MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins entered the off-season with a desperate need for starting pitching, and theyre off to a pretty great start in addressing it. Anthony Brown Jersey . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because the team does not plan to announce a deal until Nolasco passes a physical. Terms of the deal were not immediately available, but Yahoo! Sports reported that it was for four years and $49 million. Thats a hefty price for the Twins, who historically have been reluctant to hand out big-money deals to free agents. Prior to Nolascos contract, the most the Twins had spent on a free agent who did not come through their system was the three-year, $21 million deal they gave Josh Willingham in 2011. But their need was acute and Nolasco was widely considered one of the top available free agents in a thin crop of starting pitchers. Hes walked just 2.1 hitters per nine innings for his career, which makes him a perfect fit for the Twins, who have always placed a premium on control from their starters. Pitching to contact has become a bit of a sore spot for Twins fans, who have watched their teams starting staff get bludgeoned while throwing strike after strike right down the middle. But Nolasco also has a healthy 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, and hes shown the ability to get out of jams without letting the hitter put the ball in play. Nolascos Twitter account already has a Twins logo as its avatar, and this beleaguered team will no doubt be just as eager to welcome him into the fold. Nolasco pitched at least 185 innings in five of the last six seasons and will immediately slot in right near the top of what was the worst pitching staff in the majors last year. The Twins have lost at least 96 games in each of the last three seasons, thanks in most part to their woeful starting pitching. Last year the starters had an ERA of 5.26. Toronto was the next worse at 4.81. Only two of their starters had ERAs under 5.00, with Samuel Dedunos 3.83 leading the way and Kevin Correias pedestrian 4.18 next. The Twins have also inquired about veteran Bronson Arroyo among other available arms, and are expected to continue adding players to beef up the rotation. Matt Garza and Phil Hughes are among the other viable options, and the Twins also could bring back Mike Pelfrey for depth. Jamal Crawford Jersey . Case in point: LeBron James vs. Ben McLemore. James was driving to the rim in the first quarter and McLemore decided to try to take the charge, which was quite admirable and predictably futile. Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys .com) - They didnt meet in the regular season, so Sam Houston State might be saying it won the de facto title game between the two Southland Conference co-champions Saturday. http://www.officialtimberwolvesproshop.com/authentic-karl-anthony-towns-timberwolves-jersey/ . Brad Malone had the other goal for the Monsters (1-1-0), while Elliott chipped in an assist for a three-point night and the games first star. Bryan Lerg also had two assists. Corban Knight and Max Reinhart scored for the Heat (1-1-0), who opened their season Friday with a 5-2 win over the Monsters in Cleveland.RALEIGH, N.C. -- After turning Tobacco Road into "Raleigh Top," Tennessee is headed to the round of 16. Tennessee denied Mercer a second straight upset in decidedly one-sided fashion, routing the Bears 83-63 in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night behind 17 points and a career-high-tying 18 rebounds for Jarnell Stokes. Josh Richardson had a career-high 26 points and Antonio Barton had 18 for the 11th-seeded Vols (24-12), who are making the most of their first tournament appearance since 2011. "NIT two straight years, I guess thats what youd call starting from the bottom," Stokes said. "A lot of people doubted us, and that just makes the ride much better." The Tennessee band had plenty of chances to blare their beloved "Rocky Top" during this rout, which followed the same script as their 19-point thumping of Massachusetts two days earlier: The Voles outrebounded Mercer 41-19 to keep the Southeastern Conference perfect in the tournament. They joined Florida and Kentucky in the regional semifinals -- the first time three SEC teams made it that far since 2007. "Ive been hearing that the SEC has been a football conference for a long time but I dont know how you can still say that when youve got three SEC schools in the Sweet 16," Tennessee guard Jordan McRae said. Tennessee will face second-seeded Michigan (27-8) in a Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night in Indianapolis. Stokes broke his 2-day-old school tournament record for rebounds. Langston Hall had 15 points to lead the 14th-seeded Bears (27-9). They knocked off Duke in the signature upset of the tournament but couldnt answer Tennessees size. "I think hopefully by the time (reality) sets in, well all be able to put a smile on and realize that what weve been able to do at our school, and for the city, has been phenomenal," forward Jakob Gollon said. "Its kind of hard to see right now." Mercer trailed by double figures for the entire second half before the Bears threatened another fantastic finish. They had the ball down 12 with about 2 1/2 minutes left when Gollon -- one of the heroes of the Duke upset two days earlier -- threw the ball away in the lane, then fouled out a few seconds later. McRae hit two free throws, and Richardson added a ffast-break layup to push the Tennessee lead to 77-61 with 1 1/2 minutes left. Nemanja Bjelica Jersey. McRae finished with 13 points for the Volunteers, who have won eight of nine with the only loss coming to the top-ranked Gators in the SEC tournament. They are in the round of 16 for the fourth time in eight years, and the third team to go from the First Four to the Sweet 16 since the introduction of the extra round in 2011. They also got a bit of payback: Mercer ended Tennessees season last year with a 75-67 win in the first round of the NIT. Ike Nwamu scored 12 points, Anthony White Jr. had 11 and big man Daniel Coursey added 10 for Mercer, the plucky Atlantic Sun Conference school trying to match Florida Gulf Coasts run last year to the regional semifinals. The Bears drew a perfect matchup for their first game -- and couldnt have had a worse one for their second. "Any time we have Jeronne (Maymon) and Jarnell wearing Tennessee orange," McRae said, "we always feel like we have the advantage." They were bigger, more experienced and more precise than a Duke team loaded with high school All-Americans and a leaky defence, carving them up down the stretch in a 78-71 victory that ranks among the top upsets in the history of the tournament. Mercer starts five seniors and has seven on the roster -- but the Bears were down one with 6-foot-11 Monty Brown out with a possible concussion. Even with him, a Tennessee team with Stokes -- who set the schools short-lived tournament record with 14 rebounds in that 86-67 rout of UMass -- was going to be a challenge. Without him, it was nearly impossible. "Its hard to match up with them, but at the end of the day, mainly it was probably my fault towards the end," Coursey said. "They had a lot of rebounds, and I should have boxed them out." Tennessee never trailed and held a 24-4 rebounding advantage in the first half. Richardson scored 10 straight points midway for the Volunteers to turn a tight game into a double-figure lead. His 3 from the right wing made it 29-18 with 6 1/2 minutes left. Meanwhile, Stokes and Maymon effectively turned Mercer into a jump-shooting team: The Bears managed just one offensive rebound in the first half and didnt attempt their first free throw until there was just 8:40 left. 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