- The Minnesota Timberwolves best days came wit

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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves best days came with Flip Saunders on the sideline. Cheap Air Max 270 Free Shipping . Now that the organization is shrouded in uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of star forward Kevin Love, Saunders is returning to the bench to try revive a franchise that hasnt made the playoffs in 10 years. With the teams coaching search complicated by Loves status, the Timberwolves decided the best course of action was to have Saunders, who was hired last season as president of basketball operations, step in for a second stint as coach until the situation stabilized, Saunders said in a text message Thursday. The official announcement will come at a news conference on Friday afternoon. Saunders previously coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005. He won 411 games in 10 1/2 seasons in Minnesota and guided the Wolves to the only eight playoff appearances in franchise history, including the Western Conference finals in 2004. He has a career record of 638-526 in 16 seasons as an NBA head coach, a career that also includes stops in Detroit, where he coached the Pistons to three straight Eastern Conference finals, and Washington. Saunders is joining a short list in the NBA of coaches who also have final-say executive authority, one that includes newly hired Stan Van Gundy in Detroit, Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers and, to a certain extent, Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Saunders will continue to work closely with GM Milt Newton in the front office while handling coaching duties. When Rick Adelman retired at the end of the regular season, he did so in part to try to help the Timberwolves move forward with a plan to show Love, a three-time All-Star who can opt out of his contract next summer, that there was a long-term plan in place for success. But Loves tenuous situation didnt help the search process, with trade rumours serving as a caution sign for several high-profile candidates. Saunders was in the market for a coach with extensive head coaching experience, either in the NBA or at a major college program, one that could command the respect of a young locker room and also handle the media scrutiny that comes with the questions surrounding Love. Names like Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan and Fred Hoiberg came and went without any traction. The Wolves hosted Memphis coach Dave Joerger for an interview two weekends ago, but Grizzlies owner Robert Pera sweetened his contract to keep him around. Sam Mitchell, Lionel Hollins, Scott Skiles and several others received consideration as well. Unable to find what they felt was the right fit for a delicate job, Saunders and owner Glen Taylor met this week to reassess the situation, according to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team was not publicly discussing the search process. Taylor said when he brought Saunders back as team president that he would not put him back on the bench. He fired Saunders as coach once before, in 2005 when Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, unhappy with their contracts, submarined the follow-up to the teams stirring run to the Western Conference finals. Saunders was also hopeful that he could find someone other than himself to take over the team. But with Loves status preventing them from pursuing the coaches they felt would fit best, the two decided that Saunders should take over for at least this season if not longer. The Timberwolves have not given up on convincing Love to play out this season in Minnesota and re-sign next summer to a contract that can pay him and extra year and about $26.5 million more than any other team. It was not immediately clear what the appointment of Saunders would do for Loves desires to stay or go. The Timberwolves planned to meet with Love to see where he stands now that the head coaching vacancy has been filled. Love has yet to make the playoffs in his six seasons in the league and is believed to be growing impatient with the Wolves, who finished 40-42 and in 10th place in the West this year. Love created a stir when he spent last weekend in Boston, where the Celtics are rumoured to be making a run at trading for the 25-year-old power forward before the June 26 draft. Just how long Saunders will coach remains to be seen. There is the possibility that Saunders will add assistants to his staff who could be groomed to eventually take over. The Wolves were expected to reach out to Mitchell, a former Timberwolves player and Raptors head coach, and David Blatt, who has spearheaded Russias return to Olympic relevance and coaches in Israel, to gauge their interest in joining his staff. Cheap Air Max 270 . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. Cheap Air Max 270 Mens . He chirped to the caddie of Brandt Snedeker about their money game, a Mickelson tradition at the majors. Lefty was in good spirits Monday at the British Open, except for having to return the claret jug. http://www.cheapairmax270.net/ . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jameis Winston has been benched for the first half of Saturdays game against Clemson after making "offensive and vulgar" comments about women and Florida State officials say that the quarterback will undergo internal discipline. The decision was announced Wednesday in a joint statement by Florida State interim President Dr. Garnett S. Stokes and athletic director Stan Wilcox. Several students tweeted Winston stood on campus Tuesday and shouted a lascivious comment about female anatomy that may have derived from an internet meme. The president and AD said, "As the universitys most visible ambassadors, student-athletes at Florida State are expected to uphold at all times high standards of integrity and behaviour that reflect well upon themselves, their families, coaches, teammates, the Department of Athletics and Florida State University. Student-athletes are expected to act in a way that reflects dignity and respect for others." The 20-year-old Winston addressed his inappropriate comments before Wednesdays practice at his weekly press conference, saying: "I have to tone it down." The Heisman Trophy winner gave a statement in which he added, "I just want to apologize to my university, my coaches and my teammates. Im not a me person, but in that situation it was a selfish act. Thats not how you do things. I really want to apologize to my teammates because I have now made a selfish act for them." Winstons latest poor off-field decision comes when Florida State is under scrutiny. Florida State is currently under investigation by the Department of Education for the way it handles reports of sexual assault, including a case involving Winston. The investigation was prompted by a complaint from a FSU student who says Winston assaulted her in 2012. Florida State Attorney Willie Meggs declined to press charges against Winston last fall. A lawyer for the woman says the university is currently conducting its own investigation of that incident. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher had said earlier Wednesday that the quarterback would be held accountable for his "derogatory" remarks. "Its not something we want or were indicative of and its not a good decision," Fisher said. "It was something that has to be addressed. "You cant make certain statements that are derogatory or inflammatory in any way toward any person, race, gender," said Fisher, whose top-ranked Seminoles host No. Cheap Air Max 270 Wholesale. 22 Clemson on Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown. "The statements in which you make are always going to be made more public than statements that other individuals make," the coach said. "And thats just the nature of the business of who you are and what you are. Thats the situation it is and you have to understand that." Winston is no stranger to unwanted attention. While playing for Florida State baseball team, he was suspended for three games and completed 20 hours of community service after acknowledging he stole $32 worth of crab legs from a local grocery store in April. He faced criticism nationwide and was the subject of taunts and jokes in print, online and on social media. Winston has had other run-ins with police since enrolling at Florida State. Police questioned Winston and other FSU players in November 2012 after 13 windows were broken at an apartment complex near Doak Campbell Stadium after an apparent BB gun battle. That same month, Winston and teammate Chris Casher were held at gunpoint by campus police for hunting squirrels. The two told police they were shooting squirrels with a pellet gun along a bike trail. Police were also called after a Burger King employee called to complain that Winston was stealing soda. Winston was not arrested in any of those three incidents. The Seminoles rolled over Clemson last season 51-14 en route to a national championship. Winston threw for 444 yards, three touchdowns and ran for another score in a game that put him in the drivers seat for the Heisman trophy. "I want to be out on the field with my team, but I did something, so I have to accept the consequences," Winston said. "Im going to apologize to my team. Were not going to think about that, because we dont think about negative things. Were going to think about moving forward and winning the game." Florida State sports information director Elliott Finebloom asked for football-related questions only after Winston read his statement. He did not allow Winston to answer three different questions during the nearly nine-minute session. The last time ended the press conference. ' ' '