sigh

The Vikings didn't see any reason to go for the win yesterday.

I didn't see any reason to watch it.

It was just like a preseason game.

sigh

You need a running attack.

You can't have your two best backs injured and expect to win.

sigh

Vikings!!

I couldn't tell if the Vikings defense was really good or if San Diego's offense was really bad, though I'm guessing it was more of the Chargers shooting themselves in the foot time and time again with those turnovers than it was anything different the Vikings defense was doing.

The worst news is that Dalvin Cook had a shoulder injury and may be out awhile.

Fun to watch. Still very much in the hunt for a playoff spot.

The Packers and Bears already beat us this season, so the next two weeks are not a given by any means.

Go Vikings!!!

Baseball Dollars

Angels 3rd baseman, Anthony Rendon: 7 years $245 million.

It's official. Baseball has went insane...

Baseball Dollars

Baseball got off to a spendy start yesterday.

Stephen Strasburg inked a 7-year deal with the Nationals for $36 million a year.

And then the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole to a 9-year deal worth $324 million. Less per year but a far bigger contract.

Baseball money. It's reserved for the pitchers, now.

And it's a lot!

Vikings!!

It wasn't the overwhelming slaughter everyone thought it should be, but it was good ball control and Detroit didn't score until the end.

I'll take a consistent win over a nail-biter any day.

Go Vikings!!!

sigh

I normally don't comment on regular Wolves' losses any more, but last night?

They basically lost because a player didn't notice his jersey wasn't tucked fully in.

Seriously.

I think I'm done with the NBA.

What foolishness.

sigh

Good first half.

It all went wrong after that. The Vikings are a good team. Seattle is much better.

sigh

Ultimately, the Gophers ARE a Minnesota team...

Wolves!!

Keeping their head above water.

Go Wolves!!!

Wolves!!

So far this season, I get to give the Wolves some exclamation points more than half the time.

That is the definition of a winning team.

Go Wolves!!!

Vikings!!

You gotta love those bye weeks. We are now tied with the Packers for the division lead with five games to go in the season.

Go Vikings!!!

Gophers!!

Okay, it was just Northwestern, but it was at Northwestern, and no matter how bad they are this year, at least the Gophers didn't have a major breakdown after last week's loss.

Best record in decades.

Go Gophers!!

Fred Cox

Legendary Vikings place kicker AND inventor of the Nerf Football, Fred Cox has passed away.

He was 80.

Wolves!!

Sports blogs are more fun when your teams win.

This time, they won even though they were missing Wiggins.

Go Wolves!!!

Vikings!!

After trying to watch that first half yesterday, and then turning the game off in absolute disgust, I was surprised as anybody when I checked the results at 3:30.

Horrible first half. Worst of the season.

First NFL comeback in 100 games (being down by at least 20 to 0) to actually win.

Wow. Cousins unleashed is an incredible thing to watch. Even watching the 12 minute summary of the game on Youtube after it was all over was difficult to watch. That last defensive series near the goal line? Whoa!

But they did it.

Unbelievable.

8-3 record.

Go Vikings!!!

Cinderella Story

Let's not forget, Gopher fans, that in the end the coach turned into a pumpkin.

Wolves!!

Let's face it, I've been putting up a lot more exclamation points than I expected to.

The Twins! The Gophers! The Vikings! and now the Wolves!

It's actually fun being a casual Minnesota sports' fan this year.

Go Minnesota!!

Undefeated Gophers Number 8 in Country!

Tell me the last time they were in the top 10 this late in the season.

I'll wait.

Wolves!!

A win put them at 6-4 on the season last night.

Not great, but at least above .500.

Vikings!!

I enjoyed the first quarter. Hated the second. And went to bed early.

The Vikings played until the end, however, and ended up beating Dallas on the road.

7-3 is a very good record this late in the season.

Go Vikings!!!

Gophers!!

9-0 for the first time since 1905! That's a 114 years.

The first time they've beaten a top 5 team at home since 1977!

A TWO game lead in the the western conference of the Big Ten with three games to play before the championship game!

The Gophers? The GOPHERS!!!!!

Wolves!!

Yes, they beat the Golden State Warriors in overtime last night, but that Warrior team is not currently one of the best teams in the league.

The Wolves are just 5-3 themselves after performing badly the last week.

Still 5-3 is a winning record.

Go Wolves!!!

Gophers

You'd have to be living under a rock not to know the Gopher football team is still undefeated this year. That 8-0 record, this far into the Big 10 season hasn't occurred since the Kennedy administration (or some such number like that).

The point is, the game against number 4 Penn State MEANS something. And it's a HOME game. At 11 a.m. central today on ABC. I'm going to be watching. And I haven't cared about the Gopher football team since the Kennedy administration...

...or some such number.

sigh

heavy sigh

Wolves!

Their best player suspended, the Wolves still had 3 players with 20 or more points!

4-1 on the season, they still are tied for the Western Conference lead!

Maybe this IS a different team.

Not in any way confident, but at least hopeful.

Go Wolves!

And Go Vikings! Those Chiefs aren't going to be easy, that's for sure.

The Series

The home team lost every game.

Wow.

I wasn't really rooting for anyone, so I didn't mind the outcome.

Oh, and the Wolves got kicked.

Somethings never change...

Wolves!!

Unbelievable!

Wiggins had 4 3's in the last 6 minutes and the Wolves stay undefeated!

3-0!

Maybe this is the year they finally turn it all around.

Go Wolves!!!

Wolves!!

2-0!

Towns 37 points!

I'm sure I'll be disappointed by the time all the dust settles, but until then...

...Go Wolves!!

Vikings!!

Cousins! Efficient: 23/26. 285 yards.
Cook! 98 yards rushing. 73 yards receiving.
Diggs! 143 yards on 7 catches.
Defense! 3 field goals.

Game? Sloppy and sluggish. Like they hadn't got a whole week of practice and rest in.

6-2 is a great start to the season.

Go Vikings!!!

Undefeated!

It's not often that I get to use that headline with the Wolves.

1-0 is a good start.

Go Wolves!!

Vikings!!

Cousins!! Three great passing games in a row. (10 TDs, just 1 INT in that time)
Diggs!! Another great day receiving, 142 yards.
Dalvin Cook!! 142 yards rushing.

Sigh? The defense gave up a lot of yards and a lot of points.

Go Vikings!!

Vikings!

Cousins was great! That interception was a perfectly thrown bullet. Diggs blew it.

Diggs! Fantastic day, marred only by the interception. THREE TD receptions.

Defense! Some are complaining that they could have done better. Against that offensive attack? They did just fine.

Go Vikings!!!

Vikings!

Let's face it. Today's game against Philly, also 3-2, will go a long way in showing if the Vikings are good, or just another average football team.

At this point in the season 4-2 will look WAY better than 3-3.

There comes a time where Cousins must prove himself consistent. And that's something he's never done in a purple uniform.

Some would say he never has, and I wouldn't argue with that statement, either.

Go Vikings!!!

Twins

16 straight playoff losses.

Great season. Lousy, but expected finish.

Go Vikings!!

Vikings!!

Passing Game! Cousins was excellent.
Rushing! Still great.
Defense! 10 points.

Football is so weird. We clubbed Oakland. The Bears clubbed us. Oakland beat the Bears yesterday.

Oh, and New England is still undefeated.

Go NFL!

Go Vikings!!!

Twins play what is probably their last game of the season tonight. I'm not pessimistic. I'm realistic.

Go Twins!!

Same Old, Same Old

sigh

sigh

Starting pitching. Okay.

Bombas? Bombastic!

Fielding? sigh

Relief pitching?  heavy sigh

14 straight playoff losses without a win?

I'm glad the game wasn't broadcast locally. I would have turned it off several times.

The rookie in the white glasses pitches tonight.

Everybody knows he's our last chance.

Go Twins!!

Playoffs!

I don't expect the Twins to beat the Yankees.

We aren't a bad team, we just aren't a great team.

We were the best team in baseball the first 2 1/2 months of the season. Four starters were fantastic and Pineda was starting to come around, and just as Pineda became our ace, he got suspended for using an over the counter dieting drug.

sigh

The starting staff fell apart after that. Odorizzi became more reliable as Berrios lost all semblance of control. We were mired in mediocrity.

As of late, Berrios has gotten better. Odorizzi is still good, but off a hair. And the man with the white glasses is showing real potential. IF Berrios comes through tonight, I'll change my opinion on our chances. As of right now, I haven't even seen the Twins final playoff roster.

A bullpen with the best ERA in the American League since mid August keeps me hopeful. As do the Bombas. But starting pitching gets you farther in the playoffs than home run hitters.

And, as usual for the Twins, that's our biggest question mark.

Sunday

Romero tanked the Twins. I didn't even know we had him any more.

BUT the Twins officially have the all-time home run record for a team in a season, 307. The Yankees had to settle for 306.

As to the Vikings, all I can think is that we wasted over $80 million on a quarterback who is one of the worst players I have ever seen. I gave him the benefit of a doubt last year. I am no longer doing that. Meanwhile, Teddy Bridgewater is leading the Saints over the undefeated Cowboys in primetime last night. And Case Keenum is being wasted on that train wreck of a franchise in D.C.

Management blew it. And the fans will be suffering for years.

I'm taking a break until Friday when the Twins play again.

Unless something big happens.

Twins!!

The bullpen rotation worked!

I always knew this was a good idea!

One home run behind the Yankees with one game to go!

sigh? It's been determined that the Yankees are our opponents in the first round of the play-offs. They have beat us in 92 straight play-off games...

...or something like that.

Go Twins!!!

And go Vikings!!!

Twins!!

100 wins! Only the second time in history the Twins have got that many.

sigh? The Yankees hit SIX home runs last night. They are up 305-303. (We hit two.)

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

1st team to ever hit 300 homers in a season! Schoop got the bomba. The turtle got another later.

The Yankees were shut out last night! They are still at 299.

Smeltzer! Got the win.

Subs! Most of the regular starters had the day off.

Go Twins!!!

Magic Number is ZERO!!!

Magic Number is TWO!!

A 4 game lead in the division with 5 games to play.

Cleveland is fighting for their playoff life. The Rays and Athletics each have one more win than Cleveland for the Wild Card spots. It's not just the Twins they're chasing. All losses are critical for them.

Go Twins!!!

Baseball

6 games left in the season for both the Twins and Cleveland.

It should be interesting...

Vikings!!

Sunday sports viewing was much more pleasant this week.

Defense! Until that meaningless TD at the end, they were brilliant.

Cook! Three straight 100 yard games to start the season. 375 total.

Rushing attack! They lead the league.

Cousins! He hands the ball off well.

Go Vikings!!!

Magic Number is THREE!!

Cruz! Career number 400.

Sano! Two more.

sigh? If Perez was in professional boxing, he would be in the roll of a used punching bag. IF we make the playoffs, I don't think he will be on the roster.

sigh? Cleveland won.

Go Twins!!!

Magic Number is FOUR!!

No thanks to us.

Magic Number is Five!!

Go Twins!!

Magic Number is Six!!

4 game lead!

4 more home runs!

TWO by Cruz!

Go Twins!!!

Magic Number Still Seven

We can all figure out what happened last night from that headline.

sigh

Twins!!

7 game magic number!

5 players with at least 30 home runs! NO team has ever done that before.

Still two homers ahead of the Yankees!

Pitching? Awful last night. Perez looked even worse than usual, squandering a five run lead.

sigh? Cleveland won, too.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Berrios! Pitched into the eighth.

Hitting? Just enough.

5 game lead with 2 weeks to go!

Go Twins!!!

Difficult Sunday Viewing

Minnesota teams stunk up the joint yesterday. And I mean that sincerely.

Twins!!

Sweep double-header! 5 1/2 game lead with 12 games left.

Sano's grandslam! In the eighth to give the Twins a 4-run lead in the second game.

Closers pitch a shutout in the first game!

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Berrios!  FINALLY, he looked like his old self.

Bullpen. No runs either.

Garver. His 30th of the season.

Sigh? Cleveland won, too.

heavy sigh? Buxton is done for the season. Torn labrum. Surgery needed.

More sighs? The Yankees hit a boatload of homers last night. They are now TIED with the Twins. 276 each.

Other baseball news? The Dodgers won their division last night. That's seven straight times.

The Brewers lost MVP, Yelich, to a fractured knee cap.

Go Twins!!!

Sports Stuff

The Yankees, with three homers yesterday, are now just SEVEN behind the Twins for the all-time mark.

Within 10 days, most think the now healthy Yankees will pass the Twins whose pace is slowing. It was nice while it lasted.

The NBA has decided to ban the "ninja headbands" for this coming season. A few players started wearing them last year and the NBA decided to wait until the off-season to do something about it. I'm glad. They looked more like a cheap "Karate Kid" rag than a ninja. Sometimes style is important.

New England and New Orleans really looked good in their NFL season debuts. The Vikes will have their work cut out for them this year.

Oh, and Cleveland won again. The Twins have their work cut out for them, too.

Vikings!!

It's a good thing that they were physically dominant, because they made all the same mental mistakes they made last year. (I mean, how many times can you be drawn offsides like that, really?)

They pitched a shutout through three quarters and then started playing cautiously (prevent defense and no passing) for the final quarter.

They won based on their spectacular defensive plays and running the ball in those first three quarters.

The fourth quarter looked like preseason.

Go Vikings!

Twins!!

Garver! TWO homers.

Heavy, heavy sigh? Pineda, lost for the year, for trying to lose weight. Our chances of doing anything great this year without him?

slim to none

sigh

Twins!!

Great pitching!

Timely hitting!

A great throw to end the game!

Cleveland lost!

Fantastic road trip!

Go Twins!!!

The Packers beat the Bears last night to start the season. All seems normal now.

Go Vikings!!!

Twins!!

Nine out of their last ten!

Sano!

Cruz!

Cleveland lost! 6 1/2 game lead.

Makeshift pitching? I can't exactly call it great, but it got the job done.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Adrianza! Home run.

Odorizzi! 5 innings. Three runs. Seven strikeouts.

Kepler! 2-Run bases loaded single in eighth.

Bullpen! No runs.

6-1 so far on road trip! 5 1/2 game lead.

sigh? Cleveland won.

sigh? Last three games of road trip are in Boston.

Twins!!

Cleveland lost again. Twins have a 5 1/2 game lead.

8 runs! Though no homers.

Pineda! Just 2 earned runs in six innings,

sigh? The next 4 series.

Shoutout to Verlander for Houston! That's career no-hitter number three.

sigh

I can't be too upset. The Twins did have 6 really good starts in a row. That third inning? Boy, howdy.

I think this is a preview of things to come. They hit SIX home runs and still managed to lose.

They eclipsed the all-time home run mark in the process and still lost.

The playoffs are going to look a lot like this.

The good news? Cleveland lost. Go Rays.

And Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

SIX straight wins!

Cleveland lost! 4 1/2 game lead.

Cron! Hard to believe that his was the only Twins home run in a 13 run game.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Caveman! 2 Homers.

Cron! Another homer.

Home run record! Most ever hit by a team on the road (141 in a season). They need just 6 more to tie the all-time record, but the Yankees are only 10 behind us right now.

16 hits!

sigh? Cleveland won.

sigh? After Detroit this weekend, our next four series are against Boston, Cleveland (twice) and Washington (the hottest team in baseball) Realistically, that lead could disappear rather quickly the next couple of weeks. sigh

Twins!!

Scoop! TWO homers.

Garver! He hit one as well.

Odorizzi! Good start.

Bullpen! NO runs again.

sigh? Cleveland won.

Twins!!

Gonzalez! Home run.

Schoop! Home run.

Pineda! Another great start.

Bullpen! No runs.

sigh? Buxton's shoulder is worse than they thought. He's going to be out longer.
sigh? Cleveland won.

Twins!!

Cron! Homer.

Schoop! Homer.

Perez! A good start

Cleveland lost!

3 1/2 game lead once more!

Go Twins!!!

Surprise? Andrew Luck's retirement from football. He's just had enough of the injuries and pain.

Twins!!

Kepler!

Sano!

Caveman!

I like the nickname jerseys.

sigh? Cleveland is going against KC and won again.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Cleveland lost to the Mets!

The Twins now have a 3 1/2 game lead!

sigh

I think I'm just going to comment on Twins' wins from now on. Most experts say the Twins are still the favorites to win the division because of "strength of schedule".

But the Twins have never had a hard time losing to teams that are worse than them. Chicago is just another case in point.

And Cleveland has better pitching.

I hate writing these negative posts, so I'll just comment when the Twins win.

It makes it easier to write them.

Twins!!

Three game lead once more!

Three home runs!

Cruz! 4 hits, including one of those homers.

Won five out of their last 6!

sigh

I think I'm going to take a break.

The Twins are now looking like a typical Minnesota team.

If they get a three game lead again, or maybe when the Vikings start playing for real, my interest may return.

Happy trails!

Twins!!

Odorizzi! Great pitching.

Kepler, Gonzalez! Home runs.

Alone in first place!

Go Twins!!!

Vikings!

It's just preseason, but the offense that was on the field looked good.

The defense did, too.

New Orleans didn't have all their best out their either.

The Twins? sigh. It was fun while it lasted.

sigh

One game lead.

Cruz got hurt.

It was a good season.

Vikings tonight.

Go Vikings!!

sigh

Now I know what everyone else feels like when they go against us...

sigh

I don't mind losing. I just hate that Berrios looked that bad.

We had four home runs (2 by Cruz) and still lost by five.

heavy, heavy sigh...

Twins!!

They wasted another good start, BUT...

Sano! Pinch-hit walk off home run on the first pitch. First one since 2006.

4 wins in a row! 9 out of 11.

Kepler! His 31st.

Cleveland LOST! FOUR game lead.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

3-game sweep! The Twins haven't swept a team in a three-game series since late May.

Smeltzer!  The kid FINALLY got a win. He always pitches well before we send him back down, but this time he got run support.

Bullpen! A team shutout.

Defense! NO errors. Finally.

Castro! Homerun.

sighs? Buxton on disabled list again. Cleveland won.


Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Cruz! THREE Home runs. That's twice in ten days.

Cron and Polanco! They both hit one as well.

Gibson! Just two earned runs in 6 plus innings.

sigh? The Twins defense has been full of holes for over a month now. Cleveland won again, too.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Okay, having basically NO PITCHING STAFF has made the games far more interesting as of late,

BUT, even though I'm still excited that they are winning MOST of their games,

I have a feeling, a very bad feeling, that I'm not going to enjoy the last couple months of the season like I did the first four.

Nevertheless,

Go Twins!!!

sigh

That ninth...

Twins!!

Berrios! 7 shutout innings. 11 strikeouts.

Three more home runs! (The 32nd time this season they have hit 3 or more in a game.) Kepler. Rosario. Garver.

52 home runs for the month. That's FOUR straight months with 50. NO TEAM has ever done that before.

sigh? Ninth inning "relief". Cleveland won.

Go Twins!

Twins!!

Pitching! One run allowed.

Buxton! 11th player this season to hit at least 10 home runs for the Twins. 207 on the year.

Astros! They are playing Cleveland. Verlander shut them out. THREE game lead.

WOOOOO!!

Go Twins!

Vikings

It's been a week since camp started. The only real word coming out is that Cousins need to show he is as good as people thought he was when he signed him last year, and that our depth at receiver is weak.

We have Thielen and Diggs as wideouts. But the next two? Big question mark.

With the Twins having a great season, I really haven't been paying a lot of attention so far.

In preseason, I ALWAYS think they're going to great.

Go Vikings!

Twins!!

Gibson! Great start.

FOUR more home runs! Sano. Polanco. Schoop. Kepler.

Cleveland LOST! TWO game lead again.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

The lead is now ONE game.

Twins!!

Pineda! One hard inning, but only 2 runs given up in seven.

Kepler! Home run number 27. 200th of the season.

Cruz! Home run number 26.

sigh? Cleveland won again.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Cruz! THREE home runs.

Sano and Kepler! Each with a homer.

Berrios! He pitched great.

Defense? sigh

Go Twins!!!

Sigh

The Yankees are, and always have been, the better team.

And our pitching is suspect.

sigh

sigh

don't want to talk about it

Twins!!

I admit it. I went to bed last night, when the Twins had a 8-6 lead, and still fully expected them to lose.

You see it was the THE Yankees, and our bullpen, as of late, has been less than stellar.

Yes, I knew we had FIVE home runs already, BUT it was only the sixth.

I was shocked to read no more runs were scored after I went to bed.

Did I forget to mention that ground ball TRIPLE PLAY in the first?

The only bummer was that Cleveland won, too. (mini sigh)

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

The Twins were finally the team that rallied.

BUT Cleveland won again, too.

The lead is still a precarious three games.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

At least Cleveland lost, too.

Sigh

Teams like the Mets, the A's, and the Yankees are tough.

And Cleveland just keeps winning.

That (now) three game  lead may dry up fast.

sigh

Twins!!

Gibson! 3 runs in seven innings.

Rosario! Three-run pinch hit homer

Cron and Garver!  More home runs.

Rogers! 2-inning save.

Losing streak ends at 3 games.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

THAT was awful.

Three losses in a row for the first time all season.

Cleveland has won four straight. They are just four games back.

Not the slam dunk season we were enjoying a month ago...

heavy sigh

sigh

Good pitching from both sides.

Less hitting from ours.

Twins!!

Do you remember the good old days when the Twins used to have a guy who would play anywhere just to get playing time?

Michael Cuddyer comes to mind.

Rocco Baldelli has really amped that up. We have Marwin Gonzalez doing that this year.

But we also have Willians Astudillo doing it.

And we also  have Ehre Adrianza doing it.

AND Luiz Arraez.

Infield and outfield. And catching.

Mitch Garver has done some first base and corner outfield in the past, so don't be surprised if the Twins give him a try as well, especially as his catcher legs get tired going down the home stretch.

Baldelli believes in a fluid defense, with guys capably playing almost anywhere because of injuries.

It keeps everyone in the game and makes everyone more valuable. It also eases the burden caused from injury.

Just another reason the Twins are playing so well this year.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

Berrios is not the same dominant pitcher he was at the beginning of the season.

Cleveland, even without its best pitchers, is still pretty good.

Taking 2 out of 3 in Cleveland is still pretty good.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

How many times in a row can a player hit a home run off a pitcher?

Right now, that record is FIVE.  Max Keplar hit three straight home runs off Cleveland starter, Trevor Bauer on June 6.

Yesterday, he hit one off of him in the first leading off, and another in the second. That's five home runs in five straight official at-bats. There was a walk in there somewhere. But baseball doesn't count that as an interruption.

Jake Cave had a great day, too.He had his own home run and a double with 3 RBI as the Twins beat the Indians again.

Their lead in the division is now 7 1/2 games.

Odorizzi got the win, looking good again, finally, in his 5 plus innings.

Go Twins!!!

Baseball

Last night, the Angels decided to honor their recently departed pitcher, Tyler Skaggs, by each player wearing his uniform and number.

And in typical baseball fashion, went on to pitch a combined no-hitter.

Baseball is incredible that way.

Amazing.

Twins!!

Didn't look for that.

I turned it off in the fourth when terrible defense wrecked yet another of Gibson's fine starts.

BUT

They rallied!

Cruz and Carver each hit a home run!

Polanco got a big hit in the seventh!

And the Twins find themselves with a 6 1/2 game lead in the central!

Whew!

Go Twins!!!

Twins!

It's been a long week.

Perhaps baseball should consider getting rid of the All-Star Game and just gives all players a couple of two-day breaks during the season.

That way teams get to rest up, and fans of contenders aren't forced to sit around twiddling their thumbs for a week.

I can't believe I missed baseball.

That just tells me how much I have been enjoying this season. It's been a pleasant surprise.

So far.

Don't mess it up now!

Go Twins!!!

Womens' Soccer

I'm not sure how any of this works, and I don't care enough to look into it, but if these women are getting paid to play soccer, and they are demanding "equal pay for equal work," who is their employer? And how did they get to represent the USA and use the "USA" name for their team?

SOMEONE put them together. Is it a foundation? Is it a charitable corporation? Do they license (pay for) the name USA? Is it just a regular corporation who steals the name USA to get free support from U.S. fans?

In other words did they just make this all up to make money as pro athletes and get fan support?

Shouldn't they be talking to whoever those people are to get raises? How do you demand equal pay when your merely a cog in a very large entertainment universe. I mean the men's USA basketball team are largely professional NBA players who donate their time, and have their expenses paid while representing the USA.

Is THAT what they want?

If it's their JOB to represent the USA, are they paid by the state or federal government? I don't think that's the case.

Then why are they team USA and why are they getting paid in the first place?

Do they work as pros for other teams when they aren't in the World Cup? And if not, why do they get to compete with other teams from other nations who do not have full-time jobs doing this? Is that even fair? Are they simply buying championships? Do they demand that other World Cup players from all the other teams get equal pay to what they get?

Do all of them want the same amount of pay, or do some of the "stars" want to get paid more money than their teammates? Is that fair? Or should they all get paid differently based on what they are worth to the team or the sport, based on how much revenue they bring in based on popularity and the amount of corporate and ad sponsorship?

And if that is the case, does this sport bring in as much money as the men's World Cup? And if they don't, why should they make as much money?

IF they are bringing in as much or more money than the men's team, they should be making as much or more money than them. Sports is entertainment. And you get paid based on what your bosses/owners/handlers/ the people who sign you paychecks say that your worth. Most sports have deals with owners and get a certain percentage of the revenue they make.

BUT this is different because you don't really have an owner. You're playing for a made up profit making organization (much like the Olympics) and pretending that you have value in the real world.

Equal pay depends on the organization you work for. Get the money from them, or find another organization who will pay you more.

Women tennis players work far less and have equal pay. Maybe it's time for the men to start protesting there.

American League!!

Polanco! One hit and 1 RBI.
Berrios! One inning, no runs.

Go American League!!!

The Derby

I used to like this competition.

Now it's got too many rules.

Too many rounds.

And it lasts too long.

Last night's was supposedly really good.

I tried.

And ended up giving up.

sigh

Another great starting performance wasted.

Buxton's baserunning blunder in the 4th cost us a run and the game.

Good first half, though.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Pineda! 6 innings just ONE run.

Rogers! 7 out save. 5 strikeouts. No runs.

Gonzalez! Twins 166th home run of the season.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

I wondered where all that home run power and offense went...

4 home runs! A record 165 before the all-star break.

9 doubles!

15 runs!

20 hits!

Perez! 6 scoreless innings (before collapsing in the 7th).

Go Twins!!!

Sigh

sigh

Twins!!

I admit it. I get down when the Twins are on a losing streak AND on the west coast.

When they, then, get down early and it's time to go to bed, I get even more down.

Reading about what happened in the 12th inning long after I fell asleep?

Priceless.

Okay, maybe this isn't just another Minnesota sports team.

Losing streak ends at just two.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

The Twins are starting to look more and more like a regular Minnesota team.

sigh

Tyler Skaggs

The Angels best starter this season committed suicide Monday morning in Texas as his team was preparing to start a three game series with the Rangers.

He was 27.

You sometimes forget its real people that play this game.

sigh

Another good pitching performance wasted.

Twins!!

Pineda! He's definitely feeling better. Just ONE earned run in six innings.

