SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres have hired A. wholesale jerseys .J. Preller as general manager, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the hiring hasnt been made official. The team called a news conference for 4 p.m. local time. Preller has been assistant GM of the Texas Rangers. He has extensive international scouting experience, particularly in Latin America. Preller replaces Josh Byrnes, who was fired June 22. He beat out a field of finalists that included assistant GMs Mike Hazen of the Boston Red Sox and Billy Eppler of the New York Yankees, and Kim Ng, senior vice-president for baseball operations for Major League Baseball. Ng is one of the highest-ranking women in baseball. There has never been a female GM in MLB or any of the other major sports. Ng also interviewed for the Padres GM job in 2009 after Kevin Towers was fired. The job eventually went to Jed Hoyer. The Padres are looking for stability. Theyre on their third ownership group since 2009 and Preller is their fourth general manager since then. San Diego has had only two seasons above .500 since winning consecutive NL West titles in 2005-06. Although the Padres have been playing better since the All-Star break, they began the day 10 games under .500 and 12 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West. cheap jerseys . Toews was drilled by Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik with 6:30 remaining in the second period on Sunday night. The two were going for a loose puck. wholesale nfl jerseys .4 million contract extension. Garbutt has a career-high 18 points with 10 goals and eight assists in 46 games this season.LOS ANGELES -- When Kenyon Martin hit a jumper with 4:30 to play, the Knicks were still in it. New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. Blake Griffin had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 15 points and seven assists before leaving with a strained right hamstring in the Clippers 93-80 victory over the plummeting Knicks on Wednesday night. J.J. Redick also scored 15 points as the Clippers comfortably finished their eighth win in 10 games despite losing their superstar point guard late in the third quarter when Paul hobbled to the locker room favouring his right leg. Paul said he could have returned, but was grateful to watch his teammates strong defensive finish. "Its definitely a sign that things are going in the right direction," said Paul, who seems certain hell play Friday in Sacramento. "Were solid. Were starting to know where each other are going to be on both ends of the court. We have to do it consistently, especially on the defensive end, but were getting there." While Paul rode a stationary bike in the dressing room, Darren Collison and Jamal Crawford capably handled playmaking duties while the Clippers finished off their third straight win. The offence-challenged Knicks couldnt score for a 3:40 stretch late, losing handily despite holding the Clippers to three points in the final 4:49. "Were not going to win too many games on the offensive end, even as well as were playing," said Collison, who had nine points. "Defence is where its at, and we did a good job tonight." Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and Andrea Bargnani had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost seven straight to drop to 3-11. New York kept its locker room closed long after the final buzzer for an informal team meeting. "We are in a dark place, and weve got to get out of it," Anthony said. "We have to pinpoint what the problems are and go from there. ... Weve got to play four quarters together, and weve got to do it for one another. Right now the game is not fun for nobody. Were just not making it happen. But were going to keep trying." New York hung with the powerful Clippers for most of the night, but its shortcomings were exposed late. cheap jerseys from china. The Knicks missed 17 of their 20 3-point shots, and the Clippers shot 31 free throws to their 15. Raymond Felton had 12 points and seven assists in his return to the Knicks starting lineup after a four-game absence with an injured lower back and left hip, but New York still hasnt won since Nov. 13 in Atlanta. "I wasnt 100 per cent, (but) theres no excuses. No need to talk about that," Felton said. "We got down double digits, and its hard to bounce back against a team like that, especially in the fourth. Everything was disappointing, man. We played better basketball, but it still wasnt enough. Weve got to figure this thing out." Crawford scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter for the Clippers, who keep stacking up victories while integrating their new additions -- including Redick, who hit three 3-pointers. Los Angeles improved to 8-1 at Staples Center. The Clippers made an early 30-10 run largely sparked by their reserves, who had 20 points in the first half. The Knicks scored 13 straight points late in the half, but Los Angeles led 49-45 at halftime with scoring from 10 players. Anthony, the NBAs second-leading scorer, and Bargnani kept the Knicks in it, scoring 35 of their 45 points. The much-criticized Bargnani had 16 points and seven rebounds. J.R. Smiths basket trimmed the Clippers lead to 74-70 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but the Clippers scored the next nine points. "I dont think we ever established the pace the way we wanted to," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Those nights when you cant score the way youre used to scoring, and win games when you can lean on your defence ... thats just terrific." NOTES: The Knicks will attempt to avoid their first eight-game skid since February 2010 when they wrap up their four-game road trip at Denver on Friday night. ... Metta World Peace got an indifferent reaction in his first appearance at Staples Center since the Lakers released him under the NBAs amnesty provision last summer. World Peace, who won a title with the Lakers in 2010, went scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting, including four missed 3-point attempts. ... World Peace and Clippers F Antawn Jamison guarded each other at times in the second half. They were teammates last season with the Lakers. Jamison had six points in his second straight appearance for the Clippers after sitting out their first 14 games. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '