Pot Shots '16, Volume 2

English: USA Training session for players on the USA National team and USA Select team, beginning training in preparation for the FIBA World Championship. Training took place 14-18 April, culminating in a red-white scrimmage on 18 April at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the XL Center, Hartford Connecticut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The new athletic director at the University of Minnesota is Mark Coyle, who held the same position for a few months at Syracuse University (and the folks there are pretty hot about it, from what we hear).  He replaces interim AD Beth Goetz, who replaced disgraced AD Norwood Teague.  In a job that will earn him more money than either Governor Mark Dayton or University president Eric Kaler, Coyle will be asked to (A) extricate the department from the excesses of the Teague administration, (B) reassess the contributions of men's basketball coach Richard Pitino (more on him in a moment), men's hockey coach Don Lucia and football coach Tracy Claeys, and (C) refute the notion that the Gophers are a third-rate athletic power that couldn't get out of its own way (though the women's hockey team did win another national title).  Other than that, good luck to Mr. Coyle.  You'll need it.

Richard Pitino helms what is currently one of the worst men's college basketball programs in America, made even worse by the absence of several of his players due to injuries, suspensions and brushes with the law.  Now we learn that Pitino has been exceeding his budget for using the university's private jets.  The 'U' would love to get rid of Pitino right now, except he's got a $7 million buyout clause and the freshman class he's got coming up for next season might improve the Gophers' fortunes a little bit--provided they walk the straight and narrow.  Meanwhile, down at the University of Louisville, his father Rick Pitino is having problems of his own with the men's basketball team he coaches, which allegedly involves prostitutes and strippers.  Like father, like son?

Having won three of the last five WNBA championships, what does the Minnesota Lynx do for an encore?  All the stars are back:  Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles, and the return of Janel McCarville after a year off.  But another title depends on how healthy the Lynx are after the long Olympic break (Moore, Augustus, Whelan and Fowles are all Rio-bound), competition from such teams as the Phoenix Mercury (with Brittney Griner and the return of Diana Taurasi) and Los Angeles Sparks (Candace Parker), and from fresh-out-of-college stars like Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) and Rachel Banham (Connecticut Sun).  With all that, it is going to be very difficult for the Lynx to repeat as champions.  Even though it is an odd-numbered year, they should still have one more run in them.

With an 8-26 record through May 13, the Minnesota Twins have started their season as one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball.  Nobody has a good explanation for what happened to a team that some thought might contend for a playoff spot.  Instead, the Twins have been all but eliminated by Kentucky Derby Day.  At this point, even Nyquist, the horse that won the Derby, has a brighter future than the Twins.

Wild and Wolves: Coaching Experience Wanted

English: Bruce Boudreau during warmups of Game 2 of the Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup Conference Semifinals. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Head coach Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls looks on from the sideline against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center in Washington on February 28, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Two of Minnesota's pro sports franchises, the NHL Wild and NBA Timberwolves, have come to the conclusion that experience is the best teacher, deciding to hire men who have already had success coaching in the NHL and NBA to see if they could fix whatever ails those teams.

The Wild hired Bruce Boudreau, who until recently led the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals to consecutive division titles and Stanley Cup playoff appearances.  But his teams have had a tendency to lose the seventh game of a playoff round, which is why the Ducks ended up letting him go.

Boudreau replaces John Torchetti, the interim coach who was part of a long line of assistants and minor league coaches the Wild promoted to the top job with mixed success.  The last coach the Wild had with previous NHL experience was their first one, Jacques Lemaire.  He had won Stanley Cups as a player with the Montreal Canadiens, and as a coach with the New Jersey Devils.  The defensive style he imposed on the team served the Wild well in their beginning years, including a 2003 playoff run that ended when they lost the Western Conference title to the Ducks.

Boudreau will be asked to lead a team that, for all the big-money players on their roster signed to long-term contracts, have been underachievers who barely made the playoffs this past season.  The fact that the Wild lasted six games before losing to the Dallas Stars in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, when everyone thought they'd be gone in four or five games, should be considered an accomplishment.

The Timberwolves have had coaches with previous NBA experience before (Bill Musselman, Rick Adelman and Sam Mitchell come to mind), but they were all pretty much asked to keep a team with inferior talent afloat.

The situation is much different now with the arrival of Tom Thibodeau as the new Wolves coach and chief of basketball operations.  Thibodeau, who replaces Mitchell, previously led the Chicago Bulls to consecutive NBA playoff appearances before being let go in a dispute with management.

Here Thibodeau gets to coach a team that basketball experts think is on the rise with young talent like Anthony Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, yet hasn't made the playoffs in more than a decade.  All he has to do is to not run his players into the ground, which is something he was accused of doing when he was with the Bulls.

Do the Wild and Wolves really think experienced hands like Bruce Boudreau and Tom Thibodeau will help take them to where they want to go?  They'd better hope so.  They've tried everything else.  And unlike real teachers, pro coaches don't have tenure.

Wild 2015-16: Stumbling Out

Alternate logo since 2003. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Wild ended their NHL season with a first round Stanley Cup playoff loss in six games to the Dallas Stars, the team that left Minnesota nearly a quarter century ago.  Considering the type of regular season the Wild had, it's a wonder the team made it to the playoffs at all, let alone for the fourth consecutive season.  And why even a major overhaul might not be the answer for seasons to come.

The Wild ended the regular season with 87 points, the fewest to qualify for the playoffs since the shootout era began.  They had two epic winless streaks, which resulted not only in getting coach Mike Yeo replaced with John Torchetti on an interim basis, but in nearly missing out on the last wild card playoff spot.  Along with the poor-to-indifferent play, there were key injuries such as the one to Zach Parise, whose back issues caused him to miss the remainder of the season and may require surgery.

It is now painfully obvious that the Wild spent too much money signing too many long-term contracts with free agents who, it turns out, are past their prime.  The Iowa Wild, their minor league affiliate playing out of Des Moines, have been the worst team in the American Hockey League the past couple of seasons.  Minnesota's draft prospects aren't that great either, having traded most of those picks to get the veterans you see on the ice today.

General manager Chuck Fletcher is expected to stick around, and so might coach Torchetti--if for no other reason than the Wild couldn't find anyone better.  We hear there's not exactly a bumper crop of experienced former NHL coaches this year.

A Stanley Cup title is not in the Minnesota Wild's future as long as their underachieving players continue to coast during the regular season, doing just enough to earn that final playoff spot, then hitting the golf courses once they've been eliminated in the first or second round.  Management needs to be reminded that money spent on pricey free agents doesn't change everything.  It only masks the problems that already exist on the ice, no matter how many sellouts you have at Xcel Energy Center.

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Our projected Stanley Cup Final matchup:  Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Dallas Stars.

Wolves 2015-16: Out of the Ashes

The current Minnesota Timberwolves logo (2008-present) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Timberwolves began their season mourning the death of coach and director of basketball operations Flip Saunders.  Interim coach Sam Mitchell was tasked with the job of shepherding a team filled with talent, including Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine, that long-suffering fans hoped would take them to where the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors are now.

Now it's the end of the season, and the Wolves with a 29-53 record did not make the playoffs once again.  They made news in the past few weeks with signature wins over the Warriors (at Oakland), Oklahoma City, Portland and Memphis.  In the final game of the season at Target Center, the Wolves put up 144 points--the most in team history--on the New Orleans Pelicans.  Towns (a possible NBA Rookie of the Year) scored 28 points, 14 rebounds and two three-pointers, marking the 51st time this season that he has triple-doubled in a game.

Despite players and some media members requesting the Wolves to keep Mitchell as coach, his status went from 'interim' to 'former'.  The same fate awaits General Manager Milt Newton, once the NBA Draft is over and the team determines who takes over Saunders' old jobs.  There will be plenty of candidates this time around, unlike what happened before disgruntled Kevin Love was traded to the Cavs.

Yes, the Timberwolves have a bright future.  But that's the same thing we were told about the Minnesota Twins before this season, and look where they are now.  Winless to start the 2016 baseball season, as of April 14.  The Wolves have been down this road many times, and they are perfectly capable of screwing up the future again.

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Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant said goodbye to his playing career by dropping 60 points in a rare Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.  He has had a great career, but the Lakers and their fans couldn't wait to see him leave so they could start winning without him.

The Warriors did indeed win its 73rd game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies, a new NBA record.  Unless they win another championship, how much will it actually mean?

Our NBA Finals pick:  Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors.

UPDATE (4/20/16):  The new coach and Chief Basketball Operator is Tom Thibodeau, who used to run the Chicago Bulls and get them into the playoffs.  Time will tell whether Tommy T. will do the same thing with the Wolves before inevitably running them into the ground.

NCAA: A Dynasty and a Buzzer-Beater

English: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) logo. Source: http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/Public/mlp/promotions_special_events/pe_web/promo_manual/memos/identity.pdf Converted by User:King of Hearts from :Image:National Collegiate Athletic Association logo.png using Inkscape. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The 2016 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships were notable in that one team came completely out of nowhere to win it all, and the other renewed its dominance over the sport with a record-setting fourth consecutive title.  Here's what happened:

Connecticut 82, Syracuse 51

A few records were set in Indianapolis Tuesday as the Huskies won their fourth consecutive NCAA women's title.  Not only has no other team won that many in a row, but they have also won 75 straight games.  Coach Geno Auriemma has now won more championships (11) than John Wooden ever did during his tenure as the UCLA men's coach in the 1960s and 70s.  Senior Breanna Stewart closed her college career by scoring 24 points, ten rebounds and six assists against the Orange, earning her the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for the fourth time.  No other player had done that, either.

