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Englewood, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Gary Kubiak was introduced Tuesday as the new head coach of the Denver Broncos and said he was happy to be home. Kubiak, the former head coach of the Houston Texans who spent last year as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, has a long history with the Broncos. He was the backup quarterback for John Elway from 1983-91 and spent 11 seasons as the clubs offensive coordinator from 1995-2005. When I got off the plane ... I knew that I was home, said Kubiak on Tuesday. Im proud to be back in the Bronco nation. This was a big part of my life and Im looking at it be a big part of it again. Now, its time to go to work. Kubiak takes over for John Fox, who guided Denver to AFC West titles in each of his four seasons and also led the Broncos to the Super Bowl after the 2013 campaign. This years squad was eliminated in the divisional round at home by the Indianapolis Colts, leading to Foxs departure in a mutual decision with management. This is a great football team, Kubiak said about trying to fulfill the lofty expectations created by the success of the last four years. The next level is winning the Super Bowl. You have to position yourself for taking that next step. Its been proven year in and year out that you want to be playing your best in January. Kubiak remembers how important January football is. He was on the sideline as offensive coordinator for each of Denvers two Super Bowl titles with Elway as the quarterback. Elway, of course, is now in charge of the Broncos as the teams executive vice president and general manager. He and Fox could not agree on a direction for the team going forward, opening the door for a new coach. Kubiak was the Hall of Famers No. 1 choice. He was definitely at the top of the list, Elway said about the coaching search. Gary was the leader in the clubhouse. Our concern was whether he wanted to be (a head coach) again. Kubiak went from the Broncos offensive coordinator to the head coach of the Texans in 2006. He helped turn the Houston franchise around in his eight seasons, leading the club to its first two playoff appearances. The Texans went 10-6 in 2011 and 12-4 in 2012, winning the AFC South and one playoff game each year, but a disastrous 2013 followed. After winning their first two games of the 2013 campaign, Houston went on to lose 11 straight before Kubiak was fired in early December. He finished his tenure with a record of 61-64. Kubiak landed in Baltimore this past season and helped the Ravens to one of their top offensive performances. Baltimore posted a franchise-record 364.9 yards per game on offense and the Ravens reached the playoffs as a sixth seed, beating Pittsburgh before falling to New England. As numerous coaching vacancies opened earlier this month, Kubiak declined to throw his hat in the ring. He said he was happy to remain in Baltimore, that is until the Broncos job was there for the taking. I felt very good about what I was doing (in Baltimore), said Kubiak on Tuesday. I was very comfortable, but this (opportunity) is a game changer. This is where I got my start. This is home for me. This means so much to me. I cant wait to go out there. I was standing there with (the team) last time they won the championship. Now, Kubiak will have the task of trying to lead the Broncos to another title. Whether he has quarterback Peyton Manning at his disposal is another question. Kubiak said he has spoken with Manning, who hasnt decided whether he will return for another season. We have talked, talked a couple of days ago at length and last night via text, said Kubiak, who added that the two didnt speak about Mannings upcoming decision. We didnt get that far. It was just conversations about family, about how hes feeling. We were just setting the stage for our time to get together and talk. This is his time, his decision and I need to be there for him. Kubiak started five games as Elways backup during his time as a player with the Broncos. After his playing career ended, he took his first coaching job as running backs coach with Texas A&M in 1992 and 93, then moved on to the NFL as quarterbacks coach with San Francisco in 1994 before first returning to the Broncos. Jason Sanders Womens Jersey . Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. Cheap Dolphins Store . The Professional Referee Organization, which manages game officials for the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS, notified the Professional Soccer Referee Association of the lockout and said replacement officials will be used. dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games. Cyber Monday Dolphins Jerseys .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103. Quentin Poling Womens Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday.TORONTO -- Just two games into the 2014 MLS season, Toronto FC is experiencing new heights. England star Jermain Defoe is scoring goals as befitting his monster salary. American international Michael Bradley is pulling the strings in midfield. And everyone else is playing their part. Its early days yet but Toronto, once the MLS doormat, is off to its best start ever at 2-0-0 and drawing a crowd on and off the pitch. On Saturday, the TFC dressing room was crammed with reporters eager to tell the story of Torontos 1-0 win over D.C. United in the home opener before an announced -- and enthusiastic -- sellout crowd of 22,591 at BMO Field. Defoe emerged from the shower in a towel and flip-flops to find a mass of humanity in front of his stall. "Id forgotten about this," he said with a smile. The 31-year-old forward, used to reporter-free dressing rooms in England, must have felt like he was starring in "Magic Mike" as he dressed in front of some three dozen members of the media. Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who dresses two stalls down, had to scale his locker like he was climbing Everest just to get to his gear. Toronto loves a winner. Its just never seen one wearing Toronto FC gear. Still manager Ryan Nelsen is preaching caution at this early stage of the franchises eighth season. "I dont think were a top team right now," he said. "Were very well organized but I dont think weve seen the best of us. And you wont see the best of us because were still new." "I think we still have a long way to go as a team," he added. "Well play better than that probably and lose games." Toronto started six players Saturday who werent with the club last year. Defoe, who scored twice in his MLS debut last week in Seattle, could have had four goals Saturday before he finally scored in the 60th minute after Brazilian strike partner Gilberto was sent in alone by a beautiful through ball from Bradley. Goalie Bill Hamid made the save but the ball was cleared only as far as Defoe, who got the ball out from under his feet and hammered home a right-footed shot. The goal, which featured all three of TFCs designated players, was a model of efficiency. Brazilian international goalie Julio Cesar started the play, booting the ball up field. A D.C. United player headed it back towards the Toronto end but TFC captain Steven Caldwell nipped in and sent it to Osorio. The 21-year-old Canadian quickly gave it to Bradley, who lofted a pass over the defence to Gilberto. The day offered thin gruel for D.C. United (0-2-0), which has yet to score this season after being beaten 3-0 by the Columbus Crew in its season opener two weeks ago. "I dont think D.C. broke us down very often at all," said Nelsen. "And you look at our chances we had to score." Defoes three goals in two games would have tied him for third overall in Toronto FC scoring over the entire 2013 season..dddddddddddd After a brutal winter that included one last snowfall overnight, the ravaged grass at BMO Field made for a choppy game. It might as well have been played on a cowpatch. "The field was not conducive to playing any sport of football," Nelsen said by way of understatement. "But thats no fault of the groundskeeper," he added with a smile. "I blame God for that at the moment for the winter hes given Toronto." In addition to having a predator up front, Toronto is also looking a lot harder this season. Caldwell has added to the spine of the club since his arrival last season but the presence of Bradley has helped. The American literally ran over referee Silviu Petrescu in the first half, knocking the official down as he steamed towards the visitors penalty box. And he kept playing after a nasty clash of heads in the second half knocked Davy Arnaud out of the game. The shaven-headed Bradley, who returned to the fray with a bandage, was sporting an ugly array of staples to close the head wound after the game. "You can see now theres a bit of hardness to us, to tell you the truth," said Nelsen, who was tough as nails himself as a player. "That, no disrespect to the past, I dont think weve had." D.C. United coach Ben Olsen, while noting both teams had to play on the surface, called the pitch "as bad as Ive ever seen in the MLS." Be it artificial turf (last week in Seattle) or just bad turf, Toronto is winning. Just two games into the 2014 schedule, TFC has already one-third of the victories it collected last season when the team went 6-17-11. Torontos previous best opening was a 1-0-1 start in 2009. In 2012, it took the team 14 games to record two victories. Nelsens team will no doubt face a stiffer test next weekend at Real Salt Lake (1-0-2). While the overnight snowfall had dissipated by kickoff, fans had to contend with a partial shutdown of the subway system as well as an AHL game and the National Home Show on the Exhibition grounds Saturday. The crowd was announced as a sellout, but there were some empty seats. Defoe called the atmosphere "unbelievable." "From Minute One, the stadium was rocking." It was two degrees at kickoff although a stiff wind did little to make it a pleasant afternoon. Neither did the pitch, which started cutting up in the first half. Torontos Brazilian midfielder Jackson received a yellow card in the 50th minute for what looked like an elbow off the ball. "It looked pretty bad," D.C. defender Bobby Boswell said. Said Nelsen: "I think the referee saw it and he gave him a yellow card. So its been dealt with, isnt it?" D.C. United was the worst team in the league last season at 3-24-7 but made wholesale changes during the off-season. "Its a loss but I think when I look back, I think we will see that we really took some steps forward." said Olsen. 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