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MINNEAPOLIS -- One meeting down, one to go for Memphis coach Dave Joerger and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Joerger met with Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders about Minnesotas coaching vacancy on Thursday and is scheduled to meet with owner Glen Taylor at some point this weekend, a person with knowledge of the process told The Associated Press. If Joerger makes a good impression with Taylor and the Timberwolves and Grizzlies can come to some sort of agreement on compensation for to get him out of his contract, all signs point to Joerger replacing the retired Rick Adelman back in his home state. The 40-year-old Joerger grew up in Staples, about 150 miles northeast of Minneapolis, and played collegiately at Division-II Minnesota State, Moorhead. Joerger went 50-32 in his first season as an NBA head coach with the Grizzlies, leading an injury-plagued team back from a 10-15 start to the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoff field. After the Grizzlies lost to Oklahoma City in seven games in the first round, owner Robert Pera made the surprising decision to fire two of his top executives, including the one most responsible for elevating Joerger from assistant to replace Lionel Hollins. The disarray has led Joerger to look elsewhere, and the prospects of returning home to coach in front of family and friends, and work for a team president that he has known for two decades, has him ready to make the move. When Joerger was just starting to break into the coaching ranks, he attended Timberwolves practices run by Saunders, who coached the team from 1995-2005. Joerger and Saunders hit it off before Joerger embarked on a coaching journey that took him through International Basketball Association, the CBA and the NBDL before landing on the Grizzlies bench as an assistant. Joerger spent six years as an assistant before getting the chance to be he head coach. Joergers resume appeals to Saunders because he travelled a similar path early in his career, coaching in the CBA before joining the Timberwolves organization. Saunders has been looking for a candidate with head coaching experience who is prepared to handle a potentially combustible situation with forward Kevin Love. The three-time All-Star can opt out of his contract after next season, which has raised the possibility of him being traded at some point this summer. Joerger deftly navigated sticky situations in Memphis last season, especially during the teams poor start. He also showed some flexibility to change a few his offensive philosophies and return the grind-it-out style that the physical Grizzlies preferred, and the team took off. In Minnesota, Joerger would take over a team that went 40-42 last season and missed the playoffs for the 10th straight year. Tobin Heath Jersey . Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders. Carli Lloyd USA Jersey . Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. http://www.officialsocceruswntshop.com/lindsey-horan-usa-jersey/ . The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor. Alex Morgan Jersey .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Alex Morgan USA Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. INDIANAPOLIS -- Johnny Manziel shed the Hollywood image Friday -- maybe for good. The brash-talking, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Texas A&M entered and exited the Lucas Oil Stadium media room through a back door. He ignored the television screens around him, monitors that provided live coverage of his media availability and that had been showing his college football highlights prior to his arrival. And it seemed Johnny Football had suddenly transformed himself into Johnny Business. "This is a job now. There are guys families, coaches families and jobs and all kinds of things on the line," he said in a stern, deliberate voice at the NFLs scouting combine. "For me, it wont be a hard thing to kick. Im extremely focused on whatever organization Ill be at and really pouring my heart out trying to be football 24-7 with that team." What he has to prove now is that he means every word. Since bursting onto the national stage in his Heisman-winning freshmen season, Manziel has been living large. Hes been courtside at NBA games, played golf at Pebble Beach, partied in Cabo and become a feature attraction for memorabilia hounds. Hes participated in dunk contests, publicly complained about life in College Station, Texas, developed a friendship with Tom Brady and never been shy about -- anything. But in Indianapolis, none of that stuff means a thing. Here, scouts and NFL front-office executives are treating Manziel as just another draft hopeful in the standard blue-and-green warm-up suit. Theyll see how he runs, how he tests and perhaps most important, how he answers questions. Most teams want to know whether this 21-year-old, fun-loving football star is mature enough to handle millions of dollars and live up to the tag of franchise quarterback. Fridays media availability may have been a good start. Rather than showcasing his bravado, Manziel, at times, sounded almost apologetic for some of the things hes said and done recently. "The main thing I wanted to portray that was more in the subplots of the article," he said, when asked about a story in which he seemed to warn Houston about bypassing him with the No. 1 overall pick, "was that whatever team I do end up with, whenever I do get to that team, whenever I am in that organization, each one of those guys is now my teammate, my brother and if Im on the field with those guys, Im going to try to be the best football player I can be." Other times, he sounded almost defiant. "I knew who I was meeting with, butt Im not sure of his official title.dddddddddddd Something along the lines of just a counselor," he said when pressed about reports he was being treated for alcoholism and anger management while at Texas A&M. When it became clear the 2012 Heisman winner measured in at 5-foot-11 3/4 inches, 207 pounds, shorter and lighter than his listed college measurements of 6-1 and 210, and shorter and lighter than many NFL teams seek in a starting quarterback, he wouldnt confirm the measurements. Instead, he explained that he more heart and passion for this sport than anyone in the draft. Not all the news was bad for Manziel. Though he stands about five inches shorter than Blake Bortles, another quarterback vying to wind up in Houston, Manziel came in with bigger hands -- a potentially big advantage on draft weekend. "I think it (hand size) is something that is highly underrated," said Arizona coach Bruce Arians, who has tutored Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck among others. "It depends on where you play. If you play in Lucas Oil, not too bad. Now, if you play in Green Bay and you struggle with controlling a football when its cold and wet, thats a problem. That goes into the evaluation process hard." Theres little doubt about Manziels skills. In 2012, he broke the SECs single-season record for total offense (5,116 yards), became the fifth player in FBS history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in one season and then set an all-bowl rushing record for a quarterback (229 yards). After his jet-setting offseason and an NCAA investigation into autographs on memorabilia, critics contended a distracted Manziel regressed. But he actually threw for more yards (4,116), more touchdowns (37) and wound up with a better passing efficiency (172.9) in 2013 than he did in 2012. The Texas native believes he will only continue to get better on a bigger stage. But what scouts and team executives must determine between now and Mays draft is whether Johnny Football is for real or whether this personality change is just one more part of his ongoing act. "Im from a small town of Kerrville, Texas, 20,000 people. That gets lost when people make me out to be a big Hollywood guy," Manziel said. "Sometimes you get caught up in certain things, but at the same time its about continuing to learn and continuing to adapt to everything thats going on in my life. Im not saying its always easy, but continuing to be who Ive always been is a big thing for me." ' ' '