Eric Staal settled with a new team that satisfied his postseason aspirations. The Minnesota Wild found the top-six forward they were seeking.Staal and the Wild agreed to terms Friday on a three-year, $10.5 million contract soon after NHL free agency began. After totaling 13 goals combined with the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers last season, the lowest number since he was a rookie, Staal, 31, will take a prove-his-worth mentality into next season.I feel like Ive got a lot of hockey left, Staal said.The 45 goals and 55 assists that Staal recorded in 2005-06 while leading the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup championship are an improbability at this point. But a potential line with Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle ought to at least put him in position to be a productive offensive player.He wanted the opportunity to be the Eric Staal that he was in the past, said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, whose Washington teams faced Staal often with Carolina as division rivals. I told him he would definitely get that chance here.Staal spent 12 seasons with the Hurricanes until he was traded to the Rangers the day before the deadline on Feb. 29, 2016. The second overall pick in the 2003 draft, Staal has 325 goals and 456 assists in 929 career games. Since he entered the league, Jarome Iginla, Patrick Marleau and Daniel Sedin are the only others whove played in 900-plus games and totaled at least 300 goals and 400 assists.Parise reached out to Staal earlier this week with a pitch for the Wild.Im super excited. They were a team that I kind of had on my radar for a little while now, and knowing I was going to be in this position, I was kind of scouring over team rosters and looking for spots where I could be put in position to play my best hockey, Staal said. Minnesota was right up there.The Wild have qualified for the playoffs four straight times, but theyve won only two series. Still, thats a lot more action than Carolina has seen.After leading the NHL playoffs with 28 points in 25 games for the 2006 champions, Staal and the Hurricanes tasted the postseason only once more. He also had a five-game stint in the playoffs with the Rangers after the trade.As his seven-year, $55.75 million contract expired, Staal was eager to join a winner. He cited player cost-cutting around him in Carolina as a reason for his waning goals and assists totals.In the cap world and the way the game is now, you need more. You need extra help, and sometimes it felt like they werent able to do some of those things, Staal said on a conference call with Minnesota reporters. It made it difficult. It started to wear.Staal has three younger brothers who have played in the NHL: Marc, Jordan and Jared. Staal has had the chance to play with all of them, with the Hurricanes and then the Rangers. With 2,237 career regular-season games between the quartet, none of them has played for a Western Conference team until now.Minnesota is the closest NHL market and major city to their hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, about a six-hour drive across the border.Im sure Im going to have a lot more weekend visitors than I had in the past, Staal said.The Wild also agreed to deals to bring back left wing Chris Stewart (two years, $2.3 million) and add goalie Alex Stalock, a Minnesota native; defenseman Victor Bartley, formerly of Montreal and Nashville; and forward Pat Cannone, an AHL veteran. They provide depth on two-way contracts.Stewart had eight goals and 12 assists in 56 games for Anaheim with Boudreau last season, missing 19 games because of a broken jaw. Stewart was a March 2, 2015, trade-deadline acquisition by the Wild and played in 20 games plus eight contests in the playoffs.Stalock went 24-19-7 with a 2.37 goals against average and a .911 save percentage over parts of five seasons with San Jose. The 28-year-old product of South St. Paul High School and Minnesota Duluth will be behind Devan Dubnyk and Darcy Kuemper to start, but general manager Chuck Fletcher has acknowledged that Kuemper is under trade consideration.The fact that we didnt have to sacrifice any of our young defensemen to fill these holes is important, Fletcher said.With Staal, Mikko Koivu and Erik Haula, the Wild are confident in their depth at center. Staals arrival means Coyle and Mikael Granlund can stay on the wing, too.We have some quality players he can play with, Fletcher said. We certainly have an important role he can fill, and the most important thing about the deal is he was able to give us a cap number that works for us and will allow us to fill in some players around him as well. Ecco Schuhe Schweiz Günstig . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Ecco Schweiz Online . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. http://www.eccoschweiz.ch/ . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Ecco Schuhe Schweiz .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Ecco Schuhe Schweiz China . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. MASON, Ohio -- Angelique Kerber reached the Western & Southern Open final Saturday, leaving her one win away from unseating Serena Williams at No. 1.Kerber took control after a 33-minute rain delay in the first set and beat Simona Halep 6-3, 6-4 in humid, windy conditions, putting her within reach of the worlds top ranking. Williams has led the WTA rankings for 183 consecutive weeks, the second-longest such stretch.A win on Sunday over 15th-seeded Karolina Pliskova would move Kerber to the top spot in next weeks rankings. Williams dropped out at the start of the tournament because of an inflamed shoulder, leaving her ranking vulnerable.Andy Murray extended his successful summer -- another Wimbledon title, another Olympic gold medal -- by reaching the final as well, giving him a chance for a third Cincinnati championship.More is at stake in the womens title match. Kerber has tried to avoid thinking about No. 1 because she didnt want to put any more pressure on herself. Now, theres no avoiding it.Ive had a lot of ups and downs the last few years and a lot of experiences from which Ive learned, Kerber said. I think Im one of the best tennis players. One match away, still a long way to go.Shed become only the second German woman to hold the top spot. Steffi Grafs reign at No. 1 ended in 1997. It would be Kerbers first title in Cincinnati -- she lost her other final appearance in 2012.Halep was on a hot streak, winning back-to-back titles at Bucharest and Montreal. Shed also beaten Kerber in their four matches on hard courts this season, although Kerber won at Wimbledon.Kerber led 4-3 in the first set when rain forced the delay. She won eight of the next nine points to take the first set, then pulled ahead 4-0 in the second set, pumping her right arm in celebration as the games piled up.Pliskova advanced to the championship match for the first time by beatingg Garbine Muguruza 6-1, 6-3 in an earlier match.dddddddddddd She was well aware of the stakes on Sunday.I know it, she said. For me, doesnt really mean anything. For her, yes. I dont know if she would be a little bit stressed or something, but I would love to have her as a No. 1 after a few years. But Ill do anything for her not to get there, if she wins [in the semifinals].In the mens bracket, Murray beat Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-3, also overcoming a brief rain delay in the first set. Hes won his past 22 matches, a career best. And he appeared fresher on Saturday after pulling through a draining summer of success.After beating Raonic for his second Wimbledon title and getting another Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, he came to Cincinnati worn out. He developed a bad head cold and had a stiff back that limited his movement during the quarterfinals. He was much sharper on Saturday with only 11 unforced errors.Im not going to be fresh, Murray said. Ive played a lot of tennis the last few weeks. This week has been hard for me, coming from Rio. Tomorrow is going to be my first match during the day. Every player will tell you the conditions are different in the daytime.The mens bracket was wiped out by injuries. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer skipped the tournament, and Rafael Nadal was knocked out early as he plays back into shape following a severe wrist injury.By reaching the final, Murray made it 33 straight Masters championships involving at least one member of the Big Four -- Murray, Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. One of them has won each of the past 18 Masters championships.Murray will face Marin Cilic, who rallied to beat unseeded Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a rain-delayed semifinal that ended at 1:36 a.m. local time. ' ' '