About Sports Columnist, Mike Ankoviak:
Mike
Ankoviak is a resident of Champlin, MN &
Henderson, NV. He was
raised in Albert Lea, MN where his father,
Bill Ankoviak, finished his career as a
professional baseball
player. Along with his 5 brothers and sisters,
Mike was brought up on a steady diet of baseball,
golf, basketball, tennis, football, and mumbley peg.
He would spend his evenings scouring the paper for
the latest sports box scores. Today Mike's
appetite for sports continues. He has been a
season ticket holder for most of our pro sports
teams in the Twin Cities. He has been a part
owner of a race horse stabled at Canterbury Downs,
and is an avid golfer and tennis player. You
may not agree with all of Mike's opinions but I
think you will agree that his insight into the
world of sports is always refreshing.
Send Mike an Email:
Mike@MnSeniorsOnline.com
|
July 2, 2019 Sports Blog……A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
It’s not quite
Shakespeare, but the Twins sure continue to provide
highlights and drama to the sportscape in the Twin
Cities and across the country.
Midsummer
Night's Dream characters covered
include: Puck, Oberon,
Titania, Lysander, Demetrius,
Hermia, Helena, Egeus,
Theseus, Hippolyta, Nick
Bottom,
Peter Quince, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom
Snout, Snug, Philostrate, Peaseblossom, Cobweb,
Mote, and Mustardseed. ... by: William Shakespeare
of course.
Rocco’s cast of characters includes none of the
aforementioned crew, but they do include guys like
Polanco, Cruz, Sano, Schoop, Buxton and Kepler. These
guys are now becoming household heroes around town!
The team has continued to play solid baseball and
still leads the American League’s Central Division.
That lead over the Cleveland Indians has been cut to 8
games nearing the All-Star break, but I’m betting they
hang on. I can’t wait for a Twins-Yankees playoff
series again!
Golf has been a big spotlight this summer(I’m pretty
sure it’s now officially summer). The Twin Cities has
already completed hosting the KPMG Women’s PGA
Championship just a couple of weeks ago out at
Hazeltine Golf Club. From everything we saw watching
on TV it appeared to be a great success. The LPGA
crowds are not nearly as big as Hazeltine has seen for
the past PGA events or the Ryder Cup. However it’s a
great venue and to see the best of the LPGA up close
is always fun. Hannah Green from Australia picked a
great time to get her first LPGA victory coming out on
top to notch the Major championship.
This week the PGA tees it up out at the TPC in Blaine.
This event has now replaced the former Champion’s Tour
stop in Minnesota that began way back in the 90’s up
at Bunker Hills. I assume it’s going to be a great
success the way Minnesota crowds turn out for golf,
and will set the stage for many years to come I hope.
I’m anxious to see how the Pro’s handle the TPC course
since the Senior players were able to shoot some
pretty low numbers up there.
Not all the top players will be there, but with Brooks
Koepka, Jason Day and Phil Mickelson leading the way
it should be a blast to either watch on TV or in
person. As good as Koepka is, this isn’t a Major so
I’ll go with one of the up and comers to get a victory
this week. Another first timer even, as happened last
week at the PGA stop in Detroit. That was a great
story as new names continue to pop up on the PGA tour
as evidence of the incredible depth of talent out in
the golf world. First time winner Nick Lashley is a
great testament to that, and to absolute perseverance
in the face of hardship. Check out his story below.
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/fifteen-years-after-family-tragedy-nate-lashley-becomes-pga-tour-winner
|
MAY 3, 2019
SPORTS BLOG
RUN FOR THE ROSES & OTHER
SPORTS STUFF.
I did say I was mildly optimistic for the Twins this
year...but they are surpassing expectations through
the first month of the season. In spite of playing
often in cold and wet weather, they are hot! An
amazing 19-10 and the overall best record in all of
baseball!! Oh sure it’s early in the season, but new
manager Rocco Altobelli, er I mean Baldelli has turned
them into winners so far! Great pitching and now a lot
more hitting and power than they initially showed has
them moving in the right direction. I hope it lasts
and can’t wait to get out to Target Field…..when it
warms up of course.
Stanley Cup playoffs are off to an exciting start with
most of the favorites getting knocked out in the first
round. The Tampa Bay Lightening set an NHL record for
points in a season, but got swept out of the playoffs
by Columbus in 4 straight. Season long top seeds
Winnipeg and Calgary were also knocked off in the
first round. Our Golden Knights were upended in 7
games by the San Jose Sharks in one of the most
controversial and dramatic playoff games in NHL
history. We gave up 4 goals in a blown call 5 minute
major penalty and ended up losing in Overtime in Game
7. It was a crazy ending to another great season here.
As of the moment, I kind of like Colorado in the West
and Boston in the East to make it all the way to the
Finals, but as we know, it’s such a grind in the Cup
playoffs that anything can happen.
April was a really cool month in sports as it flew by.
In case you missed it, Virginia won the NCAA
Championship Final 4 held at US Bank stadium. Overall
the event was a smashing success with people from all
across the country in attendance. I was lucky enough
to make it down to the Friday pretournament activities
at the Stadium. We were able to watch a couple of the
team’s practice and saw the eventual winning coach
Tony Bennett interviewed by Jim Nance. That should
have been a sign and wish I would have paid attention
to it and bet on Virginia! But alas, I didn’t. Overall
a great event still and don’t be surprised that this
is the one that will get a return visit to the Twin
Cities, versus the Super Bowl which should never
played in the “Cold North” again.
Probably, well actually most certainly, the greatest
story this year, and probably of the last 20 years was
Tiger Woods victory in the Masters. In what’s being
called one of the greatest comebacks in the history of
sports, Tiger climbed back to the top of the mountain
and claimed his 5th Green
Jacket in Augusta. It was one for the ages and
millions of golf fans were energized by the victory.
His return to preeminence is a shot in the arm for the
whole golf world, and might trigger the same effect he
had back when he started. That is to get young people
back into the sport and get more people out playing
and even more TV money into the purses and golf
courses across the country. After being irrelevant
for quite a number of years through scandal and
multiple surgeries, he’s now the betting favorite for
the three remaining majors this year. That’s almost
insane! I can’t wait for the PGA Championship at
Bethpage Black in New York in just a few weeks. This
time I am betting on Tiger!
And to top off the great month of April, both Deb and
Doug Solem celebrated birthdays! Now that’s a pair to
draw to!
I didn’t forget about the Kentucky Derby, I just have
no clue which horse might win it! The favorite, Omaha
Beach, who I had followed throughout all his prep
races and was ready to wager on, was just scratched
yesterday due to a breathing problem. Damn! So now
it’s an even more wide open race than it usually is.
I’m going to bet a couple of long shots, and if I had
to pick just one horse, maybe it’s “Improbable”. A
great name for a horse if you ask me. Will it win,
Possibly…which would make another great name for a
horse! The Derby is always a blast though, win or
lose!!
|
MARCH 29, 2019
SPORTS BLOG "HOPE
SPRINGS ETERNAL"
Baseball is back, and for the time being, every team
is a contender. Spring is the time for endless
optimism, hot dogs and cold beer at the ball park (as
long as it isn’t snowing) and the Twins are in first
place for a day, and remain undefeated! But as my
nephew Sam said when I congratulated the Twins on
their opening day victory, “that will change”.
Actually I’m kind of quietly optimistic about the
Twins this year. They have some nice young players and
good free agent acquisitions. It could be fun. I’m
looking forward to getting out to Target Field when
I’m back in town. If nothing else, for the great new
food additions that are being rolled out this season.
TARGET FIELD RESTAURANTS (CLICK
HERE)
Meanwhile the NHL is winding down, or cranking up as
the case may be if your team is in the Playoff hunt.
Unfortunately for the Wild, it appears they will be on
the outside looking in this year. Unless they pull off
a miracle and win 4 out of their last 5 games, while
Colorado and Arizona collapse. It could happen, but
not likely. As I’ve been saying for a number of years,
the Wild have nice players and a good team, but
haven’t taken the steps to add the studs in free
agency that can get a team to the next level. They
visit the Knights in Vegas tonight who they’ve had
great success against so we’ll see if that gets them
going. Our Knights are a point away from clinching
their playoff berth for the second straight year of
their existence. I like their chances again to make a
strong run at the Cup so it will be super exciting
down here in the desert where hockey is king in this
town! A new State of Hockey perhaps?
Finally, it’s a big weekend of March Madness too. The
field is so strong this year, and the Number 1 seeds
are so deserving. I will not at all be surprised to
see all 4 number 1’s punch their ticket to the Final 4
next weekend at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. And it
won’t be below Zero with folks lining the skyways
looking to keep warm either! Of course I have to pick
Duke to win it all, but I’ve watched 4 or 5 teams that
appear to be strong enough to get it done. It should
be a great weekend finishing off the Sweet Sixteen,
and then the Final Four should be outstanding. Duke is
my pick, but I’ve got several underdog parlays alive
this weekend as we’re always looking for a value in
Vegas! On another note, it was fun and gratifying to
see the Gophers make the Tourney and get a win under
their belt. Here’s hoping they can build on that.
|
Jan 30, 2019 Sports Blog Super Bowl
Preview
Boy
it’s been a long time since I wrote anything. Gosh, that’s
how I started the last one I wrote back in the summer
(remember what summer feels like?). How lame of me. I
could blame it on the Government shutdown, the Polar
Vortex, or that I broke my 6 year old laptop. But the
truth is, I told the boss, Mr. Solem, that my resolution
this year is to get a sports blog out every month. And in
January I was going to do a really cool recap of all the
Minnesota sports highlights of the preceding year. So I’ve
spent that last 3 weeks trying really hard to come up with
that story. I put the first one down as the Minnesota
Miracle (remember way back then..Keenum to Diggs), and
then I hit a huge stall!! I really couldn’t think of
anything else to write about. Call it writers block, or
the simple fact that there really weren’t any highlights
to talk about!! The Twins stunk, and the Vikings bombed
out of the playoffs last season, and followed that up by
signing an $84 million QB and then missing the playoffs
this recent season. The T-Wolves finally made the playoffs
as the 8 seed and were one and done, as were the Wild.
Gopher basketball has been nearly anonymous. The Gopher
footballers actually won a bowl game, but if anyone here
can even remember what Bowl or who they played, I’d send
them a congratulatory letter and a MMGA Red hat(make
Minnesota great again in case you couldn’t guess). Even
the ever popular Lynx had an off year. You get the point.
So I
had to refocus and write about something else. And this
time of year, what else is there but the Super Bowl. It’s
a great match up, the LA Rams and the omnipresent
Patriots. It’s been a great and exciting season and I like
this match up. To be the best, you have to beat the best.
All season long there were teams expected to knock off the
Patriots for the top spot in the AFC, yet Brady and
Belchichek prevailed. Again. It will be Brady’s 9th
Super Bowl and that’s incredible. Unprecedented. The NFC
was pretty loaded with power house teams this season. The
favorite Saints, the powerful Rams and the vastly improved
Chicago Bears were at one point all considered to be
strong favorites over any AFC representative. Then in the
playoffs, the Rams beat in succession the Bears, Cowboys
and the Saints (a little lucky there), yet they go into
the big game as a 2 and a ½ point underdog. There are
over 400 prop bets for the Super Bowl. I usually throw out
a few long shots, players to score the first TD, will
there be a Safety or Defensive TD, etc. For this one I’m
going against my normal rule of never betting against the
Patriots, and taking the Rams. New England is vulnerable
to more physical teams that can put pressure on Brady, and
those that can run the ball. The Rams can do both of those
things. I’m predicting a high scoring game with the Rams
coming out on top 37-34. So I’m betting the OVER as well.
Now, I’ve been known to be wrong a time or two, so as I
always say, don’t bet the farm!
I was
privileged to witness some golf history this past month
also. If you’re on social media you may have seen or heard
too. Patti (P) on January 4th recorded a hole
in one during our first round of the New Year. It
was pretty awesome. A 163 yard shot with a hybrid on a
beautiful downhill hole at South Shore Golf Club. At that
distance we weren’t sure if it went in, or ended up just
behind the hole….but of course when we walked up to it,
there it was in the hole. That’s remarkable enough but
then two weeks later on January 19th, she got another one!
This was on an uphill Par 3 of about 85 yards, blind shot
over desert waste area and a sand bunker. I had driven the
cart around to the back of the green as she walked to her
tee box, so I was actually standing near the green. I saw
the flight of the ball, landing about 14 feet short of the
pin and watched it rolled right in. The first time in the
20 year history of the club that anyone had two Aces in a
month! The only bummer is we’re on this great January
resolution so we’re eating healthy, working out 5 times a
week, and not drinking. But for this we made an exception.
We celebrated the first one with a shot of tequila, and
the second one with a martini. And for the record, that’s
just about all we’ve had for an entire month! (a couple of
ounces of Red Wine a few evenings…for medicinal purposes
only!!) So I guess the moral of the story is, quit
drinking and get a hole in one!!
(Click
on the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page to
view a video of the par 3s at South Shore)
South Shore Par 3s
So
enjoy the Super Bowl. Watch some golf this weekend as the
Phoenix Open (Waste Management Open) is one of the most
exciting tournaments of the year with the fantastic
crowds. Enjoy the warming trend too!! Until February.
Mike's Sports Blog:
Boy it’s been a long time since I wrote anything. It’s
easy to just say I’ve been so wrapped up in cheering
for our Golden Knights out here that I couldn’t be
distracted….and that’s the truth. All the rest of the
sports stuff that has happened seems insignificant
compared to the phenomenal story the Knights have
become this season. It’s the stuff legends are made of
and would make a great movie. Sure the Eagles won the
Super Bowl (who cares) and baseball season, blah blah
blah. Out here in the desert, it’s still hockey
season!
Back in January I posted a blog and said how they have
taken over the town of Vegas and were the story of the
season not even at the half way point. Well it’s only
gotten better. From the dramatic start following the 1
October tragedy in Vegas, they galvanized the city and
truly are one of the epic stories in all of sports.
If
you didn’t read the first article that I shared, it’s
still below and sets the tone for the attitude and
intensity of the team early on. But that was just the
beginning. They could have folded up and been a
typical expansion team, dumping veterans and looking
to the future, but they did the opposite. Management
went out and picked up veterans to add depth to an
already fiery, fast and high scoring team. The second
article below is a great story on the Minnesota
connection on the Knights team…..Erik Haula and Nate
Shmidt.
The third article is another story about how the team
banded together and turned into the Stanley Cup
finalist they now are. Also in that article, you can
click on another story showing actual betting slips at
anywhere from 100 up to 400 to one that local bettors
have come forward with. The Casinos will take a bit of
a thumping if/when the Knights bring home Lord
Stanley’s cup. Wish I had done it!
My prediction is the Golden Knights will win it all.
Whether they get Tampa Bay or Washington, they are on
a mission and I don’t believe they will be the denied.
It’s been the coolest sports adventure I’ve ever seen
or been a part of.
I
also am betting Justify will win the Triple Crown and
there’s even a prop bet combining the Knights for the
Cup and Justify winning the Triple Crown. I think I’ll
get on one of those too.
Oh yeah, big surprise, the Golden State Warriors will
take home the NBA Championship again.
Locally
in Minnesota, this past weekend witnessed the annual
spring scramble held down in Red Wing. The team led by
Katie “Par 3” Solem, along with Craig “long drive”
Zumwinkle, Nick “break on through” Sampson and Scottie
“Christian Brothers” McAdam took home the new American
Flag trophy. They crushed the field coming in at 6
under par. Congrats to the winners!
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/david-perron-vegas-golden-knights/
https://sinbin.vegas/nate-schmidt-and-erik-haula-a-love-story-made-for-the-golden-knights/
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/05/vegas-golden-knights-are-made-up-of-misfits-thats-what-makes-them-such-a-success
Mike's Sports Blog Update:
I feel like Rip Van Winkle and I just woke
up from a long sleep! And boy did I have some good dreams
and a few nightmares too! I dreamt the Twins made the
playoffs, and the Yankees almost made it to the World
Series. I also had a dream that my new favorite expansion
team would be the hottest team in hockey going into 2018.
And then the nightmare…..that Case Keenum would have a
better season than Aaron Rodgers and for the first time in
9 years the Packers would miss the playoffs. Man, that
would suck!
Then reality set in! And I looked back and
saw what an incredible second half of the sports year it
has been. Yes, the Twins really did make it to the wild
card playoff game! Paul Molitor was named Manager of the
Year for leading the no-name Twins to the playoffs. And
then they did get beat by the Yankees who went on to fall
just one game short of making it to the World Series. Both
the Twins and Yanks have made offseason moves to improve
their rosters so I look forward to another fun baseball
season this year. The Yanks made one of the biggest free
agent signings by getting the Marlins slugger Giancarlo
Stanton on a contract. So the Yankee haters will be in
full glory as the best team money can buy just got better!
I can’t wait.
Then football…..really a sucky year if you
ask me! The Packers were off to a 4-1 start when Rodgers
went down with a broken collar bone. This was compliments
of a questionable hit by the Vikes Anthony Barr and that
pretty much changed everything. The Vikings caught fire
and went on to become the #2 seed in the NFC under Case
Keenum’s leadership. (yup Case Keenum). And the Packers
went into a freefall and missed the playoffs for the first
time since 2008. Not exactly what I had in mind when the
season started. But that’s the way it goes and now we’re
in the playoffs. Time to change my prediction. I’ll still
stick with Brady and the Patriots to win the Super Bowl,
but I really believe the Vikings can get thru the NFC and
become the first team to play in the Super Bowl hosting it
at their own stadium. It’s still going to take an
unbelievable effort to get there, but with their defense,
and Keenum playing mistake free football, I think it can
happen. I’m bummed I didn’t look that far ahead and get a
ticket on the Vikes going into the season when they were
25-1. Now they are the second favorite behind New England.
Out
here in Vegas everyone is super excited about hockey. The
Golden Knights have become a real Cinderella story. The
season started right after the tragic mass shooting of
October 1. Since then it seems the Knights have galvanized
the town and everyone is behind them. The team has come
together and is now such a force in the community, it’s
been amazing. I’ve never seen a team get adopted as
favorite sons as much and as quickly as this has happened.
Check out the article below to see what I mean.
Lets not forget the Timberwolves. I had been
saying that this would be the season the Wolves would make
the climb to the playoffs. And so far it’s been a fast
ride to the top of the division. The team is playing
amazing and up to number 7 in the power ratings. Playing
in the Western Conference it would seem an impossibility
that they could advance very far in the playoffs. But
watching them they really have the talent to play with the
best of them. It will be fun to be able to anticipate NBA
playoff action again in the Twin Cities.
Finally, I love living in Las Vegas.
Henderson actually. It’s the middle of winter, the natives
are cold and we have a tee time on Saturday! Does it get
any better!! Oh yeah, on the way home the other night we
stop at our neighborhood pub, and along with a couple of
cocktails and appetizers…we hit for a $500 hand and a $250
hand in video poker! So we’re up for the year. Sure,
probably down a bit for the duration but it sure makes
happy hour fun! And that’s what Vegas is all about!!!
Happy New Year to all. (and like my mentor “Blackjack
Solem” says….quit while you’re ahead!)
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/david-perron-vegas-golden-knights/
I think
it’s time I get off my butt and put down a few notes about
sports. It’s been months. It was so long ago I was
predicting the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup (they did),
the Cavs to win the NBA (finished second) and the Twins to
suck again! Well two out of three isn’t bad! If the
baseball season ended today, the Twins would be 3 games
out of the playoffs. It’s been many years since they could
claim that much relevance any time near the All Star
break. I’m not counting them out yet, but it won’t be easy
to hang in there. But it sure makes it more fun to visit
Target Field when the games have meaning. Let’s hope it
lasts. A little hot streak at some point and they’ll be
right back in it.
Out
in Vegas we just finished up the NBA Summer League. The
teams all send their collection of draft picks, rookies
and other non-rostered players out to the desert to play
for nearly two weeks. The Vegas ‘season’ culminated with
the Laker rookie squad led by top pick Lonzo Ball winning
the wrap up tournament that finished up last Monday night.
On the strength of his performance and general buzz in
this Laker heavy territory, the league set an attendance
record with nearly 120,000 fans over the course of the 11
days of action. It has grown each year and also helps to
fuel speculation that Vegas down the road could land an
NBA team some day.
Now
you really have to be a sports geek to have been watching
the CONCACAF Gold Cup in soccer tonight. But hey, I did
catch some of it and for all you non-soccer fans, the USA
squad defeated Jamaica 2-1. In soccer terms, that’s pretty
much a blowout! But there really wasn’t a whole lot of
suspense waiting on this championship match, because as my
good buddy The Lak said, when’s Jamaica ever beat the USA
in any sport involving a round ball, right mon!
In
Vegas, poker rules. And the 2017 World Series of Poker
just finished up the other night at the Rio down on the
strip. I have to admit I don’t know too many of the
players by name, not even the champ Scott Blumstein. But
any contest where the winner walks away with $8.1 million
is pretty damn cool! We watched several of the televised
broadcasts down the stretch. Its pretty good entertainment
with that kind of money at stake.
The
biggest things on the horizon in the sports world, and
especially here in Las Vegas are the upcoming NHL season
(first for the Golden Knights), the NFL opening up barely
a couple weeks away and possibly the biggest fight in
history with the Floyd Mayweather-Connor Mcgregor fight
going down on August 26th. Stay tuned for some
previews in my next blog. And oh yeah, I’m picking the
Packers again this year!
March Madness Begins!
