TORONTO - The whistle was in Peter Horacheks mouth and players eyes were on him when the Toronto Maple Leafs began the post-Randy Carlyle era. There was little doubt who was in charge.The Maple Leafs officially named Horachek interim head coach Wednesday after 24 hours of uncertainty about the role he and Steve Spott would play in the aftermath of Carlyles firing. Horachek had the experience of being the interim coach last season with the Florida Panthers, so it was natural to give him control in Toronto.I think he did an excellent job with the Panthers last year, said Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz, Horacheks longtime boss in Nashville. This is a great opportunity for him on an interim basis. Theres no question that hes head-coach material.Horachek lost his Leafs debut to his mentor, 6-2.Trotz, who had Horachek on his staff with the Predators for 10 years, said he has always seen his protege as a head coach.Hes knowledgeable and hes got good balance in terms of player relationships, systems, all that, Trotz said in a phone conversation Tuesday. Hes disciplined, he demands accountability, but he can communicate. Some guys demand accountability and cant communicate. He demands accountability and he gets respect because he communicates.Carlyle was demanding, but one of his drawbacks was a communication disconnect with players. Thats an old-school mentality that can work to a point, but also wears thin with players who want to know why theyre sitting or getting less ice time.Unlike Spott, whos a popular players coach, Horachek isnt a polar opposite of Carlyle. The 54-year-old is more of a hybrid.I would say hes fair, Trotz said. Players will recognize that hes very fair in his decision-making and his doling out of ice time and all that. Hes not afraid to tell it like it is when its needed and hes not averse to putting his arm around a guy.Defenceman Jake Gardiner, never one of Carlyles favourite players because of mental mistakes, has appreciated Horacheks honesty all season as an assistant coach.I think hes been really good about that this year, Gardiner said. Its nice when you know where you stand with coaches and on the team in your role.Horachek, a Hamilton boy born in nearby Stoney Creek, Ont., wants players to be accountable to each other and not see him and the rest of the coaching staff as enemies.You have to make them feel like its OK to talk to them, Horachek said. My door is open, they can come in and have their opinions, I can tell them whats going on. I can (give) them an opportunity to say what they want. Theyre not feeling like my thumb is on top of them, theyre feeling like were in this together.For a decade, Horachek and Trotz were in it together. Horachek was on Trotzs staff from 2003 to 2014 and was promoted to associate coach for his final three seasons with the Predators.When Horachek stepped in front of the cameras to address the media at Air Canada Centre for the first time as interim coach, he joked that he thought Trotz would talk alongside him. No, this was his stage.Horachek had already coached 66 NHL games going into Wednesday night, going 26-36-4 last season with the Panthers after replacing Kevin Dineen. Before his foray into the NHL on Trotzs staff, Horachek was an accomplished coach in the minors.He led teams to the playoffs in the Colonial Hockey League, International Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League and American Hockey League. Horacheks Orlando Solar Bears won the IHL title in 2001.Hes had head-coaching experience at every level, hes had success at every level, Trotz said. Having some brief experience with the pressures of head-coaching in the National Hockey League, he did that in Florida for a while, and then obviously being in that fishbowl in Toronto, I think hes very prepared.Until this year, the Maple Leafs did not let assistant coaches speak to the media, but on at least a handful of occasions from training camp on either Horachek or Spott took Carlyles place to talk on a given day.Trotz thinks it mightve been a bit overwhelming for Horachek if he went right from a decade in Nashville to the centre of the hockey universe. But the Panthers experience and half a season on staff with the Leafs built up a tolerance to the spotlight.I think he has a good grasp of what the demands are there, Trotz said. Hes very good with the media, hes very personable, he tells it like it is. Thats what youre going to get with Peter. You get an honest approach. From a media standpoint and from a player standpoint youre going to know where he stands.That may have been an issue with Carlyle, who had the ability of rubbing players the wrong way. Its impossible to forget Mikhail Grabovskis comments on the way out, and the coachs OK, just OK review of James Reimers play in one game last season in Detroit was emblematic of a strained relationship.On Tuesday, star winger Phil Kessel didnt sugarcoat that his relationship with Carlyle wasnt always sunshine and roses.It was fine, Kessel said. I think every relationship has its ups and downs. Obviously, Im not excited to see him go or anything like that. Im disappointed because its a reflection on us as a group that we didnt get it done.Horachek feels a part of that, too, so hes not celebrating taking over for Carlyle.Nobodys happy when this happens, when a coach gets removed its a part of our fraternity, Horachek said. Im not happy about it. Though its given me an opportunity, its still not a happy day for everybody.Being in charge for just two practices before the Leafs took the ice against the Capitals, Horachek knew he couldnt make sweeping changes right away. He could have, actually, but his years in hockey taught him not to try.As we go forward, there may be things that we may talk about changing, Horachek said. If you go in the first day and make it all about change, thats what youre going to get: a little bit of a confusion, a little bit of an unfocused attitude. We want to make sure were focused, were ready to play.This summer, president Brendan Shanahan and the Leafs could have a laundry list of experienced coaches to choose from, including Mike Babcock, Dan Bylsma, Pete DeBoer and perhaps Todd McLellan. The long term is on the minds of executives, who watched Wednesdays morning skate with a keen eye, but the immediate future is what Horachek is concerned about.Weve got half a season and we have to make sure were going to do something positive with that, he said.Because of that, Horachek insists hes not worrying about being the long-term, full-time coach of the Leafs. Last year he took over for Dineen and was let go in favour of Gerard Gallant, so Horachek knows the deal.Im not worried about what theyre going to do or what theyre going to say, Horachek said. When its time if they feel like its warranted, theyre going to come to me and say, OK thats whats happening. Until that time I can only worry about worrying about preparing players, making sure theyre feeling that theyre in the best light and the best opportunities to play their best game.Notes — When naming Horachek interim coach, the Leafs also announced manager of player development Steve Staios would go behind the bench. Staoiss title is not changing but he was in that spot against the Capitals. ... Forward Carter Ashton cleared waivers at noon Wednesday and was assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. ... Horacheks second game as Leafs coach is Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.___Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Replica Air Max 270 . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Buy Air Max 270 Black .Y. - Lou Williams scored 21 points and the Toronto Raptors beat New York 81-76 on Monday night in the Knicks preseason home opener. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/cheap-max-270-shoes.html .com) - Delon Wright scored 17 points and No. Air Max 97 Plus Wholesale China . - Jesse Shynkaruk scored a hat trick as the Moose Jaw Warriors snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in Western Hockey League action on Saturday. Best Fake Air Max 97 . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week.SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Fans have lined the grassy hills beyond the playing field at the Little World Series to see Mone Davis. The concession stands have sold out of the powder-blue T-shirts of her Mid-Atlantic team.With her long braids dangling over her shoulders on every pitch, the Philadelphia star is a captivating presence and has been in a league of her own on the baseball diamond — the first female to win a game, let alone a two-hit shutout, in series history.Former Negro League star, 78-year-old Mamie Peanut Johnson, called the 13-year-old Davis the best thing since food.And yet, in spite of her 70 mph fastball, baseball isnt Davis best game.Her basketball coach said she is even better on the hardwood.Coaching boys and girls in this age group for two decades, Mone is just a special talent, said Debra Brady, Daviss basketball coach at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia. Shes a phenomenal pitcher, but I think her best sport is basketball. In a year or so, she will be doing the same unbelievable things in basketball. The first couple of games I coached her, she was head and shoulders above any kid Ive ever coached at that age level.Steve Bandura, who works for the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, will never forget the first time he saw Davis. It was six years ago and she was tossing a football — spiral after spiral after spiral — after a fall-league baseball game.She was throwing the ball, tackling the boys, Bandura said.He introduced Davis to the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, which has an after-school program for young kids that includes both homework assistance and sports. Theyve been virtually inseparable since.Bandura has coached nearly every one of Daviss games with the Anderson Monarchs basketball club, and No. 11 rarely disappoints.Shes Steve Nash, said Bandura, whose son is the catcher for the Philadelphia Little League team Davis plays on. She sees the floor and analyzes better than all the high school kids. Shes amazing. She manipulates the defence to open passing lanes. She plays chess when everybody else is playing checkers.No surprise, then, that two years ago she was being recruited to play point guard on a boys team of 14-year-olds, her 90 per cent free-throw accuracy an added bonus to go with a deadly crossover dribble that has sent defenders sprawling backward onto the floor trying to guard her.ddddddddddddHer schools basketball team finished 11-3 last season, the three losses coincidentally coming in the three games she missed.Despite her skills, Bandura said Davis is very humble.She came in after one game and I asked, Howd you do? Bandura said. She said, We won 41-37.How many points did you score?I dont know.I get a text later. She had 35, Bandura said. In another game she scored 10 points in the first two minutes and finished the game with 10 points. All she did was get her teammates the ball. She didnt need to score more. But if it takes 35 points to win, shell do that. She embraces the team concept.Bandura said Davis is not the greatest athlete, shes a good athlete but, Her analytical skills are off the chart. Shes always the same on the outside, but inside she burns to compete.Bandura said hell hold Davis out of AAU basketball as long as he can because she still wants to play baseball, basketball, and another sport she excels in — soccer. That is, when shes not making the nearly hour and half bus ride to school.Davis, who is expected to pitch Wednesday night against Las Vegas, has not shied from using her riveting success in a positive way. She sacrificed time with teammates to do a national television interview late Sunday night, and this week shes on the cover of Sports Illustrated.While Davis and her teammates have been inundated by the media, their next opponent has toiled in virtual anonymity. Las Vegas, the first Nevada team to make the Little League World Series, kind of likes it that way.It allows us to play our game, said manager Ashton Cave, whose team has scored 25 runs in winning its first two games against Rapid City, South Dakota, and the all-black Jackie Robinson West team from Chicago. We like to be the underdog.And facing a girl wont be something new because theres an all-star female pitcher in their league back home. ' ' '