slowly, before the Falcons finally got him involved. The A

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said during a recent interview that he doesnt think the team will trade Ricky Rubio.Rubio has been the topic of widespread trade speculation ever since Minnesota drafted point guard Kris Dunn with the No. 5 overall pick last month. Rubio also publicly acknowledged before the draft that the 2016-17 season could be his last with the Timberwolves.But when asked about a potential trade involving the Spanish point guard, Taylor told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he doesnt see that as a likely possibility.I just think the coach, everybody, likes Ricky, Taylor told the Star Tribune. I think we want him to come in and improve on his shooting. But his other things, he plays defense, he gets assists, he helps the others get better. He has some wonderful qualities.Rubio, 25, has three years remaining on his current contract with Minnesota. But in an interview last month with Spains Catalunya Radio, he said that hed have to start thinking about teams that can get to the playoffs and win in the Finals if the rebuilding Timberwolves miss the postseason again next season.?Minnesota has not reached the playoffs since the 2003-04 season.Minnesota has assembled a young core of players that includes Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Dunn, a two-time Big East Player of the Year.The Timberwolves hired Tom Thibodeau as their head coach in April, and Taylor told the Tribune that the new coaching staff will attempt to help Rubio improve his shooting.I think the coach wants to bring an assistant coach to help Ricky on his shooting and I think thats where were going to start out and go and well see how good Kris Dunn is, Taylor said.The 6-foot-4 Rubio averaged 10.1 points, 8.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 76 games last season but shot just 37.4 percent from the floor. His highest shooting percentage in a single season was 38.1 percent in 2013-14. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Online . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Store . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/311n-custom-nike-tampa-bay-rays-jerseys-baseball.html . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Outlet . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Custom Nike St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Editors note: Maura Healey, the attorney general of Massachusetts who played womens college basketball at Harvard, pays tribute to Pat Summitt.Like many, I awoke this week to the news that legendary Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt had died. Throughout the day, I exchanged texts with fellow hoopsters, coaches and friends, all saddened by the news. I was moved by the tributes and stories chronicling her career and impact. Pat Summitt is rightly hailed as a pioneer, a trailblazer, a role model and an inspiration. She got the most out of her players, put womens hoops on the map and profoundly changed the perception of gender across American sports culture. She broke records, pushed teams and players beyond what they even imagined was possible, and she showed that girls can play.Coming into coaching just after Title IX went into effect, she made the most of that opportunity, and over the course of her career blew doors open to advance gender equity and became the winningest basketball coach in NCAA Division I history to boot.I didnt know Pat Summitt and I didnt play for her. But for me, like so many, Pat Summitt was a big-time influence on my life. Sadly, its in her passing that I find myself appreciating all that she meant.In a hot July summer when I was 15 years old, I made a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. I was on my way home to New Hampshire with my coach following play in the national AAU tournament in Oxford, Mississippi. We came in fifth place and I took home an All-American award.I was excited and determined to visit the playground and classroom of a coach I hoped to play for someday. Because if you were a young girl growing up then, the coach you knew, the one you wanted to play for, the ultimate destination, was Pat Summitt. When I did my ball handling, shooting and zigzag drills in cold winter gyms and outdoors on playground hard-top under pelting summer sun, when I did fingertip pushups and sit-ups in my bedroom calculating that Id play on four Olympic teams before I was done, my eye was on Pat Summitt. Because when you were a young girl with big hoop dreams, when you thought you could do and be anything, you dreamed of playing for Pat Summitt in a Lady Vols uniform.So when we pulled up to the athletic complex that day, I felt like I was visiting the promised land. Maybe it was because of my wide eyes -- or maybe it was our funny accents -- the kind receptionist who looked like shed seen this movie before took pity on us and said that Coach Summitt was on