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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to find out just how serious the Portland Trail Blazers were when they said they would match any offer for restricted free agent forward Nicolas Batum. The Timberwolves submitted a four-year, $46 million offer sheet signed by Batum on Sunday, giving the Blazers three days to match the offer or let him leave without compensation. The deal has incentives that could push the total value over $50 million, a hefty price for the 23-year-old swingman who has averaged 10.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in his first three seasons in the league. The Trail Blazers acknowledged that they did receive the offer sheet Sunday night and said they would have no further comment until a decision has been made. If Portland general manager Neil Olshey is to be believed, that decision was made a long time ago. As soon as the free agent market opened July 1, the Timberwolves set their sights on Batum, a versatile, 6-foot-8 shooter with an established reputation as a fine perimeter defender. Team president David Kahn and coach Rick Adelman think Batum is a perfect fit for their more open offensive system and can grow alongside rising young stars Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. "Were not in control of the situation," Kahn said on Friday, alluding to the Blazers leverage with restricted free agency. "Im more of a glass-half-full person. You hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Were prepared for every option." One would be hard pressed to find an option that hasnt been considered while these two teams have gone back and forth over the last week. The Wolves hosted Batum in the Twin Cities for a visit last week and he was impressed with what he heard. Agent Bouna Ndiaye said that his client was unhappy with how he was being used in Portland and would much prefer to play under Adelman and alongside Love and Rubio in Minnesota. They agreed to terms on an offer July 6, and spent the last 10 days trying to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal with the Blazers to make it happen. But Olshey has been adamant that the Blazers would match any offer and were not interested in the assets the Wolves had to peddle in trade. The process had several stops and starts, with Wolves owner Glen Taylor saying on Thursday the team planned "to call their bluff" and submit the offer sheet after being unwilling to part with Derrick Williams or Nikola Pekovic to get the deal done. But league rules forced the Wolves to wait until swingman Martell Webster, who was bought out on Friday, cleared waivers to create enough cap room for the deal to fit on the Wolves books. Webster cleared and became an unrestricted free agent on Sunday evening, clearing the way for the Wolves to submit the offer. Because the deal has been signed and submitted, the option of a sign-and-trade is no longer possible. It could be viewed as a win-win situation for the Timberwolves. Either they get a player theyve long coveted and Kahn called "a missing piece," or Portland matches the offer and the Wolves have foisted a considerably larger contract than the Blazers initially hoped to commit to Batum onto a division rivals salary sheet for the next four years. The only risk the Wolves incur is losing out on other free agents while the process plays out. The contract puts the Wolves right at the cap, meaning they will have to wait until Portland announces a decision before they pursue other players like Boston big man Greg Stiemsma, Lakers power forward Jordan Hill and Rockets swingman Courtney Lee, who is considered Minnesotas Plan B if Portland matches the offer to Batum. But Kahn downplayed the possibility of losing out on other players when asked about it on Friday. "We dont see it as trouble," Kahn said. "We think that we owe it to ourselves to take the shot. If they choose to match it, it leaves us with a significant amount of room under the cap for us to pursue other players." Wholesale Custom Jerseys . Clayton Kershaw won his fourth consecutive start, Matt Kemp drove in three runs and the Dodgers won their fourth consecutive game, 9-3 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . Their strategy played right into the Canadians hands. Canada scored a pair of power-play goals and beat the Czechs 5-2 Friday to advance to a fifth straight tournament final. "We like chippy," Canadian coach Todd Gill said. http://elevatedcolor.com/hot.html . Moore has been battling a hamstring injury and was unable to practice all week. Defensive end Turk McBride (ankle), linebacker David Hawthorne (hamstring) and running back Travarias Cadet (shoulder) have also been declared out for Sundays contest.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR reinstated A.J. Allmendinger on Tuesday, saying the driver had successfully completed its "Road to Recovery" rehabilitation program. Allmendinger was suspended two months ago after failing a random drug test in June and his backup "B" urine sample later tested positive. NASCAR has not revealed the substance, but he has said he tested positive for a prescription drug, Adderall, typically used to treat attention deficit disorder. He does not have an ADD diagnosis or prescription and said he took it a couple of days before the June 30 race at Kentucky Speedway because he was tired. Allmendinger was released by Penske Racing after the "B" sample failed and the career of the 30-year-old driver looked to be in jeopardy. But team owner Roger Penske had Allmendinger as his guest at the IndyCar season finale last weekend and said Allmendinger is a viable candidate for rides in both NASCAR and IndyCar. Penske also said hed consider hiring Allmendinger again. Allmendinger was suspended July 7, just hours before the race at Daytona and forcing Penske to bring in Sam Hornish Jr. at the last moment. Allmendingers only way to come back to the series was to complete NASCARs rehabilitation program. Allmendinger was the second Sprint Cup Series driver suspended under NASCARs tightened drug policy implemented in 2009. Jeremy Mayfield was the first and he unsuccessfully sued to have the results overturned. Court documents showed that Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine. Allmendinger was hired in late December by Penske to fill the seat that opened when Kurt Busch split with the orgganization.dddddddddddd It was the most prolific ride of Allmendingers career, and both driver and team seemed thrilled with the pairing even as Allmendinger struggled at times in the No. 22 Dodge. He was 23rd in the Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Daytona, where he won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race in January. In 2009, Allmendinger pleaded no contest in North Carolina to a misdemeanour charge of driving while impaired. He was given a 60-day suspended sentence, 18 months unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service. Allmendinger drove for Richard Petty Motorsports at the time, and the team put him on probation through 2010 and fined him $10,000. The July suspension came at a time when Penske was evaluating picking up the option on Allmendinger for 2013. Hornish filled in for Allmendinger, but Joey Logano was hired to drive the car next season. The next step may be up to owners like Penske. "He could be an option for us, for sure," Penske said before the IndyCar finale at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday. "Hes someone we would consider." Allmendinger spent three seasons in Champ Car, and won five races in 2006 before moving to NASCAR. "This is a speed bump in his career, but hes certainly an option for people on the NASCAR side and the Indy side," Penske said. Penske doesnt have an open seat in NASCAR, and its not clear what will happen with his third IndyCar team. Hes already picked up the 2013 options on Will Power and Helio Castroneves, but has told Ryan Briscoe hes free to look around while the team tries to secure sponsorship for that seat. ' ' '