OTTAWA -- Chris Byrne has relinquished his job as head coach of the Ottawa 67s to concentrate on his duties as general manager. Stan Olejniczak Jersey Retro . Byrne has begun searching for his replacement for the 2014-15 season when the team returns to the refurbished TD Place at Lansdowne Park. "I fully support Chriss decision to dedicate 100 per cent of his time to focus his efforts on improving the calibre of our player personnel," Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group president Jeff Hunt said Monday in a statement. Byrne, a 39-year-old from Nepean, Ont., took over as head coach and GM of the 67s in 2009. Ottawa reached the conference final in 2012, but have finished out of the playoffs the last two seasons. "The objective of the 67s is to consistently win and contend for the Memorial Cup," Byrne said. "That takes time and patience if you start with a young team that gradually improves as players mature, and our team has been the youngest in the OHL for the last two seasons. "Now its time to accelerate our learning curve and improve our quality of play." Ottawa Sports and Entertainment also owns the CFL expansion Ottawa Redblacks. The 67s have played out of the Canadian Tire Centre for two seasons while the arena and stadium at Lansdowne underwent reconstruction. Brandon Weeden Jersey Retro . -- The Oakland Raiders added a veteran presence to their young receiving group by signing free agent James Jones to a three-year contract Monday. Buzz Sawyer Jersey Retro . As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events. CHICAGO -- As openers go, this one was promising for the Chicago White Sox. Now, all they have to do is build on it. Alejandro De Aza hit two homers, and Jose Abreu had two hits in his major league debut to back Chris Sale and lead the White Sox to a 5-3 season-opening victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday. "Its a big deal because of what last year was," manager Robin Ventura said. Last year was a 99-loss nightmare, a collapse after they finished second in the AL Central in 2012. This year, they insist, will be better. They are off to a good start, even if they beat a team that is trying to stop a losing cycle. Sale got the win, pitching five-hit ball into the eighth. Paul Konerko got a loud ovation before what was likely his final opener, although he didnt play. The White Sox got clutch hits, hustled on the bases, and played error-free ball to start the season on a winning note. Abreu doubled on the first pitch he saw leading off the second inning against Ricky Nolasco and scored on De Azas two-run homer to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. He also drove in the go-ahead run with a single during a two-run third after Minnesotas Kurt Suzuki tied it with a two-run single in the top half. It was a good start for Abreu, who insisted he didnt feel any real first-game jitters. That line drive double to right, on a ball that Oswaldo Arcia appeared to misjudge, didnt hurt. "You wanted to get that first one out of the way," Abreu, who signed a six-year, $68 million deal in the off-season, said through an interpreter. "Once you get it, its a very happy moment. The first thing I thought of was my mother." Abreus family is expected to join him at some point this season. He wouldnt say where his mom is, other than "somewhere close, but we cant really comment on that." De Aza made it 5-2 with a solo shot just over the right-field wall in the sixth inning for his first career multihomer game. It was also the first for Chicago on opening day since Jim Thome at Cleveland in 2008, and the first by a White Sox player iin a season opener at home since 1960, when Minnie Minoso hit two against the Kansas City Athletics. Authentic Cheap Jerseys. That was enough for Sale, who allowed three runs and struck out eight and walked one. The two-time All-Star came out with a 5-2 lead with one out and a runner on second in the eighth. Ronald Belisario allowed a two-out RBI single to Suzuki before Donnie Veal retired Joe Mauer on a grounder. Matt Lindstrom came on in the ninth after being announced as the closer by Ventura before the game. The right-hander gave up a one-out double to Chris Colabello before striking out Trevor Plouffe and retiring Arcia on a grounder to the mound for his first save since April 2011 when he was with Colorado. Nolasco took the loss in a shaky debut with Minnesota. One of the top free agent pitchers last winter, he gave up five runs and 10 hits in six innings. "I thought we played good, we battled all game," Nolasco said. "Put up some runs, gave a good fight to Chris Sale and made it interesting late. Come back tomorrow or the next day and try and build off that." The Twins are trying to pick themselves up after back-to-back 96-loss seasons and dropping a staggering 291 games the past three years. There was a glitch before the game with the Twins replay system as two blown fuses disabled a pair of monitors in the Minnesota clubhouse. That was fixed in time for the first pitch, but things didnt get much better for the Twins. That is because the White Sox got the big hits from Abreu and De Aza to back Sale. Notes: Konerko had started the previous 15 openers for the White Sox and 16 straight overall. He is in a reduced role after re-signing for one year. ... Minnesota LHP Brian Duensing was placed on the paternity list before Mondays game. RHP Michael Tonkin was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to replace Duensing, whose wife Lisa gave birth to a boy named Boston Matthew Duensing. . Twins general manager Terry Ryan didnt travel with the team to Chicago. Ryan was undergoing radiation to treat cancer. 20:29ET 31-03-14 ' ' '