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With new head coach Carl Robinson at the helm, the Vancouver Whitecaps will look to get back into the MLS Western Conference playoff picture. TSN soccer analyst Luke Wileman tells you everything you need to know about the 2014 Whitecaps, while TSN soccer analyst Jason deVos tells you how they will succeed or fail during the new campaign. Luke Wileman: After missing out on the playoffs in 2013, Vancouver Whitecaps have re-tooled ahead of the new season. They lost their leading scorer, Camilo, in controversial circumstances, but the Caps will enter the 2014 season with a stronger overall squad. The biggest change of the offseason was the departure of head coach Martin Rennie. After two years with the club, Rennies contract was not renewed, and after a long search, the Whitecaps promoted Carl Robinson from his role as assistant coach to take the top job. I said at the time that Robinson was the perfect choice. He already knew the inner workings of the club from his time on Rennies coaching staff, but has brought a fresh outlook. Robinson is heading into his rookie season as a head coach, and it will be a steep learning curve, but theres little doubt he is ready for the task ahead. The way he handled difficult situations during the offseason was superb, and his leadership and communication with players through preseason has earned him plenty of respect within the locker room. So what can we expect from Robinsons team? The Whitecaps coach has made no secret of the fact that he wants to play an attractive entertaining style of soccer. He has also said he wont be afraid to give youth a chance. Robinsons squad is young, but with experience in key areas throughout the team. In fact there is a strong veteran presence down the spine of the team with David Ousted in goal, Jay DeMerit and Andy OBrien at the back, Nigel Reo Coker in midfield and Kenny Miller up front. The Whitecaps have made some strong additions in the offseason but the biggest question mark is whether they will be able to replace the league-leading 22 goals scored by Camilo. There wont be one person who shoulders the responsibility of filling the void left by the Brazilian, it will need to be a team effort, and the way the squad has been built should help that to happen. Uruguyan duo Sebastian Fernandez and Nicolas Mezquida have shown evidence of their creativity and technical ability during preseason, and the expected arrival of Chilean attacking midfielder Pedro Morales from Spanish side Malaga will be a massive piece of the puzzle. Vancouver already has quality in attack. Keeping Kenny Miller fit is key for the Caps. It will also be interesting to see the development of youngsters Kekuta Manneh, Darren Mattocks, Erik Hurtado, Omar Salgado and Russell Teibert. All five of those players have the ability to contribute significantly to the Whitecaps attacking play. The Whitecaps added former MLS All-Star Steven Beitashour at right back to replace the retired YP Lee and have options in the central defensive positions with DeMerit and OBrien likely to be favoured to open the season, but Carlyle Mitchell, Johnny Leveron and draft pick Christian Dean all capable of stepping in at any time. With Carl Robinson likely to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, the two defensive midfield players will need to protect the back four but also start a lot of the Whitecaps play moving forward. On his day, Nigel Reo-Coker can be one of the top midfielders in the league, but Robinson will want to see more consistency from the Englishman this season dictating the play and getting box to box. One of the Whitecaps big offseason additions was young Argentine midfielder Matias Laba who arrived from Toronto FC. Hes a superb signing who will complement the qualities of Reo Coker. Laba is a destroyer. He breaks up the play and gets it going again in an effective manner. The defensive midfield pairing of Reo Coker and Laba could be particularly strong for the Whitecaps this season. Despite my view that the overall squad is better than a year ago, the Whitecaps wont find it easy to achieve their goal of making the playoffs in a Western Conference that is packed with quality. Last year, Vancouver improved on their points total from a year earlier, but didnt make it to the postseason. They improved, but not enough because the other teams around them had made bigger strides. This time around, the Whitecaps have made some significant changes. It might take them time to settle into their new identity, but it should be a fun ride. TSN Soccer analyst Jason deVos weighs in on how the Whitecaps will succeed or fail during the 2014 season. Jason deVos: Vancouver Whitecaps will succeed if… …the young guns come out firing. Rookie head coach Carl Robinson has a squad full of talented youngsters. Russell Teibert, Kekuta Manneh, Gershon Koffie, Omar Salgado, Darren Mattocks, Nicolás Mezquida, Matías Laba, Erik Hurtado, Andre Lewis and Sam Adekugbe are all under the age of 23. With youth comes inconsistency; an amazing performance one week, followed up by a flat one the next. If Robinson can get the young players to find a measure of consistency, the Whitecaps will fare far better than many predict this season. The reason for that is that this team is quick - and I mean, lightning fast. Mattocks, Manneh and Hurtado are whippets, and will win races against virtually every player in MLS. If the experienced players in the squad - Nigel Reo-Coker, Andy OBrien and Jay DeMerit - can shepherd the young players along the right path, the Whitecaps are going to surprise a few people this season. Vancouver Whitecaps will fail if… …they show up one week and not the next. Succeeding in professional soccer is all about finding a level of consistency from week to week. Reliability comes with experience - something that is severely lacking from this squad of players. The onus is on Robinson to set the standards of performance that he expects from all of his players. Experienced campaigners like Reo-Coker, OBrien and DeMerit wont be the issue - they know what they need to do to succeed in the game, and will rarely dip below a 7 out of 10 performance. It is the young players that need to learn this. They need to learn that you cannot turn it on one week, then not bother showing up the next. That will be Robinsons biggest challenge this season - getting a consistent level out of his talented crop of youngsters. If he can do that, this will be an exciting season for Whitecaps fans. If not, the Whitecaps will again fail to make the playoffs. 2013 finish: 13-12-9 (seventh in Western Conference). Did not qualify for MLS Cup playoffs. Whos In?: M Mehdi Ballouchy (Re-Entry Draft), D Steven Beitashour (traded from San Jose), M/F Sebastian Fernandez (loan from Boston River), M Matías Laba (trade from Toronto), M/F Nicolas Mezquida (transfer from Boston River), GK Paolo Tornaghi (signed). Whos Out?: GK Joe Cannon (option declined), M Jun Marques Davidson (option declined), F Tommy Heinemann (option declined), F Corey Hertzog (option declined), D Greg Klazura (option declined), GK Brad Knighton (traded to New England), M Daigo Kobayashi (option declined), D Lee Young-Pyo (retired), D Brad Rusin (option declined), F Camilo Sanvezzo (transfer to Queretaro), GK Simon Thomas (option declined). SuperDraft: D Christian Dean (1-3), MF Andre Lewis (1-7), F Mamadou Diouf (2-30). Randy Moss Jersey . 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Wholesale Vikings Jerseys . Gough finished in fourth, 0.433 seconds behind American Erin Hamlin, who took the bronze medal at the Sanki Sliding Center in Rzhanaya Polyana.CHICAGO -- When the Los Angeles Clippers lost All-Star Chris Paul to a separated shoulder, they turned to Blake Griffin for leadership. And he has responded by stepping up his play. Griffin had 26 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 112-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. The Clippers improved to 7-3 since Paul, who was averaging 19.6 points and 11.2 assists, was injured. "Blake doesnt run from a challenge," Clippers guard Jamal Crawford said. "Hes one of the hardest workers Ive seen." The Clippers enjoyed a strong outside game, opening up Griffin on the inside, and he finished with his 27th double-double. "(I want to be) a leader for us, knocking down shots and being able to mix up my game, going inside when I felt the need to and going outside when I needed to," Griffin said. Crawford added 19 points for the Clippers, who had six players score in double figures and shot 54 per cent from the field -- including 13 for 21 on 3-pointers. DeAndre Jordan added 10 points and 12 rebounds. "They were open, the right guy was taking them, all of our 3-point shooters," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "They made them, and that opened it up for Blake." Carlos Boozer scored 22 points for the Bulls, who snapped a three-game winning streak. "I dont think any aspect of our defence was any good," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. The Clippers have won four straight against the Bulls, and improved to 3-2 on their seven-game trip. Chicago cut the lead to eight in the third quarter but Darren Collison answered with two quick baskets and the Clippers led 92-80 heading to the fourth. Los Angeles got off to a strong start. The Clippers shot 10 for 14 on 3s and finished 64.1 per cent overall from the field in the first half to take a 68-55 lead at halftime. Jordans dunk gave the Clippers a 60-39 lead, their largest margin, with 3:52 left before halftime. Los Angeles was 7 for 8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter to set a franchise record for 3s in a quarter. The Clippers led 41-26 after shooting 73.7 per cent in the period. "Thats kind of what we talked about, especially defensively," Griffin said about the quick start. "But we still didnt do a good job in the first quarter. We were just so hot early. We got that lead and kept it. Especially on the road, you never want to come out sluggish." In the tteams previous meeting, the Clippers routed the Bulls 121-82 on Nov.dddddddddddd 24 for their worst loss of the season in the first game after Derrick Rose suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Clippers were averaging 105.4 points, fifth in the league. The Bulls were one of the NBAs top defensive teams, holding opponents to 92.5 points per game before Friday. "Giving up 3s, we strive for five or less," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "That was just crazy. We kept fighting. But once they give a team like that confidence, its hard to shut them off." J.J. Redick scored 18 points and shot 4 for 7 from 3-point range. Collison, playing despite a sprained toe, had 17 points. Boozer, back from a one-game absence due to a sore left calf, scored 16 points in the first quarter. Gibson added 18 points, Mike Dunleavy had 17 and Joakim Noah 12 as the Bulls shot 43 per cent from the field and 6 for 19 from 3-point range. The Bulls were without Kirk Hinrich, who missed his second consecutive game with a strained right hamstring. "I think we were passive," Bulls guard Jimmy Butler said. "I dont like the word soft, but I think we were a little bit of that too. They got the shots they wanted to get. We didnt make it too tough for them at all." NOTES: Rivers said the Bulls shouldnt let Thibodeau get away. Thibodeau was on Rivers coaching staff from 2007-10 with the Boston Celtics. "I think it would be nuts not to have him here," Rivers said. "Hes the best coach, one of the best coaches, in the league, so if you have that, thats an asset. And I dont think any right-minded organization would allow that asset to leave. Because with all this adversity theyve had with injuries, if you allow that one to leave, things will fall apart -- and that would be pretty much a guarantee." Thibodeau declined to address rumours about his future. ... Hinrich will possibly miss the Bulls trip to Charlotte on Saturday as he continues to receive treatment, Thibodeau said. ... Thibodeau said it would be a great experience for Rose to play for Team USA if he is healthy. Rose was one of 28 players named to the 2014-16 national team pool. The FIBA Basketball World Cup will be Aug. 30-Sept. 14 in Spain. Rose is out for the NBA season after undergoing knee surgery on Nov. 25. ... Thibodeau picked up a technical foul with the Bulls trailing 86-74 with 2:10 left in the third quarter. 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