Home Runs! Kepler (2) Cruz (2) and Sano.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

Originally, I couldn't wait to go against division opponents.

I should have known better.

sigh

How do you not score for 17 straight innings?

Twins!!

Cruz! 3 hits and 3 RBI.

Bullpen! One run in 3 2/3.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Two home runs! Schoop and Garver.

15 Hits! 4 by Rosario. 3 by Astudillo.

Bullpen! Harper and Duffy great.

Go Twins!!!

Cleveland

Where the Twins have been content playing .500 ball for the last 11 days, Cleveland has decided that they are a better ball club than they appeared. They've won 8 out of 10 and are now just 7 1/2  games out.

It's a long season. Complacency gets you in trouble.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

All I can think is, "How many more games do we have with KC this year?"

Twins!!

They made it tougher than they should have at the end, BUT...

Berrios! Great until "the blister"

Home runs! Sano. Cave. Cron.

The Win! Making it FIFTY already on the season.


Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Okay, I admit it. I missed the whole thing.

I kept checking online to see how they were doing, and I went to bed when they were down 6-3.

Rally!

8-7!

Sano and  Cron! (homers)

Kepler!

Rosario!

Whew!!

Losing streak ends at just TWO!!

Go Twins!!!

sigh

I didn't watch last night.

The pitching is off a little as of late, and the hitting is suddenly non-existant.

KC did this to us. I want home runs.

Now.

sigh

The game went south after the 4th.

I stopped watching during the horrible 5th.

Twins!!

I'm so glad I don't stay up for endings anymore.

Walk-off single by Kepler in the 17th inning. (And who also hit a game SAVING homer in the 13th).

Pitching was great for both teams the whole game (which was around 6 hours.)

The losing streak ends at just two games.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

Two-game losing streak.

Berrios. One run, eight innings, 10 strikeouts.

Took the loss.

sigh

sigh

The Twins just can't seem to beat bad teams any better than they beat good teams.

All those failed chances yesterday.

At least they seem to win 2 out of 3 consistently.

Twins!!

Odorizzi! Worst start in months. STILL wins.

Rally! Down 3-0. Comeback, win 5-4.

Two home runs! Gonzalez, Kepler.

Cron! Game-winning double.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Gibson! Great start. Just TWO hits in eight innings.

Garver! A 2-run blast in the eighth.

Rogers! A great ninth to complete the shutout.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

The Twins are now 18-4 at home when they lose the previous game! They stop losing streaks dead in their tracks.

Two more home runs! Cruz and Cron.

Pineda! Super good outing for the man recovering from Tommy John surgery. He even had his SLIDER working yesterday. That's the best sign of full recovery, yet. He hasn't had it it at all this year until yesterday. Maybe he's about to become our next ace. I've been hoping.

Bullpen? Still an absolute mess. But 10 runs from the offense helped mitigate that.

Go Twins!!!



The question asked yesterday: Why are the Twins so different this year?

The younger guys (Rosario, Buxton, Polanco) are now looking like superstars.

The added free agents (Cruz, Cron, Gonzolez) are every bit as good as advertised.

The coaching staff (pitching and hitting) are really good and Rocco knew what he was doing in getting them.

The starting pitching has been phenomenal. (A lot of that has to do with the pitching coach).

Obviously something needs to happen with the relief corp. It's probably the worst group of guys we have had in years. Coaching can only do so much.

sigh

1-1 after 7.

Lose 9-6 in 10.

What an awful mess of an ending...

Twins!!

Perez is still looking average.

But the Twins rallied anyway.

Twice.

Once to tie in the middle innings.

And another to take the lead in the eighth.

Go Twins!!!

Willians Astudillo

He started out hot. Everyone liked his nickname. He got hurt. Came back.

And hasn't been any good since.

The Twins sent him back to the minors to make room for another relief pitcher.

Does the name Bombo Rivera ring any bells?

We will have to wait and see if there's more to the story of "The Turtle."

Twins!!

Odorizzi! One earned run in 6 innings. Best ERA in the league.

Cruz! Another home run. 4 straight games with one.

4 home runs total! (Sano, Buxton, Rosario had them, too).

Another winning road trip! The Twins haven't lost a home stand or road trip all year.

25 road wins! (We had 29 all last year).

125 home runs on the season!

Go Twins!!!

sigh

What is it with Gardenhire and the Tigers?

bummer

Twins!!

Pineda! He gave up his three runs (like always) BUT he did make it through five innings.

Cron! Home run.
Cruz! Home run.
Garver! Home run.

Bullpen! No extra runs. FINALLY.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Kepler! Three homers.

Berrios! 1 earned run in six.

Losing streak ends at just two games!

Go Twins!!!

sigh

A big lead. A rain delay. A horrible bullpen.

sigh

Out hit and out pitched.

Arraez

The Twins had to make room for Nelson Cruz now that he's back from the disabled list, and even though he' was batting .375 in the 10 games he was with the Twins, Luis Arraez was sent back down to Triple-A.

There are no weak links and he was the one with the most options.

Cleveland tonight.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Odorizzi! The win and six more scoreless innings. Lowest ERA in A.L. (1.96)

Taking 3 out of 4 from the Rays on the road!

A franchise record for fastest to 40 wins!

11 1/2 game lead in the division!

Schoop homered!

Rookie Devin Smeltzer gets his second start Tuuesday.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Gibson! 5 innings. No earned runs.
Buxton and Gonzalez homer!
13 hits!

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

They rallied! Down 3-1, they came back and won 5-3.

They snapped the Rays 6-game win streak!

Berrios and Rogers combined on a 4-hitter!

They did it without a home run!

10 1/2 game lead in the division! Still the best record in baseball! And the season is over 1/3 over!

Noon games the next two days.

Go Twins!!!

sigh

I came in late last night, saw the score and didn't watch any of it.

A good one to miss.

The Plan

With Pineda tweaking his knee Monday night, the Twins called up Smeltzer for a one night stand to pitch on Tuesday.

The plan was to send him back down on Wednesday, and with the breaks of the schedule, go with a four man rotation, and have Pineda back in ten days or so.

With Smeltzer back in AAA, the Twins could then have room on the roster for Cruz to come back on Thursday to face the Rays.

Luis Arraez would then get sent down this weekend to make room for Mitch Garver whose high ankle sprain is better.

Everything like clockwork.

That WAS the plan.

But Smeltzer was SO GOOD, that Rocco wants to give him another start. He wants to see how good this kid really is.

Plans will have to change. We'll see who gets sent where now.

We seem to have so many good options this season. That's just scary good.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Smeltzer! What a debut for the rookie. 6 scoreless innings. Just 3 hits. 7 Ks.

A late innings power surge! 5 runs. Another Rosario home run.

Losing streak ends at just ONE!

Go Twins!!!

sigh

You can't win them all.

So many chances. The Brewers used theirs.

AND I still don't think much of Harper, despite the "stats" and announcers hype.

Twins!!

7-0 win!

TWO three-run home runs!

Odorizzi NO runs (again)!

16 strikeouts for our staff!

TEN game lead in the division!

7th series sweep of the season!

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Gibson! Best game of the season.

Cron! 4 RBI.

Adrianza! A home run and 4 RBI.

10 wins in their last 12 games!

9 game division lead!

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Okay, let's face it, we've all been wondering what's been going on with Berrios lately.

Last night was no exception, by the second inning, he had totally fallen apart again. That's four times in four games.

I turned it off at that point. It was just painful.

But Baldelli? He left Berrios in and had him pitch THROUGH it this time.

And it worked.

The Twins scored 11 runs last night, nearly all AFTER that disastrous second. AND Chicago scored no more runs. It ended up being yet another 3 homer romp by the Twins and Berrios looked very good for several innings.

I came back before the end  and was pleasantly surprised. This IS NOT the Twins I've known in the past. This is something very, very different.

And very, very good.

Go Twins!!

Twins!!

Wow.

8 home runs!

They lead all of baseball with 98!

Over 200 extra base hits. Again, they lead the league!

Best record in baseball!

Most road wins in baseball!

16-2 final!

Wow!

I saw it all!

Go Twins!!

A Rain Out?

In southern California?

sigh

At least they have the make-up game today IN THE AFTERNOON!!

I'll be watching...

Twins!!

That headline just does not get old.

32-16 on the season.

8-3 the final.

Pineda has made it at least 6 innings in his last three starts, always giving up three runs. He's looking better and picked up the win last night.

Gonzalez has been on fire for two weeks now, finally looking like the guy that we thought we brought in. Last night: a homer, a double, and 3 RBI.

I'm glad my California brother gets to see these games as I only managed  half an inning before bedtime.

Go Twins!!

Twins!!

Pitcher's duel.

3-1 final. Sano's two run blast in the eighth was the difference.

I slept through the whole thing.

Since I was in bed.

Go Twins!!!

Afternoon

It figures.

I'm finally awake to watch the whole game and it turns into a home run fest for Seattle.

I stopped watching in the fifth.

Late night games again. At least my California brother might catch some innings.

I'll be catching some ZZZZs myself.

I still hate west coast swings...

Twins!!

Where to start?

SIX more home runs, including a grand slam by Buxton, and two each by Cron and Schoop.

