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.

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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

Another Stadium to Kick Around

Soccerball with USA flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you believe the media reports, Major League Soccer is close to deciding whether to put a new franchise in the Twin Cities come 2018.  Once that's done, all they have to do is to find a place to play, and who's going to pay for it.

According to those same reports, the front-runner appears to be Bill McGuire, a former executive at United Health Care who currently runs Minnesota United FC, a pro team based in the lower-level North American Soccer League which would transfer to MLS as an expansion squad.  In McGuire's corner are Timberwolves and Star Tribune owner Glen Taylor and Twins owner Bill Pohlad.  The plan, though McGuire hasn't said anything publicly, is for a new team to play in an outdoor stadium next to Target Field and Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

That would rule out the Minnesota Vikings, who had promoted their under-construction indoor stadium as a future MLS home.  However, the league seems to prefer smaller outdoor venues that seat at least 20,000.  Only two of their franchises--Seattle and New England--currently play in NFL-sized stadiums.

This is not a done deal, of course.  Minnesota is in competition with Sacramento, San Antonio and St. Louis for the next available franchises.  MLS currently has 20 teams across North America, having welcomed Orlando and New York City this season.  In the next couple of years Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami are scheduled to join the league.

What this means is that there's going to be another push to build yet another sports stadium in Minneapolis, with the proceeds most likely coming from taxpayers' pockets.  Only this time, there's no hysterical threats to move out of state if a team didn't get what it wanted.

Governor Mark Dayton, the Minnesota Legislature and the city of Minneapolis don't seem to be too thrilled at the prospect of lining the pockets of another billionaire owner who could easily have funded his own stadium, but chose not to.  And why Minneapolis, again?  How has United FC survived all these years at its current home, the National Sports Center in Blaine?  Wouldn't St. Paul or any other suburb have been a better--and less expensive--alternative?

Unlike other pro sports leagues, having MLS in the Twin Cities would be a nice thing for Minnesota's quality of life, but not really necessary.  If, as soccer enthusiasts predict, their sport becomes more than just a short-term obsession in which casual fans only pay attention during World Cup and the Olympics, then great.  If not, an abandoned soccer park would make a really nice parking ramp.

UPDATE (3/25/15):  MLS announced with great fanfare that Minnesota United FC will indeed become an expansion franchise come 2018, which would become the league's 23rd.  They should have said it was granted on the contingency that the new stadium should be ready by then, but they didn't.  Is MLS about to repeat the mistake they made in awarding a franchise to Miami (in which one of the owners is soccer legend David Beckham), only to watch it sink because of resistance to funding for a new stadium?

Also, the Minnesota franchise may have to have a new name.  MLS already has a team in Washington called DC United.  Would FC Minnesota do?

Wolves 2014-15: Leader of the Pack Returns

English: Kevin Garnett playing with the Minnesota Timberwolves (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Timberwolves have joined the trend of local pro sports teams bringing back star players and fan favorites on their way to retirement, mostly to shore up the remaining goodwill they have left and to perhaps sell a few tickets and jerseys.  The Vikings brought back Randy Moss for what turned out to be a brief second act, and are now working on Adrian Peterson (though he's reportedly having misgivings about coming back here).  Torii Hunter returned to the Twins after several years away, spending time with the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers.

Now the Wolves are the latest to spin the "Welcome Back Kotter"  theme in reclaiming Kevin Garnett, for whom they traded Thaddeus Young to the Brooklyn Nets.  Previously, they also put out the "re-welcome" mat for Flip Saunders, who last coached the team in 2005.

Garnett played his first 12 NBA seasons in Minnesota starting in 1995, having been signed right out of high school.  He led the Wolves to eight consecutive playoff appearances, culminating in the 2004 Western Conference finals that they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.  Two unhappy years later, KG was sent packing to the Boston Celtics.

Garnett is still the greatest and most popular Timberwolf in the franchise's history.  But he's 38 now, and in his 20th NBA season.  He's already won an NBA title with the Celtics in 2008, which continued another trend of Minnesota-based players who achieved their championships somewhere else.  He's nearing the end of his career, and has mentioned at least once that he'd like to own the Wolves someday.  So presumably Garnett will just play a little, mentor the younger players and cash a few checks before calling it a career.

