Toronto Blue Jays were expected to be contenders. Instead theyre well u

MINNEAPOLIS -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers burst into Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeaus postgame press conference, hollering Can you come on! Im out here waiting! to his longtime friend and former assistant.Thats what happens when you win, a chuckling Thibodeau said.Rivers would know.Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Clippers to their sixth straight victory, 119-105 on Saturday night.Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists and J.J. Redick scored 18 points for the Clippers (9-1), who have the best record in the NBA. Los Angeles shot 52.6 percent and outscored the Timberwolves 21-10 in transition.This is the best team Ive had here, Rivers said. But we got to keep doing it. Weve got to keep getting better and performing. But this is a heck of a basketball team.Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had seven points, six assists and six rebounds in his return from a five-game absence for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but shot just 8 of 24.We had to work for our shots, Wiggins said. The clogged the paint up, switching everything, contesting every shot. They made it hard on us.The Clippers are off to their best start in franchise history and have so far exhibited all the qualities of a team that can make a deep playoff run. Once a weakness, the bench has been a strength this season. And they entered the game as by far the best defensive team in the league, allowing a paltry 90.4 points per game.After slugging it out with Oklahoma City on Friday night, Los Angeles put the clamps on the young and athletic Timberwolves, who entered the game with the most explosive first-quarter offense in the league. The Clippers outscored Minnesota 34-21 in the period, holding the Wolves to 39 percent shooting and forcing four turnovers, and they never looked back.There are some good things, but to beat a team thats rolling like that, we have to obviously play a lot better than we did, Thibodeau said.TIP-INSClippers: Defensive stopper Luc Mbah a Moute scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. ... Redick hit 2 of 7 3-pointers, extending his streak to 66 straight games with at least one made from long distance, the longest active streak in the league. ... F Wes Johnson did not play because of a sore heel. He was injured on Friday night in Oklahoma City after a blocked shot.Timberwolves: Thibodeau fell to 8-9 in his career against Rivers. ... F Brandon Rush was inactive and has not played in the last three games.HACK-A-JORDANThe Wolves went to the Hack-a-Jordan strategy just over midway through the fourth quarter, with Cole Aldrich fouling him on three straight possessions to get Jordan to the line. As Aldrich headed to the bench 30 seconds later, Jordan gave his former teammate a playful shove off the court.The strategy did not work, either. The big man hit 10 of 16 foul shots in the never-ending fourth quarter.Im confident up there. Ive got a routine, Jordan said. Ive got everything I need and Im just going to go up there and shoot.GRIFFINS MILESTONEGriffin entered the game needing 17 points to join an exclusive club with 9,000 career points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists. Griffin got it on a free throw in the fourth quarter. He became the fastest player to reach that plateau since Larry Bird.Its an honor to be mentioned in that category, but Larry went on to have quite a bit more, Griffin said. Thats the ultimate goal, having a career like that. Its cool to have a start like that, but thats not the end goal, a goal by any means.UP NEXTClippers: Head back home to face Brooklyn on Monday as they continue a stretch of four games in six nights.Timberwolves: Host the Lakers on Sunday in the 31st home back-to-back in franchise history, but first to occur on Saturday and Sunday nights. Custom Jets Jersey China . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Custom Jets T-shirts . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.customjetsjersey.com/ . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Custom Jets Jersey China . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Custom Jets Jerseys . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week.TORONTO -- After a busy off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays were expected to be contenders. Instead theyre well under .500, out of the American League East and AL wild-card races and grasping for positives amid a season that hasnt gone according to plan. "When youre not winning games, its not good," general manager Alex Anthopoulos said during a recent homestand. "Youre scratching your brain trying to come up with ways to get better." One way to get better, for next year and beyond, involves selling before Wednesday afternoons trade deadline. Anthopoulos recognizes the Blue Jays place at the bottom of the standings, but with the hope of contending in 2014 there might not be many assets available to deal. "Everyones in trade mode," Anthopoulos said. "I think anything we do, if we can do something that helps currently, great, but even for the following year as well, well look to do it. Were having dialogue, but Id say every player were having dialogue about are players that can help us beyond the current year." In other words, dont expect a fire sale of every Blue Jays player who has underacheived this season. Only three are impending free agents: starter Josh Johnson, whose value is at an all-time low, reliever Darren Oliver, whos 