Gästebuch » he Timberwolves decided to dismiss Saunders

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers try to stay unbeaten on the young season when they visit the Sacramento Kings Friday night. Portland has high expectations for this season behind LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard. Aldridge recorded 27 points and Lillard added 10 with five assists in Wednesdays 106-89 victory over the Kevin Durant-less Oklahoma City Thunder. Wesley Matthews had 22 points and Robin Lopez chipped in 11 to go along with a game-best 10 rebounds. The Trail Blazers, who needed a big fourth quarter (31-12) to dispatch the Thunder, made 44.8 percent from the floor and scored 20 points off 15 OKC turnovers. I was pleased the way we did it in the second half with defense, Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. Defense led to some good offense at the end. Nicolas Batum had 16 points and Chris Kaman 12 off the bench in his Portland debut. The Kings opened their season with a 95-77 loss at home to the Golden State Warriors Wednesday, as DeMarcus Cousins continued his FIBA World Cup dominance with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Cousins didnt get much support with 14 points from Rudy Gay and 13 by newcomer Darren Collison. Ben McLemore didnt score in 26 minutes of action and missed all five of his shots for Sacramento, which hit a lowly 30.8 percent from the field and just 3-of-18 3-pointers. Golden State scored 26 points off 27 turnovers. Cousins turned the ball over six times. It was at 5:40 in the third quarter when we were up by one, and we turned into the Keystone Cops, Kings head coach Michael Malone said. The Kings, whose season high for turnovers last season was 25, had won their last 13 openers at home. Portland defeated Sacramento three times in four attempts last season. The two teams have split the past 16 encounters in Californias capital city. The Trail Blazers lead the all-time series, 121-75 (80-44 in Sacramento era). Nike Australia Shoes Sale . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. Nike Mens Shoes Australia . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute. http://www.cheapnikeaustraliashoes.com/ . Directly ahead was open field, the end zone and the Seattle Seahawks place in the NFC championship game. Nike Shoes Australia Sale . – Team Canadas Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 67 at Craigowan Golf and Country Club to jump into the lead at the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday. Australia Cheap Nike Shoes . You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN2 at 6pm et/3pm pt. The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener.Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - The Minnesota Timberwolves officially named Flip Saunders as the franchises new head coach on Friday. Saunders served as the Timberwolves bench boss for parts of 10 seasons from 1995-2005 and oversaw the most successful era of the franchises history, highlighted by trip to the Western Conference finals following a franchise- best 58-24 regular-season record in 2003-04. "After an exhaustive process and several thorough discussions with Flip, we came to the conclusion that he was the stabilizing force needed to lead our team," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement. "Flip led us to our most successful seasons; he knows what it takes to win in the NBA as his track record speaks for itself." After struggling to a 25-26 record to start the 2004-05 season, the Timberwolves decided to dismiss Saunders, who returned to the organization in May 2013 as president of basketball operations. He also took a minority ownership stake in thhe team.dddddddddddd "In talking to Glen, we came to the decision that this outcome would be the best for our franchise," said Saunders, who will continue to serve as the teams president of basketball operations. "I will work tirelessly to bring back the success our franchise experienced in the late 90s to early 2000s. To that end, I will assemble a diverse, experienced coaching staff that will bring out the best in our players." Saunders also spent time as head coach of the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards before his return to the Twin Cities. He has a record of 638-526 in parts of 16 seasons, including 411-326 with the Wolves. He replaces the retired Rick Adelman, who spent three seasons with the Wolves and 23 years as a head coach in the NBA. Adelman guided Minnesota to a record of 97-133, including 40-42 this past season. The Wolves missed the playoffs for the 10th straight year, but the 40 wins were the clubs most since a 44-38 mark in 2004-05. ' ' '