matched Cleveland for the major league lead with their 10th shutout of the season. They have six shutouts since the All-St

MINNEAPOLIS -- In the winter of 1998, Ethan Casson started calling professional franchise after professional franchise, begging them to get his foot in the door in any capacity.One night, a human resources employee for the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up the phone and Casson talked his way into a meeting. He flew from the East Coast, met with several Timberwolves executives and, during the third quarter of a game against the Golden State Warriors, was offered an entry-level position on the business side of the operation at $24,000 per year.To think that what started as a cold call of me begging an HR person to let me come in and prove my worth 18 years later turned into me coming back as a CEO is amazing and certainly very special to me, Casson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.Casson had to sell his car and some other possessions to raise the money to pay for his move from Boston to the Twin Cities, but the leap of faith has paid off. Six years after he left the Timberwolves to climb the ladder with the San Francisco 49ers, he is returning as CEO to breathe new life into one of the NBAs struggling operations.Timberwolves President Chris Wright remembered the impression Casson left in those first face-to-face meetings.I told him were going to find a place for you in this franchise because you are exactly the type of person that we want build this franchise around, Wright said.Cassons first stint with the Timberwolves lasted 11 years. He worked his way up to senior vice president of corporate partnerships and met his future wife here before leaving for the 49ers in 2010.When he arrived in the Bay Area, the once-proud 49ers were in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought. Their revenue had dropped to near the bottom of the league and they were playing in an outdated stadium that couldnt compete with the shiny new ones popping up around the league. He leaves after helping to secure a 20-year, $220 million naming rights deal with Levis for the new stadium and rebuilding the franchises business operations.The Timberwolves have not made the playoffs since 2004, the longest active drought in the league. That futility has contributed significantly to plummeting revenue and a dwindling season ticket base.Im not saying its apples to apples, but I certainly feel Ive been on a six-year journey that involved a lot of similar themes, Casson said. And Ill apply all of those lessons to this next phase of my career.Casson replaces Rob Moor, the longtime CEO who stepped aside to work more closely with Wolves owner Glen Taylors other business interests. At 42 years old, Casson is part of a youth movement coming into the organization. Taylor also brought in 41-year-old New York real estate mogul Meyer Orbach and 35-year-old Chinese entrepreneur John Jiang as minority owners, and he hopes the three of them help bring a new perspective and energy to the business side that mirrors the vibe youngsters Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine are bringing to the team.I was very aware and respectful that taking on this role wasnt about coming in and fixing things that were broken, Casson said. I dont look at opportunities like this as somethings not working. I look at it as an opportunity to reset and plot out a different course or a different version of a course that moves the business forward.The challenges are real. The Timberwolves competitive dormancy buried them in a crowded sports marketplace. Tickets have been hard to sell and the NFLs Vikings, the NHLs Wild and MLBs Twins are competing for the corporate dollars.Ive been here for a long time, said Wright, who is entering his 25th season with the Wolves. Ive tried to do it what I consider the best way for the franchise given all of the different sort of environments weve found ourselves in over the last 12 years as weve not been making the playoffs. And I think Ethan is going to just bring a completely fresh, new look to all of that and lead us in the direction we need to be as a club in the 21st century.The Wolves have one of the most promising young cores in the league, a brand new practice facility in downtown Minneapolis and have begun renovations on the dusty Target Center.Theres a lot of momentum in and around the organization that made it very exciting for me as a fan and now as someone who is coming back as CEO, he said. That will come and go. The renovation will eventually be complete. The team will stabilize and be competitive. You still have to make sure the business model is sustainable and drivable. Thats what were going to be.Steph Curry Shoes From China . 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The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Although the shutout pleased Ricky Nolasco, he would have preferred to pitch this superbly a whole lot earlier in the season.The rest of his fellow Los Angeles Angels realize they also waited far too long to get rolling this year.Even if this season is lost, the right-hander and his new team both enjoyed a victory requiring no help from Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.Nolasco pitched a four-hitter for his fifth career shutout and his first victory for Los Angeles, leading the Angels to an interleague sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 3-0 victory Wednesday night.C.J. Cron drove in two runs for the Angels (59-74), who have won five straight and eight of 10 to climb out of last place in the AL West.Nolasco (5-12) had gone winless with a 5.70 ERA in his first five starts for the Angels, who acquired the native of nearby Corona, California, from Minnesota at the trade deadline. He finally came up with a gem against the Reds, and he even won at home for the first time in 16 consecutive starts with the Twins and Angels.Obviously, I would have liked to win earlier, but I like where Im at, as far as where Im throwing the ball, Nolasco said. I feel good. Im eating up innings, and Im just trying to give my team a chance to win games.With his slider moving splendidly, Nolasco retired 12 straight Reds to end it. The shutout was his first since Sept. 9, 2012, and his 11th career complete game was his first since May 2, 2014.I know its been a while, but Ill enjoy it for the rest of the night with the family, Nolasco said. Its definitely nice, a good feeling being out there and trying to get the last out.Los Angeles even won without Pujols and Trout, who didnt play in an early starting game before the Angels day off. Trout and Pujols didnt start in the same game for the first time since Sept. 18, 2014.Brandon Finnegan (8-10) struck out nine during seven strong innings of five-hit ball for the Reds, who have lost four straight and eight of 10.(Finnegan is) a kid who has evolved into a three-pitch pitcher with command who is pitching to both ssides of the plate, Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said.dddddddddddd (He) has kind of found a devastating changeup (and) the ability to throw a slider for a quality strike when hes behind in the count and locate his fastball. ... His development has been exceptional. Really a highlight of the season.Finnegan had only one poor inning during the former Royals relievers latest strong start for the last-place Reds.He had retired nine straight before the sixth, when Andrelton Simmons popped a double and scored on Crons two-out single to center. Jefry Marte then drove in Cron from first with a double to the right-field corner.Nolasco faced more trouble than Finnegan, but still escaped jams caused by errors by Marte and Kaleb Cowart. Ramon Cabrera got to third with one out in the sixth for Cincinnati, but Nolasco coolly retired Zack Cozart and Joey Votto.He has pitched some good games for us, better than his linescores have shown, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.THROWING BLANKSDespite their dismal overall record, the Angels matched Cleveland for the major league lead with their 10th shutout of the season. They have six shutouts since the All-Star break, tying Cincinnati for the big-league lead.TRAINERS ROOMReds: Dan Straily and Tim Adleman will move up one day in Cincinnatis rotation this weekend to give extra rest to Homer Bailey, who has a sore muscle in his right arm.Angels: The club has no plans to shut down Pujols despite some nagging plantar fasciitis in his right foot, Scioscia said. Pujols, who hit his 586th homer earlier this week, has managed plantar fasciitis in his left foot for long stretches of his career.UP NEXTReds: After a travel day, Anthony DeSclafani (8-2, 2.96 ERA) opens a homestand against St. Louis.Angels: After a day off, Brett Oberholtzer (3-2, 5.16 ERA) makes his second start since the Angels claimed him off waivers from Philadelphia. He made it through just three innings at Detroit last weekend. ' ' '