MINNEAPOLIS -- The most poignant moment in Kevin Garnetts retirement video comes when he looks toward the Target Center rafters, uttering Man, almost in disbelief that a 21-year career was finally coming to an end. Supply NFL Jerseys .We going to be all right, man, he says. I dont expect this to be easy. But so far so good.Garnett may have been talking to the Minnesota pups he spent the last season and a half mentoring. He may have been talking to his adoring fan base. And he may have been talking to himself as he braces for a life that doesnt revolve around basketball for the first time since he was a little boy.Three days after Garnett made his big announcement, the Timberwolves gathered to open a season full of promise and sounded determined to carry his fiery torch forward.Hes a Hall of Famer, been in the league so long, forward Andrew Wiggins said Monday, a day before the opening of training camp. He came back to mentor us players. No one else is here to do that for us. Now weve got to go out on our own. The Wolves are moving forward with a roster that includes nine players with three years or less of experience. The late Flip Saunders brought Garnett back in a trade with Brooklyn in February 2015 because the team was so young and needed some veteran leadership. They gravitated to his charismatic approach and incredible understanding of the game, but have grown tired of having their struggles justified by their lack of experience.When KG retired, I was like, `Its time for us to step up and start winning some games, forward Shabazz Muhammad said. Thats the same thing KG would say. The `young thing is getting kind of old for us.Garnett announced his retirement on Friday, and it is entirely possible he wont be heard from publicly for quite some time. He once said he would disappear from the spotlight after he left and that those looking for him would have to start combing YMCA pickup games in Malibu. The Timberwolves hope he will remain in the fold in some capacity, at least long enough for them to honor him as the greatest player in franchise history.Theres usually a point where when a player does finish up, he takes a step back, gathers himself and then you move forward from there, new coach Tom Thibodeau said. Whatever he decides to do, Im sure he will be a great success at it because of the drive that he has, who he is as a person, his intelligence.His No. 21 jersey will one day hang in the Target Center rafters, right next to the No. 2 of his close friend Malik Sealy, who died in a car accident 16 years ago. When that happens may be up to him.I would hope that there is something that he would want to do with us so that we can recognize him for the wonderful career he had and our appreciation for him, owner Glen Taylor told The Associated Press. Thats something we can do before the start of the season and work that out. Im looking forward to doing that, but I think its yet to come up in our discussions.These are sensitive times in the relationship between the franchise and the icon. Tension surrounded the negotiation of Garnetts buyout -- the same arrangement Tim Duncan secured with the Spurs this summer. It was the product of Garnetts lack of trust in Taylor, which originated from a bitter parting when the Wolves traded Garnett to the Celtics in 2007.Saunders was able to rebuild the bridge and orchestrate what appeared to be a fairy tale ending to Garnetts career. Garnett had hoped to own a piece of the Wolves and wield influence over the franchises major basketball decisions.But the Wolves had to move forward after Saunders died last October, and after Taylor brought in two minority partners this summer, the odds of Garnett one day joining the ownership group were dramatically reduced.In a potentially positive sign, Garnetts goodbye video featured him walking alone in an empty Target Center and closed with a picture of his black Timberwolves jersey. And everyone in the franchise hopes that this time around the sides will finish on good terms.I always told him when the season was coming to an end that he could leave on his own terms and that no matter what I will always be his little brother, Karl-Anthony Towns said. I told him whatever he decides, Im always for him. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Cheap Dallas Cowboys Jerseys .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. http://www.chinajerseysauthenticnflwholesale.com/ . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Theres the likes of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille ONeal and multitime NBA champion Rick Fox investing heavily in esports, and then theres L.A. Rams offensive guard Rodger Saffold. Saffold, who co-founded Rise Nation, not only is one of the few athletes to own an esports team but also is still playing full time in the NFL. As the aforementioned investors are all retired from professional sports, this means Saffold finds himself in a challenging but perhaps uniquely advantageous situation. And hes using his background as an athlete, and as a gamer, to lead his team to victory.ESPN caught up with Saffold before his match against the Minnesota Vikings to get some insight into what its like to be an active professional athlete and owner of an esports organization.First, Saffold has always enjoyed playing video games. I love puzzles for your brain, Saffold said. When I was growing up, thats what I did. But it wasnt until college that Saffold found the thrill of competitive first-person shooters. I would even say before college; I started playing Call of Duty, and then Call of Duty [4]: Modern Warfare came out... I just was so overboard on it, I could literally play the game all day long, he recalled.As Saffold entered the NFL, he kept a close eye on the world of video games. When I started figuring out that esports was growing, and I saw they were all over the internet on Twitch -- when I saw that there were these huge events -- I was like, OK, I need to get into this. Thats when Saffold, along with his friend and business partner Kahreem Horsley, started Rise Nation. They leveraged industry connections to form their first Call of Duty team and, in their freshman outing, were able to qualify for the Call of Duty Championship 2014: U.S. Regional Final. There, the team made a valiant effort but ended up placing seventh. This was still a remarkable result, considering the high caliber of competition, and it convinced Saffold that he had a legitimate stake in esports.But being fully invested in sports and esports is a challenging proposition. Its tough to do the day-to-day operations, said Saffold. Most of your day is pretty much filled up with, you know, football. Saffold does have the structures in place to manage Rise Nation while hes playing, but that doesnt mean he ignores the team. Rather, he can use his time where its most effective. When it comes down to when I get a chance to speak to the players, when I get a chance to speak with the sponsors, it really shows that Im dedicated to this and that Im giving them time.Saffolds background in the NFL might offer certain advantages when coaching his team. The best thing I can do for these players is show them the intangibles, Saffold said. Being a leader, grinding [through practice maneuvers]... they always say prior proper planning prevents piss-poor performance. Even with Saffolds sports background, however, esports can still feel like unfamiliar territory at times. Actually, [compared to] most of these organizations that already have their business plans together, I feel like Im a step behind them.Owning an esports team while in the NFL has given Saffold the curious role of de facto esports ambassador to his fellow athletes, since hes investing his time and energy into something thats far from the norm. Luckily for Saffold, his teammates are very supportive. I always get questions like Hey, how is our team doing? [and] like Hey, whats going on, whats going down this weekend? he said.Well, this weekend the Call of Duty World Championships are being held in Los Angeles at the Forum. Sixteen teams are competing for an imprressive prize pool of $1. China NFL Wholesale. 6 million, big enough to perk the ears of even non-esports fans. I got a lot of my teammates on the list to come and enjoy and see what I got involved in, Saffold said. Thats kind of my job, to try to broaden the horizons of athletes to kind of get into this and see a new sport forming.Considering that the Forum will have a few players from the Rams roaming around, its quite possible that more athlete-led esports organizations could start to appear in the scene in the future. Theyre definitely curious, Saffold said, but once I tell em what you have to do as far as salaries, you know, how you have to handle your business ... you can try to invest, but I have to see how serious you are about this.Saffold made it very clear that Rise Nation is more about his passion than an investment; it was a passion he held even before he entered the NFL. Said Saffold, Now, seeing its growing and going into the right direction, Im going to want to try and hold on to this as much as I can.Theres one subject that any professional athlete knows something about, and thats sponsorship. Beer goes hand in hand with football. and now, because of beer, its become part of the deal with football, Saffold said. For Rise Nation, where Saffold often deals with the sponsors himself, its about quality over quantity.You dont want to get too many sponsors, Saffold said. Its more about getting the right people that fit your organization, people that care about your team just as much as you do.KontrolFreek, a video games controller accessory manufacturer that sponsors Rise Nation, follows the same philosophy. I think finding a great team, and honestly great management and leadership, beyond sort of how the teams performs, is No. 1, said Ashish Mistry, president and CEO. And so once we knew that the Rise Teams were using the KontrolFreek products, it made it very easy to pursue a working relationship with them.While nonendemic sponsors such beer companies are starting to take notice of esports growth, they are proceeding with caution. Esports is still highly fragmented, said Mistry, and that is a possible reason many sponsors are still waiting on the sideline. Unlike traditional sports, esports is usually referred to as a whole, even though there are multiple teams and players in various games with their own specific audiences. But as you see things like the Call of Duty World Championship, things that are sort of more tentpole events, their ability to push corporate dollars downstream and to scale is making it a lot easier for these brands to participate, Mistry continued.No matter how the field might appear now, the consensus is that the world of sponsorship will only expand. As more nonendemic sponsors jump in, players will see larger prize pots, helping them create sustainable careers out of gaming. For Saffold, thats a major plus for building out his team and for growing esports in general.Although the marriage between professional athletes and professional video gaming might seem unlikely, it actually makes a lot of sense. While many others are quick to shrug esports off, those in sports see its potential, as well as the hard work and skill required to play at a top level. These athletes dont view esports as a novelty or a gimmick. They know that these games require great presence of mind, skill and teamwork. And for them, thats enough to want to devote their time, money and passion to something they see as a play for the future. 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