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MINNEAPOLIS - When the Minnesota Timberwolves walk into Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night to face the Cleveland Cavaliers, they will be staring their former franchise player right in the face for the first time since he was traded last summer.Kevin Love has moved on after six frustrating seasons in Minnesota, and Timberwolves president and coach Flip Saunders said he harbours no grudges against him for asking to be traded. But Saunders cant say the same for Timberwolves fans.Minnesota people are pretty loyal. You turn on Minnesota, they dont forgive you, Saunders said after practice on Monday. So I think people probably appreciated him while he was here. But you leave under the terms that he did, just the way Minnesota people are, theyre not pretty forgiving along those lines.Love made three All-Star teams in six seasons with the Wolves, including being voted a starter last year. He worked tirelessly to change his body and improve his game and became a pillar in the community by reaching out to fans and organizing a coat drive every winter.But things started to sour in 2012 when previous president of basketball operations David Kahn declined to offer him a full, maximum five-year contract extension. An infuriated Love signed a four-year deal with an opt-out after three seasons and never forgave Kahn or Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor for the slight.Saunders replaced Kahn in 2013 and spent all last season trying to convince Love to stay. But the damage was already done.He was pretty much set in stone the minute he got his four-year contract, Saunders said. At least thats what he says.Love wanted to play for a winner after six straight seasons of missing the playoffs. When LeBron James decided to return home to Cleveland, the Cavaliers engaged in a deal that sent the No. 1 overall picks from the two previous drafts — Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett — to Minnesota team Love with James and Kyrie Irving in a formidable new trio of stars.The Wolves also received Thaddeus Young from Philadelphia in the three-team deal and were determined to use a mixture of veterans and dynamic youngsters to try to at least equal the 40 victories they had last year in Loves final season. But the teams three best players — Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin — have played in 23 combined games due to injuries. So the young Wolves (5-21) have sunk to the bottom of the Western Conference.Its tough to judge because I do believe all of our young guys will be a lot better when we get those other guys back, Saunders said.Wiggins has shown flashes of jaw-dropping ability on both ends of the court and is the front-runner for rookie of the year now that Milwaukees Jabari Parker is out with a knee injury. But he has also frustrated Saunders at times with inconsistent effort in games, and the coach is trying to coax higher energy out of the prized piece of the Love haul.Our young guys have probably hit the wall a little bit with the way our schedules been and how much theyve had to play and the responsibility theyve had to play with, Saunders said. Theyre probably as mentally drained as they are physically.The Cavaliers have been mostly healthy, but are having their own issues. At 16-10 and fifth in the lacklustre Eastern Conference, they have not jelled as quickly as anticipated under first-year head coach David Blatt. Loves averages of 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 12.5 shots per game are his lowest since his second year in the league as he gets used to life as a supporting actor in James movie.Saunders said he expected Wiggins and Bennett to have a little extra motivation going into the game on Tuesday night against the team that traded them.Theres always motivation, Wiggins said. I think thats obvious.Does he feel any connection to the Cavaliers organization?No, Wiggins said with a chuckle. I was there for like three days,Even though wins are hard to come by, Wiggins reiterated that Minnesota is a better situation for him at this point in his career.Im being put in a bigger position, a bigger role here than I wouldve been on that team, Wiggins said. Thats just helping me grow more mentally and physically.Whatever happens on Tuesday night, the real test will come Jan. 31, when Love returns to Minnesota. Kevin Garnett received a thunderous standing ovation from a sold out Target Center crowd in his first game back with Boston after he was traded in 2007, but Saunders thinks Loves return will be different.They know KG stayed many times. He stayed when things were tough, didnt run from the situation, Saunders said. He turned down trades three times to go to Boston and finally the organization had to convince Kevin to take the trade. It wasnt where Kevin said, trade me I want to leave. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . QUARTERBACKS Carson Palmer (vs Colts)Last week: 30/42, 419 yards, 2 TDsWinners of their last three and now tied for the final wild card spot in the NFC, the Cardinals are worth keeping an eye on. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . -- Creighton apparently has Villanovas number. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . You can watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 3pm et/Noon pt. The Thunder reclaimed the home-court advantage LA took with a Game 1 win on Friday night with a 118-112 road win in Game 3. BLAINE, Minn. -- Tuesday qualifier Marco Dawson shot a 9-under 63 on Friday to take the lead in the Champions Tours 3M Championship, leaving Bernhard Langer a stroke back five days after the German stars record-breaking victory in the Senior British Open. Dawson, playing the back nine first at TPC Twin Cities, birdied three of his first four holes and chipped in for eagle on No. 18. After a birdie on the par-5 third hole, he birdied three of his final four holes. Looking for his first tour victory, Dawson has three top-10 finishes in eight starts this year, including a tie for fifth three weeks ago in the U.S. Senior Open. He tied for 39th in the Senior British Open. "Every time I got over the ball I felt like I was going to hit a good shot," said Dawson, noting he hit his irons exceptionally well. "If I wasnt pin high I was very close." Langer, the two-time 3M champion who won by a tour-record 13 strokes Sunday at Royal Porthcawl, was tied for second with Jeff Maggert, Rocco Mediate and Vijay Singh. Langer holed out from 155 yards for an eagle on the par-4 14th and added birdies on Nos. 16 and 18. However, he birdied just one of the four par 5s. "Youve got to bring your A game if you want to be up there," Langer said. "Theres a lot of low scores out there, but you still had to do it." Mediate, a part-time Minnesota resident, made a long eagle on the par-5 18th to cap a bogey-free round. "I love the feeling that this is a sprint .dddddddddddd.. and if you dont get off to a good start the first day you pretty much dont have a chance to win," he said. "If you shot 1 or 2-under today, youre done." Kenny Perry opened with a 65, and Mike Goodes, Gary Hallberg, Gene Sauers and Bobby Wadkins shot 66. Paul Goydos had a 67 in his debut on the 50-and-over tour. On a perfect day for golf with temperatures in the low 80s and little wind, 56 of 81 players broke par. "It was there for the taking," Hallberg said. Maggert birdied four of six holes in one stretch on the front side, and birdied three of the final four, but settled for par on the par-5 No. 18. "I didnt think it was that easy of a golf course when I played it for the first time Wednesday," Maggert said, "but I started looking at the history and some of the scores ... and knew I better come out today and try to make a lot of birdies." The winning score has been at least 15 under in each of the past seven years, including two winning totals of better than 20 under. An eagle on the par-5 third hole got Singh to 3 under. Playing in only his second Champions Tour event of the season, he bogeyed No. 4, but three straight birdies on the front got him to 5 under through eight. Sixty-nine-year-old Hale Irwin, a three-time winner of the event, bettered his age with a 68. Defending champion Tom Pernice Jr. had a 69. ' ' '