Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Cubs formally ushered in another new era by introducing former Tampa Bay Rays skipper Joe Maddon as their new manager on Monday. The team also announced that Maddon agreed to a five-year contract in which financial terms were not disclosed, though ESPN reported the deal to be worth $25 million and includes incentives tied to making the postseason. The Cubs moved quickly to obtain Maddons services after the two-time American League Manager of the Year opted out of his contract with the Rays on Oct. 24, shortly after Tampa Bay general manager Andrew Friedman left the organization to become the president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maddon, who guided the small-market Rays to four playoff appearances and the 2008 AL pennant over the past seven seasons, joins a long-suffering Cubs franchise that has endured five consecutive losing campaigns and last won the World Series in 1908. This is a 1-in-107 a year opportunity for me, said Maddon during Mondays press conference. The challenge is so outstanding. How could you not want to be in this seat? The Cubs future appeared bright even before the hiring of the enthusiastic and ever-optimistic Maddon, though. Chicagos present farm system is ranked among baseballs strongest and the Cubs are expected to be significant players in free agency this offseason, something Maddon never experienced during his successful nine-year run with the low-budget Rays. Those factors, coupled with Friedmans departure and the presence of Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein -- who nearly hired Maddon as the Red Sox manager in 2004 while then Bostons GM -- played a role in Maddons decision. I knew there was a lot of common ground philosophically, said Maddon. I know that the synergy between the front office and the manager is really, really important. This is a really good fit for me personally. I feel very comfortable here. The 60-year-old takes over a Cubs team that showed improvement in Rick Renterias lone season as manager, with Chicago posting a 73-89 record in 2014 after winning 66 and 61 games the previous two years. Despite those strides, Epstein informed Renteria last week of his intention to pursue Maddon and make a switch. Renteria was offered another position within the organization but predictably declined. Even though they annually operated with one of the lowest payrolls in the majors, the Rays were a consistent contender for much of Maddons reign. Lauded for his ability to work with young players and to maximize the available talent on hand, the charismatic manager guided Tampa to six consecutive winning seasons that began with the unexpected 2008 World Series run. The Rays, who had never won over 70 games in their first 10 seasons prior to that 2008 breakthrough, also reached the playoffs in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Maddon amassed a 754-705 overall record in Tampa Bay, easily the most of any manager in club history. Fake Yeezys From China . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. Fake Yeezys Outlet . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath. http://www.fakeyeezysforsale.com/ . Bring on Freddy Garcia. The well-travelled 36-year-old right-hander earned his second NL victory since 2007, and his first since he joined the Atlanta Braves last month, pitching six innings to help beat Miami 6-1 Thursday. Fake Yeezys . Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks. Cheap Fake Yeezys . The 25-year-old Lu, a regular on the Japan LPGA Tour after giving up her LPGA Tour membership in 2010, shot an 8-under 64 in windy, wet conditions at Kintetsu Kashikojima.TAMPA, Fla. -- A week after finding a way to keep Ryan Callahan in Tampa Bay, the Lightning have landed two of his former teammates to help him. Defenceman Anton Stralman was lured to the Lightning as a free agent on Tuesday with a $22.5 million, five-year contract. He scored one goal and had 13 assists last season for the New York Rangers, and had five assists in 25 playoff games. A few hours later, centre Brian Boyle became the second member of the Eastern Conference champions to join the Lightning on the opening day of NHL free agency when he agreed to a three-year contract. Meanwhile, general manager Steve Yzermans search for a backup goaltender snared Evgeni Nabokov, a veteran of 13 NHL seasons who was with the New York Islanders last season. Stralman, 27, has 18 career goals and 112 points over seven seasons with the Rangers, Columbus and Toronto. Stralman had career highs with six goals and 34 points with the Blue Jackets during the 2009-10 season. The addition of Stralman, Boyle and Nabokov bolsters a roster that many felt would lose Callahan to free agency because his asking price might be too high.dddddddddddd Instead, the veteran right wing obtained in the trade that sent Martin St. Louis to the Rangers late last season signed a six-year, $34.8 million to remain in Tampa Bay. Yzerman, who made a trio of cost-saving trades over the weekend to create additional salary cap space for the start of free agency Tuesday, also announced the signing of right wing Mike Blunden, who appeared in seven games for the Montreal Canadiens last season. Forward Mike Angelidis was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract. The flurry of activity as free agency began came on the heels of the Lightning trading forward Teddy Purcell to Edmonton in exchange for Sam Gagner, who was in turn packaged with B.J. Crombeen and sent to Phoenix for a draft pick. Yzerman capped a busy weekend by trading veteran forward Nate Thompson to Anaheim for two draft picks late Sunday. The moves created more than $5 million in cap space, giving the Lightning about $13 million heading into free agency. ' ' '