MONTREAL -- Michel Therrien believes he will be a better, wiser coach than he was in his first stint behind the Montreal Canadiens bench. . New general manager Marc Bergevin reached into the teams past Tuesday when he named 48-year-old Therrien to replace Randy Cunneyworth as coach of the team that finished last in the NHLs Eastern Conference last season. Therrien was behind the Montreal bench for parts of three seasons in his first NHL coaching job. He took over from Alain Vigneault during the 2000-01 season and leaving midway through the 2002-03 campaign in favour of Claude Julien. Since then, Therrien has coached in the AHL, reached a Stanley Cup final with the Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins, done pro scouting for the Minnesota Wild and, most recently, worked as a Canadiens television analyst. "To take a step back is never a bad thing," he told a packed news conference at the teams suburban training centre. "You analyse yourself, what went well and what went wrong, and you try to be a better coach. "Im certainly a better coach now than I was 10 or 15 years ago. I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about the game, too. And when I did pro scouting I saw the game in a little different way. The experience I got will certainly help me a lot." Reaction to the hiring was split on social media, with some delighted to have the Montreal native back and others disappointed Bergevin couldnt find a coach with new ideas. Therrien stresses hard work, conditioning, playing physical hockey and staying within his defence-first system. He has also shown in the past a temper that can boil over during games. And at times he not been shy about calling out under-performing players in public, leaving some of them bitter. Therrien has not coached since he was fired by Pittsburgh a few weeks before the end of the 2008-09 season. He then watched Dan Bylsma lead the Penguins to a Stanley Cup title. But Julien was also fired just before the playoffs by New Jersey in 2005 because GM Lou Lamoriello felt he wasnt the man to win. Julien came back to win the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011. The Canadiens are a younger, more talented team in Therriens second tenure with Montreal, where he has budding stars in goalie Carey Price, defenceman P.K. Subban and winger Max Pacioretty, as well as some veteran leaders in Brian Gionta, Erik Cole and Tomas Plekanec. There are also problem cases, such as centre Scott Gomez and defenceman Tomas Kaberle, who have been in a slide in recent seasons, although it remains to be seen how Bergevin will deal with them this summer. The injury-plagued Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007 after turmoil that included the firing of general manager Pierre Gauthier and the mid-season ouster of coach Jacques Martin in favour of Cunneyworth. "I didnt like how it worked out, but this a team with good potential," Therrien said. "It has an excellent first line (Cole, Pacioretty and David Desharnais) you can compare with the good first lines in the league. "Theres a guy like Plekanec who is a very intelligent player and Carey Price who is an elite goaltender. The defence has Andrei Markov who will be healthy to start the season. And there are a lot of good young players to work with." However, he wants to investigate whether there were conditioning issues. "Why were there so many injuries? The fact that we blew leads in the third period. Those are red flags," he said. "That tells me it wasnt a normal situation. "I cant make judgements from the outside, but it is something Ill keep an eye on." Bergevin gave few details of the hiring process, other than he interviewed fewer than 10 candidates. He named no names, although it was believed Marc Crawford and former Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy were candidates. The names of Bob Hartley, who signed last week with Calgary, and Alain Vigneault, who signed a contract extension with Vancouver, were also in the speculation. Bergevin gave Therrien the news Sunday at the new coachs house. "I found a guy who learns, who adapts well and who understands that things change," said Bergevin. "His work ethic is second to none and thats important to me. "I made the decision and Im really comfortable with it." They celebrated with a barbecue, and Therrien said he shed a tear when he told his 80-year-old mother he was going to coach the Canadiens again. He said having done it before is "a huge plus. "There are new owners, new management," he said. "Theres only one player from when I was there and thats Markov. I know the expectations from the fans and the media." Therrien has given at least a short-term shot in the arm to both NHL clubs he coached. In his first full season with Montreal, he took them to the playoffs for the first time in five years in 2002. In Pittsburgh, he oversaw the teams jump from the basement to being a league power with its star-studded lineup. Therrien was hired by Montreal in 1997 to coach its top farm team, which was then in Fredericton after taking the junior Granby Predators to a Memorial Cup the previous year. He was named head coach of the Canadiens on Nov. 20, 2000. He had a 77-77-36 record in his first stint with the NHL club. After leaving Montreal, Therrien joined the Penguins AHL club in Wilkes-Barre from 2003 until he was called up to Pittsburgh to replace Ed Olczyk on Dec. 15, 2005. The following season, the talent-packed Penguins led by Crosby made a 47-point jump to 105 points. In 2007-08, they reached the Stanley Cup final, losing in six games to Detroit. Cunneyworth was named interim coach after Martin was fired in December. The move provoked howls of protest among many fans in Quebec because he was the first coach in four decades unable to speak French. Team president Geoff Molson apologized to fans and promised the next head coach would be bilingual. Therrien fit that bill, although it remains to be seen what will become of Cunneyworth. Therrien said he will decide soon whether to keep him on along with assistants Randy Ladouceur and Pierre Groulx or find new assistants. He said his first task will be to call the players, starting with captain Gionta. Therrien has coached 462 NHL games with a 212-182-68 record. He is 21-16 in the playoffs. Between the NHL and AHL, he has coached an even 1,000 pro games. He is the sixth Canadiens coach to have a second stint behind the bench. Newsy Lalonde coached from 1915 to 1921 and again from 1932 to 1934-35. Leo Danderand was behind the bench from 1921-22 to 1925-26 and then in 1934-35. Cecil Hart coached from 1926-27 to 1931-32 and again from 1936-37 to 1938-39. Claude Ruel coached in 1968-69 and 1969-70, then returned in 1979-80 and 1980-81. Bob Gainey, who was also general manager, finished off two seasons behind the bench -- in 2004-05 after Julien was fired and 2008-09 after Guy Carbonneau was let go. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-michael-irvin-jersey-ny... Irvin Jersey . Selig was at Target Field on Tuesday for a celebration of MLBs Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program. He said "nobody believes it" but hell be done in 2 1/2 years, despite sentiment hell stay until 2016 to pass Kenesaw Mountain Landis as the games longest-serving boss. . Brook Lopez, the centerpiece in trade packages for the Orlando Magics All-Star centre, never wavered. We wanted to be in Brooklyn, and he was willing to wait for his time to sign a deal and rejoin his teammates. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-miles-austin-jersey-jp-... . The Twins announced the move on Wednesday, a few hours before playing the Seattle Mariners. Parmelee has struggled in three stints with the Twins this season, hitting . [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-nate-livings-jersey-hg-... Livings Jersey . The two sides held a cordial meeting for more than two hours in another round of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires on Sept. . Lane Scheidl scored twice for Regina (6-7-1), while Colten Mayor added a goal and an assist. Mackenzie Skapski made 17 saves in defeat for Kootenay (4-8-0), which lost defenceman Spencer Wand early after he was handed a game misconduct for a fight with Reginas Trent Oullette. ASHBURN, Va. -- There was a major sigh of relief at Redskins Park Wednesday when Washington rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III practiced and showed no effects from a mild concussion. Barring any unexpected setbacks between now and Sunday, Griffin will start against the visiting Minnesota Vikings. "Its a serious issue, but I felt fine when I left the locker room" after being injured in Sundays game against Atlanta, Griffin said. "I went home, watched some TV and kinda just relaxed. I havent had any symptoms at all. Practice went good. I felt sharp. I felt good. No symptoms of a concussion: no dizziness or (feeling) off-balance. I feel right today. Well see what happens come Sunday." Against the Falcons, Griffin was hit by Atlanta linebacker Sean Witherspoon while scrambling on third-and-goal in a 7-7 game, which the Redskins lost 24-17. Griffin, who did some cardio work and some throwing on Tuesday and will get evaluated every day before hes cleared for full contact, joked that his only symptom is "irritability" from continually being asked the same questions by the Redskins medical staff to see how hes doing. While Griffin, the No. 2 overall pick in Aprils draft, has been doing well since last Sunday, coach Mike Shanahan limited his participation in Wednesdays practice -- even though quarterbacks wear gold jerseys in practice in order to prevent them from sustaining contact. "So far so good," Shanahan said. "He had a good practice today. I thought he performed well. Each day well monitor him and if he feels good, were gonna go with him." Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier is preparing his team to face Griffin, but Shanahan said that despite the Heisman Trophy winners good condition Wednesday, he has to prepare for the eventuality that backup Kirk Cousins might make his first start against the Vikings. Cousins, who relieved Griffin against Atlanta and threw a touchdown and two interceptions in his pro debut, took more of the practice snaps than the fourrth-round pick did last week when he only threw passes as the scout team quarterback preparing Washingtons defence to face the Falcons. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-kyle-orton-jersey-ld-89... Orton Jersey. "You gotta look at both ends of it," Shanahan said. "Something could happen tomorrow or the next day and you gotta be able to go; just like you do in a game when somebody takes all the repetitions during the week and you lose (him) on the first play, the person behind him has to be ready to go." Griffin, the NFCs third-leading passer and its leading rusher among quarterbacks, said that he saw Weatherspoon coming as he ran towards the Atlanta sideline but didnt react quickly enough to protect himself. "If I had slid a half-second earlier, Id been safe. I tried to get down too late and he had already launched," Griffin said. "At that point, it was just a matter of absorbing the hit and I absorbed it the wrong way. I cant do that to my team, to the fans or to my family because a life is more important that the game of football. "These things that happen to us (affect) us down the road and I gotta make sure I Iimit that. I gotta make sure I keep myself safe while still being the same player I am." Veteran receiver Santana Moss believes that Griffin has learned his lesson. "Once you take one of those hits or two, its evident," Moss said. "If it aint a play designed for you to run, save your body. I think he knows that. We all know that if you have nowhere to go, get out of bounds." The 22-year-old Griffin said that his teammates have assured him that hes already proven his toughness by getting up from punishing hits dished out by St. Louis and Cincinnati defenders. "I promised Id get up from hits like that and I did get up," said Griffin, who scored a touchdown after suffering a concussion last season at Baylor before being pulled from the game for good. "I dont have anything to prove. If you have to live to play another down, then youll live to play another down." ' ' '