Warriors!

OKC had a series lead 3-1. All they had to do was win ONE more game.

They didn't.

And the Warriors now move on to the Cavs. I'm going to have to watch a few of those games.

Twins pitching was good yesterday, but they came up on the wrong side of the score. Maybe  it will be better today.

Twins Sweep Mariners, Win Streak At FOUR!

We all know Minnesota is going nowhere this year. So no streak will get us pumped about the possibilities, BUT if we could play around .500 ball the rest of the way it would mean that the Twins are at least watchable.

That's really all I ask. And if Nunez, Mauer, and Sano can keep blasting home runs, as they are currently, that would only increase our enjoyment.

Mediocrity is better than outright failure.

Am I right?

Bizarre

Pelican's guard, Bryce Dejean-Jones was shot and killed yesterday. He intended to kick in his girlfriend's apartment door, and then her bedroom door.

The problem was that he was in the wrong apartment, and the scared occupant after warning him constantly, shot him in the stomach.

He died later at the hospital.

There is so much wrong with this story. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

It was their daughter's first birthday and he went for a brief walk. When he got back and found the door locked, he thought his girlfriend had locked him out. He never knew that he was at the wrong door.

Warriors and Twins WIN!

It's kind of sad. IF the Twins and Golden State were to play earlier on Saturday night I would have switched back and forth between them and watched both. As it is, I just watched the Warriors until 10 and went to bed. The Twins were just getting started  (third inning) and the basketball game was midway through the third.

Oh, well. Golden State survived and is taking the series home for game seven. The Twins have won three straight.  I can still celebrate their victories, just a few hours later than most.

Go Twins! Go Warriors!

Twins Win!

Pat Dean looked great in his second start for the Twins.

And the Twins supplied some good hitting to back him up including Sano's ninth home run and Mauer's fourth of the season. It's still pretty hard looking at 13-34 record, but at least that's two wins in a row.

Baby steps.

The Cavs are back in the finals. LeBron has now made it there 6 years in a row. Even I have to admit that's pretty cool.

The Warriors play tonight and face elimination at OKC.

Warriors Win!

I am absolutely shocked by how much I'm enjoying this series. I've probably watched more NBA action in the last two weeks than I've watched in the last five YEARS. Curry got me interested again, but it's the possibility of Durant and Westbrook upsetting the Warriors in the series that keeps me watching. The NEXT game AT OKC will probably determine the series. Golden State is no longer anybody's favorite. A 73 win season suddenly isn't worth much.

wow

And the Cavs/Toronto series has at least been watchable. A little.

Kevin Love Powers Cavs, Twins WIN!

I like Kevin Love. I never blamed him for leaving the Minnesota Loserwolves. They never showed him the loyalty they expected from him. I don't like LeBron, but if he gets another NBA title with Kevin Love as his teammate I figure that's not a bad thing.

Last night, Love proved he belongs on the same floor with all of these other so-called superstars. He was incredible. Yes, he's had a few bad games, but then again the rest of the Cavs looked pretty pathetic going against the Raptors in Toronto, too. Last night he ignited the whole team with his incredible play. They had a 40 point lead at halftime, and ended up coasting the rest of the way.

I still would take either Golden State or OKC as my rooting interest, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Love, much like Kevin Garnett and his run with the Celtics.

Now, I'm just waiting to see what Golden State has up their sleeves.

I'm enjoying the NBA again. Not like I used to when I was a kid, but I actually am enjoying some of these games.

As to the Twins...

I gave up on them yesterday after they squandered a 3-0 lead early. I'm glad they came back, but I wasn't along for the ride.

OKC! OKC! OKC!

Just a couple of short weeks ago, sports commentators were discussing if Golden State was the best team of all-time. Now, they're wondering if there's even a chance of them making it to the finals.

OKC made it look easy in their win last night. A big halftime lead followed by a 24 point win. With the Cavs struggling just as hard in the east, folks are wondering about an OKC/ Toronto finals.

OKC at this point looks like the clear favorite.

But so did Golden State and that great record just a couple of short weeks ago.

oh, and the Twins lost...

