MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves best days came with Flip Saunders on the sideline. Brad Nortman Jersey . 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, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not officially announced the move. A news conference was scheduled for Friday. 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 and Washington. Saunders is joining a short list in the NBA of coaches that 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. 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. 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. Melvin White Jersey . Phelps has entered the 100-meter butterfly and the 200 freestyle at the Charlotte Grand Prix meet in North Carolina next week, his coach, Bob Bowman, told The Associated Press on Monday night. Jordan Gross Jersey . - Tarik Black pulled a Big 12 championship T-shirt over his broad shoulders, slipped a title hat on his head, and then gave Andrew Wiggins and the rest of his teammates a hug. Starter Matt Jackson didnt have his best stuff and the Goldeyes bats failed to boom as the Sioux City Explorers whipped the Fish 6-1 in a getaway day matinee at Shaw Park on Wednesday. Jackson was tagged for five runs on nine hits in five innings of work and the only run the Goldeyes could muster was a solo home run by rightfielder Jordan Guida as the Fish dropped the rubber match of this three-game set with Sioux City and fell to 8-5 on the season. “They pitched really well against us, not just today but throughout the entire series,” said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney. “Today, their pitching dominated us. Weve been really struggling to put three or four good at bats together. Today, their starter did a real good job and they were solid out of the bullpen.” Mark Sobolewski and Peter Barrows each had a pair of runs batted in, former Canadian national team member Rene Tosoni hit a solo homer off Goldeyes reliever Kaohi Downing and former Goldeyes infielder Nate Samson had three hits and scored two runs as the Xs built a 5-0 lead and coasted to the series win. Pitcher Kohei Tsukada was terrific, holding the Goldeyes to onee run on four hits over six complete innings. Kony Ealy Jersey. Guida, the Goldeyes player of the game, went two-for-three with a walk and his solo homer in the fifth. Forney had kudos for his seldom-used utility player after the game. Guida is now hitting .583 in 12 at bats this season. “Jordan has had some real good at bats,” Forney said. “Hes going to the plate with a plan, hes patient and he knows what he wants up there. Hes been impressive.” Guida himself admitted that when he came to the plate in the fifth, a home run was the furthest thing from his mind. “I just wanted to get a pitch I could drive,” he said. “And I have to admit, I was trying to go the other way and the ball just left my bat and went out of the park.” Tsukada (1-0, 0.84 ERA) earned the win for Sioux City while Jackson (2-1, 3.50 ERA) suffered the loss. There was no save. The Goldeyes will now open a four-game home series with the Lincoln Saltdogs on Thursday night. Nick Hernandez (0-0, 8.00 ERA) will start for the Goldeyes while Zach Varce (1-0, 3.27 ERA) will take to the bump for Lincoln. Game time is 7 p.m. ' ' '
