MIAMI - By agreeing to pay Giancarlo Stanton $325 million over the next 13 years, Jeffrey Loria gets to keep one of baseballs premier sluggers in the Miami Marlins lineup. John Riggins Jersey .Whether that deal comes with some goodwill remains to be seen.Widely vilified for many of his decisions and rarely if ever outwardly bothered by the disdain so many openly direct his way, the Marlins owner went from penny-pincher to historic spender with one stroke of the pen this week. Stantons contract is the largest in U.S. pro sport history, though in Miami the deal seems to have drawn both celebration and skepticism.This is for the city of Miami, Stanton said. This is for newfound confidence and trust.Trust is a word Stanton used repeatedly Wednesday, the day he and Loria signed the megadeal.Its long been in short supply in Miami when talking about the Marlins, and the art dealer who owns the club.Loria took the Expos out of Montreal before buying the Marlins, which is still a sore subject for baseball fans in Quebec. With the Marlins, he traded away Miguel Cabrera, squabbled with and then fired Joe Girardi in a season where he won manager of the year, plus was revealed to have been making big profits while the team made do with baseballs smallest payroll in 2008 and 2009.Then came the stadium deal, which is still a hot-button topic in Miami. Loria and the Marlins got city officials to back a plan where tax money would pay for the bulk of constructing Marlins Park but the team would reap virtually all revenue generated in the building, then went on a free-agent spending spree before the new stadium opened in 2012 — only to trade away most of those players quickly.I pushed the reset button, Loria said. It wasnt popular. And I didnt care.And those are just the highlights. Or lowlights.As Ive mentioned over the past two years, our goal was to start fresh with this team, Loria said. What we had to do a couple years ago was necessary. It wasnt popular but we had to do it.Loria, who turned 74 Thursday, has never tried to win popularity contests.As such, hes never appeared to let public outcry affect his choices. Hes defended them, repeatedly and staunchly, even when he took out newspaper ads before the 2013 season as an open letter to South Florida residents to humbly ask that we start fresh.When youre in a position of leadership, you cant think about anything other than doing what you think is right, Marlins President David Samson said. No decision is ever going to be liked by everyone except the wrong decision, and that will only be liked by everyone after the fact. So when youre a leader, by definition, you cant do it right. You just have to be expected to lead and make decisions. Were not going to be right all the time. Nobody in power is right all the time.With Loria, decisions are rarely boring.He owned the team when the Marlins won their second World Series title in 2003 and has insisted since that hes committed to getting back to that point, even though critics have long insisted maximizing profit is his lone concern.Weve had some bumps in the road, Stanton said. And thats baseball. It takes time and patience. Were in the right direction.Samson said the team expected to have about 30 people at a recent select-a-seat event for the coming season. After the basic parameters of the Stanton deal became known, 240 people showed up instead.For a team that has ranked near the very bottom of baseballs attendance list for more than a decade, maybe signing Stanton is a step toward that fresh start Loria has wanted.Winning translates into attendance, Samson said. Winning translates into TV ratings and that translates into revenue. He gives us the best chance to win over the next 13 years. Thats how you get more revenues, by winning. Dexter Manley Jersey . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Joe Theismann Redskins Jersey . - The Carolina Panthers believe Steve Smith lost "top-end" speed, a big reason the franchise parted ways with its all-time leading receiver. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-Art-Monk-Inverted-Jersey/ . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.WASHINGTON -- Tim Duncan scored a season-high 31 points Wednesday night before fouling out in the second overtime, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Washington Wizards for an NBA-high 16th time in a row, holding on for a 125-118 victory. Patty Mills scored 11 of his 23 points in the two overtimes for the Spurs, who havent lost to the Wizards since a 110-95 defeat on Nov. 12, 2005. The Spurs moved ahead of Miamis 15-game domination of Charlotte for the longest current team-vs.-team streak in the league. Duncan also had 11 rebounds, and Danny Green added 22 points for San Antonio, but Tony Parker left at halftime with tightness in his lower back and did not return. The Spurs, 2-0 in the early days of their nine-game rodeo road trip, were already without Manu Ginobili (tight left hamstring) and Kawhi Leonard (broken left hand). John Wall scored 29 points, and Bradley Beal had 19 for the Wizards, who were trying to shatter their second longstanding barrier in a week. On Monday, they beat the Portland Trail Blazers to move above .500 for the first time since 2009. Duncan fouled out with 4:13 remaining, but Green hit a 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 122-117 lead with 1:16 to go. The Wizards went 0 for 11 from the field in the second extra period. The Spurs blew a seven-point lead in the first overtime, when Wall scored six points in the final 10.2 seconds. Wall stole an inbounds pass and made a layup with 1.4 to go to force another five minutes of basketball. The Spurs trailed by 17 in the first half. Wall got off to a strong start, shooting 6 for 8 for 14 points in the opening periodd. DaRon Payne Womens Jersey. San Antonio committed seven turnovers in the first quarter, six in the second. A steal by Wall turned into a fast-break dunk by Beal that gave the Wizards their biggest lead, 55-38, late in the half. The score was 62-48 at the break -- the most points allowed by the Spurs in the first half this season -- but Duncan took over in the third, scoring 14 of his teams first 21 points. San Antonio played a turnover-free quarter, and Cory Josephs jumper gave the Spurs their first lead since early in the first. Garrett Temples buzzer-beater put the Wizards ahead 83-82 headed into the fourth. Duncan tied it at 99 with 1:02 remaining, the final points of regulation. NOTES: As a student of Russian culture, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered some thoughts on the Winter Olympics in Sochi. "One would wonder with everything thats going on why it would be put in a dangerous spot, when you think about the Caucasus and that area and whats going on," he said. "At the time when the Olympics were won it wasnt maybe as much in the forefront in everybodys mind. Since that time a lot of things have happened, and you could almost make the case of Where is it not dangerous in the world?" ... Popovich said his wife will make him watch figure skating during the Olympics. "Very honestly when they fall I feel awful for them," he said. "Just like somebody missing two free throws at the end of a basketball game and they go home and want to jump off a building. ... I dont care what country it is, it just drives me crazy so I cant watch. I turn away like its a horror movie." ' ' '