Jeremy: ... and Tigers... OH MY!!!

Nobody, and I mean not one single person, expected the Tigers to win a series in the Metrodome this weekend against the Hometown 9... I wouldn't even have been surprised if the Tigers themselves had some doubts about coming in and beating the hottest team in baseball.
But OH MY GOODNESS...
Look, I knew the Tigers were good, anyone can tell by their record that they are good, but I haven't had much chance to see them play this year. I've heard that they are scrappy, that they find all kinds of ways to win. But these guys are unreal! You cannot make a mistake against Detroit, or it will cost you dearly.
Just ask Brad Radke. No stranger to getting knocked around in the first or second innings, Radke looked like a little leaguer last night. You throw anybody on the Tigers a hitable pitch (and Radke threw PLENTY of hitable pitches) and guess what... well, just have a look at the play-by-play for the top of the first inning...

Brad Radke pitching for Minnesota
C Granderson singled to left. 0 0
P Polanco singled to center, C Granderson to second. 0 0
C Monroe singled to left, C Granderson to third, P Polanco to second. 0 0
M Ordonez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Granderson scored, C Monroe out at second, P Polanco to third. 1 0
C Guillen grounded into fielder's choice to first, P Polanco scored, M Ordonez out at second. 2 0
D Young singled to right, C Guillen to second. 2 0
M Thames flied out to left. 2 0
2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors

Detroit then proceeded to add one in the second, and one in the third, and that was that for Brad Radke. (Here's a fun little stat, courtesy of ESPN.com: "Opponents are hitting .390 off Radke in the first inning this season.")
Of course we know, the Twins battled back, but ended up falling short and the Tigers won 8-6.
Let me go ahead and say that nothing anybody has said about the Twins in the past week has been wrong. They HAVE been the hottest team in baseball, they HAVE been doing everything right, the offense HAS come around and the pitching HAS been better than it was earlier in the season. None of this changed on Friday or Saturday night. Outside of Radke's poor performance, the Twins did almost everything right, but the Tigers are just a better baseball team.
If anybody is suggesting that the Twins are going to catch the Tigers... well, then I just don't think those people have actually seen the Tigers play. (My apologies to Jeffrick after reading his Twins fever post... I will guess that his opinion has changed slightly too.) Of course their W-L record is incredible for this time of year (70-33, 37 GAMES OVER .500?!?!?! HOLY SH*#!!!), but the difference with them is that offensively Detroit's execution is almost flawless. Sacrifice flies, moving runners into scoring position, baserunning, stealing, they do it all, and they do it all well. Not to mention the fact that they hit for average and they hit for power all over their lineup. The Twins are a very good ball club right now, but there just simply is nobody in baseball that comes close to the Tigers.
With the Twins sweeping the Sox earlier this week in Chicago, and now Detroit banging the first two out against the Twins at the Dome, we really have an opportunity to see who the front-runner is in the Central. If everyone in the AL Central continues to play like they have the last two weeks, then all will be right with the world. Detroit will win the division, the Twins will end up second, and the White Sox will fall away quietly. The only question left is what happens with the Yankees and the AL Wild Card.
I think I speak for us all when I say...
I cheer for the Twins, and whoever is playing the Yankees.

Jeff: I've got a Twins Fever, and the only prescription is...

MORE TWINS!!!

That's right, this die-hard Seattle Mariners fan has Twins Fever and I can't help it anymore. I would never break my allegiances with the M's, but I finally broke down and bought a piece of Twins paraphenalia last night to wear to the Twins/Tiggers tilt tonight when I got with TheBigSam (it's his last night in Minnesota. SAD BIGSAM! SAD!) and my roomy Kris. I'm hoping this won't be my last Twinkies game this year, and I probably need to stop wearing Mariners stuff to the Dome- especially when Minnesota isn't even playing them. So I picked up the Justin Morneau jersey/tshirt, justifying that as supporting a hometown guy (we're both from different suburbs of Vancouver, BC) while maybe kinda sorta admitting I'm getting caught up in this incredible Twins run. You've heard the numbers by now: 34-8 and now right smack dab in the middle of the wildcard race. And if they can take 2 of 3 from Detwah this weekend (a very good possibility) they'd be welcomed back into the division race too.

I just love being in a town with a team in a pennant race. After their awful April and parts of May, the Twinkies have been baseball's best team the past two months, and don't think the fine citizens of the Land o' 10000 Lakes haven't noticed. Usually walk-up tickets are easy to come by at the Dome, especially on a summer Friday night, but with all the hype (and with The Cisco Kid on the mound) for this series, we had Sammy go pick up tickets yesterday to make sure we got them. It's like playoff baseball in July, and I'm absolutely loving it.

What makes this even better for Twins fans is that the Little Engine That Could is scaring the bejeezus out of the rest of the league right now. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, wants to face this team in the playoffs. Nobody wants to see Santana and Liriano 4 times in a 7 game series, because if that happens your chances of beating those guys 4 times (which just also happens to be the number of games you need to win a playoff series) are slim to none. Add a lights out bullpen and a rejuvenated Brad Radke to the pitching mix, and the Twins should be the favorites in baseball to win it all- IF they can just get in.

I've been a proponent of having the LETC (Little Engine That Could) spend some serious money on a cleanup hitter, which will probably not happen for the umpteenth trade deadline in a row. However, this time around I actually agree with it. There's only one guy the Twins could get that would be worth giving up P Matt Garza and some other top prospects for. It's not Alfonso Soriano, who's price tag according to most sources is 2 or 3 top-level prospects, or the Carlos Lee, who was just dealt today to the Texas Rangers (also dealing a major blow to any playoff chances my M's had in the AL West). Both of those guys are the corner-outfield thumpers the Twins needs. But considering their both free agents at year's end, and would be unlikely to get a big contract offer in the offseason, it's just not worth it give up some top prospects for a two-month rental.

The only guy who COULD be on the market that would be worth it for me is Baltimore Orioles SS Miguel Tejada. The Orioles are going nowhere again this year, and Peter Angelos might finally be ready to trade away his most prized trade chip to blow it up and start over. It would cost the Twins Garza and at least one other top guy, but I think it'd be worth it. He not only solves the cleanup-hitter conudrum, but he could slide over to comfortably play third. I know, I know, I know Twins fans...what about Nick Punto? Punto's been hitting .385 in July, but there's a reason he's a .261/.331/.349 career hitter. He won't keep this up all year, and when the playoff chase comes, would you rather have Punto or Tejada up in a big situation? I thought so.

I don't expect Terry Ryan to make this deal, but if there's one out there to make a splash, that's the one. Although the backend of the Twins rotation has struggled, it doesn't make any sense to try and add another starter because there's so few guys available and none of them (not counting Barry Zito) are any better than the guys the Twins already have. If Silva can keep the ball down and the sinker sinking, he'll be fine as the #4 guy, and they can mix and match (possibly Garza) for the 5th rotation spot.

I'm expecting Ryan to let this team play out and not make any moves, but I DO think there's one deal that makes a lotta sense for the Twins. It would give them a big bat without compromising their, um, fiscally responsible (read cheap skate) mentallity, and also wouldn't cost them any prospects. The Twins should deal righty Kyle Lohse to the Red Sox for outfieled Wily Mo Pena. Lohse and his $3.9 million salary won't be returning to the Twins next year, and although he's out of the rotation in Minnesota, he's better than the guys the Sox have been trying to put in their 4th and 5th starter slots.

Like Loshe, Pena has fallen out of favor with the Red Sox. He's not a good defender, but at 24 with ridiculous power, he'd be worth the gamble to add the power bat the Twins crave (remember, despite their torrid pace, the Twinks are still 2nd to last in HR's in the league). And he's only making $1.25 million. Even if the Twins had to throw in a marginal prospect along with Pena, it would definitely be worth the risk.

Whether Ryan makes a move or not, the Twins have to be the frontrunners for the Wild Card and will challenge the Tiggers the rest of the year, and that means Twins Fever should continue to sweep the upper Midwest the rest of the summer. Remember, the Twins put their pants on one leg at a time just like you. Except they make gold records- wait no they win lots and lots of baseball games.

Jeremy: Quickly

*The Twins have won their last 7 games (all at home) and yet it seems like nobody is holding out any hope that they will win this weekend's series in Cleveland. (By the way, count me as one of those people who holds out no hope that they will win the series in Cleveland this weekend.) Until they Twinks start proving that they can win on the road, instead of the current trend of only being able to prove that they can lose on the road, nobody is going to take them seriously as a contender. This shouldn't be the case for a team that is suddenly only 4 games out of the American League Wild Card position.

*I realize that I'm a homer of the most rubish kind, and I normally don't talk about any other teams in the NFL besides the Vikings, but here's something that threw me off this morning: Chris Brown wants out of Tennessee, and in the words of Jeffrick, "can't blame him." Remember just a couple of years ago when the Titans were one of the top teams and near the top of the AFC, it seemed like, every year? Steve McNair was a top 5 quarterback, Eddie George was a top 5 runnings back... what happened to these guys? Suddenly they are relying on two rookies to bolster their offense? Did you know that both Travis Henry and Chris Brown are under 30 years old? Why is it that they both seem ancient?

*NFL line of the week, from Jason Whitlock's 10 NFL Truths column: 9. Brett Favre will regret his decision to return to the Packers by Week 4, when John Madden won't be around on "Monday Night Football" to explain away Favre's terrible performance against the Eagles.

*Something deep down inside of me wants to see Tiger Woods struggle. I can't explain it, but something in me wants to see Tiger lose week after week, and I don't even care who beats him. I used to feel this way about the Bulls, there was really no reason that I could come up with that I wanted to see MJ and the Bulls NOT win championship after championship, I just didn't. And I just don't want to see Tiger win either. Maybe it's because I like parity in sports so much, the same reason I love the NFL so much, but I know it's not rational, and I am sorry. For me, I feel toward Tiger Woods a little bit like Wes Mantooth felt toward Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman," I don't like Tiger Woods, but damnit do I ever respect him!

*I did not watch one single minute of World Cup Soccor on purpose. I might be the only person in America that didn't become a bigger soccor fan after the World Cup.

*This will be the only time I write about Danica Patrick and her back-and-forth dance with NASCAR... I DON'T CARE!

Jeff: Goodbye Says It All

Tis a sad, sad day. I had heard all the rattling about how the Sonics could or might move but never thought it would happen, but now it looks like a virtual certainty that 2006 will be their last year in Seattle. And that sucks. I realized after hearing the news yesterday how much I loved them. Shawn Kemp was my favorite player growing up, as was Payton until owner Howard Schultz made the stupid move of trading him. I love Nate McMillan, Detlef, Sam Perkins, Ricky Pierce, Eddie Johnson and on and on and on. That was my team. Seattle had Sonics fever, and with MJ hitting his twilight, it seemed certain the Sonics were set for a run at the Title well into the new century. My move down to Minnesota cooled it a bit as their moron GM (who's still employed there, by the way) refused to talk about an for Kemp (who at the time, in '96, was the best power forward in basketball and a top 10 guy) but then signed Big White Stiff Jim McLvaine to a contract larger than Kemps. That was really the snow flake that started the avalanche that became the Sonics leaving town.

As I was moving south to Minnesota, the fortunes of the team went south too. They wouldn't give GP an extension that could have kept him in Seattle for the rest of his career, and so he was dealt too. By the turn of the century, the team I knew and grew up loving was gone. I had also found a new love in Kevin Garnett, and being in Minnesota and around passionate Wolves fans (none more so than my buddy Jer) my love for the Sonics waned. I still followed them as much as I could (as much as I wanted the NBA League Pass the budget simply wouldn't allow it), but never with the same passion. However, after this past season, I officially decided to stop following or caring about the Timberwolves until they fire GM Kevin McHale (which I'm pretty sure will never happen). It was too much anguish and anger to follow a team who had no leadership and no clue coming from the front office, and knowing that because the owner has the world's biggest Mancruch on McHale, it's never going to change.

So I was ready to give myself back to the Sonics. Back to Seattle. Back to my roots. I was hoping they'd land Adam Morrison or Brandon Roy in the draft (instead of their 3rd Stiff center in a row), but none the less I was excited to be back where I should have been all along- with the green and gold (and for a couple of years there the green, red and gold).

Then the news broke yesterday. I immediately dialed up 950 KJR on the internet and listened to Gros' reaction and the press conference and Gros with Gas. It ended up being about 3 hours of coverage and talk about the Sonics and how upset everyone out there was. And I felt the same. All my my memories came flooding back. The good, like the '96 Finals run, or any GP-to-the-Reignman alley-oop. And also the bad, like Dikemebe F%^&ing Mutumbo laying on OUR FLOOR clutching the basketball like a baby after they're comeback (I've hated him since that day. Also for the finger-wagging. I hate the finger-wagging) or game 7 of the Conference Finals against the Suns when David Stern was still determining the outcome of games. But I realized then how much I loved the Sonics, and how much I cared. And that I probably cared too much.

Now it looks as though we'll get one last year of Seattle Supersonics basketball. Blame Howard Schultz, blame the politicians in King County, blame Wally Walker for the McIllvane signing that started all of this. THey all deserve an equal share. But I also want to thanks. Thanks to Kevin Colabro, who to me was the Voice of the Sonics growing up (and STILL the best play-by-play guy around). Thanks to Kemp, Payton, Detlef, Nate, Big Smooth, Michael Cage, Ricky Pierce, Dana Barros, Xavier McDaniel, Tom Chambers, George Karl and everyone else that I loved as a Sonics fan. And most importantly thanks to all the Sonics fans who made being one with them such an enjoyable experience. The city of Seattle (despite what Rick Reilly said a few months back) has some of the best, most loyal fans in the country, and they don't deserve this. Hopefully Seattle will get a chance to be a basketball city again soon. Until then, thanks for the memories.

Jeremy: Weeping for a man

Here's what you need to know about this picture.
1. This picture was taken outside of the Metrodome after the Twins game on Friday night.
2. It was taken with my phone.
3. YES, the guy is carrying his girlfriend's purse.
4. He did not look uncomfortable doing this.
5. I laughed out loud when I saw this.
6. I died a little bit inside later that night when my soul wept slightly for the death of this gent's manhood.
7. My wife knows that this will never be me.

The Monday Musings

The quality of today's Musings will be worse than usual because I am entirely unmotivated today. Bloody hot weather with like 124% humidity will do that to you. So will the complete lack of decent sporting events on TV over the weekend. I actually watched parts of the celebrity golf event in Lake Tahoe yesterday. However it DID provide me with an opportunity to laugh out loud. When Ravens QB Kyle Boller strolled up to the tee, commentator Dan Hicks mentioned that Boller had a new backup in Steve McNair. Really? Um Dan? I think that's the other way around. Boller should keep working on the golf game, because he won't be seeing much football action this year.

* Speaking of unmotivated AND football (how's that for a transition) I managed to preview 2 NFL divisions before realizing I'm not going to finish the preview this year either. Hey I tried, but summer classes keep getting in the way. Who do I hate more: the person who invented the idea of classes in the summer, or me for taking them? You're right, it's me. I'm an idiot.

* So to finish off the preview, here's my predicted order of finish for the other 6 divisions...and I'll throw in the NFC West and South again just for %^&* and giggles. (* denotes wild card)

NFC
West
St Louis
Seattle*
Arizona
San Fran

South
Carolina
Atlanta
Tampa
New Orleans

North
Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit
Green Bay

East
NY Giants (Eli makes The Leap this year)
Dallas*
Washington
Philly

AFC
West
Kansas City (LJ cracks 2000 yds this year)
Denver*
San Diego
Oakland

South
Indy
Jacksonville
Houston
Tennessee

North
Pittsburgh
Baltimore*
Cincinnati
Cleveland

East
Miami
New England
J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!
Buffalo

* I need help deciding on my 3rd keeper in a fantasy football league. My first 2 are no brainers: wideouts Steve Smith and Terrell Owens. My 3rd is either Willis McGahee or Eli Manning, who I'm convinced makes the Carson Palmeresque leap here in his 3rd season into elite status (well at least until the playoffs when he melts down just like his brother). I have to keep at least one running back, right? RIGHT?

* College football is right around the corner. Remember kids, for the sake of the student-athletes we can't have a playoff system because it would take too much time away from studies. But we CAN add a mandatory 12th game (13 if you play Hawaii), and start games in almost mid-August. No contradiction there. Glad to know they've got the players well-being, and BILLIONS of dollars, in mind here.

* Despite that I"m positively giddy at the thought of college football. Sure my UDub Huskies and the local Minnesota Golden Gophers will be lucky to combine for the 6 wins to be eligible for one of like 98 bowl games, but I'm still positively excited. With Vince Young graduating and like half of USC under investigation, things are as wide-open as ever this year. All the top teams have a ton of talent and plenty of question marks. You have to like West Virginia's chances of running the table, and I think Auburn has a good chance to do the same in an impossibly tough SEC. Still, if USC doesn't lose Dwayne Jarrett for more than a game or two, I think USC returns to the national title game. Remember what happened last time they had to replace a Heisman winning quarterback.

* Is there even a question that Texas will lose to Oklahoma this year? Stoops has beaten UT every year when the talent levels have been close, and now that VY is gone, so are the Horns chances of beating the Sooners. Sure Jamaal Charles and their usual good D will be tough, but there's no overcoming having to start a freshman QB- or having Mack Brown have to outcoach Stoops.

* We're about 2 weeks away from the baseball trade deadline, and there are a grand total of 7 teams that can be considered out of the running (Tampa, Baltimore, KC, Cleveland, Washington, Pittsburgh and the Cubbies). A few more may drop out (i.e. Seattle as long as Hargrove continues to manage and insists on using Carl Everett as his DH. You or I could hit as poorly as C-Rex right now) but there's going to be a lot of teams buying and very few selling. Why can't the trade deadline be pushed back to mid-August?

* Don't look now, but after getting destroyed by the Yankees this weekend, the White Sox have come back to the pack. Looks like we'll have a wild card race after all!

* Finally, my other laugh-out-loud moment from the weekend: watching a preview for Talledega Nights and hearing the names of Ricky Bobby's sons. Walker, and Texas Ranger. HA! Wow I'm dying right now just thinking about that! August 4th can't come soon enough!

Jeff: The Time to Deal KG Is Now

Before I take the plunge into the darkness of "we need to trade KG" territory, let me first say congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Jer.

Onto the business at hand. Jer is the most passionate Minnesota sports fan that I know, and is just as passionate about Kevin Garnett. The fact Jer stated in his post just below this one that although it would kill him to see KG go, that it'd be good for Kev because he's not going to win a ring here, well, he's right. KG's not winning a ring here. I thought Strib columnist Jim Souhan put it best last week, saying

"What is wrong with the Wolves, Garnett can't fix alone, and that's his only option if he stays."

I couldn't have said it any simpler. Garnett is in a no-win situation because the roster is essentiall locked for his remaining three years on his contract. Thanks to the moves made by GM Kevin McHale, the Wolves are capped out for the remainder of Garnett's tenure in Minnesota, meaning not only can they not add any viable players via free agency, but they can't trade for any either because the guys that ARE eating up salary (i.e Mark Blount, Marko Jaric and Troy Hudson) are virtually untradeable at this point. So what you're stuck with is a team that at its best is good enough for the 7th or 8th playoff spot (meaning you get whipped in the first round) or at worst the 7-14th worst lottery team (and not bad enough to get into the top 5 where you've got a decent chance at landing a high pick).

So basically the Wolves you saw last year are the Wolves you'll see through 2008-- and that's IF Garnett doesn't force a trade before then, which he almost certainly would. Garnett deserves a shot at at title, and there is not only the perfect destination out there for him right now, but it's a place that can also give the Wolves some great building pieces back. Not only that, but a trade for Garnett now is going to net you more than it would say in February before the deadline when everyone knows you HAVE to trade him.

Ladies and gentlemen, the next destination for Kevin Garnett should be: the Chicago Bulls.

Bloggers and fans and even the media often make a common error when suggesting trades: they only look at one side. People like to think you can combine a few of your fringe players together in a big bundle and bring back an all-star. Not going to happen, even with Isiah Thomas still employed in New York (at least until Christmas). Chicago has been a rumored destination for KG for awhile because he spent his senior year of high school there, AND the Bulls have some nice young players, as well as the cap room to absorb KG's mammoth contract without Minnesota having to take back a bad contract to match salaries. The rumors continue to swirl because it makes so much sense for both sides.