The fifth time this years the Twins have hit at least 5 homers in a game. NO TEAM has done that before June 1st before.

Their 87th of the season, tied with Seattle for most in the league.

The sad thing? Berrios gave up four runs on six hits in the fifth and had to be pulled. He didn't get the win. That's two bad starts in a row for the Twins' ace. His first four innings were spectacular, but that fifth was not.

The final ?18-4 with 19 hits.

To put this home run pace in perspective. The Twins are on pace for 10 players to have 30 plus home runs this season or 8 players to have around 40.

Those numbers are unreal.

One more game with Seattle today. Gibson gets the nod.

Twins!!

Perez! Six plus innings, just one earned run.

Another homer! Adrianza.

7-1 final.

Sad? Sano struck out 3 times in 4 at bats.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

I love this quote from ESPN this morning--

"Sometime during a fourth inning in which the Minnesota Twins sent 13 batters to the plate, their confidence really started to soar."

Sending 13 batters to the plate in an inning tends to that for you.

11-6 was the final.

FOUR more home runs.

Even Pineda couldn't screw this up. (To be fair, three earned runs in seven innings, was a very good performance.)

Go Twins!!!

Trevor Hildenberger

How fast the mighty have fallen.

He was one of 4 relievers that the Twins depended on in the first month of the season.

His last eight outings were AWFUL (he gave up at least 2 runs in 6 of them).

He was sent to AAA yesterday.

Good riddance.

Even when he was good, he seemed more lucky than skilled.

Let's hope the Twins replace him with someone better...

...much better.

Twins!!

Well, it wasn't easy, and that ninth inning was giving most Twins' fans heart palpitations.

BUT, despite giving up 18 hits in the game, and leaving the bases full of Angels in the top of the ninth, the Twins still managed to win.

A West Coast swing is next.

I hate West Coast Swings...

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

I'm not comfortable at all with all these close games.

I prefer the blowouts we were getting.

Garver had  the big blast last night AND the big injury on that play at the plate.

I hate the words "high ankle sprain". We'll see how long he's out.

Happy for the win. Don't like that it came with a price.

Sigh

The error in the third kind of set the tone for the game.

Disappointing Game Four

The Twins split the series with Detroit. I guess the team of manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson were just too good to overcome...

Twins!!

Okay, the first game didn't go as well as hoped, BUT the starting pitching in both games was more than adequate. It was the offense and bullpen that let us down in the first game.

The second game? Now THAT seemed more like a Twins game. Lots of offense and the bullpen backed up a pretty nice start.

Home runs? 4 on the day, two for each game.

One more with the Tigers today before the Angels come to town. Perez will start as he's back from paternity leave!

Twins Notes

Two unproven pitchers today for the double header and Perez (who is normally next in the rotation and would start Sunday) is on maternity leave.

sigh

The Twins have scored 26 and given up just ONE run in the last 4 games.

The last team to do that well in major league history? The Twins in 2004. They scored 32 and gave up 1 (July 5-8 that year).

NO team has given up just one run in four games for over 4 seasons.

Twins!!

Odorizzi! (20 inning scoreless streak)

Kepler! Garver! (both hit their 8th home run of the season)

Bullpen! (No runs)

Go Twins!!!

Thoughts

The highest paid Twins pitcher this year (who the Twins can actually USE) is Addison Reed.

He's a reliever on a rehab assignment at AAA ball in Rochester. He sprained his thumb in spring training. The thing is, we HAVE him, but he hasn't been any good since mid-June last season. He officially is close to returning.

I'm not sure if the Twins should make room for him or just let him go. Sano will be coming back soon as well.

Do you really want to mess with a line-up, bench, and rotation that's doing THIS WELL?

I know I don't.

This is USUALLY when someone gets hurt, and the switch outs become more obvious.

I guess we'll just wait and see what happens.

Twins!!

Gibson!
4 more home runs!
18 hits!

Their 5th best start ever (but remember, 3 of the previous times they were this good early, they didn't make the playoffs.)

BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL with over 20% of the season done!

Go Twins!!

Twins!!

Berrios!
Bullpen!
Garver!

The Twins have a four game division lead and are 10 games over .500!

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Perez? Wow.

Bullpen? Wow.

Home runs? Three!

Final? 8-0!

Now that's more like it.

Yanks Have Better Pitching

The Yanks saw two of our worst pitchers this past weekend. We saw two of their best.

The results were disappointing but predictable.

Let's do better against Toronto.

Twins!!

Great starting pitching. (Odorizzi)

Bullpen? eh

Homeruns? 3 more! (And a fourth that was robbed! Nice defense, there.)

The Twins finally win at Yankee stadium.

Now, let's win the series today.

Go Twins!

Twins Fail

Buxton and Cron gave up three runs last night from their errors.

When you lose 6-3, you see the reason.

sigh

Twins!!

Berrios? Fantaastic!

Bullpen? eh

Game? Big win because of a huge inning.

Next? On the road to New York and Toronto.

Go Twins!!

(And they WERE on Fox Sports North yesterday. They were also on ESPN's subscription service as a nationally broadcast game...)

Twins!!

Martin Perez was great last night. That's twice in three games that the Twins starters have stopped one of the most explosive offenses in baseball, Schoop's massive blow being the big hit of the night.

Today's game is on ESPN plus.

I have no idea what that is, or if I have it. I hate it when your team is so good that it becomes a nationally broadcast game. I was lucky to find it on regular ESPN last night.

I'll try finding it.

Go Twins!!

Clobbered

Pineda is currently the Twins weakest link.

I'm glad I bailed early on that one.

Twins!!

Last night, Odorizzi was better than Verlander.

Adrianza hit the Twins 50th home run of the season, and with another strong bullpen performance the Twins won 1-0.

We still have 3 more with the Astros.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Two home runs, another great start. Solid relief.

We face Verlander again, today. As good as the Twins have been, I'd like to see them compete with him today. This is the difference between good and great.

Go Twins!!!

Twins!!

Five more home runs, 2 by Kepler.

14 strikeouts by the pitching staff.

I can't believe how much fun the Twins are this season. There has never been a Twins' squad remotely like this. There have been eras of this type of power (Allison, Oliva, Killebrew), (Puckett, Brunansky, Gaetti, Hrbek) but I've never seen so many home runs from so many in the order so often.

And even though the pitching staff looks unsettled every few games, the number of strikeouts is also amazing.

Most games, most INNINGS are worth watching. And I AM watching. I just hope this can continue against better teams like Houston. If it does, we might be in it for the long haul this season.

Go Twins!!

Twins!!

5 home runs, TWO by Cruz, and Rosario now leads the American League with 11 (2nd in RBI).

Plus, Perez was great in his start.

Go Twins!

Marvel Universe

I know the Marvel movies over the last decade aren't everyone's cup of tea, but this weekend, the grand finale hits theaters worldwide. Most experts and critics expect Avengers: Endgame to break every conceivable box office record when all is said and done.

What's nice is that the movies have been very, very good. And they deserve that kind of attention.

I'm looking forward to the ending AND what comes next.

Go Marvel!

Go Twins!!

Verlander Better Than Twins

That was a good game to skip.

Twins Lose

At least it wasn't close.

Twins!!!

Polanco, 4 hits, including a two-run blast.

Odorizzi, just 2 earned runs in the start.

Four wins in a row for the team. (13-7 for the year. The season is 1/8 over.)

Wooo!!!

Twins!!

That ninth inning was rough, but...

TWINS win!

Enthusiasm is back.

Go Twins!!

Twins!!!!

Wow.

What a Saturday of baseball.

Two wins. ELEVEN home runs, and Rosario now has 9 homers and 20 RBI in just 18 games.

AND

I got to listen to Jim Kaat and Bert Blyleven on commentary the entire time.

I forgot how much I enjoyed baseball.

WOW!!

Double Header Today

At least they didn't lose Friday night...

Twins Lose Three Out of Four at Home

To Toronto.

Slowly losing interest...

The Viking Experience

One of the best NXT tag teams has recently been promoted to WWE RAW.

The problem is that with the location change Vince decided to give this Viking Warrior team a new name.

They were originally called War Machine, but that probably got them into trademark trouble with Marvel Comics. It was also a nickname of one of their older wrestlers,  Rhyno (that spelling is correct).

They became War Raiders. Not as good a name, but at least no one had trademark problems with it.

They decided on "The Viking Experience" when they debuted on RAW Monday night.

Fans laughed. The name sounds like a silly Disney fun park ride. Or a honeymoon suite room at  a cheap Vegas brothel.

I'm just giving you a list of names I came up with, off the top of my head, that are not worse than that name.

Dozens more variations of these names could also be made.

I just needed to say something.

Heirs of Odin

Lost Sons of Odin

Last Sons of Odin

Heirs of Asgard

Lost Sons of Asgard

Last Sons of Asgard

Thunder Raiders 

Night Raiders

Dark Raiders

Ragnarok’s Forgotten

Ragnarok

Warriors of Ragnarok

Sons of Blood and Thunder

Sons of Drums and Thunder

Heirs of Thunder

Twins!

Almost an hour of rain delay.

The Twins beat Toronto 4-1.

Odorizzi had 5 2/3 good innings. The bullpen did not fail.

FINALLY.

