PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks took on the big boys of Major League Baseball in the competition to land Japanese pitching sensation Masahiro Tanaka only to see him sign, hardly to anyones surprise, with the New York Yankees. Air Max 720 Sale . Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers, speaking to a handful of reporters in a conference call on Wednesday, thanked the teams ownership for allowing him, for what he said was the first time, to "sit at the table in a high stakes poker game for one of the elite free agents." Towers said the Diamondbacks made "a very competitive offer." But not competitive enough. The 25-year-old right-handers deal with the Yankees pays him $155 million over seven years, in addition to the $20 million due as a posting fee to his Japanese club. Now Towers moves on in search, via free agency or a trade, of help for the Diamondbacks rotation, seeking either a No. 1 starter or a strong No. 2. And, he said, those are hard to find. The Diamondbacks contingent of managing partner Ken Kendrick, Towers, manager Kirk Gibson and star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt met with Tanaka and his entourage about three weeks ago. "All you can do is put your best foot forward, which is what we did," Towers said. The Diamondbacks emphasized their family atmosphere, the weather, the fact that the team trains in Arizona. Tanaka would have been the unquestioned No. 1 pitcher on the staff. That and what undoubtedly was a substantial money offer, certainly by Diamondbacks standards, wasnt enough. There is no large Japanese community in Phoenix. Towers said international players often are lured by the "Yankee pinstripes." He noted the Yankees have two veteran Japanese pitchers who can ease Tanaka into his new life. The Diamondbacks will continue to see what the possibilities are for landing a pitcher. "It doesnt stop just because we didnt get Tanaka," Towers said. But the Diamondbacks dont want to sign any pitcher to a contract longer than three years, Tanaka being an obvious exception. Unsigned free agent starters include Ervin Santana, Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez. Towers insisted that if Arizona does not acquire another starter, hes comfortable with the returning staff, specifically mentioning the possibility of talented young flame-thrower Archie Bradley competing for a spot in the rotation this spring. Because of their early-season trip to Australia to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Diamondbacks will be the first team to gather for spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 6 with the full squad due on Feb. 11. Nike Air Max 720 Release . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. Wholesale Air Max 720 .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. http://www.cheapaustraliaairmax720.com/ . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No.ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks are slowly picking up the ball-movement lessons Mike Budenholzer learned as a longtime assistant with the Spurs. Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. The Hawks had 32 assists, adding to their NBA lead and bringing a smile to the face of their first-year coach. "Its an indication theyre just getting a better and better understanding of the ball movement and how we want to play," Budenholzer said. "Passing and hitting the open guy just becomes something thats expected." Atlanta set a scoring high with its 124-107 win over Sacramento on Wednesday night and has topped 110 points in three straight games. Al Horford, who had 23 points, has been a key in the recent flurry of high-scoring games. He has averaged 23.6 points in his last five games. Williams, who has played in only 14 games in his return from knee surgery, took extra shooting practice after scoring only two points in 20 minutes in Wednesday nights win over Sacramento. "Im glad it paid off," Williams said. "It was one of the nights we had everything clicking." The Hawks never trailed and pushed their lead to double digits for good in the opening period. They kept up the pressure, outscoring Utah in every period and making 52.3 per cent of their shots (45 of 86) from the field. Budenholzer said the most encouraging sign was "not so much putting them away, but just continuing to play the way we play, just doing the things we did to establish a lead. Tonight was a step forward in that direction." Jeff Teague had nine points and eight assists. Horford was resting when the Hawks took an 85-58 lead into the final period. "Our energy was the difference," Horford said. The Jazz agreed. Cheap Air Max 720 Australia. "Its a mental thing," said Utahs Derrick Favours. "Weve just got to come out with the energy and the attitude like they had against us tonight." It was a letdown for Utah coach Tyrone Corbin following a win at Orlando on Wednesday night. "I thought we didnt come out with the sense of urgency wed been seeing," Corbin said. "I thought wed turned the corner, I felt like, the way we played in Orlando the other night. I was looking for that effort. We just didnt have it from the beginning tonight." Enes Kanter had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Utah (7-22). Alec Burks also had 13 points. Trey Burke, who scored a career-high 30 points against Orlando, made only 1 of 8 shots for two points. Atlantas Paul Millsap had 14 points and 10 rebounds against his former Utah teammates. The Hawks took their largest halftime lead of the season, pulling ahead by 21 points to lead 55-34 at the break. Horford had 14 points in the half. Kyle Korver extended his NBA record by making a 3-pointer in his 96th consecutive game. His made the first of his two 3s with 4:24 remaining in the first period. Utah had a scare midway through the third quarter when Gordon Hayward was slow to return to his feet following a collision with Teague as the two were reaching for a loose ball. Hayward remained in the game following a timeout and finished with 11 points. Jeremy Evans, the 2012 slam-dunk competition champion, missed a dunk and then landed hard on his back with 7:53 remaining, giving the Jazz another scare. Following a brief delay, Evans remained in the game and had 10 points. NOTES: The Jazz are 0-11 on the road and 1-13 overall when trailing at halftime. ... Atlanta leads the NBA with its average of 25.3 assists per game. ... Hawks G Cartier Martin (sprained left ankle) and F Gustavo Ayon (left ankle) have missed five straight games. ... Williams was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. ' ' '