DETROIT -- When Brad Ausmus was a player -- which wasnt that long ago -- the mental aspect of the game always came pretty easily. Darnell Dockett Jersey . "I always enjoyed the cerebral part," Ausmus said. "It was much more difficult to hit -- that was the part of the game I didnt really enjoy." Perhaps it was inevitable that Ausmus would become a manager, and hell have that chance now. The Detroit Tigers hired the 44-year-old former catcher to replace Jim Leyland at the helm of the three-time defending AL Central champions. Ausmus has little managerial experience, and the Tigers will entrust him with a talented roster that is expected to keep right on winning. "Im well aware that you dont generally get dropped into a situation like I will be this coming season," Ausmus said. "I understand Im very fortunate. That being said, Im not taking anything for granted. No details will be glossed over. Im not assuming anything going into the job." Ausmus, who worked in the San Diego Padres front office as a special assistant to the general manager, emerged as Detroits pick less than two weeks after Leyland stepped down. He takes over a team that has reached the AL championship series three straight years and should be well positioned for another big season in 2014. The Tigers lost to Boston this year in the ALCS. "Were not going to re-invent the wheel here. This is a pretty darn good team," Ausmus said. "I think I would be foolish to come here and try to make sweeping changes." Ausmus managed Israels team for the World Baseball Classic, but hes inexperienced as a manager compared to some other potential candidates. Ausmus played in the majors from 1993-2010. The Tigers also interviewed Padres bench coach Rick Renteria and Los Angeles Dodgers third-base coach Tim Wallach -- as well as Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon. Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski said hed planned to interview former Cincinnati Reds star Barry Larkin, but Larkin decided not to interview because he wasnt in a position to make the time commitment necessary for the job. If continuity was Detroits main concern, McClendon may have been the choice, but the Tigers acted a bit more boldly in hiring the Dartmouth-educated Ausmus, whose name also recently surfaced in connection with the Chicago Cubs job. "When we interviewed, we were -- not just me -- taken back at how impressive he was," Dombrowski said. "It really became quite clear for us, that he would do an outstanding job for us. It was probably not where I started, but its where we ended, and we feel very good about that." There will be one important holdover on Detroits coaching staff. Leylands bench coach, Gene Lamont, will remain in that role. Ausmus agreed to a three-year deal with a club option for 2017. Lamont agreed to a two-year deal. Ausmus is 24 years younger than the man hes replacing, and he inherits a roster with a high payroll and several big names, including Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera. Hell have a chance to win right away, and hell have to deal with high expectations. "Anybody you hire has some risk attached to it," Dombrowski said. "Even a veteran manager that you bring in with a new club, where they are in their life, theres risk attached to that." The contrasts with the 68-year-old Leyland are obvious, and Ausmus will have to prove he can guide this star-studded team through the inevitable rough patches -- but it wasnt long ago that Ausmus was on the other side of that player-manager relationship. He played in 1,971 games with four different teams. He played for the Tigers for part of the 1996 season, and again from 1999-2000. "Ive got to be me," Ausmus said. "Jim Leyland -- great, Hall of Fame manager. Im not going to be Jim Leyland. I would never make an attempt to be Jim Leyland. Im going to be who I am." Detroit is one of at least three teams with first-time major league managers who should have a chance to win right away in 2014. The Washington Nationals hired Matt Williams to replace Davey Johnson. The Cincinnati Reds, who fired Dusty Baker after a 90-win season, went with pitching coach Bryan Price as their new manager. Ausmus is the latest former player to take over a contending team with little managerial experience. Mike Matheny succeeded Tony La Russa in St. Louis after the Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, and Matheny reached the NL championship series in 2012 and won the National League pennant this year. Former New York Yankees star Don Mattingly is the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team the Cardinals beat in the NLCS this season. "I was just playing the game three years ago," Ausmus said. "I have a pretty good understanding of how the locker room dynamic is." Matt Shaughnessy Jersey . Brad Richards scored twice on New Yorks previously anemic power play, Martin St. Louis had three assists in his best game since joining the Rangers last month, and Henrik Lundqvist kept the Carolina Hurricanes at bay in a 4-1 victory on Tuesday night. Andre Ellington Jersey . The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday at 4:05 p.m. Tickets for Monday will be honoured Tuesday. The forecast Monday calls for heavy rain throughout the day.DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Argentina scored either side of halftime en route to a 3-0 victory Friday that knocked Canada out of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Canadians had needed a win to advance to the knockout round of 16. "You have to take care of your own business and get your own results." said coach Sean Fleming. "At the same time, it seemed like every result that could have helped us didnt go our way." The loss, which dropped Canadas career record to 0-14-4 in six editions of the youth tournament, followed earlier Canadian ties with Iran (1-1) and Austria (2-2). Canada played its three games in nine days. Joaquin Ibanez scored in first-half stoppage time and Matias Sanchez scored in the 46th minute for Argentina. Sanchez made it 3-0 in the 75th minute. Argentina (2-0-1) won Group E with seven points. Iran (1-0-2) also advanced after defeating Austria 1-0 to finish runner-up in the group with five points. Canada (0-1-2) placed third with two points while Austria (0-2-1) was fourth with one. For our footballl in Canada, we may not always be known for our attacking qualities, but I think this team does have good attacking players," . John Abraham Jersey. . "I think highlights for this group has to include our resiliency to come back in games. We had to do that in CONCACAF and we had to do that here," said Fleming. "To see that character in the kids is great. "We also scored some great goals in the last 14-15 months that we were together. Those were highlights, too. Really, just to see the improvements overall as a group and individually amongst our footballers was a highlight." The top two teams in each of the six preliminary-round groups advance, along with the fourth third-best teams. The five other third-place teams all had more points than Canada. The young Canadians have never made it out of the first round at the world championship at this level and its two draws at the 2011 event in Mexico represented their first ever points at the competition. The points won have all come under Fleming as coach. jersyes nfl wholesale ' ' '
