hands of Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. The

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Jose Reyes was put on the disabled list after aggravating a hamstring injury, R.A. Dickey struggled and the Toronto Blue Jays ended up with a one-sided loss to Tampa Bay. David Price took a shutout into the eighth inning and Matt Joyce drove in three runs Monday to help the Rays begin the season with a 9-2 victory over Blue Jays. Reyes was lifted after his first at-bat because of a tight left hamstring, an injury that first bothered him late in spring training. The star shortstop led off the game and was robbed of a hit on a diving catch by Rays centre fielder Desmond Jennings. "I tried to run a little bit faster between home plate and first base, and I kind of feel my hammy there," Reyes said. "So I have to slowdown and get out of the game because I dont want to get any worse." Reyes missed several games during the final week of spring training and wasnt at 100 per cent for exhibition games Friday and Saturday in Montreal. "Irritated the same spot, so thats a concern," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. Several hours later the Blue Jays put him on the DL. Reyes said the hamstring was "good enough" to play in Montreal and felt better Monday. "When I tried for a little speed, something not right," Reyes said. Reyes missed 66 games last season after going on the DL April 13 with a sprained left ankle -- after just 10 into his first season with the Blue Jays. He was replaced in the field by Ryan Goins. The Blue Jays purchased the contract of infielder Jonathan Diaz from Triple-A Buffalo to take Reyes roster spot. Price (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits over 7 1-3 innings to beat R.A. Dickey in a matchup of 2012 Cy Young Award winners. The hard-throwing lefty walked one and struck out six before a crowd of 31,042 at Tropicana Field -- the Rays ninth consecutive sellout for a home opener. "Its really disappointing and frustrating," Dickey said. "You feel like you let a lot of people down. Against David Price, one of the best pitchers in baseball, if you dont match him inning per inning, its going to be tough to win the game. I put us in a hole early. Walked some guys early, gave up some 0-2 hits with runners in scoring position, and that was the game." Dickey dropped to 14-13 with a 4.21 ERA last season after winning 20 games and NL Cy Young honours with the Mets two years ago. The 39-year-old knuckleballer is off to another shaky start after allowing six runs, five hits and walking six over five innings against essentially the same Tampa Bay lineup he went 3-1 against in 2013. Joyce had a sacrifice fly and two-run double off Dickey (0-1), who yielded six two-out runs in five innings. Evan Longoria got the Rays going with a first-inning RBI single and Wil Myers drove in two more when he singled with the bases loaded in the second. Price limited the Blue Jays to four singles and had only allowed two runners past second base before Maicer Izturis opened the eighth with his second hit of the day. Pinch-hitter Erik Kratz followed with a first-pitch, two-run homer over the centre field wall. The 28-year-old lefty became the Rays first 20-game winner and edged Justin Verlander in AL Cy Young balloting two years ago. He got off to a slow start in 2013, but finished strong after spending more than a month on the disabled list, leading the majors in innings, complete games and fewest walks per nine innings after July 2. NOTES: The Rays havent lost a home series to the Blue Jays since April 2007. ... Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen, whos on the 15-day disabled list due to a strain in his left abdominal area and lower back, doesnt feel the injury will be a long-term problem. ... The four-game series continues Tuesday night with RHP Alex Cobb getting the start for Tampa Bay and the Blue Jays countering with RHP Drew Hutchison. Saku Koivu Jersey . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. Dominic Moore Jersey . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-alexei-kovalev-canadiens-jersey/ . The Boston Celtics hadnt played since the All-Star break. So the Suns 100-94 victory over Boston Wednesday night was an uphill affair, with Phoenix relying on balance rather than its trademark high energy. Jacques Plante Jersey . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour. Custom Montreal Canadiens Jerseys . The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes.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 dyynasty.dddddddddddd. 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." ' ' '