Ruff was drafted by the Sabres in 1979 and became the captain during

South Sydney coach Michael Maguire may have spoken optimistically about the future but nothing could hide the fact that the present is pretty ugly for the Rabbitohs.The 2014 premiers barely fired a shot against North Queensland in Cairns on Sunday - and it reflected on the scoreboard - a 20-0 loss to last seasons trophy holders.It marked the first time since 2009 that Souths had lost five games in a row, the defeat all but putting a line through the red and green for finals football in 2016.With just five wins this season the Rabbitohs would likely have to win their remaining eight matches to make their fifth finals campaign in a row.Maguire conceded 2016 was all but over.The finals are well and truly down the track, he said.Not surprisingly though, the man known for giving little away to the media, remained publicly optimistic about what lay ahead.What I do love about this competition is that for us as a club, weve had highs and now were being challenged about where we sit, Maguire said post-game in Cairns.We get to find out about the strengths of all areas of our club. Im looking forward to whats ahead because Ive seen the efforts there, but we need to be more clinical.If we do that, then the momentum in our organisation and the way were playing, will change.It was a similar sentiment for fellow stragglers Newcastle, who ran out to a 22-0 lead over top-four hopefuls Canberra before being run down in one of the NRLs most extraordinary comebacks.The Knights raced in four tries in the first 25 minutes of Sundays match at GIO Stadium, only to lose 29-25 in golden point.But they fell asleep thereafter, conceding a crucial try just before halftime and then another four straight, including the freaky match-winning effort by Jordan Rapana from a failed Blake Austin field goal.We probably stopped playing a bit because were not used to being in that situation, Knights coach Nathan Brown said.It probably had a bit of a negative impact on us in the second half. We had a number of things we couldve controlled a lot better. But the effort that was really really good.The defeat keeps the Knights entrenched on the bottom of the ladder, while the Raiders move to sixth and within one point of the top four.Cronulla maintained their status as the team to beat in 2016 with a 34-24 victory over Parramatta at home on Saturday. It was their 12th win in a row - a new club record.Wests Tigers earlier toppled Penrith 34-26 on the back of a red-hot James Tedesco, who staked his undeniable claim for a State of Origin debut.It followed the Warriors 27-18 triumph over Gold Coast, with Shaun Johnson again providing the magic in his sides fourth win in five games.In the rounds other matches, Brisbane suffered a record 48-6 loss to Melbourne, while Canterbury beat Sydney Roosters 24-20.Manly and St George Illawarra cap off round 17 at Brookvale Oval on Monday night. Chicago White Sox Store . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. White Sox Jerseys China . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Cheap White Sox Jerseys . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Fake White Sox Jerseys . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. DALLAS -- Lindy Ruff had one stipulation when he agreed to meet with the Dallas Stars about their coaching vacancy. "We cant meet in the crease," Ruff said about his joking conversation with new Stars general manager Jim Nill. Ruff was hired Friday the new coach of the Stars, 14 years after Dallas clinched its only Stanley Cup championship on a goal he has always questioned -- Brett Hulls shot with his skate in the crease late in the third overtime of Game 6 that beat the Ruff-coached Buffalo Sabres. "Its a long time ago," Ruff said after his introduction. "Ive had some great memories. Ive gotten past that. Im a coach, I want to coach, and this is an unbelievable opportunity. ... It all worked out great for Dallas. "It didnt work out so good for us back then. I can tell you one thing, that same emotion and same passion will be here in Dallas if the same type of thing happens or anything similar, because thats the fire I have." The Stars, who have missed the playoffs the past five seasons, gave the 53-year-old Ruff a four-year contract. He is the 22nd coach in franchise history and seventh since the team moved to North Texas in 1993. Before being fired by Buffalo in February, Ruff had been the Sabres coach for 15 seasons and was the NHLs longest active-serving coach with one team. The Sabres only Stanley Cup appearance under Ruff came in that 1999 final known for the "No Goal!" chant that Ruff joined thousands of Buffalo fans in after the series was over. They thought Hulls skate was in the goalies crease before he had control of the puck and the goal shouldnt have been allowed. "The league said it was a goal. I just argued that it wasnt," Ruff said. "My first thing was asking whether this was being reviewed and couldnt get an answer. ... Its all behind me." Ruff is the first significant hire for Nill, the longtime Detroit Red Wings assistant general manager who signed a five-year deal in April to replace the fired Joe Nieuwendyk. Nill had worked in Detroits front office since 1994, his last 15 seasons as the general manager of the franchise that has made the playoffs the past 22 seasons. The Stars are in their longest post-season drought in the history of the franchise that started as the Minnesota North Stars from 1967-93.dddddddddddd They were 22-22-4 last season, at the bottom of the Pacific Division. Before his time in the front office, Nill finished his playing career in the Red Wings organization. Ruff was drafted by the Sabres in 1979 and became the captain during his 10 years as a player before getting traded to the New York Rangers, then later returning to Buffalo as coach. Now the two men who spent extended periods of time within separate organizations are starting fresh together in Dallas. "Thats the intriguing part of it. ... The first time I met Lindy, he said why did you leave (Detroit)," Nill said. "So we walked through it. I talked about the ownership, talked about the foundation being built, talked about opportunity, talked about a fresh start." Two weeks after Nill was hired, he decided not to renew the third-year option for coach Glen Gulutzan. Nill spoke to several candidates for the job, but quickly realized that Ruff had all the attributes he desired in a coach. "It was experience, credibility, stability, great knowledge of the game, person thats been in different situations, the highs and lows and a good family person on and off the ice," Nill said. "We sat down and all these attributes were checked off. ... Were looking excitedly to a very long tenure here." Since Ruff still had two seasons left on his contract with Buffalo, the Stars had to get permission from the Sabres to talk to the coach. Ruff was the Sabres winningest coach (571-432-162), but was fired after a 6-10-1 in this years lockout-shortened season. There had been 170 NHL coaching changes between his hiring in July 1997 and the time he was fired. Under Ruff, the Sabres made the playoffs in each of his first four seasons and eight times overall. They made the Eastern Conference finals in 2006 and 2007. "When you coach for that number of years and in the same place, the exciting part for me is in talking to a lot of other coaches, from former coaches here to coaches that have gone from organization to organization, how it revitalized them, energized them," Ruff said. "Im excited about working with Jim and all his experiences that he had in Detroit. It was just a real good fit." ' ' '