Sano's Fielding

Still in Rochester. Yesterday's game. It made Sportscenter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og6FxuFttUQ

Andrew Luck

Wow. $140 million over 6 years. $87 million guaranteed. Both are NFL record contracts.

And Andrew Luck had an awful season last year for the Colts.

I don't see him as the best young player in football. Bob Irsay, the owner of the Colts, says he's worth it. I guess we'll all just have to sit back and wait to see.

Iranian Hulk

Sajad Gharibi has become quite an internet sensation the last few days. Pictures of this massive 24-year-old, 345 pound powerlifter have been showing up on a number of media feeds. If you haven't seen him yet, I thought I'd share him as well.

Gibson, Dozier Great, Twins Win

It's hard to believe that Kyle Gibson had 25 wins the last two seasons. It took him almost half a season to get his first win this year. That came last night. And he was brilliant. So was Brian Dozier. His TWO homers accounted for all four of the Twins runs.

I even watched about half the game. All I've ever asked is that they look competitive just so there's a reason to watch. The last two games have exceeded that.

Go Twins!!

Sano

The Twins have decided to keep him in right field for now. They now expect Plouffe back sooner than later.

Sano in Rochester last night on his rehab assignment? One homer. Struck out twice. Error in right.

The Twins think he's rusty and are going to leave him down there for another few games. Me? He sounds like he's already back to normal.

By the way, Twins GM Terry Ryan, is promising trades in the coming weeks.

We're all on the edge of our seats with that information...

Evenly Matched

I've always said that soccer was an average sport. It's not that the players aren't great athletes, it's just that they are all so similar. So the games themselves are mostly low scoring affairs, often decided by one point.

Take yesterday for example. Iceland is being credited with this huge upset of England, but in reality, Iceland now has a very good team consisting of very good players, very similar to all the other teams in the tournament.

At that level ALL the teams and players are interchangeable. And of course it was a low scoring game decided by one goal. Just like every other BIG soccer game.

yawn

Lucky bounces and balls just barely making the net look great on the highlight reel. But the other shots all missing by a few inches are never shown. Why? Because it exposes the sport for the fraud it is. You kick enough shots, some are bound to in. It's just like hockey.

Only slower.

Perkins Update

Remember how I said a while back that Perkins might be finished? The news gets worse. Perkins didn't just tear his labrum. It somehow became unattached. Surgeons have miraculously reattached it with surgery, but the time-frame of him coming back just got a lot longer. This injury is so rare that there doesn't seem to be a way to determine how successful the surgeons were. This is whole new territory.

In other news, Arcia had four hits for his new team, the Rays, this weekend. They got him as their primary DH, an option the Twins didn't have because of Park. What's funny is that they used him in the outfield, he looked awful, and they lost both games despite his excellent hitting.

There was reason the Twins got rid of him. I always like Arcia the hitter. I can't stand Arcia the fielder. The Rays would be smart to just use him solely as the DH.

Speaking of fielders, with Plouffe out with an injury, and Sano returning, it looks like the Twins are thinking about making Sano the regular third baseman again. They are not calling it a failed experiment, but they were never happy with him in the outfield. There is a reason the Twins are the worst team in baseball this season. And it's not all the pitchers and hitters fault. Good, solid defense in the outfield can change a team dramatically. Arcia and Sano not being there would be a step in the right direction.

I'm bummed that Plouffe's days in Minnesota may be numbered, but he's been hurt so much this year, that at this point it probably won't matter.

I'm not sure where Nunez will play, but he gives them more options than Arcia or Sano.

Duffy Phenomenal, Six Different Twins Hit a Home Run

You'd never know the Twins were the worst team in baseball yesterday.

Duffy had a perfect game going into the sixth, and the Twins hitters, who could barely manage three HITS the day before, suddenly were pounding balls over the fence with great regularity.

I missed it all of course. The Twins aren't on my radar any more. I celebrate the individual games, but  the team, much like the season, is lost.

They could pop back on my radar with a few more games like this, however.

Twins

three hits
two errors (both by Escobar)
one more loss

final score 2-1

heavy sigh

Twins Lose 5-3

The Twins had three errors. Only TWO of the five runs were earned.

sigh

Kris Dunn

He can shoot AND he plays great defense. The Wolves need someone like him.


Now it's time to see if HE  specifically is the one they needed.  NBA draft picks are not easy to evaluate. Look no further than the Wolves mostly failed 25 year history of picks for evidence of that.

It looks like the Wolves future is far brighter than their past. It would almost be impossible to be worse. But this IS Minnesota, so fingers crossed...

How Bad Is Sports Right Now?

The lead story on most sports programs was that Iceland beat Austria in soccer in last night. It was Iceland's first victory in international play.

Or something like that. Maybe it was Australia...

Man, I miss good baseball...

Perterson Laying the Groundwork For His Retirement

Adrian Peterson is getting sick of the grind of everyday intense workouts. He let the media know that in interviews this week. That's Adrian's way of saying he's getting sick of the football life. IF he has a bad season this year he can then tell everyone that he's not old, just bored with the football life.

That gives him a ready excuse to retire. IF he has a great season, he can say next year will be his last, for the same reason. That way AGE didn't retire Adrian Peterson. Adrian Peterson retired Adrian Peterson.

Either way, Peterson is ready to leave.

Soon.

Keplar Goat, Then Hero

I watched the game until Max Kepler's error allowed a total of three runs in the fifth.  BUT he tied the game with a single in the bottom of the fifth AND had a sacrifice fly in the seventh that put the Twins ahead for good.

The Phillies have now lost nine straight. The Twins have won three straight. If the Twins sweep this series they may move out of the worst team in baseball rankings next week.

It's pitiful what we have to root for now isn't it?

Twins Pound Phillies 14-10

The Phillies are the worst hitting team in baseball, that they scored 10 runs themselves last night is nothing for the Twins to be proud of, BUT the Twins scored a season high FOURTEEN runs themselves, so they more than made up for that.

The Twins had a 4-1 lead after one but were down 6-4 after 2 1/2 so I stopped watching for awhile. We had a 11-7 lead when I stopped watching in the eighth, but Philly was threatening.  I didn't want to see what was going to happen. The Phillies ended scoring a total of 4 runs that inning. I missed most of them tucked safely in bed. I missed the Twins 3 insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, too, but the bottom line is the Twins scored a bigger boatload of runs that the Phils.

Whew!

Go Twins!!

Ranked Last

The ESPN power rankings came out yesterday and the Twins are now officially listed/ranked/recognized as the worst team in baseball.

Minnesota fans have known that for some time.

My Cavs WIN!

Neither team shot particularly well, especially in the fourth quarter. Neither team scored 100 points. What was consistent the entire game? LeBron James' defense. His trailing blocks were a thing of beauty, and he did it all while securing a triple double.

The best team won last night, and Kevin Love got his championship.

I'm officially an NBA fan again. At least for now. With the Timberwolves looking to become one of the league's elite next season. That's a good thing.

The Golden State Warriors are not the best team of all-time. That's very clear now. You have to win the championship to be called that. They were just another good team who had a very good season. And with Green heading to free agency, you may never mention them again.

And the Twins won.

That was a great day of sports.

(Message brought to you by the Bandwagon Fans of America.)

Lawler's Law And the Magic Number

In the NBA, the team that scores 100 points first wins the game 93% of the time. The past 20 years have proven that stat. There is no greater determiner of winning in sports. It's called Lawler's Law.

The Cavs have won 15 games this year in the playoffs. In each game they have scored 100 points. Their 5 losses? They scored less than 100 points.

100 is so significant a number in the NBA that fans and experts now recognize it as some kind of magic number.

IF the Cavs score 100 points first tonight, they will win. If they score less than 100 points, they will lose.

At least that's what the numbers tell us.

I'll probably be watching something else, though. I watch WWE when I want my sport outcomes predetermined, the NBA is just too fake by comparison.

At least the WWE admits it.

Perkins

By now all of you have heard that Glen Perkins is done for the season. What you may not know is that Glen Perkins may be done.

Elbows are repaired in baseball with increasingly good results. Tommy John surgeries are more successful each and every year. But a torn labrum? That's a different story altogether. Shoulders are MAINTAINED, not repaired. You plane down the frayed parts and hope that's enough to make a difference. Brad Radke was just 33 years old when he tore his labrum. He tried to come back from that but ultimately was forced to retire.

Perkins is 33 years old as well. Elbows can be fixed. Shoulders wear out. That's the rule. It really depends on how much sanding and smoothing surgeons can get away with on the cartilage in his shoulder girdle. The odds are against Perkins ever returning with any real success.

