Garry Monk has been appointed as Leeds United head coach on a one-year rolling contract. Monk has been out of work since he was sacked by Swansea in December, while Championship side Leeds parted company with Steve Evans on Tuesday night.The 37-year-old, who was a long-serving player at Swansea and took over as boss in February 2014, becomes the seventh manager at Elland Road since Massimo Cellino acquired the club in April 2014. Monk told his new clubs official website: It feels great to be here. Im extremely honoured to join Leeds United Football Club - we all know the history of the club and the standing it has in English football.I feel really honoured to be here and Im really looking forward to the challenge ahead. The passion of the fans, the history and the ambition of the owner all ties in with what I wanted to do. Monk is presented as the new Leeds United manager. Image courtesy of Leeds United on Twitter (@LUFC) I want to be challenged and really get my teeth into a big project. That was the underlying factor throughout the whole process and thats the reason why Im here today.This is definitely the right challenge for me and Im really happy to be here.Evans only took charge last October and guided Leeds to 13th place in the Championship last season, but Cellino said on Tuesday that a different approach is required in order to achieve our targets for the new season. Cellinos 43 managers The Leeds owners record of sacking managers And, having been rebuffed in his efforts to land MK Dons boss Karl Robinson and Bristol Rovers manager Darrell Clarke, the Italian turned his attention to Monk.After appointing Monk, Cellino said: Im very pleased to welcome Garry Monk to Leeds United.Garry is part of a new generation of coaches in England and has a lot of potential to develop, which is something we were targeting for the new season.I believe hes very suited to continuing the growth of our young and improving team. He will bring new strengths and a lot of energy to the squad. Leeds chairman Massimo Cellino has made Monk his seventh manager at Elland Road He was a fighter as a player and now hes the same as a manager - as we saw when he did very well at Swansea City. I feel he can really bring the best out of the team.It is a big challenge but Garry is very determined and he trusts himself with this job - he really wanted to come here. That is something which has impressed me a lot.We have chosen to take on the challenge together and we are focused on achieving our goals in the new season. Also See: Cellinos 43 managers Leeds part company with Evans Clarke commits to Bristol Rovers Robinson turns down Leeds Ray Neal Jersey Retro . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Jim Ritcher Jersey Retro . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. https://www.cheapjerseyslines.com/bud-cooper-jersey-retro/ . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Taylor Decker Jersey Retro . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Buzz Sawyer Jersey Retro . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins practice began Monday with first-team running back Jay Ajayi on the sideline, riding a stationary bike and making it harder for the teams ground game to get rolling.Ajayi was held out of the first workout in full pads because of knee trouble, an issue that hurt his draft status in 2015. He and the Dolphins said the latest injury isnt serious, but his absence comes at a position already filled with uncertainty.The more you can keep that group working together, the better, coach Adam Gase said. But this is the NFL, right? This is what happens. Next man up.Not quite ready to be the next man up is four-time Pro Bowler Arian Foster, making a comeback from Achilles tendon surgery last fall. Foster signed with Miami last month and was cleared to join practice Sunday, but the Dolphins plan to phase him in slowly.Among the other running backs, Damien Williams reported out of shape and has yet to practice, and Isaiah Pead limped off the field midway through Mondays drills. Also contending for playing time are third-round draft pick Kenyan Drake and veteran Daniel Thomas.Ajayi said he suffered a bone bruise Sunday which caused swelling in his left knee. Gase noted it was Ajayis other knee that required surgery for a torn ACL in 2011, when he was at Boise State.I think he was worried it was more than what it was, Gase said. Thankfully its on the other leg.Even so, Ajayi joined Gases pals Peyton Manning and Wes Welker -- among others -- as a spectator at the workout.Ajayi said he expects to be back to normal in a couple of days, resuming his pursuit of the starting job as a successor to Lamar Miller, who departed via free agency durinng the offseason.dddddddddddd.Ajayi played in only nine games last season because of a rib injury, and rushed for 187 yards in 49 carries as Millers backup.Opportunities like this are very limited to be a starter in the NFL, Ajayi said. Im excited.He said hes more comfortable and confident than he was as a rookie.Last season I went through some ups and downs, he said, but I learned a lot.A fifth-round draft pick, Ajayi likely would have gone higher if not for lingering concerns about his right knee. He rushed for 3,796 yards and 50 touchdowns in college, and as a senior became the first player in FBS history to gain at least 1,800 yards rushing and 500 receiving in a season.First-year coach Gase was impressed by the 229-pound Ajayi in offseason drills and believes he could emerge as the biggest surprise of training camp.Or perhaps it will be Foster. Injuries limited him to 25 games in the past three years with the Houston Texans, and he played in just four games last season, averaging 2.6 yards per carry.But Foster said he feels healthier than 12 months ago. When he took the conditioning test at the start of camp, Gase received this appraisal of Foster from an assistant coach: He absolutely annihilated it.I think he was trying to prove a point to us, like, `Im ready to go, Gase said.Like Ajayi, Foster knows theres a job available.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine ' ' '