First there's Chicago. GM John Paxson has rebuilt the Bulls beautifully with young players and plenty of cap space, but the signing of Ben Wallace earlier this week for a fat salary actually ENHANCES the Wolves bargaining position. With Garnett, plus Wallace as the inside defender and rebounder every team would love, along with uberpoint guard Kirk Heinrich and a bevy of talented wing players, the Bulls are the new favorites to represent the East in the Finals. And although I don't think the BUlls would be better than Phoenix, Dallas or San Antonio, as the Heat showed this past year and the Pistons showed 3 years ago, if you're good enough to get there, even if you're not favored on paper, you can be good enough to win it. Garnett's 31, Wallace is 30, and together you've got a 4 year window for a championship run. Without Garnett the Bulls still have a gaping hole at the 4 spot, and no inside scorer. They're improved, but probably only the 4th best team in the East. And Paxson knows this. The Ben Wallace signing turned Garnett from a luxury to a necessity for the Bulls. No one else makes as much sense for them as he would, and nobody would work as well as he would. He's the guy they now HAVE to have to make the Wallace signing a good move.

For the Wolves? It's the only trade partner that makes sense, as long as you get one thing: Chicago's 1st round pick for the upcoming 2007 draft- and along with it, the right to swap that pick with the Knicks (which you're 99.99999999% guaranteed to do because of how awful the Knicks will be this coming season). Paxson has been very, very, VERY reluctant to include this pick in any deals for anybody. Why? If you haven't heard, the 2007 draft is being lauded by people in the basketball community as anything from the best draft in years to the best in decades. There are 5 bonafide potential superstars expected to declare, the best of the bunch being Ohio State-bound center Greg Oden. Oden has been touted since he was a high school freshman as the best big man since Tim Duncan or David Robinson. After he destroys the Big 10 next year, you'll see that those comparisons are accurate. The other elite prospects aren't too shabby either and would go a long way towards hitting the fast-forward button on rebuilding for whatever team is lucky enough to have a pick in the top 5. And here's the thing: if the Wolves demand that Chicago/Knicks pick be included for Garnett, Minnesota has a very real chance of having not one but TWO top 5 picks next year. That's a helluva way to start the post-KG era in Minnesota.

I did some research on this (thanks to realgm.com for the info) and it looks like McHale wasn't quite as dumb as I'd feared. Although his trade of Sam Cassell AND a conditional #1 pick for Marko Jaric is still one of the worst deals of the decade so far, the Clippers are by no means guaranteed Minnesota's pick for 2007. The pick is top 10 protected through 2011, so if you dealt Garnett, the WOlves would be a very bad team, all but assuring them of keeping their pick. So there's plus what should be the pick from an also very bad Knicks team means the Wolves now have 2 chances at landing Oden in the lottery, or at worst, two picks in the top 6 or 7 of a great draft.

So that pick HAS to be included. Again, Paxson will not want to part with this for the reasons mentioned above, but it just doesn't make sense for Minnesota to trade KG if this pick isn't included. Paxson knows how valuable the pick is, but he also knows the time is now to get KG to make a run for the title, and his opportunity may not be as good if he waits.

IF the pick is included, it's reasonable for the Wolves to get two more guys back. I know a draft pick and two non-allstar players for a guy like Garnett doesn't sound like much for Wolves fans, but hear me out. I've already explained what getting that pick will do, and adding two more from the Bulls young core would be a steal. One of those guys NEEDS to be Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls lottery pick from this past draft. He's long, athletic, and most importantly, the kid works his ass off. The biggest gamble teams have to take on these kids now is whether they're going to be willing to work or not. With most of them you never can tell, but Thomas has been a workout warrior in his two years at LSU, and from everything I've read, that should continue. He's about as safe a bet to be an allstar down the line as anyone selected in the 2006 draft, and if the Chicago had Wallace AND Garnett he wouldn't play much anyways, so he's expendable.

Your third guy is one of the following three: combo guard Ben Gordon, swingman Luol Deng, or swingman J.R. Smith. Gordon was a hot rumor for awhile, and although I really like him, the Wolves drafting combo guard Randy Foye eliviates the need to get BenGo. As good as these two could be, having two guards 6'4 or under in the backcourt would cause you problems defensively. Deng is a Dukie that came out a year or two too early, but is a great athlete, good defender, smart player, and a great kid to boot. He's expendable for Chicago because of how well Andres Nocionni played in the past playoffs. Still, the guy I'd target would be Smith, the 6'6 super athletic wingman who doesn't turn 21 until September. The Bulls just picked him up from the Hornets, as he got into Coach Byron Scott's doghouse and couldn't get out. Still the kid has oodles of potential, and has more of that magical "upside" than the other two. Better still, the kid is getting paid next to nothing, so if he doesn't pan out in his one-year tryout or cops more of that bad attitude, he's still very tradeable because there'll ALWAYS be somebody willing to take a chance on a then 22-year old athletic swingman with a cheap contract.

2006 would be a tough year. Ok, ok, 2006 for the Wolves would be an out and out Gong Show. But if you're not going to make the playoffs WITH Garnett, it'd be worth it to put yourself in this situation without him to be completely unwatchable for 2006-- and then have the best young team in basketball in 2007 and beyond. For the start of 2007 you'd have two high lottery picks who'd be able to make an immediate impact, plus Ty Thomas and Foye with a year under their belt, JR Smith, AND a healthy Rashad McCants. That's 6 guys for 5 spots. Give them 2007 to battle it out, and then package one or two with your remaining gawd-awful contracts for cap relief and role players to fill out your roster. Voila!! In less than 2 years you go from borderline playoff contender with no hope, to burgeoning playoff contender with the brightest future in the league!

You never want to have to deal a player the caliber of Garnett, but if you have to, this is the best you're going to find at turning things around in a hurry. As Jer said, Garnett deserves a shot to win a title, and he'd get it right now in Chicago. The Wolves deserve a new guy running the team, but since they can't get that, a white hot young nucleaus of talent to replace The Franchise is as good as they can ask for.

Jeremy: Wolves Quickie

It's so hard to get a trade done on the NBA, isn't that right Kevin McHale? Weird, seems like the GM's of the Bulls and the Hornets don't seem to think it's all that difficult. The Mavs and Pacers also don't seem to find it too difficult. Of course, it might be the case that their GM's didn't hog-tie them with ridiculous contracts to past-their-prime players constantly over the past 5 years.
A couple of things bother me with who the Wolves are supposedly pursuing.
Does it bother anyone else that Mike James is 31 years old and just, FUNNY!, had his best season as a pro last year before his free-agent season for a horrible team that had minimal scoring options?
Also, anyone else concerned by the fact that the two guys that Wolves are most heavily interested in (reportedly) are 31 (James) and 30 (Lorenzen Wright) respectively?
Look, Lorenzen Wright adds size to your team, rebounds, and that's about it. He's averaging less than 9 points a game for his career and has a pretty low field goal % for a big man, 46%.
Yet another off-season of minimal moves with likely poor results.
I still would hate to see the Wolves trade Garnett, but for KG's sake, not the Wolves, I think it's time for him to go. Garnett is my favorite athlete ever and it makes me sick to see him subject to Kevin McHale's janky management and poor talent evaluation. He deserves a shot at a championship, something I fear he'll never get in a Wolves uniform.

Jeff: The Monday Musings

* Now that the ballpark issue has been settled in Minnesota, the looming question for the Twins has now become what to do with Torii Hunter? The guy HAS been the face of the franchise, but with the emergence of Joe Mauer and Hunter being owed $12 million for next season, he could be roaming center field for some other team by August. Local scribes have scoffed at the idea that trading Hunter is a necessity, that with the new ballpark coming, the Twins can now afford to keep him and show Twins fans they're serious about spending for a winner. Hunter had been relatively quiet of late, saying all the right things when asked about his future in the Land O' Lakes. But today in Ken Rosenthal's column, Hunter for the first time says he'd like to play elsewhere to save his legs from 4 more years of pounding on the Metrodome concrete- I mean, turf.
Hopefully, this will encourage Twins GM Terry Ryan to look to move Hunter. THe Twinks have won 14 of 16, but are STILL 11 games behind the Tigers for first, and 9.5 behind the White Sox for the Wild Card lead. Although I'm in the minority on this one, I don't think the Tigers are coming back to earth. They've got veteran hitters up and down their lineup, and most importantly, have one of the league's best pitching staffs. Everyone is in agreement that the White Sox aren't slowing down either. The Twins are close to contending, but I don't think they'll be within striking distance (i.e. 6.5 games back of the Sox) by the end of next month. They need to deal Hunter, Stewart, and Lohse and build around a VERY solid core of Mauer, Santana, Liriano, Nathan and Morneau. Twins fans will keep coming to the park to watch those guys this year, and I believe are smart enough to understand that building for a very bright future makes more sense than a futile run at an unreachable playoff spot this year.

* Baseball's All-star game has officially become a joke. Fan voting is all the rage in all the major sports, because apparently these leagues believe fans will be more likely to watch if they get to vote in players. Well that's certainly true if you live in Boston and New York, because the Red Sox and Yankees are dominating the voting, and there's going to be more deserving players left at home because of it. Yanks or Sawks are the leading vote-getters at 6 of 8 positions for the American League, and only two- David Ortiz and Derek Jeter- are deserving. The all-star game is a mere popularity contest for the largest markets, and because of this some deserving players will be left at home. Most notably is Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who as of today is leading the majors in hitting at .369, but is probably won't be an all-star in 2006. Sox catcher Jason Varitek is leading, and has no business playing in the all-star game. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gets to choose the reserves, and has already said he'll take his own guy, A.J. Pierzynski, as the backup instead of Mauer. Sure, Guillen can point to his team having a great year and currently having ZERO all-star starters, as well as only getting to take one of his two prized first basemen. A legitimate beef, but don't take out your frustrations on a deserving guy. At least the game's best left-handed hitter, Big Papi, will be keeping Konerko or Thome out of the all-star game. There is catcher more deserving than Mauer but because of politics and biased fan-voting, Mauer won't get to go. Nice work, MLB: here's an opportunity to promote one of your rising young stars in the league, but instead you'd rather shove the overhyped Sox/Yankees rivalry down our throats one more time. Feel free to waste your time trying to vote in Mauer here.

* I'll let the Strib's Jim Souhan say what Jer won't let me: the Wolves need to consider dealing Garnett.
And I'll add something Souhan didn't: IF the Wolves could get from the Bulls the #2 pick, next year's #1 from the Knicks, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng they couldn't pull the trigger fast enough for me. Although this would be the first time in history Kevin McHale has actually gotten 1st round picks instead of giving them away.

* I'm probably the only person in America who got excited about all the wheelings and dealings from the NHL's draft weekend, but I thought I'd share my joy anyways. Not only did my Vancouver Canucks make a HUGE deal to get Roberto Luongo, the franchise goalie we haven't had since...ok well we've never had a franchise goalie. But we got rid of Todd Bertuzzi in the process. Look, I was a big Bertuzzi guy even after the Steve Moore incident. It was tragic what happened to Moore and I wish him the best but the media's hatred of Big Bert was ridiculous. I've seen worse hits than his (Claude Lemieux hitting Kris Draper face-first into the boards is one example), but people who didn't care about and don't understand hockey took this as their chance to take shots at a game I love. Bertuzzi deserved the suspension he got, and I would have been fine with him getting another 30 games or so to start last season, but people's inability to move on baffles me.
However, it was obvious after the incident Bert needed a change of scenery. He may never be the same player he was before the lockout, but if it's going to happen, it wasn't going to be in Vancouver. If Canucks GM Dave Nonis can lock-up (Lock it up! No YOU LOCK IT UP!) Luongo long-term my boys are on the fast-track back to Cup Contention. And in an added bonus, it creates the opportunity to get rid of extremely overrated goalie Dan Cloutier, who has basically been the bane of my existence.

* Great move by the Minnesota Wild to get Pavol Demitra from the LA Kings over the weekend. Yes, the Wild had to give up promising center Patrick O'Sullivan and the #17 pick from Saturday's draft, but the ramifications of this deal could be twice as nice. Demitra is a solid 2-way player that will finally give the Wild another bonafide sniper. Not only that, he and Marion Gaborik, the youngster the Wild are trying to keep, are good friends and showed great chemistry in the World Cup. This move not only boosts their offense now, but if it can encourage Gaborik to stay, it'll be a huge boost to the team for years to come.

Jeff: NFC South

Welcome back to the on-going still running division-by-division NFL Preview. Sure, I should probably be commenting on the NBA Finals, but really The Sports Guy said everything yesterday better than I could have. Dwyane Wade is an amazing talent, but watching him go 1-on-5 and knowing the refs will blow the whistle on Dallas everytime he drives, even if a) Wade is the one initiating contact by jumping into somebody or throwing a forearm out to create space or b)there's no contact whatsoever. Wade's a fantastic player, and apparently I'm alone in believing that he's good enough to not have the refs help him by sending him to the line everytime he misses a shot because MY GAWD if Wade missed he MUST have been fouled!! Anyway, congrats to the Heat for being the NBA 1-on-5 champs of 2006.

Anywho, back to football. The South boasted 3 playoff-caliber teams last season, getting two into the postseason. This year, the Saints could make it 4 playoff eligible teams, but the division will only get 1 playoff team for 2 reasons: 1) 3 of the 4 have some glaring holes that will hold them back, and 2)the schedules are just brutal. In this age of parity, scheduling definitely makes a difference, and not only will these 4 beat up on each other, their matchups with a much improved AFC North will be just as tough. Still, I believe the NFC's Super Bowl representative resides here. Now on with it!

4. New Orleans Saints:
I'm more bullish on this team than most. Drew Bress could be the most important free agent signing in team history, because his impact on the team and community will go well beyond his accomplishments on the football field. Since high school Brees has been cast as the underdog, and it's a role he's relished. After his release by San Diego (honestly, what the hell was GM AJ Smith thinking?), Brees once again has a chip on his shoulder, and joins a franchise and town with ones as well. Yes he signed here for the big bucks, but he also truly believes he can lead this team to a title, and help rebuild the great city of New Orleans. I for one, am a believer. Sure he has no Antonio Gates or Ladanian Tomlinson, but his line and receivers are better, RB Deuce McAllister is on schedule recovering from knee surgery, and didn't they draft somebody pretty good in the 1st round?
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Too bad getting an easier schedule isn't an option. They open with 2 of their "easiest" games on the road, at Cleveland and at Green Bay. And no matter what kind of teams they have, the Dawgpound and Lambeau are two of the toughest venues in football. After that week they play a grand total of 3 more teams who had a sub .500 record in 2005: Philly, Baltimore, and San Fran. Best of luck with that one.
Otherwise, they need to get something out of their defense. The D-line looks solid (and it damn well better considering before this year it seemed like they spent a #1 pick on a D-lineman for 200 years in a row), but as usual the back 7 are questionable.
MOST INTRIGUING MADDEN PLAYER: Reggie Bush, HB/WR/KR/PR/
It's not just that Bush is the most anticipated video game athlete (VGA) in forever, it's that he's the first guy who could really truly possibly legitimately challenge video Bo Jackson as the greatest VGA of all-time. Now for those of you who had the honor and privledge of playing with Video Bo back in the day in Tecmo Bowl, well I don't have to tell you that thinking that anyone, even someone as electrifying as Reggie, could challenge Bo's VGA supremacy is a mighty bold statement. But I'm standing by it. If EA does the man justice (i.e. 97+ speed, 473 agility, 875 acceleration and of course 85 hands as well as mid 70's breaktackle), well then I like his chances. And please, when you get the new Madden, change Reggie's number back to 5. It's the least you can do.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
For years the Bucs and their flaming yellow unis were as laughable as the Clippers, Cardinals, and Washington Generals. Since their uniform change to red, black, something called "puse" and like 19 other colors, the Bucs have been known for a great defense, winning, and that big damn pirate ship in the back of the endzone. The defense, led once again by Derrick Brooks (who seems like he's been around since the days of Red Grange), will have to be as feisty as ever, because this is one average offense. The schedule is downright cruel. They've got 6 games within their division, 4 with the AFC North, and 4 with the NFC East (which could be the league's toughest division). Their other 2 games? THe Bears and Seahawks.
Two other random Bucs notes:
* they have a backup corner named Blue Adams. How many times do you think he's heard "You're my boy Blue!"? Not enough, I'd say.
* Watching the World Cup reminds me that somewhere, former kicker Martin "soccer celebration" Gramatica is crying, wailing, and hurting himself celebrating.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
A lot. Chris Simms has to do something he's never done as a football player: live up to his vast potential. Joey Galloway at 76 years old (or 35) needs another career year because Michael Clayton's idea of an offseason workout program has been...well not working out, let's say that. Cadillac Williams needs to stay on the field because even though Mike Pittman played admirably in relief of Caddy last year, he's entering that "uh oh" age for running backs at 32, so the wheels could fall off at any moment. Oh and the O-line? Still no better than average. As I said, this team needs a LOT to go right, and I just don't see it all happening.
MIMP: Caddy Williams, RB
Honestly there's nobody here that really intrigues me- well except guard Toni Fonoti, who could be the first NFL player over 500 pounds. Or 600. During those NFL Skill competition shows they should have an eating contest where Fonoti goes against Takeru Kobayashi, the world eating champion who weighs like 12 pounds. Kobayashi (not to be confused with Kobayashi from the Usual Suspects. Boy there's a mistake you don't make twice) would eat like 50 hotdogs in 10 minutes, and then Fonoti would just eat him, and wash him down with a soda. That'd be fun.

2. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had themselves a nice little offseason (maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond...I don't know if we'll have time!), trading for underachieving DE John Abrahams, who, if he wants to, could be a bigtime pass-rusher off the edge. Lawyer Malloy can still play as the strong safety, and the Falcons flat-out stole Tech CB Jimmy Williams in the 2nd round. Expect him to be the starter opposite fellow Hokie alum Deangelo Hall by midseason. Offensively, it's the same old story: run, run, run, and then occasionally Mike Vick will try and be a quarterback. Seriously, people, when can we stop pretending Vick will ever be a decent NFL QB (I reached that point at about season 3)? This will be his 6th NFL season, and here's a list of the things he's never done in any one of those years:
* started all 16 games
* completed more than 57% of his passes
* thrown for more than 16 TD's
* had a QB rating higher than 82

He's a helluva athlete with a rocket arm, but he'll never be an effective QB in the NFL. Never. Last season which was the 5th year in a row he was supposed to have a "breakout season" he actually regressed throwing only 15 TD's (19th in the NFL) to 13 INT's for 2412 yards (20th) and a measly 73.1 QB rating (25th). Out of 32 starting QB's in the league his numbers are average. Barely. But hey who am I to burst the bubble of all the Vick Lovers out there? Keep believing that this really IS his breakout year, even though the evidence to support it says otherwise.
Keep on...keep on truckin'. Ok good talk.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Get Matt Schaub on the field because he gives them a better chance to win than Vick does. Seriously. And before you go throwing his meager numbers as a starter at me, there's a reason Hotlanta wanted a 1st round pick for the guy this offseason. He can be a productive QB in this league, and he could be more productive than Vick starting this year. Too bad it won't happen.
MIMP: Deangelo Hall, CB
I know I know I know everybody just loves to use Vick in Madden. BUt for me, I love to use DeAngelo Hall. He's not the biggest guy at 5'10, but his 98 speed and crazy agility, acceleration and jumping always make him one of the first guys I trade for. Oh and he's only 23. Wow.

1. Carolina Panthers
This is the team that could dominate the NFC. The Seahawks finally found an answer to stopping WR Steve Smith, which was make ANYONE else on the offense beat you. This year that won't be so easy. Keyshawn Johnson is a solid possession guy and should make defenses pay for quadruple teaming Smith (it also makes Keary Colbert better by putting him where he should be, as a #3 guy), and when tailback DeShaun Foster gets hurt (the ex UCLA Bruin hasn't played a full season in his 3 years in the league), DeAngelo Williams can step in and actually improve the running game (he SHOULD be starting by the end of the year). The line is very good and Delhomme is dependable and playoff-tested. THe team's only real weakness on offense is at TE, and the fact they somehow didn't manage to draft one of the 17 athletic pass-catching ends in the draft. As Papa Burgandy said to Brian Fantana "That doesn't even make sense." Defensively this is as good as it gets for me. The D-line is the best in football, and the corner tandem of Chris Gamble and Kenny Lucas may be too. And the rest of the guys lining up out there aren't slouches either. This is Carolina's conference to lose.
WHAT MUST GO RIGHT:
Here's some stats from the 2005 regular season to chew on:
Smith had 103 of the teams 269 receptions (that's 38%), 1563 of 3485 yards (45%), and 12 of 25 TD's (48%). No other Carolina receiver had more than 34 catches, 441 yds, or 4 TD's. No matter how amazing Smith is (and he IS amazing!), teams are not going to let him do that to them again. Every team on Carolina's schedule has been watching that NFC Championship tape to see how Seattle finally stopped Smith (which was generally by using 3 or 4 guys on every play against him). The defense and running game are good enough to win the division, but to get to the Super Bowl, the passing game has to be a threat, and that means Keyshawn needs to accept his role as the #2 guy (something he's never had to do thus far), and be damn good at it.
MIMP: Steve Smith, WR
After the Panth beat the Bears in the playoffs last year, here's what I said about Smith:

Honestly, how good is Panthers receiver Steve Smith (12 catch, 218 yds, 2 TD-oh and he ran for another 26 too)?
To paraphrase Red from Shawshank Redemption "the last thing that went through the Chicago Bears heads is how in the hell did Steve Smith ever get the best of them?" It's become a cliche to say that Smith is the ONLY weapon in the Panthers offense, but seriously, when one of the best defenses in football have a week to prepare for him and he not only beats them but DESTROYS them? What do you do with that? What else is the guy capable of? Could he cure cancer? Find Bin Laden? Talk KG into staying in Minnesota? Nothing would surprise me anymore. For the record, Smith IS the only option Carolina has. And for the record, his numbers yesterday were good for half the teams catches, 68% of their receiving yards, and 2/3rds of their TD's. As Ron Burgandy would say "I'm not even mad- that's AMAZING!"

The question for the new Madden won't be how good will they make Steve Smith? It's can they make Steve Smith good enough? Remember, Steve Smith has counted to infinity-TWICE!

Jeff: The Monday Musings

* I don't pretend to understand golf, but was yesterday's final round of the US Open the football equivalent to a 3-0 Super Bowl, where both teams turn it over 12 times each, miss 8 field goals, and only total 300 yards between them? NOBODY could make a shot yesterday! I understand these Major courses are supposed to be incredibly challenging, but the winner finishing at +5? Only 12 golfers scoring under par for a day the ENTIRE TOURNAMENT? And nobody did it more than once? Either Wingfoot was too tough, or nobody showed up.

* Poor Lefty Mickelson. In his post-match interview, he looked and sounded like a guy who had driven his car into the side of house while sleep-walking. It's like he had no idea what he was doing on 18! He IS the real life Tin Cup! He's like the guy who's up big and black jack and can't walk away. He has to have that rush to the very end, even if it means losing everything!

* The only guy more upset than Lefty or Monty yesterday had to be Tiger Woods. The guy misses the cut Friday at +12, which of course ended up being only 7 shots off the lowest score! Tigger's feeling like had he just made a putt here or there on Friday to make the cut, that tournament was his.

* I felt kind of like Lefty Mickelson Saturday after watching the US/Italy futbol match. Had I really just spent the past 2 hours watching a 1-1 tie where the States' only goal came from Italy scoring on itself? How had it happened? Where was my brain when I made this decision? Why didn't I get up from the couch and go do something else? Had I just watched a game where players are not rewarded for passing to a wide-open man (because it's offsides)? Did I really watch a sport where a supposedly good team (The Italians) would drop to the ground like they had been shot if an American player got anywhere near them? I mean, I've heard of diving, but they were taking this to an entirely new level. Twice a guy was taken off on a stretcher, acting as though the pain in his leg was so bad they may have to amputate. And both times, literally just a minute or two later, the guy was back on the field fresh as a daisy. I was shocked that the mob, one of the toughest group of men on the planet, could come from the same country as these floundering, cowering babies. No wonder soccer's never caught on in America-- we actually like our athletes to act like men!

* Speaking of men, there are few bigger in sports right now than Dwayne Wade. Anyone out there still want to take Lebron or Kobe over Wade as the NBA's best player? Anyone? Left for dead after losing the first two games of the series (including by yours truly), Wade has strapped the Heat to his back and has been the One-Man-Mission he's had to be. Yes he's gotten the benefit of some calls, including the one that got him to the line to hit the game-winning free throws, but a) that's nothing new in the NBA for superstars to get calls and b) David Stern couldn't help him hit those free throws. He did all of that on his own!

* By the way, Wade's 3 consecutive Finals games of 35+ points puts him in rarified air: only Shaq (twice), Iverson, Jordan, Rick Barry, and Elgin Baylor have ever done it.

* And what happened to Dirk's "clutchness"? As much as I love The Diggler, I've ripped on him in past season's for not showing up in the playoffs. After his performances against Phoenix, and especially San Antonio, I thought he had finally moved past his old choking ways. But they've certainly returned in THe Finals. So was his "Clutchness" in the first 3 rounds an abberition? Is there some rule where a German player in another sport cannot overshadow his country when they're playing in the World Cup? Is there a time-limit on how successful a guy can be after admitting to liking David Hasselhoff? Is there only so many times we can reference that his dad REALLY wanted him to play handball instead of basketball before the basketball gods finally say "You know what? Maybe you SHOULD have played handball!"?

* In case you're wondering, Dallas wins game 6 tomorrow night, and Miami wins game 7 Thursday night.

* Finally, game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight (and it's on NBC, a channel you actually get! I would encourage you to watch it, as I will be). Here's my question for the day: what are the Hurricanes telling people in Carolina to get them to show up?
That there's a tractor pull during the intermission?
There'll be a NASCAR race on ice?
Maybe free beer and Toby Keith cd's for anyone showing up wearing red?
Free gun-rack for their pickup for the first 10,000 people?

Jeremy: This isn't good

Last week I asked Jeff for a hiatus from Midwest Sports Rubes. With the wedding coming up quickly and it being the busiest season of the year at work I figured I wouldn't be able to post anything for awhile. But I read something today and I had to comment.
Gary Russell is not coming back to play tailback for the Gophers next year.
Alright, I guess so far nobody is saying for sure, but the bottom line is this: there were minimum requirements for Russell to re-join the Gophers before fall, and he has not met those requirements. (Please see Onterrio Smith and Maurice Clarret for additional stories on athletes with no off-field motivation who in-turn ruined their on-the-field careers.)
I probably don't have to mention this, but this is not good! The Gophers might be in big trouble here. Look, I know that the Gophers run the best zone blocking scheme in the country (thank you Bob Davie for pointing that out and simultaneously re-validating Glen Mason as a coach, I'm sure we won't here anything from Mase about this) but turns out that we have not officially lost our two best, and most mobile, offensive linemen (might be an important part of the zone blocking bit) and have now also lost TWO 1,000 yard rushers. Again, I probably don't have to mention this, but... OUCH.
The Gopher football season now rests squarly on the legs of Amir Pinnix and the arm of Brian Cupito.
Anyone nervous about this?

Jeff: NFC West

Heyo! Here we go with my 2nd annual NFL preview...well ok more like the 1st annual, since I only got halfway through last year. The goal here is to post one division a week, and the theme this year will be what needs to go right for a team to succeed- and it's assumed a team has to stay healthy. But BESIDES health, what has to go right?

Also, I'm probably "too old" to still be playing video games, but I still do, as do some of my buddies (most of whom are married with real jobs). For us, the upcoming August release of Madden Football 2007 (for PS2 or XBox Live) is one of the most anticipated ever because of an incredible rookie class, and cool stuff like "lead blocking control", new & improved mini-camp drills (which you'll be able to do IN SEASON for things like injury rehab!! No news on whether they'll have facial rehab in case, you know, your starting Qb rides a motorcycle without a helmet and goes head-first into a windshield), and so much more! Oh, and my new favorite two word phrase: "highlight stick". So in anticipation, I'm providing a player from each time that I'm excited to try out and/or trade for when Madden comes out. As Vince Vaughn would say in The Breakup..."it's not me, it's the little digital guys with big hearts!" (I know it got bad reviews, but trust me, if you like Vince it's worth it just for the Madden video game scene. I promise. And also for "Band of Brothers...you should rent it sometime!")

Ok, I'm starting with this division because it's where my Super Sleeper Upset Special for 2006 resides. In order to qualify for the SSUS you have to be a team who missed the playoffs last year, that had a good offseason and draft, and has a weaker schedule because of last year's poor performance. Oh, and it has to be a team nobody's talking about, which means not Miami, Baltimore, or San Diego-which is German for a whale's... nevermind.

4. San Francisco 49ers
We get surprises every year, but this will not be one of them- well unless you count a surprise as the 9ers winning more than 3 or 4 games. Drafting Alex Smith last year was a mistake (Browns fans should be happy I'm not running the 9ers because I would have said "screw it!" to the stupid theory that you don't take a wideout #1. Braylon Edwards was the right choice), and Trent Dilfer will give them a better chance to win. That said it doesn't matter much because there's no weapons in this offense outside of rookie tight end Vernon Davis. Yes I'm aware they picked up Antonio Bryant but there's a reason he's on his 3rd team already. Manny Lawson was a solid pick, but otherwise the defense bores me.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Davis needs to perform like his digital self in Madden on starter level which would mean catching 20 passes a game for like 10 TD's. Still, short of the players from the other 31 teams contracting the avian bird flu, Alex Smith becoming the next Joe Montana, and Manny Lawson turning into Charles Haley the Niners there really can't be enough go right for the Niners to win more than a couple of games this year.
MOST INTRIGUING MADDEN PLAYER: Vernon Davis, TE
If he's not at least 90 speed I'm taking the game back...ok no I'm not, but he'd better be at least 90 speed. He'll be the 2nd most traded for player in the whole damn game. And if you can't guess who #1 is, well, ask Texans fans who they'll be trading for because their team inexplicably didn't draft him.

3. Arizona Cardinals:
This would not be my SSUS. Yes Edgerrin James will be a major upgrade at tailback, and the receiving duo of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Bolden is now the league's best, but the Cards did nothing to upgrade their biggest weakness: the O-line. Defensively Arizona's on the right track, but they'll be average at best, which is not good enough to help them compete for the division title.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Kurt Warner HAS to stay healthy, and considering he hasn't started 16 games since 2001 (and has only played in 29 of a possible 64 in the 4 seasons since then) the chances of that happening are slim to none. Look, I like Matt Leinart, and I think he'll make a good pro, but he's not going to set the league afire in his first year no matter how good Bolden, Fitz and Edge are. With that O-line and defense, it'll be another non-playoff year if Leinart has to play major minutes this year.
MOST INTRIGUING MADDEN PLAYER: Larry Fitzgerald, WR
There'll be plenty of people interested in Leinart because you can make rookie QB's into MVP's the first season (I'm not sure how you get around this. The passing cone was impossible and I don't know anyone who uses it), but I still like Fitz. Could EA go ahead and make his catching 110 on a 99 point scale? Larry Davis is another favorite because he could be close to 500 pounds by the time training camp starts.

2. Seattle Seahawks:
Hey Seahawks fans: STOP CRYING! And I'm not even talking about the officiating in the Super Bowl. You got screwed! We get it. It happens. I'm talking about the whining about how the Minnesota Vikings cheated your team out of All-pro guard Steve Hutchinson with dirty contract negotiations. Just stop! If your team hadn't have been so cheap and would have slapped the franchise tag on him instead of the transition (it would have cost them roughly $600k a year more to do so), you wouldn't have lost him. But you did. And giving the same kind of contract to Nate Burleson was cute but really, who would you rather have? Burleson or the best guard in football AND a 3rd round pick? Your java's a little too strong or you've been listening to the new Pearl Jam a little too loud (not that there's anything wrong with that) if you even have to think about that one.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Well actually let's look at what's gone wrong...and it starts with that Super Bowl loss. The last team to lose a Super Bowl and even make the playoffs the following season were the 2001 Tennesee Titans, so your loss in the Big Game is one strike against you. We mentioned losing Hutchinson, who you're not going to replace, so that's 2. The third? Well, since we're talking about Madden today let's not forgot the Madden Curse, and this year's coverboy Shaun Alexander. That's three strikes against you going back to the playoffs, so a LOT is going to have to go right to overcome it.
MOST INTRIGUING MADDEN PLAYER: Seneca Wallace, QB/WR
He's always fast, and if they have the drill where you can improve accuracy he can turn into a decent QB.

1. St Louis Rams:
Ladies and gentlemen: your 2006 Super Sleeper Upset Special!! And it's ok if you want to steal this as your own idea and tell all your friends and then look like a genius when the Rams win the division, get a first round bye, and make some noise in the playoffs. Really it's ok. We both know where you got the idea. Tailback Steven Jackson will become a household name as new coach Scott Linehan understands that when Jackson gets 20+ touches a game, the team wins (the three times it actually happened last year the Rams were 3-0 and Jackson averaged almost 129 on the ground on 23 carries for an avg of 5.6 per carry). THe line is solid, and they have more weapons than Saddam was rumored to have, including Marc Bulger at QB, Torry Holt and a slew of receiving options, including 2 intriguing rookie tights ends. The secondary is a weakspot, but the D-line should be improved and the signing of LB Will Witherspoon from Carolina will prove to be one of the best of the offseason.
WHAT NEEDS TO GO RIGHT: The schedule already has gone right. 6 win seasons are never fun, but you're at least rewarded with a weaker schedule (including the Niners and Cards twice, and the Packers, Lions, and Raiders thrown in for good measure), getting 3 of their 4 toughest games at home (Broncos, Bears, Chiefs). Besides that they have to get improvement from their defensive backs (the sooner 1st rd pick Tye Hill is ready to start, the better), and the offense needs to adjust to not having to throw 744 times a game (the Rams were 4th in the NFL in pass attempts with 599) and start running the damn ball more with the 230lb Jackson (Rams had the 4th least rushing attempts at 380).
M.I.M.P.: Tye Hill, CB
I don't know about you, but I LOVE fast cornerbacks, and Hill was timed as the fastest in the draft. I'm thinking about 97-98 speed with mid 90's acceleration sounds about right.

Jeff: Blaming Big Ben

As you've probably heard by now, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his motorcycle were in an accident yesterday morning. Roethlisberger, who wasn't wearing a helmet, went headfirst into the windshield of a car. Miraculously, he suffered no life-threatening injuries, and after hours of surgery yesterday, he is left with facial fractures, a broken nose, and a broken jaw. Early estimates are that Big Ben could miss up to 4 weeks of the season (the Steelers have a bye in week 4), something that could put a real damper on the Steelers repeat title hopes. If you're like me, your first reaction was "how could he be so stupid?" How could a superstar athlete with so much going for him be so careless as to ride a motorcycle without a helmet?

It's not like he was racing, or doing any stupid tricks like Browns tight end Kellen Winslow was doing when he wrecked his knee last year. But that still should have served as a warning or a wake-up call for Roethlisberger to be more careful right? Wrong. Big Ben was still adimant that he would ride his bike sans helmet (Pennsylvania repealed the motorcycle helmet law in 2003) but was a "safe rider." Well even trying to be safe, and even though it looks like the other driver was at fault, it will cost Roethlisberger part of his season, and could have cost him his life.

Will this stop Roethlisberger from riding again, or stop other athletes from riding motorcycles in the offseason? No. Go here for a list of athletes involved in motorcycle accidents in the last 10 years. Most of those accidents are very serious, and all caused the player to miss at least a small part of their season. And yet guys still ride. Why? Well having never been a professional athelte myself I can only speculate: but from what I've seen and read and understand, a lot of these guys are adrenaline junkies. They LOVE competition, and in downtimes during the offseason, they still need to feed that love and desire to compete. Some guys turn to gambling, like John Daly, Michael Jordan, or Charles Barkley. Others to motorcycles or fast cars. It should be noted, that although Big Ben was not speeding or doing anything illegal prior to the accident, that wasn't just any old bike he was riding: his 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa is the fastest production bike on the road.

Sure maybe he was trying to be as safe as possible, but then why have the fastest bike you can buy? I was surprised at first when I heard the Steelers had no clauses or provisions in his contract against riding a motorcycle. If I was a Steelers fan (which I'm not) I would have been upset that Roethlisberger would be riding around without a helmet, jeopardizing his life, and my football team. But then "The Professor" John Clayton explained...

The reason the Steelers and most teams don't add specific language about off-the-field accidents is that they don't feel it's necessary. The NFL Management Council has advised teams to use the phrasing "for any reason" in regard to a player who defaults on his contract because of an injury suffered outside of football.

So the Steelers would have reparations coming against Roethlisberger if he misses time, just as the Browns did with Winslow. I guess teams understand that these guys are going to get the adrenaline going off the field too, and that as long as they're protected against them injuring themselves in non-sporting-related activities, then they cross their fingers and hope for the best. As a fan, I guess we should be doing the same.

Jeff: The Monday Musings

* Is it too early to award the NBA Championship to the Mavs? The Heat were atrocious last night in their 99-85 loss to Dallas, and Heat fans can't have high hopes that the next 3 games being played in South Beach will help turn this around. My buddy Ben, who's got a great tactical mind, thought there was no way Miami would allow Dallas to dictate tempo for 7 games. Throught the first two games they haven't, yet Miami is still down 0-2. First give credit to the Mavs for this. They've been a hybrid team, able to run when they need to, and execute in the halfcourt when needed. With Dirk, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Devin Harris and Marquise Daniels, the Mavs are the best one-on-one team in basketball, and yet all of those guys are excellent in transition too. It's been a killer combination all playoffs long. Dallas' strategy looks to be to make Dwayne Wade work for his 20-30 points a night, double-team Shaq before he even thinks about touching the ball, and dare anybody else to beat them. Thus far, Miami hasn't done it, and although the Heat may take game 3 (anybody think the refs could give a couple-or thirty- calls to the Heat Tuesday night to try and make this interesting?) or 4, Dallas just looks to have too much.

* If I told you that a center in last night's game was 2-5 from the field and 1-7 from the line for 5 points, you'd probably guess it was Erick Dampier, right? Or Desagana Diop? Nope, it was Shaquille O'Neal. Think about that-- SHAQ SCORED 5 POINTS IN AN NBA FINALS GAME!!! Honestly, is this the end of the Diesel as we know him? I mean I don't care how old the guy is, he's still 7'1 and 350, and even if all 5 Mavs are draped over him like a curtain, the Big Aristotle should still score more than 5. What has happened?!?

* I do know this: Dwayne Wade is certifiably insane if he signs a contract extension with Miami this summer. Just plain crazy.

* My Mariners and the Local 9 (your Minnesota Twins) have played two series in the last 2 weeks, and there's some interesting parallels there:
Twins catcher Joe Mauer is hitting leading the world with in hitting at .386 (can somebody talk to him about the sideburns? Please? This isn't 90210) and Mariners outfielder Ichiro is 2nd at .366 (he's hitting .461 (47-102) since May 17). In the team's series last week, Mauer and Ichiro were a combined .528, and the WORST day for either of them was Mauer's 2-4 day Wednesday. Think about that. It will blow your mind!

* Twice in those series the two best young pitchers in baseball squared off: the Twinks Franisco Liriano and the M's Felix Hernandez (by the way, just a little giddy that we've seen Good Felix 2 games in a row. He absolutely dominated the Angels yesterday. King Felix has returned! King Felix has returned!) each won once, and both were essentially lights out in their performances. I was in attendance for their duel a couple of Friday's ago in the Big Giant Ugly Garbage Bag, and watched all of the rematch at the Safe last week. These two are going to be very good for a long, long time. Too bad we can't say the same about their teams!

* What's just absolutely ridiculous about Mauer right now is that he has zero protection in the Twins lineup. None. Zip. ZILCH! NADA! The Big Mountie Justin Morneau is the only Twin in the top 30 in the AL in homeruns (14) or RBI's (47)(First the Twins finally get a new stadium approved, and now a Twin could finish with 30 HR's in a season for the first time since 1987? Start building your bombshelter because there's no room in mine!). In case you're wondering, the Royals are the only other team that can make that claim. If this is the Mauer we can expect, Twins fans should start a riot if GM Terry Ryan isn't allowed to spend money on some hitting this offseason. With Mauer, Liriano and Johan Santana, Minnesota has three of the best building blocks in the bigs, and if they wait 4 years for the new stadium to start putting talent around it, they're going to be sorry.

* I'm putting together the ol' NFL preview for 2006. Last year I started strong (click on 07/2005 and scroll about 2/3rds of the way down), but ended up having to do too much in too short a time to finish. This year I'm going to start posting sooner (like say this week!) in hopes of previewing all 8 divisions.

