TORONTO - Phil Kessel believes the Toronto Maple Leafs are well-positioned to avoid the late-season tailspin that cost them a playoff spot last spring.After losing 12 of their final 14 games, the Leafs have had an off-season of change, from the hiring of Brendan Shanahan as team president to changes on Randy Carlyles coaching staff.On the ice, the team will look different with the additions of defencemen Stephane Robidas and Roman Polak and forwards David Booth, Petri Kontiola, Daniel Winnik and Mike Santorelli and the returns of Leo Komarov and Matt Frattin. Its the front offices hope that reshaping the roster will help the Leafs return to the playoffs, but Kessel said they werent far off.I think we had a good team, Kessel said after a ball-hockey game on centre court at Rexall Centre, site of the Rogers Cup. We were there last year. We had a bad stretch.We dont have that stretch, were right in it. This year we made some good additions and I think we improved as a team, and were going to be ready to go.Kessel, who tweeted a photo of himself playing ball hockey with tennis legend Roger Federer, said the difference to preventing a major losing skid is just finding a way to win close games.Weve got to be prepared for the long season, and we wont go through one of those again, Kessel said.With a deeper set of bottom-six forwards, the Leafs may not have to rely so much on Kessel and first-line left-winger James van Riemsdyk, who played big minutes last season. Kessel, who was often double-shifted, finished with seven points in the final 14 games. Custom Nike Chicago Cubs Jerseys . -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice have agreed to terms on a deal. Custom Nike Baltimore Orioles Jerseys . "I love the game, its the best job you can have," he explained Tuesday as the players left Joe Louis Arena for the summer. "Ill sit down with my wife and well go from there. https://www.customjerseysnikebaseball.co...gers-jerseys/.C. -- Steve Spurrier was much happier about South Carolinas improved performance than about his lastest career milestone. Custom Baseball Jerseys . I kind of got a taste of being able to pick a suit with the draft lottery, I went with the bow tie. Custom Nike Chicago White Sox Jerseys . "All he says is, its crazy," DeMar DeRozan told reporters following Torontos win over the Pistons Wednesday. The Raptors longest-serving members, Johnson and DeRozan have had two coaches and 56 different teammates in five seasons with the club, all without appearing in a single playoff game. METZ, France -- Second-seeded Gilles Simon beat two-time defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to win the Open de Moselle final for his first title of the year. Simon had not faced a single break point in the previous two matches but lost his serve once in the first set to Tsonga and saved four other break points in the match. "I felt that I could take my chance and Im very happy," Simon said. "I saw that Jo wasnt able to serve at his best." Both players were bidding for the 11th title of their careers. Simon had lost his two previous finals and it was his first tournament win since his success on clay at Bucharest in April last year. He has now won as many career titles as fellow Frenchman Guy Forget, but still has some way to catch Yannick Noahs tally of 23 -- including the French Open in 1983. "Noahs still very far ahead but it pleases me that Ive caught up Guy," Simon said. "But he won Masters tournaments and the Davis Cup so hes still ahead of me. I will try and win more (titles), bigger ones, but each toournament that you win gives you a special feeling and you have to make the most of it.dddddddddddd" It was Tsongas first tournament since a knee injury forced him to drop out of his second-round match at Wimbledon and his first final since winning the Open 13 in Marseille in February. "Its sad to lose but I did what I could. At the start of the week I would have signed up to still be here on Sunday," said Tsonga, who leads Simon 5-3 overall. "I would have liked to have played better tennis but I wasnt able to. Gilles played much better than me. Hes been in the top 15 for years, and obviously against a player like that the little imperfections in my game get exposed." Tsonga had the only two aces of the match but struggled more on his serve and was broken twice in each set as Simon reclaimed the title he won in 2010. "I have no regrets, Im in good shape and my knee is fine," Tsonga said. "The problem today was that I didnt have that extra boost that makes the difference against a player like Gilles." ' ' '