Raptors Tie Series 2-2

So much for the cake walks the Cavs and Warriors were suppose to have to the finals.

and...

...the Twins got blown out last night after a rain delay. Not many fans stuck around for the ending.

OKC! OKC! OKC!

The Thunder rolled last night, beating the Golden State Warriors by almost 30. At this point, I'm not rooting for anybody. It's just fun seeing great teams play great ball. The Warriors are shocked. That's cool in itself.

The Twins played really well after that first half inning yesterday. Unfortunately that first half inning cost them the game.

sigh

Horse Racing

I know I've been harping on horse racing a lot the last few years, but yesterday was a good example of my disgust with the "sport." Yesterday TWO horses died in races before the Preakness at Pimilco Park.

Sadly, these are not isolated incidents. Thousands of horses die every single year in horse racing. These deaths are par for the course. If any other "sport" had this kind of death rate we'd be appalled, yet we all turn a blind eye to it all because of America's fascination with the Triple Crown and gambling.

I've never been a huge animal rights advocate, but I don't think any group of animals should be treated this way. It's just not right. The very act of running these animals, this fast, this long produces these deaths. The very act of racing is killing theses animals.

We've got to think of a better way. Hopefully the media FINALLY reporting these deaths will wake more people up. It is a big deal.

Twins WIN!

Savor the rare events. I actually saw the ending yesterday. I still like the Twins. I just can't stand watching them.

I now understand the term love/hate relationship.

Twins Lose

But the organization continues to support Molitor.

That's a relief. The fans would hate to see anything change at this point.

Twins Lose

This time in extra innings at home.

sigh

They're on pace for a 40-122 season. And the season is 1/4 over.

Warriors Win Big

It was fun watching a lot of the game last night. It is the exact opposite of the feeling I get when watching the Twins games now. One team is so good you expect them to excel, the other team is so incredibly bad, you expect them to fire Molly just as a matter of course. Atlanta fired their manager and won with a new one last night.

They have the same record as the Twins at 10-29.

No other team in baseball has less than 15 wins.

Go Warriors!

Twins Play Eight Really Good Innings

The seventh? Not so good.

Twins

Berrios didn't make it out of the first. The Twins gave up EIGHT in the inning. Their comeback fell short.

Are there any fans left?

OKC Beat Warriors In Game One!

And it was AT Golden State.

OKC!  OKC! OKC!

Duffy Looks Good

Twins win TWO in a row.

10-26 on the season.

That means 20% of their wins this season came in the last two days! How many other teams can say that?

Go Twins!

Losing Streak Ends

Twins now proudly 9-26.

Fit For Life

Twins Lose Again

But Park hit TWO more home runs.  Sano hit one, too.

Horrible, horrible eighth inning.

Suddenly, The Spurs Look Really Old

Once more, "experts" look foolish. So many of them had San Antonio beating Golden State in the conference finals before the playoffs began. Now, the Spurs are going home, and many are asking if it's time for the aging San Antonio roster to retire.

Just like that, OKC is the new pick of the these experts. And Durant and Westbrook are the new darlings of the media.

OKC! OKC! OKC!

As much as I don't like NBA basketball, I have to admit the Golden State/ OKC match-up should be a good one.

I might even watch some of the games. In the Eastern Conference, the Cavs are just sitting around waiting for the Raptors/ Heat series to end. IF the Heat win tonight in Miami, that series will be tied with the deciding game seven on Sunday at Toronto..

The Cavs could have a lot more sitting around to do.

Tell me again why top teams want to rest their stars before the playoffs? It seems like top teams rest so much in the playoffs that they just get rusty.

Twins

Remember how the Twins lost nine straight at the beginning of the season? They're currently on a 7 game losing streak.

sigh

Warriors Take Series 4-1

Portland played a tough series, last night's game was 125-121, but they still lost. Curry and company get a few days off now, waiting for OKC and San Antonio to settle their series. Last night? Curry sunk the definitive 3 with 25 seconds left. MVP! MVP!

OKC Wins, Leads San Antonio 3-2

It's kind of funny, most fans thought San Antonio was going to give Golden State a run for it's money in the playoffs. Now the Spurs HAVE to win their next two games just to advance. It's been a lot tougher series than they imagined.