Last
I wrote the Gopher hoopsters had just lost several games
in a row and seemed destined to tumble out of relevancy,
but lo and behold they turned it up big time! What a great
finish to the best season in a long time. They ended up
losing in the Big Ten Tournament, but no shame as Michigan
was red hot also, and is one of those Cinderella picks for
the Big Dance. Unfortunately for the Gophers, they drew
into a tough seed in a dreaded 5-12 match-up with Middle
Tennessee State. That’s the team that
upset
Michigan State in last year’s NCAA Tourney. Then this
season the Blue Raiders (go figure?) went 30-4 to become a
trendy upset pick against the much higher seeded Gophers.
I’m doing 4 boards in our pool, and I’ll pick the Gophers
to win in two of them, and lose in two of them. While we
had a good run this season, I believe this will be a
battle. And the oddsmakers have it currently a pick-em
game in Vegas, and even -1 for MTSU. Hey, it’s still fun
to have them in the tourney, and see the program on the
upswing again! And if they win game 1, I believe they’ll
advance to the Sweet 16. Overall I like the Number 1
seeds, especially Kansas and North Carolina. My Final 4
has Duke beating Gonzaga and North Carolina beating
Kansas. Then Duke wins it all to defend it’s title. And
the Twins will end up in the World Series….or some other
far fetched tales. This Tournament is so tough to call.
Enjoy the fun, cheer for upsets and Cinderella stories,
and I hope I cash some tickets at the window! I think you
can tell who I cheer for no matter what happens or the
odds.
On another note in the hoops world, turning
to the NBA the Timberwolves are also (slightly) relevant
this year. Currently they sit just 4 games out of the 8th
spot in the Western Conference. They lost a tough game
tonight to the Celtics. However they end up this season
it’s great to see them also improving and I do believe
next year could be the best in a long time. The playoffs
are in reach!
The Wild continue their strong season,
although it seems the momentum has cooled a bit. A week
ago we were with a point or two of the top team in the
entire NHL, the Capitals, and now all of a sudden 4 teams
are ahead of us. If the playoffs started today they’d be
the #2 seed in the West, conceding home ice advantage to
the Blackhawks if it came down to that final match-up for
the Western Conference. And we know how our recent history
has gone for us against Chicago. At this point I’m going
to go with the Pittsburg Penguins to repeat as Champions.
They are really coming on strong. But of course I’d love
to see the Wild win it or at least make it to the finals.
It’s only 7 months before we get to see the puck drop in
Las Vegas for our Golden Knights and that will be exciting
as well.
People Get Ready There’s a train a-coming……
Inauguration Day has never felt like this
before. But hey, let’s put our political differences
aside…..and make St. Paul great again! Wow, the Wild
really have it going on! They’ve won like 16 out of the
last 17 or something crazy and are in first place in the
Western Conference. New coach, a couple new faces, a hot
goalie and even the Stanley Cup doesn’t seem too much of a
stretch. I’d love to see them coming to Vegas next season
as defending champs! Our curse has been the Blackhawks but
this year we may have the tools to get past them. If we
can do that, then the Cup is in reach. The bookmakers
believe it can happen too. About 6 weeks ago they were
20-1 for the Cup when my brother Robert told me to go put
some money on them. I checked last night at the book and
they were 5-1. Wish I would have put some of my own money
on them. Damn!
Who says our Minnesota Gophers sports teams
suck? The footballers got a bowl victory as a 10 point dog
to Washington State. Although they actually got more
press for their off-field antics. Which eventually cost
their fill-in coach his job. But the new hire has great
potential for a change and was actually a coveted
candidate amongst some of the big schools looking to hire
a head coach. I think the future looks bright for a
change.
On
the basketball front, the Gophers were looking
surprisingly strong…..for a couple of games into the Big
Ten season. They rose to #24 in the national rankings,
then lost 2 straight. But they have potential. I believe
they’ll right the ship and make the NCAA tournament this
year. That would be fun!
And
lest I forget, the Super Bowl is only a couple weeks away.
Of course I should have said weeks ago that the Packer
roll was going to continue right through the big game. I’m
pretty sure they beat the Patriots and come out of this up
and down season as World Champs. No one is hotter than
Aaron Rodgers and he’s going to get his second ring down
in Houston.
November 2016: It’s About Damn Time
I mean, that I got around to writing up some
thoughts on recent sporting events! How could I have not
been writing about the Ryder Cup, the passing of Arnold
Palmer, the Lynx losing the finals in game 5, and the Cubs
ending the 108 year drought and winning the World Series!
This has been a historic run these last few months! I’ve
been taking it all in from Vegas but just getting around
to making some comments now. Gosh it’s been busy. We’re in
mid-November with Christmas soon to be breathing down our
necks. Bah Humbug! I want fall to last forever.
I
don’t even know where to start. What about the US winning
the Ryder Cup out at Hazeltine just days following the
passing of The King, Arnold Palmer. That week was about as
memorable in golf history as we’ll ever see. I still
have 36 hours of recorded material on Arnold’s memorial
service along with Ryder Cup coverage. That’s one we’ll
remember forever.
The
Cubs making the World Series was enough to get baseball
fans to take notice. But when they fell behind 3 games to
1, I thought the drought was going to continue. But they
turned this one into an instant baseball classic with a
rally for the ages. This one had everything. And even
though I was on the Cleveland side as that was who my Dad
played his minor league ball with, it still was great to
see the Cubs finally get the Series they’ve been waiting
for. Now it’s the Indians that are the longest running
team without a World Series victory, last winning in 1948.
Just goes to show you that every dog does have its day.
And now Leslie can quit harping on me about my Yankees, as
I think with the Cubs win, and their 200 million payroll,
they can she the label of the lovable losers.
Now
turning to the NFL, the only thing that really matters.
I’m struggling to remain optimistic. My Packers who had
the look and feel of a Super Bowl contender (see my
earlier predictions) are sucking! This is really hard to
take, especially when the expectations are so high. I’m
still going to say they right the ship and make the
playoffs. At the same time they are fumbling around doing
their best Cleveland Browns impression, the Vikings are in
a freefall losing 4 in a row. At first it looked like
they wouldn’t miss Adrian Peterson with the way the
defense was playing, but no longer. They’ve lost a couple
of close, winnable games due to the inability to score in
the clutch, or stop an opponent down the stretch. I think
whichever of the NFC North teams that can get to 9-7 will
take the Division and make the playoffs. So for both
Minnesota and Green Bay, there’s a chance. I’m revising
my Super Bowl prediction to the Patriots facing off
against the Seahawks again. I think it’s inevitable.
Finally the Wolves, Wild and Gophers are in
full swing into their respective seasons. In typical
Minnesota sports tradition, they all lost this weekend.
Although just this night (Sunday) to close out the
weekend, the Wolves did knock off the Lakers at Target
Center with Andrew Wiggins throwing down 47 points! They
do have the best young talent in the league, so it’s fun
to see them play. But the playoffs are still likely a year
off. Until then it’s the same old story….wait till next
year!
September 2016: Finally…Football!!
Okay the Olympics were awesome. I was kind
of down on them in my last blog. But they ended up being
pretty outstanding. At the same time, we’re watching the
Baseball season wind down. The golf majors are all in the
books. So now it’s finally time to celebrate the beginning
of the football season. The rest of the stuff is just
filling time in between NFL seasons!
Baseball
is getting fun now though. The Cubs are clearly the best
team in baseball. But can they break the jinx and finally
get a World Series title? I’m not betting on it. I still
like Texas in the American League and now that the Giants
have slumped a bit, the national league is wide open. The
Cubs should make it to the Series, I’m just not confident
they’ll overcome the pressure of a century long drought
and be able to take it all. However, it will be fun to see
them there. Twins are still playing and as usual Target
Field is still a great place to enjoy a ballgame. Go and
watch Brian Dozier as he’s on a tear, and before the
Twins go let him sign somewhere else.
But back
to football, the season opener last night was a great
game. The Broncos and Panthers in a super bowl rematch.
It came down to the closing seconds and a missed 50 yard
field goal attempt to settle the score with the Broncos
barely hanging on. If this is an indication of the season
ahead, it’s going to be fun. The Vikings lost a QB and
then found one. I really don’t think they’ll miss Teddy B
that much. They signed a stronger armed QB in Sam
Bradford, and although he’s been injury prone, he
certainly has as much talent or more than Teddy. Pass a
few times, hand the ball to Peterson and all should work
out fine. I can’t wait to watch the US Bank regular
season opener on September 18th when the
Packers come to town. And for now, I’m sticking with my
Super Bowl prediction, Packers defeating the Patriots in
the finale.
Finally,
I was fortunate to spend last weekend in New York enjoying
two days of tennis at the US Open. It’s one of the truly
great sporting events worldwide. It’s the most exciting
thing I’ve ever attended. There is so much excitement and
energy in New York surrounding it and people from all over
the world are in attendance. Like I was telling my friend
Doug, New York is an outstanding place to visit, if you
can overlook the traffic, the crowds, the trash and sewer
smell everywhere and the fact that a beer can run you
$11!! But I love it, and look forward to getting back
there for the Open again.
August 2016: The Dog Days of Summer
July has just flown by. Another month of one of the
hottest summers in Vegas is almost in the books. Since
we’ve been down here we’ve experienced the 2nd
hottest year on average last year, and at least 6 months
setting average high temperature records as well. But like
everyone jokes about, it’s a dry heat! Today at 115
degrees late in the afternoon, and early in the evening,
I’m pretty sure I could have cooked my bbq chicken just by
setting it on top of the grill, rather than light the darn
thing and put it on the grill! But I constantly remind
myself that I don’t have to shovel sunshine and I’m pretty
happy about that!
NFL
training camps are under way! I love it and can’t wait for
another football season. So much excitement about the
Vikings new stadium, all the new draft picks, and what
should be a great battle for the North Division title.
This is going to be fun. Only a week from the pre-season
opener, and another 5 weeks till the regular season
starts. I’ve got September 18th circled on my
Google calendar for the Vikings home opener against the
Packers. That’s going to be epic.
There’s not much to say about the Twins. Other than they
also have a really nice ballpark!!
The
3M Championship returns to Blaine’s TPC Golf course next
week. It’s the best free entertainment of the summer.
Check out the link for the Tourney and get out and enjoy a
great week outdoors.
http://www.3mchampionship.com/
August does feature one of the biggest spectacles in
sports, The Olympics. I’m not a huge fan of the Olympics
anymore but there are a lot of cool things to watch that
you only get to see once every four years. As for me, you
can have the basketball, soccer and now this time even the
golf. I don’t care to watch a bunch of professionals, be
it teams or individuals in action. To me it’s about the
lesser publicized sports that only get featured once every
four years that I’d rather watch. The opening ceremonies
each year try to outdo each other so this one should be
incredible and it’s only a week away.
I
watched some documentary information the other night
showing all that Rio did to get the Olympics and the money
involved. It was pretty eye opening. When they won the
bid, Rio was booming on the strength of record oil prices,
and since then a lot has changed. In a city of nearly 6.5
million people, they have very little money to spend on
education, and their health care lags behind most major
cities. They toured several hospitals showing people
sleeping in hallways and on the floor because of the
shortage of beds. But they managed to spend in excess of
15 billion dollars to build an Olympic Village and all the
sports venues needed to host the games. Long standing
neighborhoods were bulldozed with thousands of native
displaced to make room for the games. But that seems to
happen at every location that wins the right to host the
games.
Oh
well, at least in Vegas we can bet on the games. One of
the most lopsided bets would be on either the Men’s or
Women’s basketball teams to win the gold medal. Both are
1-20 favorites! Meaning for every $20 bet, you’d win just
a $1 when they bring home the gold. No thanks on that one!
That’s what I mean about the Olympic “professional” teams.
I don’t really think it enhances the real spirit of what
the Olympics used to be.
Enjoy the rest of the summer. The best time of the year is
coming when we’ve got football along with the stretch run
of the baseball season, and then playoffs. That’s what I’m
waiting for.
July 2016: Happy Fourth of July Weekend!
I have no idea how time can go by so fast.
This is crazy!! But on the positive side of things, NFL
Training camps start in 3 weeks, and the Packers kick-off
the preseason with the annual Hall of Fame game in Canton,
Ohio in just 5 weeks! So not to worry!!
The
112th annual (or something like that) Solem Fishing
Tournament up at Horseshoe Lake (up north as they say) has
come and gone. Would anyone be surprised if they hadn’t
already heard that Doug Solem (Sr not Jr) won the
tournament. I know nothing about fish other that what I
learn at the Byerly’s counter or my local seafood
restaurant. But it sure looked like there were some big
fish being caught up there. Congrats to Doug!
I’ve been on a roll with my forecasting lately. Excerpts
from my last article from early May included Nyquist
winning the Kentucky Derby, the Penguins taking the
Stanley Cup and even the Cavs to bring a title back to
Cleveland. Unfortunately my betting on those Series and
individual games was pretty spotty. I should have cleaned
up but not so easy it seems! Oh well, that’s Vegas.
I
already did my Super Bowl pick for the Packers and I’ll
stay with that. It’s an easy one to pick the Patriots to
get back to the title game also so it will be a good one!
The Vikings look to be on the upswing with a good draft
and early season workouts seem promising. I cannot wait
for that first game at the new stadium hosting Green Bay.
Mark it down, Sunday night football September 18th. That
is going to be historic. In the meantime, the sports books
already have published lines for the opening weekend. The
Vikes and Packers are both slight favorites to get road
wins against Tennessee and Jacksonville respectively.
Finally in baseball, the Twins are really
struggling. The few bright spots are long overshadowed by
losing game after game. They boast the worst record in
baseball. I don’t see much changing down the stretch to
change things either. Any way, who cares! This is the year
of the Cubs!! Right?? Well not so fast. After a red hot
start, they’ve come back to the field just a bit. They are
an awesome team, but will they break the 100 year drought.
I don’t think so. I’m going with the San Francisco Giants
to win it all. They’ve been crazy good for a number of
years now, winning the Series in even numbered years since
2010. And this is an even numbered year and it could
happen again! The American league is tough to pick. The
division leaders are Baltimore, Cleveland and Texas. The
Rangers look to be the best, but it’s anybody’s guess as
to who makes it out of the playoffs. Go Giants!
May 2016: Derby Weekend!!
It’s
always one of the most exciting days in sports, the
Kentucky Derby. It’s truly one of my favorite events of
the year, called the fastest two minutes in sports. For
this event you don’t have to block off your whole day,
tailgate in some cold parking lot, or be jostled by rubes
from Wisconsin packed into a dumpy bar to watch 3 and a
half hours of football. No, you can just cozy up to a big
screen a few minutes ahead of post-time, and then enjoy
the horse racing drama. And a couple of minutes later, get
back to your Saturday chores!
This
year’s race isn’t quite getting the buzz it often does.
Possibly a hangover effect following the historic Triple
Crown feat accomplished by American Pharoah. But
nonetheless it’s big, and if you’re not at Churchill Downs
or Canterbury, there are plenty of venues to watch and
wager on it. If you’re celebrating with a group and
running a little pool for it and you are lucky enough to
get the first pick, the obvious choice is the unbeaten 3-1
favorite Nyquist. But don’t dismay if you get a pick
beyond that, as there are plenty of very live choices with
a good chance to pull it off. I like others including
Creator, Mohaymen, Mor Spirit and even My Man Sam.
Favorites have won the last two years, and I’ll bet on
Nyquist for part of my racing bankroll, but will have
those others in my exactas and trifectas. Good luck!
As for baseball season, for local fans it
pretty much sucks. The Twins are weak and could lose 95 to
100 games again. My Yankees aren’t much better. It
seriously could be the year of the Cubs. They are off to a
flying start and look solid. And they are due!
Prediction
time: I’m taking the Cavaliers to win the NBA
Championship. Clearly the best team in the East and when
it comes to taking on the Western champ in the finals, I
think they can do it. If there’s one thing Lebron doesn’t
like, it’s playing second fiddle to anyone. And that
included Steph Curry. So I’m thinking he’s going to carry
his Cavs to the title and put himself back on top.
In
the NHL I’m going to pick the Pittsburg Penguins to finish
off the favorite Capitals, and bring the Stanley cup to
the Steel City. The Capitals have been the favorite all
year long, and rightly so. But the Pens have them down 3-1
and I think they’ll do it. The West is loaded, but I’m
staying in the East this year. There are no better
playoffs than the NHL, and someday soon I hope to be
watching the Wild make a Cup run. They just can’t seem to
get over the hump though. In a couple of years, I hope to
be watching them when they visit and play the Sin City
Hookers or Vegas Dealers or whatever we end up naming
them!
And I want to get it out in the open right
now, the Packers will win the Super Bowl in exactly 9
months!!
Oh
yeah, I didn’t want to forget the all important John and
Scott Invitational Tournament in Red Wing in a couple of
weeks. I’m going out on a limb and predicting Doug Solem’s
team (handpicked) will win for a record 17th year in a
row!! Good luck to the rest of the folks playing for
second place.
March 2016: March Madness
It’s
here again. The NCAA Tournament opening weekend is one of
the biggest weekends of the year in Las Vegas. The sports
books will be packed and morning to late night with
college sports hoops fans. It’s great out here, the games
start at 9:15 in the morning Thursday and Saturday. The
defending Champs Duke Blue Devils play at 9:15 am against
North Carolina Wilmington. Duke’s a 10 point favorite, but
I’m not betting on the one. They have been way too
inconsistent this season to warrant a bet on this game
against an in state rival, albeit a “small” school.
However if you look at the odds below, I do have a small
wager on them getting 30 to 1 odds as a defending champ.
Not a bad value. (See the futures odds at the link below)
It’s really not that hard to pick this
tournament. Take the best teams from the best conferences.
So I go to the Big Ten, and pick Michigan State. Hands
down one of the best shooting teams in the country. I
like them in the Final Four….but they will have to get
past Virginia, the number 1 seed in their bracket.
Virginia is for real, and that will be tough. So I’ll
hedge that pick, saying it’s either the Spartans or
Virginia coming out of the Midwest Region.
In the East Region, North Carolina is the
number 1 seed, and will be challenged by West Virginia,
Xavier and Kentucky. If I’m looking for a longer shot, I’d
take Kentucky to make it out of the region, but the
favorite North Carolina will be a tough team to knock out.
The
West region number 1 seed is Oregon. If anyone says they
know a lot about the Ducks, they are fibbing. They play
late games on the west coast all year long, so who even
watches them. I know they had to beat Utah in the Pac 12
Championship, so what. These are football schools. So I’m
picking Oklahoma to come out of the West. Long shots with
a legitimate chance are Texas A&M, Baylor and even Duke.
Finally in the South Region, Kansas is a
heavy favorite and for a good reason. Solid all the way
around, they beat Oklahoma twice during the year along
with an early season win over Kentucky.
Final Four if I had to pick just one
scenario, would be Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina and
Michigan State. Kansas and North Carolina advance to the
finals and I see the Kansas Jayhawks cutting down the
nets. Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk. I just made that up.
http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basketball/odds/futures/
January 2016: Getting Ready for the Big
One…Game that Is!
There’s
nothing like Conference championship weekend in the NFL.
The number 1 and 2 seeds meet in both the AFC and NFC.
I’m picking the Patriots and Panthers in Super bowl 50. It
will be the brash, cocky upstart Cam Newton against Tom
“Terrific”Brady in a great matchup. Brady continues to
ride his white horse to the top of the mountain and would
cement himself as the greatest Quarterback of all time
with the win. However, I’m going out on a small limb, and
picking Carolina to continue their dream season and knock
off the Pats in a great game. I can’t wait. Get your bets
down, you heard it here first!
Minnesota teams
are in a huge slump. The Wolves, Wild and Gophers
Basketball teams have a total of 2 wins in their last 26
games combined!! My advice as you’re hunkered down this
winter is to cancel your sports subscriptions on DirectTV
or Cable, and start watching American Idol, Master Chef
Junior or even I am Cait....or move to Denver....or even
Omaha. It’s getting ridiculous.
But hey, it'll be spring soon....just a few
short, cold months and Target Field re-opens. And we get
to watch another underachieving pro sports team struggle
to make the playoffs.
Oh
yeah, there was that brief shining moment a couple of
weeks ago. Out of the blue, the Vikings rose up, and
defeated the Packers to win the NFC North. The trophy had
barely found its place on the mantle at Vikings HQ and
they found themselves hosting the rough and tough Seattle
Seahawks. Pretty clearly the Seahawks were looking past
the Vikings, and probably just a tad bit annoyed to have
to travel to Minnesota on the coldest day of the year. The
game was ripe for the taking......but the Vikings choked
it away when a chip shot field goal was hooked wide left
as time expired. Earning the title once again as the most
cursed team in pro sports.
November 2015:
Everything in Perspective
Wow, it’s been awhile since I stopped to find time to
write about my favorite things, meaning sports and more
sports! We’re beginning the stretch run of the NFL Season,
very early in the NHL and NBA season and there are so many
other events going on I can hardly keep track. I’m happy
to be in Henderson, NV living right across the street from
a Casino and Sports Book. It’s literally a ½ block walk
to the entrance of the sports book! At any given time I
can walk in and watch Horse Racing from tracks all across
the country, any of the major sports, nascar, golf, soccer
and even MMA events. They cover it all. Tennis matches and
golf tournaments and just about anything else you could
think of.
But sometimes events happen out in the real world that
remind us of the realities of the world we live in and
make you stop and reflect on what’s really important.
First and foremost has been the recent tragic events in
Paris. It’s been a harsh reminder that there is still that
seemingly never ending struggle to make it safe for people
from all walks of life to live peacefully in their home
environments. The world stops to mourn losses like these
for a while, and then we go on about our lives with that
lingering fear hanging over us all that things like this
can still happen. We go on increased security alerts at
the airports, and at major sporting events and we all
wonder where its safe to travel to and how secure we are
in our own homes even. It puts everything in perspective
that’s for sure. So be safe out there!