Polanco? Two more hits. He's now batting .429.

One Bad Inning

The sixth.

Another loss.

8 Great Innings

And lousy relief in the eighth.

Twins!

Those last two innings of relief were excruciating

BUT

those last two strikeouts made it all worthwhile.

The Twins seem way better than I imagined, and guys like Polanco and Buxton are on fire.

Enthusiastic but cautious. And really enjoying the season so far.

Twins!

Going into last night, the Twins were the least walked team in baseball.

At the same time, they were fourth in hitting.

Last night, they only had 5 hits. BUT they were patient enough to draw SEVEN walks.

Result? One BIG inning by putting both things together at once.

Great relief pitching did the rest.

By the time it was all over, the Twins found themselves all alone atop the division.

And Berrios piches today.

I refuse to get too enthusiastic knowing its still a Minnesota team, but I've watched more Twins baseball this year so far  than all of last year combined.

They're starting to become a habit.

And they are scheduled to play (weather permitting) 24 of the next 25 days.

The next 3 1/2 weeks should tell us a lot more about who this team is.

And right now, I'm looking forward to it.

Go Twins!!

Chris Davis

Does anybody remember Chris Davis of the Orioles?

The guy hit 53 homers in 2013 and led the majors in home runs again in 2015 with 47. He's had 2 other seasons with more than 30.

The Orioles signed him to a 7-year year $150 million deal at the end of 2015.

He hit .165 last season.

And going back to LAST season, he currently has a 53 straight at-bats without a hit.

No player (who plays a position other than pitcher) in the majors has ever done that before.

There are ways that teams have wasted money over the years, but very few have wasted it like Baltimore this time.

.165 was bad last year.

.000 is worse this season.

Twins Postponed

So MLB baseball starts the regular season earlier than usual, and the Twins have an open air stadium.

What happens when the Twins are scheduled to open on Friday night after a three-day Minnesota snowstorm?

The game gets postponed.

I hate Target field.

It might be a nice facility for playing baseball when the weather's nice, but it's a really good way to wreck your pitching staff with all the snow and rainouts throughout the season.

There's a really good reason that the Twins never won a World Series until they played indoors.

There's a really good reason that they may never win another.

It's hard to be your best when weather forces you to compromise. Those compromises catch up with you. And the difference between being the best and being pretty good has always been a game or two.

Awful Pitching

That was an awful game.

Enough said.

Twins!!!

The Twins have beat two recent Cy Young award winners already this year.

Jacob deGrom, last night, was just the latest.

They also hit SIX home runs.

9 games do not make a season, but a 6-3 record at this point is far more than I was expecting.

Go Twins!!!!!

A Number One Seed Wins!

Remind me again why nearly 70 teams are in this tournament...

One Pitch

The hardest thing about watching baseball is that a single pitch can change the outcome of a game.

The Twins were up 1-0.

One pitch later, they were down 2-1.

The last 3 innings were merely delaying the inevitable.

sigh

Twins!

Great pitching.

Home runs (3)!

Byron Buxton.

Now 5-2 on the season.

And I saw most of it.

Woooo!!!!

Jorge Polanco Hits For the Cycle!

But the Twins lost 10-4.

I missed it, watching the NXT Takeover special instead. Now, THAT was incredible.

I always know that the NXT people will do an unbelievable job, and last night could have been their best. Watching it with my nephews made it even better!

Twins Stats

For a team expected to hit home runs:

ONE in five games.

I'm not worried. Cleveland's pitching staff is fantastic. And Kaufman Stadium in KC is the hardest in all of baseball to hit home runs. AND it's been on the cold side.

The Twins are 2nd in the league in doubles and 3rd in slugging percentage. And there are lots of games left.

Oh, and did I mention that they're 4-1?

I am afraid I won't watch much Twins this weekend, however. It's Wrestlemania weekend. A PPV tonight (NXT), the Hall of Fame ceremony tomorrow, and Wrestlemania's 7-hour show on Sunday.

Yes, the WWE  is hard to watch right now, but this weekend is like Super Bowl weekend for wrestling fans. I'll just sit back and try to sustain by disbelief.

(Though NXT tonight should be as great as ever...)

Twins Rally Late! Win!

If nothing else, the Twins are worth watching so far this year.

I can't turn off most games early, because, let's face it, the fat lady hasn't had many opportunities to sing as yet at Twins games this year.

Buxton. Hurt. Needed in the ninth? Check. Pinch runs, steals second, scores on the hit by Rosario.

Win.

Wow, this is really fun.

Also fun? Watching the roley poley Willians Astudilla hit. You'd never guess by looking that he is a ball player. I mentioned him about a month ago, but actually seeing him a game is pretty cool.

The Twins MAY come down to Earth this weekend. They are playing at Philly who now feature some of the very best players in baseball.

It's a test to be sure.

Go Twins!!

Twins!

They squandered a "bases loaded with no outs" situation in the seventh that could have broken the game wide open, yet still won it in the 10th.

Go Twins!!!

Standings

The Twins, still tied for first, face the other team in first tonight.

Twins!

2-1 on the season.

The starters have only given up ONE run in three games, and the staff has 39 strikeouts in three games.

Yesterday? The offense finally arrived!!!

Go Twins!!!

Twins Lose 2-1

I turned it off in the ninth after they got the go ahead run to second on a wild pitch.

It was the right time.

Wolves BEAT Warriors in OT!

And the Warriors are complaining it was the refs fault.

I couldn't be happier.

Most close games are decided by the refs. The Warriors just never realized it before.

Go Wolves!

And Twins!

I've got to say it again. The Wolves beat the Golden State Warriors led by Stephen Curry!

The Warriors!!!!!

Got Beat!!

By the Wolves!!!!!!

Twins!

Cleveland had 4 starters last year that had over 200 strikeouts. No team in the history of baseball had ever done that before. Kluber, yesterday's pitcher, was the best of them.

Berrios out-pitched him.

And Marwin drove in the runs.

And Justin Morneau was great on commentary.

What an opener!!

Only 161 games to go...

Opening Day!

This seems like a whole new Twins team. And in many ways, it really is.

Sure, like everyone else, I want them to win a couple of World Series in the next three or four seasons, but realistically, I just want them to remain above .500 and stay in contention
for the play-offs most years.

Today's game is at 3 p.m. The weather is suppose to be mild. It's a sellout. Let's see what this team can do.

Wolves Lose

I can't wait for the Twins to start.

At least it will be a different losing team to follow...

Recent Sports Stuff

You know the WWE is in trouble when the most entertaining thing during last night's RAW broadcast was a commercial for the Crisley Knows Best spin-off show featuring his kids. And, no, I do not like or follow that show...

This happened a few days ago, but I was in no hurry to report it because it's going to be valid for over a decade. Mike Trout of the Angels signed a 12-year, $426.5 million dollar contract extension. Obviously, that's the biggest sports contract of all-time. At the same time, the average baseball salary has dropped for the second straight year.

I'm okay with both of those things. Guys who may be worth it, are now fewer and far between, and baseball isn't hanging on to older guys with bigger salaries like they used to. Younger prospects are being given a chance earlier, now. Good for them.

Mariners 2-0

The A's and Mariners opened the regular season in Japan this past weekend.

It gave Icharo a chance to play his last official game in front of his "home" fans.

He then retired.

Starting the season early in Japan has become a recent major league trend. Giving Icharo this moment was very cool.

He was one of the best of all-time. IF he had played his entire career in the majors, some would have said he was THE best of them all. And I would not have disagreed much.

That guy really knew how to get on base, AND what to do once he got there. His defense and arm were second to none.

Baseball will miss him. There is no greater praise for a player.

Gophers Clobbered

The Madness has left me for another year.

Wolves

I didn't want to spoil the Gopher's news yesterday, with bad news, but for anyone still keeping track, the Wolves lost their 5th straight and are now 8 below .500.

The good news? LeBron and the Lakers were eliminated from any playoff hope LAST night.

Gophers Win!

Their first NCAA  Tournament win in 6 YEARS!!!

One more win and they will be in the Sweet Sixteen!

Madness I tell you. Madness...

Twins

Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron, Jonathon Schoop, Marwin Gonzalez.

All new Twins.

All with power.

I saw Tom the Twins fan  yesterday at DQ as he was picking up a cone for his wife. We talked briefly. He said it looks like the Twins have some real power this season.

I agree.

I'm looking forward to what a new manager, who thinks differently, can do with these players, his revamped starting line-up, and pitching rotation.

I'm also getting excited about the upcoming season, which is less than a week away.

Go Twins!!!

Warriors Beat Wolves

Wolves now SEVEN below .500.

sigh

At least it was the Warriors.

Signing Starting Pitching Veterans to Long-term Deals

Dallas Keuchal, 31, hasn't signed with anyone yet.

Some ask why the Twins don't sign this former Cy Young winner to a long-term deal.

Terry Ryan is no longer the Twins GM. There's a reason for that.

He signed Ricky Nolasco (15-22 with a 5.44 ERA with the Twins), Phil Hughes (who collapsed after his first year), and Ervin Santana (who managed 1 1/2 pretty good seasons but who was also hurt or suspended for PED use for over half his contract) to long-term deals.

In fact, Hughes will still be paid $13 million this year by the Twins, our most expensive pitcher, AND he's not even on the roster any more.

Most GMs are getting smarter. Most veteran pitchers are not worth the money they seek.

Keuchal MAY be the exception if someone chooses to sign him, but the Twins aren't the only team with a history of throwing large amounts of money at mediocre pitchers.

Most have learned their lessons.

That's why Keuchal is still sitting at home.

68 Teams

I still can't believe anyone thinks that so many teams are needed to determine who is the best college team in  the country.

And then I remember gambling is the number one sport in the world.

And the more money that's at stake the more interest there is.

I like upsets as much as anyone, but if each of these teams DESERVES to be there, they should have random bracketing.

No seeds.

THAT would be a tournament worth watching.

Imagine if the current top seeds had to face each other earlier in the tournament because of random pairings.

Like most, I'll catch parts of some games early, and watch bigger chunks of later round games, while always rooting for the underdog.

The problem is that if you bet on the best teams, you will rarely, if ever, root for the underdog.

And in a tournament this size, that's the only normal reason to watch.

Vegas and bookies love this time of year. It produces a type of madness in them...

Adrian Peterson

There was quite a bit of signing this week for NFL teams. For me the strangest was the Redskins giving Adrian Peterson a 2-year extension. He says he still wants to play.

The good news from the Vikings was that Anthony Barr changed his mind about signing with the Jets and decided to stay in Minnesota for a LOT less money. That kind of loyalty is rare in professional sports.

Twins

Still within half a game of first  place in the Grapefruit League, most of the extra players have been sent packing. Less than two weeks until real baseball starts.

I admit I'm not as excited as past years. Marathons of old TV shows in the summer proved more popular in our household over the last couple of seasons.

If they win, we'll be watching more. If they don't, the alternatives are endless.

Wolves Crushed

At Utah, a team with a 39-29 record.

The Wolves? 32-27.

Me thinks any hope of a .500 record this year is now remote at best.

Sports

Wolves? Nothing.
Twins? Nothing.
Vikings? Nothing

WWE? Nothing.

Great night of sports.

Wolves Lose Badly

to a very good team.

Twins

Three weeks to go before the regular season and this is what we have: 1) A manager who has never managed at any level. 2) A pitching coach who has not been a professional in baseball before and 3) no established closer in camp.

That's either pretty scary or pretty cool depending on how you look at things.

It may be, to start with, that we will have no eighth inning set-up guy and no closer. We may use a variety of guys in those roles and see what happens.

That's never worked before, but then again, I don't think any team has had a combination of the three things I mentioned in the first paragraph before either.

I think it's pretty reasonable to assume that THIS baseball team is going to be trying stuff other teams have never done before. That alone should keep the first few weeks of the season interesting.

Eventually pitchers and roles will probably start developing, but maybe this is the first real chance we've had at a team looking a pitching, as a whole, differently.

One-inning guys, two-inning guys, and three-inning guys with no real emphasis on starters and closers, just putting in the guy who fits each game when he needs to go in.

No worn out arms, alternating righties and lefties, and throwing off managers and their batting line-ups.

Someone IS going to that someday. It might as well be us.

Wolves Beat Knicks

The Knicks are 13-54. The Wolves were at home, without Towns. So it was pretty even.

Miguel Sano

Here we go again.

The official story is that Sano cut his heal during his winter championship league series win celebration. It was suppose to keep him out of action "10 days" as it healed.

That was nearly three weeks ago, and now the Twins are saying there are complications from the wound and that he won't see the playing field until sometime in MAY!

It's weird how Miguel ALWAYS has a long lingering injury going into camp. I guess it would be even weirder at this point if he didn't.

At least it won't be hard finding a position for Marwin the first month now.

Alternative to Onside Kick

With the NFL concerned about the number of serious injuries that occur with onside kicks, they've changed the rules so much, that successful onside kicks are nearly impossible to  come by.

The Denver Broncos THINK they have a solution that will add the drama back and give teams an honest chance in the fourth quarter. They are adapting an idea from smaller semi-pro leagues and I like it.

One time a game, in the fourth quarter, a team can take the option, immediately after a score, to have a 4th and 15 possession from their own 35 yard line, instead of a kick-off. Basically, one chance to have a 15 yard play and get a first down. If they fail, the defense will take over wherever the play ended.

I think this is brilliant. Teams will basically just play a long odds football play instead of a play that puts several colliding players at risk on a loose ball.

You'll have the effect of an onside kick but without all the safety concerns BUT the defense, fairly, will still have the odds in their favor.

Football is gradually evolving. And I don't mind that. It's not baseball. It's history and rules are much less set in stone. This would simply be the next step in its evolution.

I'm all for this one. I hope football sees this as a step in the right direction.

I can't believe how much moving the extra-point back has already changed the game. I mean three Vikings place kickers are now working at McDonalds because of it.

Case Keenum Traded

His stay in Denver wasn't any longer than his stay in Minnesota. Keenum is now a Washington Redskin.

It's only fair, the Vikes got their old quarterback.

The never-ending  maneuvering  of players and their contracts is starting to be more entertaining than the game itself.

LeBron

LeBron James passed Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list last night

BUT

the Lakers lost and they now have a record the same as the Wolves at 30-35.

Is LeBron an all-time great? Yes. Is he the best of all-time? Hardly.

He's always needed a huge starring cast.

And when he's on average teams, we see how average he is as well.

Towns Dominates

And the Wolves beat the 39-25 Thunder.

I still don't understand why home court means so much in basketball. If it's THAT big of an advantage, maybe it's not really a sport...

Twins

It's kind of sad really, the only news out of camp is that Zack Granite has been traded, and the pitcher we got for him was then immediately traded to Baltimore for $750,000 of international salary cap that we HAVE to spend in the next couple of months.

No Bryce Harper-type deals for the Twins I guess...

3 Straight Losses

The Wolves lost to the 26-37 Wizards last night.

sigh

Somethings just always stay the same.

Wolves Lose

That's two straight.

sigh

Twins 5-3

That puts them second in the Grapefruit League standings, just behind Bryce Harper and the Phillies.

Of course, what I just said means absolutely nothing. Starters go an inning or two. Most we have never heard of, and we're looking at all sorts of players, on both teams who are getting try-outs.

I haven't heard of any major injuries at this point, other than Sano's cut foot (that he got celebrating with his team during the Dominican Championship win.) He just needs time to heal.

I wish I was more excited about baseball in general, but watching marathon sessions of good movies and TV shows seems to be the norm nowadays. America's taste in entertainment is changing...

Harper 13 Years $330 Million

The Phillies think they got a steal. Harper will be 39 when his contract runs out. No opt out clause. A no trade clause. Commitment from BOTH sides.

Now it's time to start signing the guys worth less.

Everyone still has about a month.

Dirk Nowitzki

He's played 22 seasons.

Everybody is treating this as his last.

The thing is, Dirk is finally healthy again. His ankle surgery was a huge success this spring. His team is good and the rookie Luka Donic is playing great, as is Kristaps Porzingas.

What's that mean? Nowitzki is seriously thinking about ANOTHER season.

I say go for it.

Show the young people that it's not all about money.

And grab some more rebounds while you're at it!

Rocco Baldelli

I doubt most Minnesotans know who this man is.

He's the new Twins' manager. The first thing he's trying to do this spring is find a lead-off hitter. All three of last year's guys, Grossman, Dozier, and Mauer are gone.

Everybody thinks that Byron Buxton should have the job,  BUT Baldelli is smart enough to know that Buxton has the worst on-base percentage of anyone in the game's history. (Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.)

Right now, he's trying Kepler, the Twins recently resigned multi-millionaire.

Zack Granite WOULD have been a good choice, but he's been reassigned to Triple A to make room for Marwin Gonzalez, who we DID sign. He'll probably be the Twins 4th outfielder when he's not playing infield.

The Twins are a puzzle with most of the pieces still missing. Let's hope Rocco can make the pieces fit, otherwise it's going to be another really long season.

Wolves Win!

At home against an opponent above .500.

Go Wolves!

Bryce Harper

Harper was offered a 10-year $300 million deal with his old team the Phillies at the end of last season. He turned them down, thinking much more was waiting him in free agency.

So far, nope.

Sources say Phillie and a few other teams are still pursuing him at about the same figure he was offered last fall.

The Dodgers now say they want him, too, BUT want to sign him to a short-term deal.

It would be foolish of Harper to do that, in case of injury, but right now there is no GREAT deal awaiting him either.

Free agency has changed, and NOT in the players favor.

Wolves Lose

At least it was to the 45-14 Bucks AND they were at Milwaukee.

Wolves Win!

On the road. Against the 11-48 Knicks.

I'll take it.

Marwin Gonzalez

Free agent rumblings SEEM to indicate the Twins are serious about this guy.

He's not a great player, but the did lead the Astros in RBI two years ago when they won the World Series. He doesn't have a regular position but the Astros got him 500 at-bats  a year the last three years.

He's a switch hitter and a good infielder. He's the kind of guy who will give the Twins line-up some depth.

Nothing definite yet, but if you hear the Twins signed him, at least you'll know who he is.

Fan Decides Game!

I'm not going into details, because they don't matter.