* I've admitted before (and will again) that I'm not the greatest at predictions, but I realized even the "experts" have trouble doing this as well. Let's look at what the Big Boys picked, and compare to what actually happened in 2005:

What actually happened:
PLayoff teams (* denotes wild card)
NFC- Giants, Bears, Bucs, Hawks, Skinnies*, Panth*
AFC- Pats, Bungles, Colts, Bronch, Steelers*, Jags*
Super Bowl- Steel over Hawks.

Here's what people picked:

Sports Illustrated:
Super Bowl: Panthers over Colts
NFC: Eagles, Vikings, Panthers, Rams, Cowboys*, Falcons*
AFC: Pats, Ravens, Colts, Chiefs, Steelers*, Jets*

ESPN:
John Clayton: SB: Colts over Vikes
NFC: Eagles, Vikes, Panthers, Rams, Falcons*, Carrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrds*
AFC: Pats, Steelers, Colts, Chefs, Chargers*, Ravens*

Chris Mortensen: SB: Eagles over Colts
NFC: Eagles, Vikes, Panthers, Rams, Falcons*, Cowboys*
AFC: Pats, Ravens, Colts, Bronch, Bills*, Jets*

Fox Sports:
Jay Glazer: SB: Falcons over Colts
NFC: Eagles, Bears, Falcons, Rams, Giants*, Panthers*
AFC: Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Chargers, Chiefs*, Jets*

Me: Super Bowl: Never picked
NFC: Eagles, Vikes, Rams, Panth, Bucs*, Lions*,
AFC: ?? (I never posted)

So what did we learn? A) I need to actually finish my picks for an accurate comparison, and b) This is as much for fun as it is for accuracy. NOBODY picked the Seahawks to make the playoffs let alone the Super Bowl!!

Just wanted to throw that out there so when all my picks go wrong this year, at least you'll know I won't be the only one.

Jeff: Morrison Won't Be Another Wally

If we didn't live in a politically correct world, I could compare Adam Morrison to the NBA player I think he'll most resemble: Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson. But since we apparently aren't allowed to compare white guys to black guys, or vice versa, there's always two names that come up when people want to compare Morrison: Larry Bird or Wally Szczerbiak. Since the only comparison you can really make between Bird and "Ammo" is their staches, I guess we're left with Wally, but other than their size (both 6'8), lack of foot speed, and skin color, they're different players. I'd take Morrison over Szczerbiak right now for any basketball format you're looking for. But I'll do the comparison because Wally's been a decent player, so if I think Morrison's going to be better, then that should say something.

Let's look at Morrison's weaknesses first, and there's none bigger than on defense. People harp about Morrison's inability (and partially his unwillingness) to play defense, and the effect it'll have. Look, he's a terrible defender, and has a chance to be nothing better than not-downright-awful, but Szczerbiak's been in the same boat for his 7 years in the league (honestly who can he guard?), and yet he's been a decent player and will continue to play for as long as he can shoot. Does being a bad defender hurt you in the league? Certainly, but with the new stringent rules on hand-checking on the perimeter, offense is (finally!) be emphasized over defense, so the great and good defenders are coming back to the pack. Long story short being a bad defender is not as big a liability as it used to be, especially if you're in a system that stresses running and gunning (i.e. teams not in the Eastern Conference). For an example of how bad defensive players can still serve a purpose, look no further than the 2-time defending MVP (Nash is far more valuable than either guy, yes, but he's not a better defender than either of them).

Morrison is an ok rebounder for his size (averaged over 5 a game in 3 years with the Zags). Wally has averaged only 4.4 boards in his career (with 5.5 in 2000-'01 by far his highest) but he did average 6.3 in his 4 years in college (including 8.5 his senior year), so I'd say Morrison would be lucky to get close to 4 boards a night in the L. Neither guy are great passers. Morrison's assist-turnover ratio was barely over 1 for his career, and although Wally's is 1.67 in the NBA, he actually averaged more turnovers than assist in college.

The big difference with these two is scoring, and it's all about mentality. Wally's a shooter; Morrison's a scorer, and anybody who knows basketball knows that's a BIG difference! Szczerbiak's shooting in his 7 full seasons (15.6 pts, .499 FG%, .859 FT%, .403 3pt%) have been impressive-- and they'd better be considering that's all he does well. Give him a catch-and-shoot open look and Wally's reliable. Force him to make decisions, and he's basically screwed. Look no further than his playoff numbers in 5 trips to the postseason to prove it. Everything but his FG % (.447) and FT % (.877) drop dramatically-- well except his turnovers, which skyrocket. In 29 playoff games, Wally has only 22 assists and a mind-boggling 63 turnovers!!! That's an assist-turnover ratio of only .349, or an easier way to say it is he averages almost 3 turnovers (2.86 to be exact) for every assist. That's beyond awful. When he's pressured he's a turnover waiting to happen, and yet the man has a huge contract(as much as I'd like to blame Wolves VP Kevin McHale for that one, if he didn't pay Wally that, someone else would have. For example see Dunleavy, Mike) and a secure place in the league.

Despite all these deficiancies, Wally's been an all-star once, and a serviceable player. So if Morrison's better at handling pressure and creating his own shot, which he's proven to be in college, then wouldn't it make sense that Morrison should have a better career, which means a very good pro? Morrison is a scorer, and has the killer instinct that Wally lacks. Club owner Tino from Anchorman has a saying in his country about guys like Morrison: "the coyote of the desert likes to eat the heart of the young and the blood drips down to his children for breakfast, lunch and dinner and only the ribs will be broken."

Sure maybe his intensity gets out of hand (banging his head with the ball at the end of the Zag's first round win or his crying after the loss to UCLA), but I'd rather take that knowing he's giving 168% for every game than a lot of these guys that loaf through most of their games. Morrison's offensive game is about as ugly to look at as his stache, but what he lacks in style he more than makes up for in substance. Don't be worried about his lack of footspeed or athleticism, it's not going to be a big deal. He'll never fly by people and make spectacular drives like DWade, Kobe or Lebron, but he will consistently get his shot off and get to the line. He's got a very high release on his jumper making it difficult to block, and his herky-jerky drives and impossible shot angles and arm slots make him that much tougher to defend. He's also great at drawing fouls. In his 4 year college career, Wally attempted 372 free throws. Morrison shot 311 just THIS YEAR!! He's crafty, tough and makes you pay for fouling him. And again, with defenders no longer allowed to hand-check, with the threat of his jumper he's going to be able to get by people.

He's not going to be a 30-point-a-night guy, but it's very reasonable to expect 20-a-night, and if he gets on the right team, I think he can do it from the get-go. Does Morrison have flaws? Certainly, but I think his scoring and his toughness (both mentally and physically) will make him a good scorer and borderline all-star (and perhaps better) for years to come. He'll be a solid draft pick and will contribute from day 1, and depending on the system he gets into he could turn into a 20-25 points-a-night guy. You know, like Glenn Robinson used to be. Whoops, there I go again comparing a white guy to a black guy. My apologies to whomever I offended.

And actually, thanks to www.basketballreference.com, I have found a white guy we can compare Morrison to. Let's hop in the way-back machine and go with Kelly Tripucka who had a 10 year career averaging 17.2 pts, and almost 4 boards a game as a gunner at small-forward. Happy now? Good. Hopefully this can prove to the doubters that you'll be seeing plenty of Morrison and his dirty stache for years to come.

Jeff: The Monday Musings

* So I was looking through some old posts yesterday, trying to find one that I swore I wrote comparing Adam Morrison to Wally Sczcerbiak, proving that Morrison will be a better pro than people believe. Apparently I never wrote it (which means I WILL write it this week), but I did find the following from my NBA preview...

Mark Cuban needs to deal the Diggler now for as much as he can get, and build around someone else because the Dirk will not lead a team to the title. I had high hopes for him that maybe, just maybe, he'd be the first European to step-up when it mattered. Of course that was right before chewing out Jason Terry at the end of game 5 and then missing all 5 of his shots in OT. Maybe if he didn't shave his head every year things would be different, but I doubt it.

I was right at the time I wrote it, but boy I'm REALLY wrong now!! Dirk Nowitzki has risen from a good NBA player to one of the league's 5 best in the post season (I'll at least point out that he hasn't shaved the 'do this year), and I think this has been a good lesson for me to learn. Dirk hadn't come up big for the Mavs when it mattered, but he worked his tail off this offseason, and is now pretty much unguardable. He's shown more of a willingness to go into the post, and is not killing the smaller guys that used to give him trouble. And the outside shooting? Yeah, it's still there.

I wrongly believed that if you couldn't get it done in the playoffs on more than one occasion, as was the case with The Dirk, then you'd NEVER get it done. Well Dirk has proven me wrong, as did Lebron. Unless you're Peyton Manning or Alex Rodriguez (who never have been and never will be clutch), apparently you CAN learn to be clutch!!

* A poll on ESPN.com had Dirk rated as the league's 5th best player behind Lebron, Wade, Kobe and Duncan. I agree with all of those except Duncan- even when 100% (which TD was not this year), his free throw woes make him less valuable than Dirk.

* Not that I'm ever right with predictions, but I like Dallas to win the series. They've got the size to contain Shaq, and guys like Josh Howard and Marquise Daniels to slow down Dwayne Wade (and by "slow down" I mean keep him shooting under 70% from the field). They also have the quickness on the perimeter to do what Detroit couldn't: drive to the basket on the slower Heat forwards and guards. Oh and have I mentioned Dirk is unguardable? Because he is. SHould be a fun series, although it's ridiculous we have to wait till Thursday to start it.

* Stanley Cup Finals start tonight (congrats to the 4 or 5 households that actually get OLN). I'm cheering for Edmonton because they're a Canadian team (and their best players are generally Canadian) and I hate Carolina (although I obviously support all the great Canadian players the Canes have). Carolina is a prime example of why the NHL isn't working and will never work in the South: Carolina has been one of the worst franchises for attendance since their inception. Sure, the place will be packed for the games, but how many people down there really care? The South has very passionate sports fans (as college football and that sport where guys drive cars and turn left for 4 hours will attest), but unless the team's in the Finals, the people don't show up. Send the team back to Hartford, send the Coyotes back to Winnipeg, and get rid of Florida, Tampa, Atlanta, Nashville, and Anaheim. Please.

