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ATLANTA - The Atlanta Braves are clearly rebuilding.The guy responsible for their overhaul insisted Thursday they can still be a contender.Long one of baseballs most consistent franchises, the Braves have dealt away three of their top hitters — Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis — and received only one player assured of being in the majors next season, pitcher Shelby Miller.President of baseball operations John Hart acknowledged that the Braves made all the trades with an eye toward their long-term future. Yet, in a city that has endured only three losing seasons in the last 24 years, the deals have caused major consternation among the fan base, with many complaining that the team has given up on the next two seasons and is more concerned about being competitive when it moves into a new suburban stadium in 2017.Not so, Hart told The Associated Press.We may not be the prettiest girl at the dance, he said in a telephone interview, but were going to be a lot of fun to dance with.On Wednesday, Hart dealt the power-hitting Gattis and a minor-leaguer to the Houston Astros for three prospects. Already this winter, the Braves got four prospects from San Diego Padres in exchange for Upton, while Heyward and reliever Jordan Walden were sent to the St. Louis Cardinals for Miller and another pitching prospect.Hart, who took over the de factor general manager role after Frank Wren was fired with a week to go in a disappointing 2014 season, said it was imperative that the Braves moved boldly to get something in return for players such as Upton and Heyward, who were entering the final year of their contracts, and bolstered a depleted farm system that ranked among the worst in the game.Gattis wasnt a contract issue — hes still got four more years before hes eligible to become a free agent — but Hart said the Braves determined he wasnt a viable full-time player at either catcher or as Uptons replacement in left field because of defensive limitations.A Texas native, Gattis said he was glad to be heading to a team that seems to have higher goals than the Braves.It seems like they are going into rebuilding mode, he said Thursday. Im excited to be on a team that is looking to win — this next year, immediately. Thats a really good situation for me.Those words must be stinging to a franchise that won a record 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005, and captured the NL East title just two years ago. Under former owner Ted Turner, the team was able to spend freely to fill whatever need it had. The current owner, Liberty Media Corp., has imposed much tougher salary constraints.It was highly unlikely that either Heyward or Upton would have re-signed with the Braves after the 2015 season, especially with the team still saddled with three more years on B.J. Uptons $75.25 million contract. He has been one of the biggest free-agent busts in baseball history, and theres little hope of team dumping his contract unless he has a major turnaround this season. The team also owes another $13 million to second baseman Dan Uggla, who was released by the team last season.We realized we couldnt fix everything, Hart said. That gave us sort of a road map for what we wanted to do this winter.The team picked up two of Houstons top-ranked prospects, right-handed pitcher Mike Foltynewicz and third baseman Rio Ruiz. The trade with the Padres brought prized left-handed pitcher Max Fried, a former first-round pick coming off Tommy John surgery. The deal with the Cardinals included right-handed pitcher Tyrell Jenkins, who is now listed among the Braves top prospects in the latest rankings by Baseball America.Hart said there could be some minor tinkering before the start of spring training, but no other major deals are expected. He said its likely the Braves will do a lot more platooning this season and look to be more creative in scoring runs, rather than relying mainly on the long ball.Even with Justin Upton, Heyward and Gattis, the Braves still ranked next-to-last in runs scored in 2014. The offensive woes led to a late-season collapse that resulted in a 79-83 record, 17 games behind NL East-winning Washington.Look, we werent going to be favoured even if we kept everybody and added two pitchers, Hart said. But I think the future is significantly brighter because of what we were able to do this winter.___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 Cheap Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys . James scored 25 points against his former team, leading the energized Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, idle since a 90-84 loss Tuesday at Indiana. Cheap Arizona Coyotes Jerseys . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. http://www.nhldiscount.us.com/Cheap-min ... wild-gear/. Justine finished first with a score of 22.44 while Chloe was second with 21.66 points. Defending champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S., was third at 21.49. A third Dufour-Lapointe sister, Maxime, failed to make the final group and finished 12th while Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was 10th. Cheap Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. Cheap Vancouver Canucks Jerseys .Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum.TORONTO -- An overwhelming majority of Canadians dont want an NFL team in Canada, especially if it means the demise of the CFL, a survey suggests. Forty per cent of 1,007 on-line participants said they didnt want an NFL team in Canada at all while another 41 per cent added theyd welcome an NFL franchise in this country only if it co-existed with the CFL. The survey, released Sunday, was conducted in mid-November by Reginald Bibby, a professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge, and pollster Angus Reid Global. "Theyd have to co-exist, thats the simple bottom line," Bibby said in a telephone interview. "Compared to 1995, if anything, that viewpoint seems to have solidified. "People are feeling stronger about it." According to the survey, since 95 Canadians have become more insistent that theyd only want the NFL here if the CFL continued to exist (41 per cent versus 32 per cent). Also, more care about the issue now than 18 years ago (50 per cent compared to 33 per cent). And in Bibbys mind, Vancouver is a good example of where that shift seems to have happened. "I sat there one night watching a game in about 1997 and there were 12,800 people there," he said. "You go out there now and you feel like the whole thing has come alive. "It just wouldnt surprise me that now in B.C., for example, theyre feeling a lot stronger about the fact that they want to see the CFL survive and dont want to see it disappear at all." Atlantic Canada is the only region of the country without a CFL team. However, the survey says only three per cent would welcome an NFL franchise north of the border if it meant the death of the CFL. The margin of error in the survey is plus or minus three per cent. Only 19 per cent of participants would be happy to see the NFL come to Canada even if it meant the demise of the CFL. "We dont have many things that are Canadian when you think about it," Bibby said. "The CFL, for better or worse, seemss to be one of them.dddddddddddd" On Sunday, the Buffalo Bills host the Atlanta Falcons at Rogers Centre a week after the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 in the Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium. Toronto has long been mentioned as a potential landing spot for an NFL club, but the survey says only 15 per cent of Torontonians would want a franchise here at the expense of the CFL. Eighteen per cent would be happy to see the NFL in Canada only if the CFL continued to operate with only seven per cent not wanting the NFL on Canadian soil at all. A larger percentage than in the rest of Canada, some 60 per cent, say they dont care much either way. The survey states 21 per cent of Canadians are following the NFL compared to 26 per cent for the CFL. Fourteen per cent of each fan base follows both leagues. However, the results show a large number of Canadians have a protective view of the CFL and relatively few want the NFL to come north, especially if its arrival means the demise of the CFL. "People arent troubled about the NFL coming but theres a big asterisk that they have to be assured the CFL is going to continue to live," Bibby said. "To come in and just be triumphant about the fact that Were going to bring the NFL to Canada, three cheers you should all be excited, isnt going to go over with Canadians. "In fact, that could result in a significant backlash. I just think people would have to come in and really be respectful of the importance of the CFL to Canada as a whole and make sure that they take steps to ensure the viability of the CFL." Theres also been persistent talk of the NFL eventually expanding into London. If that happened, Bibby said league officials would be advised to similarly respect the importance of soccer to the British sports culture. 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