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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Hours before John Loyer made his debut as Detroits interim coach, Chauncey Billups offered a preview. "Hes always very energetic at all times," Billups said. "I dont know what were going to do in second halves because he wont have a voice. He always loses his voice in the first half." Billups assessment was spot on, at least through one game. Loyer coached the Pistons to a 109-100 win over San Antonio on Monday, yelling out instructions in a raspy voice from the sideline on a night his team led comfortably for the entire second half. It was an immediate contrast to the mild-mannered Maurice Cheeks, the coach the Pistons fired a day earlier. Of course, sideline demeanours can be deceiving -- and Loyer was careful not to take too much credit for the teams sharp performance against the Spurs. "Its not about me," he said. "Im just glad our guys played hard." Loyer was in his third season as an assistant for the Pistons when he was abruptly promoted after Cheeks dismissal. He was a holdover from Lawrence Franks staff, remaining in the fold after Cheeks was hired last off-season. Loyer has also been an assistant for the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers. The Pistons scored 26 points off turnovers against San Antonio and led by as many as 23. "Certain events happened that are beyond our control, but we were able to come out and focus on playing basketball," forward Josh Smith said. "We came out with a big win against a great team." Loyer takes over the Pistons at a time when patience is growing thin. Detroit signed Smith and traded for Brandon Jennings in the off-season, but the results have been mixed at best. Even after beating San Antonio, the Pistons are 22-29. They were tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference entering Tuesday night. Detroit had won four of six when Cheeks was let go, so its hard to tell if the win Monday could be attributed at all to the coaching change. Jennings played well for Loyer -- just as he did in the last couple games under Cheeks. "The last four out of six, weve still been playing the same way," Jennings said after the win over San Antonio. "Were just trying to keep it going." Cheeks, a former point guard, was given the task of mentoring Jennings, but Jennings says he can still look to Billups for veteran guidance. Jennings performance down the stretch may make or break Detroits playoff chances. Jennings made a point of saying that Cheeks was like a father figure to him, but he hopes to stay in the offensive groove hes found over the past few games. "Im back to having fun, instead of just taking everything so personally and thinking about too much," Jennings said. "Im just hooping." Detroit hosts Cleveland on Wednesday, then plays a home-and-home with Charlotte -- another team in the mix for the post-season in the East. So the Pistons will have a chance to build on their recent success and create some positive vibes right away for their new coach. "Change for changes sake doesnt do much," Loyer said. "Anybody can change. We need positive change, and I thought our guys came out and had great effort (Monday night), great determination. You try to set a little bit of a tone every day. Thankfully, our guys, they set the tone." Dallas Cowboys Jerseys .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Chuck Howley Jersey . Notes on P.K. 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SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari announced his World Cup squad on Wednesday without any major surprises, choosing most of the players who won last years Confederations Cup. Scolaris 23-name list includes 16 players who were in the team that won last years warm-up tournament by beating world champion Spain in the final. It will be a squad inexperienced in World Cups, however, with only six players who featured in past tournaments. "We will have to pass our own experience to these players," said Scolari, who led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title. The team will mix talented young stars such as Neymar and Oscar with more experienced players such as Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Hulk. "We know that not everybody will agree with all the names, its normal," Scolari said. "But now that we have the 23 players, we would like to ask that our fans support all of them so together we can focus on our goal of winning the World Cup." The squad announcement was a high-profile event in Brazil, with television stations juggling their programing to broadcast it live. The Brazilian football federation said 870 journalists, many from overseas, were accredited for the event at a traditional concert house in Rio de Janeiro. The stage where Scolari spoke was set up in front of a Brazilian flag the size of a four-story building, according to the federation. "My childhood dream came true," Neymar said on social media site Instagram. "Today was one of the most anticipated days of my life. Its time to represent the entire country. Im completely moved, anxious and nervous. I want it to arrive soon." Five players from this years list were in the 2010 World Cup -- Cesar, Silva, Alves, Maicon and Ramires. Fred didnt make it to South Africa but was in the squad for the 2006 tournament in Germany. "I dont think this lack of World Cup experience will play a big part," Scolari said. "Our players have been gaining experience in their leagues in Europe and I dont think they will be affected by this too much, although in certain World Cup situations, having that experience would be important.dddddddddddd But I fully trust these players." Veterans Kaka and Robinho -- the stars in the 2010 tournament -- still had hopes of playing in the tournament at home but were left off the list, as were former AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato and 34-year-old Ronaldinho, the 2002 world champion who missed out on his chance of making it to one last World Cup. Also missing were Atletico de Madrid defenders Miranda and Filipe Luis, as well as Liverpool midfielders Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Leiva. Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Lucas Moura, who played in the Confederations Cup, also was left out. Scolari had already confirmed nine players on the squad -- Luiz, Oscar, Ramires, Willian, Paulinho, Cesar, Silva, Fred and Neymar. He said there were only two spots remaining in the team, with the doubts related to the third goalkeeper and the fourth central defender, positions that were filled by Atletico Mineiro goalkeeper Victor and Napoli defender Henrique. "We know we have a big responsibility and we know that there are a lot of expectations," Fred said. "We have to turn that into motivation so we can go after this sixth world title." Seven alternates will be announced in the coming days. Brazils starting 11 in the World Cup will likely be the same that played in the Confederations Cup. Brazil has won 13 of its last 14 matches, the only loss coming in a friendly against Switzerland after the warm-up tournament. "Its important that today everybody can name most of the Brazilian starters," Scolari said. "We cant know for sure if we will use exactly the same team, it will depend on how these players will show up, but nine or 10 are certain to be in the starting lineup again." Brazil is in Group A with Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon. It will open agains