The 2013 season looked like it was going to be a great story for the Montreal Impact. jerseys cheap nfl . They entered their second season as a member of Major League Soccer and were on pace to easily qualify for the playoffs and show impressive franchise growth. In September the teams form took a turn for the worse as they were only able to win twice and pick up a draw from their final nine games. Their slide took them from a share of the Eastern Conference lead on September 8, all the way to a final game loss to Toronto FC that forced them into a one-game elimination playoff matchup in Houston against the Dynamo. Much the way their regular season ended, the trip to Texas was a disaster for the Impact. Not only were they beaten 3-0 by the Dynamo thanks to two first-half goals and a second-half insurance marker, they completely lost their composure in the waning minutes of the game. Defender Nelson Rivas was the first to go, as he picked up his second yellow card in the 72nd minute. In the final minute of the match, defender Andres Romero and forward Marco Di Vaio were both shown red cards for their parts in a skirmish that erupted in the corner near the Impact goal. The latter two players were suspended for two extra games in addition to the one they already received for the red cards. The team and head coach Marco Schallibaum were also fined for repeated mass confrontation violations. Now from the ashes of the Impacts burned down season comes one final spark in the form of a rumour. Sports Illustrateds Grant Wahl is reporting that just-retired Impact defender Alessandro Nesta will be replacing Schallibaum as head coach of the team. There is precedent for such a move, as early in the year Toronto FC made retiring Queens Park Rangers defender Ryan Nelsen - who had no coaching experience - their new head coach. If the Impact pull the trigger, Nesta will become their third head coach in three seasons since the club joined MLS. Our questions to you are, where should the Montreal Impact go from here? Do you take a positive or negative view of the 2013 season? And if Schallibaum is on his way out, would you like to see Nesta or a more experienced coach hired to fill the position? As always, its Your! Call. wholesale nfl jerseys . Howard had 19 points and nine rebounds in his first game since signing a four-year, $88 million deal with the Rockets in the off-season. Howard was 6 of 11 from the field and 7 of 11 from the free-throw line in 27 minutes. wholesale jerseys . Not exactly bursting with sentimental feelings, Matthew Lombardi makes an odd return to the state of Tennessee on Thursday night. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- While three straight blowout losses have turned up the heat on Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier and his staff, general manager Rick Spielman says the organization stands firmly behind its head coach and is optimistic things will turn around this season. "Leslie Frazier is not going anywhere," Spielman said Friday. "I am telling you that we are very committed to Leslie Frazier and this coaching staff. And were committed to our players, and everybody is working extremely hard to get this thing turned around." The Vikings have opened the season with six losses in their first seven games, and the defeats have grown progressively more one-sided as the season has worn on. The Vikings came out of their bye week with losses to Carolina, the Giants and Green Bay over the last three weeks and have started a different quarterback in each of those games. Frazier announced Friday that Christian Ponder will start his second straight game when the Vikings play at Dallas on Sunday, a somewhat surprising decision over Josh Freeman, who was brought in three weeks ago to get a shot to become the long-term solution at the position. Frazier said he was "trying to pick the guy you feel like would give you the best chance to be successful on Sunday, and we think thats Christian." Ponder went 0-3 to start the season, sat out the teams only victory with injured ribs, and was benched for two more games while veteran Matt Cassel and Freeman got chances to bring some dynamic play to the offence. All three have tried, and all three have failed, calling into question Spielmans ability to evaluate players at the games most important position. Spielman said he leaves the decision on who plays totally up to Frazier, but did say they continue to evaluate the future of all three players, both in games and at practice. "I know by the end of the year we should definitely have idea on what direction if we have a franchise quarterback on this roster right now, or do we have to go into the draft potentially and look for a franchise quarterback, or where do we go at the end of the season," Spielman said. "But if you dont have them in your building to get a fair assessment and true evaluation, this will give you a clearer picture of the direction you have to go at the end of the year. cheap nfl jerseys. " That they still dont know is one of the biggest reasons theyre in last place in the NFC North this season. Spielman has long been one of Ponders biggest backers in the organization, and he spoke confidently before the year began that the former 12th overall draft pick would break out in his third season. That hasnt happened. Ponder is completing just over 60 per cent of his passes with just two touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. He has looked skittish in the pocket and had difficulty making plays on third down to keep drives alive. "I understand outside the building theres not as much patience as there is inside the building because you know the development," Spielman said. "But the biggest thing we talked about was where Christian was more consistent toward the end of (last) season, we probably havent seen that same consistency through the first part of the season. "Now if he ends up being our starting quarterback and playing the rest of the games and you see him come on and see that he is playing consistently, then maybe he is the guy were going to go into the future with. " Freeman had a rough debut against the Giants, completing 37 per cent of his passes and looking completely unprepared to play. He missed last week with a concussion and Spielman said the team could still evaluate him at practice if hes not playing in games. "If Christian Ponder is playing the rest of the year and were winning games, Im totally fine with that," Spielman said. "Our goal is to win ball games and whatever we have to do to get this turned around to win games, were going to do." As patient as the organization appears to be with the coaching staff right now, Spielman did say the only way they will measure success going forward is by victories. He complimented Fraziers leadership and ability to keep the players focused during such a tough start. But in the end, wins and losses will likely make the decision. "Were not in this business not to win," Spielman said. "Its just expected. You expect to go out and win and you expect to go out and win every week and thats what this business is about, is getting wins." cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
