Fotoalbum » The Pacers sure couldve used it. Indiana missed its

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jim Rutherford stepped down as general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, and the team promoted Hall of Fame player Ron Francis to replace him. In a series of moves, the Hurricanes also hired Mike Vellucci as assistant GM and director of hockey operations and promoted Brian Tatum to assistant general manager. Rutherford, who also owns part of the team, will remain in an advisory role as team president. He assembled the teams that won one Stanley Cup, played for another and reached the Eastern Conference final in 2009. The Hurricanes havent made the playoffs since then, the longest active drought in the East. "I look at this as a fresh start," Francis said. "I dont want to just kind of build a team that gets into the playoffs for one year. I would like to build it so that its a very solid franchise and we can do it on a yearly basis." Francis had long been considered the teams GM-in-waiting. The former team captain holds team records with 382 goals, 793 assists and 1,186 games played. He has been the teams vice-president of hockey operations since June 2012. He took over as the teams director of player development in 2006 and was an assistant coach under Paul Maurice from 2008-11 before returning to the front office that June as director of hockey operations. Now that hes running a team for the first time, it remains unclear just how much financial flexibility Francis will have. The four highest-paid players -- forwards Alexander Semin and Eric and Jordan Staal, and goalie Cam Ward -- are coming off subpar seasons. They made a combined $28 million last year and will do so again in 2014-15. "This year we were at the (NHL salary) cap, I believe. Didnt make a heck of a lot of difference, did it?" owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said. "Well set the budget wherever we think we can have the most competitive hockey team." One of Francis first jobs will be deciding whether Kirk Muller will receive a fourth year as coach. Muller is 80-80-27 in three seasons and the Hurricanes finished 13th in the 16-team East this year with a 36-35-11 record. "In fairness, I think its a decision that kind of needs due process," Francis said. Rutherford, 65, is a former NHL goalie who spent two decades as the clubs GM, and helped shepherd its move from Hartford to North Carolina. He said he and Karmanos casually discussed stepping aside and those talks grew increasingly more serious beginning in January and February and continued through the early off-season. "Twenty years is a long time for me," Rutherford said. "Ive thought about this for a few years, and certainly the time is right now." Vellucci, 47, will oversee the teams scouting and player development after spending the past 14 seasons as head coach and general manager of the Plymouth Whalers -- the Ontario Hockey League team owned by Karmanos. Tatum, 40, is entering his 17th year with the team and has been its vice-president of team operations since 2012 after spending five years as its senior director of team operations. Fake Yeezy Danmark Køb . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. Adidas Zx Flux Danmark . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. http://www.yeezyskodanmark.com/adidas-zx-flux-danmark-outlet.html .com) - Markus Granlund scored the game-winning goal as the Calgary Flames used an early offensive flurry to defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, on Monday. Yeezy Sko Tilbud . The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Køb Yeezy Boost 350 i Danmark . -- 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.INDIANAPOLIS -- Jeff Teague scored 25 points in the Atlanta Hawks 107-88 rout Sunday of the reeling Indiana Pacers, who were held to a franchise-low 23 points in the first half of an embarrassing performance on their home floor. The Hawks (34-42) have won three of four and extended their lead over the Knicks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference to two full games. The Pacers (53-25) have lost four of five and fell a full game behind Miami in their quest for the No. 1 seed in the East. Paul George scored 18 points and David West had 17 on a night All-Star centre Roy Hibbert did not play the final 30 minutes. Atlanta jumped to a 9-0 lead, extended the margin to 33-11 after one and 55-23 at the half. The Pacers couldnt get closer than 13 in the second half. The Hawks appear back on track at just the right time. They knocked down 12 3-pointers, shot 56 per cent from the field against the leagues best defence and ended a three-game losing streak at Indiana. But for the Pacers, things are falling apart fast. Since beating Miami on March 26 to take a three-game lead in the conference standings, they have given away the conference lead. After a sixth straight road loss Friday night at Toronto, strong wind gusts pushed a baggage ccart into the team plane, creating a hole that forced Indiana to stick around even longer and cancel Saturdays scheduled practice.dddddddddddd The Pacers sure couldve used it. Indiana missed its first seven shots, coach Frank Vogel benched his entire starting lineup with 6:05 left in the first quarter, and things continued to crumble. The Hawks scored the final five points of the first quarter to take a 33-11 lead that brought out boos. Mike Scott and Shelvin Mack then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Atlanta a 45-15 lead with 8:39 left in the second quarter. It was the fewest first-half points Indiana ever scored in its NBA history, four fewer than they had against the Clippers on Nov. 10, 2004. Frustrated players shook their heads, and frustrated fans serenaded the Pacers with boos as they left the court. With Hibbert on the bench to open the third quarter, Indiana finally showed some spark. After giving up another 3 to Pero Antic, Indiana used an 11-2 run to get within 60-34 and an 11-0 spurt got Indiana as close as 75-59 late in the third. But Atlanta scored the last four points of the third and the first four of the fourth to rebuild an 83-61 lead and never let Indiana get closer than 15 until the final two minutes. ' ' '