And that’s exactly why we need things like sports, movies
and entertainment of all kinds. It’s our escape from the
realities of our day to day world and all the bad stuff
going on that we see in the news everyday. For me, that’s
why I’d rather watch Sportscenter at night, instead of the
latest update from the middle east or even the police
stories from my own area. I don’t need to be reminded that
it’s a tough place out there. Give me my scores, my
highlights and projections on the games, and I’m a lot
happier!
The
big news of course now is that the Vikings are leading the
North division and host the Packers this week. A win by
the Vikings and they’d lead the perennial champs by 2 game
in the Division with the tiebreaker in hand also. The
Packers are reeling from 3 straight losses and have been
beset with injuries all season long. The way the Vikings
are playing at 7-2 with their defense playing as
aggressively as it has in several years, I think I’m going
to bet on the Vikings. Right now the line is the Vikes
favored by a single point. The Vikings are 8-1 against
the spread this year, so might as well bet on them. But
that doesn’t mean that’s who I’m cheering for of course.
It should make for a fun Sunday afternoon!
The
Wolves will certainly be fun to follow this year also.
Every win the Timberwolves post is a nice tribute to Flip
Saunders. He’d been such a great ambassador for basketball
in Minnesota since the 1970’s that every time I flip on
the Wolves, I’ll remember watching him play down at
Williams arena when I was going to school back in the
day. I believe the Wolves will be inspired all season
long due to his leadership and contributions. It’s a
stretch to think they could make the playoffs, but we can
always hope!
August 2015: Twins Still in the Hunt!
I
continue to be amazed by the resiliency of the Minnesota
Twins. A couple weeks ago they looked like they were
sinking fast and not going to be relevant down the stretch
run of the season. Then they turned around and have won 5
of their last 6 games and find themselves only a half game
back of the second wild card spot in the American League.
I don’t know how Paul Molitor is holding them together,
but whatever he’s doing is working. They have a rising
star in Miguel Sano who if he was playing a full season,
might be a top candidate for rookie of the year. They have
a tough weekend series with the Astros (yes, the Astros)
and the schedule doesn’t get much easier with 6 of 9 after
that with the Astros again and then the Royals. All I know
is it could be a fun September at Target Field with a
playoff race for a change!
Of
course most of the headlines are taken up with the NFL
gearing up for the regular season in a couple of weeks.
The Vikings are undefeated in pre-season at 3-0 with two
more games remaining. The main thing is they get to find
out how all the pieces fit together, and then when the
real games start put in the most important piece, Adrian
Peterson. He should be healthy and ready to roll. I look
for a big season from him and if the rest of the guys can
old up their end, the Vikings could surprise some folks.
The over/under on games for them is 7, so if you think
they can win 8 games, send me your money and I’ll put the
bet down for you. But I need the cash first!
Another
summer season of golf is nearing an end. I meant to follow
up earlier with a wrap up of the 3M Championship up at the
TPC in Blaine. It was a super successful event again, one
of the best on the Champions Tour. And my good friend Doug
scored what might have been the biggest coup of the
tournament. He’s been sitting on a really sweet Sports
Illustrated for many years with Arnold Palmer and Jack
Nicklaus on the cover and had Arnie autograph it a couple
of decades ago. And this year he scored Jack’s signature!
This thing better be under glass or under lock and key as
I don’t think there’s a lot of them in existence!!
July 2015: The 3M Championship Returns to the TPC in
Blaine
I
get that this isn’t the US Open and the guys can’t bomb
the ball 350 yards like the young guys on the PGA Tour
do(or my buddy Jeff for that matter), but it’s excellent
golf played by many past PGA winners and they can sure get
it done! And the 3M Champions Tour event is continuing the
winning tradition of FREE Admission every day of their
Event. That includes the weekend when Jack, Arnie, Gary
Player, Lee Trevino and many other Legends visit for their
own tournament within the tournament on Saturday. Last
year the crowd must have set a record on Saturday to see
the Legends. Joining the guys again is Pat Bradley, Nancy
Lopez and Annika Sorenstam. So if you go Saturday, plan on
getting there early.
The
regular portion of the tournament kicks off on Friday the
31st and wraps up on Sunday. The TPC sets up so
well for viewing that there are many vantage points and
you never feel overcrowded when you attend. Even the
parking is free so there are no excuses for not getting
out there. The Twin Cities corporate community really
steps up for this event. There are a multitude of local
sponsors beyond the major corporations. As testament to
how beneficial events like this are, in 2014 the 3M
Championship surpassed the $22 million dollar mark in
donations to charity since 1993. Major beneficiaries
include United Hospital in St. Paul, Abbott Northwestern
Hospital, Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and Unity Hospital
in Fridley.
Another
point of interest for me is that last year I was fortunate
enough to get to interview two
stars of the Champions Tour in Fred Funk and Hal Sutton.
These guys continue to perform at a high level after
successfully completing a knee replacement for Mr. Funk
and both hips being replaced for Mr. Sutton. They are
proof positive that there’s hope for all of us to continue
to pursue our passions and our hobbies even when the
joints start to give out on us. One of their sponsors,
Stryker Corporation,
is one
of the world’s leading medical technology companies, and
offers a diverse array of innovative medical technologies,
including orthopedics, medical and surgical, and
neurotechnology & spine products to help people lead more
active and more satisfying lives. Stryker products and
services are available in over 100 countries around the
world. So as Fred and Hal continue to knock that little
white ball around for a living, they’re doing it on
Stryker manufactured artificial joints. The way my knee
feels right now, I’m already starting my research into the
options! So get on out and cheer them all on this week and
weekend. It’s well worth it.
July 2015: The Wolves Make Some Noise
The
Timberwolves are relevant again! Well maybe that’s a bit
premature but the Draft couldn’t have turned out better.
With the number one pick they took the consensus top
player in Karl-Anthony Towns and then in a nice maneuver
were able to land Apple Valley’s(by way of Duke and a
national title) Tyus Jones. So what is it then, another
rebuilding year? How many times have we heard that in the
last decade. But this time it’s for real! We have the best
young talent in the league, bar none. Now that means
nothing until you can translate it into victories, and
ultimately a playoff berth. That won’t happen this year,
and maybe not next, but it will happen! Two years with
this young nucleus and we’re back in the playoffs. Right
now they are 150 to 1 to win the NBA Championship. It’s
not worth even putting $5 on it. But if I could get those
odds for the 2017 season, I’d jump on it. This week the
NBA summer league is in Vegas and it’s quite a show being
put on. The Wolves play 3 times in the next 4 days own
here and I hope to make it to one of the games.
The
Twins are hanging in there but the Royals are starting to
assert themselves in the Central division. Five games
out, but still playing pretty solid. I’d say their
line-up is as good as it’s been for several years. If we
can just hand in there and the Royals falter just a bit,
it could make for a fun second half of the season. Next
week is the All-star game which is always a treat. The
Twins have closer Glen Perkins on the roster again. And
we’ll find out if hard hitting Brian Dozier gets that last
American League spot tonight. I hope he makes it as he’s
very deserving and would be fun to watch.
We
all know this time of year anyway is just filling in the
dead space waiting for the upcoming football season. A
couple of weeks from now and it’s back. It’s been pretty
quiet around the Vikings camp. No arrests, no suspensions
and finally not much being said about Adrian Peterson and
the forgotten controversy. I’ll stick with my early
prediction for the Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers leading
the Packers to the promised land again. The AFC is a
little more difficult and I’ll take the Indianapolis Colts
to make it to the big game in Santa Clara to meet the
Packers. I’m guessing the Vikings to be improved and an
8-8 season could be in the cards for them. I can’t wait
for the opening weekend in September and we’ve already
made some first game bets at the Sports books.
June 2015 Sports Blog: NHL and NBA Finals
Yes,
I remember predicting the Wild would take down the Chicago
Blackhawks a couple of rounds ago…..and now our guys are
home working on their golf games. And it’s the Blackhawks
who just took game 1 from the East Champs Tampa Bay in the
Cup Finals. That coulda been us…..except for the fact we were exposed as less explosive, less clutch
and less physical than the real contenders. So now we know
we’re still a couple of studs short of a team that can really contend for the Stanley Cup.
Maybe next year. In the meantime, sit back and watch some
truly intense hockey. Chicago looks to be the best team
and are favored to win the Cup. I liked them in game 1(see
below) and I like them to get it done. If they really get
going it could be over in 5 games, but the Lightning can
play too so I’m hoping for a nice long 7 game series. It
give me a chance to guess (and bet) on more games! And out
here, that’s what its all about.
I have to admit that I watch very little of
the NBA regular season. I had to look back and double
check that the Timberwolves (Minnesota’s pro team) actually
did have the worst record in the league. And were finally
rewarded with the #1 pick, in a year when there’s not a
consensus # 1 pick That being said I will definitely be
watching the Finals this year. The match-up between the
Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors will be
a good one. The Cavs are of course led by one of the best
players of all time, Lebron James. And the Warriors have
emerged as a well rounded, talented scoring machine that
can also play defense. And no one shoots the ball like
Steph Curry. The Warriors are favored to win the series
and I can’t disagree with that. But I’m going with Lebron
and the Cavs getting odds for my trouble. I’ll probably
put a small wager on the Cavs also in game 1 getting 6
points because you don’t often get the King and the
points. And If I lose, I can blame it on Doug who said to
go with Lebron! (although Doug Jr. told me straight up
it’s the Warriors). We shall see!
I
am really anxious for The Belmont Stakes on Saturday. In
the sport of thoroughbred racing excitement is building
for yet another attempt at the elusive Triple Crown of
racing. Since Affirmed completed the three race sweep
back in 1978, there have been 13 horses who have won the
Kentucky Derby and The Preakness, only to come up short in
the Belmont. This race is the longest of them all at a
mile and a half and the third in quick succession for
horses at only 3 years old. As has happened quite often
there are horses who for one reason or another sit out one
or two of the other races, and come in fresher and more
rested. But no one said it would be easy, and that’s why
it’s such a big deal. American Pharoah has done the easy
part, winning the first two races with relative ease. And
the bad thing now is he comes into the Belmont as the 3-5
favorite. An odds on favorite is historically a terrible
bet in the Belmont. Since there hasn’t been a triple crown
winner in 36 years, the only reason I’d bet Pharoah is to
get that souvenir ticket if he does win. I really think he
is the best horse out there, but it will take an
incredible effort to pull it off. The three top contenders
all skipped the Preakness and are rested and ready. They
are Mubtaahij, Materiality and Frosted. I’ll probably box
those 3 in an exacta, all the while still hoping American
Pharoah can get it done. It’s only an 8 horse field, but
the pressure on Pharoah to get to the front will be
intense, and the rested horses will sit close to the pace
ready for the stretch run. So my prediction is I’ll be
cheering for the Triple Crown win….but hedging my bet with
the next three in the odds for an exacta!
I
mentioned the Las Vegas 51s a while back. Former Twin and
World Series hero, Frank Viola is the pitching coach for
them. Patti, Chris and I went to watch them a couple weeks
back, but didn’t get a chance to get a picture with him
for old time sake. Viola had an interview with the Twins
at one point for their pitching coach spot, and no doubt
someday could end up back in the big leagues. The 51s
play in the very competitive Triple A Pacific Coast
League and fill a nice void down here with pro sports
still lacking. It’s a great venue and we’ll be back to
watch them again.
Who
would have predicted the teams leading the 3 American
League divisions would be the Yankees (predicted for third
in the East), the Astros (predicted for last or close to
it) and our TWINS! The Astros boast the best record in the
American league and are not a fluke. They lead the
American league in home runs and are a really nice young
team. They could do it in the west. The Yankees are not
the team of old(no Jeter) but they have Arod back. For a
40 year old with a year off (vacation) he’s not doing bad.
Can they last….I’m not sure but always my team win or
lose. And after a 1-6 start, who’d a thunk the Twins would
be at the top of the tough Central Division! If the voting
were done now, Paul Molitor would be manager of the year!
I’m really hoping they can hang in there! We’re getting
together at the sports bar tonight to watch them take on
the struggling Brew crew.
May 2015 Sports Blog: Live From Las Vegas
Just like ESPN Sportscenter all week, we’re also live from
Las Vegas. And I mean “alive”. This is sports junkie
paradise this week, and with the NHL and NBA playoffs in
full swing, the momentum is building for a great stretch
run right now. I took my short cut through the Green
Valley Ranch Casino Sports Book on my walk to the office
this morning, and there were folks in line at the betting
windows and plenty of seats occupied already. It was tough
fighting off the temptation to hunker down with a bloody
mary, a daily racing form and enjoy some horse racing and
wait for the early baseball games to start! But I resisted
and made it to the office by 9 am. (no bloody mary either
as they don’t pour them in “to go” cups)
Our
MN Wild move on in the hunt for Lord Stanley’s Cup after
dispatching the high flying Blues in 6 games. And now
starting tonight face a very familiar foe in the Chicago
Blackhawks. The Hawks have eliminated the Wild the last
two years in the playoffs. But this year is going to be
different. We’re playing great and our goalie Dubnyk is
red hot. I’m picking the Wild to get revenge on the Hawks,
and take this series in 6 or 7 games. The Blackhawks are
now a co-favorite( along with the Rangers and Ducks) at
around 7-2 odds, with the Wild close behind at 5-1.
Needless to say, I’m very happy to still be hanging onto
my 25-1 Ticket that I picked up a couple of months ago!
Still we are the underdog against Chicago and it’s not
going to be easy.
Of
course the big news down in Vegas is the Floyd Mayweather
and Manny Pacquiao championship fight on Saturday night.
It’s the biggest fight ever in terms of money and people
being brought into Sin City. Fleabag hotels blocks off the
strip or out on the notorious Boulder Highway are going
for $300 on Saturday night. Prime rooms on the Strip are
over $1,000 for the night. And just like anywhere else, if
you want to watch it, you have to fork over $100 to get
the PPV package for home viewing. Or go to one of the many
bars that are subscribing to the fight package and pay
anywhere from $25 to $100 cover charge, and often a food
and beverage minimum on top of that. All in all, it’s
going to be a great night of action down on the Strip and
I’m looking forward to the fight. I’m picking Pacquiao to
pull off the upset in a 12 round decision.
And
I can’t forget about the greatest 2 minutes in sports, the
Kentucky Derby being run Saturday afternoon. That’s a huge
deal out here also and always fun to watch and wager. The
race includes a full 20 horse field and is the toughest
race in the world to handicap. So many horses that are
young and going this mile and a quarter distance for the
first time. And we all know favorites rarely win. That
being said, I’m picking American Pharaoh, the morning line
favorite to beat this field in style. I likely won’t bet
on it as I’d rather throw in a few long shot bets for a
potential big payoff. But this favorite looks ready to
roll, they’re predicting a dry and fast track, and it
should be a fantastic race.
There is so much other stuff to write about but will save
it for next time. Did you know Frank Viola is the pitching
coach for Las Vegas’ minor league team? The Las Vegas 51s.
More on that next time.
March/April: NCAA, Wild, Twins and More
Such a great time of year with Spring Training and another
baseball season just around the corner, March Madness
heading into its Final Four weekend and the Wild looking
like they are ready for a serious playoff run. This spring
is going to be fun!!
The
Wild have just been on a roll, and with just 6 games
remaining appear to be a lock to make the top 8 and their
third playoff appearance in a row. It’s still a question
who they’ll match up first against, and if they get any
home series advantages. But seriously I don’t think that
matters much. Several of the recent Stanley Cup champs
have been from the lower tier of qualifiers and I don’t
think the home ice advantage is that big a deal when it
comes to the playoffs. The teams are all so fired up they
play hard no matter where the game is. Over the last month
the Wild have shown they can beat the top teams in the
East or West, so bring it on. The odds continue to drop on
them in Vegas as they’re now down to 8-1 at a couple of
the sports books to win the Cup. I’m glad that when my
buddy Andy and I looked at it back a couple of months ago
we were able to get them at 25-1. I’m keeping that ticket
in a safe place for now, hoping it will offset some of my
losses on the penny slots.
And
speaking of odds, someone must like something they are
seeing down in Florida as the odds on them have been
dropping also. It must have been Patti and Sarah jumping
on them at 30-1 just to win the Central Division that did
it. Funny a couple of $10 bets can have such an influence.
But considering how lousy they did last year and managed
70 victories, I think it might be reasonable to assume
they could get to 80 wins anyway. Maybe not enough to win
the division, but with Molitor at the helm, we should see
more fire in the young guys. And I hope it inspires the
veterans like Joe Mauer also. It would be nice to see him
rebound in a big way. I always look forward to watching
Tori Hunter play so that should be fun.
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=min
The
NCAA Final Four couldn’t have turned out better. Kentucky
has been the best team all year, and after narrowly
escaping with a win against Notre Dame, they’ll be focused
and tough to beat. I had a couple of boards with Kentucky,
Duke and Wisconsin all in the Final Four, but I did not
see Michigan State coming on like they did. I’m taking
Duke to beat MSU and to meet up with Kentucky in the
Championship game on April 6. I could see Kentucky winning
that game for sure. But I’m going to go out on a short
limb (they were a Number 1 seed you know) and take Duke in
the upset for the title. I cannot wait for that game!
Spring
also brings us to Masters time, the greatest golf
tournament of them all. It’s on the calendar April 9
through the 12th. We don’t even know yet if
Tiger Woods will be playing in it, but if he’s not 100%
healthy and competitive, I’d rather he sit out and let the
spotlight shine of those that are playing well. The tour
is loaded with great young players and it’s anybody’s
guess as to who will win. World #1 Rory Mcilroy is the
favorite, but I think there are 20 golfers who could
take
home the green jacket.
When it comes to golf, no one knows more about it, or
competes at a high level like my good friend Rick Frame. I
think he just set the amateur record for most country club
tournaments won as he picked up another member-member
trophy at
Berkeley Hall just outside of Hilton Head. Whether
its member-member, member-guests, an Invitational, club
scrambles or just out for fun, you want this guy on your
team! And check out the link to his club. If you ever are
down that way, tell him Mike said it’s okay to stop in and
ask for Rick!
February 2015: Basketball’s Back!! So is KG!!
The
Timberwolves turned back the clock, in what may be the
best move the Wolves have ever made. They brought Kevin
Garnett back to inject some energy into another
lackluster season for the local NBA team. And what an
injection it was!
Last
night Target Center was packed to the point they were
selling standing room only tickets! And that on a sub-zero
night in downtown Minneapolis for a team that has the 2nd
worst record in the entire League. The Wolves fell behind
early but came storming back to notch their 13th
win of the season by 20 points. KG is no longer the full
time player he once was, but his leadership and enthusiasm
was evident. I caught part of the game at the local sports
book and there was actually a fair amount of interest in
the game even out in Vegas. I only regret I wasn’t brave
enough to place a wager on the Wolves. My good friend Doug
said it was just as exciting as the last round of playoffs
the Wolves were in versus the Lakers back in 2004. I saw
many posts and pictures on Facebook as it seems like
everyone came out for the game. Check out the
youtube video below to catch the excitement that
KG brings to the game….from the 2004 Game 5 Victory over
the Lakers back almost 11 years ago. Is there a chance
he’s going to be around for another playoff appearance? I
certainly hope so. Just for pure inspiration and emotion
he’s a great guy to have back in Minnesota. Check out his
introduction and interview below also. This man is
sincere!
The
Wild have cranked it up a notch over the last month
and in spite of the lackluster performance the other night
hosting Edmonton(2-1 loss), they are in the thick of the
playoff hunt. Tonight (Thursday) they travel to Nashville
to take on the surprising Predators who boast the best
record in the NHL. It should be a great game and I’m going
to make sure and watch this one. The Wild’s odds to win
the Stanley Cup were 12-1 back when I looked at it in
early December. Then as they slumped through the
mid-season they went up to 25-1 and that’s when I put my
bet in. I just saw the other day at the sports book they
were down to 15-1 again and I believe they can make a
serious run in the playoffs if they continue to improve
and get healthy. I’m looking forward to that in a big
way.
January 2015: Super Bowl and all that hype
It
pains me to even talk about the Super Bowl this weekend
following the debacle of the Packers collapse in Seattle 2
weeks ago. I still haven’t brought myself to watch the
replay of that game as I was in class that entire day and
only saw score updates on my phone. I’ll save that for
some cold winter night with a bottle of cheap whiskey
(like they drink in the parking lots of Lambeau). But the
big game approaches nonetheless and I’m sick of hearing
about “deflategate” and seeing Marshawn Lynch and his
freaky big sunglasses doing his best to irritate the
press. So let’s get to it. As far as the game goes, I’m
predicting a Patriots victory with Tom Brady (who else)
picking up another Super Bowl MVP award. Seattle’s luck
will run out and New England comes out on top. It should
be a good game, in spite of the best team in the NFC not
being there. And it should be exciting to see Katy Perry
at halftime, so I’ll be staying in front of the TV for
that. My early in the year prediction had been the Packers
and Colts in the Super Bowl. Both made it to the
Conference Championship game. I later deferred to the
Patriots during the season so I’ll consider my picks to be
somewhat in the ballpark. Next year, I’ll go with the
Packers and Colts again. It’s going to be Andrew Luck’s
time very soon. And I did see an article that the Colts
could be in the running to sign Adrian Peterson to make
that happen.
Milestone:
This past week saw Coach Mike
Krzyzewski notched his 1,000th NCAA Division 1 victory for
the Duke Blue Devils. It’s the most victories in college
basketball history. This guy is legend and one of the
classiest sporting figures ever. This season Duke is
loaded with talent as always, but they are going through a
rocky patch right now. But Coach K sticks to the basics
and his program is run at the highest standards. Check out
the article below as even returning star players are held
to strict standards or they can’t play for the Blue
Devils.
Article
Chicago and the baseball world
mourned the passing of “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks this past
week. He was one of my childhood baseball heroes and one
of my early fielding gloves was an Ernie Banks model. He
was one of the greats and holds the record for most games
played without ever appearing in the postseason. That
career covered 19 years and over 2,500
games, and never a single playoff game! That’s amazing.
But that’s what happens when you play for the Cubs. A
great man and a great player as the article below
demonstrates.
Article
JANUARY 2015 - PAYOFFS!!!
The
NFL has its Divisional Round of playoffs this weekend and
it’s often the best games and matchups of the entire
season. Plus the bonus that we again have 2 games on
Saturday and 2 on Sunday. And with this weather, what else
are you gonna do? Oh wait, I forgot, I’m in Las Vegas and
I’m going to go play golf or take a bike ride. Never mind
about the weather comment then. I’m going with the
favorites to win this weekend, but there will be some
close games. New England will prevail over the Ravens
because Tom Brady is on a mission to get back to the Super
Bowl. But Baltimore plays them tough and it will be a
battle. I’m betting the Ravens to cover the 7 point
spread, but New England comes out on top. I keep trying to
tell myself that Carolina can keep it close visiting at
Seattle. But the Seahawks are just on too much of a roll
now, and likely will crush at home. Seattle comes out on
top and will cover the 11 point spread as well. Sunday’s
early game features Dallas up at Green Bay in a much
anticipated return to the Ice Bowl of the 1960’s fame. But
is won’t be that cold as temps are forecast to be in the
mid-teens to maybe 20 degrees. With Aaron Rodgers fighting
through a fairly significant calf injury, Dallas will keep
it close and it should be a great game. If the Pack can
stop the Dallas run game, they will win. Tony Romo isn’t
going to go up to the frozen tundra in the cold and beat
Aaron Rodgers in a passing battle. Even with the limited
mobility Rodgers will likely have, he still will pick
apart the Cowboys pass defense and the Pack will come away
with the win in a potentially high scoring affair. All
this predicated on Rodgers playing a full game. I’m
staying away from betting this one due to the risk that
Rodgers re-injures the calf and ends up on the sideline.
The final Sunday game features the Colts at the Broncos.
The Colts were my pre-season pick to make it to the Super
Bowl, but I don’t think they’ll get by Denver. The Broncos
should be able to stop the Indy run game, and now that
Denver has established a great ground attack, the Broncos
will win and cover the 7 point line. The match-ups next
week will be even better if my picks come through with
Green Bay up in Seattle, and Denver would travel to New
England. I can’t wait!
And did I mention the Wolves are
in another re-building and re-tooling year…..Again! I love
the Wolves but they are so young, inexperienced and
injured that they should petition to play in the Big Ten
this season. I doubt they’d win the conference, but they’d
make it to the NCAA Tournament at least. Oh well, wait
till next year.
The Wild are also in a bit of a
slump, losing a couple of home games this week and with
only a couple wins in their last 10 games. I caught Mike
Yeo on Sportscenter in a very animated rant on the
practice rink with the team, blasting them every which way
for their lackadaisical play. It was so bad, almost every
other word was bleeped out. I’m hoping that might shake
them up soon. On a sad note hockey legend and former North
Star, JP Parise passed away this week after a yearlong
battle with lung cancer. It’s always sad to hear that. Go
Wild!
December 2014:
Isn’t it great to hear baseball news on the
sports reports in the middle of football season!! It’s a
sure sign that there will be a spring at the end of
another long winter.
The
Twins made news with the re-signing of one of the most
popular Twins of all time by bring Tori Hunter back to the
team on a one year contract. Tori has shown he can still
play the outfield and contribute offensively so to me
that’s a huge deal. And not bad for Tori either, getting a
reported $10+ million for the one year deal. And probably
even more important is the signing of one of the top free
agent pitchers Ervin Santana to a long term contract. The
Twins have been desperately in need of a proven #1 starter
and this should fill that bill. I’m going to go out on a
limb here and predict a .500 season (or better) for the
Target Field occupants. And that would be a great
improvement over the string of ninety plus game losing
seasons we’ve been enduring. I’m looking forward to spring
at Target Field already. (now I just have to convince my
buddy Rick to re-enlist for those season tickets!)
The Vikings have proven that the loss of
Adrian Peterson can be offset with good young players and
even more importantly, coaches that know how to win. Teddy
Bridgewater should be the quarterback around here for many
years to come. With no real superstars at all, they’ve
managed to be 6-7 at this point, and still on the
long-shot radar for a playoff spot. Now that’s a real
long-shot, but it’s still a chance. This weekend will
prove to be a tough task as they travel to Detroit to take
on the Lions. But it could happen. On paper it would seem
on both sides of the ball the Lions are vastly superior,
but as my friend Doug always reminds me, that’s why they
play the game. Upsets can happen and I think the Vikings
could surprise some folks this weekend. The future of
Peterson is now in the hands of the NFL (scary thought)
but I’m going to predict that he’s played his last game as
a Viking and it will be on to greener pastures for him
next season. I’m also changing my Super Bowl prediction
from the Packers/Colts which I stated back in March to the
Packers/Patriots. It should be a dandy!
The Wolves continue to muddle along through
a retooling and rebuilding season….again. So many injuries
that we’re now a minor league team against the elite of
the NBA. Next year should be a lot better….and I think
I’ve said that now for maybe 4 years in a row.
November 3, 2014 Sports blog:
As I suspected, the Twins did
let Gardenhire take the fall. But the good news is (beyond
the fact that Gardy is still very well paid and will be
ok) they finalized the contract with Paul Molitor this
week. I think that will be a good move. But not even a
hall of fame player will be able to win with the players
on this roster. Another 90 game loss season is likely in
store next year, and continued declining attendance at
Target Field. But there is hope. They Twins do have a
decent crop of very young players, and we just saw the
Kansas City Royals make it to game 7 of the World Series,
and they have sucked for many years! I do think
improvement is on the way, but I won’t hold my breath
waiting for it.
When I last wrote, Teddy
Bridgewater was making his starting debut. Now he just
finished up with a win over the Washington Redskins and
head into their Bye week with a 4-5 record. Not too bad
considering all the crap that’s gone on with the whole
Adrian Peterson mess. And now the Vikings are set to
welcome back AP and he could be in uniform by the Week 11
matchup with the Bears. I just hope that he’s also learned
a lesson about what it takes to be a responsible
parent….lord knows he’s had enough practice in the
baby-making portion of the process. Now how about setting
an example for all the young folks that look up to him and
be a responsible citizen. When I’m commissioner of the
NFL, all the young prima donnas coming out of college will
attend mandatory citizenship and parenting classes.
I don’t think anyone can
disagree that the darlings of Minnesota sports teams right
now are the Minnesota Wild and Timberwolves. The Wild are
looking great so far consistently outshooting their
opponents and scoring goals aplenty. If the goalie
situation stays strong, I do believe they’re in position
to make a deep run in the playoffs.
I am really looking forward to
the winter season with them to watch. And the Wolves are
super young and talented, and very fun to watch. Last
night’s win in Brooklyn was cool, and there’s more to
come. Can they make the playoffs? It’s maybe a year too
early for that, but I think Flip has them headed in the
right direction (and only direction considering how down
we’ve been).
And of course finally it’s deer
hunting season again. So to all my deer hunting friends
out there (and you know who you are) remember NO drinking,
texting, driving and shooting all at the same time. Be
careful out there. I know it’ll be a lot less crowded at
the bars I hang out at in town this weekend! At least
fewer guys anyway. Be safe.
September 2014: The NFL drops the ball….and more
The
NFL always takes center stage this time of year,
especially in Minnesota with the Twins long out of the
pennant chase. But this year it’s for all the wrong
reasons! Domestic abuse, alleged child abuse, drug
suspensions…can their image get any worse. But overall,
Television ratings are up and evidently that’s all that
Commissioner Roger Goodell is concerned about. Time for
them to clean it up and take a hard line against behavior
that just doesn’t cut it in today’s world.
Enough of that stuff, how about Teddy
Bridgewater getting his first start this week.
Unfortunately it comes at the expense of Matt Cassel’s
foot injury knocking him out for the season. It will give
the beleaguered Vikings a look at the future and I believe
he’ll do well. It’ll be tough sledding right off the bat,
but he’s talented, smart and has a great arm and I look
for him to be the starter around here for years to come.
At least that gives Coach Mike Zimmer a ray of hope as we
move forward with the Vikings in the post-Adrian Peterson
era.
As mentioned the Twins are in the gloaming
of their 4th straight 90+ loss season. And amidst another
season of declining attendance at Target Field, I think
it’s time for a change. By no means is it Gardy’s fault
that we can no longer compete, or even be a .500 team, but
it has to start somewhere. Poor decisions regarding player
development, free agents and trades have left Gardy
fielding a AAA Ballclub against the rest of the league. At
the same time, former Twins abound on playoff contenders
and pennant winners. I see it as a failure of upper
management, yet Gardy will likely take the fall. He’ll
probably be relieved that he can get out of the mess he’s
been left with if they let him go. There are bright spots
among the young players, like Danny Santana and Kennys
Vargas, but by and large next year looks to me like it’s
still going to be an uphill battle.
And
for us long-time baseball and Yankee fans in particular,
of most importance is watching the final weekend of games
played by the Captain, Derek Jeter. Last night was his
final home game at Yankee Stadium and it was special. He
finishes up this weekend with 3 games in Boston (where
else) and it’ll be sad to think he’s not going to be in
the line-up next year. The Yankees missed the playoff this
year for the 2nd consecutive season. It’s the first time
they’ve gone back to back years out of the playoffs going
back to 1993 and 1994. That was the year before Jeter made
his major league debut. He was a winner, and he did it
with class. A lot of pro athletes could learn a lesson
from watching how he’s handled himself. Hat’s off to #2.
Don’t forget the Ryder Cup is on this
weekend, along with Wild pre-season hockey. And the Wolves
open training camp too. So much going on!!!
August 2014: Fall, Football and Up North Golf!!
Okay, it’s not exactly fall yet, but it is
going to be September next Monday. That’s way too early
for me, but I have to say it’s hard to argue that late
August and September in Minnesota aren’t the best times of
the year. We’ve got the State Fair going on and that’s
pretty hard to beat. I’m going to try and get over there
one of these last mornings and check out the breakfast
juicy lucy, the key lime pie bar, some French fries and of
course Sweet Martha’s Cookies. Sounds like a great
breakfast to me! My buddy Doug will of course give me his
critique of the bacon wrapped turkey legs, deep fried
walleye bites, tater tot hot dish on a stick, the gyros,
sweet corn and pork chops on a stick……and that’s just for
appetizers. But that’s why we go there. The best meal you
can get and for $13 admission and $13 to park, sure it’s
like going downtown to Manny’s in terms of the budget. But
a whole lot more fun.
And what better time to head north to get in
some golf just before or during the time the leaves are
changing and the kids head back to school. I had the
pleasure of getting out on one of my favorite courses in
the state (or anywhere for that matter) last week when we
played Deacon’s Lodge at Breezy Point. And believe me it
doesn’t get any better! First off the staff treats you
like you are guests at a private club. They definitely
have great customer service. We found the course as usual
in top condition in spite of heavy rains that morning. You
can hear the Loons, see deer running across the fairways,
watch eagles soaring overhead and even knock in the
occasional birdie to round out the day. I left feeling
really good about carding an 82, in spite of 3 tee shots
that went straight into the woods. Who knows, maybe next
year I’ll back up from the forward tees and take on a new
challenge! The pictures we took don’t do it justice so
make sure to put it on your list of places to play very
soon.
http://breezypointresort.com/brainerd-golf-courses/
The Gophers football season gets underway
tonight at TCF Bank stadium. It does seem kind of early to
be thinking about football, but hopes are high down in
Dinkytown. Coach Kill has overcome all kinds of challenges
in his career and if he can turn the Gophers into a
consistent winner, bowl games each year and even
contending for the Big Ten title, he will have done an
outstanding job. I like this team a lot and with their
outstanding defense and leadership of QB Mitch Leidner I
hope to see them in a more prominent Bowl game this
season. It would be fun to have them playing on New Year’s
Day for a change.
The Vikings still have their one last
pre-season game remaining, but Coach Zimmer has already
announced that Matt Cassel will be the starting
quarterback, with Teddy Bridgewater as the back-up. It
makes perfect sense to me. Teddy is going to be the guy in
the long run, but if Cassel can get the offense in gear
and the team wins, he’ll be better off watching for a year
or two and then stepping in. Consider if he is called into
action this year, it will be because Cassel gets hurt or
the Vikings stink, and that’s not the best scenario for
the young guy to step into. I think the Vikes will be
improved from last year, especially on offense. The
question will be can the Defense stop anyone. The NFC
North is loaded with high powered offensive teams so there
will be some great games to watch within the division.
The Minnesota Lynx find themselves back in
the Western Conference finals against a familiar foe. It
will be a good match-up against the Phoenix Mercury in a
best of three series. The only home game is Sunday and it
should be a fun time down at Target Center as the local
fans support the Lynx looking for another championship.
The Wolves re-load for the 2014-2015 season.
This is going to be good. The new crew is impressive… more
on the Wolves next time….
http://breezypointresort.com/brainerd-golf-courses/
___________________________________________________________________
July 2014:
FREE GOLF!!! The Champions Tour Returns to the TPC in
Blaine. FREE GOLF!!!
It’s
that time of year again and Blaine will be rocking with
the return of the Champions Tour as they tee it up in the
3M Championship. Can you believe they have been playing
here since 1993 when the great Chi Chi Rodriguez topped
the field up at Bunker Hills! Back then it was the Burnet
Senior Classic. 3M became the official sponsor in 2000 and
they moved the venue to the TPC of Blaine. It’s regarded
as one of the best events on the Champions Tour and since
the inception, over $21 million has been donated to local
charities including healthcare programs at Mercy and
United Hospitals. So it’s not just great golf and
entertainment, its super important to the community all
around. And yes, they are continuing the policy of free
admission, free parking and free shuttles to make getting
there and getting around easy. You do have to pay for your
hot dogs and beer though. Check out the link to the main
site for facts and figures about it and how to get there,
etc.
http://www.3mchampionship.com/
What’s sure
to be one of the highlights this year is that Jack
Nicklaus is making his inaugural appearance at the 3M
event! He joins up with Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Lee
Trevino on Saturday for the “Greats of Golf Challenge”.
It’ll match up these legends against Anika Sorenstam,
Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley in a friendly competition sure
to attract a large following. This follows the regular tee
times on Saturday so it should start just before noon. (I
hear that Arnie may not be playing, but will captain the
Ladies group)
I
also had the privilege of heading out to the TPC on
Tuesday to sit down and talk to two of the stars of the
Champions Tour, Fred Funk and Hal Sutton. They are both
major champions and former Ryder Cup team members.
Getting media passes for cool sporting events is just one
of the many perks of being a big time sports guy
affiliated with
www.mnseniorsonline.com. Once I began talking to
them, I was surprised to find out how much in common I had
with these guys. Besides the obvious I mean like being a
really nice guy, wearing all the same cool golf apparel
and being a really good golfer. On top of that as top
flight athletes, they share many of the same aches and
pains that we average weekend warriors do. And they are
living proof that you can overcome those aching joints and
get back to elite status and performance. Fred Funk had a
full knee replacement back in 2009 and in 2010 won the
Jeld-Win Regions Tradition, another major on the Champions
Tour. He already had a Senior U.S. Open title. Sutton
meanwhile has had both hips replaced (2012 and 2013) and
comes into the 3M healthy and swinging better than ever.
Hal’s a former PGA Champ, 4 time Ryder Cup team member as
well as a Captain, and was the PGA’s comeback player of
the year way back in 1994. Well thanks to his Stryker
replacement hips, he’s on the comeback trail again! Check
out the link below and also
www.stryker.com to learn more about the joint
replacement products that have enabled them both to keep
playing the game that they love. And you’ll also have a
reference to fall back on if your joints, like mine are
coming up for replacement in the future. And who knows,
maybe it will make us a better golfer. So head out to the
TPC in Blaine and enjoy the upcoming great weather and
golf at its best.
July 2014: World Cup Fever…..not quite as Hot now!
Oh
yes, the World Cup continues. And it’s easy to tell the
fever up in the northern territories has subsided quite a
bit. But I have to say, it’s been quite a spectacle. The
television ratings have been high and it’s going to set a
record as the most watched sporting event in history. I’m
still picking Brazil to win it, in spite of losing their
star Neymar to a freak back injury, but it will be a lot
tougher. Argentina would be my choice to knock them off if
they just can’t recover their form after the big loss of
Neymar. The final match is this Sunday July 13th.
Great news as the Wild pulled off the
biggest signing of the NHL free agency period. Thomas
Vanek is another top line goal scorer and will help to
propel them further into the playoffs and hopefully into
the Stanley Cup finals. If the goalie situation works out
in a good way, I think I’ll be getting those season
tickets again.
Believe it or not in this cold and now rain
shortened summer, the Vikings open camp in just over 2
weeks! They report to Mankato for the 49th straight year
on July 24 with the first practice on July 25th. There are
so many open issues with the team it will be fun to see
how it unfolds. I can’t wait to see Teddy Bridgewater in
action. The first preseason game in TCF Bank stadium is
August 8th, so just 1 month away. Here’s a couple of links
to keep you informed of all things Vikings.
Vikings Fan Shop
Vikings Cheerleaders 2014-15
Most
golf fans (and all Tiger Woods fans) were rejoicing as
Tiger made his return a couple weeks ago from back
surgery. The PGA Tour misses Tiger in a big way, and even
though he missed the cut at Congressional, he’s a force
always no matter what he scores. Now he has his sights set
on The Open Championship at The Royal Liverpool Golf Club
at Hoylake, where he won 8 years ago. I think this time it
maybe optimistic for him to even make the cut as he needs
time to round into form. But Tiger can surprise us, so it
will make for a great mid-summer event and I can’t wait to
watch it.
The Twins just completed a great 4th of July
weekend at Target Field hosting the Yankees. And in spite
of losing 3 of 4 to the Bronx Bombers, the fans got their
money’s worth, as they generally do at Target Field. There
were fireworks on the 3rd of July following the game,
bobblehead promotions on the 4th and 5th and it was
military appreciation day on Sunday the 6th. They had two
separate flyovers on Sunday with vintage WWII airplanes
and a great flag promotion ceremony honoring Veterans in
all branches of the Armed Forces. They also had a nice
retirement for one of the great Yankees of all time Derek
Jeter who played his last regular season game on Sunday
and singled in his last at bat, plus had the assist on the
last out of the game in his final appearance here (until
the All-Star game that is). The Twins along with the Twin
Cities will get plenty of exposure with the 5 day All-star
festivities starting up on Friday and culminating with the
All-Star game on Tuesday the 15h. It will be a treat to
see, whether on TV or in person. And some of the coolest
things about going to a ball game aren’t whether they win
or lose, but the people you run into, or getting a foul
ball or watching your favorite player play right in front
of you, especially if it’s his retirement season like
Derek Jeter. Check out the picture of our nephew Sam’s
excitement over his game ball from Sunday’s game, or
running into Tony Oliva up in the Metropolitan Club. And
if I could take a picture of a Dollar Hot Dog from last
Wednesday’s game, you’d know why Doug likes those
Wednesday games the best!
June Sports Blog: World Cup Fever
The
world’s most widely viewed sporting event got underway
this week in Brazil amid riots, protests, music and oh
yeah, Game #1 in which Brazil beat underdog Croatia 3-1.
Brazil is one of the favorites in the tournament and
needed a favorable call by one of the refs to help them
get this win as they played even for quite a bit of the
match. This event is truly a world event with the final
game, which isn’t until July 13th, expected to draw nearly
a billion viewers on the worldwide telecast. Over the next
4 weeks there will be 64 games broadcast on ABC, ESPN and
ESPN2 combined so you can get all the soccer you want at
almost any time of the day. The United States plays first
this coming Monday at 6 pm versus Ghana, with their second
game coming up on June 22. The US squad isn’t expected to
advance beyond pool play, but upsets can happen and it
would be fun to see them advance to the quarterfinals. My
money is on the host team Brazil and a victory by the host
team would trigger a celebration like nothing we’ve
probably ever seen.
World Cup Song 2014
The Twins are still relevant as we get
within a month of the All-Star game. This weekend is a big
series at Detroit. I love the addition of Kendrys Morales
as he is a tough hard hitting player and has really
stepped into the line-up and provided the spark needed and
is a solid RBI man. I give the Twins management kudos for
going out and signing him as a signal that they are trying
to win this year. At least as many games as they can and
give the fans something to cheer about.
I was sure wrong about the Triple Crown
chances of California Chrome. No excuses in the Belmont,
he just got beat. It shows how tough it is to get that
elusive triple crown, which hasn’t been won since 1978.
Canterbury Park is off and running this year and the
excitement of the triple crown chase boosted the early
season crowds. It is a great place to spend an evening or
afternoon and the quality of the racing here is at the
highest level it’s been since the very early years of the
track.
