MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen and Mike Conley are playing for their third different head coach since starting the best run in Memphis Grizzlies history.Conley said theres one simple reason the aging core is eager to follow first-year coach David Fizdale.Youre going to listen because you know that he has a vision for this team to win a championship, and well do whatever it takes, Conley said.Injuries ravaged Memphis last season with neither Gasol nor Conley able to finish. The Grizzlies used an NBA-record 28 players last season, slumping to a 42-40 finish and the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies fired coach Dave Joerger on May 7 and replaced him with Fizdale.He walks in with a championship resume from working with the Miami Heat. He also has a proven track record of working with stars like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to rookies like Josh Richardson. Fizdale inherits a roster that also includes Vince Carter, who turns 40 in January, and a handful of young players Memphis needs developed to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time since this teams lone trip in 2013.Fizdale spent the preseason trying to space out the Grizzlies on offense and speed them up, a style they will have to prove they can stick with once the regular season starts.So far, the Grizzlies leaders have seen enough to believe and keep following to extend a playoff streak of six straight seasons that ranks third in the NBA for the longest active streaks behind only San Antonio (19) and Atlanta (9).This is the year that we have to be more hungry and have more grit and grind to get to where we want to go, guard Tony Allen said.---Some other things to know about the Grizzlies who open the season Wednesday night hosting Minnesota:WATCHING MINUTES: Gasol started training camp with a surgically repaired right foot, an injury that ended his season in February. He dealt with a bone bruise in the same foot during preseason, but Fizdale already planned to limit the 7-foot-1 centers minutes to keep Gasol fresher for the postseason. That also goes for Conley, who had his season ended in early March by left Achilles tendinitis. Conley played an average of 31.4 minutes in his 56 games last season before signing the NBAs richest deal to that point at five-year, $153 million deal in July to stay in Memphis. But Fizdale also is pushing Gasol to shoot more 3s and is giving Conley more opportunities and freedom on the court.Z BO COMING OFF BENCH: Fizdales biggest move has been replacing Randolph in the starting lineup with JaMychal Green. The 26-year-old Green led the Grizzlies in games played last season (78), and he averaged 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in the 29 games after the All-Star break when the injuries stacked up. Randolph is going into the final season of his contract at the age of 35, and Fizdale has sold him on the concept of being the leagues best sixth man to help his future marketability while giving Memphis more scoring off the bench.BACKUP POINT GUARD: The biggest need is figuring out who backs up Conley. The Grizzlies drafted Wade Baldwin IV out of Vanderbilt with the 17th pick and hes competing with Andrew Harrison, who spent his first year out of Kentucky in the D-League last season.CHANDLER PARSONS: The Grizzlies brought their biggest free agent ever to Memphis in July signing Parsons to a four-year, $94 million contract . The forward has been recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee in March and very limited this preseason. Memphis needs him healthy to provide the 3-point threat the Grizzlies have never had. Parsons shot 41.4 percent outside the arc and averaged 13.7 points per game last season.HEALTHY BRANDAN WRIGHT: The big free agent signee a year ago was forward/center Brandan Wright who was limited to 12 games by injuries to his right knee. He had surgery Dec. 17th and sprained his right MCL on Feb. 27. But he is healthy finally for Memphis.---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. http://www.wholesalenfljerseysclearance.com/ . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Cheap MLB Jerseys . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). MLB Jerseys Clearance . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. PHILADELPHIA -- Cole Hamels wasnt about to give the ball to Charlie Manuel with the game on the line. He didnt have to. Hamels threw eight sharp innings, Michael Young hit a two-run double and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 Tuesday night for their third straight win. Hamels (4-11) allowed one run and six hits to win his second consecutive start for the first time this season. The three-time All-Star lefty has struggled in his first full year after signing a $144 million contract extension last July. Hamels worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth. After a conference with the entire infield and Manuel, Hamels struck out Ryan Zimmerman and retired Jayson Werth on a deep fly to centre. "I said: Im not here to take you out. I just want to look at you," Manuel said. "I said: You got him. He grinned and said: I got him." An enthusiastic crowd of 33,502 -- much smaller than the sellouts that used to be common at Citizens Bank Park -- gave Hamels a standing ovation as he walked off the field. "That was the most exciting eighth inning Ive had in a long time, especially with it not being a sellout and it sounded like 60,000 fans were here," Hamels said. "It was awesome." Werth hit a solo homer for Washington. The defending NL East champs have lost two straight and are only 1 1/2 games ahead of third-place Philadelphia. The Phillies have won six of their past eight games, including consecutive series victories over first-place Pittsburgh and Atlanta, to move within one game of .500 at 45-46. Making his third career start, Taylor Jordan (0-2) gave up four runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. The hard-throwing righty was 9-1 with a 1.00 ERA between Class A and Double-A when the Nats called him up. "Jordan pitched a good game," Nats manager Davey Johnson said. "We just got stuck on two runs." Hamels is starting to pitch more like the guy who was the 2008 World Series MVP. He held the Pirates to one earned run in seven innings last Thursday and lowered his ERA to 4.17 with another strong outing. "Ive had success. I know what it takes to have success," Hamels said. "I have to get back to that." Antonio Bastardo allowed an RBI double to Wilson Ramos with two outs in the ninth, but retired Scott Hairston on a shallow pop to get his second save in five tries.dddddddddddd Closer Jonathan Papelbon wasnt available after pitching the previous two games and four of five. Helped by shaky defence, the Phillies scored three runs to take a 4-1 lead in the sixth. Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins hit consecutive singles to start the inning. Chase Utley followed with a grounder to first, but Adam LaRoches throw to second hit Rollins in the arm and bounced away for an error. Revere scored to give the Phillies a lead and Rollins went to third. After Domonic Brown popped out, Young lined a 1-2 pitch to deep right-centre, scoring Rollins and Utley. "Weve been playing a lot better," Manuel said. "It goes to show you we can win games when we play good. Were kind of growing." Werth put the Nationals up 1-0 in the second when he drove one out to left-centre. Boos, as usual, greeted Werth as he rounded the bases. Werth has been an unpopular player in Philadelphia since leaving to take a $126 million contract from the Nationals before the 2011 season. Utley ripped a two-out double in the fourth and Brown followed with an RBI single to right. Hoping to add some punch to their lineup, Johnson started Hairston in place of Denard Span a day after the Nationals acquired the veteran outfielder from the Cubs. Hairston came in 12 for 30 with five doubles and five homers off Hamels and went 2 for 5 with a pair of singles. "This is a good-hitting ballpark, but we just couldnt get anything going," Johnson said. NOTES: Werths homer gave the Nationals at least one in 86 consecutive series. The last time Washington played a homerless series was a four-game set at the New York Mets on Sept. 12-15, 2011. ... The Nationals are 5-34 when scoring fewer than three runs. ... The Phillies are 23-13 against the NL East, and 10-4 in their past 14 games against teams with winning records. ... Philadelphia called up RHP Luis Garcia from Triple-A and optioned righty Phillippe Aumont. ... Hamels is 10-3 in his past 16 starts vs. Washington. ... All-Star Cliff Lee (10-2, 2.73) faces Gio Gonzalez (6-3, 3.14) on Wednesday night. ' ' '