A fan threw a small stuffed Georgia Bulldog onto the basketball court last night with .5 seconds left in the game and the opposing team shooting two free throws and the game tied.

He missed the first. The fan threw the toy. Georgia was assessed a technical. The player made it. Deliberately missed the third, and time ran out on the rebound.

Needless to say, there were a lot of Georgia fans and players upset last night.

The fan MAY have not made a difference, but he sure made it easy for the other team to win.

Machado: $300 Million 10 Years

There's an opt out clause after 5 years AND an unlimited trade clause.

That's what owners are doing now. They don't want to be saddled with 10-year, guaranteed contracts. I think they all learned from the Twins Mauer deal.

Bryce Harper should sign in the near future with a similar deal, and then all the dominoes should fall relatively quickly  after that.

The White Sox offered Machado a similar deal, and they are ticked he didn't sign with them...

Fernando Romera

The Twins acquired this guy hoping he would be one of our elite starters with his fastball.

History told them he would get gassed by the third or fourth inning so the Twins have made it clear that he is now a reliever, perhaps even a closer in training.

The Twins love his fastball, they just can't stand his lack of endurance. Look for him to get used to his new role in the minors when the season starts. But the Twins want him playing big league ball once he gets familiar with his new role.

NBA All-Star Game

Like every other NBA All-Star Game, it was a defensive struggle.

The final was 178-164.

Icharo

Icharo is 45 years old. He also reported to camp at 7% body fat, and is as healthy as he's been in years.

Seattle has told him he will be on the team when they travel to Japan for exhibition games later this spring.

How he does over the next few weeks will determine if he makes the team this year. He's not thinking about his future any more. He's playing each day as if its last.

Reports are, he looks great!

Machado and Harper

Two of the biggest free-agents ever.

Both 26 and seeking $300 million+ deals.

Neither signed and spring training starting.

Owners say they've learned their lesson, and that it's not collusion. Many teams want Machado or Harper, but they have learned the lesson of history. IF you don't sign them immediately, their price will go down. Owners say they can be patient on a 10-year deal. In a few more weeks, the players will sign for less.

It's not collusion. It's common business sense.

The players no longer have the winning card. Owners do. And it's hard to argue with them.

Unless, of course, courts get involved.

As usual, the clock is ticking.

Kepler and Polanco are multi-millionaires

Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco are close to signing long-term deals with the Twins in the 5-7 year range worth $30-$35 million each.

Good for them. Good for the Twins and their fans.

Both still have tremendous upsides, and what they've given us so far hasn't been bad either.

Wolves Beat Harden, Houston!!

Yes, Harden extended his 30 points a game streak, tying Wilt at 31.
( I just think it's neat that you can still say "Wilt" and anybody who knows basketball will know who you mean. THAT was a unique name.)

But the Wolves were the better team again last night. Still healthy, still at home, they easily beat the team with the better record. (33-24)

Go Wolves!!

Denver Broncos

Case Keenum is still signed for one more season for over 20 million dollars.

Everyone knows the Broncos want to sign free agent  QB Joe Flacco, to be their starter next season.
They just can't officially announce it yet, though it sounds like a done deal.

The Broncos O-Line was hurt last year. And Denver also traded their best receiver.
Under the circumstances, most observers thought the Broncos problems weren't Case's fault.

And Flacco won't be their solution.

I hear Teddy Bridgewater is available again if anyone's interested.

Spring Training

Less than a week to go and DOZENS of free agents remain on the market.

No one appears anxious to give anyone any money or long-term deals.

It's as if the owners all realized, about the same time, that no one is worth as much as the Yankees and Dodgers normally are willing to pay.

And the Dodgers and Yankees really don't need anybody.

So guys are just sitting and waiting, and talking about a massive lawsuit agains the owners involving collusion.

OR  the top guys will sign in a day or two, and everyone else will be falling into place rather quickly after that.

Interesting spring...

Wolves Win!

At home and healthy, they can beat good teams like the Clippers (who are now 31-27).

They had a huge lead in the third quarter when I was watching.

They are now 4 games below  .500.

Disabled List

Baseball is changing their "disabled list" name to "injured list".

It's being done to sooth over bad feelings with people groups who are considered legally disabled.

I have no problem with that.

Words mean something. And the clearer you can make those meanings known, the better we can all communicate.

foshizzle...

James Harden

Harden extended his consecutive games with at least 30 points record last night. He's now done it 29 times in a row. His team, Houston, lost the game, and now sits in 5th place in their conference.

I know that most people think this is a big deal, but I'm kind of the kind of guy who says that scoring isn't nearly as important as winning, and that MOST very good players could get 30 points most nights, if that was their PRIMARY goal.

I thinks it's now his primary goal, and his team, as a result, is not as good as past years.

I guess as long as I'm posting I should mention the Wolves lost their fourth straight Friday night. I didn't feel like posting that yesterday.

Having a blog just to tell you yet another losing streak is going strong doesn't much make sense, either.

Wolves Lose Third Straight

I was waiting for them to win, to say something again, but then I realized that may be awhile...

Twins Sign Wilin Rosario

He had a couple of 20+ home run years with the Rockies and then went to Korea and Japan the last two seasons.

BUT he's NOT known for being a very good defensive catcher.

The Twins signed him to a minor league deal, but he's the kind of guy the Twins have been collecting the last two seasons.

I'm not sure if we'll ever see him on the roster.

Baseball Proposals

New rules being discussed:

A DH in both leagues by 2020. And always having one when Al teams play NL teams this season.

Increasing roster size to 26 from 24.

A 20 second pitch clock.

Pitchers facing a minimum of 3 batters during an inning. No more lefties coming in, pitching to one batter and leaving.

Baseball needs to be quicker.

I still think ties are better than losing in the bottom of the 16th.

Maybe they will finally discuss that as well...

Next Year's NFL Power Rankings

I'm not the only one having a hard time coming up with sports notes. ESPN was forced to go with power rankings for NEXT season this morning.

No surprise. The top four are this years final four.

The Vikings are at 14.

I'm guessing this will all change somewhere in the next 12 months...

Super Bowl

The right team won.

The problem is that the game and the commercials were absolute duds.

The food and friends were great as always.

The WWE had their own halftime show last night, and it had all the action and fun the game was missing. I look forward to the WWE continuing the tradition of NXT Halftime Heat in the years to come...

Super Bowl Sunday

More food will be eaten today in America than any other day except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

More people will watch one TV show than any other show this year.

Many of them will be watching it just to see the commercials.

Nearly everyone will be rooting for the Rams, because no one likes New England.

I'll be rooting for New England.

I want to see Brady with a few more Super Bowl titles before he retires.

I sure wouldn't mind seeing the Rams win. They are a great team.

The Wolves lost last night.

sigh

Wade Wilson

Former Viking QB, Wade Wilson, died yesterday, on his birthday.

He was 60. No foul play is suspected. He was found unresponsive in his house.

No other info is available yet.

Dead Zone

No Super Bowl until Sunday.

The Wolves were off.

The Twins continue to acquire other teams older cast-offs, including questionable starters.

I hear the Wild are still in contention, but so are 87 other teams in the NHL. Ice soccer is like that.

Maybe tomorrow will have something to talk about.

Wolves Win In OT

That ends a two game slide.

They are now one game below .500.

Twins

"Buxton looks to rebound after frustrating season."

That was the headline 4 days ago at ESPN.

The problem is, that's been the headline at ESPN for Buxton for FOUR straight seasons.

Is it just more probable that Buxton isn't any good?

Great speed and defense is one thing. Being a great hitter is something else. And staying healthy is also an intangible he doesn't seem to possess.

Byron Buxton is not Kirby Puckett. He reminds me more of Billy Beane.

Lots of potential, but the numbers after a while, just don't lie.

How many more frustrating seasons are the Twins going to support him?

How many more frustrating seasons are Twins' fans going to support him?

WWE

WWE just had one of their major PPV weekends.

NXT Takeover was Saturday. As always it was spectacular. 2 3/4 hours of fast paced amazing action.

The Royal Rumble was Sunday. Seven hours of mostly snooze inducing sameness.

Sure there were moments, but I'm guessing I wasn't the only person going to bed before the main event. Everybody KNEW Seth Rollins was the new chosen one, and "surprise" he won the Rumble.

Vince isn't interested in his supposed shake-up. He just wants to keep doing it the same boring way, hoping we won't notice.

And because of NXT being so good, I simply go along with it.

Sigh, I'm part of the problem and I don't know what to do about it.

Everybody Is Preparing

Warriors Win 10th Straight

Yep, things are looking normal in the NBA again.

Wolves Below .500

sigh

Wolves .500!

Beating the Lakers at L.A. would normally be a big deal, but without LeBron, they really aren't any good. We're 24-24 on the season. They're 25-24.

It's hard to believe I'm this interested in an average Wolves team. But, and I say it again, average is way better than normal for this franchise.

Go Wolves!

Base Ball Writers Association of America

The BBWAA elected 4 more Hall of Famers this week.

Mariano Rivera was the biggest name, but Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, and Edgar Martinez were no slouches either.

What got my attention was that the BBWAA still spells baseball as TWO words.

I like that they are sticking to their roots. But, maybe its time that baseball starts spelling "home run" as one word.

"Homerun" makes so much more sense.

Just my two cents...