RALEIGH, N. Ezekiel Elliott Jersey .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. Nolan Carroll Jersey . Patty Mills had 20 points, Tim Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action, and San Antonio rolled to a 110-82 victory over Milwaukee that kept the Bucks winless in the new year. Chuck Howley Jersey . Kadri was dressed in a green jersey at Thursdays practice and skated as an extra forward on the teams fourth line as the Leafs. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Tyrone-Crawford-Cowboys-Jersey/ .C. -- Only two Syracuse teams have won their first 20 games, and C.SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did not want anyone to acknowledge it was his 66th birthday, let alone celebrate it.Still, the Spurs serenaded Popovich after presenting the often cranky coach with their sixth straight win at home, moving him three games closer to 1,000 career victories.Tony Parker scored 17 points and San Antonio overcame another lethargic third quarter to beat the Charlotte Hornets 95-86 Wednesday night.Popovich pretended not to understand when a reporter asked him about his birthday, which was a warmer response than he offered his players.Parker recoiled when asked about Popovichs birthday.He doesnt like it (celebration); youre going to get me in trouble, Parker said. We sang for him, but yeah, he hates it. Yeah, it was after the game, the whole team sang to him.Popovich may not have enjoyed the attention, but he was OK with how the day ended.Danny Green had 16 points and Tim Duncan added 12 points and 14 rebounds as San Antonio won its ninth straight over Charlotte.Gerald Henderson scored 18 points, Al Jefferson had 17 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 14 points for Charlotte. The Hornets were without star guard Kemba Walker, who will be out at least six weeks following surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee.San Antonio built an 18-point lead in the first half as Charlotte struggled to fill its point guard depth without Walker, but the Spurs gave it all back just as quickly. San Antonio shot 4 for 21 from the field in the third quarter, but maintained its lead by hitting five free throws in the final 2 minutes.We went through a little dry spell in the third quarter, Green said. It seemed like there was a lid on the basket, but we kept moving, kept finding each other, and kept penetrating. Our defence is what kept us in the lead.The Spurs did not make another field goal in the third quarter following Matt Bonners 3-pointer with 7:18 remaining. Lance Stephenson punctuated the dry spell with an emphatic swat of Aron Baynes attempted reverse layup in the closing seconds of the period.Sticking to our defensive rules, Jefferson said of Charlottes run. San Antonio is a team that wants to drive middle every time. Get the ball in the middle of the paint and make plays for everybody else. We did a good job defending that in the third quarter.Bonners 3 to open the fourth quarter ended an 8:22 drought and reinvigorated the Spurs. San Antonio made four 3s in tthe final quarter in rebuilding a double-digit lead. Chris Jones Jersey. The victory proved difficult even without Walker.In addition to being the teams starting point guard, Walker also leads the Hornets in scoring (18.8), assists (5.2) and steals (1.4)With Walker out, Parker attacked the lane against the slower Brian Roberts and scored nine of the Spurs first 13 points. Parker closed the run with a 17-foot jumper over Roberts for a 13-12 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first quarter.Despite Parkers early success, the Hornets played the Spurs even when Roberts was in.It was once Roberts exited that Charlotte struggled.San Antonio made four 3s in a 14-2 run bridging the first and second quarter with Roberts out.After Green hit a 3 that led P.J. Hairston to roll his eyes and look skyward in frustration, Mills second 3 of the run gave San Antonio a 33-19 lead with 10:42 remaining in the first half.TIP-INSHornets: Charlotte is 7-14 on the road this season. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford allowed Neal to give the pregame scouting report on his former team. His biggest advice? Manu Ginobili goes left. ... Charlottes lone victory in San Antonio came Nov. 15, 2006, a 92-85 win in overtime.Spurs: San Antonio is 8-3 in its last 11 games, second only to Atlanta (11-0) during that stretch. ... After failing to reach an agreement with F JaMychal Green on a second, 10-day contract, the Spurs signed F Reggie Williams of the Oklahoma City Blue on Wednesday. The 6-foot-6 Williams was averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 13 games with the Blue before signing a 10-day contract with the Spurs. ... San Antonio is 18-2 overall against Charlotte, losing once on the road and once at home to the Hornets.TIM WHO?Popovich was asked if he demanded Duncan sing Happy Birthday to him, which drew a mischievous look from the Spurs coach. Tim and I dont talk, we dont talk, Popovich said. We stopped talking six, seven, eight years ago.KEEP GOINGClifford said losing Walker is obviously a tough blow for the young Hornets, but he believes the team can persevere without their leader. Its a conscious decision for all of us, Clifford said. We can take the easy way out when were playing without (Kemba), but obviously, to me there is a toughness and intelligence about the group of guys that are playing right now that should allow us to win here going forward.UP NEXTHornets: At Denver on Saturday.Spurs: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '