VANCOUVER - Carl Robinson is the new head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Braden Holtby Jersey . The 37-year-old Welshman takes over after spending the last two seasons as an assistant with the Major League Soccer club. "Its a very proud moment for me to be here today," Robinson said at his introductory press conference. "Its something that I have always dreamed of doing and its the natural progression for me in my career." Robinson replaces Martin Rennie, who was fired in October after Vancouver failed to make the playoffs. The Whitecaps fourth coach since the club joined MLS in 2011, Robinson will have full autonomy over personnel decisions. "Its a task Im looking forward to. I know Im going to face this challenge head on," said Robinson. "There will be hard work along the way, but Im up for that challenge." The Whitecaps made the playoffs with Rennie at the helm in 2012, but stumbled down the stretch this past season. Vancouver also failed to win the Amway Canadian Championship, which the club has put an emphasis on because it means a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. After Rennie was shown the door, club president Bob Lenarduzzi said MLS experience would be an important trait for his successor. Robinson has that, although not as a head coach. As a player, the bruising midfielder started his career in England before spending three seasons with Toronto FC and one campaign with the New York Red Bulls. "When you watched him as a player, he was a leader on the field," said Lenarduzzi. "He was constantly communicating, constantly encouraging his players. To me, what that will do is ideally translate through to his next task of being a head coach." Robinson, who played 52 times for his country, made 86 MLS appearances and was twice named TFCs most valuable player. "His vision aligns with ours as a club. Hes committed to youth development," said Lenarduzzi. "We have a like-minded philosophy in terms of attempting to play entertaining and attacking soccer." Lenarduzzi confirmed that former U.S. and Egyptian national team coach Bob Bradley, who was rumoured to be in the running for the job, spent a weekend in Vancouver during the interview process but decided to pursue other options in Europe. Lenarduzzi said Robinson and all of the other candidates were kept appraised of the situation while the Whitecaps explored the "unique opportunity" to speak with Bradley. "As far as the coach search taking longer than we would have anticipated, if Bob Bradley doesnt come up then more than likely it would have been done sooner," said Lenarduzzi. "But for us not to pursue that I think would have been wrong on our part." Alex Ovechkin Jersey . "I dont know where we would be without him," McClendon said. "Hes done a tremendous job for us and (Wednesday) was no different." Logan Morrison drove in two runs in Seattles big sixth inning, Young pitched seven strong innings and the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Jay Beagle Jersey . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. http://www.thecapitalshockeystore.com/Capitals-Andre-Burakovsky-Adidas-Jersey/ . He never mentioned anything about his hitting. The 33-year-old right-hander had success with both Sunday, pitching six solid innings and helping the offence-starved Mets with an RBI single as New York salvaged a doubleheader split with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Starter Mat Latos had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee on Friday, giving the Cincinnati Reds a concern as they opened spring training. Latos suffered the injury a few days earlier while throwing in Arizona. Hell have to stop throwing for about 10 days to let the knee heal. General manager Walt Jocketty said Latos could be ready for the start of the season. "It was a very quick repair," Jocketty said. "Very minor surgery." The Reds have suffered injuries to their bullpen during spring training each of the past two years. This time the rotation was thrown into flux from the start of camp. Latos went 14-7 last season with a 3.16 ERA iin 32 starts. Alexander Ovechkin Jersey. He had surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow at the end of the season and had recovered well from that operation. Latos felt something in the knee on one of his throws earlier in the week. An MRI found the tear, and he had surgery on Friday morning as the rest of the pitchers and catchers were having their physicals. "Is it unfortunate? Yeah," Jocketty said. "But its not something were overly concerned about." Pitchers Carlos Contreras, Daniel Corcino and infielder Neftali Soto didnt make it to Goodyear for the first workout because their flights were cancelled due to the bad weather on the East Coast. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '