The Wizards were in need of frontcourt depth

WASHINGTON -- Drew Gooden has signed his 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards. The veteran forward joined the Wizards at Wednesdays practice and will be available for Thursdays game against the Toronto Raptors. Gooden agreed to the deal Tuesday. The Wizards were in need of frontcourt depth after losing forward Nene to a sprained left MCL. Nene is expected to be sidelined about six weeks. Gooden hasnt played since he was designated as an amnesty player by the Milwaukee Bucks last summer. He had two years and about $13.4 million remaining on his contact at the time. The 32-year-old Gooden has played for nine teams over 11 NBA seasons. Lukas Sedlak Jersey . -- Josh Smith made a 3-pointer as time expired and finished with 20 points to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 99-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night in both teams exhibition finale. Thomas Vanek Jersey . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory. http://www.cheapbluejacketsjerseys.com/?...er-jersey.Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. Ryan Murray Jersey . Roma has a game in hand but now second place is even at risk for the capital side as Napoli moved to within three points with the win. "The result is not always fair," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "If we play like this until the end we will win many matches. Seth Jones Jersey . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves.ARLINGTON, Texas – As the Blue Jays trek to Boston after taking two out of three from the Rangers, Marcus Stroman will be catching a different flight. For the 23-year-old its destination, Buffalo. Stroman was optioned back to the Bisons and will pick up there where he left off at the time of his recall on May 4, in the starting rotation. Hes got a 1.69 ERA and a miniscule 1.088 WHIP in five starts for Buffalo this season and while hes disappointed to be leaving behind charter flights and five star hotels for the rigours of a bus, hes glad to return to the routine he knows best. "I want to be a starter 100-percent," said Stroman. "Thats the role I thought I was going to be in when I came up here. I think in the long run hopefully I can be a starter and show that I can start at this level. Thats the plan." Stroman made five relief appearances for the Blue Jays, two of which were in high-leverage situations. He thrived in an inning and a third of work on May 6 in Philadelphia, preserving a 5-5 tie to the 10th and picking up his first career major league victory. In the other, he struggled, relieving Drew Hutchison in the fifth inning of a May 11 loss to the Angels, in which he entered trailing 3-1 but left down 7-1. "First go around, there were a couple of outings where he was really good and a couple of outings where he struggled and gave up some hits," said manager John Gibbons. "But hes like anybody else, you feel your way around, get your feet wet, and when it comes down to it you have to make pitches, quality pitches. When you make mistakes, you leave balls up in the zone, hang breaking balls, at this level they dont miss them." With Dustin McGowan returned to the bullpen, where he thrived last season, the Blue Jays will next need a body for McGowans turn in the rotation on Saturday, at home against Oakland. Stromann is ineligible because, as a player on option to the minor leagues, hes required to spend 10 days there before a recall.dddddddddddd Thats the paperwork end of it. The real life part of the equation is that he needs to get his arm stretched back out. Its a lot to ask of a guy to make his first major league start against one of baseballs best teams having not worked deep into a game for the better part of a month. Its clear what Stroman wants to be doing when his eventual return to the Blue Jays becomes reality. He hedged when asked if he would have preferred to remain in Buffalo until such time Toronto was ready to put him in the rotation. "Its hard to say. Its hard to say," said Stroman. "Obviously whatever opportunity you get to contribute at the big-league level you want to jump on it and go. But Ive been groomed as a starter for the past year and a half so its hard saying otherwise. Its tough but you take it in stride and see what happens." As for who will make Saturdays start against the Athletics, the Jays options off the current roster are thin. Todd Redmond would be the guy. More likely is either Sean Nolin, a lefthander who made his major league debut and was hit hard in a game last May against Baltimore, or Liam Hendriks, a spring-time waiver claim pickup from the Orioles whos a noted strike thrower but has had little success at the big league level spread over parts of three seasons with the Twins. Hendriks is 5-0 with a 1.48 ERA for the Bisons in seven starts. General manager Alex Anthopoulos was in attendance for his most recent start, a seven inning performance in which he allowed one run but got a no-decision. For his big league career, Hendriks, 25, is 2-13 with a 6.06 ERA and a 5.31 FIP. A control pitcher, Hendriks doesnt walk many hitters but his 1.590 WHIP reflects the 202 hits hes allowed in 156 innings. ' ' '