42 years old, and outfielder Rajai Davis, whos a part-timer relied on mostly for his speed. The bullpen has been one of a few bright spots for the Blue Jays this season, featuring all-stars in Brett Cecil and Steve Delabar. Until last week Toronto hadnt lost a game it led after seven innings. Naturally, the Blue Jays have been getting calls about relievers, but Anthopoulos didnt commit to trading from a position of strength. "We do have depth, and that is an area that we can afford to trade a reliever and still be fine," he said Wednesday. "Were not close to doing anything. As I sit here today I dont think were trading a reliever. The only free agent in that group is Darren Oliver. So any reliever deal, it can happen now or we can take it into the off-season and make a deal there. I wouldnt rule it out because of that depth." Left-handed relief is often hard to find, so Oliver might be a commodity for a playoff contender that wants a rental. At 1,900 innings for his career, Oliver has some wear on him, but he was 3-2 with a 3.82 ERA going into the Blue Jays series in Oakland. Aaron Loup, a 25-year-old left-hander, leads the team with a 1.90 ERA, and veteran lefty Juan Perez was nearly perfect before giving up six runs in his past two appearances. The Blue Jays have a team option on closer Casey Janssen for next season and have Cecil and Delabar under team control for the foreseeable future. But Anthopoulos learned last year when he was trying to acquire bullpen help that its hard to make a trade for just a reliever. "By themselves, a team needs a reliever but the flip side (is), Well, I only want to pay so much to get a guy (to) pitch 40 innings, especially for the last two months," he said. "And its so difficult to equate just on a one-on-one deal, and thats why its easier to make them part of a larger deal." The market for reliever trades has already been set. On Monday the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim traded 37-year-old former Blue Jays lefty Scott Downs to the Atlanta Braves for minor-league right-hander Cory Rasmus, and the Houston Astros traded closer Jose Veras to the Detroit Tigers for 19-year-old outfield prospect Danry Vasquez and a player to be named later. The 32-year--old Davis appears to be Torontos most tradeable position player, as he showed Sunday when he tied a franchise record with four stolen bases in a single game.dddddddddddd Hes tied for third in the majors in steals (31 going into Monday nights game), despite having far fewer at-bats than anyone else in the top 10. "His first step is as good as anybody Ive ever seen," manager John Gibbons said. "I mean hes really a force when he does get on for you." Davis, who has been traded twice in his career, isnt worried about the speculation. "I think that I could help anybody win. Obviously Im capable of stealing bases," Davis said. "I guess I try not to focus on the things that I cant go control, just try to go out there and focus on the things I can control." Anthopoulos is the one in control from the Blue Jays end. Speaking a week before the trade deadline, he said the Blue Jays "dont have anything big going" and tempered expectations of making a move by citing a lack of traction to that point. "Theres some things that are definitely alive," Anthopoulos said. "Theyre a coin flip right now if theyre going to happen. But I think theyre conversations that if they dont get done now, they would carry into the off-season." Anthopoulos prefers to make deals before July 31, which he calls "chaotic" and "rushed." "Its like last-minute shopping," he said. "The doors of the store are starting to close and everybodys scrambling. And for us, were going after very specific players and very specific things." The Blue Jays figure to need starting pitching help, though if Ricky Romero returns to form at some point and Kyle Drabek manages to rebound from his second career Tommy John surgery, Anthopoulos might not need focus on that area when talking about deals. But even with shortstop Jose Reyes strong play in the past month since returning, the infield is a place of emphasis. Thats why Brett Lawrie has played second base in addition to third, a move that gives Toronto some flexibility in the trade market. "Were certainly looking to do some things in the infield at the trade deadline," Anthopoulos said. "Im not saying that we will, but were actively having dialogue with some teams to see if we can do something there." As recently as Friday, Gibbons said he likes his team and has confidence in his players. He doesnt see some better performances of late as evidence that players want to be traded to a contender. "I dont think theyre playing better so they can get out of here," Gibbons said. "I think some of them havent had their normal years, and if they kick it in the rest of the way, I think its just who they are. ... We got some pretty good guys. Most of the guys out there are proven players in this league at this level. Most guys dont ever want to leave, anyway, to get traded. Youve got to uproot and thats never easy, either." Whether its this week or in the off-season, the composition of the Jays roster will change. Anthopoulos said he hasnt thought of September call-ups yet and isnt sure if the Blue Jays 2014 core will look much different than this group. "You evaluate each player. (Some) you think theyre going to bounce back, some you may not be as convinced," he said. "Thats where you may see some change. But any time you dont win games and you dont perform, clearly youre going to see some type of changes going forward." ' ' '