WINNIPEG -- Claude Noel was fired as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday morning, but general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff revealed the axe began swinging on Tuesday night. Marqise Lee Jersey . Cheveldayoff told reporters at a press conference Sunday afternoon that he first contacted newly hired Jets head coach Paul Maurice on Tuesday after the team played poorly again, mustering only 14 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Lightning. "I ended up reaching out to Paul after the Tampa game, just to see if I was going to go in a direction like that if he had an interesta" said Cheveldayoff, who also dismissed assistant Perry Pearn. "At that point in time, it still wasnt something that I was ready to do, but (Saturday) night I went to ownership and talked to them about making the change." The Jets lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 on Saturday, giving up four goals in the first nine minutes of the second period. Fans booed the team off the ice. "Its not just the last two games, it is the consistency factor," Cheveldayoff said, adding the team kept taking a step forward and then two steps back to stay around .500. The club is 19-23-5 and 10 points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The loss also put the Jets on a season-worst five-game losing streak, matching the longest regulation-game losing skid since the team moved to Winnipeg from Atlanta prior to the 2011-2012 season. After getting the go-ahead from Jets owner Mark Chipman to fire Noel, Cheveldayoff said he called Maurice again and they reached a verbal agreement on a contract until the end of this season. "We dont have anything on paper, we have a handshake over the phone," Cheveldayoff said. "Hes flying in here (Sunday) night and going in that fashion. Again, hes very passionate about getting here. When we talked about what he would need, basically it was like, What time is the flight?" Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Maurice had been working as a TV analyst for TSN & NHL Network after spending the 2012-13 season as head coach of Magnitogorsk Metallurg of the Kontinental Hockey League. The club earned a 27-13-12 record and missed the playoffs. Maurice inherits a Jets team that has struggled in its third season in Winnipeg, thanks in part to inconsistent goaltending and defensive breakdowns. The 46-year-old has been behind the bench for 1,084 games as an NHL head coach. His first game leading the Jets will be Monday at MTS Centre against the Phoenix Coyotes. This will be the third franchise he has coached, after the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He got the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup final and made five total playoff appearances with Carolina. "Hiring Paul Maurice is something that we feel very good about as far as the opportunity that we have to hire an experienced National Hockey League coach to come in here and begin putting his stamp on the team, and also on the evaluation process that were all going to be going through," said Cheveldayoff, who was given a contract extension last September through the 2017-18 season. Hes never worked with Maurice, but the hockey world is small and his background checks produced good references. "There was one common theme; (hes) extremely professional, extremely prepared, extremely knowledgeable about the game and a guy that is very direct in one-on-one with his people and his players," Cheveldayoff said. Cheveldayoff, who called Noel a "special" and "caring" person, said he met with him and Pearn Sunday morning at MTS Centre to tell them theyd been let go. The GM says Noel was "very respectful" and theyll meet again in the coming days. Hired after the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg before the 2011-12 season, Noel went 80-79-18 during his tenure with the Jets. He had been given a one-year extension last June through the 2014-15 season. The team was scheduled to practice late Sunday morning at another local rink, but it was cancelled when Cheveldayoff drove there after the dismissals to give players the news. Captain Andrew Ladd and his teammates shouldered the blame for the coaching changes. "I think it always comes as a shock," Ladd said after the team meeting. "I dont think anyone expected it this morning so its not an easy day. Two good people lose their jobs. Ultimately, it came down to the performance of all the guys in here. Its tough for everyone." Forward Olli Jokinen, a veteran in his 16th NHL season, agreed the players should feel responsible Noel and Pearn had to pay the price for the teams shortcomings. "All of us should be embarrassed that were at the point we have to change the coach," he said. Maurices familiarity with a hockey-crazy market such as Toronto should bode well in Winnipeg, where players are heavily scrutinized by the media and criticized by fans who pack the sold-out MTS Centre. "This is a tough market to play," Jokinen said. "Any Canadian market you play, you know expectations are high. Youve got a lot of media attention, youve got 15,000 GMs watching the games and another couple hundred thousand at home. "So its a place, or any Canadian market, that you as a player you have to put all that aside and focus on doing your job the best you can. Thats all that you can do." He sensed, though, that players were getting easily frustrated and playing "a little bit scared, afraid of making the mistakes." Chevelydayoff, who said his own job "is still a work in progress," admitted he also bears some responsibility for the players he gave Noel to work with. "Ive sat back over the course of 24 hours or whatever and sit there and say, Can I do something else? What else can I do?" he said. "But what I have to be cognizant of is that I dont do something that pushes the franchise backwards from an asset standpoint. Again, this is not without responsibility on my side here, too." The players acknowledged theyll be auditioning for their jobs, although none have played for Maurice. Defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, who moved to right wing for the game against the Blue Jackets, denied Noels message was getting old, but said a new guy in charge might help the team. "I think so," Byfuglien said. "Just someone coming in and no one really knowing him, it could be good for us. "Just getting a new face, a different guy with different attitudes, see how it goes." Retired former Hurricanes goaltender Kevin Weekes, now an analyst on Hockey Night in Canada, gave a glowing endorsement for Maurice to a Canadian Press reporter. "In my entire career, he was the best coach that I played for, both technically, his ability to relate to players, how he treated people, his preparation, you name it." Weekes said. "He was the best coach I played for in the National Hockey League. I played for some good ones, Ive been around a lot of really good people, but hands-down hes the best coach I played for." Cheveldayoff couldnt say whether other changes are on the horizon for the Jets, but he thinks hiring Maurice is a step in the right direction. "We believe that we are underachieving," Cheveldayoff said. "Now its up to the players in some respects to show what theyre all about. "But at the end of the day, we have to take a hard, long look at what other steps there are maybe to move forward." Abry Jones Jersey . Instead, Nonis and Kessel were sorting through the fallout of a wild melee with the Buffalo Sabres, one that saw Kessel suspended for the duration of the pre-season. Leonard Fournette Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. http://www.shopthejaguarsonline.com/Elite-Brandon-Allen-Jaguars-Jersey/ .J. -- Rampage Jackson scowled, howled, then bellowed to the crowd: "Im back! Im back!" With rebuilt knees and a new promotion, Jackson might have one more act left in MMA. BALTIMORE -- The Tampa Bay Rays took a break from their miserable season to put on a dazzling hitting performance against the Baltimore Orioles. Now if they can find a way to sustain the momentum for a bit, the Rays just might make some real noise over the next three months. Matt Joyce homered twice, had a career-high five hits and drove in four runs to power the Rays to a 12-7 victory Sunday. Tampa Bay totalled 11 extra base hits -- five homers and six doubles. The Rays trailed 4-3 before Kevin Kiermaier and Logan Forsythe went deep during a seven-run sixth inning that sent many in the crowd of 32,665 scattering toward the exits. "We havent had anything like that all year," Joyce said. "It was nice to come out here and win a big series and swing the bats like we did." Ben Zobrist also homered for the Rays, who took three of four from Baltimore after starting the series with a 1-7 record against their AL East rivals. The 12 runs were Tampa Bays second-most this season behind a 16-run outburst on April 19 against the Yankees. The Rays still own the worst record in the majors, but now theres hope as Tampa Bay prepares for a three-game series at Yankee Stadium beginning Monday night. "The season weve had, were playing better baseball," Joyce said. "This was a big series for us going into New York. It was nice to come in here and swing the bats well." Joyce doubled in the first inning, hit a solo shot in the third, singled in both the fifth and sixth innings and added a two-run drive in the seventh. His five hits and 12 total bases tied club records. Although the Orioles finally got Joyce out in the ninth with the outcome already decided, his 5-for-6 performance upped his batting average 15 points to .274. "You really dont have very many days like that," Joyce said. "Its nice to have one of those days and enjoy it." Alex Cobb (3-6) got the win despite giving up four runs and eight hits in five innings. "Its really important to keep it going," manager Joe Maddon said. "The focus has to be on winning series. We did this one." Manny Machado and Ryan Flaherty homered for the Orioles. Flaherty hit a three-run drive in the ninth to snap an 0-for-16 skid. But the 12 runs and 18 hits were the most allowed by Baltimore this season. Calais Campbell Jersey. "Times like this, youd like to come out with a W when you score seven runs," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. The game turned in the seventh, when the Rays set season highs with seven runs and seven hits. After Kiermaier homered off Evan Meek (0-3), Joyce singled in a run and James Loney delivered a two-run double. Brandon Guyer followed with an RBI double and Forsythe capped the barrage with a two-run homer off Brian Matusz. "Its wonderful. We havent really done that," Maddon said. "Balls are falling in, missing defenders, balls going over the wall. Good at-bats." In the eighth, Joyce hit a shot to right to make it 12-4 and complete his third career two-homer game. Coming in, he had three home runs this season -- none since May 11. Tampa Bay went up 1-0 in the first inning when Desmond Jennings walked and scored on a double by Zobrist, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. After Joyce homered in the third, Nick Markakis doubled in the bottom half and came home on a two-out single by Steve Pearce. Machado put Baltimore up 3-2 with a two-run drive in the fourth. After Zobrist connected in the fifth to tie it, Tampa Bay loaded the bases before Meek replaced starter Miguel Gonzalez and struck out Forsythe. Gonzalez gave up three runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings, his shortest outing in seven starts since May 5. "Command," he said. "Ive got to keep working on that. I think that has been my biggest issue this year. Other than that, I felt good." Baltimore took the lead for the last time when Markakis scored on a passed ball to make it 4-3 in the sixth. NOTES: Rays RH Chris Archer on Monday will attempt to become the first pitcher to win his first five games against the Yankees since Walter Johnson in 1907-08. ... Baltimore sends Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound in the opener of a four-game series against visiting Texas. ... 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