Garnett returns to a franchise that hasn't been relevant since he left town, save for Kevin Love.  The Wolves are 11-42 at the All Star break, thanks mainly to veterans like Ricky Rubio getting hurt and rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine being thrust into service.  The Wolves aren't the worst team in the NBA (that dishonor goes to the New York Knicks), but most basketball pundits believe they have the brightest future IF ONLY the Knicks or Lakers don't get there first.  And the Wolves' management doesn't screw it up like they usually do.

The Timberwolves will not make the playoffs this season, but you already knew that.  They will, however, be competitive in jersey sales as fans will queue up to purchase the new version of Kevin Garnett's old #21 uniform (or some officially-licensed knockoff of it).  Back on the court, the returning leader of the pack is expected to teach his new teammates something Wolves fans have been waiting to see since he left--how to win.  If Kevin Garnett succeeds in doing that, his work is done.

A Super Bowl Respite From Reality

New England Patriots logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After two weeks of talk about deflated footballs, a player who spoke to the media only because he had to, and an NFL commissioner whose horrible year exposed him as an empty suit, it was time to kick off the 49th Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.  A record TV audience (according to NBC) of 114 million witnessed quite a spectacle.

The Game

The New England Patriots claimed their fourth Vince Lombardi trophy since the tandem of quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick started winning them in 2002, defeating the defending champion Seattle Seahawks 28-24.  Brady, who threw for four touchdown passes, won the game's Most Valuable Player award and the keys to a new pickup truck.

But the Patriots would have lost this game had it not been for one of the dumbest calls in football history.  With seconds to go and the ball near New England's goal line, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler.  Wilson talks a lot about dreams in his insurance commercials, but this one was a nightmare he may never live down.  And his coach Pete Carroll can explain all he wants about why he called the play the way he did.  Well, it didn't work and the Seahawks have to live with it until next season.

No matter what you think about the way the Patriots do business, whether it's allegedly spying on other teams, allegedly deflating footballs during a conference championship game, Brady gets away with too much, or Belichick is really Beli-cheat, you can't argue with the results.  Seven Super Bowl appearances in 15 years.  Four championships.  Not many others can say that.

The Halftime Show

Katy Perry isn't the greatest singer in the world, but she does know how to put on a show.  A mechanical lion during "Roar" that puts "The Lion King" to shame.  Dancing sharks.  Reviving the careers of Missy Elliot and Lenny Kravitz.  Kids knowing the meaning of "I Kissed a Girl" before parents did.  And a fireworks display during Perry's performance of --what else?--"Firework".  Only one question:  Where was Snoop Dogg?

The Commercials

Companies poured tons of money into this year's Super Bowl ads, hoping to make an impact on the biggest TV audience of the year.  So how come most of them were pointless and depressing?

• Budweiser once again topped the charts with another puppies-and-Clydesdales  ad, which makes it official:  America loves cute puppies.  So what does that have to do with selling beer?
• McDonalds is offering hugs and fist bumps in exchange for burgers in a limited-time promotion.  Considering how much trouble the Golden Arches has been having lately, this can't end well.
• Someone spills a bottle of Coke on Internet wires, leading to a takeover of communications with positive messages.  Now that's creepy.
• Nationwide insurance sees dead children.   Haley Joel Osment, call your agent.
• Why is Nissan using "Cat's In The Cradle", a song made famous by Harry Chapin, to promote safety in its cars?  Chapin died in a car accident in 1981.
• The ad about refuting stereotypes concerning running or throwing like a girl would have been a lot more effective if it came from a more mainstream product than feminine pads.
• The NFL-approved domestic violence ad looked more like it belonged on an episode of "Law & Order:  Special Victims Unit".
• Were the so-called "dad ads" really intended to shame fatherless children and those who choose not to be parents?

There it is, your brief respite from the real world.  Because soon enough, the NFL will be back in the news as controversies over concussions, domestic violence, racist team nicknames, deflated footballs and whatever else happens to come up dominate before next season begins.  That's why football is America's Game.
 

Wild 2014-15: Sick, Sad Season

Alternate logo since 2003. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

First the good news.  The National Hockey League announced that there will be three outdoor games in 2016.  The Winter Classic, to be held on New Year's Day in Foxborough, Mass., would pit the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens.  The Stadium Series will have the Minnesota Wild hosting the Chicago Blackhawks at the University of Minnesota's football stadium on February 21, to be followed by the Detroit Red Wings taking on the Colorado Avalanche at Denver's Coors Field February 27.

A Stadium Series game, which is one rung below the Winter Classic in terms of prestige, wasn't what the Wild had wanted.  But since they have neither the history nor the star power that the Blackhawks, Bruins and Red Wings do to host a Winter Classic, the Wild are just happy they got anything at all.

Meanwhile back on the ice, the Wild are on the brink of disaster after so many expected them to improve on their playoff performance of last season.  They are dead last in the NHL's Central Division with a 20-20-6 mark at the All Star break.  That adds up to 46 points, meaning they're at least ten away from the last playoff spot in the decidedly tough Western Conference.

Much has been made of the goaltending situation, in which Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper somehow lost their ability to keep the puck out of their net, and to keep Minnesota in the game.  But there have been other factors:  A lineup depleted due to injuries, illness (one of several NHL teams with players having the mumps) and death (the fathers of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, who were both hockey legends in their own right, passing away within months of each other).  Uninspired play, resulting in coach Mike Yeo going nuclear on his players during a practice session, causing rumors of a coaching change if things didn't improve.

Wild owner Craig Leipold has spent the equivalent of a small country's GNP to sign free agents with local connections such as Suter, Parise and Thomas Vanek.  Look where it's gotten Leipold so far.  The Wild still struggle to make the playoffs year after year, and they might not get that far this year..

They did get some goaltending help in the person of Devan Dubnyk, who they acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a draft pick.  He won his first two games in a Wild uniform before reverting back to the form we've become accustomed to.  Granted, Dubnyk is a nice short term solution.  But they need a real goaltender, and that won't become available until the off-season.

So maybe the NHL had the right idea in scheduling the Minnesota Wild for a Stadium Series game.  It would be hard for NBC (or NBCSN) to justify showing off a team that's made so many headline-making moves off the ice, only to see them fizzle on it.  In the State of Hockey, they expect better than that.

Ohio State: THE National Champion

''Ohio State Buckeyes men's soccer athletic logo'' (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ohio State University has won or shared college football's national championship five times (the last in 2002), whether it was done on the field or in the polls.  Monday the Buckeyes won their sixth, plucking the University of Oregon's duck feathers 42-20 at the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game in Arlington, Texas.

For Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, this is his third title.  The first two came at the University of Florida, and the stress that went along with it nearly killed him.  So Meyer took a break and became an ESPN commentator before going back on the sidelines in his native Ohio.

The fact that OSU got this far is amazing considering that they struggled through the Big Ten conference schedule with two quarterbacks, both of whom ended up injured.  Then along came third-string quarterback Cardale Jones, and things seemed to fall into place. 

The Buckeyes rolled over Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.  Then they upset Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, which served as one of the CFP's semifinals.

Oregon, the Pac-12 champion, won the other semifinal at the Rose Bowl over Florida State.  Thus ended the controversial college career of Seminole QB Jameis Winston.

The Ducks, other than being known for their prolific offense led by Heisman Trophy-winning QB Marcus Mariota, are also known for making fashion statements with its (paid for by Nike) uniforms.  On this night, they wore gray over white.  But they made a different statement on the field by giving up four touchdowns and 246 yards to OSU running back Ezekiel Elliot, as well as committing a number of penalties and turnovers.

The generically-named College Football Playoff, which was designed to settle arguments rather than create new ones, was rather prescient in its inclusion of Ohio State, as it turned out.  The folks at Baylor and Texas Christian might not agree, but their Big 12 conference currently doesn't have a playoff.  So look for more teams to participate in the CFP in future years.

