d up 30 saves in 32 chances, tied with the Pirates now-injured closer Jason Grilli. The 29-year-old Mujica has struck out 38 and walked only two to become | Forum

MINNEAPOLIS -- Richard Pitino enters his fourth season at Minnesota coming off a disastrous 2-16 finish in the Big Ten and with a new boss watching over the program. Cheap Nike Shoes Online .Those are two elements that can bring major concern about a coachs future, but Pitino walks into a crucial season in his tenure brimming with confidence.I do believe, when healthy, its the most talent weve had and its the most complete team. Youve got to stay healthy but I really am excited about these guys, Pitino said.There are six new players on the roster from the team that went 8-23 last season, meaning nearly half the team wasnt around for the difficulties of his third year on the job. Not only did a young and overmatched roster falter on the court, but there were a couple of off-the-court incidents that added to the misery.They seem very eager to move on from last year, Pitino said. Last year was very, very difficult for everybody. Those returners, theyve got pride. They want to show people what were all about. Theyve been really eager to change the perspective of this basketball program.The Golden Gophers open the season against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 11 and tip off the conference season against Michigan State on Dec. 23.I think people are going to see our progress by the time we hit the court, said forward Jordan Murphy, who was a member of the Big Tens All-Freshman team last season. I dont think were worried about proving people wrong. Its more about getting better day by day.Pitino added local prep star Amir Coffey, whose father Richard is a former Gophers standout, and gets transfers Reggie Lynch from Illinois State and Akeem Springs from UW-Milwaukee to help try to breathe new life into the program. And with new athletic director Mark Coyle, who comes back to Minnesota from traditional college hoops power Syracuse, evaluating things, its time for the Gophers to make their move.I know what they walked into and may have perceived of our program, Pitino said. And Im eager to show them what were all about. Weve been as transparent as possible.Here are some things to watch with the Gophers this year:COFFEYS ARRIVAL: The Gophers have historically have had difficulty keeping some of the states best high school players from leaving for other programs. Landing Coffey, a 6-foot-8 guard, was a huge coup for Pitino, and he has looked as good as advertised during fall camp. Hes going to have to play major minutes and hes going to have to do a little bit of everything, Pitino said. I think its on me to figure out where to put him in spots to put the defense in a bind because hes got that size.AKEEMS TWEET: Springs raised eyebrows on Monday night when he tweeted that it looks like my time in Minnesota may be shorter than (I) thought. Its all good though. Pitino immediately called Springs to ask for an explanation and was told that Springs was just messing around. Springs didnt provide a whole lot of clarity on Tuesday. I didnt mean anything. If you go through my history, I tweet a lot of stuff. It meant nothing. It was just a tweet, he said. He said he has not thought about leaving the program. Akeem has been an awesome teammate, Pitino said. Hes been a great leader. He has practiced his butt off. Hes about winning.BAD LUCK: The season got off to a bad start when Davonte Fitzgerald, a 6-8 post player, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Fitzgerald was injured in practice and the loss was a big blow for a team that was relying on his size and defense to give them more size in the paint.LYNCHS INJURY: Lynch had minor knee surgery earlier this fall and is still working his way back. Pitino said he would like for Lynch to play in the exhibition game against Bemidji State on Nov. 3, but they wont rush him back if hes not quite ready. Lynch said his knee is feeling much better and he was confident that he would be able to play in the season opener after sitting out last season after the transfer. Ive been antsy for a year and a half, Lynch said. Its been a long time.---AP college basketball website: http://collegebasketball.ap.org/ Authentic Wholesale Nike Shoes . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Wholesale Air Max For Sale .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. http://www.cheapshoesnike.com/ .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week.The other day, I was reading about a marathon minor-league game in Moosic, Pennsylvania. It was between Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees triple A affiliate and the Detroit Tigers farm club, the Toledo Mudhens. The game started at 7:05pm and didnt end until 12:32am, lasting 20 innings in all before Scranton Wilkes-Barre won it 2-1, on a line drive home run to left by Randy Ruiz. I had to pause for a second. I knew that name. Could it possibly be the same Randy Ruiz who played for the Blue Jays? Turns out it was, and he is still grinding it out in the minors at age 35, looking for another shot at The Show. Ruiz is only a footnote in Blue Jays history and a brief one at that. The 63, 250 pound minor-league slugger had a brief stint with the Minnesota Twins in 2008 and hit his first homer and only major-league homer of that year. That same season, he was named the International League rookie of the year for his work at Rochester at age 30! He still holds the Rochester record with a 24-game hit streak. In the off-season, Ruiz was signed by the Blue Jays to play Triple A at Las Vegas. Though not really adept at any particular position, Ruiz hit so well, he eventually got called up to the Blue Jays. Over a 33-game stint, Ruiz hit .313 with 10 homers and 17 runs batted in. That gave rise to the idea that maybe the Blue Jays had captured lightning in a bottle and, at the very least, the Jays would have a solid DH and decent bat off the bench. But the magic disappeared in 2010 when Ruiz only lasted 13 games with the club. He hit his 12th and final home runs in the Majors and batted just .150 before getting cut loose. Ruiz has played ball in Japan and in his parents native Puerto Rico most winters. This spring at 35, he signed on with the Chicago White Sox but was cut loose again and landed in Mexico, where the Yankees discovered him and signed him for Scrantoon Wilkes-Barre. Nike Shoes Wholesale China. In total, Ruiz has played in 12 Major League organizations, including the Yankees and the Phillies twice each. Is he nearing the end? Hard to say. Teams are always looking for power bats, even to just fill out their minor league rosters. Its interesting how Ruiz joined the Blue Jays in the first place. General manager Alex Anthopoulos put Alex Rios and his huge contract on waivers to see if their would be any takers. Lo and behold, the White Sox claimed Rios, saved the Jays alot of money and opened up a spot on the 40-man roster. That spot went to Ruiz, who went on to become the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player in that same season he was called up to the Blue Jays. Crash Davis of Bull Durham has nothing on this guy. Trade Watch The Major League non-waiver trade deadline is coming up at 4pm on Wednesday. White Sox right hander Jake Peavy says hes already got his bags packed and is ready to move on. Maybe the most under-rated trade of last years deadline involved St. Louis and Miami. The Cardinals dealt third base prospect Zach Cox, whom they had chosen 25th overall in the first round of the 2010 Draft to the Marlins for a journeyman reliever out of Venezuela by the name of Edward Mujica, who figured to be just one more arm in the bullpen this season for the Redbirds. Early in the season though, Jason Motte, who had 42 save for St. Louis a year ago, was injured and gone for the season, Mujica stepped into the breach and has racked up 30 saves in 32 chances, tied with the Pirates now-injured closer Jason Grilli. The 29-year-old Mujica has struck out 38 and walked only two to become a first-time All-Star this year. Hes making $3.2 million this season and is eligible for free agency after next season. The Cardinals struck gold on a trade that probably slipped under most peoples radar last July. ' ' '