LEVERKUSEN, Germany -- Bayer Leverkusen fired Sami Hyypia as coach Saturday after an alarming mid-season slump and turned to the Finns former coaching partner Sascha Lewandowski to secure Champions League qualification. Johan Mojica Jersey . The Bundesliga club said in a statement that the former Liverpool defender Hyypia was being released "with immediate effect" following Fridays 2-1 loss at relegation-threatened Hamburger SV. Lewandowski stepped back to resume coaching Leverkusens youth side after securing Champions League qualification with Hyypia last season. He has been charged with securing at least fourth place in the Bundesliga to repeat the feat this time around. "He helped us out in a critical situation once before when he worked alongside Sami Hyypia following the release of Robin Dutt," Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voeller said. "Were firmly convinced he will succeed again." Leverkusen previously drew with bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig and is in danger of losing fourth place, with both Wolfsburg and Borussia Moenchengladbach in a position to overtake on Saturday. "This decision was more than difficult because Sami did a brilliant job over the last two years," Voeller said. Leverkusen was second at one point in the Bundesliga but had a severe change in fortune after the winter break with only three wins from 12 league games this year. It has also endured humiliating losses to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup. "What he and his coaching staff achieved with the team in the first half of the season was well beyond expectations and earned him praise from all sides," Voeller said. "Thats why the current slump is even more painful for us. The dramatic events of the last few weeks leave us no other choice but to bring about a separation. We want to and have to try everything to save the season." Assistant coach Jan-Moritz Lichte was also released. "Its not an easy situation for me now to take Samis place," Lewandowski said. "We had responsibility for this team together for more than a year. So you cant take over without regret that the former partner couldnt realize his dreams." Kicker magazine said that Thomas Schaaf (former Werder Bremen coach), Markus Weinzierl (Augsburg), Armin Veh (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Jos Luhukay (Hertha Berlin) are all possible candidates to take over from next season. Hyypia is the seventh coach to lose his job in the Bundesliga this season, following the dismissals of Bruno Labbadia and his successor Thomas Schneider at Stuttgart, Thorsten Fink and his successor Bert van Marwijk at Hamburger SV, Michael Wiesinger at Nuremberg and Mirko Slomka at Hannover. Felipe Aguilar Jersey .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. Dayro Moreno Jersey . Head of clinic Josef Obrist tells the Austria Press Agency on Thursday that Morgenstern "is doing surprisingly well. ... He still has a memory gap but thats nothing unusual." Morgenstern has moved to a rehabilitation clinic in Klagenfurt for further recovery. http://www.soccercolombiamart.com/world-cup-radamel-falcao-football-jersey/ .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action.A pair of Western Canadian NHL teams travel east tonight as the Vancouver Canucks face the Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers battle the New York Islanders. The Vancouver Canucks will face former teammate Cody Hodgson and the Buffalo Sabres when the clubs meet in tonights clash at First Niagara Center. The Sabres were 0-6-1 through the first seven games of 2013-14, but finally picked up a victory in Tuesdays road tilt against the New York Islanders. Tyler Ennis scored the deciding goal during the second round of the shootout to lift the Sabres to a come-from-behind win at Nassau Coliseum. The 4-3 shootout decision ended a club record-tying streak for futility at the start of the season. The last time Buffalo went seven games into a campaign without a victory was in 1999-2000, when the Sabres recorded five losses and two ties. The Sabres trailed 3-2 before Marcus Foligno found the back of the net with 2:01 remaining in the third period, and Thomas Vanek and Ennis both converted their shootout opportunities before Ryan Miller officially stopped Buffalos losing streak with a save on John Tavares. Ennis and Vanek also scored in regulation, while Miller racked up 41 saves prior to stoning two of New Yorks three skaters in the shootout. "It was a great job by our guys," said Miller. "Glad to get that (first win)." Buffalo now has a chance to earn its first home win of the season, having posted an 0-3-1 mark in Western New York so far. Thursdays contest marks the start of a three-game homestand for the Sabres, who also will welcome Colorado and Boston during the residency. Sabres forward Hodgson will