Talk » evaluation starts October 30," Ujiri explaine

NASHVILLE -- Nashville desperately needs better offensive players for new coach Peter Laviolette, and the Predators believe they took a very small gamble with the chance for a big reward by signing veteran forwards Mike Ribeiro and Derek Roy to one-year contracts. General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently. "He knows hes living day to day," Poile said of Ribeiro. "Hes on a one-year contract." Ribeiro has 202 goals and 454 assists in 865 career regular-season games but had only 16 goals and 31 assists in 80 games for the Coyotes last season after his new deal. Arizona general manager Don Maloney said Ribeiro had "real behavioural issues" they could not tolerate, and that kept Ribeiro available until he and his agent called Poile last week. Ribeiro and his wife even paid for their own airfare, flying to Nashville to spend the past four days in town. The 34-year-old centre said Tuesday that he was separated from his wife during the season and rarely saw his children. Once the season ended, he said he went to work on his personal life and now has his head clear. He and his wife are looking at buying a house in Nashville. "Im really glad I have a chance to come here and to prove to everyone that I can still play, and that I am a good person and that Im committed to my family but to the team too and to do well," Ribeiro said. "And Im glad that I have a chance to do that." Poile said the Predators did their "due diligence" by talking to former teammates, coaches, managers and others. The general manager also talked to Ribeiros wife during their visit to Nashville. That made the Predators comfortable with signing Ribeiro. Roys deal is worth $1 million. He had nine goals and 28 assists in 75 games for the St. Louis Blues last season. He has 177 goals and 315 assists in 666 career regular-season games, but he said in a conference call Tuesday afternoon that he has spent this summer working in Toronto after dealing with knee and shoulder injuries. He hopes to regain the form that saw him score more than 63 points in four straight seasons in Buffalo. "Its been a tough few years bouncing around, and hopefully this is going to be good for me and I know that," said Roy, who has been with Dallas, Vancouver and St. Louis over the past two seasons. Its been a busy off-season for Nashville after missing the playoffs for a second straight year. The Predators not only replaced Barry Trotz with Laviolette, they also swapped a couple players to Pittsburgh for James Neal and signed Olli Jokinen. Roy will help replace centre Mike Fisher, who is out up to six months after rupturing his Achilles tendon this summer. Poile said the Predators could have up to six new forwards once the season starts, which should help a team led in scoring by defenceman and captain Shea Weber last season. "These are significant additions to change the way our team has played," Poile said. Notes: The Predators have signed Viktor Arvidsson, their fourth-round draft selection in June, to a three-year, entry-level contract. Arvidsson, 21, took part in the teams development camp last week, and he ranked ninth with 40 points in the Swedish Hockey League in the 2013-14 season. Roberto Alomar Jersey . Roma has a game in hand but now second place is even at risk for the capital side as Napoli moved to within three points with the win. 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Doug Ault Blue Jays Jersey . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore.TORONTO - If things dont work out for Masai Ujiri as president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors, he could have a career in motivational speaking. Ujiri followed an uplifting speech from his boss, Tim Leiweke, with one of equal - perhaps even greater - passion on Friday night when the Raptors hosted an event for season ticket holders. His message to the fans in attendance at the Air Canada Centre and to those watching online: "we need your help." "We have to make this place a living hell for [opponents] to come play here," he told them, standing centre stage in the middle of the ACC court. "And you guys can do it." "When you come play here on [a] Sunday at 1:00, guess what, youre getting your ass kicked. Thats what we need to do here. Thats how we need to build it here. When you come here, play here on a Friday night, youre getting your ass kicked." For over 30 minutes Ujiri held court. He preached, he joked and he shared a story or two. One such story occurred when he visited Toronto as GM of the Denver Nuggets three years ago. It started off with an anecdote about having dinner at the house of Bryan Colangelo, playing him and his kids at ping pong and kicking their butts (he also challenged the crowd to take him on). When he returned to the team hotel, the Four Seasons, at 1am he ran into 10 of his Nuggets players who were just about to head out on the town 12 hours before their Sunday matinee with the Raptors. They were not worried. "We will win tomorrow," they told him. That cant happen going forward, Ujiri insisted. Opposing teams shouldnt be able to get away with taking the Raptors or their fan base lightly. Ujiris third-seeded Nuggets were recently upset by Golden State in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. The difference, according to Ujiri, was the advantage the Warriors had at home thanks to their fans and the environment at Oracle Arena. Thats the impact he believes home-court advantage could have in Toronto. "You know you guys can win us five, you can win us 10 more games, do you guys know that," he asked. "You can. You can. Weve got energy that you guys give us and we have to do it here." This was the first time the Raptors have ever hosted a "season preview" event in which the teams high-powered executives were able to address and interact with some of its most loyal fans face-to-face. The goal for the organization, per Leiweke and Ujiri, is to strengthen the teams relationship with its supporters. Friday nights meet and greet was the first step. "This crowd, everybody talks about it around the league," Ujiri told TSN.ca following the event. "How do we get their support even more? Thats what were trying to encourage." "WWhen there are hard times Im going to interact with them, when there are good times Im going to interact with them.dddddddddddd For me thats the nature of the business and there are going to be hard times, we have to be patient here but we have to be spirited, I think, as an organization." It all starts with honesty and respect, Ujiri explained. Although he acknowledged there is always going to be certain information that cannot be shared with the public, he stressed the importance of being up front and avoiding false promises or expectations. "For me theres no spin to it, I dont believe in all that, for me everything is from here," he said pointing to his heart. "You say what your plan is, you say what your direction is and you go execute. We have to be accountable and thats what [fans] want, thats what I think we are supposed to do." "These are the people that pay, these are the people that support the team, these are the people that fight for these guys and we have to be accountable, I truly believe that. Ujiri, like Leiweke before him, thanked Raptors fans for sticking it out through hard times but promised to deliver change. The caveat: it may take some time for the results to reflect that change. This year the measurement will not be wins and losses, the Raptors GM told the crowd, instead success will be contingent on growth. Accordingly, the plan will be determined based on that growth. "We have to figure out our team and evaluate everything and that evaluation starts October 30," Ujiri explained. "Is there chemistry? Is there growth? Are we moving in the right direction? Are players getting better? Are we giving them the right opportunity?" "You try that and when you see that doesnt work, then well figure it out. Trust me, well figure this thing out." For at least one night, the Raptors brass had fans drinking the Kool-Aid. Whether it was Leiweke taunting a fan for wearing a Celtics jersey - "How is the preseason going for you," he joked - or Ujiri regaling us with a tale of executive VP Jeff Weltman attempting to fleece him in a trade a few years back, they put on a show. The culture around this organization has certainly changed, but when will the results follow suit? The answer to that question could go a long way in strengthening the relationship this new regime is working to build with an already restless fan base. "Were one team, one country," Ujiri preached to those fans. "Together, one team, one country. We dont care what the 29 other teams think of us. Were here and Im telling you its going to take patience [but] were going to win. Were going to build it here, were going to work and were going to work hard and build this team." ' ' '