Basisphilosophie » overcame a season rife with significant injuries

CHICAGO -- Tom Sermanni coached the U.S. womens soccer team to a 2-0 win over China in Colorado in the afternoon. By evening, he was out of a job. Sermanni was fired by the U.S. Soccer Federation on Sunday after a disappointing finish last month at the Algarve Cup. The surprising move came just 16 months after he was put in charge. The dismissal was announced hours after Lauren Holiday and substitute Megan Rapinoe scored in the exhibition victory over China in Commerce City, Colo. "We felt that we needed to go in a different direction at this time," USSF President Sunil Gulati said. He said the federation will begin looking for a new coach immediately, with the team looking toward qualifying for the 2015 Womens World Cup. On Monday, a message on goalkeeper Hope Solos Twitter account addressed the firing: "Its a sombre day for us all today. Tom is simply a classy man in every way, and he will certainly be missed." Jill Ellis, the USSFs director of development, will serve as interim coach. She went 5-0-2 in that role in 2012. The womens team faces China again on Thursday in San Diego. "I was completely blindsided," Sermanni told SI.com on Sunday night. "Maybe Im losing my intuitive and perception skills, but I didnt sense a real unease in the team. But I could be wrong in that regard." Sermanni said he assumes there was "some degree of dissatisfaction among the players, otherwise we wouldnt have gotten to this point so quickly now." He added that the players did what he asked and he has "no qualms with them in the sense of having poor relations with them." He was hired in October 2012, but Ellis served as interim coach until he took over that January. Sermanni made his debut in a 4-1 win over his native Scotland on Feb. 10, 2013. He spent the previous eight years coaching Australias womens team, leading the Matildas to the quarterfinals of the last two World Cups. Sermanni helped the U.S. to a 13-0-3 record last year, but the Americans went 1-2-1 at the Algarve Cup, the last major tournament for the U.S. before qualifying for next years World Cup. The seventh-place finish included a 1-0 defeat to Sweden and former U.S. coach Pia Sundhage, ending a two-year, 43-game unbeaten streak. That was the first loss following a 16-0-4 start under Sermanni. "To put it in a nutshell, they just felt that the way I was managing the team wasnt working," Sermanni told SI.com. "It could be the U.S. team is a unique team that has certain demands that perhaps my management style or my philosophy didnt quite jell with." His firing came about six months before North and Central American and Caribbean World Cup qualifying, which takes place from Oct. 16-26 at Cancun and Playa del Carmen, Mexico. On Sunday, Sermanni experimented with a 4-3-3 alignment (four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards) and talked about the team making the most of its offensive opportunities. "I thought our movement was good, thought our passing was quite incisive," Sermanni said. "What we shouldve done better is finish the game off a lot earlier. We really need to be finishing these games off when were creating chances." The U.S. outshot China 23-1 and ran its unbeaten streak on home turf to 81 games (71-0-10). Holiday was back in the lineup after missing the Algarve Cup because of a family commitment. She scored in the 39th minute -- the U.S. finally solving goalkeeper Zhang Yue after a flurry of shots. Holiday nearly had another goal early in the second half, only to have it deflected near the goal line. The defence allowed only one scoring chance to China, which played defensively even after falling behind. "The most important thing is coming together now and figuring out what works and what doesnt," forward Sydney Leroux said. "Were getting better every single day." Any further improvement will come under a new coach. Authentic Houston Texans Jerseys . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., had 18 aces in the match. He needed one hour 39 minutes to complete the victory. Houston Texans Jerseys China . -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. http://www.cheaptexans.com/ . -- Desperate to stop Tom Bradys latest comeback bid, the Miami Dolphins sought help from a reserve safety making his NFL debut after being signed Tuesday off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. Houston Texans Jerseys Outlet . It will mark the 22nd time the tournament has been held in this country and fourth in Atlanta Canada but will make its first appearance ever in played Nova Scotia. Cheap Houston Texans Jerseys Online . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate).Gustav Nyquist hasnt scored a lot of goals on Jonas Gustavsson at Red Wings practice recently. "I think lately he saves them for the game," Gustavsson said. Nyquists scoring prowess has helped save Detroits NHL-best streak of 23 straight playoff appearances. Thanks in large part to Nyquists 14 goals and 10 assists in 22 games since the Olympic break, the Red Wings overcame a season rife with significant injuries to extend their playoff run. "With all the injuries weve had, its been pretty crazy," Nyquist said Tuesday in Buffalo. "But with all the injuries, I think all of us young guys have gotten more opportunity out there and (are) playing bigger minutes. ... As a young player I think that gives you confidence, knowing that you can make more plays with the puck when youre confident out there." The Red Wings injury list reads like almost like a full NHL roster. Pavel Datsyuk missed 37 games, captain Henrik Zetterberg 35 and counting, Darren Helm 40, Johan Franzen 27, Danny DeKeyser 16, Daniel Alfredsson 13 and Jimmy Howard 13. Whats even crazier is how the Red Wings seemingly havent missed a beat. And the craziest thing is that Nyquist, who spent the first 22 games of the season in the minors, still leads the team with 28 goals in just 55 games. And its not even close. "He made a splash right away: first game, two goals, when he came up, so I dont know if its a surprise," Alfredsson said. "Maybe a surprise hes been able to keep up that pace. We hadnt seen him in the NHL as much. Hes made a name for himself, a reputation for himself." Nyquist, soft-spoken and humble at 24 with 137 regular-season AHL games under his belt, wouldnt agree that he has been one of the best goal-scorers in the world lately. But with a stretch of 23 goals in 32 games, Nyquist helped the Red Wings go 17-10-5 to beat out the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals for a playoff spot. "It feels like hes one step ahead sometimes, knowing where the pucks going to end up, and thats how he scores a lot of goals," Gustavsson said on a recent trip to Toronto. "Hes going to the right spots. Im not surprised that he has been scoring a lot for us. Maybe hes scored more than I thought right now." Certainly more than the Red Wings could have envisioned in September, when Nyquist was sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins instead of making the opening-night roster. That was more a consequence of the salary cap than an indictment of his play, as Nyquist was still exempt from going through waivers, but his three goals and three assists in 22 games last year didnt seem a preview of future NHL stardom.dddddddddddd Nyquist brings up "playing with great players" as one reason for his stellar scoring output. But after back problems put Zetteberg on the shelf, Nyquist kept scoring with Franzen, Riley Sheahan, David Legwand and Tomas Tatar rotating as his linemates. "Sometimes in the NHL if youre playing with great players, youre going to find a way to put that in, and hes done that," defenceman Brendan Smith said. "Its been huge for our club." But where did this all come from? "Gus would tell you that he was a pretty good player when he came out of college, I would assume, and that it took the coaches a long time to figure out he was good enough to play him enough to give him the confidence he needs to score enough," coach Mike Babcock said. "Thats probably his theory. My theory is you have to grow as a player and earn your way. I think hes a really intelligent player. Hes got hockey IQ off the chart. He makes good plays, he can shoot the puck, hes got a good release but he gets himself in good spots and weve needed him." Smiths time at the University of Wisconsin overlapped with Nyquists at the University of Maine. Smith can count the ways Nyquist can beat opponents. "Hes a hell of a skater, hes a great puck-mover, he makes great plays, hes got great skill, he can dangle you, hes hard to hit, hes wormy or snakey, whatever you want to call it," Smith said. "I knew he was this good, but I didnt see the scoring nature of it." It wouldve been hard for anyone to see this coming. In 40 career NHL games entering this season, Nyquist had a grand total of four goals. Maybe its just the growth and maturation of a young player, something the Red Wings organization has become very proud of over the years. Or perhaps practice makes perfect. "Hes one of those guys thats always staying till the end of the of practice putting the puck in the net," Gustavsson said. "He works hard and he deserves all the success that he has right now." Gustavsson said Nyquist is just entering his prime and can still get better. And Alfredsson sees ingredients that could ensure this isnt a one-season wonder. "Goal-scorers, a lot of times, they just have a knack for it," Alfredsson said. "It doesnt have to be the perfect shot. They seem to find a way, and they shoot the puck a lot. Hes got everything to be able to be a consistent goal-scorer in this league." 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