And I'l type OKC a few more times just for the fun of it.

OKC! OKC! OKC!

Other sports news?

The Twins lost, again, this time in the ninth.

The Royals lost Raul Mondesi for 50 games yesterday for a PED violation. Once more, it was an over-the-counter medication that he bought in the Dominican that did him in. Since it appears that it was accidental, the suspension is for 50 games rather than 80. Mondesi is the first player to get pegged for "unintended use." The rule for all ball players? Don't buy it or take it without checking. Ever.

I'm waiting for some evil cook or caterer  assistant to lace all the food with banned, but essentially harmless, supplements at the Olympics or at training camp.  The nation or team may lose ALL their players or participants to long term bans. Imagine a New England patriot fan putting HGH in the Indianapolis Colt's beef stew to get back at them for the deflation gate scandal. The day is looming.

There's a rumor  out there that the UFC is for sale. They deny it, of course, but a 4 to 5 billion dollar price tag has been reported, along with 4 interested buyers. The current owners bought the organization in 2002, for (little finger on cheek) two MILLION dollars.

Stephen Curry was elected the first unanimous MVP in NBA history yesterday. He received all 131 first place votes.

Curry Back Late, Warriors Win!

Stephen Curry didn't start, but he sure finished, scoring 17 of his 40 in OT.

Go Warriors!

Bryce Harper On Base SEVEN Times Yesterday

AND he didn't have one official at-bat. That's six walks and one hit-by-pitch. No one wants to pitch to him.

It was a good strategy by the Cubs. They won in 13.

Grizzlies

Cranky Curtis' teammate from college, Dave Joerger, has been fired as the head coach of the Grizzlies. Both accuse each other of not getting the support they needed. The Grizzlies and Joerger that is. Not Curtis and Dave.

In other sports news...

Bartolo Colon, the rather rotund  pitcher for the Mets, did something yesterday that he has never done before. At the age of 42 years and 349 days, he hit his first career home run. No major leaguer has ever hit his first homer at an older age. Randy Johnson was 40 when he did it.

And,  just in case you're wondering, the Twins lost last night.

So did Golden State, still without Curry.

The Wild have a new head coach. Bruce Bordeau was fired by Anaheim April 29th after losing game seven in the playoffs to the Predators. So he was unemployed for about a week...

Sports

I got nothing. Just like the Twins.

Milone And Fien Released, More Roster Changes to Come

The Twins are sick of losing. Losing BIG to a team that's just as bad as them means big roster moves are coming. The Twins are talking with Darin Mastroianni again, and they've got free agent catcher Juan Centeno on their radar, too. That means that John Ryan Murphy and his .077 batting average are not long for this world either. Eddie Rosario's .188 batting average is in danger of getting shipped back to AAA, too.

The Twins are desperate. They should be. I still can't believe that Tom Brunansky hasn't been fired yet. The Twins biggest problem two seasons ago was that every minor leaguer they brought up couldn't hit. So what did they do? They hired their AAA hitting coach to be their major league hitting instructor.

Twins fans everywhere are asking, "WHAT hitting?" I predicted this would be a problem when he was promoted.

The Twins are a mess. And replacing failed roster spots with ex-major leaguers who haven't found a home yet is not going to be a solution. It's not just going to be a long summer. This problem is going to take years and years to fix.

In the meantime, enjoy Netflix. Or Hulu. Or Amazon Prime. Or long walks in the evening. Just don't expect to spend any of your valuable summer free time with the Twins.

Is contraction still an option?

Is ANYONE Still Watching the Twins?

That's a rhetorical question. You don't need to answer.

TV and Movies

Elementary, Agents of Shield, and Person of Interest all had similar storylines this week. It will also be the major plot line for this summer's big Marvel blockbuster, Captain America: Civil War.

The story is an interesting one to be sure. It's not a question of good guys and bad guys, it's a battle between world-views and perspectives. Most powerful organizations don't consider what they are doing as wrong. They purport to be there to help or to fix things. But the bigger the organization, the better chance they might take questionable steps in order to achieve these goals.  Questionable at least, by other powerful organizations that sees things differently.

