Jeff: Monday Musings

* Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Gophers Football, as Minnesota legislators passed bills granting public funding to build stadiums for both teams. The U will be getting about $11 million of public money, plus a $25 student fee, AND the legislators thankfully decided to take TCF's $35 million in naming rights after all. For the Twins, the cost is much steeper, as a .15 cent sales tax in Hennepin County will try to pay the State's portion of $392 million of the $522 million promised to the Twins, who by the way are going to pay $130 million of, which Carl Pohlad probably has stored under his mattress. I know Jer has some great memories from the Metrodome, but as someone who grew up going to the Kingdome to watch sporting events, I don't miss it one bit, and I'll feel the same about the Dome when it's gone.

* The losing perspective of these things are always fun. Here's my favorite that I've seen so far...

"We are using general fund dollars and a tax on students to build a sports stadium. We could have put these general fund dollars towards the mission of the university," said Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, who voted against the measure. "Why is it that we cannot get a commitment from the state to provide for our students' academic needs but we have no problem using state funding to build a new venue for a football team?"

Um can somebody tell Mr. Moua that as one of the largest public universities in the country, that I think the U is doing just fine for funding?

* People will show up to these new stadiums for the first 3 years just because it's new, but after that, the teams better be winning. Of all the sneaky language legislators tried to put into these bills for the stadiums, I wish they could have put something in there binding Carl Pohlad to spend AT LEAST $80 million a year on players (according to USA Today it's currently at $63 million), and to force Gopher AD Joel Maturi to find a football coach who doesn't think that 6-5 and the Music City Bowl game is a successful season. Actually maybe the provision should have been to find a new AD who doesn't think it's ok for a football coach to average 3.5 Big 10 wins over 10 years, AND a basketball coach who's program is in the tank AND...ok ok you get the idea.

* Here's to hoping the two game 7's in tonight's NBA playoffs are better than yesterday's awful Pistons/Cavs game. That game may have set basketball back at least a decade. Was that the Knicks and Heat of 1995 out there? I couldn't tell. And why does this keep happening in the Eastern Conference? These are two good offensive teams, and yet Detwah can't even crack 80, and Cleveland scores 61 (lowest game 7 total ever and 3rd lowest in any playoff game in the history of the L). Oh and the Cavs made just 5 SHOTS (5-26) the entire 2nd half, and scored an all-time low 23 points. There's NBA basketball at its finest.

* With San Antonio playing tonight, they're very capable of an ugly Eastern Conference-style slugfest, and I have a bad feeling they win tonight. In the Clips/Suns game though, both teams could outscore Cleveland's 61 points at the half. Of course most of the country will be in bed long before that because the NBA insists on starting the late game at 10:30 pm on the east coast, and 9:30 here. HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE??!?! How does that benefit your game and the ratings when the vast majority of the population can't even stay up until halftime of the late game! The Mavs/Spurs game tonight starts at 8 eastern! WHY? Start that sucker at 7 (who cares if that's 4pm on the westcoast? As someone who grew up out there, I can tell you I didn't mind at all). This kind of thinking just baffles me.

* Does anybody outside of San Antonio want to see the Spurs win tonight? Anyone? Didn't think so.

* By the way, I've been a critic of Lebron, but I won't be holding the fact he had 2 chances to knock out the Pistons and couldn't get it done against him. Why? The Man averaged 31 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the playoffs this year. And he's just 21 years old. Oh and just when you want to blame yesterday's stink-fest on him, think again: King James scored 27, shooting 11-24 (46%) from the floor. His teammates? 9 for 41 (22%). Doesn't matter how great a player he already is, when your teammates shoot 22%, you are not going to beat a team as good as the Pistons.

* Watched The Sports List on Foxsports yesterday (it's not even scaleable how hot Summer Sanders is. Really. Wow), and the list was the 10 best hitters of the 1990's. Ken Griffey Jr was #1, and I did shed a tear watching just how damn good he was in a Seattle uniform (still not only my favorite baseball player, but my favorite athlete of all-time). The really interesting thing though was watching highlights of the guy who was #2 on that list, Skinny Barry Bonds. I couldn't get over how SKINNY the guy was for that whole decade (which included a few seasons in a Giants uniform. I always assumed he hit the juice- I MEAN the weightroom- as soon as he got to San Fran, but not so)!! All the criticism and scrutiny the guy gets is deserved (check out the pictorial of Bonds here on USA Today it's about halfway down the page. Compare picture 6 with 20). You just can't look at the "before" and "after" photos and tell me the guy didn't juice. Especially in his late 30's. But the shame of it all is that he was one of the best players ever BEFORE roiding, and that wasn't enough. But I'm just as sick of him as you are, so I'll shut the hell up now.

* Finally, Cubs catcher Michael Barrett lived the dream of many Major Leaguers Saturday. Did he win a World Series? A gold glove? Hit a walkoff grand slam? NOpe, he punched one of the league's most hated player, former Twins catcher AJ Pierzynski, right in the face (great shot by someone at the Chicago Tribune).


I have a feeling that envious ballplayers league-wide will help pay Barrett's fine with some "annonymous" donations. Twins fans should contribute as a thanks for the AJ trade that brought them Joe Nathan, future ace Francisco Liriano AND a guy named Boof. Thanks AJ!

* Finally, a CFL kicker has vanished on his way to training camp with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Could he have gone "up in smoke" with new teammate Onterrio "Original Whizzinator" Smith? It's just a theory.