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CLEVELAND - In two seasons, Terry Francona helped turn the Cleveland Indians back into contenders.Hell get more time to make them champions.Francona and the Indians agreed Tuesday to a two-year contract extension, a deal which carries through the 2018 season and includes team options for 2019 and 2020.Financial terms of the extension were not immediately known.Francona has been worth every penny since the Indians hired him following a disastrous, 94-loss season in 2012. Hes helped reshape the teams culture, infused enthusiasm into the organization and made Cleveland a more attractive destination for free agents. Players want to play for Francona.As excited as we were on the day we hired him, were even more excited today, having the benefit of working alongside him for the last two years, said general manager Chris Antonetti, who believes Francona can help sell the Indians to free agents. If you survey the player community, Tito is as well regarded as any manager for the environment he creates in the clubhouse and how much players enjoy and respect playing for him.The Indians approached Francona about the extension late last season, and it didnt take the sides long to reach an agreement.I always wanted to be part of the solution, Francona said. I just didnt want to come for a few years and move on. That was never my goal. I wanted to come and stay.The Indians have gone 177-147 under Francona, who won two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox. The Indians went 92-70 in Franconas first season, winning a wild-card spot and making the post-season for the first time since 2007. He was named AL manager of the year.Francona may have actually done a better job in 2014.Despite injuries, trades, a leaky defence and sub-par seasons from several key players, Francona kept the Indians in the wild-card race. He was forced at times to play several rookies, but Francona was able to mix and match lineups and he got the most out of his bullpen.The Indians finished 85-77 and dropped to third in the AL Central. However, Francona had the Indians close until the final weekend and the club finished with consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2000-01.I think the job he did this past season was equally as good, if not better than the job he did in 2013, Antonetti said. I think that consistency in the way he approaches each day allows him to be able to maintain that success year after year.Since 2004, Franconas teams have posted 10 consecutive winning seasons. Francona has endeared himself to his players with his openness and honesty, and the man known as Tito has become popular with Cleveland fans.Franconas extension coincides with the Indians locking up several young players to long-term deals. Over the past year, the club has signed All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley, second baseman Jason Kipnis and catcher Yan Gomes to multi-year contracts, giving Francona a strong nucleus of players to build around.Were not the finished product and we know it, Francona said. Were not sitting here patting ourselves on the back. But from where we were when I first came on board to where we are now, were getting better. We still want to get a lot better, but were going in the right direction and we have some players — a core group of guys who are not only good players but exceptional people and that bodes well for us.Francona said the negotiation with Antonetti was pretty simple, once they got past an early hurdle.Chris asked me to send him a contract proposal, Francona said. I thought about it for a couple days and I emailed him and I said, Chris, before I can send you a proposal, you need to write me and tell me what Im making now because I didnt know. On one hand, thats not terribly intelligent on my part. On the other hand, I think it shows that once I sign a contract Im comfortable, I dont look back.And thats where I wanted to be with this one, too. I told him, Chris this is sort of a funny way of saying, once I sign it, I dont really care anymore. I want to do baseball.Francona has won at least 90 games seven times and managed in the playoff six times.Francona has a career record of 1,206-1,062. Hes fourth among active managers in career wins behind San Franciscos Bruce Bochy (1,618), the Los Angeles Angels Mike Scioscia (1,331) and Baltimores Buck Showalter (1,259). Cheap Broncos Jerseys Authentic . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). Shamarko Thomas Jersey . Josh Mazzola drove in five runs to lead the Goldeyes (20-12) past the Capitales 11-5 Friday night at Le Stade Municipal in Quebec City. http://www.cheapbroncosjerseysauthentic....