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CHICAGO -- As their win total plummeted last season, one thing remained steady for the Chicago White Sox -- their faith in Robin Ventura. The White Sox rewarded their manager with a multi-year contract extension Friday, announcing the move hours before their annual fan convention opened. The terms were not disclosed. The extension comes after the White Sox dropped from second in the AL Central in Venturas first season to last with 99 losses in his second year. "You lose 99 games, there are going to be questions like that, about where this organizations headed and why they think the people in charge are the right people to get them through their end goal," general manager Rick Hahn said. "I would say we saw in 2012 and 2013 two extremes in terms of being a first-place club and being a club that was a disappointed in terms of performance. Throughout each of those extremes, Robins leadership was unwavering." Venturas contract was set to expire after this year. He turned down an extension before the 2013 season, leading to speculation that he might not want to stick around much longer, but he insisted that wasnt the case. He wanted to give Hahn -- then in his first season as GM -- a chance to work with him before making a long-term commitment. "I just felt it was important for Rick to have a full year of doing the job, us working together," Ventura said. "Then, you have the ability and freedom to decide if Im the right guy for the job. Nothing really changed in my mind of where I want to be and what I want to do. Its just more of it being his first time going through, I just wanted to make sure he had the ability and the freedom to do that. Now with the way last year went, the off-season, a lot of communication, a lot of talks of where were headed, how were going to do it -- Im excited to just keep going." Hahn, who got bumped up from assistant GM in October 2012 to replace the promoted Ken Williams, called it a selfless act by Ventura. "(It) allowed me the latitude to get comfortable," Hahn said. "It speaks to what kind of good man he is and actually makes a decision like this all the easier because of it." A former All-Star third baseman, Ventura had never managed at any level when he replaced Ozzie Guillen. And the results his first season were promising. The White Sox led the Central for much of 2012 before finishing second to Detroit with 85 wins, but there was a huge drop-off last year. Chicago wound up last in the division at 63-99, giving Ventura a 148-176 mark in two seasons. The White Sox hit just .249 as a team and their home run total dropped from third in the majors at 211 to 19th at 148. With little speed, there was no way to make up for the drop in power, and compounding the problem was the poor play on defence. They went from leading the majors in fielding percentage to ranking 29th, with Alexei Ramirez committing 22 errors and tying the Cubs Starlin Castro for the major league lead among shortstops. "Its imperative that we show improvement," Hahn said. "Its imperative that we show growth, especially on the position player side. We feel we have the ability to contend. But the most important thing for us is going to be allowing these young guys room to grow." Venturas steady hand, his ability to relate, came up over and over on Friday. Its why the White Sox believe he is the right manager, particularly on a team with some key young players. They signed Cuban slugger Jose Abreu to a six-year, $68 million contract, hoping he can add pop. Theyll have a full year with outfielder Avisail Garcia after acquiring him from Detroit in the midseason deal that sent Jake Peavy to Boston, too. Theyve added some youth, athleticism, to their lineup. They believe they have enough pitching to compete with Chris Sale leading the rotation, even if they didnt land Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka. And they insist Venturas the man to lead them. "He just doesnt miss on how to handle guys," longtime star Paul Konerko said. "Hes stern with them, he gets his point across. But for a team of this makeup, Robin is such a good fit. Im glad he would want to stay." Running Shoes Clearance Online . Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, are in the drivers seat as they open the final series of the regular season, but they face a large task in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies. Running Shoes Clearance . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). http://www.runningshoesclearance.com/. Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Clearance Running Shoes .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen. Discount Running Shoes Online . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie.Arcadia, CA - Lexie Lou, last years top Canadian 3-year- old filly, heads a field of eight older females for Saturdays $200,000 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita. Owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, Lexie Lou is the 6-5 morning line favorite and has drawn post 3 in the 1 1/16-mile stakes and will once again be ridden by Corey Nakatani in her seasonal debut. Lexie Lou won last years Queens Plate at Woodbine versus 3-year-old males just three weeks after defeating fellow 3-year-old fillies in the Woodbine Oaks. The filly finished second to California Chrome in the Hollywood Derby on Nov. 29 over Del Mars turf course. The Canadian-bred 4-year-old has won seven of 16 career starts for $1,429,714. Sams Sister is the 2-1 second pick and will start from the immediate inside of Lexie Lou with Elvis Trujillo again riding. The 4-year-old chestnut filly is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer who is also a co-owner. A veteran of five starts, Sams Sister will be making just her third start on dirt in the La Canada. She won the seven-furlong La Brea over Santa Anitas main track on Dec. 26 and now tries two turns for the first time. Shes a very nice horse. I have to thank Mr. Hollendorfer for giving me the opportunity to ride such a nice horse, Trujillo said after winning the La Brea. Sams Sister has banked $307,450 with four wins from her ffive career starts.dddddddddddd Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will saddle Jojo Warrior, the 4-1 third choice, with Martin Garcia riding from post 5. The 4-year-old filly, owned by WinStar Farm and Zayat Stables, is coming off an eighth-place finish in the La Brea. I was surprised at how poorly she ran, Baffert said. She was training great going into it, but you know what? She wasnt effective going one turn last year, and when I finally stretched her out, she was a different filly. Shes been training well for this race, so I think she doesnt want any part of one turn. Thats it. She doesnt want to be rushed. Last August Jojo Warrior won the Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar more than two months after claiming the Sunland Oaks. On Sept. 20, after setting the early pace she finished third behind Untapable in Parx Racings Cotillion. Jojo Warrior has won three of eight lifetime starts and $372,231. Here is the complete field for the 41st running of the La Canada in post position order: Fleet of Gold, Alex Solis, 12-1; Sams Sister, Elvis Trujillo, 2-1; Lexie Lou, Corey Nakatani, 6-5; Thegirlinthatsong, Rafael Bejarano, 8-1; Jojo Warrior, Martin Garcia, 4-1; Une Cherise, Joe Talamo, 15-1; Ramonas Wildcat, Kent Desormeaux, 15-1 and Colonel Joan, Gary Stevens, 12-1. Post time for the La Canada will be approximately 7 p.m. ET. ' ' '