Twins 2019: Leaders Under the Radar

To those of us who expected another lost season in a lost decade for the Minnesota Twins, there's something you should know:  As of July 10, the Twins are leading the American League Central division by 5 1/2 games over the Cleveland Indians.  They have one of the best records in Major League Baseball with 56 wins and 33 losses.  Suddenly the team is relevant again.

How did this happen, you ask?  First-year manager Rocco Baldelli has put together a lineup that so far has put the Twins on a home run pace not seen since the days of Harmon Killebrew, and a more competent pitching staff than anyone dared hope for.

The Twins' efforts haven't been noticed by the rest of baseball--yet--as the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers all lead their divisions at the All Star break.  Only pitcher Jose Berrios and shortstop Jorge Polanco were among the starters at the MLB All Star game in Cleveland, which was won by the American League 4-3.

How long the Twins can keep this up the rest of the season is anyone's guess.  Several key players, including Jake Odorizzi, Eddie Rosario, C.J. Cran, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton are either (A) on the injured list, or (B) flirting with irrelevance and a one way ticket to Rochester, NY.

When it comes to picking up name-brand talent toward the trading deadline, the Twins are usually out of the conversation unless they're the ones selling.  This year could be different, but unless team owner Jim Pohlad could be persuaded to open his bank vault, they're more likely to wind up with small-name castoffs for the stretch run.

And then there's Cleveland, the defending division champion that's been getting its act together after a slow start.  Remember when we said the C's were trailing by 5 1/2 games?  It used to be around ten.

For the Twins to win its first division title since the year Target Field opened,they'll need a lot of things to go right.  If not, then it's what we expected all along.

USWNT: Groundbreaking Champions

The United States women's soccer team won its fourth World Cup Sunday in France, shutting out the Netherlands 2-0.

Megan Rapinoe, who had scored in nearly every game, made a penalty kick in the 61st minute.  Rose Lavelle scored another in the 69th minute to wrap up a championship the Americans were heavily favored to win.

Not only did the American women beat the Dutch, but they also got in Dutch on and off the pitch.

--In their opening match against Thailand,  they scored 13 goals against an obviously overmatched opponent.  The USA was ripped for celebrating a bit too much.   Although they toned it down in subsequent matches, Alex Morgan did pretend to sip tea after scoring against England.

--Rapinoe, the driving force behind this team, got into it with President Donald Trump over being invited to the White House should the U.S. win the World Cup. She wanted nothing to do with it, just like so many athletes of sex and color before her.  Rapinoe also wouldn't salute the flag during the "Star Spangled Banner" in the conventional manner, much like Colin Kaepernick.

Well, they're getting their due anyway.  A ticker tape parade in New York and a visit to the halls of Congress awaits, courtesy of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York.

--Earlier, several members of the women's soccer team sued the American governing body for not getting paid as much as the men's team.  You will recall that the men's team didn't qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and that they are on shaky ground for 2022.

This might be the most important and lasting victory the U.S. women's soccer team will ever have if the courts (and society) see things their way.  Women earn less in all walks of life, including sports.  When you win four World Cups in two decades, you deserve something more than the thanks of a grateful nation, right?

Toronto Raptors: Champions From the North

Since 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series and the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, no Canadian-based pro sports franchise has won league championships in hockey, baseball and basketball.  Until Thursday night.

The Toronto Raptors, who began their existence in 1995, won the NBA championship with a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the Finals at Oakland, CA.  Pascal Sickam and Kyle Lowry both scored 26 points to wrap it up for the Raptors.  Kawhi Leonard, whose one-year sojourn in Canada before moving on to free agency resulted in a title, was named the MVP for the playoffs.

The Warriors were in their fifth consecutive Finals, going for their third straight championship.  This was not their best team, though Stephen Curry almost pulled a title out of his hat with his late-game heroics.  But "Strength In Numbers", their head-scratching slogan, became a misnomer when two of their stars went down to injuries.  Kevin Durant, who was not able to play for most of the playoffs, made an ill-advised comeback in Game 5 at Toronto, suffering an Achilles injury.  Klay Thompson tore his ACL in Game 6, which sealed the Warriors' fate.  Both are not expected to play next season.

The fact that Leonard, Durant and Thompson are all going to be free agents, and whose fates might determine how much they're worth to whichever team they sign with, can't be overstated.

The Raptors got this far by going through the Eastern Conference playoffs, leaving the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks (in that order) in their wake.  The Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers to represent the Western Conference.

The Raptors' TV ratings went through the roof in Canada, but that didn't help ABC, which couldn't count Toronto into their numbers.  Neither did the lack of LeBron James (who played for the Los Angeles Lakers this past season), or the continued presence of the Warriors in the championship series.  But it did go six games, so ABC got decent ratings for that.

The normally reserved Canadians, led by unofficial head cheerleader Drake (who has touched more people than presidential candidate Joe Biden these days), have gone nuts over the success of the Raptors.  Why, the team might even get a photo-op with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"We The North" indeed.  It's time for the Maple Leafs to step up.  They haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.

The Stanley Cup Marches Into St. Louis

In St. Louis, where baseball and the Gateway Arch dominate the landscape, hockey fans are no longer singing the blues over their team.  Instead, they're singing "Gloria", a 1982 hit record by Laura Branigan that became their victory song.

The Blues defeated the Bruins in Boston 4-1 Wednesday night, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 52-year history.  Ryan O'Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo scored goals in the first period of Game 7, followed in the third by Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford to wrap it up.  Goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 32 shots.  O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP in the playoffs, having scored goals in four consecutive games.  No one had done that since Wayne Gretzky.

The Blues were a rags-to-riches story this season, having sat at the bottom of the National Hockey League standings on New Year's Day.  Then a coaching change was made, with Craig Berube replacing Mike Yeo.  Then they ripped off a string of victories, thanks in part to Binnington's goaltending, that ended with a high playoff position in the Western Conference..  The Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks all fell before the Blues along their playoff run.

The Bruins more or less benefited from upsets that had rocked the Eastern Conference during the playoffs, which included the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning getting swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Carolina Hurricanes dethroning last year's champion Washington Capitals.  Boston took care of the Blue Jackets, Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs to make it to the finals.

The Blues entered the NHL in the 1967-68 season with five other expansion teams (Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars and Oakland Seals) that played in a division of their own.  St. Louis represented that division in the Stanley Cup finals for three consecutive years, losing the Cup to the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins without ever winning a game.  Then came a half century of waiting, as all anyone remembered of the Blues' last trip to the finals were endless replays of the Bruins' Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring the championship-winning goal in overtime at Boston Garden.

The city of Boston has won enough professional sports titles since the beginning of the 21st century.  It's time for some other city to enjoy that honor, and look what's come marching into St. Louis.  Laura Branigan, who died in 2004, must be very proud.

St. Thomas: Victims of Their Own Success

The University of St. Thomas, a private school based in St. Paul, has been a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) for nearly a century.  They have an undergraduate population of over six thousand, which is more than the other schools (most of them in smaller towns) in the conference.

UST has also been a powerhouse in Division III athletics, having won several conference and national championships in various sports.  Which is also more than other schools in the MIAC.

The problem for St. Thomas, as far as the MIAC is concerned, is that so much winning tends to breed resentment.  Their football team, for example, has blown away the competition as often as James Holzhauer keeps setting records as a contestant on "Jeopardy!" (he's up to over $2.2 million in winnings as of 5/28/19).  A 97-0 shutout of St. Olaf immediately comes to mind.

So the MIAC announced last week that St. Thomas has been "involuntarily removed" from the conference, effective in 2021.  That meant they were kicked out for too many victories, too many blowouts, and too many students enrolled.  The MIAC hasn't publicly said why, but one could guess.

This is the same conference whose members have the least creative nicknames in college sports, unless your imagination is more creative than the schools.  St. John's is known as the Johnnies.  Augsburg has the Auggies.  Gustavus Adolphus the Gusties.  St. Olaf the Oles, Carleton's teams are named the Carls.  Oh, and St. Thomas is known as the Tommies.  One of the few nicknames in the conference that is considered normal is the Hamline University Pipers (the Pied Piper of Hamlin, get it?).  At least they aren't known as the Hammies.

All of this leaves St. Thomas without many options.  If they want to continue in NCAA Division III (small schools, no scholarships), they'll have to join a conference full of Wisconsin-based universities which includes Yours Truly's alma mater, the University of Wisconsin at River Falls.  The Tommies can keep their lucrative football rivalry with St. John's, hockey, and other athletic programs.  If they decide to move up to Division II, they'll have to spend money on scholarships and improved facilities, but there would also be no more football rivalry or hockey.  Or they could go independent.

I have family members who have matriculated at MIAC universities in the past, and this is like asking the oldest son to leave the farm because he's become too big for his britches.  St. Thomas will find its way in the world, and the little schools they leave behind will now have to fend for themselves.

Wild, Wolves 2018-19: Early Exits

For the second consecutive year, the NHL Minnesota Wild and NBA Timberwolves ended their seasons at the same time.  Last year, you will recall, both teams made it to the first round of the playoffs before bowing out.  This time, neither of them qualified and the playoffs are going ahead without them.

