MINNEAPOLIS -- When Kevin Martin had to be scratched about 30 minutes before tipoff because of an illness, the Minnesota Timberwolves were in desperate need of another scorer to fill in. Corey Brewer has done everything else in his short time back in Minnesota, so why not him? Brewer scored 27 points, Kevin Love had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Timberwolves beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-95 on Wednesday night. "I checked to see if it (said) Kevin Martin on the back," Ricky Rubio said of Brewer. "He was wearing his jersey or something. He was making shots and he was being Corey too, running on the fast break. Hes been great for us." Rubio had a career-high 16 assists to go with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals, and the Timberwolves outscored Cleveland 29-6 in transition points to run the Cavaliers out of the building. Martin is the teams second-leading scorer, averaging 24.6 points and shooting 55.8 per cent on 3s. Normally a reluctant shooter who feasts on easy opportunities on the break, Brewer morphed into an aggressive scorer in the first half to ease any concerns about Martins absence. Brewer scored the first nine points for Minnesota and 12 in the first quarter to get the Wolves out quickly. He hit all five of his 3-pointers and helped lock down Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters on the other end. His energy carried over in a dominant first half. The Wolves outscored the Cavs 22-0 on the fast break and scored 16 points off seven turnovers to rack up 70 points in the first 24 minutes. "It was fun tonight," Brewer said. "We were passing the ball. Ricky had a great night. Kevin Love had a great night. The games easy when youre passing the ball." Irving scored 20 points on 8-for-17 shooting and survived a nasty collision in the first quarter for the Cavaliers. Anderson Varejao had 13 points and five rebounds starting for Andrew Bynum, who missed the game for personal reasons. The Cavs fell to 0-6 on the road this season. "Things that were not doing out there, things that need to be addressed within the locker room doors that are going to continue to be addressed," Irving said. "We just have to do better next time." The Wolves led by as many as 39 points, allowing their starters to sit the entire fourth quarter and get some much-needed rest during a grueling start to the schedule. The Cavaliers were caught flat-footed. They were outrebounded 49-37, outscored in the paint 56-32 and surrendered 100 points before there were 10 minutes gone in the third quarter. One game after coach Mike Brown surprised everyone by inserting Bynum into the starting lineup, the Cavs were without their centre while he tended to a family matter. Bynum is expected to miss two games, and the Cavs said it had nothing to do with his bothersome knees or an eyebrow-raising comment he made recently about having considered retirement. Bynum is expected to return on Saturday against Washington. Irving came into the game shooting just 37.7 per cent while he gets adjusted to a new system in Browns first season. Brown said he wasnt worried about the early season slump, but the coach clearly was concerned when his star player hit the deck hard after taking an inadvertent elbow from Brewer with under five minutes to play in the first quarter. Irving appeared to be a little woozy as he walked to the locker room holding a towel to his jaw. He was taken for X-rays, which came back negative, and returned in the second quarter. In a rocky start to his first season back on the Cavs bench, Brown tried to offer some encouragement after the ugly performance. "Obviously after a performance like that, youre concerned," Brown said. "But I thought we fought. Were nine games in and were going to keep on going forward." NOTES: Cavs F Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick, scored six points on 3-for-11 shooting. The point total was a career high for the struggling rookie. ... Rubio also had three steals and has had at least one in 30 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. ... The Wolves scored 38 points in the first quarter. They are averaging 33.4 points in the first quarter this season. ... Wolves rookie Robbie Hummel got his first start and finished with 10 points. Lonnie Walker Jersey . -- The Minnesota Twins have granted relief pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release, making the 35-year-old right-hander a free agent. John Beasley Jersey . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. https://www.cheapspurs.com/776j-george-t-johnson-jersey-spurs.html . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. Larry Kenon Jersey . Harrison Barnes had 15 points and Reggie Bullock scored 11 for the Tar Heels (17-3, 4-1 ACC), who took the court for the first time without starter Dexter Strickland. The junior guard tore his right ACL last Thursday at Virginia Tech and will miss the rest of the season. Louie Dampier Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept.The situation in the East is simply fantastic for fans of the CFL. All Week 20 games in the East matter as to who is in the playoffs and that’s how you want it to play out. I will be on site at the marque game of the week, Montreal at Hamilton. I am looking forward to seeing Hamilton’s new stadium and the facilities they have for the players and coaches. I can remember when I worked for the Ticats, Jamie Barresi and I shared an office which was fine except for when we had to meet with the players there. The players sat on the floor and watched practice and game film on two TVs we jerry-rigged to play the same video. We had to do this because the room had a weird shape and the guys closest to the exit could not see the big TV. The big TV was actually one I had at my house and had brought in to be able have a bigger screen! I have heard nothing but great things about this new facility that will provide the players with a professional work environment they deserve, looking forward to seeing that. Speaking of Coach Barresi, he is now the head coach of the University of Ottawa, and led them to a 5-3 finish and a first round playoff win over Windsor. He will now come home to Hamilton to take on McMaster this weekend in the second round of the playoffs. I am not sure that this situation has ever happened in the CFL. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats can finish first place, second place, or be eliminated from the playoffs! You don’t often have to prepare your team for all those possibilities within a week. But I think there is a very interesting coaching situation for the Cats, let’s talk about it. Hamilton’s playoff scenario is this: if they beat Montreal by eight points or more they clinch first place; if they win by less than eight points or Toronto loses they earn second place; and if they lose and Toronto wins, they are eliminated from the playoffs. Teams that finish in first place statistically have a greater chance of going to the Grey Cup, so does Hamilton change the game plan to put themselves in first place? I think I would. Let’s say Toronto wins the game Friday and Hamilton is eliminated with a loss, this is the harder scenario. Hamilton starts the game basically down 7-0 to the Als for first place. Do they become more aggressive to make up the point differential and go for first place? Aggressive might be a fake punt or special play on Teams to be able get a few extra offensive scoring possessions. Could it be a more aggressive defensive scheme or pressure package trying to limit Montreal scoring? Third and goal from the two-yard line early in the game, usually you kick the field goal but do you go for it to make up the points to try to get first place? All these things mentioned have a risk that when not executed can hurt your chances of winning the game, which is the ultimate goal for Hamilton because they would be eliminated if Toronto wins. Late in the game this will be employed but early in the game is when it could easily affect the outcome. Certainly late in the game, if Hamilton is up by three, you will see the best of both teams, because Hamilton will actually be trying to drive the length of the field and score a touchdown with the lead. That situation does not happenn often.dddddddddddd These are the decisions that a head coach must have a good understanding of not only at the end of the year, but at the beginning of the year. In 2009, when I was the offensive coordinator of the Saskatchewan Roughriders we were in the first of a four-game series with an opponent. It was late in the game and we were winning but I called a few more passes and scored a late touchdown. A coach from the other team after the game sought me out on the field and took offence to my offence (funny?) of scoring a touchdown when we could have taken a knee at the end of the game. I looked at him somewhat surprised and said we are playing you four times and there is the very real possibility that we will end up tied at the end of the year and the next playoff tie breaker is points scored. That is why we were scoring points late in the last drive, we don’t know how we will end up, so you assume you will be tied. Points-scored has to be thought of when you play an opponent twice or four times because you could be tied at the end. Playing someone three times, points is not an issue (unless there was a tie) because someone usually finishes 2-1. Back to Hamilton, let’s assume Toronto loses and a loss by Hamilton will not affect their playoff chances, they would have second place locked up no matter what happens in their game. Now you can see the Ticats being aggressive and be ready for anything that can help them score points. No huddle to get more plays, going for it on third down, onside kicks. Mistakes or poor execution of those plays can also hurt your field position which can help Montreal’s opportunity to score, so executing these calls is key. If you have a chance, look up Head Coach Kevin Kelley and the Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, a coach who calls for onside kicks every kickoff and will not punt throughout the season. The guy must be crazy and must lose every game right? A state Championship, a loss in the finals, and a semi-final appearance in three years tells another story. Although some of his data may not correlate with the CFL, he believes on kickoffs the difference in the field position is only about 15 yards if an onside kick is recovered by the receiving team and coach Kelley’s teams recover one out of every three onside kicks which is a turnover, and we know turnovers are one of the most telling stats in winning football games. In the CFL, a failed onside kick would probably be a 30-yard difference in field position which is certainly a reason not to do it every time. Kelley never punts because his philosophy is you have to score more points to win the football game and you cannot score without retaining possession of the football. That is why he will always go for it on fourth down, to keep possession of the ball. So if your team is in a fourth and 3 situation four times in a game and they average 5.5 yards per rush, why not go for it? Kelley believes he will make three out of four conversions and will keep the football. Interesting thoughts and I thought of this philosophy this week to see if the Ticats would employ some of these tactics to get to first place. Either way it will be a great weekend for football, punt or no punt. ' ' '