Wolves 2012: What Might Have Been

Minnesota Timberwolves Script2 Logo (Photo credit: N i c o_)

If you only went by their record (which was 26-40), you would have assumed that the Minnesota Timberwolves had another lousy NBA season, missing the playoffs once again in a lockout-shortened regular schedule.

But look closer.  Up until March 9 when Ricky Rubio's knee injury against the Los Angeles Lakers effectively ended the Wolves' season (he's going to miss the Olympics as well), the team was actually in contention for a low-level playoff spot.  Until the injury, Rubio was being talked up for Rookie of the Year honors.

Kevin Love, who had just signed a contract extension for three more years, became the first Wolves player to score more than 50 points a game.  But that was in a double-overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Love was being mentioned as a candidate for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award, until he took an elbow to the head and was shut down for the rest of the season.

Since then, the Wolves slipped into their usual late-season irrelevancy, winning only one game in the month of April (at Detroit) for the first time in years.  But it's still an improvement under coach Rick Adelman over the last few years, when they've made their annual appearance at the draft lottery.  Fortunately for the Wolves, they have a first round pick this year courtesy of a past trade with the Utah Jazz.

This off-season may see more player shuffling than at any other time in the franchise's history.  Despite critics' misgivings, general manager David Kahn in his job for at least another year.  Now that he has Love, Rubio and Nikola Pekovic to build around, it's time to unload players who for one reason or another didn't contribute much:  Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic and Derrick Williams.

With the Timberwolves no longer at the level of, let's say, the Charlotte Bobcats (the worst NBA team this year, in spite of Michael Jordan running it), Target Center is not such a lonely place any more.  When Love and Rubio return from their injuries, it'll be interesting to see what they can do over an 82-game schedule rather than less than 60.

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There are all sorts of theories and questions about what will happen as the NBA playoffs get under way.  But what it really comes down to is that, shortly before Independence Day, Miami and Oklahoma City will be playing in the NBA Finals.

Stadium Sleeps With The Fishes

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Legislature wants to wrap up its 2012 session before the end of April.  As usual, instead of concentrating on the needs of its constituents, our elected representatives (mostly Republican) have chosen to make statements.

Take the ongoing battle over a proposed football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.  During a crucial hearing before the House Government Operations committee Monday night, the same arguments we have been hearing for years against the stadium kept cropping up:  If owner Zygi Wilf is so rich, why do we have to pay for his stadium and he doesn't?  Why can't we let the people vote on this, just like we did with voter ID and the marriage amendment?  Do we really need more gambling to pay for this?

After several hours of debate, the committee voted against the stadium bill 9-6.  The likelihood of getting a deal done this year is evaporating faster than time left in the fourth quarter.

Governor Mark Dayton, who has been pushing hard for the Vikings' stadium, is now saying the deal will get done during the 2013 session after the elections.  Problem is, the Vikings have been lobbying for a replacement to the Metrodome for over a decade.  They're playing there this coming season only because the roof collapsed during a snowstorm in 2010, requiring them to fulfill their lease.  And then what?  How much longer can the team wait before Wilf decides enough is enough, and sells to somebody who might move it out of town?

Another thing that's been getting attention is a bill to move the Minnesota fishing opener this year from May 12 to May 5.  It's supposed to accomplish two things:  (A) Thanks to the lack of winter around here, fish are spawning quicker than anticipated, and (B) the fishing opener usually conflicts with Mother's Day.  This might be the best time to avoid that this year.

Like other bright ideas, this one's fizzling fast in the Legislature because:  (A) Resort owners say they couldn't get ready for an early opener on short notice, (B) Fish aren't spawning as much as they were since the weather turned colder, and (C) people seem to prefer the opener right where it is.  Oh, one more thing.  There are some mothers who fish, and they occasionally land the big one.

So whether the sport is football or fishing, it seems clear that state legislators are perfectly willing to mess with two Minnesota traditions for the sake of playing their own little game of politics.  The voters have until November to decide if they played it right.

Wild 2011-12: Falling Off a Cliff

Alternate logo since 2003. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Wild ended their 2011-12 hockey season right where people thought they would be:  out of the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.  What nobody could have predicted was how far they would rise at the beginning of the season to the top of the NHL standings, followed by how hard they fell.

The 81 points the Wild accumulated with a 35-36-11 record in the Western Conference does not take into account the number of players shuffling in and out of the lineup (47) due to injuries, lack of scoring (166 goals, the fewest in the NHL since the 2004-05 lockout) and blowing big leads.

In a situation like this, you would normally expect a team to do some major off-season housecleaning, at least in the front office.  But Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher and first year coach Mike Yeo will both be back next season.

Instead, the Wild will be active in the free agent market this summer to go along with previous acquisitions Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi.  Most often mentioned as a potential target is Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils, a Minnesota native whose father was a former North Star.  But with the record the Wild have had the past few years, you'd think the better free agents would want to go with a team that actually has a shot at a Stanley Cup.

A more realistic prospect for the Wild is to keep drafting and developing young talent.  You've seen some of them, racking up frequent flyer miles between St. Paul and Houston (their AHL affiliate) as emergency replacements every time a regular has an upper or lower body injury.

What would really help the Wild in the long run (for themselves and their fans) is to move to a division in which they are not the only team in the Central time zone, instead of having far-flung rivalries with Vancouver and Calgary.  The NHL had realignment on the table until they backed off to make it part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players union, rekindling fears of another lockout.  They also have to figure out where to put the Phoenix Coyotes should they move.

