CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs are set to hire San Diego Padres bench coach Rick Renteria as their manager, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been announced. The team was expected to make it official on Thursday. The move ends a long search that began with the last-place Cubs targeting New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, only to be denied a shot when he decided to stay put. Instead, the Cubs are hoping Renteria can help develop their young players and lead them to their first championship since 1908. He replaces Dale Sveum, who was fired after two seasons. The Cubs went 66-96 this season and finished at the bottom of the NL Central. A former major league infielder, Renteria spent the past six years on the Padres staff and had been their bench coach since 2011. Before that, he coached and managed in the San Diego and Florida Marlins organizations. Renteria also managed Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in March. The Cubs are counting on him to get the most out of young players such as shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, along with prospects such as Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Kris Bryant. The lack of development by young players on the roster was a major sticking point with Sveum. And with more young players on the way, the front office decided it was time for a change. The Cubs were 127-197 under Sveum and finished in last place for the first time in seven years. They had targeted Girardi, a Peoria, Ill., native and Northwestern product who played for them. But the former catcher signed a four-year contract worth up to $20 million to stay with New York through 2017. That forced the Cubs to look elsewhere. Besides Renteria, they interviewed former Mariners and Indians manager Eric Wedge, Rays bench coach Dave Martinez, former Nationals and Indians manager Manny Acta, former Diamond-backs manager A.J. Hinch, and Brad Ausmus, who was hired by the Tigers on Sunday. They were also interested in talking to Boston bench coach Torey Lovullo. But according to reports, the Red Sox invoked an agreement banning Cubs president Theo Epstein from hiring any of their employees over a three-year period. Cheap NFL Jerseys China .C. -- Its been quite a week for Washingtons Cody Eakin. Cheap NFL Jerseys . Thursday, all be it in a more luxurious style, Paris St. Germain retraced Celtics 1931 Atlantic voyage ahead of Sunday evenings Herbalife World Football Challenge encounter against the European Champions. 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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Three-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant is determined to become known as more than a one-dimensional player. He took a big step in that direction Sunday night. Durant notched his first career triple-double with 25 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Golden State Warriors 119-109. "I really didnt care, to be honest. If it came, then thats cool. If it didnt, then just keep playing," Durant said. "It feels good to get one. Now, I guess Ive got a little monkey off my back. I can just go out there and play." Durant has endured some growing pains this season trying to improve his floor game, with a bump in his assist numbers coinciding with an increase in his turnovers, too. He came in averaging four turnovers per game, the fourth-worst in the league. But after ending up with more turnovers than assists in each of his first five NBA seasons, Durant is starting to reverse that trend this season. Hes also grabbing about two more rebounds per game than any other time in his career. "Theres going to be nights where I have to score 30. Theres going to be nights where I have to have seven or eight assists," Durant said. "So, Im just trying to be an all-around player and just continue to help my team win." Durant turned it over just twice in this one and pumped his right fist after he set up Kevin Martins 3-pointer with 4:57 to play for his 10th assist. The play also helped the Thunder hold on after Golden State cut a 21-point deficit to seven in the fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook scored 30 points and Martin had 23 off the bench as Oklahoma City had a season-high 31 assists for the second straight game and a season high in points. Durant, Westbrook and Martin also combined for 22 assists. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 22 points, and David Lee chipped in 19 points and 10 rebounds. "Durants a pretty good passer to begin with and we decided we were going to load up a lot on him and Russell when they got the ball and make other guys beat us," Lee said. "The problem with loading up sometimes on him is that hes 6-11 and can see over it and make passes. "I always considered him a pretty unselfish player, considering the amount of talent he has to score the basketball. I dont think that you would call him a selfish scorer by any means." It looked for a while as though Durant might be stuck on nine assists -- matching his previous career best from a double-overtime game against Denver during his rookie season in Seattle. Durant and Westbrook teamed up to score eight straight points late in the third quarter, with Westbrooks 3-pointer from the top of the key extending Oklahoma Citys lead to 86-67.dddddddddddd Durant had a chance to pick up his 10th assist before the end of the third period, but instead kept the ball on a fast break and wound up with a three-point play that put the Thunder ahead 94-73. He started the fourth quarter on the bench, but got a chance to come back in when Oklahoma Citys reserves let the lead start slipping away. Coach Scott Brooks put his All-Stars back in with 8:18 left, after Currys 3-pointer drew Golden State to 101-88. Nick Collison used a nifty touch pass off an offensive rebound to set up Serge Ibakas layup, and Durant assisted on Martins 3 on the next trip as Oklahoma City stemmed the tide. "Some guys can just pass, some guys can just shoot, some guys can just rebound. Obviously, with Kevin, he can do many things on the floor and we always have to challenge him because we dont know how good he will end up being," Brooks said. Brooks said he doesnt want Durant to become a passer, but rather a play-maker. "Every year for the next 100 years, hes going to be an MVP-type calibre player, and this is what MVP players do," Brooks said. "They make your team better, you win games and you do everything. You fill the stat sheet. "You dont want to be a guy that just scores 35 and the team doesnt have success." Carl Landry had 14 points and Jarrett Jack scored 12 for Golden State, which lost despite shooting 52 per cent from the field. Warriors reserve Richard Jefferson pulled himself out of the game late in the first quarter after straining his right calf, and he did not return. The Warriors wiped away an early seven-point deficit to go up 32-31 in the second quarter but Eric Maynor answered with a 3-pointer to start a 19-6 response that put Oklahoma City ahead to stay. "Theyre the reigning Western Conference champions playing at home, playing well. You want to compete and find a way to beat them and in the end they shoot the ball 13-for-20 from 3. You give up 119 points," Curry said. "Thats not going to cut it." Notes: Asked before the game how he would have defended Westbrook during his playing days, Warriors coach Mark Jackson responded: "Chapel first, and then stay late when all the guys leave to get some extra prayer in." ... Oklahoma City had held its opponents below 44 per cent shooting in each of its first seven wins this season. ... Golden State had also held seven opponents below 44 per cent this season, tying Chicago and Oklahoma City for the NBA lead. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '