Kritik und Lob » Fernandez simply flipped the ball to Saltalamacchia, who

NASHVILLE -- With a year-long federal fraud investigation looming over it, the huge truck-stop chain owned by the family of the Cleveland Browns owner and Tennessees governor is doing some housecleaning at its highest levels. Several top executives at Pilot Flying J, including the president, abruptly left this week, more than a year after FBI agents raided the Knoxville, Tennessee, headquarters of the nations largest diesel retailer. Ten former employees have previously pleaded guilty to helping cheat trucking companies out of promised rebates and discounts. Those cases and this weeks departures, observers note, could indicate that prosecutors are entering the final phase of a methodical probe that has included records suggesting Pilot CEO and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam knew of the scheme, something he denies. One expert said Haslam might be cutting ties with his senior staff in a bid to persuade prosecutors not to charge the company his father founded decades ago, one in which his brother, Gov. Bill Haslam, still holds an undisclosed stake. Pilot President Mark Hazelwood and Scott "Scooter" Wombold, vice-president of national accounts, left the company Monday, with Haslam sending a company-wide email thanking Hazelwood for his service but saying nothing about why or how he was leaving. Tuesday saw the departure of five more members of the sales team. Dennis B. Francis, a Knoxville attorney who has worked in federal criminal defence for 40 years, said the only way this weeks departures make sense to him is if some of the people leaving are co-operating with prosecutors. For a defendant to get a lighter sentence than federal guidelines mandate, prosecutors have to file court papers saying that person provided substantial assistance to the government. Once prosecutors have the evidence they need to convict, they no longer offer any promises of special consideration. "They call it getting on the bus," said Francis, who is not involved in the Pilot case. "And theres only so much room on the bus." Wombolds attorney, John E. Kelly, said in an email that his client had been "helping the company repair many customer relationships during the past 14 months. Mr. Wombolds departure from the company is not connected to past guilty pleas entered into by former employees, and any inference that there is a connection is not accurate." Hazelwoods attorney declined to comment. Company representatives said they couldnt comment on specific personnel moves, which took place while Jimmy Haslam was meeting with fellow NFL owners in Atlanta. "Nothing more should be read into the events of this week than things playing themselves out," spokesman Tom Ingram said Wednesday. "Otherwise, the company continues to go full steam ahead and business as usual, and is doing very well." Jimmy Haslam has denied any previous knowledge of the fraud or any personal wrongdoing. The governor has said he is not involved with operating Pilot Flying J. Pilot agreed in November to pay out nearly $85 million to settle claims in a class-action lawsuit with 5,500 trucking companies. Several companies have filed separate lawsuits against Pilot that are ongoing. Nashville criminal defence attorney and former prosecutor David Raybin said that, based on his observations and experience, the departure of so many managers at once indicates that criminal charges could soon be filed. And he suggested that prosecutors are aiming high. "You dont make a bunch of people plead guilty at the lower levels and then let the top people off with a fine," said Raybin, who does not represent anyone in the case. "Theyre potentially jailing five to 10 people. You dont do that unless you are targeting the highest levels of the company." An affidavit filed last year to obtain a search warrant for Pilot headquarters states that a confidential informant told the FBI that both Hazelwood and Jimmy Haslam knew about the fraud at the company because it was discussed openly at sales meetings where both were present. Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at George Washington University Law School, said that while the sudden departures are unusual, they could mean any number of things. For example, Pilot might be fearful that the company could be charged criminally, or the companys board of directors may have decided that the people who have left recently were partly responsible for what happened. "One reason the company might fire them is to say, Look, were cleaning house. Were getting rid of the bad people, so dont indict the corporation," Eliason said. Cheap Air Max 720 . CNN and Gazzetta dello Sport reporter Tancredi Palmeri broke the news via Twitter Tuesday afternoon. Italian Football Association President Giancarlo Abete has also resigned, according to Palmeri. Cheap Air Max 720 China . Pominville scored in all three of Minnesotas games last week to help the Wild (8-4-3, 19 points) earn four out of a possible six points. His best performance was in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Friday, where he posted a season-high three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal. http://www.cheapairmax720freeshipping.com/ . The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee. "I dont want to say it was a surprise," team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. Cheap Air Max 720 Free Shipping .com) - Even on the day his New Hampshire football team became the nations top-ranked team two weeks ago, coach Sean McDonnell conceded something about the team they replaced at No. Wholesale Air Max 720 . With timely hitting and good pitching, the Marlins are one win away from sweeping the slumping Houston Astros. MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez got booed for not running out a grounder, and felt a tiny twinge of disappointment about not getting a chance to finish off what could have been his first complete game. Everything else for the Miami Marlins young ace went perfectly once again Tuesday night. Fernandez allowed two hits in eight stellar innings, Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and the Marlins opened a homestand by beating the Atlanta Braves 9-0 on Tuesday night. "Jose did a great job," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "We needed him to go out there and log some big innings, and thats back-to-back great starts against a great offensive team." Jarrod Saltalamacchia also homered for Miami, which had its third-highest run output of the season in a game that took just 2 hours, 7 minutes. It was the fastest one in the majors this season, according to STATS. Miami second baseman Ed Lucas had three hits in his season debut after recovering from a broken left hand, and Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run single for the Marlins. Fernandez (4-1) was dominant against the NL East leaders for the second time in a week, lowering his ERA to 1.59. He struck out eight and walked two, and hasnt allowed an earned run in 23 innings over his last three starts. The right-handers numbers are eye-popping going back to early in his rookie season. Fernandez is 14-4 with a 1.52 ERA in 24 starts since June 1, with 190 strikeouts against 45 walks in 160 innings. "Same as last time -- hes good every time," Atlantas Freddie Freeman said. Braves starter Alex Wood (2-4) allowed seven runs and 10 hits, leaving after facing four batters without getting an out in the sixth. Wood and Fernandez had a memorable duel last week, combining for 25 strikeouts and no walks in what became a 1-0 Miami win that lasted 2 hours, 8 minutes. This time, Fernandez -- who got booed by some in the crowd after not running out a sharp grounder to shortstop leading off the third -- needed only one run again. Miami just happened to give him eight more for good measure. The runs came in bunches during the rematch, with Miami scoring three in the third and five more in the sixth to blow it open. &quoot;We have to figure out how to beat Fernandez," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.dddddddddddd "Not everybody is Cy Young, and you still have to beat Cy Young every once in a while." Stanton went the opposite way for a two-run homer to right in the third inning, and Ozunas single in the sixth was enough to chase Wood. Fernandez even added a run-scoring single later in the sixth, and Saltalamacchia connected off Braves reliever Anthony Varvaro in the seventh. The Braves had only three right-handed batters in the starting lineup against Fernandez, looking for any way to break through against him. It was evident early that little was going to work. Fernandez needed only 17 pitches to get his first seven outs, and ended two innings with a pair of knee-buckling 83 mph off-speed offerings. Fernandez was even solid in the field, keeping the game scoreless with a nifty play to end the third. He came hard off the mound to field Ramiro Penas chopper that stopped halfway up the third base line, then faked a throw to first -- which baited the Braves Tyler Pastornicky into taking off from third base. Fernandez simply flipped the ball to Saltalamacchia, who put the tag on a sliding Pastornicky and kept the game scoreless. By the time Fernandez returned to the mound, he had a 3-0 lead and was rolling. Fernandez said he and Saltalamacchia had a quick pregame meeting to go over strategy and came up with the following plan: Whatever Miamis catcher called, Fernandez would throw. Redmond said he considered letting Fernandez finish the game, but with a nine-run lead the manager didnt want to take any risks in the ninth. "Ill get it sometime," Fernandez said of the elusive first complete game. NOTES: Aaron Harang (3-1) goes for Atlanta on Wednesday against the Marlins Nathan Eovaldi (1-1). ... To make room for Lucas, the Marlins designated INF Greg Dobbs for assignment. ... Marlins RHP Jacob Turner (shoulder strain) will come off the DL to start Saturday at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... The Braves said LHP Mike Minor (shoulder soreness) will start in Atlanta on Friday, making his season debut against San Francisco. ' ' '