PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ray Shero as general manager eight years ago with the mandate to build a roster around two of the games brightest stars and turn ticker-tape parades through downtown into an annual rite of spring. Nearly a decade -- but just one Stanley Cup later -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin find themselves on a perennially underachieving team. And Shero finds himself out of a job. The Penguins fired Shero on Friday, three days after another early playoff exit, this one a seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Coach Dan Bylsma remains in charge until Sheros replacement gets a chance to evaluate the entire organization top to bottom. "We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons," co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle said in a joint statement. "We believe that new leadership in the general managers office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form." Assistant general manager Jason Botterill will serve as general manager on an interim basis. Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse called Botterill a candidate to take over and believes whomever the team brings in wont need to make major changes on a club that won 51 games in 2013-14. "Its not a complete rebuild," Morehouse said. "This is a team that has had a level of success. What were trying to do now is get from good to great." Its a destination the Penguins reached only briefly during Sheros tenure, spending most of the time in a murky middle ground that made them one of the leagues model franchises during the regular season but a symbol of disappointment once the calendar crept into May and beyond. Pittsburgh won the franchises third Cup in 2009 but has failed to produce a bookend. Pittsburgh is just 4-5 in playoff series over the last five years after blowing a 3-1 series lead against New York. Morehouse didnt blame the 51-year-old Sheros ouster on one specific misstep. "This is a decision thats been in the works for a long time since weve won the Cup," Morehouse said. "We wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup finals and we havent and were going to make some changes." The Penguins brought Shero in before the 2006-07 season and tasked him with finding the right kind of players to complement Crosby and Malkins otherworldly offensive talent. It culminated on a giddy night in Detroit in 2009, when the Penguins edged the Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 to earn the franchises third Cup, a run that included the crucial trade deadline acquisitions of forwards Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It was supposed to mark the beginning of a dynasty. Yet five seasons have come and gone with the Penguins in a familiar position: watching the final stages of the playoffs go on without them. It hasnt been for lack of trying. Shero remained aggressive in investing in a "win now" mode as the ensuing disappointments piled up. He enthusiastically said the Penguins were "all in" last year after trading for Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. The moves often created headlines but little else, and boatloads of regular-season victories and a sellout streak seven years and counting proved no longer good enough. Whether Bylsma will be along for the ride remains unclear. The affable, open-minded Michigan native was a revelation when the Penguins promoted him from their American Hockey League affiliate in the spring of 2009, hoping his optimism would help a loaded team break out of a midseason funk. It worked brilliantly. Four months after taking the job, the former NHL nomad who spent nine seasons as a gritty fourth-line forward was raising the Cup in ecstasy. Considering Crosby and Malkin were both in their early 20s at the time, champagne toasts were expected. A half-decade later, Bylsma is the winningest coach in franchise history with 252 wins but the wait for another Cup run continues. While Pittsburgh enjoyed nearly unparalleled success from October to April -- including easily capturing the Metropolitan Division this year despite losing more than 500-man games to injury -- the Penguins again struggled to adapt in the post-season. Morehouse said the new general manager will determine whether Bylsma and the rest of the staff gets another shot. The 43-year-old Bylsma has two years remaining on his contract, the product of an extension he received last June as a vote of confidence from Shero following a four-game sweep at the hands of Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The deal came with a promise to adopt a more defensive-minded approach. The Penguins even brought in longtime NHL coach Jacques Martin as an assistant, an old-school yin to Bylsmas new-school yang. Crosby took the blame for the teams underperformance as the Penguins cleared out their locker on Thursday. A day later the general manager ordered to put the leagues leading scorer in a position to keep Pittsburgh at the top was cleaning out his office. Whoever ends up redecorating will have his tough choices to make. At the same time, he gets to start with Crosby and Malkin firmly entrenched. Both players are signed through the rest of the decade. There are worse places to start. "A lot of teams would like to be where we are," Morehouse said. "However we do have high expectations and we do want to get to them." Air Jordan 3 Australia Outlet . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. Air Jordan 3 Australia . Scott scored a career-high 30 points, Jeff Teague added 28 and the Hawks rallied to beat the New York Knicks 107-98 on Saturday night. "We were down Paul, down so many bodies," Scott said. http://www.airjordan3australia.com/ . A lovely summer day in England with abundant sunshine and minimal wind allowed him to attack Royal Liverpool. Cheap Air Jordan 3 Australia . has left the San Jose Sharks to become the Boston Bruins director of player personnel. Air Jordan 3 Cheap Australia . -- A year ago, Flavia Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis. LAS VEGAS -- Dutch heavyweight Stefan (Skyscraper) Struve, slated to make a comeback Saturday after a heart scare, was scratched from his UFC 175 bout with Matt Mitrione after blacking out while warming up. "Stefan Struve suffered a non-life-threatening, near-fainting spell backstage," the UFC said in a statement during the fight card. "Afterwards, the medical team did not feel he was fit to compete. With his health and safety in mind, hes been removed from the card and is currently under the care of the medical staff." After the card, UFC president Dana White said Struve was "doing great" and had been cleared by doctors. "He had something like a panic attack," he told the post-fight news conference. "He almost blacked out, he started hyper-ventilating, his blood pressure dropped. I dont know, just one of those weird things." White said Struve had to ponder his fighting future. "He needs to do some soul-searching. Hes a super-talented guy. Hes a great guy, we love the guy. I dont know, well see where he goes from here." Struve, meanwhile, tweeted he was fine. "Just want to let everybody know Im OK, had a blackout in the locker room and we had to call the fight off, thanks for the love folks!" White said both Struve and Mitrione would get their basic purse. "I found out what happened and went to talk to Stefan," Mitrione said in a statement. "He was still in his chair and was very apologetic. Hes such a competitor. Obviously health and safety come ffirst.dddddddddddd" The six-foot-11 Struves MMA career appeared over last year when he was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. Given the OK to resume fighting by his doctors in the Netherlands and the UFCs cardiologist, Struve (29-6) was looking forward to returning to the cage. Struve was also cleared by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "It looks good," Struve said in a pre-fight interview, "I just need to do checkups two times a year with my doctors in Holland and two times a year with my doctors in L.A. "Thats no problem for me. I actually like that I know for sure that my heart is healthy." The 26-year-old Struve, ranked 12th among heavyweight contenders, last fought in March 2013 when he suffered a broken jaw in a knockout loss to hard-hitting Mark Hunt in Japan. He returned to training some three months later. But he blacked out briefly while at his parents home and went to hospital to be checked out. A stress ultrasound test, which uses high frequency sound waves to examine the hearts anatomy and function, found the heart issue. Struve was diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve, as well an enlarged heart. It meant that his heart was only pumping 60 per cent of his blood into the aorta and then the rest of his body. The remaining 40 per cent was ending up back in the heart chamber. Doctors used medication to control his blood pressure and the demands on his heart. Struve says he will probably have to undergo surgery at some point but hopes to do it after his fighting career. ' ' '