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Jill Ellis has been named the U.S. national team coach in the run-up to the womens World Cup next summer in Canada and beyond. Ellis has been the interim coach since Tom Sermanni was surprisingly dismissed in early April after an exhibition victory against China. It was Ellis second stint as an interim coach with the team; she also took over when previous head coach Pia Sundhage resigned in 2012 to become head coach of Swedens national team. Ellis has a 6-0-3 record overall as the teams interim coach. Ellis was an assistant to both Sermanni and Sundhage. She was on the staff of the gold medal-winning U.S. teams at the Beijing and London Olympics. The 47-year-old coach, who is well respected among national team players, has had a lengthy coaching career, including 12 seasons at UCLA. "Not beating around the bush, I know the expectation, embrace the expectation," Ellis said Friday. "I know that we want to win, and I think this group is capable of winning. Thats what we want, it is always the expectation. People ask me if thats intimidating and I say no, because when you work for U.S. soccer its about winning gold medals and standing on the first-place podium." The U.S. womens team, which has been ranked No. 1 for the past six years, next plays a pair of exhibition matches against France in Tampa, Florida, and East Hartford, Connecticut, in mid-June. The United States will host the eight-team CONCACAF qualifying tournament in October for the 2015 World Cup, according to an announcement Friday. The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in Mexico but there were "issues" concerning the venues, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said. The venues and schedule for the tournament have yet to be determined. Despite the teams success on the international stage in recent years, the U.S. women havent won a World Cup title since 1999. Japan won the 2011 World Cup in Germany, defeating the United States on a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 draw after extra time. "The job description is to win next summer," Gulati said during a conference call Friday announcing Ellis appointment. Beyond that, the U.S. team will also look to defend back-to-back-to-back Olympic titles in Brazil the following year. Sermanni helped the U.S. to a 13-0-3 record last year, but the Americans went 1-2-1 at the Algarve Cup in March, the last major tournament for the U.S. before qualifying this fall. The seventh-place Algarve Cup finish included a 1-0 loss to Sweden and Sundhage, ending a two-year, 43-game unbeaten streak. That was the first loss following a 16-0-4 start under Sermanni. Ellis led the team to a 3-0 exhibition win in the second match against China after Sermanni was dismissed. "Were comfortable with Jill, we love Jill, we have a lot of respect for Jill, and she didnt really miss a beat. She put the pen on the board and she just started coaching," U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo said following the match. "Im always honoured to be coached by Jill. Every time she has something to say, I always perk up and listen." Ellis will step down from her position as U.S. Soccer womens development director now that she is the head coach, the organization said. "We think Jills got all the right credentials, both in terms of experience, and how she relates to the players -- weve been able to see that firsthand in the two times shed been with the senior team and previously with our youth teams," Gulati said. "She gets top marks in all the work shes been doing on the technical side with all of our programs in the last several years. Its all of those things." Throwback Wisconsin Jerseys . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. Stitched Wisconsin Jerseys . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization. http://www.cheapwisconsinjerseys.com/ . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise. Montee Ball College Jersey . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them. Gabe Carimi College Jersey . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Andre Drummond knows hes a poor free-throw shooter. He still doesnt like it when teams make an effort to remind him. On an afternoon when the Philadelphia 76ers started intentionally fouling him in the third quarter, the 20-year-old forward responded with a performance the NBA hasnt seen in 23 years. Drummond sat out the end of the third quarter after missing nine of 12 free throws in the period, but in the 34 minutes he did play, he became the first player to have 31 points, 19 rebounds and six steals in a game since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1990. He set career highs in all three categories, two days after Maurice Cheeks left him on the bench for the last 21 minutes of Detroits loss to the Lakers. "Thats a slap in the face for any player, so you get fired up," said Drummond, who also blocked two shots. "You cant get angry and lose your focus, though. I just told myself it was a good chance to work on my free-throw shooting and put some points on the board." Philadelphia coach Brett Brown, who watched Gregg Popovich use the strategy during his days as an assistant in San Antonio, said he didnt enjoy the idea, but thought it was his teams only chance when it trailed by 24 points at halftime. "It is one of the ugly parts of the game," Brown said. "You do not really like doing it, but it is a rule and it helped our team." The Pistons are used to the strategy -- Popovich was one of several coaches to use it against Ben Wallace -- but not usually in the third quarter. Drummond, though, is a unique case. He might be the worst free-throw shooter in league history -- he entered the game shooting 27 per cent from the line -- and Detroit collapsed late against the Lakers with him on the bench. "Andres a great young player, but I told him tonight that he needs to learn from this," Cheeks said. "If he becomes a better free-throw shooter, no one will be able to knock him out of a game." At one point, the Sixers immediately fouled Drummond on three straight possessions, forcing Cheeks to take him out of the game. The strategy worked, as Philadelphia cut the margin to 94-82 going into the fourth, and the Pistons had to put Drummond back into the game. "I leftt him in there long enough to see how well he was going to shoot, because he was having a great game, but there comes a point where you have to take him out," Cheeks said.dddddddddddd "They broke the rhythm of the game -- thats why you do it -- and I didnt want that to keep happening." Drummond, though, changed things in the fourth. He finished off a three-point play and then swished a pair of free throws to give the Pistons a 103-85 lead with 9:04 to play. That kept Brown from intentionally fouling him until they trailed by 19 with 4:03 left. Drummond split a pair of shots before coming out of the game, just short of Detroits first 30/20 night since Dennis Rodman in 1991. "When you do anything over and over, you get better at it," he said. "My teammates kept telling me to take my time, and I hit more of them toward the end." Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith each added 20 points for the Pistons, while Thaddeus Young had 24 for Philadelphia before fouling out late in the game. The Sixers play at a much higher pace than the Pistons, so a up-tempo first half should have played right into their hands. Instead, it was Detroit that dominated, scoring 40 points in the first quarter and leading by as many as 25 on the way to the 70-46 lead. The Pistons outshot Philadelphia 55.1 per cent to 39.1 per cent, and had a 31-14 advantage on the boards. Jennings dominated his matchup with rookie Michael Carter-Williams in the half, outscoring him 13-8 and dishing out 11 assists to just three for Carter-Williams. Drummond also had a first-half double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Pistons had five players score in double figures in the half, while Philadelphia didnt have any. "Its pretty obvious that we need to come out better," Carter-Williams said. "Were fine scoring the ball, but we need to play defence. Its a team thing, and we have to put the pieces together." NOTES: Detroit native Bob Seger was in attendance and conducted the crowd in a sing-a-long of his hit "Old Time Rock-n-Roll" during a first-half timeout. ... Detroit wore its dark-blue "Motor City" jerseys for the second straight home game, while Philadelphia wore its white jerseys. 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