-kreiter-jersey. - The Mavericks built a 12-point lead with 2:50 to play, gave away all but two points of it, and still managed to hang on. Gary Zimmerman Jersey .Jeff Green, playing in his second preseason game after missing the first four because of a calf strain, had 18 points. The Celtics (3-3) shot 47.2 per cent from the floor and made 15 of 37 3-point attempts. Will Parks Jersey . Dancevic won his singles match on Friday, defeating Go Soeda 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to even the best-of-five series at a game apiece. World No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky in the opening match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The numbers didnt look too promising for Jeff Zatkoff in his first two NHL games. He made up for them by putting up a zero in his third. Deryk Engelland, Chris Kunitz and Jussi Jokinen scored and Zatkoff made 19 saves in his first NHL win to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins past Columbus 3-0 Saturday night for their fourth victory in a row and second over the Blue Jackets in just over 24 hours. "Ive been waiting for a month now," Zatkoff said of his 0-2 record with a 5.06 goals-against average and a .818 save percentage. "It feels like a little weights off my shoulders. Its nice to be able to contribute to the team in the win column." The 26-year-old rookie made several big stops but wasnt very busy as the Blue Jackets squeezed off a season-low in shots. Zatkoff is backing up Marc-Andre Fleury while Tomas Vokoun recovers from preseason surgery. "Jeffs best numbers havent been obviously in the National Hockey League," coach Dan Bylsma said. "Hes been a solid guy. His numbers (in the minors) are outstanding. Tonight I thought there wasnt a ton of work at times in the game for him. But he looked comfortable and really solid." Engelland scored on a rapid-fire one-timer to stake Zatkoff to a lead in the second period before Kunitz picked up his eighth when a shot went in off a Blue Jackets stick in the third. Jokinen added an empty-netter. All anyone could talk about was Zatkoffs shutout and the way the defence played in front of him. "You could see the way the guys were blocking shots and stuff, really taking it upon themselves to play good defence for him," Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. "And he made the saves that he had to. Were really happy for him." A crowd of 18,634, including thousands of Penguins fans, cheered wildly when it was announced during the first period that Columbus will host the 2015 NHL All-Star weekend. Perhaps Zatkoffs best save came when he blocked Dalton Prouts hard shot from close range at 8:32 of the third period that would have cut the margin to a goal. It did not appear that Zatkoff knew he was sitting on the puck in the crease. Kunitz made it 2-0 just 47 seconds into the third period on a fluky goal. Before taking a hard check from defenceman Jack Johnson at the right end of the goal line, Kunitz swept the puck toward the goal -- where there were no teammates. But it ricocheted off the stick of trailing Columbus winger Blake Comeau and found the net. Curtis McElhinney, ggetting his second start for the Blue Jackets, looked to the rafters in exasperation.dddddddddddd The game marked the second night in a row that the teams had met. In Pittsburgh on Friday night, the Penguins manhandled the Blue Jackets 4-2 as Fleury was staked to a 4-0 lead and made it stand up with 37 saves. Columbus Sergei Bobrovsky, the Vezina Trophy winner as the NHLs top goalie last year, was pulled in favour of McElhinney after giving up three goals on 13 shots. After a scoreless first period Saturday night, the Penguins scored at the 6:46 mark of the second. Joe Vitale won a puck battle against two Blue Jackets along the wall, then skated to the right corner and saucered a centring pass to Engelland, who unloaded a one-timer from the lower right circle. McElhinney, who stopped 23 other shots, had no chance of stopping it. "Joe just put it right in the wheelhouse," Engelland said of his second goal of the season. "I wasnt picking a corner or anything, but it found its way in." The loss, which touched off a four-game homestand, was the third in a row for Columbus after winning three straight. "(The Penguins) were skating and seemed to have more desperation and urgency in their game," Columbus coach Todd Richards said, comparing the second meeting with the one a night earlier. Even as the game progressed, Zatkoff said he tried not to even think about the possibility of a shutout for his first win. "I tried to block that out and go with the process," he said. "It sounds kind of cheesy but I was worrying about every shot and trying not to look at the scoreboard." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Blue Jackets director of hockey operations John Davidson appeared on the arena monitors over centre ice during a first-period break to announce that the 2015 All-Star Game weekend was coming to Columbus. The 2013 event was supposed to be held at Nationwide Arena, but that was cancelled by the lockout. NOTES: The Penguins play home-and-home games on back-to-back nights three times this season; this was the only such pairing all season for the Blue Jackets. ... Pittsburgh had not played in Columbus since a 7-2 victory on Dec. 4, 2010, victory. ... The Blue Jackets had several points streaks end: James Wisniewski (5), Nick Foligno (3) and Ryan Johansen (3). ... Crosby, leading the NHL in points with 22 co