June 2014 - It’s June So It Must Be Hockey Season…
While
it seems like forever ago the Wild finished up their
season losing to the Blackhawks, we’re now just getting to
the Stanley Cup Finals. The long season has left us with a
great matchup pitting the two major markets of New York
and LA in a classic finale. While the Kings just won the
Cup two years ago, it’s been 20 years since the Rangers
played for the Cup, winning it in 1994. The Kings have
already made history by winning all 3 of their best of
seven series’ so far in the 7th game and this one in
Overtime. Both teams have outstanding goaltenders and the
Kings now have the red hot Marion Gaborik going up against
his former team. The consensus is the Western Conference’s
best teams are better than those of the East and the Kings
have been established as the favorites. I think with the
way these playoffs are going, we’ll see another seven game
series. And I’ll pick the LA Kings to prevail. The puck
drops Wednesday night to start up the finals out at the
Staples Center in LA. If you’re looking for a reason to
cheer for the Rangers however, check out this story of
personal tragedy and perseverance on Dominic Moore of the
Rangers. It shows the struggles that even sports stars
have to go through and the truly human side that any of us
may experience in our lives. espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10938904
The
NBA finals start up on Thursday night with the San Antonio
Spurs hosting the Miami Heat in a rematch of last years
finals. The Spurs happen to be one of my favorite teams as
they consistently play at a high level without all the
typical fanfare of the superstars that rule the NBA. Miami
being the prime example of that with Lebron and Dwayne
Wade and company. It should be a great series and I think
San Antonio has something to prove after losing to the
Heat in the finals last year. I’m picking the Spurs, but
you can never underestimate King James, so it’s going to
be good.
The Twins are actually playing pretty decent
ball right now, coming off a nice win over the Brewers
last night. (although they have drifted to the bottom of
the central division standings they are respectable at
27-29). They return home tonight to face the Brew Crew at
home for two games now following the 2 in Milwaukee.
Tonight will be a great night to be out at Target Field on
Dollar Hot Dog night and I’m pretty sure a lot of fans
from across the river will be in town to partake in those
dogs. Along with a lot of beer as Brewer fans are known to
do.
Raise your hand if you can honestly say that
you knew the Minnesota Lynx are undefeated in the WNBA
through their first seven games. They again are quietly
putting together a great early season run, and continue to
show they are again the class of the league. They are on
the road for three games now before returning home to
Target Center to host Phoenix on June 15.
Finally,
horse racing history will be in the making Saturday, in
the Belmont Stakes. California Chrome, in my opinion,
will become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed
in 1978. Barring any freakish bad racing luck, Chrome
will get it done from post position 2. I can't wait to
watch this one!!
May 2014 - Wild Season Comes to
an End….
As everyone knows, the Wild were
bumped from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Blackhawks in
game 6 the other night. Like the rest of them, it was a
very winnable game and the Wild did us proud. They played
great hockey but just came up short as Chicago’s goalie
stopped nearly everything in sight in that game 6 matchup.
Next year is going to be very exciting. The Wild will be
looking to strengthen and deepen the roster again, and
rumors have them going after Thomas Vanek which would be a
great addition (former gopher). And if they can settle on
the top two goalies amongst the group of Backstrom,
Kuemper and Harding it could be a sweet run in the
playoffs. If all goes well, and we get lucky with injuries
(or lack thereof) I can see a spot in the finals next
year!
The Twins are actually hanging
in there better than I thought. They are currently sitting
at 19-20 after taking 2 out of 3 from the Red Sox, which I
loved to see. The bad news is Detroit is starting to pull
away in the Central already and we’re 6.5 games out of
first. Looks to me like we could be long gone from the
race by the time the All-Star extravaganza rolls into town
in mid-July. It’s also looking like another year of
declining attendance with the combination of cold and wet
early season weather and another 90 plus loss season. If
you haven’t been out to Target Field yet this season,
don’t worry, there will be plenty of cheap seats available
in August and September.
May 2014 - The Quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup continues!!
I didn’t want to go out and predict anything crazy like a
Wild win in their first round match-up with Colorado as I
was afraid to jinx them. But they came through in one
heckuva
7
game series that had everything a hockey fan could handle!
And to come out on top in the 7th game overtime
was just outstanding. I’ve always said that the NHL
playoffs are the most intense of any of the major sports.
Its edge of your seat stuff nearly 100% of the time! In
case you didn’t stay up for it, here’s a link to the
winning goal for the Wild in last night’s overtime game.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/257451951.html
Now
it’s on to the 2nd round and a match-up against
the defending champs the Chicago Blackhawks. The ‘hawks
started slowly in the playoffs falling behind 2 games to
nil against the tough St. Louis Blues. However they
stormed back winning 4 straight and are certainly a
formidable foe. Plus they finished up a few days early and
would seem to be well rested. They bounced the Wild out of
the first round of the playoffs in 5 games last year, but
I think the Wild are playing much better now and are a
team with more depth than we had last year also. A
question mark might be our goaltending as it looks like
Darcy Kuemper may be out with an injury as he was pulled
out late in the game. In which case we’d switch back to
Bryzgalov who played well down the stretch, but was yanked
out of the line-up early in the playoffs. That might be
our Achilles heel, as I believe the rest of the team can
skate with anyone. It’s going to be a great series and it
would be sweet revenge to knock off the Blackhawks. Game 1
is Friday night in Chicago. For more on the great
traditions and superstitions of the Stanley Cup, check out
the link below. GO WILD!!!
Traditions & Anecdotes Associated with the Stanley Cup
Don’t
Forget the Twins!! Hey, it is baseball season
for heavens sake. So let’s not forget about our Twins.
They are down at Target Field muddling through the 2nd
wettest April on record. And cold? Let’s just say it
hasn’t been the nicest weather for the home team. When
asked how his warm weather team might do in Minnesota,
Dodger manager (and former Yankee great) Don Mattingly
stated “it’s so #@!#@!#!! cold up here, how the @#$@#!!
do people live here! After sitting right about the .500
mark for the first month of the season, the home team was
swept by those warm weather boys in yesterday’s day/night
doubleheader and now sit at 12-14. That may be the closest
they get to .500 the rest of the year. The Twins up until
the recent couple of games have been scoring a lot of
runs, but they may have the worst pitching staff in all of
baseball. After another year like this, Ron Gardenhire may
be looking forward to his impending retirement. But I
won’t let that keep me from attending a sprinkling of
games down there, I’ll just wait till July when it’s
warmer. And don’t forget we have the All-Star game in July
also which is going to be a great experience. Go
Twins. Go Wild!!
April 2014 Sports Blog: Can’t Get Enough of Sports??
If you’re like me and can’t get enough
sports in a week or weekend, then you have to love this
time of year! It seems like everything is in season right
now. If you can’t find something to keep your DVR rolling
and your TV’s full, then you must not be a sports nut! I’m
still watching some of the events from last week……and
please don’t tell me how the Twins did yesterday, I’m
still not there yet!
Richard
Pitino and the Gopher hoopsters didn’t have the season
many would have hoped for, getting left out of the 68 team
field for the NCAA Tourney. But they are within reach of
the next best thing, winning the NIT Championship. They
are facing off against the SMU Mustangs tonight at Madison
Square Garden at 6 pm in the game carried on ESPN. It
won’t be an easy matchup as the Gophers go in as a 3 point
underdog. Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown has turned the
SMU program around in just a couple years and it would be
a sweet win for the Gophers to get this done. The NIT has
lost a lot of glamour since the NCAA Tourney has expanded
to 64++ teams, but playing in the Garden on national TV
still helps recruiting and the players gain valuable
experience going forward. Regardless of the outcome
tonight, it’s a nice stepping stone to continued
improvement next year.
And
don't be surprised if the Wisconsin Badgers win it all
this Final Four weekend in the NCAA Tourney! It would cap
off a great showing by the Big Ten.
And back
to the Twins, they lost the season opener in Chicago, and
will have played 6 road games before returning to the
Cities for the Home Opener against Oakland on Monday April
7. Of course, that’s assuming they have the snow cleared
out of Target Field following our latest winter blast
scheduled for this evening. Being honest, I’m not
expecting too much from the Twins this year, again feeling
that if they were to get close to being a .500 ball club,
that would be a great accomplishment. Most pre-season
forecasts I’ve read have them in the neighborhood of a 70
win and 90 loss season. My thought is that it could be
slightly better than that, but it could also be a season
that approaches 100 losses if we don’t get some semblance
of good pitching and a more potent offense than last year.
Either way, it will be fun seeing the crowd out at Target
Field for the home opener, a true springtime event.
On the hockey front, the Wild are still
sitting in the 7th spot in the West, as they have been for
about the last month. They are coming off back to back
solids wins against Phoenix and the LA Kings. Tonight they
face Chicago on the road again, and with only 6 games left
to play, every point we can get is important. We are 4
points up on Phoenix and Dallas in the standings and
barring a really terrible stretch finish, I’d still
anticipate us ending up in 7th.Right now that would mean a
first round matchup with Anaheim as they sit in the 2nd
spot in the West. The Wild’s newest additions are
contributing and the team is relatively healthy, so let’s
get there and see what happens. There’s nothing better
than NHL playoffs, especially if you get past that first
round.
We
can’t forget the Gopher hockey team either. After winning
the first ever regular season hockey title in the Big Ten,
they got bumped out early in the Conference championship
tournament. But they still received the number 1 overall
seed in the NCAA and responded by winning their two
regional games and now advance to next weekend’s NCAA
Final 4. A first-round matchup against North Dakota
(remember them?) awaits. The other two finalists are
Boston College and Union College from New York. It will be
great hockey and we are so desperately wanting to have a
National Championship back in the State of Hockey.
Finally
on the local front, the Midwest Nightmare Semi Pro
Football team is gearing up for its season opener May
10th. If you want good, hard hitting football played by
and for people that just love the game (nobody’s getting
rich out there), then check out the link below and make it
up to a game. They play out of Spring Lake Park and it’s
really fun and affordable sports entertainment for the
whole family. And I’m pretty sure you can tailgate right
on site for the home games!
http://www.midwestnightmare.com/
March 2014: Wolves and Wild and the Playoffs?
Okay, we should be excited that for the
first time in a decade that the Wolves are a .500 team at
the 60 game mark of the season. And are still a long shot
to make the playoffs. Are they going to do it, I’d guess
not. Right now at 30-30 they are 5 games behind the Dallas
Mavericks for the 8th spot. The schedule has them hosting
Detroit (tonight), then Toronto and Milwaukee over the
next 5 Days. So it’s not inconceivable that we’d be 32-31
with 19 games remaining. It’ll probably take 46 wins to
get in the playoffs and that would mean they’d have to go
14-5 for that last 19 game stretch. I don’t think that’s
going to happen. But on the positive side, Kevin Love
continues to play at a high level, consistently showing
he’s one of the top 10 players in the league. And
offensively we can hang with nearly anyone. What the team
lacks is any sort of defensive consistency. They gave up
118 points to the Knicks the other night, and that just
isn’t going to get it done if you want to be a playoff
contender. All in all there will be some good basketball
action down the stretch, but come April, we’ll be watching
the Twins and hopefully the Wild instead of the NBA
playoffs at Target Center.
On the hockey front, the Wild are now in the
7th spot in the West as they are in the post-Olympic
stretch run. I think they are solidly in the playoff
picture, whether or not it’s the 6th or 7th spot. The
downside of that is they’ll end up playing one of the very
top seeds in the West and that could be Anaheim, St. Louis
or possibly Chicago again in the first round. So it’s not
going to be easy. However we’re healthy and looking like a
playoff team so let’s see what happens. They say to be the
best, you have to beat the best, so whether you get the
top seed or the bottom seed, you have to beat them all.
Don’t
forget State High School hockey this weekend. 4 Twin
Cities school advanced to the 2A (big school) semifinals.
Edina, Eagan, Eden Prairie and Lakeville North make up the
final 4. Can someone please beat Edina??
February 4, 2014: Super Bowl Post-mortem
Okay, so the game did not go
exactly the way I had thought. I could say that my
computer was hacked into while I was out golfing in
Arizona and some non-sports computer geek hacker spat out
that last column predicting the Broncos and Peyton Manning
to prevail. But sadly that did not happen. Now I’m sitting
here eating crow and also a couple hundred bucks lighter
in the wallet. In the end, the more physical and
aggressive defensive minded Seahawks were just too much
for the Broncos. They made Peyton look like his brother
Eli this season. He was stumbling and bumbling all over
the place and hit as many Seattle guys for TD’s as his own
receivers. Seattle scored nearly every way possible. In
the air, on the ground, a kickoff return (Percy Harvin
actually played an entire game), an interception return
for a TD and a Safety. So unfortunately Peyton’s great
season (best ever regular season for a QB) will be
overshadowed by the ass kicking he received at the hands
of Seahawks. Oh well it’s over and onto the next year.
Seattle, being as young as they are, will be the early
favorite to return to the Super Bowl. But we know it’s not
that easy to get back there so I’ll leave them out of my
prediction. I’m picking the Packers to matchup against the
Colts next year when all is said and done. And I hope to
be in Arizona again, avoiding more Minnesota cold and
snow, and celebrating with all the cheese heads as they
make the trek down to the Super Bowl in the valley of the
sun. I can’t wait!!
January 31, 2014: Super Bowl Preview
Well the home team favorites did prevail in
the Conference Championships as I had expected setting up
a matchup of the top offense, the Denver Broncos and the
top defensive team, the Seattle Seahawks. Denver is about
a 2 point favorite right now, going against the recent
trend in Super Bowls which have had the more dominant
defensive teams prevailing. I’m going to pick Denver to
win the big match-up 27-16. I think Peyton Manning will
cap off the single most prolific season a QB has ever had
by leading the Broncos to victory and he’ll be named Super
Bowl MVP!
January 13, 2014: Winter
Sports Season is the best time of Year!
The
College Bowl season seems like a distant memory, but hats
off to the Florida State Seminoles for taking the top
prize this season in the final year of the often
controversial BCS Bowl scheme. Next year there will be a 4
team playoff system in place which is a step in the right
direction. But don’t expect the controversy to be over as
who’s to say who gets in the final 4 selection with all
the conference champions vying for the top spot. As a side
note, the football Gophers laid an egg in their bowl game
losing to an inferior Syracuse team. I expect them to
continue to improve next year and their goal should be to
finally achieve a .500 record in the Big Ten and a berth
in a much bigger name bowl where hopefully some fans will
actually attend.
In
the NFL we advance to the Conference Championships this
Sunday. This is probably as good of or better football as
the Super Bowl is, but without the multitude of
commercials/halftime hoopla which stretch that game to
nearly 4 hours. The four remaining teams are arguably the
best teams and present the most anticipated match-ups
(although if Aaron Rodgers hadn’t been knocked out for
most of the year, the Packers would likely be among the
remaining four). My preseason pick Denver hosts New
England in another epic Manning/Brady confrontation. And
in the NFC the powerful Seattle Seahawks host the 49ers.
I’ll stick with the home teams (both small favorites) but
expect them both to be outstanding games. The Brady/Belichick
combination is often money in the playoffs, especially as
an underdog and against Peyton Manning. And the 49ers have
the look of a wildcard team on a roll, so an upset in
either game would not surprise me. On another football
note the Vikes are now in the thick of a head coaching
search. And maybe they ought to find one who can play
Quarterback at the same time. I don’t think a new coaching
staff (which may help in the long run) will get them back
o the playoffs in the short run without solving the QB
situation. So look for some draft position jockeying or
free agent signing to get back to being competitive in the
Division.
The Wild are in the midst of an
up and down season. However by winning 4 of their last 5
games they’ve moved up into the 8th spot in the
Western Conference. The injury bug has plagued them again
as they’ve found themselves playing without several of
their stars (Parise, Koivu, Backstrom among others) for at
least parts of the season. With the Olympics approaching
everyone should get a chance to get healthy and ready to
make a playoff run. I’d be disappointed if the Wild
weren’t in the top 8 at the end of the regular season. And
coach Yeo would be out of a job too!
The Wolves are somewhat muddling
along, a couple spots out of the top 8 in the Conference
at this time. And that’s in spite of Kevin Love having an
all-star season. I’ve always said that the first step back
to the playoffs is to become a .500 team. Then we can talk
about the playoffs. They are in reach, but you have to
beat the lousy teams, and then step it up, play intensely
on defense and then start beating some of the teams above
you in the standings. Time will tell and we’ll see if they
can make that leap forward as it’s been way too long since
we’ve had the NBA playoffs at the Target Center. And it
would give us something to do in the spring in Minneapolis
along with watching the Twins start out on another 90++
loss season.
And
in case you missed it, check out this basketball shot that
a 13 year-old boy in Winona, MN made this past weekend to
win the game. It’s pretty amazing and then he did it again
for the news guy on the first attempt!! Brings back a
highlight shot I made as a 6th Grader at St.
Mary’s Catholic school in gym class. I turned and threw a
baseball type shot from the opposite end free throw line.
It banked so hard off the back board, as it went in, that
it ripped off the net from the hoop! But my reward was a trip to the principal’s office (Sister
Theresa) and an hour detention that night after school.
You see, we were supposed to be picking up the basketballs
at the end of gym class so what I did was considered to be
screwing around and damaging school property. My best shot
ever!!
Winona basketball player, 13, makes miracle shot – then
repeats it
December 27, 2013 Gophers go Bowling and
the Dome is coming down!
The Golden Gophers kickoff today at 5 pm on
ESPN in the Texas Bowl in Houston trying to make it a
9-win season. That’s only been accomplished once before in
over 100 years of Gopher football! That would be a nice
way to end up what can already
be
called a very good season, especially considering what
Coach Kill has been going through trying to get his
illness and seizures under control. They play Syracuse, a
team they beat earlier in the year and I think with the
improvement the Gophs have shown during the year they will
get that 9th win. I’m predicting they win by a touchdown
or more. On a side note, they played in that same bowl
last year and lost to Texas Tech to finish up at 6-7, so
we’re assured of bettering last year’s win/loss record
already.
And down at the Mall of America Dome this
Sunday the Vikings put the finishing touches on what’s
been another unpredictable and frustrating season. They
host Detroit who’s already been eliminated from the
playoffs and likely will show even less motivation to win
than they’ve been showing down the stretch. They blew a
division lead and playoff shot by losing 5 of their last 6
games. With a lot of high priced talent on both sides of
the ball, they must be as frustrating to be a fan of as
are the Vikings. The Vikings seem to win games when it
means little or nothing, so I’m guessing they knock off
the Lions in the farewell game at the Dome. This will
further worsen their draft status but that generally is
the way the Vikes roll. The Vikings find themselves in the
same mode they’ve been in for years now, still trying to
find out who the Quarterback is going to be for the
future. Certainly not Christian Ponder, and it seems like
they’ve given up on the Josh Freeman experiment….but maybe
not as he will be a free agent. They could use a top draft
pick for another shot at a
young
QB, or they may be in the free agent market again as guys
like Jay Cutler, Michael Vick, Chad Henne, Kirk Cousins
and Matt Schaub are out on the market. They’re scheduled
to begin deflating the dome shortly after the conclusion
of Sunday’s affair, and begin the 2 year project to
construct the new stadium. Tickets for the final game are
going at a premium. But it seems to me that there haven’t
really been that many great football moments there, so
maybe a lot of Twins fans will be in attendance
remembering the main highlights in the Dome…the 1987 and
1991 World Series victories!! I guess a piece of metrodome
turf would still be a cool thing to hang on the wall, so
Nick if you read this first, rip off a chunk of it for me
too while you’re down there!
And
if you want to watch a meaningful game on Sunday, check
out the oldest NFL rivalry as the Packers visit the Bears
for all the marbles. The winner gets the Division title
and a playoff berth. This should be a great game. The
kickoff is 3:25 pm on FOX as the late afternoon’s national
broadcast game. Go Pack Go.
11/22/2013 - Border Battle Weekend Looms!!
So
far my NFL predictions are still holding up. I picked the
Saints and Broncos as the Super Bowl opponents, and they
both are right near the top of the standings and power
rankings. I thought the best the Vikings might manage this
year was 8-8, and now it’s appearing that possibly 4-12
could be the most they could aspire to. The bottom seems
to have dropped out, the quarterback situation is even
messier than it was, the defense pretty much stinks and
their only superstar Adrian Peterson is bothered by a
lingering groin injury. The Vikes travel to Green Bay this
weekend and a win over the Packers would certainly be a
feather in their caps, and give the fans some ray of hope.
(although the prospect of the #1 draft choice might be
more meaningful) The Pack will be without Aaron Rodgers
again, and so far their back-up QB hasn’t played much
better than Christian Ponder. The Pack is favored by 4
points on Sunday, and I think with both teams lacking a
solid play caller, it should be a close and possibly
entertaining game. AP typically has some of his best games
against Green Bay and he’s always worth watching.
The
Golden Gophers host the Wisconsin Badgers in what is the
biggest game yet at TCF Bank Stadium. And probably the
most important game the Gophers have played in over a
decade. Both teams sit at 8-2 overall and the Gophers are
already assured of a pretty nice Bowl bid. They are
projected now as a Gator Bowl combatant on January 1 in
Jacksonville.
And
it could get better if they can pull off another win,
either over Wisconsin or Michigan State in the season
finale. All in all, a really nice surprise to the positive
side this year in spite of the coaching uncertainty as
Coach Kill deals with his own personal health issues. It
seems to be working with him upstairs in the booth and his
assistants handling the field duties on game day. Let’s
hope it continues tomorrow at the BANK in the nationally
televised match-up starting at 2:30 pm on ESPN.
10/11/13
- Lynx World Champs!! And the Vike’s aren’t just Joshing
around anymore!
I
said the Vikings might not make it to the 8-8 mark but did
predict they would beat the Steelers in London heading
into their bye week, which they did. With the injury to
Christian Ponder looming over them and Matt Cassel looking
pretty decent in that win, they surprised everyone and
went out and signed the newly released QB Josh Freeman.
He’s a big and athletic quarterback who’s shown some
flashes of brilliance in his short career and just might
be the franchise QB they’ve been looking for. As of this
moment, Coach Frazier hasn’t officially named the starter
for this week’s game against Carolina at the Dome. However
it seems the consensus is he’ll go with Cassel coming off
the win, and then migrate to Freeman as some point very
soon. I don’t think they spent the money to have him be
the back-up, and that should relegate Cassel to the role
he was originally signed for. Where does that leave
Ponder? That’s a good question and he’s actually been
medically cleared now to practice but it would seem he’s
#3 in the pecking order for sure. How things can change in
a mere two weeks. I think there’s going to be a lot of
excitement at the dome this Sunday and lots of fans will
be jumping right back on that bandwagon. I’m picking the
Vikings to show more improvement and innovation on the
offensive side of the ball and come away with win # 2
against the Panthers. (of course it does require the
defense to show up and hold Cam Newton in check which I
think they can do as well.)
Congratulations
to the Lynx who won their second WNBA Championship in
three seasons with a 3 game sweep of Atlanta in the
finals. It was another dominating season and playoff run
that ended nicely for the Lynx. The fans seem to be really
taking to this team as the home playoff attendance was
strong and it was fun to see national ESPN coverage of the
home team. There will be a championship parade in downtown
Minneapolis on Monday to honor them. And of course I can’t
help wondering how long it might be before we get another
Twins parade? Or maybe a Vikings parade? Or Wolves parade?
Or Wild parade? Well, let’s just be thankful we have the
LYNX!!
9/26/13
- Vikings in a free fall? Lynx in the Playoffs!
I
may have to lower my forecast of 8-8 for the Vikings this
year unless they start kicking it in gear a bit. This week
they travel to London to play the Steelers in what is now
a match-up of 0-3 teams. Thankfully the Brits are just
happy to have an NFL game played in Wembley Stadium, as
they sold out both games that London is hosting this
season in a couple of hours. (In a few weeks, the 49rs and
Jacksonville Jaguars play there as well). The NFL is
eyeing international expansion and the possibility of
London hosting a Super Bowl has been talked about also. My
guess is there will be less booing of the Vikings over
there, than if the game were played at Mall of America
field. QB Christian Ponder has been taking a lot of the
heat for the 0-3 start, and there’s a chance that with
sore ribs, Matt Cassel may get the nod this week. I can’t
really say if that’s a good thing or not. Ponder hasn’t
exactly impressed with his passing nor his command of the
game, but in reality the Vikes have averaged 27 points a
game so far. However, they have given up 32 points a game
on defense. Only the Giants and Redskins have allowed more
points so far this season. So the blame certainly can be
put on both sides of the ball. With a couple of defensive
stands and avoiding just a couple of lapses, they would be
2-1 right now. But in the end, it’s only the final score
that matters, and those last minute losses can be the
difference between making the playoffs or sitting home in
January watching them on TV. That being said, my money is
on a breakout game for the Purple and betting they will be
savoring a victory over the hapless Steelers on the long
plane ride home.
And
on a winning note, the Lynx head into the Western
Conference finals tonight at Target Center against
Phoenix. They finished off another strong season, a first
round playoff sweep and look like they’ll be very tough to
beat moving into this round and in the Finals as well.
Hat’s off to the Lynx for bringing championship level pro
sports back to the Twin Cities again!
8/29/13
- Deacon’s Lodge Surpasses Expectations!!
As
I mentioned last week I was excited to be heading up north
with the opportunity to play a round of golf at Deacon’s
Lodge. It’s now the crown jewel in the Breezy Point
collection of golf courses. And the experience did not
disappoint. From the drive back to the secluded northwoods
style clubhouse, to the attentive staff, the great
practice facilities and then ultimately the
amazing
course, it was outstanding. I thought the course was very
fair and would provide a great test for the low
handicappers, and with the array of tee boxes, would also
make for a fun afternoon of golf for the more casual
resort golfers. There’s ample room off the tee, albeit
several forced carries and a few that you can’t miss by
too much, and the large greens make for good targets if
you can avoid the myriad of sand bunkers. I won’t say what
I shot on the back as lost a few balls in the rough and
the marsh, but I did card a 38 on the front side. I might
have jinxed myself when I sent a text to my good friend
Doug that I had managed to play the entire front nine
without losing a ball….then proceeded to lose 2 in the
next 3 holes! But all in all, a great experience.
http://breezypointresort.com/brainerd-golf-courses/
And
speaking of football (nice segue, eh?), has anyone learned
anything at all about the Vikings yet through the first 3
pre-season games? I haven’t at all. And in tonight’s final
tune-up, none of the starters are expected to even be on
the field. I’d call it a crapshoot from what I’ve seen,
and my forecast for them has got to be right about an 8-8
team unless Adrian Peterson can carry the whole lot of
them on his strong shoulders. Ponder had probably 1 drive
in the entire pre-season where he looked like a mid-range
NFL quarterback. Otherwise the whole offense hasn’t shown
much of anything thus far. But we all know it only matters
come Sunday the 8th when they tee it up at
Detroit. And they get the Browns at home in the 2nd
week so all is not lost if they can end up even after 2
weeks.
8/16/2013 - Pre-season
Football
The
Vikings travel to Buffalo for their 2nd
pre-season game tonight. This one should give a little
better indication of what the fans can expect this year
from the team. Christian Ponder is expected to play at
least for a few series on offense. The Vikings would
appear to be solid in the back-up QB position with Matt
Cassel who looked pretty decent last week. But this could
be the make or break year for Ponder in his quest to be
the full-time starting QB for the Vikings. The Vikes have
pretty much improved across the board with free agent
signings and draft picks, so a lot of what happens this
year will depend on Ponder’s progression. We’ll find out
if they can build on the 10-6 season that got them into
the playoffs, or flounder without a top-flight passing
game. And of course if that happens, then the load will
again fall on the sturdy shoulders of Adrian Peterson.
He’s said he could run for 2,500 yards this year, and if
anyone can do it, he’d be the choice. AP has been said to
be unlikely to play tonight, perhaps leaving his main
warm-up preseason game for next week’s nationally
televised game with the 49rs.
My picking
hasn’t been very hot lately (i.e. Tiger to win the PGA),
but regardless now’s the time to throw out my NFL picks
for the 2013 season. I’m going with the New Orleans Saints
to get back to the Super Bowl and come out on top over the
Denver Broncos. The Saints get their coach back, return
everyone on offense and have made several defensive
additions. And no one will put up more points than the
Drew Brees led offense. On the other side, Denver looks to
be the most explosive offense in the AFC with the addition
of Wes Welker. And Peyton Manning desperately wants to get
back to the big game, and this year I think they can do
it.
A
highlight of the summer is always our trip up north.
This year I’m going to have the pleasure of getting out on
the Deacon’s Lodge course and I am really looking forward
to it. It is always ranked as one of the very top courses
in the state, and it’s now under the ownership and
operation of Breezy Point Resort. I’ll make sure to take
plenty of pictures and post a review of all of the golf
action up north following that outing.
http://breezypointresort.com/brainerd-golf-courses/.
8/8/13 - Little League and
the PGA Championship
We’ve got 2 opposite ends
of the spectrum in the spotlight over this coming weekend.
First there is the PGA Championship (which is already
underway), the final major championship of the golf
season. It features the strongest field in golf and the
stakes are millions of dollars in prize money and all the
endorsements and glory that come with winning a Major. On
the other end of the spectrum, the Little League Regional
Finals wind up as we have the country’s best 11 and 12
year old teams competing to get into the penultimate
showdown, the Little League World Series in South
Williamsport, Va. There is no prize money at stake or huge
endorsement contracts. It’s sports in its purest form,
even if you aren’t a huge baseball fan.
The
field is loaded with so many talented golfers playing at
the PGA Championship at Rochester, NY’s storied Oak Hill
Country Club. The betting favorite is Tiger Woods, and
he’s my pick to win it also. He’s been waiting since 2008
to take down his 15th Major as he tries to
overtake Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major titles. With
this deeply talented field, and with so many other players
also playing well at this time, it will be no small feat
if he wins this one. And I think it will get even tougher
as the years go by for him to get those Majors because the
talent in the PGA is the best it has ever been. There are
nearly 30 hours of coverage this weekend between TNT and
CBS, so be sure to tune in Sunday to see who brings home
the Wanamaker Trophy. This could be one of the best
finishes of the year. A Tiger-Phil showdown on Sunday
would be awesome!
I
always find time to take in some of the ESPN broadcast of
the Little League World Series. I know folks who head out
east every year to see it in person and tell me it’s one
of their favorite sporting events of all. This year’s
Little League action is even more exciting as a team made
up of Coon Rapids and Andover 11 and 12 year olds have
advanced to the Midwest Regional finals in Indianapolis.
That game is tomorrow at 11 am and will be on ESPN. I
watched their semi-final game yesterday and believe me
this team is good. They’re like a young version of the
Bronx Bombers and have outscored their opponents something
like 71 to 10 thus far in the Regional Tournament. The
final game pits them against Urbandale, Iowa and is worth
watching for sure. It’s also very impressive to see how
well they handle themselves, how well-coached they are and
the great sportsmanship that is shown all through the
Little League event. (some might say in contrast to what
we regularly see from the professional sports teams) The
winner tomorrow advances to the Little League World Series
which takes place from August 15 to the 25th.
It consists of 8 Regional winners from the United States,
along with 8 World Regional representative teams and is
truly a classic event. Watch and cheer for the local boys
tomorrow and check out the link for all the LLWS news and
updates.
http://www.littleleague.org/worldseries/
Team members (pictured here) include (front
row) Wil Goodin, Brett Eagles, Lucas McCain, Jon Koenig,
Luke Medved, Nick Dainty; (middle row) Braden Farley,
Nolan Belschner, Luke Backowski, Isiah Petrusson, Matthew
Brodeur, Carsen Syke, Jackson Bates; (back row) Coach Mike
Koenig, Coach Rob Belschner, Coach Marc Backowski; and
(not pictured) Coach Ray Brodeur.
8/2/13 Football already?
Can you
believe it, there’s an NFL pre-season game on this
weekend! Sunday night to be exact featuring Dallas and
Miami. It’s the annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio
and the official start to another big NFL season. The game
is actually somewhat secondary to all the Hall of Fame
hoopla. One of the highlights of the weekend will be the
induction of former Vikings’ great, Chris Carter into the
Hall. There should be a large contingent of purple fans
down in Canton and that will add to the excitement. The
actual induction ceremony is Saturday night and is carried
live on ESPN2 at 6 o’clock. The inductees will also be
introduced on the field prior to the start of the game and
it’s a chance to see many former Hall of Famers also. A
great weekend for the football diehards who’ve been
waiting since February for the kickoff of the 2013 season.
Next weekend there will be a full slate of pre-season
games. The Vikings host the Texans at the Metrodome next
Friday night. And of course, this will be the last season
in the dome before it gets demolished and they move to
their temporary TCF Bank Stadium digs for a couple of
years.
There’s
great golf in the Twin Cities this weekend with the
Champions Tour making the annual visit to the TPC in
Blaine. It’s a first rate event on their Tour featuring
most of the top money winners including Kenny Perry,
winner of the Senior Players Championship and Senior U.S.
Open. Also many favorites and past winners including Tom
Lehman, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Jay Haas and first timer
Rocco Mediate. And as the tournament organizers always
manage
to do, they’ve gotten Arnold Palmer to come out and play
in the special “event within the event” and this will also
feature Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley.
Check out the link below for more information on the
Greats of Golf and make note, this event is FREE to the
general public including parking. You can’t beat that! And
if you’re walking down the 16th Fairway make
sure to wave to our good friends Jeff and Marje who will
likely be out on their deck with a cold drink enjoying the
sights from across their pond.
http://www.3mchampionship.com/Players/GreatsofGolf.aspx
I
won’t even dwell on how lousy the Twins have been playing.
The Star Tribune pretty much roasted them today so enough
of that. The short story is they are 45-60, the exact same
record they had at this point last season. And that’s just
not going to inspire the fans to stick with them down the
stretch I’m afraid. Twins management resisted the urge to
do any dumping of talent for prospects as the July 31
deadline passed. But the facts are we’ve got a lot of guys
that just aren’t performing up to major league standards.
I still say it’s worth it to get out and watch Joe Mauer
as I’ll stop what I’m doing to see him bat. But the rest
of them, not so much! As my good buddy Doug said the other
night after attending the Wednesday night game, the $1 hot
dogs and the great view of the city skyline still make for
an enjoyable evening at Target Field.
7/17/13 - All-Star
Classic and golf at Pebble Creek
If you
didn’t catch the MLB All-Star game last night, it really
was a great show put on by Major League baseball. The
American League prevailed over the senior circuit 3-0.
It’s truly the one all-star contest of all the major
sports where both sides play it to win. The incentive is
also sweetened with the winning side being the host and
getting home field advantage in the World Series. The
Twins were represented by Joe Mauer who got the start at
catcher and went 1 for 2 at the plate. Glen Perkins was
also on the AL roster and while he did warm-up in the
bullpen very late in the game, he did not get to take the
mound. What was probably more notable is that there were 8
former Twins on the American League squad! That’s pretty
amazing and one can only wonder if we had managed to even
hang onto half of them what these last few years might
have been like. But nowadays players are always changing
teams, and it often takes that change of scenery to get a
player motivated or performing at a higher level again.
And money dictated many of those player moves with other
teams just plain outbidding the Twins for stars like Tori
Hunter and Joe Nathan. The highlight for me and many
others watching was the tribute to Mariano Rivera who is
in his last season before retiring as the greatest closer
of all time. He also was awarded the MVP trophy for the
game after pitching a scoreless 8th inning. And
it was of course a great preview of the excitement to come
next year when we host the All-Star game at Target Field.
I heard an estimate of $75 million economic benefit by
getting that to come to Minneapolis, which is pretty
awesome for the Twin Cities! I’m really looking forward to
that game as it’s been 29 years since we hosted that event
at the Metrodome.
And
speaking of summer classics, I along with several of my
good friends had the opportunity to play golf up at Pebble
Creek just north of Becker, MN last weekend. And this
course is truly worth the short drive up either Highway 10
or I-94. It a mere 45 minutes right to the clubhouse from
Maple Grove. The course was in absolute great shape, and
that’s even considering all the rain and crazy weather
we’ve had. They’ve got their main 18 hole Championship
course which we played and it is a very fun test of golf.
It has plenty of hazards, some ponds and creeks throughout
and also several of the nicest Par 3’s around. They also
have the “Local 9” just across the street, which is plenty
of challenge and is also well maintained for family
outings or golfing with the kids. Check out the link below
for all the info on this great course. And since I’m
always interested in the food, their hot dogs are top
notch also!
http://www.pebblecreekgolf.com/coursetour/
7/2/13
- 4th of July Fireworks!!!
Nothing says summertime better than baseball, soccer and
fireworks!!
For a brief few weeks
(before Vikings training camp opens on July 26), there is
a break in the action. The NBA (Heat) and NHL (Blackhawks)
are finally through their seasons. Both were filled with
excitement and suspense, but it’s nice also to have a more
leisurely pace to enjoy some of the great summer
attractions in the area. I get to give the remote control
and DVR a break for a while!
The
Twins are still hanging in there, in 4th place
and just 6 and ½ games behind Division leading Cleveland
in the AL Central. And surprisingly, the Yanks (coming off
the come from behind thrashing of the Twins) are 6 behind
in the AL East and also in 4th place. This
should be a big draw week attendance wise with the Yankees
in town through the 4th of July. And there seem
to be plenty of tickets available if you can get out there
with one of the main attractions being fireworks after the
game on the 3rd. I’ve been there for fireworks
night before, and there’s no better place to watch them
with the backdrop being the Minneapolis skyline. Let’s
hope the Twins bats can provide some of their own
firepower this week and maybe take a couple games off the
struggling Yankees. We’ll likely see rookie Kyle Gibson
make his second start as a Twin on the 4th
also. He’s one of the future stars we’re counting on and
had a great debut last Saturday against the Royals.
There
won’t be any place better to enjoy top-level soccer than
at the Blaine National Sports Center as our own Minnesota
United FC host the Atlanta Silverbacks in a primetime NASL
match-up on the 4th of July. Fireworks to
follow the game! The United are coming off a tough loss up
in Edmonton over the weekend, so will have plenty of
incentive to come out with a vengeance on Thursday. Check
out the link below for the coming match. And tickets
start at just $8 for youth general admission.
http://mnunitedfc.com/
6/19/2013 - Finally the
NBA Finals are worth watching!
The
Spurs and Heat had to get to the 6th game
before they had any drama at all. Unless you call seeing
which celebrities were showing up in Miami for hoops, any
sort of drama. And ever since Tony Parker and Eva Longoria
called it quits, there aren’t any celebs in San Antonio to
speak of. (Still think Tony messed up on that one!). The
average margin of victory since San Antonio opened the
series in Miami with a 4 point upset, has been just over
20 points. And last night the Spurs jumped all over Miami
with Tim Duncan leading the way and took a 10 point lead
into the 4th quarter looking to take home the
crown. But King James took over in the 4th and
Miami eventually took the lead, only to lose it again late
in the 4th quarter. Former Celtics star Ray
Allen dropped an amazing 3 pointer with about 5 seconds
left to send the game to overtime. The game remained up
for grabs till the end, but Miami prevailed with some
serious thuggery on defense. So the NBA gets a game 7
Thursday night in Miami, which is exactly what the TV and
NBA executives were hoping for. This should be a good one,
and here’s hoping the Spurs can pull it off. As my friend
Doug says, this one should be another barnburner!
Meanwhile
in the NHL, the Stanley Cup finals are underway with the
Boston Bruins up 2 games to 1. The series started out with
a 3 Overtime thriller and it’s been played as a pretty
high level in all 3 games. Tonight’s game 4 is in Boston
and the Bruins are on a roll with back-to-back stifling
defensive games and look to be in the drivers seat. After
upsetting the Penguins (my pick to win it all) in the East
Finals, they just look too strong, especially on defense.
The Blackhawks have just 1 goal in the last 2 games and
with Marian Hossa potentially slowed up with a minor
injury, which might not bode well for the Hawks. Game 5
does return to Chicago on Saturday so a couple days off
might just be what is needed to get the Hawks back on
track.
5/24/13 - Spring Sports
Update
There’s been a lot of time to watch sports with all the
rainy weather lately. But it comes at a great time with
the NHL and NBA playoffs in full swing. The intensity is
so high now compared to some of the meaningless games
played in mid-season. And compared to watching the Twins,
the intensity is off the charts!
In
the NHL conference semi-finals the Penguins and Bruins in
the East look to wrap up their series’ and advance to the
East finals. Both have looked very good and should
advance. In the West the Detroit Red Wings are giving a
surprising thrashing to the mighty Blackhawks, and are
just a game away from moving on to the West Finals. It’s
hard to believe the team that pretty handily had the best
regular season record, and then knocked our Wild out of
the first round are on the brink of elimination. And the
LA Kings are up 3-2 over San Jose as they try to get back
to the West Finals. I’ll pick the Penguins to win the Cup
this year, and take on either Detroit or L.A. in what
looks to be a tough match-up in the West for a berth in
the Stanley Cup finals. The playoff games have been great
and I look forward to the Wild making a strong run next
year as the team grows in confidence and experience.
Speaking
of the Twins, they are mired in a 9 game losing streak!!
Damn, and I don’t think it’s going to get much better.
They hung around .500 for about as long as the makeshift
pitching staff was going to hold up. Oh well, as I’ve said
before Target Field is still one of the best places to
spend a summer afternoon or evening and did I mention the
food??? It’s the best of all stadium venues I’ve ever been
to. So don’t forget to check out the list
of
all the great concessions. I feel like I’ve plugged the
food enough I should be a part-owner in a food kiosk
there. But you have to have something to look forward to
when your team threatens to lose near 100 games in a
season again.
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/information/index.jsp?content=concessions
And
finally, the Vikings made another big splash with the
unveiling of what will be the first clear glass roofed
venue in all of major sports. The drawings sure do look
great and it will be fun to watch construction get under
way following the upcoming and final season in the Dome.
Less than 2 months to training camp!
4/26/2013 - Springtime in Minnesota…It’s Finally Here!!
The
Twins have had 10 home dates so far, and only once has the
high temperature reported on any of those days exceeded 50
degrees! The average high for those 10 dates has been 42
degrees, but game time temperatures have been more often
in the 30’s with wind chills, rain and light snow flurries
often the norm. But I’m not complaining as the Twins have
managed to play to a 9-9 record and are within striking
distance of the division lead. Now this weekend we’ve
turned the corner. With a beautiful weekend ahead, the
remaining 3 games with the Rangers will give everyone a
chance to really enjoy Target Field again. I think it’ll
take Gardy’s best managing job ever to be able to finish
.500 for the season. But at the same time, it’s evident
we’ve got a lot of good young talent that should continue
to improve and hopefully impress. So maybe next year we
can get back to the playoffs? Plus you cannot get tired of
watching Joe Mauer and that sweet stroke. I could see
another batting title on the horizon for him if he stays
healthy, and the hitters behind him can protect him a bit
so he’s getting good pitches to hit. And as any good fan
knows, Target Field is loaded with great
food
choices and if you can’t enjoy a good game, you can enjoy
some first class ballpark fare. The link below shows all
the concession choices at the ball park, and believe me
there are plenty to choose from.
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/information/index.jsp?content=concessions
The
Wild still haven’t locked up a playoff spot. They host
Edmonton tonight and finish up at Colorado tomorrow night.
Basically a win gets us in the playoffs. But the reward
for getting that 8th and final spot in the
Western Conference is a matchup with the Chicago
Blackhawks, arguably the best team in hockey. We’re the
only team in the top 8 in the West now that have played
under .500 their last 10 games, so it’s not like we’ll be
going in to the playoffs on a roll or anything. The Wild
just haven’t shown the consistency that makes me think
they can put together a run through the playoffs,
especially as a low seed playing the best teams with the
travel involved as a road underdog. But there is hope!
Last year’s champs, the L.A. Kings won it all as a #8
seed, so you never know.
And
finally, the Vikings made a big splash at the NFL draft
last night. Shrewdly moving up to get their 3rd
first round pick and snagging a wide receiver with a big
upside. They strengthened the defense as predicted and all
3 choices have a chance to be impact players in the very
short term. So the future is looking bright as they get
ready to play their last season in the Dome, before
spending a couple of seasons at TCF Bank stadiums. And
then ultimately into the new stadium for the 2016 season.
That of course dependent on those darn electronic pull-tab
sales, which I never see anyone playing.
3/29/13
- Sports Galore this Easter Weekend
Make sure and find time to shop for your ham and Easter
Lilies early, then hide the Easter baskets, and set the
DVR’s to cover you while your at Easter Service. Because
this is a non-stop sports weekend! It doesn’t get any
better!!
The
Gopher men’s hockey team head into the NCAA tournament
playing Yale today. A win means a likely match-up in the
West region finals with North Dakota on Saturday. After
getting knocked off in the WCHA tourney I look for the
Gophers to be rested and ready and anticipate them making
the Final Four in 2 weeks out in Pittsburg. It would be a
real treat to bring home the NCAA championship trophy,
especially on the heels of the Women’s team accomplishing
that same feat last weekend!
As
for NCAA hoops, it’s turning into a wide-open tournament
with a couple of the #1 Seeds already gone. And of course
the Gophers managed their token win after sneaking in the
back door to the Big Dance. It wasn’t enough to save Tubby
from getting the axe, so now we head into another
basketball rebuilding era
(sounds
like a broken record in this state with the Gophers and
Wolves). A couple of the really hot college coaching
prospects have already chosen to pass on the Gophers’
opening so the search is on for a successor. Tubby was
last seen packing up his office and his nearly $3.0
million buyout/severance package, grabbing his golf clubs
and heading to someplace undoubtedly warmer than Minnesota
in March.
And
speaking of warm weather, the Twins are set to open Monday
April 1 with a forecast high in the low to mid-30’s! No
worries, local establishments have some great warm-up
drinks on tap so check these out.
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/dining/200481221.html
And
what do Twins fans really care about?? It’s the food!
Check out some of the new taste treats that will be
featured at Target Field this year. I guess we have to
have something to take our mind off of mundane
things….like wins and losses. The Twins would appear to be
not much better than last year with a revamped pitching
staff and new players all over the field. So we can have
fun watching Mauer, Morneau and Willingham, plus eat and
drink like we’re out on the town! Enjoy!!
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/200437271.html
3/8/13 - All Hockey all
the Time!!
A
huge weekend of hockey is already in high gear as one of
the biggest and best High School Tournaments in the
country is going on down at the X in St. Paul, with some
games also played at Mariucci at the U. The two-class
tourney is the biggest draw of any of the sports
championships at the high school level in our state. We
get a great preview of many of the kids that will go on to
play college hockey at various levels, and a chance to
watch several that will end up in the pro’s as well. The
opening rounds on Wednesday(1A), and Thursday(2A) featured
a couple of close games and several blowouts as the 4 top
seeds advanced in each class. This afternoon and tonight
is when it really gets intense. The Class 1A favorite and
#1 seeded St. Thomas Academy looking to defends it’s
title, goes up against a tough East Grand Forks team. And
the night’s feature game pits the #1 seed Hill Murray
against Wayzata in 2A. Being the favorite bettor that I
am, I’ll go with the top seeds to win it all this year.
But all the games are worth watching as a hot goalie and a
couple of lucky bounces of the puck can turn a game around
in a hurry.
The
Lady Gophers host the WCHA Final Face-Off this weekend and
are solid favorites as they cruised through last weekend’s
opening playoff games with a pretty easy sweep of Bemidji
State. The Gophers host Ohio State tonight in the first
semi-final game with North Dakota and Wisconsin squaring
off in the second Semi-final.
The
finals are Saturday 7 pm at Ridder Arena at the U. Win or
lose the Gophers should get the #1 seed into the NCAA
championships as they seek to defend their crown and keep
their unbelievable winning streak going.
On the Men’s hockey side
of things, the Gophers head into the final regular season
weekend of WCHA action facing Bemidji state on the road
for two games. The standings now have St. Cloud State in
the top spot with 35 points, and the Gophers and North
Dakota sit right behind with 33 points. There are 3 other
teams within 3 points of the Gophers in the standings. So
it’s a critical weekend, not only playing with the regular
season championship on the line, but also as far as
seedings go heading into the WCHA Conference tourney.
Hockey
fans at every level will get their fill this weekend. I
count 10 games televised over the weekend starting with
this afternoon’s high school games, and ending with the
Wild hosting Vancouver on Sunday night. And those 10 games
are just our Minnesota teams (Wild, Gophers and State
Tourney). Throw in 5 or 6 nationally televised NHL games
depending on which sports package you have at home, and
the puck fans should be really satisfied by the time the
Wild game wraps up Sunday night. As for me, I’ll watch as
much as I can, but by Monday I’ll be looking forward to
sitting back and listening to the Twins spring training
game from Fort Meyers. The season opener at Target Field
is only 24 days away!
2/27/13
- Gophers Upset # 1 Indiana
The
U of M Gopher men’s basketball team pulled off a wild
upset of the #1 ranked Indiana Hoosiers Tuesday night on
a nationally televised ESPN game. The crowd at Williams
Arena showed up ready to run Tubby and his boys out of
town, and instead it turned into a magical night! The
Gophers were the more physical team with Trevor Mbakwe
leading the way inside. They definitely out-muscled the
Hoosiers. This game certainly helps to overshadow the
lackluster play of the last few weeks, and almost
guarantees them a spot in the NCAA Tourney. Getting a win
over Penn State to finish out the season would be nice and
would result in a .500 finish in the Big Ten standings,
which I said from the beginning would make for a
respectable year. They just need to keep their focus and
then a nice run in the Big Ten Tourney and even the NCAA’s
is not out of the question. And as a side note, the last
time the Gophers recorded an upset of a #1 ranked team was
back in 1989 over then #1 and unbeaten Illinois at
Williams Arena. And I was at that game, along with a few
of my closest friends! And if I recall, there may have
been a few lemon drops consumed in celebration of that
victory! If you want to read more and see some footage of
last night’s performance, check out the link below.
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=330570135
The
Wild had a nice overtime win Tuesday night over Calgary.
Zach Parise continues to impress everyone not only with
his talent, but also his solid work ethic and leadership
on the ice. He tallied the winning goal in overtime. The
Wild are right in the mix for a playoff spot, currently 9th
overall in the Western conference. With only a point or
two separating 5 or 6 teams for the 6th though
8th spot. I do think they will continue to
improve as the season goes along and make the playoffs.
Every game is so important in this shortened season so a
bit of momentum can go a long way in gaining ground and
potentially distancing themselves from some of the other
contenders. Coach Yeo has been moving players in and out
of their line positions looking to get more scoring punch,
as the Wild still rank at the bottom in goals scored for
the season. That has to change if we have realistic
aspirations of getting anywhere near Lord Stanley’s Cup.
And
going for the local team trifecta, the Wolves come up
short in an overtime loss to the lowly and struggling
Phoenix Suns. They did rally from far down only to come up
short in the end. News flash: they are not going to make
the playoffs this year. But next year…..
2/25/2013:
Gophers Rewrite History!
The U of M Gopher women’s
hockey team finished off an historic regular season over
the weekend with a couple of victories over St. Cloud
State to finish a perfect 34-0. They became the first team
in NCAA history to go undefeated and untied for an entire
regular season.
They set numerous NCAA
records (too many to recount here), including number of
wins in a regular season and they still continue on a 42
game unbeaten streak. They haven’t lost since an overtime
2-1 defeat at the hands of North Dakota over a year ago!
Now they head into the WCHA playoffs hosting Bemidji State
in a 2 out of 3 playoff series which starts up this Friday
at home. They are odds-on favorite to take the WCHA
tourney, and then to defend their NCAA Frozen Four
Championship which we host at Ridder Arena in just about a
month. So pay attention to the lady Gophers as they
continue to make history!
2/1/13
- Super Bowl Preview
I was half right on the
final playoff weekend and the Super Bowl berths. Or is it
half wrong? I picked the 49rs to knock off Atlanta but
expected the Patriots to be their opponent. But the Ravens
surprised everyone and took the Pats down and out. I’m now
on the Ravens to not only cover the 3.5 point spread, but
to win outright in the HarBowl. The first brothers to
ever coach against each other in the NFL and the Super
Bowl of course. This will be a hard hitting game and a
great match up, but I think the Ravens with Joe Flacco
leading the way win it in a fairly high scoring game. And
Flacco gets the MVP award as winning QB’s tend to do. The
highlight of the media week so far has been Randy Moss
proclaiming himself the greatest wide receiver ever in the
NFL. I believe he must be oblivious to the fact he’s
wearing a 49rs uniform and doesn’t look at the 49rs Hall
of Fame pictures as he walks through their facility every
day with Jerry Rice’s picture staring down at him. But
he’s never been short on self-confidence or ego. And the
other highlight being a back-up cornerback for the 49rs
coming out against gays in the NFL and other assorted
stupid comments. Again oblivious to the San Fran community
he plays in, the most diverse gay/lesbian community in the
world. Hoping a few boos reign down on that guy also. Go
Ravens!
1/18/2013: Hoops…….and Hockey again!!
We’ve been getting teased again
by the local basketball teams. First off the Wolves had
their best season’s start since the playoff era back with
KG, now only to fall to the injury bug and some lackluster
performances of late. They are no longer in the top eight
in the Western Conference and without the return to form
of Ricky Rubio and now without Love for possible 2 months,
the playoff prospects are dimming. Add to that, Coach
Adelman has been missing from the bench as he tends to his
ailing wife who has been hospitalized with as yet an
undisclosed illness. The Clippers beat up on the Wolves
last night showing why they are one of the top teams in
the NBA now, and we face the Spurs Saturday night so it
won’t get any easier.
The Gophers have made a big
splash on the National scene with their big win over
Illinois in the Big Ten. But have come back to earth a bit
losing back to back games to Indiana and then last night
to Michigan at the Barn. Nothing to be ashamed of, as the
Big Ten is loaded this year, and even a finish in the top
half of the conference standings will be an
accomplishment. I’m looking for them to rebound from these
two losses and get back on track as their schedule softens
a bit in the coming 2 weeks.
And the big news is the Wild
gets the lockout season-shortened home opener at the X
tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche. The place
is going to be rocking! Can’t wait to watch it. Some top
NHL sports guys have even gone so far as to pick the Wild
to make the Stanley Cup finals. That’s a long ways off,
but we’ll get to see close-up if we really do have a
playoff contender again. With the personnel upgrades and
changes, it might take them a bit to really get rolling,
but I’m looking for a strong run in the Western Conference
so it’s going to be fun.
I
just looked back at my blog from a year ago and I had
picked New England and the Packers to be in this year’s
Super Bowl. Well 50% isn’t bad and I’ll now go with San
Francisco in the NFC to play the Pats. Tom Brady will get
a chance to cement himself as the greatest QB of all time
by winning his 4th Super Bowl for the Patriots. He already
has most playoff wins in NFL history and he's got a few
years left I believe.
12/14/2012: Great Football Weekend
Ahead!!!
I
could talk about the Vikings big game with St. Louis
trying to keep their playoff hopes alive, or the classic
Green Bay vs. Chicago showdown on Sunday. Or even the
Gophers as they prepare for their December 28 Bowl game in
Houston against Texas Tech. But the game that deserves the
most attention is the Tommies right here from St. Thomas
taking on superpower Mount Union College out of Ohio in
the Division 3 National Championship game tonight in
Salem, Virginia.
Yes,
a possible national championship is within their reach!
But it won’t be easy against the powerhouse Mount Union
team. They’re 10 time National Champs and have been in the
title game the last 8 years. However both teams go into
the game 14-0 and Mount Union had to rally from behind in
last’s week’s playoff game to eventually come away with a
48-35 win over 2nd ranked Mary-Hardin Baylor
College. So expect a hard-fought battle and we may get a
National Championship football team yet! The game can be
seen on ESPNU tonight at 6 pm and is carried also on the
radio at 104.1 FM. Go Tommies! (and yes I am a St. Thomas
alum having obtained my MBA back several decades ago over
in St. Paul)
Now
back to the Vikes, can they pull of a road win against a
somewhat similar team? St. Louis is a run-first, grind it
out team with a much improved Defense. But Sam Bradford is
a pretty solid young QB, perhaps in the mold that
Christian Ponder could strive to be. Not super flashy, but
protects the ball, makes good decisions and is a good game
manager. I’m predicting a close game, possibly decided by
the rookie field goal kickers. Unless of course, AP can
throw down another 200+ yard rushing game with a couple of
touchdowns to help put the game away. Lots of playoff
implications and the Vikings fans should be cheering for
the Packers this week to knock the Bear further down the
ladder in the wild card standings. It would enhance the
Vikings chances of getting one of those 2 wild card spots.
And considering the Vikings have Houston and the Packers
remaining, it’s not going to be easy even with a win this
week. But they do have a chance, and going into the
season, probably only the most diehard of Vikings fans
would have thought they’d still be talking playoffs going
into the 14th game of the season.
And
I do hear there are plenty of good seats available for the
Gophers Bowl game down in Houston. So if you haven’t made
your post-Christmas travel plans yet, toss the golf clubs
in the trunk and head south to Houston for a few rounds of
golf and a Bowl game!
And
for those college football enthusiasts, the Bowl season
actually kicks off this weekend with 2 games on Saturday.
These highly anticipated showdowns feature Nevada vs.
Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl (take AZ in that one) and
Utah State facing Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
from Boise, Idaho. I’m taking Utah State in that one
giving the 10 points!! Can’t wait.
11/12/12: Vikes and
Wolves and Gophers all on top….well sort of!!
The
Vikings moved to 6-4 with a really solid win over the
Detroit Lions yesterday. Just in time as the local
faithful were getting ready to run Christian Ponder and
offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave out of town after a
couple of real dud performances turned in the last couple
of weeks. But Ponder responded with one of his best games
with over 220 yards in the air, 2 TD’s and most
importantly, NO interceptions. And this was in spite of
missing Percy Harvin, who had become his primary target in
the passing game, and one of the top offensive players in
the league. Most people didn’t give them a chance of
winning without Harvin, but I had a small hunch that if
the Defense could frustrate Matthew Stafford and AP could
continue his stellar play, an upset might be on tap. Sure
enough, they held Detroit to 3 first half points and came
out on with a hard fought win. Perfect timing to head into
a much deserved Bye week. They do have a tough 3 game
stretch right out of the Bye playing the Bears, Packers
and then the Bears again. Plus 4 of the next 4 games are
on the road, which is never an easy task. But Jay Cutler
suffered a concussion last night and may be missing some
time on the field. So they might get a shot at the Bears
with a back-up QB out there, making the task quite a bit
more manageable. Probably the real story for the Vikes
this year is the resurgence of Adrian Peterson to the top
of the NFL’s rushing ranks after blowing out his knee last
season. He’s looking as good as ever and it’s truly an
amazing comeback for one of the true first-class guys in
the league. It’s possible a 9-7 finish could contend for a
playoff spot.
The
T-Wolves are off to a 4-2 start and are playing solid team
basketball. I don’t think anyone anticipated we’d be
playing over .500 ball while missing our two stars, Rubio
and Kevin Love. But they play good defense and move the
ball around, without worrying about which guy is getting
all the looks at the basket, or who’s leading the team in
scoring. The season is long and grueling, but it has to be
encouraging to see the team get off to a positive start
for a change. I do think making the playoffs is a
reasonable goal for them this year. Heck, if the playoffs
started today, they would be in! They play at Dallas
tonight, but then return home to take on Charlotte at
Target Center on Wednesday night. Good seats still
available!
And
let’s not overlook the Gopher football team getting a nice
road win over Illinois and becoming Bowl eligible for the
first time since the 2009 season! Granted the Illini are
the worst team in the Big Ten, but it’s still tough to get
those wins in the conference while traveling. It’s a first
step to be at the level where we can start regularly
beating those types of teams, and the next step is to get
competitive with the better teams. It looks like the
Gophers have found their QB for the coming years also, and
he played right here at Mankato West High School. We
actually now have a passing game which you must have to
compete in the Big Ten. Considering we finish off the
season playing at Nebraska and then hosting Michigan
State, it’s looking like a 6-6 season is in the cards. But
getting to a Bowl is a nice accomplishment and can only
help build the young team’s confidence and experience, not
to mention recruiting efforts, heading into Coach Kill’s 3rd
season in 2013. Ski-U-Mah!
10/25/12: Change of Seasons
The
Vikings can move to 6-2 with a win tonight vs Tampa bay at
the dome. Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin on the
offensive side of the ball, and a surprisingly rejuvenated
defense have them contending for the division lead and
possibly a playoff spot. This could get good. I think the
Bucs will give them all they can handle but if the offense
can actually put some points on the board, the Vikes
should come out on top. Favored by 6.5 points isn’t a
familiar spot for the Vikes, so they need to be ready to
avoid the upset as Tampa just put up a bunch of points on
the Saints and will be a good test for the Vikings D.
The
World Series got off to a flying start with the upstart
San Francisco Giants beating up on the best pitcher in
baseball, Justin Verlander. The favored Tigers and Triple
Crown winner Miguel Cabrera find themselves down a game in
what could turn out to be a great series. The Giants had
rallied to win 3 straight games and take out the defending
world champion St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS and are
really on a roll. I'll take Detroit still, but now I’m
thinking it’s going to go the full 7 games.
The
Lynx finished up another outstanding season just missing
out on defending their crown as they ran into a hot
Indiana team and lost 3-1 in the finals. The future is
just as bright for this team and I fully expect them to be
right back in the playoffs next year.
I
can't say the same thing about the Twins. A major
disappointment this year. The house cleaning has already
begun with a clearing out of much of the coaching staff
and several roster moves, including the release of
inconsistent closer Matt Capps. But the problems run deep
and without starting pitching and filling some big holes
in the infield, I don't see a lot of improvement in the
win-loss record next year. And I'd say manager Gardenhire
could be facing a win or else scenario for the first time
in his managerial career in Minnesota. But we still have
the nucleus of Willingham, Mauer and Morneau (my nephew
Sam says he’s still the best) and a lot of teams would be
envious of that 3-some. Plus if they keep Span and Revere
in the outfield, that’s a pretty solid core group. But you
can’t win without pitching so it’ll be an uphill climb I’m
afraid.
9/21/12: Minnesota Pro Sports Scene
I’m not sure how it could
get much more dismal. The Twins are battling it out with
the Cleveland Indians for the worst record in the American
league. The Vikings are trying to rebound from a last
second loss to the rookie led Indianapolis Colts and now
face the 49rs, potentially the best team in the NFL. The
Timberwolves are trying to build on last year’s
improvement, but are still as yet not even a playoff team
in the NBA. And what appeared to be our lone bright spot,
the Wild, might not even get to take to the ice this year
with the NHL locked out by the owners. So maybe Omaha
wouldn’t be such a bad place to live! We keep hearing that
we can’t afford to lose our pro sports teams and the
taxpayers keep getting asked to foot the bills for
stadiums and Arena improvements. But the return on those
investment for the fans has been pretty much non-existent.
But the owners could all sell and reap millions of dollars
in appreciation as sport franchises continue to grow in
value. But how about a winning team for a change. Is that
too much to ask?
The
Twins are down to 12 games remaining, with 6 of those at
home with the Yankees and Tigers visiting Target Field. So
the fans have a chance to see the Twins possibly play a
spoiler role as both of those teams are in tight playoff
races. You might not recognize a lot of the Twins players,
as the line-up is filled with prospects and late season
call-ups, but the Tigers and Yankees both are worth the
price of admission. And Joe Mauer has been hot, so there
is the batting title on the line over the last 2 weeks of
the season.
The
Vikings are 1-1 after getting through the easiest 2 games
of the season on their schedule. The 49rs are close to
being the best team in the NFL so we’ll see how they can
hang in their against that team. The betting line is only
7 points for the underdog Vikings, and I can’t even get my
weekly betting buddy to stay with the Vikes. So I guess
I’m stuck with them for $5 getting only 7 points. I’m
afraid the score could be closer to a 30 point
blow-out….but maybe they can surprise us and keep it
close?
There’s
been no progress in the NHL lockout. So the Wild
management is promising to pay 10% interest on the season
ticket money they hold trying to stem the refunds and
appease the fans. And for the serious hockey diehards,
they’ve got the minor league affiliate Houston Aeros
scheduled to hold some practices here at the X in an
attempt to keep the local fans interested.
8/31/12
Once in a Blue Moon!
So we made it through
August and the last time I wrote a sports update it was on
August 1, and it was a full moon then. And now here it is
again full on August 31. Most people don’t even know
that’s the real meaning of the phrase “once in a blue
moon”. It is when we get 2 full moons in a single month.
