MINNEAPOLIS -- With the Memphis Grizzlies front office in turmoil, the Minnesota Timberwolves are considering trying to lure coach Dave Joerger away to coach the team in his home state. Tom Nelson . The Timberwolves have received permission to interview Joerger for their head coaching vacancy, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The people requested anonymity because the Timberwolves are not commenting publicly on their coaching candidates. Joerger, who is from Staples, Minnesota, and went to college at Division-II Minnesota State, Moorhead, went 50-32 in his first season as Grizzlies coach last year. After a rough start while the team transitioned from coaching veteran Lionel Hollins to the first-timer Joerger, the Grizzlies pulled together, overcame several injuries to key players and surged to the seventh seed in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But after losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, owner Robert Pera made the surprising decision to overhaul the front office. He fired CEO Jason Levien and director of player personnel Stu Lash, two moves that immediately called into question Joergers job security. Joerger goes way back with Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders. As a young coach trying to make his way up the ladder, Joerger came to watch Saunders, who coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005, run practices. The two formed a mutual respect which lasts to this day. Saunders, who coached in the CBA before breaking into the NBA, has long had an affinity for coaches who had to grind it out in the minor leagues, believing they learn not only how to coach, but to run an organization. Joerger won championships in the NBDL, the International Basketball Association and the CBA before joining the Grizzlies as an assistant to Lionel Hollins. Joergers experience as a head coach last year with the Grizzlies helps him fit the profile Saunders is looking for in a replacement for Rick Adelman, who retired last month. Saunders has said he wants a proven coach who knows the demands of running an NBA team, including handling questions from the media. The latter qualification is of particular concern for the Wolves right now with star forward Kevin Love set to opt out of his contract after next season. The Wolves are considering all their options with Love, including potentially trading him this summer. If the Wolves do not trade Love, they will head into the season with one of the major storylines in the league, one sure to draw attention from media all across the country. Thats part of the reason Saunders is reluctant to turn over the keys to a first-time head coach. The Wolves interest in Joerger was first reported by the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. The Timberwolves opening has also been linked to Hollins and college coaching stars such as Michigan States Tom Izzo, Floridas Billy Donovan and Iowa States Fred Hoiberg. Saunders has yet to offer the job to anyone, but it is believed that the uncertainty surrounding Love has caused some of the more high profile names on Saunders list to give tepid responses to inquiries. The situation with Love in Minnesota pales in comparison to the upheaval in Memphis, and the opportunity to bring his family back to his home state could be enough to convince Joerger to make the move if an offer comes his way. The two sides were working Wednesday to set up a meeting, which could come as soon as Thursday. Cheap NFL Jerseys China Authentic . PETERSBURG, Fla. Hop Riopel . -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/scott-gudmundson-jersey-for-sale/ . Paul George and Darren Collison each scored 17 points and Roy Hibbert added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (9-3), who won their third straight.Liam Firus, a 21-year-old Vancouverite with an enviable slip across the ice, can see an opportunity: one of those three Olympic spots that Canada has earned for men. He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. He surprised himself, because he had been battling a groin injury in the weeks leading up to the event. The skate of a lifetime doesnt usually happen after such impediments. And it was a painful injury, too. He had endured six tortuous injections of a sugar solution into his injury, meant to inflame the site, bring blood to a bloodless area and help the healing. He and coach Lorna Bauer had considered withdrawing from the Canadian championships, but only the Sunday before the event, they decided to go. And because Firus really wasnt trained, the long program slipped out of his control and he dipped to fifth overall. It was still his best finish at the senior national level. His problems werent over, by any means, when he went home. He immediately set to work with choreographer Mark Pillay to design two new programs for the Olympicc season and then he didnt set foot on an ice surface for months. Steven Baker. He got six more injections, a week apart. He went to physiotherapy three to four times a week. His life revolved around rehabilitation. He didnt get back onto the ice again until June. "It was tough," he said. With the Olympics coming, he wanted to train like a fiend, but he knew that wasnt smart. "I knew that if my groin was bothering me while I was training for the Olympics, I dont think I would have a shot," he said. "It was just so painful and so mentally hard, too." So restrain himself, he did. He didnt start jumping again until late July, and that didnt mean full-out triple Axels. It meant doing doubles, half a year before the Sochi Olympics. By the middle of August, he slowly introduced triples back into the mix. By the beginning of September, he was finally doing full programs. With five months to the Olympics, his training finally began in earnest. He decided to step things up, by leaving Vancouver to train full time in Colorado Springs with Christy Krall, Damon Allen and Eric Shultz, coaches hed visited sporadically for four or five years. It meant leaving his first and only coach, Lorna Bauer, behind. Visit Skate Canada to read the rest of this story. ' ' '