Just because the Buckeyes happened to be the team that won the national championship, this does not change the perception that the Big Ten is a considerably weaker conference than the SEC, which has been dominating college football for the last decade.  Call it a fluke, if you must.

So the good folks of Columbus, Ohio get to celebrate another national championship college football team.  Then come September, that team will be asked to do it again.  If they don't, then let the arguments begin once more.

Minnesota Football '14: Promise of a New Day

Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the calendar changes to 2015, the Minnesota Vikings and University of Minnesota Golden Gophers have ended their seasons on a more-or-less positive note after being in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Gophers:  Sour Citrus Mars Season

The Gophers lost to Missouri in the Citrus Bowl at Orlando 33-17.  It wasn't a surprise that they lost another post-season game (they haven't won one since the 2004 Music City Bowl, and have dropped seven since), or that coach Jerry Kill has yet to win one (he's 0-5, and that includes his previous stop at Northern Illinois).  Bad decisions by Kill, five fumbles and the second-half domination by SEC-tested Missouri made sure of that.  It's just that it happened on New Year's Day, when it seemed the entire state of Minnesota (and a few other souls) were tuned in to ABC to witness something that hasn't happened in over 50 years.  It's kind of like watching the Vikings on Super Bowl Sunday, expecting a different result.

The Gophers finish at 8-5 (5-3 in the Big Ten Conference), with a much tougher schedule on tap in 2015.  With the usual comings and goings of players (Sophomore Maxx Williams, who scored a "Sportscenter"-worthy touchdown in the Citrus Bowl, is headed for the NFL), it's always a question of how Kill will mold what talent he's got to compete.  If the Gophers ever expect to be invited back to another of those big-deal bowl games, they'd have to play a lot better than they did in Orlando.  Or Nashville.  Or Houston.  Or Tempe.  Or . . .

Vikings:  No More Drama?

The Vikings completed their first full season at the college stadium that's named for a bank with a 7-9 record, good for third in the NFC North.  They defeated the last-place Chicago Bears 13-9 for their only division win of the year.  There would have been more victories had the Vikings held on to the lead late in some games.

They come away from the experience with Teddy Bridgewater as the undisputed Number One quarterback, leaving Matt Cassel (whose season-ending injury ushered in the Bridgewater Era much sooner than anyone anticipated) and Christian Ponder in the background and wondering about their futures.  The defense has improved to the point where no one misses Jared Allen (now with the Bears) any more.  But the offensive line left a lot to be desired.

Coach Mike Zimmer did well in his first season, considering all the challenges he faced.  Injuries.  No Adrian Peterson.  Cordarrelle Patterson seemingly checked out.  Mistakes made in play-calling, which cost the Vikings some games.  You know, the usual.

The major question going into next season, besides improvements on the offensive line, is what to do about Peterson.  He's due to come off his NFL suspension in April, and all signs point to him leaving the Vikings (and possibly football) because he's suddenly become a major PR liability.  But Zimmer and most of his players want Peterson back, if only to goose their record beyond seven wins.  With or without Adrian Peterson, the Vikings aren't ready for a playoff spot yet.  But they'll be a lot better off than they were before this season.

A Couple Other Things . . . 

• Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton recently let it be known that he's tired of having to get up early just to watch the Gopher football games, some of which started at 11 a.m. this past season.  So he wants a law that bans kickoffs before noon.  Doesn't the Governor know that the University of Minnesota doesn't control the start times for games, but ESPN and the Big Ten Network do?  Besides, in spite of their success this season, the Gophers aren't considered "elite" enough to warrant a better time slot against the likes of Ohio State or Wisconsin.  So forget the law, Governor, and start setting your alarm on Saturday mornings.
• Is anyone else as surprised as we are to see Ohio State and Oregon in the national college football championship game?  It means that, for a change, the Midwest and Pacific Northwest are the epicenters of the sport.  Not the Southeast.
• Our preliminary Super Bowl matchup:  New England vs. Seattle.