* I may be losing my manhood, but I'm actually interested in the World Cup of Futbol. I still find a full soccer game to be boring, but the intensity with which fans in the rest of the world follow this sport, well it's impressive, and almost enviable. I still love the story that in the 2002 World Cup, Ireland (my ancestors) voted to change their clocks to Korean time (something like 9 hours ahead) so that they wouldn't have to watch the games at work. I don't think the amendment passed, but that's still impressive. THAT'S a passionate fan base. Of course the Irish didn't make it this year, and Scotland (my other "homeland") but oh well.

* I'm REALLY ready for football season!! These June and July Sundays when there's NOTHING on reminds me how much I miss football.

* Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry was arrested for the 3rd time in 6 months. He could be the 2006 winner of the "Onterrio Smith Award for Athlete Who Just Doesn't Get It".

Jeremy: IDIOT!!!

Maybe I'm slow... okay, I know for sure that I'm slow, but I didn't know this little factoid that I read in Sid's column today: In the 2003 draft, "(Josh)Howard was available when the Wolves selected Ndudi Ibi at No. 26. The Mavericks ended up taking Howard at No. 29." Yeah, Josh Howard, the guy who just happens to be tearing it up in the playoffs for the Mavs right now. Ouch!
This proves once again that Kevin McHale is an idiot. He chose an unproven project in Ebi (who by the way isn't even on the team anymore, or in the league, ANYWHERE), over a college player who had proven his worth against some top college talent in Howard.
Here is a snipit of a recent conversation that Jeffrick and I had on Google Chat (which we both use to avoid work):
me: i'm not sure mchale is smart enough to draft anyone but a foreign guy we've never heard of.
what if (rudy) gay and (adam) morrison are both there (when the Wolves pick #6 in this years draft)?
Jeff: or a Big 10 player
(I'd) take Rudy
I could come to regret that but take Rudy
I love Rudy after the 5th pick, because the pressure's off of him
me: i think i'm more comfortable with him
Jeff: as peeps have said all year, Rudy's got the stuff to be a star
it's just a question of whether he has the drive. Hello KG!!
that's why I don't think Rudy will get past Charlotte. His workouts will be good, and they'll forget all about his work ethic
me: excellent point
like i said, i just think we are going to end up with a foreign guy that we've never heard of who will not play...EVER.
Jeff: or a 7'0 white guy who'll never play
me: I HATE MCHALE
Jeff: understatement of the year

Honestly, we have a lottery pick for the first time in how long? The 6th overall pick, and both Jeff and I have literally ZERO confidence that McHale is going to bring somebody in with that pick that will make an impact at all, let alone an immediate impact.
A better option might be to try to trade that #6 pick for a proven veteran, but it doesn't even matter that that might be a better option, because there's no doubt that McHale would mess that up too.
I'm at the point where I'm not sure it's even worth cheering for the Timberwolves anymore as long as McHale is at the helm. You have no idea how it pains to me have just typed that.

Jeremy: Muse on Thursday

*Is there now any doubt that Fran Liriano should have been a starter from day 1? Liriano is now 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA. Last night he went 6 innings, gave up just one hit, had 4 walks, 4 strike outs and was making a run at a no-hitter when the first base umpire blew a call at the bag. The Angels, who I would consider one of the better hitting teams in the AL, simply could not touch the guy. The future looks much brighter with Santana, Liriano and even Bonser is looking like he could have some throws for the Twins down the road.

*Speaking of Bonser, Boof Bonzer has to be one of the best names in sports right now, and I just heard this today: he actually had his name legally changed from John to Boof. I had to laugh. ESPN shows his "proper name" as Boof Bonser. I love it! In a related story, Ricky Williams is expected to legally change his name to Puff Williams by the end of next week.

*I'm a bit surprised that Detroit beat Miami last night. I am firmly of the belief that Shaq, as big and lumbering and beat up as he is, is able to turn it on and off whenever he wants. I'm convinced that when he sees the prospect of having several days off before having to play the next game just by winning one game, he turns on everything he's got to win that game so he can go sit in his easy chair and wait for the next challenger. That's why I'm surprised Miami didn't win last night, I thought for sure Shaq would be ready for a rest and would do whatever it took to get it.

*I think I'm completely sick of Roger Clemens in the same way that I'm sick of Brett Favre, and the same way that I got sick of Jordan during the Wiz years. The difference, of course, is that the Rocket still has the ability to dominate everytime he takes the field. The other difference, and it's significant, is that a pitcher doesn't really need to be a part of the "team" concept in order to help make his team successful, and Clemens prooves that. Clemens will again not be required to travel when he's not pitching, and won't even be required to be at the ballpark in Houston on days that he's not pitching. Clemens will be the most rested, physically and mentally, pitcher in the majors when he starts. And oh, by the way, he'll be making roughly $100,000 every inning he pitches. One more thing, Clemens is slated to make his debut this season against the Twins.

*Congrats to the Vikings for getting the Fran Foley monkey off of their backs by hiring the guy they should have hired in the first place, Rick Spielman.

Jeff: The Death of The Don Stern

It seems like nor Jer or I can throw together one coherent post lately about one topic. I tried today but had all of this running through my head so here's another random bunch of thoughts...

* Can't tell you how glad I was to see Dallas knock out San Antonio last night. We're now guaranteed an interesting NBA Finals. Thank you Dallas. Thank you Dirk. There's really not one guy on the Spurs I like, and I don't think I've ever seen a team that whines more than they do. Tim Duncan used to be Mr. Unemotional, but now there's not a possession that goes by where he's not bitching to the refs about them not calling fouls. SHUT UP TIMMY! NOBODY LIKES YOU AND NOBODY CARES!!! He's turned into Karl Malone, and I'm not even kidding. Malone's entire game was doing one of two things: 1) hitting the 12 foot baseline jumper or 2) jumping into somebody and drawing a foul. That's it. And after watching Duncan last night I realized that's what he's become. He'll hit the 12 foot bank shot, or jump into somebody, flail the legs, and then throw a shot at the rim hoping to draw a foul. Oh and whine and bitch incessantly if the refs have the audacity to not call a foul.

* As a matter of fact, Duncan has just grabbed the top spot on my Most Hated Current NBA Players list. Congratulations, Timmy. Although he still has a few more years to go before passing icons like Malone, Christian Laettner, and Jim McLvaine on my all-time list.

* And don't think the NBA isn't giddy about San Antonio getting knocked out either. I now firmly believe that every pro sport NEEDS a polarizing object (yes that includes the NFL), be it team or player. You NEED that Goliath to get casual fans to really watch. Although the Spurs have 3 Titles since 1998 (Jer and I are both NBA fans, and yet we both commented when watching last night's game that we completely forgot it was San Antonio, not Detroit, who were the defending champs. Why? Because nobody cares about the Spurs), they're not a Goliath. When you have a Goliath in a large market, there's enough fans to balance the hatred. I hate the Knicks, Lakers, Yankees, Cowboys etc, but there's a ton of souless people who love them to balance that out. Not so with San Antonio. Their town of about a million people love them, but anybody else who watches basketball would rather see Michael Moore in a bikini than watch the Spurs play. They're small-market, they're boring, and they're so incredibly annoying and whiny. Since we can no longer count on David Stern to take care of these things, thanks again to Dirk and Dallas for doing us basketball fans a huge favor.

* Speaking of the Commish, I've come to a sad conclusion about Mr. D. Stern: he's gotten fat and unmotivated. Not that I can blame him, but I think he's lost his competitive fire. The league's doing better than ever and he's filthy rich to show for it, so now he's flipped the cruise-control button, going from Conqueror to "Maintainer". Stern truly has been the most influential Commissioner in sports history. Yes he got a Perfect Storm in Bird and Magic (I'm not trying to be racist here, just honest: a blue-collar white guy and a charismatic black guy in two of the league's biggest and best basketball markets was the perfect scenario for saving the NBA) but he made some pretty bold moves to take advantage of it. It's sad because there's been some opportunities here to further the league and yet he's content to let it ride because it won't hurt his bottom line all that much. 20 years ago there's no way in hell a Detroit-San Antonio series would have happened. Never. If it would have taken calling offensive fouls on Tim Duncan on his every shot, or a JFK-like assassin in the upper balcony, he would have made sure the most marketable teams and players made the Finals. Now? He's content to let an gawd-awful game 7 unfold between the Pistons and Cavs, and to let the Suns WIN THREE GAMES IN A ROW TO CRUSH THE DREAMS OF A HALLWAY SERIES!!! Honestly, in the old days Lebron springs for 50 because the refs are blowing the whistle on Detwah if they breath near him, and the Suns start getting called for traveling and moving picks that are otherwise never called, Steve Nash gets the little used "too much hair" technical, and we get treated to a Lakers/Clippers series. Hey, Stern has earned the right to live on his reputation, but it's sad because I never thought I'd see the day.

* The only real piece of evidence you need that Stern has quit trying is the New York Knicks. If he was still in "The Don" mode, he would have never let Isiah and owner James Dolan destroy the Knicks like they have. I believe that Stern rigged the '85 draft lottery so the Knicks could take Patrick Ewing. Stern knows how important it is to have a good team in New York, and Ewing was a franchise-changer (although I don't think he ever lived up to expectations). But Stern knew enough to do something to save the Knicks when he had the chance. Now? They're in horrible shape for at least another 3 seasons, and they're not even getting rewarded for it because Isiah keeps shipping out draft picks. As bad as the Knicks have been, what makes it worse is what could have been: if Isiah would have left the roster alone, let all of their awful contracts run out by next summer, the Knicks could be looking at a high lottery pick this year, Greg Oden next year, and then Lebron James in free agency the year after that. It could have happened. And Timberwolves fans thought THEY had something to complain about!!

* It's obvious Stern is bored and needs a new challenge: President of the United States. He'd be the best ever. It's the only way I'd vote Republican, but I'd definitely vote for Stern. Unless David Palmer was running against him, then it'd be tougher.

* I knew the NHL was struggling for ratings, but I didn't know it had gotten this bad: more people are watching the WNBA on tv than hockey! I have a long and involved theory on why this is and how to change it, but let's be honest: you don't care.

* NBA draft lottery is tonight, and the Wolves will find out if they'll be picking better or worse than their 6th-worst record. Well that's IF McHale doesn't deal the pick before the pick for an overpriced-underachieving Euro.