Some might ask whether UConn's domination is good for women's basketball when the sport is struggling to be on a par with the men's game in terms of media attention and fan support, and why the best players in the country seem to land on Auriemma's squad as if it were an all-star team.  This shouldn't diminish the impact of what the Huskies women have accomplished, but it should be food for thought.

Villanova 77, North Carolina 74

The Wildcats' win in Houston Monday night was just as surprising as the last time they won the men's title, which was in 1985.  Right after Marcus Paige of the Tar Heels shot a three-pointer to take the lead with five seconds left, Kris Jenkins went down the floor to hit his own three as time ran out to give Villanova the championship.  Ryan Arcidiacoma, who scored 14 points in the final game for the Wildcats, was the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player trophy winner.

If nothing else, Villanova not only rescued a mostly mediocre tournament filled with blowouts and upsets, but they also spared the NCAA from the embarrassment of having to strip North Carolina of its title because of alleged academic improprieties..  The Tar Heels might get sanctioned anyway, but nobody's holding their breath.

Seventeen million folks watched the men's championship game on TBS, the first time it had been seen only on cable.  That's eleven million down from last year's game on CBS, which was more highly-anticipated than this year's was.  Wonder if the number would have been more if there hadn't been "homer" feeds on TNT and truTV?

Twins 2016: Running In Place

Gulf Coast League Twins (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Twins had their best season since 2010, finishing in second place in the American League Central Division behind eventual World Series champion Kansas City.  Which was quite a feat since the Twins were consistently lousy in the years in between.  In 2016, they hope to do a lot better.

How can you do that when you're in a division where every other team has improved, at least on paper?  Other than signing a slugger from South Korea named Byung Ho Park, trading with the New York Yankees for backup catcher John Ryan Murphy and the retirement of Torii Hunter, the Twins didn't do much during the off season.

So General Manager Terry Ryan, manager Paul Molitor and everyone else will have to make do with young players (Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano) who have promise to be promising, a highly-paid veteran (Joe Mauer) they still don't know what to do with, an infield with hitting chops and little else, and a hot-and-cold pitching staff not marred (they hope) by drug suspensions and slumps.

Ricky Nolasco has been named the starting pitcher when the Twins open their season at Baltimore against the Orioles April 4.  What happens after that depends on how competitive they are with what they've got.  It won't be enough to get beyond third place, but enough to see more signs of life on a franchise that hasn't seen enough of it lately.

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Our picks for who's going into the playoffs come October:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST  Boston Red Sox
CENTRAL  Kansas City Royals
WEST  Houston Astros
WILD CARD  Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels

NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST  New York Mets
CENTRAL  St. Louis Cardinals
WEST  San Francisco Giants
WILD CARD  Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers 

Pot Shots 2016

Maria Sharapove (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The NCAA men's basketball tournament is going on as we speak.  That means teams from Power Five conferences with championship aspirations are playing "Cinderellas" from small conferences, played at neutral sites on generic-looking courts that might as well be mistaken for TV studios, and televised on networks other than CBS that are not known for sports coverage (TBS, TNT, TruTV).   Wake us when it's the Final Four, which will be held at a football stadium in Houston.

Peyton Manning retires from playing football after winning one more Super Bowl.  Now if he were only as nimble in getting past allegations of performance-enhancing drug use, or what really happened with allegations of sexual assault when he was a student at the University of Tennessee two decades ago.

The Minnesota Vikings have big plans for the future, now that their new Glass Palace is almost ready.  They recently purchased the old Northwest/Delta Airlines headquarters in suburban Eagan, hoping to turn it into a state-of-the-art office and practice facility.  The Vikings also tried to get the city of Minneapolis to change the name of the street their stadium is on from Chicago Avenue to Vikings Way, which was rejected and the team ultimately dropped the idea.  Changing the name of Chicago Avenue for competitive reasons (the Bears are in the same division, duh) makes the Vikings look petty and mean, not to mention ignorance of local history.  They shouldn't be overplaying their hand in public relations.

The Chicago White Sox have decided they'd rather let first baseman Adam LaRoche retire rather than let him bring his son into the team clubhouse for every game.  Now, most of us agree that clubhouses should be considered work places for players and not day care. But what if LaRoche's son had a fatal illness or some other special need?  Then the White Sox would be in PR hell for this.

Tennis star Maria Sharapova has admitted to testing positive for meldonium at the recent Australian Open, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.  For Sharapova's honesty, a few of her sponsors have dropped her, and any suspension would mean the end of her career.  Which makes you wonder about Serena Williams . . .

President Barack Obama is going to Cuba soon, becoming the first U.S. leader to visit there since Calvin Coolidge nearly 90 years ago.  While there, the President will attend a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and a team of Cuban all-stars.  It's all part of Obama's mission to make Castro Land safe for Americans again, even if Fidel and Raoul aren't going anywhere anytime soon.