, Wade said last month after having played in 74 games, his most in five seasons.This offseason shapes up as the biggest free-agency period Riley and the Heat have faced since James left to return to Cleveland in 2014. Riley insists hes ready for another major offseason challenge, one that includes making the last currently scheduled recruiting pitch to Durant this weekend.Why wouldnt I be optimistic? Riley said recently of Miamis general free agency plans. Plus we have flexibility this year and next year. To me, the only way you can make a dramatic change in your team is to get a proven superstar, if you can, some way, through free agency. Every now and then, it happens. I think you have to look at it and you have to keep yourself a little bit of flexibility for that to happen. ' ' '