play his second career game against the Canucks, who drafted him with the 10th overall pick in the 2008 draft before eventually trading him to Buffalo for fellow forward Zack Kassian during the 2011-12 season. Hodgson played at Vancouver on March 3, 2012, less than one week after the trade, but did not record a point in that meeting. Kassian had one goal and one assist in that game, which Buffalo won by a 5-3 score. Hodgson has one goal and five assists in eight games this season. Kassian, meanwhile, has failed to record a point for the Canucks in two games since returning from a suspension for a high-sticking incident against Edmonton in the preseason. All told, Hodgson has 19 goals and 48 points in 76 games since the trade, while Kassian has posted eight goals and six assists over 58 contests with the Canucks. Vancouver had lost two straight regulation games by identical 4-1 scores before ending the brief slide with Tuesdays win in Philadelphia. Ryan Kesler scored a pair of goals, including the deciding tally with 2:25 left in regulation, to help the Canucks open a seven-game road trip on a positive note. The Canucks trailed the Flyers by a 2-1 count heading into the third period, but Vancouver scored the only two goals of the final 20 minutes to take a 3-2 decision. Chris Higgins added a goal and one assist and tied the game at 2-2 with 12:29 remaining in the third period, setting up Keslers game-winner. Henrik Sedin posted two helpers for the Canucks, while Roberto Luongo stopped 20 shots for the win. "It was a nice one, especially since the couuple of guys that scored goals had been working hard all year so far, but hadnt gotten rewarded much," Luongo said. Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Jersey. "So its nice that they both contributed in a huge way there." Vancouver is 2-1-0 as the visiting team this season and will continue its swing this Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Sabres have won four of the last five meetings against the Canucks. Buffalo also has claimed three in a row and five of the past six encounters in Western New York. EDMONTON OILERS vs. NEW YORK ISLANDERS A couple of teams desperate for a victory will meet Thursday on Long Island when the New York Islanders host the Edmonton Oilers at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders are 2-2-2 on the season and enter Thursday riding an 0-2-1 losing streak. New York dropped the first two games of this slide on the road, but couldnt break the trend in Tuesdays home game against the Buffalo Sabres, who recorded a 4-3 shootout win to earn their first victory of the season. New York led the Sabres 3-2 after Matt Moulsons power-play goal with 11:16 remaining in the third period. However, Marcus Foligno netted the equalizer for Buffalo with 2:01 left in regulation and Tyler Ennis notched the decisive goal for the Sabres in the shootout. Thomas Vanek and Ennis both converted their shootout opportunities for Buffalo before Ryan Miller officially sealed the win for the Sabres with a save on John Tavares. In addition to Moulsons score, the Islanders also received goals from Frans Nielsen and Matt Martin, while Evgeni Nabokov turned aside 31 shots in the loss. "We put a lot of pucks on net today," said Tavares. "We didnt get the result we wanted. When we have a lead, we have to bear down and find a way to get the job done." New York is 1-0-2 on home ice this season and is playing the second test of a four-game stand on Thursday. Edmonton has just one win in seven games (1-5-1) this season and the club will be aiming for its first victory at Nassau Coliseum since 1999 when it takes the ice on Thursday. The Oilers have dropped six in a row on Long Island since last earning a road win against the Isles on Dec. 14, 1999. New York has taken two of three and eight of the last 11 meetings in this series overall. The Oilers last played on Tuesday when they dropped a 3-2 regulation decision in Pittsburgh. Evgeni Malkin potted the game-winner on the power play 7:20 into the third period to hand Edmontons its fourth straight loss. Jordan Eberle and Ales Hemsky each scored once for the Oilers, while Jason LaBarbera stopped 25-of-28 shots. "Its about wins and losses and weve got to find ways to win games," LaBarbera said. "Thats the bottom line. Everyone of us can step it up a bit more and just find a way to get a win and get a good feeling in here." Its unclear if LaBarbera or the struggling Devan Dubnyk will get the start tonight for the Oilers. Dubnyk entered this season as the clubs clear No. 1 goaltender, but he is 0-3-1 with an astronomical 5.43 goals against average and .829 save percentage in four games. The Oilers are 0-2-1 so far on a six-game road trip and will play the next portion of the swing Saturday in Ottawa. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys 2018 ' ' '