Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Thursday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- The FedEx Cup playoffs begin at The Barclays, with Jason Day the No. 1 player facing one of the strongest fields of the year at Bethpage Black.- Les Miles was nearly run out of LSU last season and if the ffth-ranked Tigers fall short of lofty expectations this season expect Miles future again to be a hot topic in Baton Rouge. Around the country several other coaches enter the 2016 in need of some wins and a change of trajectory to keep their jobs.- Nick Saban entered the decade armed with a national title and a promise. The Alabama coach, fresh from the 2009 national championship, told thousands of Crimson Tide fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium that he was just getting started. Eds: Part of a series.- ORLANDO, Fla. -- The NFL returns to Orlando for the first time since 1997 when the Falcons and Dolphins play in their third game of the preseason at Camping World Stadium. Game starts 8 p.m.- SEATTLE -- Rookie Ezekiel Elliott is expected to make his debut for Dallas as the Cowboys travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks. Starters for both teams are expected to play into the second half. Game starts 10 p.m.- Various stories from NFL training camps and college football practices.- TORONTO -- Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (17-3, 3.05) goes for his 18th win in a game against the Angels. Happ is 11-0 with a 2.53 ERA in his past 12 starts and has emerged as one of the best free agent acquisitions of last offseason after signing a $36 million, three-year deal. Jered Weaver (8-11, 5.47) is up for Los Angeles. Game starts 7:07 p.m.- ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Cleveland Indians open a four-game series at Texas, with Josh Tomlin (11-7, 4.39 ERA) facing Rangers lefty Cole Hamels (13-4, 2.80). Both clubs lead their division -- the last time these teams met so late in a season with both in first place was 1999, according to STATS. Game starts 8:05 p.m.- NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Three-time Champion Petra Kvitova faces Olympic doubles champion Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals of the Connecticut Open.- MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin attacks the ban on his country from the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics as immoral and inhumane.- LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter arrives for his appeal hearing against a six-year ban from football, pledging to accept the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The courts verdict is expected within several weeks.Dick Williams Jersey . LUCIE, Fla. Evan Phillips Jersey . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. https://www.cheaporioles.com/508i-andy-etchebarren-jersey-orioles.html .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. J.J. Hardy Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Asher Wojciechowski Jersey . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St.MINNEAPOLIS -- Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers burst into Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeaus postgame press conference, hollering Can you come on! Im out here waiting! to his longtime friend and former assistant.Thats what happens when you win, a chuckling Thibodeau said.Rivers would know.Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Clippers to their sixth straight victory, 119-105 on Saturday night.Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists and J.J. Redick scored 18 points for the Clippers (9-1), who have the best record in the NBA. Los Angeles shot 52.6 percent and outscored the Timberwolves 21-10 in transition.This is the best team Ive had here, Rivers said. But we got to keep doing it. Weve got to keep getting better and performing. But this is a heck of a basketball team.Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had seven points, six assists and six rebounds in his return from a five-game absence for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but shot just 8 of 24.We had to work for our shots, Wiggins said. The clogged the paint up, switching everything, contesting every shot. They made it hard on us.The Clippers are off to their best start in franchise history and have so far exhibited all the qualities of a team that can make a deep playoff run. Once a weakness, the bench has been a strength this season. And they entered the game as by far the best defensive team in the league, allowing a paltry 90.4 points per game.After slugging it out with Oklahoma City on Friday night, Los Angeles put the clamps on the young and athletic Timberwolves, who entered the game with the most explosive first-quarter offense in the league. The Clippers outscored Minnesota 34-21 in the period, holding the Wolves to 39 percent shooting and forcing four turnovers, and they never looked back.There are some good things, but to beat a team thats rolling like that, we have to obviously plaay a lot better than we did, Thibodeau said.ddddddddddddTIP-INSClippers: Defensive stopper Luc Mbah a Moute scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. ... Redick hit 2 of 7 3-pointers, extending his streak to 66 straight games with at least one made from long distance, the longest active streak in the league. ... F Wes Johnson did not play because of a sore heel. He was injured on Friday night in Oklahoma City after a blocked shot.Timberwolves: Thibodeau fell to 8-9 in his career against Rivers. ... F Brandon Rush was inactive and has not played in the last three games.HACK-A-JORDANThe Wolves went to the Hack-a-Jordan strategy just over midway through the fourth quarter, with Cole Aldrich fouling him on three straight possessions to get Jordan to the line. As Aldrich headed to the bench 30 seconds later, Jordan gave his former teammate a playful shove off the court.The strategy did not work, either. The big man hit 10 of 16 foul shots in the never-ending fourth quarter.Im confident up there. Ive got a routine, Jordan said. Ive got everything I need and Im just going to go up there and shoot.GRIFFINS MILESTONEGriffin entered the game needing 17 points to join an exclusive club with 9,000 career points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists. Griffin got it on a free throw in the fourth quarter. He became the fastest player to reach that plateau since Larry Bird.Its an honor to be mentioned in that category, but Larry went on to have quite a bit more, Griffin said. Thats the ultimate goal, having a career like that. Its cool to have a start like that, but thats not the end goal, a goal by any means.UP NEXTClippers: Head back home to face Brooklyn on Monday as they continue a stretch of four games in six nights.Timberwolves: Host the Lakers on Sunday in the 31st home back-to-back in franchise history, but first to occur on Saturday and Sunday nights. ' ' '