f am the living example that there is life after the Hun

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nikola Pekovic didnt want to leave Minnesota, and the Timberwolves werent about to let him go. After weeks of negotiations, waiting and watching, the two sides came to agreement on Wednesday on a new five-year contract worth $60 million that includes an additional $8 million in incentives. "Hes a dominating offensive player," Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said in a conference call. "He plays extremely hard. He probably will work as hard as he can to live up to a contract he signs, whatever it is worth." After posting a career-high 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season, the 27-year-old Pekovic was a restricted free agent when the NBAs fiscal year opened on July 1. That meant the Timberwolves had the right to match any offer he received from another team, and Saunders made it clear from the start that they would do whatever it took to keep him in Minnesota. In the end, that included adding a fifth year on the initial four-year, $48 million offer they presented Pekovic and his agent, Jeff Schwartz, a few weeks ago. "With him and Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, weve got three cornerstones in that franchise that all complement each other," Saunders said. After three seasons in the NBA, Pekovic has emerged as one of the best offensive big men in an increasingly centre-scarce league. He figured to garner a lot of interest from other teams looking to add some size and scoring to the paint. He waited for Dwight Howard to choose between several suitors. When Howard signed with the Houston Rockets, the belief was that a lucrative offer from one of the teams that missed out -- perhaps the Hawks or Mavericks -- could be on the way. Both of those teams decided not to pursue Pekovic, but the Timberwolves were still left holding their breath in hopes that another team with abundant cap space like the Bucks would force their hand with a monster offer. That offer never came. With the market settling down and the likelihood of another offer growing more remote by the day, Saunders came through with the fifth year on the deal to get it done. Because Pekovic was a restricted free agent and not signing an extension on his rookie deal, the Timberwolves still have the one five-year, rookie scale deal allowed by the current collective bargaining agreement for Rubio, if they so choose. There was some question about whether giving Pekovic five years would agitate Love, who wasnt happy when previous president David Kahn refused to give him the teams "designated player" five-year extension in 2012. But Kahn was fired after last season and Saunders said he has had conversations about the Pekovic deal with Love, who gave his full support. "More than anything else Kevin wants to win," Saunders said. "As we talked about Pek, he said, You have to do what you have to do. ... I dont know whats been done in the past and I really dont care. As he said, were moving forward." The 6-foot-11 Pekovic averaged just 0.8 blocks per game last season, meaning he isnt the classic rim protector that would be the biggest asset for a Timberwolves defence that is short on stoppers. He also missed 20 games last season and 15 the year before due to various nagging injuries that come about due to his physical style of play. But keeping Pekovic was a priority for Saunders and Wolves coach Rick Adelman, who valued the Montenegrins soft hands and quick feet in the post as well as his underrated pick-and-roll defence. Now that his deal is done, Pekovic will team with Love and Rubio to form a promising young core for the Wolves, who will be pushing for their first post-season appearance since 2004. In a league that is getting smaller and smaller, with few dominant big men, the Wolves see Pekovics size and strength as one of their best chances to create consistent mismatches in the demanding Western Conference. The key will be keeping Pekovic on the floor. He has missed time due to various foot and ankle issues, most minor in nature that come from the pounding he takes on a nightly basis. When Saunders took over for Kahn earlier this summer, he said he thought the Wolves could make some adjustments that would help him and the rest of their players stay healthy over the long season. Saunders said Wednesday that the target will be "in the 70s" in terms of the number of games Pekovic will play. Dave Giusti Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Jung-ho Kang Jersey . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. 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BUDAPEST, Hungary -- The head of Hungarys swimming federation should resign because, among other issues, poor training conditions havent improved, three-time Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu said Tuesday.The federation rejected her claims.Hosszu, coached by American husband Shane Tusup, has clashed with Hungarian officials before. In the latest criticism, she wrote on her Facebook page that federation president Tamas Gyarfas is Hungarian swimmings most harmful factor and rejected his comments that everything was fine between them.Tamas Gyarfas was the first one who said in 2008 that I should quit swimming and retire, said the 27-year-old Hosszu. If it was up to him, Hungary would have returned from the Rio Olympics with three fewer gold medals and one less silver medal.Hosszu also faulted the federation for taking undue credit for the results of Hungarian swimmers; said the organizations decision-making process was undemocratic; and implied that financial pressures were involved in the election of its leadership.They are working to have people believe that there is no life outside the system, Hosszu wrote. This is simply laughable. I myself am the living example that there is life after the Hungarian Swimming Federation. In fact, thats when there really is (life).In a lengthy reply to Hoosszu, the federation said it was baffled by her comments, adding that officials had been unable to have substantive talks with her since October 2015, when they said their relationship deteriorated after Hosszu declined to take part in a promotional video.dddddddddddd.The federations leadership ... is baffled by Katinka Hosszus latest comments, the federation said, while praising her results and denying that Gyarfas had told her to quit in 2008. The accusations in her serious criticism are equally unfounded.While calling it a gift of fate that Hosszu and Tusup had met, the federation said swimming officials and competition organizers were increasingly critical of Tusups behavior, with most clashes occurring due to financial conflicts.Professionalism is fully recognized in the sporting world, but Shane Tusups behavior and style have become increasingly unacceptable in world swimming, the federation said.Hosszu won three gold medals and a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August, holds several world records in individual medleys and was named FINA female swimmer of the year in 2014 and 2015.Budapest will host swimmings world championships in 2017. ' ' '