Wild:  You Can't Win If You Don't Score

The team ended up out of the running for Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time since 2012 with 83 points (37-36-9) and last place in the Central Division.  Despite signature wins at league leaders Tampa Bay, Winnipeg and Washington, they had too many bad losses to bad teams and failed to take advantage of home ice.

The Wild scored 211 goals this season, and gave up 237.  Despite heroic efforts by the goaltending staff, it was all negated by the collective failure to put the puck in the net.  They had consecutive games last season in which they were shut out, including season-ending losses to the Boston Bruins at home and the Dallas Stars on the road.

Yes, injuries played a part with several players--notably Mikko Koivu, Zack Parise and Matt Dumba (in a fight, no less)--spending time on the disabled list.  General manager Paul Fenton, in his first season, tried to help by trading popular players Charlie Coyle to the Bruins, Mikael Granlund to the Nashville Predators, and Nico Niederriter to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Younger players tried to step up, whether they came through trades or through the Iowa Wild:  Joel Eriksson Ek, Luke Kunin, Jordan Greenway and Ryan Donato.

Coach Bruce Boudreau has one season left on his contract, and a final chance to prove that all the inconsistency the Wild has been noted for in recent years isn't completely his fault.  Another season like this one, though, and Fenton might get the opportunity to name his own coach.

First, they need to re-learn how to score goals.

Stanley Cup Final Matchup in June:  Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Nashville Predators.

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Timberwolves:  Familiar Territory

During the NCAA Men's Final Four in Minneapolis, Charles Barkley, TV's best-known basketball commentator who was covering the tournament for CBS, went off on the Wolves during a Katy Perry concert.  He said the reason he hasn't been back in town for years was that the team "sucked".

Tell us something we didn't know, Sir Charles.

The Wolves landed in familiar territory, with a 36-46 record that left them out of the Western Conference playoff picture.  But so did LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, which means they'll have a better draft pick than the Wolves will.  Because they're the Lakers.

In a season that began with Jimmy Butler whining his way to Philadelphia, followed by his partner-in-crime coach Tom Thibodeau out the door, the Wolves took their usual place as the team where good things seldom happen.  Karl-Anthony Towns seems to think he has a future here, having signed a contract extension.  So did Andrew Wiggins, although the way he played at times this season seemed to suggest (as Sheryl Crow would put it) a change would do him good.

Thibodeau's replacement Ryan Saunders (yes, Flip Saunders' son) and general manager Scott Layden are both on the bubble in terms of returning next season.  But don't be surprised if both come back.  Because with the Wolves, it's not what you know, but who owner Glen Taylor knows and feels comfortable with.

If Charles Barkley ever decides to come back to the Twin Cities, it should be because the Timberwolves have an improved team that are making the playoffs with regularity.  Not because the NCAA was so impressed by the way Minneapolis handled the Men's Final Four that they gave this city another one.  That's assuming, of course, that the Wolves are still here by then.

NBA Finals Matchup in June:  Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics.

NCAA: Virginia and Baylor Rule College Basketball

The University of Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team rewrote the narrative of a top-seeded team who, only last season, lost to a 16th seed named Maryland-Baltimore County and was ridiculed everywhere they went.  They just won the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship for the first time in Minneapolis, defeating Texas Tech in overtime 85-77.

De'Andre Hunter scored 27 points and Kyle Guy scored 24 to lead the Cavaliers to victory, not to mention being nearly perfect against the Red Raiders in OT to seal it. 

This time around, Virginia was an under-the-radar team that somehow skipped over the top seeds in the tournament to get where they are. They got past Gardner-Webb, Oklahoma, Oregon, Purdue and Auburn on the way to Minneapolis.  It also helped that fellow ACC conference teams Duke (with all-world freshman Zion Williams) and North Carolina were both defeated. 

Granted, the final four of Virginia, Texas Tech, Auburn and Michigan State did not set CBS' TV ratings on fire.  But the teams did compensate with good basketball and exciting finishes, and that's all you can really ask.  Oh, and a controversial finish that ended up benefiting the Cavaliers while deflating Auburn and famous alum Charles Barkley.

So yes, Virginia.  The school that was founded by Thomas Jefferson is a national basketball champion.

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In Tampa, Florida Sunday, Baylor won its third women's basketball title, defeating defending champion Notre Dame 82-81.

The Bears' first title since 2012 came with Chloe Jackson scoring 26 points and the winning score with 3.6 seconds remaining.  They had to overcome not only Lauren Cox' third quarter knee injury that took her out of the game, but also a late charge by the Irish that culminated in Arike Ogunbowale closing out her college career by missing free throws that would have tied the game.

Pat Mulkey, Baylor's coach, is now only the third person in NCAA history to win at least three women's championships.