So what the Wild have to address next season--should there be one--is to reduce the amount of injuries, increase the goal scoring, and to stay in the game during regulation time.  If there's another season like the last one, it really will be time for a housecleaning.

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The Stanley Cup playoffs begin Wednesday where, for the first time in this country, every game will be seen on TV through four of Comcast's networks (NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and NHL Network).  After two months of watching teams battle it out on your oversized flat screen or your undersized phone, the two teams that emerge in June to vie for the Cup will be:

Pittsburgh vs. Vancouver.

Kentucky and Baylor Rule College Basketball

UK Basketball logo, recreated in SVG format, used colour code from main University of Kentucky article. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Two teams that have dominated college basketball this past season, Kentucky and Baylor, finished it with national championships in the men's and women's divisions, in that order.

The Kentucky Wildcats defeated Kansas 67-59 at the NCAA men's championship game in New Orleans Monday.  Sophomore Daron Lamb led with 22 points in a game that wasn't exactly close until the final minutes, when the Jayhawks got to within ten points before the Wildcats put them away for their first title since 1998.

For 38-2 Kentucky, this was Title Number 8 in their history, with the first four coming in the Adolph Rupp era.  That's second only to UCLA's 11, with most of them coming when John Wooden was coach.

This was also coach John Calipari's first national title, taking full advantage of recruiting players who are more interested in NBA glory than in getting an education.  Given his history of leaving schools behind before the NCAA posse imposes penalties for violations that take away their records, however, will this championship be a mirage in a few years?

Over on the women's side, Baylor defeated Notre Dame 80-61 to earn their national championship in Denver.  The Bears are the seventh team in women's college basketball to go undefeated, but the first of either sex to win 40 games

Junior Brittney Griner led the Bears with 26 points and 13 rebounds in a game they had led most of the way, but didn't fully put away the Irish until late in the second half.  Griner, you may have heard, is a 6'8 phenom who is one of the few women to dunk a basketball during a game.  She didn't do it here, but she didn't really need to.

Baylor has won its second national title, with the first one coming in 2005.  This represents something of a sea change in women's college basketball, after years of Coke and Pepsi (also known as Conneticut and Tennessee) dominating the sport.  As the talent gets better and better, they are less inclined to go to schools that stockpile the better athletes for future use.  Parity is getting closer all the time.  Now if they could only get more people to notice . . .

Twins 2012: Starting Over

Joe Mauer (Photo credit: Keith Allison)

The Minnesota Twins open their 2012 Major League Baseball season with a lot of ground to make up.  They lost 99 games last season due to injuries, bad fielding, weak hitting and poor pitching.

What any team would do in a situation like this is to make some major changes.  Not the Twins.  Ron Gardenhire is still their manager.  Joe Mauer is still behind the plate, after flirting with first base last season.  And Terry Ryan, who was their general manager before, is their general manager again.

Oh, there have been some changes.  Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel left via free agency for greener pastures.  Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the high-priced phenom from Japan, was sent to the minors.  New arrivals include Josh Willingham, Jamey Carroll, Ryan Doumit and Jason Marquis.  Free agent pitcher Joel Zumaya had to be cut when he threw out his arm, and now has to have Tommy John surgery.

The pitching staff is a big concern.  This could be Francisco Liriano's last season in Minnesota, depending on how well he pitches.  Scott Baker is injured, and Carl Pavano is at the center of an alleged extortion plot currently under investigation.  With Nathan's departure, that leaves Matt Capps as the team's undisputed closer, for what it's worth.

The Twins will have to rely on the bats of Mauer, Willingham, Doumit and Denard Span if they want any kind of offense this season.  Justin Morneau, who has never really been the same player since his concussion, has been hinting at retirement if things don't improve.  Until then, he's the team's designated hitter.

The Twins won't get anywhere near an American League Central Division title (that'll be Detroit), but they won't lose 99 games, either.  Nevertheless, it'll be a great summer to take in a game at Target Field, if you happen to be a fan of the other team.

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Two games have already been played this season, with Seattle and Oakland splitting a series in Japan that also served as the Mariners Ichiro Suzuki's homecoming.  Two more games will be added at the end of the season, as MLB decided to expand the number of teams to its postseason by two.

Here's what else happened between Game 7 of the World Series and Opening Day:

• Albert Pujols, fresh off a world championship in St. Louis, took his talents to southern California and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
• Manny Ramirez, once his 50-game suspension for failing a drug test is over, will be in an Athletics uniform.
• Ryan Braun, the National League MVP with Milwaukee, doesn't have to serve his suspension right now.
• The Miami Marlins have a new name, new look, new ballpark and new manager in Ozzie Guillen.  Will it mean a new result in the standings?
• The Los Angeles Dodgers are out of bankruptcy, and have new owners that include Magic Johnson.  The New York Mets are still trying to recover from being one of the many victims of Bernie Madoff.
• This is the Houston Astros' 50th and final season in the National League.  They move to the American League next year, where things won't get any easier for one of the worst teams in baseball.

With that, our projected division winners and wild card participants.  Please don't take them to the bank.

American League East  Tampa Bay Rays
                               Central  Detroit Tigers
                               West  Los Angeles Angels
                               Wild Card  Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers

National League East  Philadelphia Phillies
                             Central  Milwaukee Brewers
                             West  San Francisco Giants
                             Wild Card  Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks