Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Cubs formally ushered in another new era by introducing former Tampa Bay Rays skipper Joe Maddon as their new manager on Monday. The team also announced that Maddon agreed to a five-year contract in which financial terms were not disclosed, though ESPN reported the deal to be worth $25 million and includes incentives tied to making the postseason. The Cubs moved quickly to obtain Maddons services after the two-time American League Manager of the Year opted out of his contract with the Rays on Oct. 24, shortly after Tampa Bay general manager Andrew Friedman left the organization to become the president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maddon, who guided the small-market Rays to four playoff appearances and the 2008 AL pennant over the past seven seasons, joins a long-suffering Cubs franchise that has endured five consecutive losing campaigns and last won the World Series in 1908. This is a 1-in-107 a year opportunity for me, said Maddon during Mondays press conference. The challenge is so outstanding. How could you not want to be in this seat? The Cubs future appeared bright even before the hiring of the enthusiastic and ever-optimistic Maddon, though. Chicagos present farm system is ranked among baseballs strongest and the Cubs are expected to be significant players in free agency this offseason, something Maddon never experienced during his successful nine-year run with the low-budget Rays. Those factors, coupled with Friedmans departure and the presence of Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein -- who nearly hired Maddon as the Red Sox manager in 2004 while then Bostons GM -- played a role in Maddons decision. I knew there was a lot of common ground philosophically, said Maddon. I know that the synergy between the front office and the manager is really, really important. This is a really good fit for me personally. I feel very comfortable here. The 60-year-old takes over a Cubs team that showed improvement in Rick Renterias lone season as manager, with Chicago posting a 73-89 record in 2014 after winning 66 and 61 games the previous two years. Despite those strides, Epstein informed Renteria last week of his intention to pursue Maddon and make a switch. Renteria was offered another position within the organization but predictably declined. Even though they annually operated with one of the lowest payrolls in the majors, the Rays were a consistent contender for much of Maddons reign. Lauded for his ability to work with young players and to maximize the available talent on hand, the charismatic manager guided Tampa to six consecutive winning seasons that began with the unexpected 2008 World Series run. The Rays, who had never won over 70 games in their first 10 seasons prior to that 2008 breakthrough, also reached the playoffs in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Maddon amassed a 754-705 overall record in Tampa Bay, easily the most of any manager in club history. Vapormax Discount . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone. Vapormax Off White Fake . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. http://www.outletvapormaxireland.com/vapormax-plus-wholesale-china.html . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Cheap Vapormax Plus .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan opened the Ford Womens World Curling Championship with a 7-5 win over Russia on Saturday. Fake Vapormax For Sale . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hey Kerry, Im watching the Avalanche at Flames game on Thursday night. Ive noticed multiple times where one team will clearly win a faceoff, but the play is then blow dead only for the centreman who lost the draw to be tossed out. In most cases, the second puck drop is not won as cleanly as the first, which benefits the team that had the first faceoff infraction. My question is that if a faceoff is done unfairly but the team causing the infraction clearly looses the draw, why does the play have to be stopped and the draw have to be redone? In my thinking, if a team wins a draw cleanly even though the opponent cheated, why not let the clean win benefit the team that won the faceoff? Like Cmon Ref! Brett Moose Jaw, Sk ----- Brett, Before I answer your question, I want to do a quick recap of Thursdays column with some additional information I received that came in after the posting. I went back and forth yesterday with our TSN Libero expert technician, Andrew Fitzpatrick while he was tied up in studio on a football project. We updated the column once Andrew had the time to provide Libero calculations on the height that Jason Pominville contacted the puck with the shaft of his stick. Based on different replay angles he was provided, the system calculated the contact height between 42 to 46 - both of which are above the four foot height of the crossbar. Andrew admitted there is still some judgment required by the technician to calibrate the system, whereas if chips were placed in the pucks and sensors added in the rink if would provide very accurate data. Anyone remember the FoxTrax, the glowing puck that ranged in color depending upon the speed it travelled? If that puck-tracking data software from the mid-90s was reinstated, this would be a relatively easy problem to rectify. Not only could a high-stick of the puck be detected but also when the puck entered the net undetected. Pass the chips, please. Brett, I did a quick scan of the game and saw a couple of examples of the linesman bllowing the play down for a do-over, even though the cheating centre lost the draw.dddddddddddd As you correctly pointed out, the previous offending team won the second face-off attempt which might not seem fair. The linesmen do their very best to maintain a consistent standard as much as possible throughout a game. They arent looking for perfection but fairness. They apply common sense with good judgment to execute a fair face-off and keep the game moving. Every linesman recognizes the importance of end zone face-offs and none of them want to show up on the highlight reel for a poor drop that results in a goal. They are also judged on their face-offs for rating purposes. In the situations I witnessed, one player utilized a timed, hard swing of his stick while in the other draw, the centre made contact with his helmet on the opposing centre with a spin move. In these more aggressive cases, it was apparent to me that the linesman was not comfortable allowing play to continue but instead chose to maintain an acceptable standard by letting the offending player know his actions were not acceptable. Your point is well taken, Brett. Generally speaking, common sense should be applied to allow play to continue when the non-offending team gains possession of the puck off a face-off. Most of the linesmen I worked with throughout my career, and those I still remain in contact with, attempt to do as you suggest wherever possible. There is perhaps even some value to allowing play to continue and then advising the offending centre at the first opportunity that if he didnt try to cheat, he just might have won the draw. At the very least, the player should be informed that any recurrence would not be tolerated. I remember veteran linesmen telling me that Jean Beliveau and Stan Mikita were two of the most cooperative centres they ever dealt with. These two great players just put their stick down straight on the ice and proceeded to win most of their draws, no matter how much their opponent attempted to cheat. Mikita once told Ray Scapinello, I dont care what you let the other guy do because Im going to win the draw regardless. Kita often did just that. ' ' '