NBA's Dream Comes True

Cavs down 3 games to 1? No problem, they'll suspend the guy that's been guarding LeBron effectively so the Cavs can win one on the road. For good measure, they'll tell the refs to call Stephen Curry for every stupid foul they can in game six to make sure the series goes seven games.

Did it work? Yep. There's now a game 7. And I've lost all interest. No matter who wins now, I realize more than ever that it's officials at every level that determine champions in most major sports.

AND the Twins lost to the lowly Yankees.

It's a wonder I watch sports at all.

Ichiro And Rose

No, Icharo does not have the all-time hits record. Ichiro has had a spectacular major league career BUT the hits he got in Japan were for a whole 'nother style and level of play. They don't count.

IF Ichiro had played his entire career in the states, I have not doubt he would be challenging for the all-time hits record.

But he didn't.

Sadahara Oh had over 800 career homeruns in Japan. I don't hear anyone saying he has the homerun record.

Why?

Because he doesn't.

No serious baseball fan or statistics freak thinks the Japanese league is anywhere near major league baseball levels. It's too bad Ichiro didn't play his entire career in the states. He's good enough to have the record.

But he didn't.

So he doesn't.

End of story.

The Vikings In Mankato

Training camp in Mankato this year is going to be short. The Vikes will head to Cincinnati  early for their August 12th preseason game and have a duo camp with them their for a few days before heading back to their regular practice facility.

Total time in Mankato? 10 days.

Most NFL teams simply practice in their own facility nowadays, and with the Vikings scheduled for a new one in 2018 that includes a mini-stadium, it looks like the Vikes days in Mankato are now numbered. Next year's could very well be their last.

Twins Rock the Angels 9-4

3 more homers. Most of the game after I'm in bed. I hate west coast games.

Go Twins!

Cavs romped last night, too. The series heads back to Cleveland for game six.

Walk-Off Win!

Max Keplar's first big league home run was a biggie.

Go Twins!

Game 5 Tomorrow Night

I can't talk about the Twins. No basketball until tomorrow. AND Golden State might be without Draymond Green who got into a minor skirmish with LeBron last game. The league has the option of saying Green's part was flagrant enough, because of previous misdeeds, to suspend him a game or two.

In effect, once more, putting the potential outcome of the series in the hands of an official judgement call instead of the players.

I look at it this way. IF it was flagrant enough to be really noticeable then they should have announced it immediately. If they have to study tape and think about it, it couldn't have been flagrant in the first place. Knowing they give themselves the option of a one or two game suspension makes the official decision making process even dumber. Something is either flagrant or it isn't. If you're not sure, then it isn't. How hard is that? There shouldn't be degrees of flagrant.

The biggest problem with most sports is that officials oftentimes determine champions more than the players themselves. As fans watch more sports over the years they start to see that trend. That's why older fans get sick of sports.

That and having a bunch of loser to teams to "root" for. But I said I wasn't going to discuss the Twins...

Golden State Bounces Back

It was a better game to watch for most fans last night. The game wasn't decided until much closer to the end. And, of course, the RIGHT team won this one.

Go Warriors!

Morneau Back...Sort Of

Justin Morneau signed a one-million one-year deal with the White Sox yesterday. It's prorated so he will only earn about 600,000 for the remainder of the season.

He then promptly went on the 15 day disabled list. The Sox are desperate for a good left-handed hitter, but no one expects Morneau to be ready until after the All-Star break. He had elbow surgery in December after having a sore wrist all of last season.

He says he feels better than any time last year. He's only 35, but injuries, including concussions, have taken their toll.

Maria Sharapova BANNED

She used the drug for years. The tennis association banned it earlier this year. She said the drug she used had a different brand name so she didn't stop taking it, not knowing.

Higher powers initially suspended her. Now they've given her a full 2-year ban from the sport. She doesn't need tennis. Tennis will miss her.

Rules are rules though.

People say she will come back stronger and healthier. I say, "why bother?" Twenty years ago, all the good players were teenagers who retired by their mid-twenties. There is no reason for her to come back.

I still think eventually most sports will have very little drug testing. If an athlete wants to perform at his best, that's his choice, as long as the drug isn't illegal for all. I look at J.K. Simmons and think that guy HAS to be on HGH, yet it's legal for him because he's just an actor. Why shouldn't athletes have the same rights as anyone else?

