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SEATTLE -- For the past few seasons playing in England, even as he participated in a Europa League final with Fulham and was on the cusp of a Champions League berth at Tottenham Hotspur, Clint Dempsey felt the pull to come back to America grow stronger. He didnt want to be an aging player on the back side of his career when he finally made the decision to return to Major League Soccer. "I was already starting to get the itch to be honest with you, to come back to the States. I just missed being in America. I wanted to help continue the growth of the game here. You cant help the growth of the game if you come back and you dont perform," Dempsey said Monday after he was formally introduced as the newest designated player for the Seattle Sounders. "I understand there is a lot of pressure on me to succeed, a lot of expectations that others have on me, but also the expectations I put on myself and when I decided to come back to this league, I want to make an impact. I want to do a good job. I dont want to come and be passive and not be able to make a difference in games. I want to win things." That pull was at the heart of Dempseys decision to have his representatives reach out to MLS in late July and start the process that was finalized over the weekend when Dempsey signed with the Sounders, bringing back arguably the best American player currently to play for his domestic league. Even though theyre not currently in the playoffs, it also makes Seattle an instant contender for the MLS Cup. Less than 48 hours after he was greeted with a huge ovation from the nearly 40,000 fans in attendance Saturday night at Seattles game against FC Dallas, Dempsey was finally able to fully explain the reasons behind his surprising move. While giving up the chance to stay in the Premier League was difficult, Dempsey felt it was the right time to come back to MLS, where his career began with the New England Revolution. "Ive been in Europe for 6 1/2 years and I just wanted to come home. Each year was getting more difficult to go back and I think everything just has to do with timing," Dempsey said. "The Seattle Sounders moved mountains to get me here. It was an opportunity to come back when I was in my prime and continue growth in the league and its a challenge." The 30-year-old Dempsey played for the New England Revolution from 2004-06 before joining Fulham in 2007. He moved to Tottenham last summer and scored 12 goals in 43 games, but wasnt a regular starter for the Spurs while being used in rotation with other attacking players. Dempsey had two years remaining on his contract at Tottenham. Dempsey said he has yet to talk with U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann about the move and a step back in competition level from what he would get staying in the Premier League. "I look back with no regrets. I thought my time over there, if you want to crunch numbers, I was successful. I want to continue to do the same here," he said. The process for getting Dempsey to Seattle didnt take long but was filled with potential stumbles. MLS first informed Seattle general manager and co-owner Adrian Hanauer and fellow Seattle owner Joe Roth of Dempseys interest in late July. For the past two years, Hanauer and Roth had Dempsey at the top of their wish list and suddenly the chance to acquire him was real. While Dempsey was jetting between London and Hong Kong for an Asian tour with Tottenham, his representatives were pulling together a deal with Seattle, plus a transfer fee paid to Tottenham to bring Dempsey back beneath the MLS umbrella. The final stages of the negotiation were set into motion last Thursday when Dempsey was first spotted by fans boarding a flight at Heathrow Airport in London and later making a connection in San Francisco. When he arrived in Seattle, Dempsey was slipped out a back door of the airport and avoided a throng of Sounders fans who had converged for a chance to see if the rumours were true. Dempsey went unnoticed, but Hanauer never exhaled until Friday night when Dempsey finally signed the contract. "There were some anxious moments to some degree in that," Hanauer said. "Again, Im kind of a worrier." The move to get Dempsey, coupled with the acquisition of forward Obafemi Martins earlier this season backed up what Roth had told supporters last off-season after Seattle lost in the Western Conference finals to Los Angeles. Roth promised to pay back fans for the unprecedented support the Sounders have received. While Seattle could see increased interest because of Dempseys acquisition, Hanauer said the team didnt view this as a profitable move. "This is for soccer," Hanauer said. "This is to win a championship, raise the profile domestically, globally, pay our fans back for their support. ... If you do good things as a business, the financial rewards will come down the line, so this feels like were doing the right things by our customers, our fans."Shannon Sharpe Womens Jersey . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Custom Denver Broncos Jerseys http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Broncos-Bradley-Chubb-Jersey/ . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Joe Flacco Broncos Jersey .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Courtland Sutton Youth Jersey .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night.The Cleveland Indians are headed to the World Series, and as they prepare for their first Fall Classic since 1997, theyve fired off a few parting shots at the Toronto Blue Jays, specifically star slugger Jose Bautista, via social media.Heading into Game 5, Bautista seemingly dismissed Indians rookie starter Ryan Merritt, who was making just his second major league start, by saying, With our experience in our lineup, Im pretty sure hes going to be shaking in his boots more than we are.Merritt proceeded to throw 4 1/3 scoreless innings as the Indians won 3-0 to advance to the World Series.The Indians Twitter account seized on Bautistas quote during the game, and a handful of Cleveland playyers also noted it during their celebratory postgame tweets.ddddddddddddAfter Wednesdays game, the Indians and Trevor Bauer also tweeted references to Bautistas circumstances quote from Sunday, which implied that the umpires were working against his team during the first two games of the series.Who knows what the Indians social media team might get into come World Series time? Its also worth noting that the Chicago Cubs got themselves into a Twitter battle earlier this week with Charlotte Hornets forward and die-hard Chicago White Sox fan Frank Kaminsky III. ' ' '