Wolves 2014-15: Youth Must Be Served

Second alternate logo (2008-present) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Timberwolves ended another misbegotten season Wednesday, losing 138-113 to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Target Center.  The Wolves finished with the NBA's worst record at 16-66, lost 12 consecutive games to end the season, and missed the playoffs for the 11th straight year.  Quite an accomplishment, no?

You can excuse young players such as Andrew Wiggins (who's on his way to Rookie of the Year.  Truthfully, he'd be better off in his native Canada playing for the playoff-bound Toronto Raptors.) and Zach LaVine for finding their way in the NBA.  They've had to play more than most rookies because of injuries to Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic, as well as the departures through trades of Corey Brewer, Mo Williams and Thaddeus Young.

Kevin Garnett?  He was brought here from the Brooklyn Nets on a wave of optimism and nostalgia as the Wolves' past, present and future, even though he's 39 and nearing the end of his playing career.  Since coming back, Garnett's mostly sat on the bench.  Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune called the whole thing a scam to goose sales of tickets and jerseys (we should add that Wolves owner Glen Taylor is also Reusse's boss).  Not necessarily.  The team knew exactly what it was doing, putting KG in the role of mentoring younger players while preparing for his possible career in management.

Now it comes down to the ping pong balls, which will determine where the Wolves will pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.  They can't finish any lower than fourth in the lottery.  Taking into consideration that the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers also had lousy seasons, and the fact that the Wolves have never had much luck in the lottery to begin with, one should not be too confident.  Since the NBA considers the Knicks, Lakers and Sixers to be more important to the future of the league than the Wolves, a third or fourth place finish sounds more realistic.

But hey, the future looks bright for the Timberwolves.  With all the young talent and the trades made by defacto general manager and coach Flip Saunders, and with Garnett lending his insight and occasional court presence, the team should be worth watching again.  Or not.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our NBA Finals matchup:  Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors.  Don't take it to the bank.

Two Coaching Legends. Two Titles.

Mike Krzyzewski, head basketball coach of Duke University, presenting a vanity basketball jersey to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: University of Connecticut head women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma during a game against the University of Texas on March 23, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University and Geno Auriemma of the University of Connecticut.  Two college basketball coaches with legacies as long as their last names, leading athletes of different genders to championship after championship, whether it's for an NCAA title or an Olympic gold medal. 

Both have coached many great players over the years.  For Coach K it was Grant Hill, Shane Battier and Christian Laettner.  For Auriemma it was Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi.

This week both coaches added to their respective legacies.  Krzyzewski won his fifth national men's championship Monday night at Indianapolis, as Duke defeated Wisconsin 68-63.  Freshman Tyus Jones led the Blue Devils with 23 points, while fellow teammate Grayson Allen scored 16.

Auriemma's Huskies won their third consecutive women's championship Tuesday night in Tampa, Florida, defeating Notre Dame 63-53.  Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson both scored 15 points.  Junior Breanna Stewart, who has never known anything but championships since the moment she set foot on the UConn campus, had eight points and 15 rebounds.

Auriemma now has as many national championships as John Wooden of UCLA had, which is ten.
Even though Auriemma achieved his over a 20-year period, and Wooden took 11 years between 1964 and 1975 to get his.

Both Krzyzewski and Auriemma have had their critics:  Coach K for the way he operates on the basketball court, and for recruiting players like Tyus Jones, who would be in the NBA now if they didn't have an age and eligibility rule.  Auriemma for his abrasiveness, and for his team's dominance being partly responsible for the lack of parity in women's college basketball.

For as long as they choose to be around, Mike Krzyzewski's and Geno Auriemma's teams will continue to dominate their fiefdoms of college basketball.  Why?  Because the best players, no matter where they come from, will always gravitate to them.  Donors and university presidents will always support them, unless they do something horrible.  The media and fans will always fawn over them.  The world is their oyster, as long as they keep winning.

Twins 2015: The More Things Change . . .

Torii Hunter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Spring.  The birds fly north.  The trees bud.  Rain fills our lakes and rivers (unless you live in California).  The snow melts (unless you live in Boston).  A young person's fancy turns to thoughts of love (or something like it)--and baseball.  Or is it the playoffs and the NFL Draft?

The Minnesota Twins, for whom spring represents hope for a team that's been near the bottom of Major League Baseball since 2011, have made some changes.  Paul Molitor has replaced Ron Gardenhire as manager, along with most of the rest of his coaching staff.  The team dug deep into the free agent market and came up with pitcher Ervin Santana, who last played with the Atlanta Braves.  They have also brought back fan favorite Torii Hunter, who's about to close out his career after stints with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels.

For all the changes the Twins have made on and off the field, there always seems to be something holding them back.  Santana has been suspended by MLB for 80 games through July, having been found using the anabolic steroid Stanozolol.  With or without him, the pitching staff has improved somewhat with Phil Hughes, Glen Perkins, and Mike Pelfry (who replaces Santana).  But they still have to face Major League hitting, which could be a problem.  Same goes for the outfield, which is also suspect.

The fortunes of Kennys Vargas, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Joe Mauer and others depend on how well they can (A) hit against Major League pitching, (B) avoid hitting into too many double plays, and (C) avoid making stupid mistakes on the basepaths.  If they know how to do all that, the rest takes care of itself.

The Twins' MVRs (most valuable rookies), Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, are still biding their time in the minors.  Before they're called up (most likely by September), they should consider the cautionary tale of another highly-anticipated prospect named Aaron Hicks.  He has been floundering around so much on the field and at the plate that the Twins are about ready to pull the plug.  It's one thing to be a "phenom".  It's quite another to be a "has-been" before your time.

Indeed, for all the changes and the promise of better days ahead, the Twins are still on track to lose more than 90 games for the fifth consecutive season.  So go ahead and enjoy the spring.  Just skip the ballpark until the Twins provide a reason to watch.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere in Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred has replaced Bud Selig as the game's commissioner.  Alex Rodriguez has served his sentence for using performance-enhancing drugs, and has returned to the New York Yankees--whether they like it or not.  And baseball's version of "This Old House"--the renovation of Chicago's Wrigley Field--is still under construction as delays have forced the project to be extended into mid-season.  Well, what else is new for the Cubs?

Here's our projections for who will be playing in October:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

East:  Baltimore Orioles

Central:  Cleveland Indians

West:  Los Angeles Angels

Wild Card:  Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals

NATIONAL LEAGUE

East:  Washington Nationals

Central:  St. Louis Cardinals

West:  Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Card:  Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins