AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Stan Van Gundy expects the Detroit Pistons front office to be on the same page as the coaching staff. That shouldnt be too much to ask, considering hell be part of both. "One of the big problems at least in our league right now in a lot of places is there is not a great connection necessarily between front office and coaching," Van Gundy said. "This setup -- nothing to do with power -- it allows us to really create a tremendous synergy and a very unified organization." Van Gundy was formally introduced by the Pistons on Thursday as their coach and president of basketball operations. Detroit went 29-53 last season, missing the playoffs for a fifth straight year. That was the end of Joe Dumars tenure as team president. Coach Maurice Cheeks was fired in February and replaced on an interim basis by John Loyer. Van Gundys coaching is well respected -- he went 371-208 in seven-plus seasons with Miami and Orlando -- but now hell have the added responsibility of handling personnel matters. Its rare for one person to have that much control in the NBA, but Doc Rivers does both jobs for the Los Angeles Clippers. "This is the most important decision we have made as an organization," said Tom Gores, who took over as the teams owner in 2011. "Not only did we hire a coach and president of basketball, we are resetting the culture of the franchise. Im so confident that this is going to work." The Pistons have changed coaches quite a bit in recent years, but this is by far the biggest organizational shakeup in some time. Dumars had been president for 14 years before stepping down as this season drew to a close. Van Gundy inherits a roster that has a few talented players but looked dysfunctional on the court for much of last season. Detroits Andre Drummond is one of the games top young big men -- and Van Gundy has experience coaching big men like Shaquille ONeal in Miami and Dwight Howard in Orlando. "I think we have two responsibilities to Andre Drummond that will help our team, and that is, number one, to do everything we possibly can to develop him as a player," Van Gundy said. "And then secondly, we have a responsibility to put a system and personnel around him that allow him to thrive." Greg Monroe is a restricted free agent, and both Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva are unrestricted. "I want to start the process by sitting down with Greg face to face, talking about how he sees himself, how he sees our organization, and giving me a chance to talk to him about my vision for what goes on and how I think we can create a system that will fully maximize his abilities," Van Gundy said. Monroe, Drummond and Josh Smith can all be effective around the basket, but last seasons Pistons did not shoot well from the perimeter. And Detroit will lose this years first-round draft pick if its not in the top eight -- part of a previous trade with Charlotte. But with a five-year deal worth $35 million, it looks like Van Gundy will have time to turn this team around. "Part of what we hired here is the emotions," Gores said. "Thats what I want. He cares. Hes got a passion. The reason hes so prepared is he stays up at night thinking about things." The Pistons are desperate to become relevant again in the Motor City, where theyve been an afterthought lately. Hiring Van Gundy has certainly created a buzz, but now he and Gores are both under pressure to restore the franchises lustre. "Theres no excuses now," Van Gundy said. "What happens a lot of times in this thing is -- and I know because I talk to coaches all the time. Coaches say, Im doing a great job but this guy is not getting me good enough players. And the front office is telling ownership, We put together a great roster and the coach is screwing it up. "Theres none of that anymore. Its on us to get it done." Dee Ford Super Bowl Jersey .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Jerick McKinnon Super Bowl Jersey . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season. http://www.authenticsf49erspro.com/Robbie-gould-49ers-jersey/. PETERSBURG, Fla. Emmanuel Sanders Super Bowl Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. Jeff Wilson Super Bowl Jersey . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Billy Butler is hot at the plate and Kansas City Royals are even hotter. Butler homered and drove in three runs and right fielder Nori Aoki threw out two runners in the same inning as the Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2 Friday night for their fifth straight victory. The Royals, who have not been in the playoffs since winning the 1985 World Series, hold a half game lead for the second AL wild card. They have won 13 of 16. Butler, who is hitting .423 in the past seven games, homered with two out in the first off Madison Bumgarner (13-9). In the past 13 games, Butler has four home runs and 11 RBIs. "Those are feeling really good," Butler said. "Bumgarner is one of the best pitchers in the National League and in baseball in general. I just caught one out front. He battled all night, throwing a complete game. We capitalized on a few mistakes and got some runs across." Said Bumgarner of Butlers homer, "It just caught a bit too much of the middle of the plate. Hes a good hitter." Butler singled home the go-ahead run in the two-run sixth, which was aideed by throwing errors on Giants infielders Michael Morse and Matt Duffy.dddddddddddd Alex Gordon had an RBI single. "Morse had more time than he thought," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Youd just like to get one out there. Duffy knew he came of the bag and was trying to get the out (at first)." The Giants scored twice in the third on Joaquin Arias double and Matt Duffys single. Aoki prevented a bigger inning, throwing out Hunter Pence at third and Arias at home. "You might get two in a game, but never two in an inning," Aoki said through a translator. The Giants out hit the Royals 12-7, but self-destructed with three errors and base running blunders. Bumgarner went the distance, allowing four runs on seven hits, while walking none and striking out five. His road scoreless streak was snapped at 17 innings. Jason Frasor (3-1), the second of five Royals pitchers, threw a spotless sixth, striking out two. Greg Holland pitched a flawless ninth for his American League-leading 33rd save in 35 opportunities. It was Hollands 100th career save. ' ' '