- they profited from the territory to win 12-7.It was a disappointi

DETROIT -- The firing of longtime executive Terry Ryan on Monday looms as the first of several changes in store for the woeful Minnesota Twins. A managerial switch wont be one of them.Twins owner and CEO Jim Pohlad cut ties with Ryan and hired assistant GM Rob Antony to replace him on an interim basis. The news sent shockwaves through the visiting clubhouse as the Twins began a three-game road series in Detroit.Ryan was the teams GM from 1994-2007, served as a special assistant for four years, then returned as the GM in November 2011. Ryan wasnt able to recapture past glory, as the team failed to make the playoffs during his second stint.The Twins have been dismal virtually since Opening Day this season and dropped 26 games below .500 with a 1-0 loss on Monday night. Theyll play the second game of the three-game series on Tuesday night.Manager Paul Molitor received assurances from Pohlad that hell retain his job the rest of this season and into next season, regardless of whether Antony has the interim tag removed.Im grateful because I want to keep doing this, Molitor said. I want to help try to be part of the solution of our team getting better and finding a way to do some things we havent been able to do for quite a while.Antony was privy to all the trade discussions that Ryan had with other GMs. Antony was given the green light by his owner to do whatever he wants to improve the team. The non-waiver trade deadline arrives on Aug. 1.Theyve put me in a good position, Antony said. Theyre not hamstrung in any way. There are no financial problems or issues where we need to dump players or save money. Were going to have some different ideas, different approaches. ... There are some things we need to tweak.There are several veterans who could be on the move, including 29-year-old left-hander Tommy Milone, the scheduled starter on Tuesday. Milone has boosted his trade value this month by winning his last two outings after failing to collect a victory in his first seven starts. Hes pitched well against the Tigers in the past, going 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA in seven career outings.Hell be opposed by struggling right-hander Anibal Sanchez. Detroit manager Brad Ausmus was forced to reinsert Sanchez into the rotation when Jordan Zimmermann and Daniel Norris were sidelined by injuries.Sanchez, who is 5-10 with a 6.75 ERA, has lost both his July starts while surrendering 12 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings.The Tigers could be in the market for another starter, even when Zimmermann and Norris come off the 15-day disabled list. By winning three of their first four games since the break, the Tigers greatly decreased the possibility of selling off assets before the trade deadline.Hopefully, we force the teams hand to be buyers. You dont want to be sellers, ace right-hander Justin Verlander said. Obviously, we went through that last year and it was tough for everybody. It wasnt fun the last couple of months. Were a good club and weve just got to go out there and prove it.The Tigers have gotten solid starting pitching in their last three victories, as well as stellar bullpen outings. They have allowed only four runs in those games.Thats definitely the recipe, said left fielder Justin Upton, who provided the only offense on Monday with a solo homer. If the starters go out and pitch six strong innings, we can put some runs on the board and our bullpen comes out sharp, were going to have a chance to win a lot of ballgames. Andrew Ladd Islanders Jersey . 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Sevens took its bow in the Olympics on Saturday and we were there to see it at the Deodoro Stadium. Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, France and Canada went two from two and we round up the key talking points from day one of rugby in the Games.Australia are the team to beatThe favourites for womens gold put down a marker on day one of the sevens with the most complete pair of performances of any side here. In their first match against Colombia - Emilee Cherry started despite injury concerns - they showcased their all-court style of rugby with every player producing moments of sheer brilliance as they ran in nine tries. Whether it was the potent try-scoring of Charlotte Caslick, who grabbed three, the beautifully weighted kicking of Chloe Dalton or the orchestrating of Alicia Quirk, they had the opponent grasping at hot air as they waltzed through. And all that after they opted to start without star Ellia Green.In their second match of the day against Fiji it was a similar state of affairs with Cherry excelling and Caslick adding to her ever-growing try count. They are the team to beat here in Rio and having won this years World Sevens Series, they are nicely poised to complete a remarkable double.Portia Woodmans New Zealand are best-placed to challenge AustraliaIt was an ominous start from the Black Ferns and if anyone is to stop Australia, they are currently the team who will do it. Their star Portia Woodman, whos the current womens world player of the year, was in spectacular form. They finished day one unbeaten and Woodman followed up on her hat-trick in the first match against Kenya, a game they eased through 52-0, with a further score against Spain.Their support was also fantastic in the crowd. A strong contingent sat above the 22 nearest the tunnel cheering on every half-break and inevitably the resulting try while high-ranking officials from the New Zealand Rugby Union were also in attendance. The players looked confident and after their drubbing of Kenya, they then saw off Spain. It was a more error-strewn performance but on day one, they look best placed to challenge Australia for gold.Great Britain struggled with nerves but are nicely placedTeam GB looked nervous in their opener against the hosts with Brazil feeding off some superb support from the crowd. Natasha Hunt showed her class with two opportunistic tries but they did look rattled in the firsthalf beforre closing out the match.dddddddddddd They were making uncharacteristic handling errors and lacked a cutting edge but eventually they got over the line and then made the necessary improvements against Japan to finish two from two. The two real positives were not conceding any tries and the performances of two-try Jo Watmore.It was a shaky start, but we know sevens tournaments are not decided on the first day, and weve got two good wins under our belt, Team GB captain Emily Scarratt said. The second performance was really pleasing.We really pride ourselves on our defence, If you dont let other teams score tries, it is generally a lot easier to win games.U.S. lack physicality but have pace to punishWhen the U.S. have ball in hand, they look dangerous as they showed in their 48-0 eight-try win over Colombia but in the close quarters of the contact area against Fiji in their opening match, they were found wanting for physicality. Fijis Lavenia Tinai left her mark on the U.S. side with a series of blistering hits and though the Islanders lacked calmness at certain stages - despite mens coach Ben Ryans best efforts when he was shouting from the stands malua (slowly) -- they profited from the territory to win 12-7.It was a disappointing start and while they got back to winning ways against Colombia, it is Canada from the North American contingent who look set to be targeting day three semifinals. They flew under the radar with New Zealand and Australia the headline attractions, but Canada were ruthless in their two matches as they eased past Japan and then Brazil.Pocket Rocket Santini is Brazils key weaponAs the TV camera panned around the stadium before the hosts opening match against Team GB, the crowd started jumping. Their support for the team was brilliant with British knock-ons greeted like tries and the odd break as if theyd already got gold in the bag. Their key player will be the diminutive 1.50 metre-tall Edna Santini, nicknamed the pocket rocket, who is a wonderfully elusive runner but they must have her on the wing, spotting outside breaks rather than in the midst of the midfield scrap.Against Canada, they lacked the same intensity and focus they showed against Team GB but this is a team who are showing promise and did their watching faithful proud on day one. ' ' '