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SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres took a break from a dizzying series of trades Friday afternoon to introduce one of their new sluggers, Matt Kemp.Kemp, in turn, put the blockbusters by general manager A.J. Preller into perspective as only a guy fresh from Hollywood could.This is unbelievable. Hes a GM rock star right now, moving in and out and doing so many things right now, said Kemp, who sat between Preller and manager Bud Black at news conference at Petco Park. Every day theres something different.Preller smiled and said, Thats definitely the first time Ive gotten the rock star tag.Later, Preller, a native New Yorker, said he listens to Frank Sinatra most mornings, but I dont know if that characterizes me as a rock star.Preller has certainly gotten the Padres humming with a badly needed new identity in just more than a week.Since Dec. 11, Preller has worked a five-player deal with the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers to get Kemp; an 11-player deal with Tampa Bay and Washington to get outfielder Wil Myers, the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year with the Rays; a six-player deal with Atlanta for slugger Justin Upton; a four-player trade with Oakland that landed All-Star catcher Derek Norris; and a straight-up trade with Boston to get third baseman Will Middlebrooks for catcher Ryan Hanigan, who came over from Tampa Bay.Prellers wheeling and dealing isnt over yet, since he has a surplus of outfielders.Its a stunning haul for a team that has had only two winning seasons since its last playoff appearance, in 2006.Preller said acquiring Kemp kicked-started the process, and the other deals started falling into place.Preller has managed to give Black a more well-rounded club that gives us a chance, while retaining top three starters Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy, and most top prospects.We wanted to get a core group that we could give to Buddy and his coaches and hopefully have that group play together for a long time, Preller said.Preller said the Padres are taking a win now and win later attitude. I dont think we went out and just emptied the cupboards and dont have any other players in the system. We definitely looked at different paths to the off-season and one of the things that was attractive to us was to find a way to get offence without touching the front-line pitching in the big leagues.Black said the calibre of players that have come in in a short period of time is extremely impressive, from All-Stars to MVP candidates to guys who are talked as potentially some of the best players in the game as far as talent and production.Preller was hired in August after developing a reputation as a hard-working, hard-charging scouting and player development executive with the Texas Rangers.Kemp and Upton are among the games top power hitters.Kemp had a strong second half in 2014 for the NL West champion Dodgers. He finished the season with a .287 average, 25 home runs and 89 RBIs. That deal, agreed to early the morning of Dec. 11 at the winter meetings in San Diego, was finalized Thursday night.Although hes hit well at Petco Park, Kemp said he hated facing Padres pitchers.Now we have some offence and were going to help them score runs, he said.On Thursday, there was a report the Padres were concerned that Kemp had arthritic hips.Ive got a little arthritis, he said, adding that its nothing to worry about.These hips are unbelievable, man, he said to laughter. These hips are great. You all keep talking about my hips. You want to see my hips, man? Strong hips.Upton, who will earn $14.5 million in the final year of his contract, had 29 homers and 102 RBIs last season. That deal has yet to be finalized.Preller seems to be a later-day Trader Jack McKeon, just without the cigar. McKeon was general manager of the Padres when they went to the World Series in 1984, earning his nickname for his fondness for deals.The Padres also got catcher Tim Federowicz and $32 million from the Dodgers to help defray the remaining $107 million on Kemps deal. The Padres obligation of $75 million to Kemp during the next five years becomes the biggest contract in club history. The Dodgers got catcher Yasmani Grandal and right-handers Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin.Myers and Hanigan came over from Tampa Bay in an 11-player, three-team deal. The Padres gave up catcher Rene Rivera and four prospects. Shortly after that trade was finalized Friday morning, Preller flipped Hanigan for Middlebrooks.Upton and a minor league pitcher cost Preller four prospects, including lefty Max Fried.The Padres had a historically awful offence in the first half of 2014. Although they played better in the second half, they finished at the bottom of the majors with a .226 average, .292 on-base percentage and 535 runs. Their 109 homers were the second fewest in the baseball.___Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson Cheap Jordans Australia . Perhaps as important, shes sending a message to 17-year-old gold medal favourite Sara Takanashi of Japan. Iraschko-Stolz relegated Takanashi, who has 10 World Cup victories this season, to second place in two of three training jumps Saturday. Jordans Australia Sale .Y. - Alex Rodriguez paid $305,000 for evidence that could be used in the case involving the Biogenesis of America drug clinic, the Daily News reported Saturday. http://www.jordansaustralia.com/. Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). Buy Cheap Jordan Australia .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Jordans Shoes Australia .com) - The Atlanta Hawks have stepped up to every challenge during their 14-game winning streak and will face another daunting task Friday with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in town.MOOSE JAW, Sask. -- The Medicine Hat Tigers moved atop the Western Hockey Leagues overall standings with a 4-1 win against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday. Tommy Vannelli scored twice and Hunter Shinkaruk and Cole Sanford added singles for the Tigers (6-1-1), who are one point clear of Eastern Conference rival Prince Albert as well as Spokane and Seattle in the West. Travis Brown had the lone goal for the Warriors (4-4-0). --- SILVERTIPS 4 OIL KINGS 2 EDMONTON -- Matt Pufahl and Joshua Winquist each scored twice as Everett held on against the Oil Kings. Pufahl and Winquist each an empty-net goal during the final minute of the game for the Silvertips (5-1-1), while Austin Lotz stopped 28 shots. Cody Corbett scored both goals for Edmonton (3-5-0), including once during that frantic final minute. Tristan Jarry meanwhile made 27 saves for the Oil Kings. --- ICE 5 HURRICANES 2 LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -- Sam Reinharts two goals paced Kootenay past the Hurricanes. Zach McPhee, Levi Cable and Zak Zborosky also scored for the Ice (4-3-1). Macoy Erkamps and Axel Blomqvist replied for Lethbridgee (1-5-1).dddddddddddd Mackenzie Skapski stopped 25 shots for Kootenay, while at the other end of the ice Corbin Boes made 36 saves. --- HITMEN 5 BRONCOS 4 SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. -- Greg Chases power-play goal 30 seconds into the third period completed the comeback for Calgary. The Hitmen (4-3-0) were trailing 4-2 before Calder Brooks goal 10:07 into the second started Calgarys rally. Radel Fazleev had two goals for the Hitmen, Zane Jones added a single and Mack Shields made 20 saves. Coda Gordon led the Broncos (5-2-1) with two goals, Colby Cave and Tanner LeSann also scored and Eetu Laurikainen stopped 29 shots. --- BLADES 6 GIANTS 1 SASKATOON -- The Blades offence erupted with five goals in the third period against Vancouver. Nick Zajac scored twice, and Saskatoon (2-5-1) also got singles from David Nemecek, Ryan Graham, Graham Millar and Nelson Nogier. The lone goal for Vancouver (1-6-1) came from Dalton Thrower in the third, before Saskatoons goal frenzy. Blades goaltender Alex Moodie finished with 25 saves, while Payton Lee had 28 stops of his own for Vancouver. ' ' '