SUNRISE, Fla. -- Vincent Violas first event as owner of the Florida Panthers opened in a manner worthy of a West Point graduate like himself, with a colour guard presenting a U.S. flag and an Army sergeant singing the national anthem. Viola sang along and clapped at the end. His enthusiasm was evident, as he hopes it will be in his new role. Viola was formally introduced as the Panthers principal owner, chairman and governor on Friday, after spending $250 million for the team and the operating rights to the BB&T Center, where Florida plays its home games. "We understand the privilege of the stewardship that ownership of a sports franchise really means," Viola said. "We dont really own anything. The players sweat, sacrifice their health in later years to do well on the ice, to provide the right feeling and connection to the fans. Its about the players and the fans and our service to those two respective groups that will determine our success. I really, truly believe that." Viola also gets the Saveology.com Iceplex where the Panthers train, along with teams development partnership with Boyd Gaming, an effort to put a casino adjacent to that arena. His acquisition of the Panthers happened quickly, starting about a month ago when he asked NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to have lunch. "A very nice lunch," Bettman said. Must have been, since Viola didnt wait around to complete the deal. He and his family -- his sons are hockey-mad -- plan to relocate to South Florida soon, and Viola said hes already assured general manager Dale Tallon that any resources the team needs to move closer to the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup will be available. As part of the deal, Douglas Cifu takes over as the Panthers vice chairman, partner and alternate governor. Team president Michael Yormark was promoted, now getting chief executive officer as part of his title. "When you think back at the 20-year history of this team ... there has been one constant," Bettman said. "South Florida has always been an important, terrific hockey market for us and weve had passionate, loyal fans for the Florida Panthers. Well, today, we open a new chapter." Viola is the chairman and CEO of Virtu Financial, an electronic trading firm with offices in the U.S., Singapore and Ireland. Hes taking over a franchise that has been to the playoffs only once since 2000 and finished with the fewest points in the NHL last season. Then again, his resume shows hes never hidden from a challenge. Viola is a graduate of West Point, once chaired the New York Mercantile Exchange and was so moved by the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks that he decided to found a centre devoted to helping military officials combat terrorism. Viola helped ensure that the mercantile exchange reopened quickly after the attacks on the World Trade Center, earning him a citation saying in part that "his actions embody the American Spirit in its most noble form." "With Vinnie as the principal owner, we are going to be looking at an era where I think there will be unprecedented commitment," Bettman said. "Vinnie represents a focus and a determination to bring out excellence, commitment, hard work, teamwork, and hell make sure that the resources that this club needs -- not only to be competitive, but to be a winning, successful team -- will be available to the club and to the players." Viola said he has a long hockey background, as a fan. The Brooklyn native was a New York Rangers fan going back to the early 1960s, when he couldnt afford a good seat at their games, or really one that allowed him any decent view of the ice. Eventually, his seat kept getting better. And he said watching the Panthers at the end of last season provided him with the intuition that the time was right to call Bettman and start thinking about getting a view from an owners suite. "Its poised to win," Viola said of the Panthers. "And Im committed." Saucony Outlet Uk . 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According to a police report, Douglas is accused of grabbing his girlfriend by the neck and slamming her against the wall several times while he carried her from the elevator to their Hartford hotel room early Sunday morning.MILWAUKEE -- Kyle Lohse had the Chicago Cubs hitting harmless groundballs early in counts. He threw in the occasional fastball to keep batters off balance. The Cubs struggled at the plate with the Milwaukee Brewers veteran locked in with his slider and sinker. Lohse allowed just three hits in a complete game shutout, and Ryan Braun had a two-run homer in the first inning of a 9-0 rout against the Cubs on Sunday. Milwaukee pounded Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija (1-5) for eight earned runs in three innings, raising his ERA from 1.68 to 2.54. "I figured it would be low-scoring on both ends. I knew Kyle had a good chance of keeping them down and I didnt expect to get a lot of runs off Samardzija. Great offence," manager Ron Roenicke said. Braun homered to left on the first pitch he saw from Samardzija, and the Brewers rolled from there with Samardzija having trouble locating his fastball. Lyle Overbay broke the game open with a three-run double in the third. Even Lohse had success at the plate with an RBI single to drive in Overbay to make it 8-0 for the pitchers second run-scoring hit of the game. Lohse (7-1) needed just 93 pitches in tossing his eighth career shutout. "Its fun to go out there and help out, add on, but thats not my main job," Lohse said about his 2 for 3 day with the bat. "My main job was to go out there and get us deep in the game, and I take a little more pride in that." With Lohses pitch count at just 83 pitches after eight innings, Roenicke wasnt even thinking about pulling the veteran. "I didnt even go talk to him. When you see that kind of game and the pitch count that low, its impressive," the skipper said. One of the few highlights for Chicago was Brian Schlitters single to lead off the seventh for the relievers first major league hit. Otherwise it was a frustrating day for the last-place Cubs. They lost their 14th straight series on the road, a streak dating to last September. Samardzijas "command wasnt the bbest today, but it was just one of those days for him," manager Rick Renteria said.dddddddddddd "I think very rare." The eight earned runs allowed were as many as Samardzija had given up in his previous six starts. Scooter Gennett had two doubles off Samardzija before hitting his third homer of the year in the fifth off reliever Justin Grimm. Gennetts first double exemplified the Cubs afternoon. A high fly to shallow left-centre in the second fell in between backpedaling shortstop Starlin Castro and charging outfielder Junior Lake, who looked away in frustration as Gennett hustled into second. "You have to take advantage of mistakes against a good pitcher like that. When a team makes mistakes like that, you have to jump on it," Braun said. Two innings later, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was ejected by home plate umpire Jerry Meals for arguing a called third strike and Chicago trailing by eight. The left-handed slugger turned to face Meals and pointed angrily with his left arm at the ground before being sent back to the dugout by Renteria. "I said my peace and I definitely understand why I got ejected," Rizzo said. "Im going to move on." Braun hit his ninth homer of the year and second in three days. The Brewers hope it might be a sign that hes over the right oblique injury that sidelined him for two weeks in May. Notes: Chicago planned to give Luis Valbuena a couple days off as a precaution after Renteria said the infielder was "a little tired, a little sore" with what he described as an abdominal ailment. ... Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez (hamstring) went 0 for 2 and fielded a grounder in four innings in his first game of a two-day rehab stint at the teams Class A affiliate in Appleton. ... ... Chicago is off Monday and opens a three-game series Tuesday against the visiting New York Mets. RH Matt Garza (2-4) starts Monday when Milwaukee welcomes the Minnesota Twins for a two-game series. ' ' '