In the Marvel Universe, Hydra wants out take out  "bad guys" before they become bad guys. In the game of baseball sabermetric stats show player tendencies clearly that aren't always seen just by looking. Hydra wants to take out an Adolf Hitler BEFORE he becomes Adolf Hitler. Sheild wants people to have the chance to mess up before they actually, you know, start killing them.

In a world where not everyone agrees on what IS best, a world with no ONE set of clear moral conduct guidelines, people will always do what THEY think is right or best. Hence the world-view conflict. Hence, the battle of perspectives.

The Democrats and Republicans in America are becoming more like that. It's definitely a real world struggle. And that's assuming that people really DO want to do what's right. If either party has an agenda, hidden or otherwise, that only adds to the conflict. And we're always asked to take sides.

We tend to think those we agree with have less of an agenda. We tend not to trust those we disagree with. We see them as evil. The bad thing? Our perceptions may be right.

But, of course, we may be wrong as well. Your world-view is shaped by what you truly believe is right or wrong. If you have a standard that doesn't move, you'll probably be safer than someone who changes their mind constantly based on circumstance.

Of course if you disagree with me, you'll think just the opposite.

That's our world-views in conflict. We can't even see the other person's perspective.

So What's the NFL's Beef With Beef?

Clenbuterol is a steroid that Mexican and Chinese  farmers regularly give to their beef cattle. Their governments ban its use but nobody enforces the ban. The problem is that the NFL also has it on its banned list and they test for it.

Last year, Houston Texans' player, Duane Brown took a short bye-week vacation to Mexico, when he came back, he tested positive for Clenbuterol. While there, the offensive lineman consumed massive quantities of his favorite meat, as his normal practice.

The NFL eventually cleared him but told other players IF it happens again, they'll blame the players, not the cows. The players are responsible for what they eat. The Texans are scheduled to play the Raiders in Mexico City on November 21. ALL the players are expected to obey the rules, at the same time, most NFL players eat an awful lot of beef as part of their regular diet and fitness program. Avoiding it while in Mexico is a big deal for some.

In 2011, Mexico's National soccer team tested positive for the substance under FIFA guidelines. ALL the players on the team had traces of clenbuterol in their systems.

My advice? If you want to be built like yesterday's blog picture, book a vacation to Mexico, and enjoy the tacos while you're there. As to the NFL, if they expect the players to play in foreign countries, they should be required to supply all the food. It's only fair, the NFL mandate for these games is the reason those players are there in the first place.

This Could Be YOU

Twins Win Against Quality Pitcher

I actually watched some of the game last night.

I usually wait until the third or fourth inning to see if the Twins are ahead and then will switch to it during commercial breaks from Gotham or Raw. Last night, I lingered longer than usual. Berrios was sharp. Kuechel for the Astros was not.

We now have the same record as the Astros at 8-18. Neither team is much to write home about, BUT at least we we're on the winning end of the match-up. Dozier broke out of his slump with three hits and Park is looking better at the plate every game.

More please.

Golden State Dominates Portland Without Curry

And Curry is optimistic he could be back by game three. It's up to Curry and Kerr to decide, BUT if a couple more days of rest would help him heal more fully, AND the Warriors are playing quite well without him, maybe he should not rush coming back.

Most playoff teams dream about giving their starters time off with the long play-off schedule in the NBA. This is Golden State's chance to give the NBA's top star that rest. Of course, the NBA playoffs have a LOT of rest built right in already. Toronto just won their first round playoff series with the Pacers last night. Conceivably, a team could need 28 playoff games (more than 1/3 of a season) to  win the championship. Those games would take upwards of two months to play.

Giving Curry time off could pay real dividends in about a month.

In other sports news, I'm not going to talk about Minnesota baseball until there's something to talk about.

Vikings Draft Moritz Boehringer

Who?

That's what I was wondering. He's a 22-year-old receiver from Germany who has never been to America. He's the first NFL player to be drafted that way. If you want to see how good he is watch youtube. That's all the Vikings had to go on, too.

The Twins? Don't ask.