J.K. Simmons

Remember J. Jonah Jameson from the first few Spiderman movies a few years back? DC comics has recently signed him to be in the next Justice League movie. It's rumored he's going to play Police Commissioner Gordon.

A recent version of Batman, in the comics universe, had Gordon replacing Batman for awhile. Simmons at 61, wants to be ready for the role so he's been spending some extra time in the gym.

So THAT'S Why...

Twins Blast More Homers, Win!

3 last night, 4 the previous night, and TWELVE in their last 6 games.

For the Twins, who have been averaging about one home run a game, that's pretty good. The problem? Most fans thought this is what they should have been doing all along. ME? I'm just happy to see a few more in the win column.

Go Twins!!

Twins Win

I actually followed this game during commercial breaks last night, but gave up with it still tied in the 10th.

Dozier's 2-run blast in the 11th? Just what the doctor ordered. I was probably asleep when he hit it, but I still care.

I tried watching the Lynx last night, but the level of play was just so hard to watch. And after watching so much NBA basketball lately, that ball looked too small. This is not a condemnation of the league, but last night looked really bad. So does the advertising on the jerseys, but I suppose all leagues will do that soon for extra revenue. The Lynx pulled it out in the fourth, so they are still undefeated.

Go Lynx!

Notes

A few days  ago Cleveland fans were complaining about the high cost of NBA finals tickets at Golden State. $1300 was the going rate. Warriors management tried to explain that was actually LESS than the $1500 regular price.

By Tuesday morning, the price of a ticket for game 3 AT Cleveland had dropped from $280 to $200. It seems that even Cleveland fans aren't showing very much demand for the local tickets. They may sense imminent doom.

Kind of like Twins fans I guess.

The Vikings made Harrison Smith the highest paid safety in the league Monday with his new 5-year 51.25 million dollar deal. The Vikings have been moving money around for a couple of years to make sure this would happen. Smith in his brief NFL career already has 4 INT returns for touchdowns.

Golden State

No team has gotten beat by more points than the Cavs in the first two games of an NBA finals. I watched the game from midway through the second quarter last night until the end. I haven't watched that much of an NBA game since Bird and Magic squared off many moons ago. I watched some of the Jordan years finals way back when as well. But this much time? No.

When a team that you want to win is that dominant, all the bad things about the NBA disappear. Bad ref calls that decide a game. All those stupid timeouts in the last two minutes that make the game last an extra half-hour. The tension toward the end.

All gone. Poof. AND the game got over by 9:30!!!!

And you get to see a team with a great bench destroy the "best player of the last decade" like he's not even there.

THAT is what I want to see in my sports. I'm not saying Golden State is going to win the series. All those stupid things can come back into play any game now, especially since the series is moving back to Cleveland.

But for a couple of great games, the NBA was watchable again. I want more of this.

Brock Lesnar To Fight at UFC 200

Even though Brock Lesnar is currently under contract to WWE, they have given him permission to fight at the big UFC 200 anniversary event early next month. An opponent has not yet been named.

WWE and UFC fans are excited about the sudden announcement. Brock has held various titles in his career including the UFC heavyweight title. He has not fought in the octagon since December of 2011.

Muhammad Ali

The most dynamic boxer of all-time. The guy that modernized both boxing and sports interviews. The guy who invented smack talk. The guy who made multi-million dollar fights possible. The guy who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee.

Dead at 74 after a long bout with Parkinson's disease. Known as "The Greatest," he lived up to his nickname.

Golden State and the Twins WIN!

That was a good night of sports viewing.

It started off with an inside-the-park home run by Eduardo Nunez and it ended with a Golden State win over LeBron and company.

I was starting to think that I didn't like watching sports any more. I found out that I like watching WINNING teams.

Of course, I KNEW that already I guess. I'm the very definition of Band Wagon Fan.

Go Winners! Go Winners!

To Watch Or Not To Watch

That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the slings and arrows of outrageous play
or to get better arms in which to face the foes
And by opposing those with bats to sleep or die.

No More!

The heartache, and the thousand natural errors
That the flesh is prone to. 'Tis a consummation of all that was wrought before.

Yes, the Twins lost again.

Twins Lose

I watched Person of Interest instead. With only three shows left, it's really picking up the pace. Wow.