the road recruiting, but that I could meet with one of her assistants. A short while later, out came assistant coach (and current Tennessee head coach) Holly Warlick.Holly had been a super player and a point guard like myself, so I was immediately pumped. (In retrospect, I can imagine that poor Holly had to deal with this scenario many times each week.) She walked us around the facility and showed us the trophies and Lady Vols memorabilia. I was like a kid in the candy store; I bought a Lady Vols T-shirt at the campus store and we hit the road. After, Coach Warlick sent me a nice letter and told me to keep in touch -- a gracious touch but one I now realize was extended to probably thousands of girls who showed up similarly unannounced at the door. But I was pumped and returned to New Hampshire fired up.Later on, I got invited to try out for the national team. I went to the trials and was promptly cut after the first couple of sessions. Before I did, I had the chance to scrimmageunder the watchful eye of Pat Summitt, who was helping scout for the team. And for those few hours one day, I felt like a champ, getting to share the hardwood with Pat Summitt.dddddddddddd.I remember at the end, before heading home, I wanted to go up to her and tell her how great she was. Instead, I got shy and merely mumbled something like, Thanks for having me. I learned a lot. But, Ill never forget, she looked at me with those steely blue eyes, and said, Just keep working hard. That was it. No fuss, no muss. That was my first and only interaction with Pat Summitt.Years later, after I had the chance to play college ball for a great coach and an even better person, Kathy Delaney-Smith at Harvard, I watched and rooted for Pat Summitts teams. It was visceral. I couldnt exactly explain why I felt that way, but I did. Even as the New England favorites UConn Huskies -- a great program with great players and a great coach -- came to dominate, I still always rooted for Pat.Im older now. I still play, but very poorly. But I think I better understand.Pat Summitt made it OK for girls like me to compete, to play hard, to bring it with sweat, conviction and emotion. To dream big, even foolishly, but to dream. She made us believe in ourselves and value ourselves as women competing in sport. But, importantly, she made America sit up and take notice -- to recognize that women bring as much to any endeavor as their male counterparts.I think that what I was also tuning into -- but I didnt know it at the time -- was the power of leadership. Basketball is a team game; success depends upon getting five players to work together in sync on the court, and for the entire team to get those on the court in the best position to succeed and win at any given time. Leadership is about recognizing the skills and talents -- and limitations -- of all the players and then figuring out how to maximize their efforts in a way that gets collective results.Pat Summitt was willing to lead, to take chances, to advocate. And she trusted her players and her coaching staff. She put the right people in place in the right time and got them working together. She also was tough. And tough is good. Because if somethings worth doing, its worth doing with intensity and intent.Look at clips of her coaching from the sidelines. With just one piercing, penetrating look, Pat Summitt could convey to a player that she wasnt doing enough. But look at the same time, at the hand extended, a hand that says I believe in you. I encourage you.Leaders inspire and push people to be their better selves. And thats what I took from watching Pat Summitt -- taking whatever skills you bring to the dance and making that workDEKALB, Ill. -- Marin Maric scored 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds and Northern Illinois defeated Olivet Nazarene 95-69 on Wednesday night.Aaric Armstead added 16 points, Levi Bradley 12, Justin Thomas 11 and Dontel Highsmith and Eugene German 10 each for the Huskies (5-5), who shot 58.8 percent in their first home game since Nov. 26 to snap a two-game losing streak.Northern Illinois came in ranked second in the Mid-American Conference at 16.1 forced turnovers per game and cashed in 21 Wednesday night for 31 points.The Huskies trailed 24-17 in the first half then outscored the Tigers 30-11 before the break. A 10-2 run to open the second half made it 57-37. The Huskies would lead by as many as 29.The NAIA Tigers, playing the game as an exhibition, shot 50 percent and were led by Tyler Crater with 12 points. Custom Baltimore Orioles Nike Jerseys . 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. Custom Houston Astros Nike Jerseys . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Fake Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Custom New York Yankees Nike Jerseys . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. TAMPA, Fla. -- Theres no letup in Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons.The NFC South leaders tightened their grip on first place in the division with a 43-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Ryan throwing for 344 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions on Thursday night.The victory avenged a 7-point home loss to Tampa Bay in the season opener. It also reiterated how much the Falcons (6-3) have progressed as a team since the earlier meeting.First game of the year, they played a little better than we did that day, Ryan said after tossing scoring passes to four different targets. I felt like we have continued to improve from that time of year. For me, thats like the best thing from a confidence standpoint -- that we continue to get better week in and week out.Julio Jones had another big game , with eight receptions for 111 yards. In 10 career meetings against Tampa Bay, hes averaged 110.6 yards per game with eight touchdowns.It was the receivers fifth 100-yard game of the season, 33rd of his career.The amount of guys that get involved in the game is a big topic for us, Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said.Levine Toilolo, Patrick DiMarco and Austin Hooper also caught TD passes from Ryan, who leads the NFL with 2,980 yards and 23 touchdowns vs. four interceptions.Receiver Taylor Gabriel scored on a 9-yard run.Jameis Winston threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns for the Bucs (3-5), including scoring passes of 3 and 24 yards to Mike Evans, who had 11 receptions for 150 yards.Both of Tampa Bays young stars finished the game on the sideline, with Evans being evaluated for a possible concussion and Winston limping off after being shaken up when he was tackled trying to score on a two-point conversion play with just under seven minutes remaining.Winston was tackled around the ankle by Atlantas Brooks Reed and also hit by cornerback Jalen Collins. He said he was fine and didnt leave the game because he was injured.Coach took me out, Winston said.Mike Glennon finished up for the Bucs, taking his first regular season snaps since 2014. He threw a late TD pass to Cameron Brate to cut into a 23-point deficit.ddddddddddddSome things to know about the Falcons and Buccaneers:MOVING FORWARD: The Falcons are positioned well in the division, but dont want to get ahead of themselves. One of the things I do like about our team is were able to stay on the present moment and focus on the team that is at hand. ... Our focus this week was on us and how well we could attack, so were going to stay right in that window. Tampa Bay has lost two straight on the heels of a two-game winning streak that got them back in the division race. Were 3-5 at the halfway point, and thats what we earned. Theres half a season left. Ive got to figure out a way to help this team play up to its potential because right now theyre not, Bucs coach Dirk Kotter said. And thats on me.DEPENDABLE JONES: Jones started slowly, before the Falcons finally got him involved. The All-Pro receiver had half his production coming during a two-minute stretch of the second quarter. Early in the second half with the Falcons only leading 20-14, Jones caught passes from Matt Ryan on four consecutive plays, all for first downs, during an 86-yard touchdown drive. His play kind of got us going, Ryan said.THE BUCS STOP HERE: Falcons DT Grady Jarrett stopped a promising Tampa Bay drive with sacks on successive plays late in the first half. The Falcons finished with three sacks, hiking their season total to 21 in nine games. They had 19 last season, fewest in the NFL.LYNCH HONORED: Retired S John Lynch became the ninth member of the Bucs Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony. Lynch earned nine Pro Bowl selections during a 15-year career with Tampa Bay and the Denver Broncos. He was a captain on the Bucs only Super Bowl championship team (2002) and ranks fifth in team history with 164 games played. Lynch was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Honor earlier this month.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' ' for the team and getting people together to get it done.Look, I didnt have the opportunity to play for her, so this is only what I observed. Pat Summitt was a leader. You could put her on any battlefield, in any board room, and she would make you a winner. Great coaches know how to inspire, they know how to push people beyond where they think they can go, and they know when to give a high five, a hug, or a stern talking to.Pat Summitt was a genius. She knew how to do it. She changed the face of what it meant to be a female athlete. To compete, to work hard, to sweat, to get angry, to rally, to win. She knew defeat and she knew victory, and she knew the difference that mattered. The country is a poorer place with her gone. I never got to tell her this: She mattered to me, and a whole bunch of people. And thats a great legacy. Touching people you never knew you touched.Well before orange was the new black, we had Pat Summitt.Its a playbook to follow. ' ' '