So I better get this done or I’ll miss sharing the
spotlight of this rare astrological event. (It’s actually
not that rare, but is pretty cool)
And
speaking of stars nearly aligning, we had the Gopher and
Viking football teams in action last night, along with the
Twins! And we almost pulled out the perfect trifecta of
three losses by the home town teams. However the Gophers
ruined that with a thrilling Triple Overtime victory over
the UNLV Running Rebels. Although I think that nickname
generally applies only to UNLV’s basketball team. From
what I saw, they wouldn’t get much running done against
anyone, other than maybe our Gophs. UNLV’s average margin
of loss last season was just about 35 points in each of
their ten losses, so a triple-overtime loss to a Big 10
team is probably as good as they would have hoped for. But
I’m not going to be critical, the Gophers will learn a lot
in each game, and get better as the season goes along. And
I like Coach Kill and the whole team attitude now based on
hard work and putting forth a whole team effort. I’m
looking forward to seeing how they progress.
Now
the Vikings are another story. They have pretty much
looked miserable on offense this preseason. A loss to
Houston last night wasn’t the worst thing since no one
recognizable was on the field anyway. But then again,
without AP in there, who is recognizable. I passed by
Christian Ponder and Kyle Rudolph on the golf course the
other day and had no clue they were pro football players.
Say that happened in Green Bay and it was Aaron Rodgers
and Donald Driver and that would have brought the course
to a virtual standstill. I’ll go on record that the
Vikings will not make the playoffs this year, or next for
that matter, and will struggle to get to 5 wins. There are
just too many holes to fill yet on both sides of the ball.
I do hope AP comes back healthy and generates the
highlights he is capable of, as he is still a premier
back, if not the best overall, in the NFL. And I’m hoping
to get him for a steal in my fantasy football draft this
weekend.
It now appears certain the
NFL season will kick off with replacements refs so that
will add an interesting twist to the early season games.
Lots of blown calls and replay delays I am sure.
And
a final note on the Twins. Yes they are still playing out
the season. With 31 games remaining they have a firm hold
on the worst record in the American league, and going 9-22
down the stretch would get them to a 100 loss season.
Maybe there is a reason Joe Mauer would consider being
traded? I’ve always said he’d look awesome in Yankee
Pinstripes. Plenty of seats available in September down at
Target Field also.
8/1/12 - The Spotlight is
on the London Olympics!
Let’s
see, we’ve got water polo, synchronized diving, table
tennis, dressage, archery and even sword fighting! Okay,
so they call it fencing, it’s still the same thing we did
as kids with sharp sticks out in the back yard. And we
didn’t wear all the padding these folks do. The Opening
Ceremonies were pretty amazing and the crowds have been
upbeat and intense. There is so much going on; I can’t
even begin to keep track of it. There is something like
1,600 hours of Television or live streaming coverage for
the just over 2-week period. That’s roughly 100 hours a
day! How does that work?? I blew out my DVR trying to
catch it all just over the first few days. Michael Phelps
has set the all-time medal record and the US Women’s
gymnastics team was dominant. So much to see, so little
time. And the first major Olympic scandal involves
badminton players disqualified for tanking matches to set
up a more favorable draw. What were they thinking? I do
believe it would be an incredible event to attend and I
might just do that some day.
And
let’s not forget the Twins. They just had their 4 game
winning streak ended by the damn White Sox! And Francisco
Liriano! A few weeks ago I speculated about them getting
back in the playoff race! So much for that theory with the
trading of Francisco Liriano for minor-league prospects.
I’m glad they left the rest of the team intact and didn’t
do anything rash like dumping Willingham, Morneau or Span
as had been rumored. They’ve got a good nucleus of
position players and hitters to build around for next year. Liriano looked pretty relaxed on the mound last night for
the rival White Sox, but the Twins should have pulled that
one out. They had a near sellout crowd last night at
Target Field to see Liriano go against his former mates,
but it would have been nice to get that victory.
The expectations are sky high over in St. Paul
following the Wild’s dramatic signing of the two top free
agents on the market this year. Zack Parise and Ryan Suter
will add instant star power and consistency for the Wild.
The playoffs are in sight and I can’t wait for the season
to start. They head to camp in just over a month so we’ll
hear much more about it as the season draws near.
The
Russians are coming! I mean to the Wolves! They signed
Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved who have been carrying
the Russian Olympic basketball team so far in the
Olympics. Kirilenko played last season in Europe after a
number of great years with Utah. This could be a nice step
forward for the Wolves as their management tries to
assemble a playoff contender. I had been optimistic about
the playoffs as a goal for this year, but that might still
be too much to ask. We’ll have to see if Rubio comes back
strong and the other young players continue to develop.
And we did just sign Brandon Roy coming off a bum knee to
help shore up the offensive depth. It’s still a lot to ask
when you are constantly juggling the roster and then the
line-up to get the consistency and defensive intensity
that is needed to make the playoffs over a full season. At
any rate, I think they’ll continue to improve on their win
total, just not sure if it will be quite enough to carry
them into the playoffs.
7/3/12
- Hot Enough for Ya??
How hot
is it? Well the Twins just won their 4th straight game and
no longer own the worst record in the American League! Now
that’s hot! A nice win over the loaded Tigers gets Ron
Gardenhire his 900th managerial win with the Twins and
pulls them to within 8 games of division leading Chicago.
Is it premature to talk about getting back in the division
race?? Well, maybe not if we can get a little pitching
help. But at the same time the Twins are warming up a bit,
talk is that Liriano is being shopped around to contenders
needing healthy arms. And that might mean the Twins brass
are looking more towards next season and beyond, rather
than holding out hope of being in this year's race.
Meanwhile the Wild come off a good NHL draft and
are in the thick of the Zach Parise chase. Signing the
Minnesota native would not only be a huge boost to fan
interest and ticket sales, but I think would also throw
them right back into the thick of the playoff contenders.
Something we dearly need to happen over in St. Paul to
show that the Wild owner is as serious about winning games
as he said he was when he purchased the team a couple of
years ago.
The Wolves are also in the news courting several
veteran players in an attempt to get back to playoff
prominence. They traded out of the first round and picked
up a solid young player in Chase Budinger from Houston.
Other names floating around are Pau Gasol, Nicolas Batum
and even Kevin Garnett. Likely no chance KG would want to
play out his career back in Minnesota, over say L.A., but
it would be fun!
And speaking of the Vikings, Percy Harvin gives
me a headache.
And
finally in cool local sporting news, my nephew Alex Lair
just qualified for the 109th Annual MGA State
Amateur Championship to be held July 16-18 at the Hastings
Country Club. They had a 9 man playoff for the final 2
spots and he birdied the 1st playoff hole to
clinch his spot. Alex first started playing at 6 years old
using some old clubs that I cut down for him down at a Par
3 course in Hayward, MN. And to make it even cooler, I get
to caddy for him in the big event! Here’s a link for the
Championship and the Qualifier results are shown at the
bottom of the page for the Northfield site.
http://www.mngolf.org/Tournaments/109th_MGA_Amateur_Championship
6/8/2012 - Playoffs Continued! And More!
The
Celtics/Heat series has been awesome. We’re watching
vintage Kevin Garnett trying to hoist the aging Celtics on
his back and get them back into the Finals. Game 7
Saturday night in Miami is going to be Epic. And the
reward for the East champs will be to face the amazing
Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals. The Thunder are on a
serious roll after falling behind early in their series
with the Spurs and I’m not sure anyone can stop them. But
it will be fun to watch as the NBA Finals always showcase
the best that professional basketball has to offer. And
this year will be no exception.
And
how about the NHL playoffs. The LA Kings( yep, you gotta
love California hockey), are up 3-1 over New Jersey
heading into game 5 back in New Jersey on Saturday night.
The Kings went into the playoffs as the number 8 seed in
the West and are on the brink of capturing Lord Stanley’s
Cup. It goes to show you how important all those regular
season games can be when the middle of the road teams
(i.e. Wild) are battling just to get that 8th
spot to advance to post-season. A game here or there, and
the Kings aren’t even in the playoffs. And it could have
been us!
Canterbury
Park live racing is in full swing, and tomorrow promises
to be one of the highlights of the season. We could see
the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 when Affirmed
became just the 11th horse to accomplish that
feat in over 110 years of racing. Thirty horses have won
the first 2 legs, and only 11 have succeeded in capturing
that final leg, The Belmont. After exciting wins in The
Derby and Preakness, I’ll Have Another is on the verge of
making horse racing history. He’ll go off as the odds-on
favorite (4-5 early line) in a tough field of 12 horses.
Should be a great race and I’ll be cheering for him and I
believe he will do it. This week also the CBY owners
announced a nice partnership deal with the Mystic Lake
tribal owners that will pump money into the race purses
and greatly help to improve the quality of racing at
Canterbury and should be a great benefit in the long run
for the track. However the deal does not include The
Running Aces harness track in the northern suburbs, so it
remains to be seen how that facility will maintain itself.
The
Twins are 7-3 in their last 10 games. Still the cellar
dweller in the American League. They have shown some life
in the last couple of weeks. And this weekend they host
the beloved, but lowly, Cubs for 3 games this weekend. The
Cubs are one of only 2 teams with a worse record than the
Twins. Should be an opportunity for the local team to pick
up at least a couple of victories.
UPDATE!!!!! I’ll Have Another
Injured! - He's scratched from the Belmont due to late
injury following a great couple of weeks of training and
prep for the Triple Crown finale. A huge blow to racing as
it would have been a highly anticipated event and a shot
in the arm for all of horse racing.
5/18/2012
- Playoffs take center stage!
The NBA is
seeing a momentum swing potentially away from LA and
Miami. How about Oklahoma City as NBA champs? It could
happen. In the Western Conference Semi’s they are up 2
games to Zip over the Lakers. In the Other Semifinal
match-up the Spurs are also up 2-0 on the Clippers. In the
East the resurgent Celtics are up 2 games to 1 over the
76rs with game 4 tonight in Philadelphia. And Indiana is
up 2-1 over the Miami Heat. The Celtics could just make
it to the NBA finals giving KG a shot at another
championship ring. Key injuries to the Bulls which
resulted in them being knocked out of the playoffs, and
the recent injury to Chris Bosh in Miami are leaving the
door wide open for either the Celtics or Pacers in the
East. I still like OK City and witnessing the amazing
impact just a couple of key draft picks can have on a
team. Kevin Durant has shown he is up in the class with
Lebron and Kobe.
And
how about the NHL playoffs. The first round was littered
with bloody noses and chins and tons of penalty minutes.
Now they’ve gotten down to business and the intensity of
the Conference finals is amazing. Strangely the teams
battling it out in the West are Phoenix and the LA Kings.
Not exactly your traditional hockey powers. LA just took a
3-0 lead in the series with Game 4 coming up on Sunday out
in LA (which is hosting something like 6 NBA/NHL playoff
games in just a matter of 3-4 days…so the Hollywood celebs
have lots to entertain themselves with). In the East it’s
a bit more traditional with the Rangers and New Jersey tied
at a game a piece leading up to Saturday’s game 3. I’m
going with Rangers to take it all.
And
in what again may be the brightest note on the local pro
sports scene, the Vikings Stadium is finally becoming a
reality. If all goes well and the Minneapolis city council
approves, they’d begin play at the new digs in 2016. And
why was it again that it took 10 years to figure this out?
Who knows, but all of a sudden it’s a done deal!
On another
local note, Canterbury Park opens today for live racing.
The Preakness Stakes runs tomorrow and that’s always a
highlight day out at the track. While the track didn’t get
its Racino option thrown into the Stadium bill, they are
in talks to expand relationships with nearby Casinos that
could allow for off-track betting and simulcast wagering.
Which would be a nice benefit and help grow Minnesota’s
struggling horse racing industry.
The
Twins are riding a 2 game winning streak.
4/27/2012 - Baseball,
Beer, Brats and the Vikings in the Spotlight!
The
Twins mercifully had a day off on Thursday. After a very
tough early season schedule and the lack of pitching and
timely hitting, they find themselves at 5-14, tied with
the Royals and Padres for the worst record in baseball.
I've been out to 2 games at Target Field and the results
haven't been pretty. I went into the season thinking they
had a shot at being a .500 ballclub this season, but I'm
not so sure now. The pitching staff is below average, and
with the loss of Scott Baker, pretty much doomed to
mediocrity. And other than the pick-up of Josh
Willingham, the Twins line-up is lacking the power and run
scoring ability they will need to keep themselves in
games. However on the bright side, if you haven't checked
out the new menu at Target Field, the new food and
beverage highlights will keep the crowd interested for at
least a part of the season. My favorite so far is the "Big
Ginger". Make sure to check it out. And it will be easier
to get tickets with the crowds somewhat dwindling even
here in the early season, especially on the cold nights
we’ve had.
Target Field's new menu items
The Wolves put the capper on an up and down
season with a blowout loss at home Thursday night to the
playoff bound Nuggets. Their injuries are well documented
but it still was a disappointing run down the stretch. At
one point they were 21-19 and definitely contending for
the 8th spot in the West. But as the injuries mounted,
they were overmatched and finished the season 5-21 in
their last 26 games. But it will help them a bit in the
draft and the outlook for next year is good. The playoffs
should definitely be in reach.
And
surprisingly what might be the brightest note on the local
pro sports scene, the Vikings had a very good first day in
the NFL Draft, getting two blue-chippers with the 4th and
29th picks that should move right into the starting
line-up. Matt Kalil will help anchor the offensive line
at left guard and should provide Christian Ponder with
some nice blindside protection for years to come. And
Harrison Smith, acknowledged as one of the best defensive
secondary players in the draft, will help shore up the
porous pass defense. And with an assist from visiting NFL
bigwigs Roger Goodell and Art Rooney, it seems the Vikings
Stadium initiative got a much needed boost. Of course our
Minnesota legislators are probably the most conservative,
do-nothing bunch of folks around, and it’s still possible
they’ll find a way to screw it up and not get the deal
done. Funny how many loyal supporters there are even
following the 3-13 season, but when it comes to Minnesota
Sports, the Vikings do rule the roost.
4/3/2012 The Big Dance is over, and we segue right into The
Masters
The
Kentucky Wildcats did as expected, and won the NCAA
Championship. They tied the NCAA single season record with
38 wins, against just 2 losses. They handled Kansas with
relative ease and showed they were clearly the superior
team. They would likely have done the same to Ohio State
if the Buckeye’s hadn’t collapsed and blown a big lead in
the Semi-final game with Kansas. Heck, Kentucky would
probably give the Timberwolves a run for their money,
especially the current injury depleted team the Wolves are
fielding now. One common theme for all the really good
teams in the field is they are loaded with potential NBA
talent. Kentucky probably loses 3 freshmen to the Pro’s.
Remember that when picking your brackets next year, you
got to have the horses to finish first. And I keep my
streak intact, as l finish out of the money for about the
20th straight year in the big NCAA Bracket pool
that we run. But I did take the $10 from Goud, which is
nice.
On
the heels of the Gophers good showing in the NIT
tournament, it is anticipated that Tubby Smith will be
rewarded with a contract extension. Amazing what a few
wins against other teams that also couldn’t make it into
the NCAA Tourney will do for a guy’s pocketbook! Also on
the Gopher front, the hockey team takes on Boston College
Thursday evening in what promises to be a really good
game. The intensity of the Frozen Four is amazing and I’m
hoping the Gophers can stand up to the pressure. The
national championship game would be Saturday night if we
make it.
Meanwhile the Wolves now are falling further out
of the playoff race. They were manhandled by Boston and
Kevin Garnett last Friday night. Add to that last night’s
injury to Luke Ridnour in the loss to the Kings, and it
appears the season’s hopes are dashed. But as we’ve said,
it’s been a great turnaround in ability and enthusiasm and
we’ll be looking forward to next season and finally a trip
back to the playoffs should be in reach.
I know
the Twins open this week on the road. And I’m glad they do
have that first weekend series out of town. It will give
me a couple of days of looking at the box scores to get
familiar with the line-up for this year’s squad. So many
favorites are gone, so this will really be a new look
team. The home opener is Monday the 9th and I’m
going Wednesday the 11th, so I’ll be able to
get a feel on how they look after just a handful of games.
Can’t wait to pop open one of those $8 beers and grab a $6
hot dog again down at Target Field.
And
finally, what April is really all about. The Masters gets
underway this morning. This one is going to be historic.
After several years’ hiatus, Tiger Woods is right back in
the mix. The top players in the world are all playing
great golf and throw in the stars that have made a name
for themselves last year and more recently this year, and
this is going to be great. Luke Donald, #1 in the world,
is almost an afterthought with all the attention going to
Rory MciIroy, Phil Mickelson and Tiger. It’s hard to
imagine anyone else being able to beat out all 3 of those
great players, but that would be shortchanging many of the
recent major winners. Guys like Keegan Bradley, Graham
McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Charl
Schwartzel have proven they can withstand the pressure of
a major championship. And the top Americans, all without a
major, include Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and Webb
Simpson all in the top 10 in the world rankings. Who knows
how this one will unfold. If I’m picking a top 5, I’d have
to include Tiger, Phil, Rory, and I’d throw in Luke Donald
and maybe Stricker. It’s going to be fun. Maybe we’ll see
that “Cinderella story” we all dream about as we swing our
sticks at the local muni, or country club as the case may
be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbQTXFJL8lo
3/29/2012 The Madness continues......
The
NCAA Tourney is down to its Final 4. My early thoughts
about Kentucky being the best remain true. I think they
are the most talented team, and will be tough to beat.
Both Syracuse and North Carolina lost key players either
just before or during the tourney, and thus fell to the #2
seeds in their respective bracket. Arguably the weakest
bracket lost its #1, 2 and #3 seeds (Michigan State,
Missouri and Marquette) and sends #7 Florida to match up
with Kentucky in the first semi-final game Saturday. I’ll
pick KY to win that game and advance to the Finals. The
other semi-final game is a great match-up. The Big Ten’s
best Ohio State, against perennial power Kansas from the
Big 12. I think OSU may just be too strong for KS, but it
should be a great game. In either case, I’ll stick with
Kentucky beating whichever one of that advance to the
Championship game on Monday night. And again I’ll finish
out of the money in the big NCAA Bracket pool, but do have
a fair chance of taking $10 off of my good friend Goud
Melos.
Checking
back in with our Gopher hoopsters, they have made a nice
showing in the NIT Tournament, advancing to tonight’s
final game against the Stanford Cardinal.
Don't be surprised to see the Gopher's emotional run
through the NIT end tonight vs. a good Stanford team.
They could very well end up getting beat if they don't
perform at their best. You can downplay the NIT all you want, but with
this young team gaining valuable experience, it is a very
positive momentum builder for next season. And with the
likelihood increasing that Trevor Mbakwe will return for
something like his 9th season of college hoops,
they should be much improved. I actually heard Sid say the
other day they’d be a favorite for the Big Ten title,
which might be stretching it a bit, but they should at
least be over .500 in the conference. And that’s what it
takes to get you into the NCAA Tourney. And it sure does
help the national recruiting picture to get this extra TV
exposure so things are looking up for Tubby’s boys.
Meanwhile
the Wolves find them selves 2.5 games out of the 8th
spot in the Western Conference with just 14 games to go.
I’m going to go on record as saying they won’t be able to
overcome that, and will fall short of making the playoffs.
But at the same time, they’ve had a huge turnaround this
year, will beat the Celtics Friday night at home, and
Kevin Love will get strong consideration for MVP in the
league. He has turned into a beast in the NBA! Rick
Adelman will have them in the playoffs next year for sure.
So much else going on with MLB already starting the
regular season in Japan (A’s and Mariners have split 2
games in the Tokyo dome already), Gopher hockey advancing
to the Frozen Four(in Florida of all places) and The
Masters gets under way on April 5th. Also the
Twins open the regular season on the road in Baltimore on
April 6th, and at home vs. the Angels on April
9th. So there will be plenty to write about
next week.
3/15/12 March Madness......
What's more
maddening about this March??? Rickey Rubio getting hurt
and severely dampening the Wolves chances to make the
playoffs? Or the Wild's continuation of an inept run
through their second half of the season? We call ourselves
the state of hockey and our pro-team probably couldn’t win
the State High School tournament, much less make their own
playoffs. And speaking of the State Tournament, how
fitting was it for Benilde St. Margaret’s to be crowned
the big school Champion with the emotional roller coaster
they were on this year. A fantastic end to a great weekend
of state high school hockey. Outstanding stuff for sure.
And we have the hockey Gophers ready to make a run for the
WCHA title, and hopefully a strong NCAA bid for the
national championship.
But
this time of year is all about the real "March Madness",
the big dance, the Men's NCAA Basketball Tourney. The 68
best teams in the country are squaring off (actually the
play-in games have already happened so we’re down to 64)
for the championship. And imagine that, the Tubby Smith
led Gophers don't happen to be counted among the best 68
teams in the land. That's embarrassing. They played last
night in the NIT (the Other tourney) and thankfully didn't
embarrass themselves further after another disappointing
season, and pulled out a win to advance to the second
round. And each win there is good for the national
exposure and recruiting so let’s hope they make a good
showing.
On
to the brackets. It's hard to pick against the 1 and 2
seeds, as it always is. But someone sneaks up on us every
year. Like a Butler or VCU, but who knows which of those
underdogs will make a run this year. I like some of the
lower seeded teams like Wichita State, Memphis, Baylor and
maybe a Florida State to surprise a bit. But in the end I
do believe Kentucky, North Carolina and Syracuse (before
losing their starting center) are the top teams. I’ve been
doing NCAA pools for nearly 30 years, but it’s been over
20 years since I’ve won a pool. And I don’t expect this
year to be much different. So take it with a very large
grain of salt when I say I have either Kentucky or North
Carolina winning it all in my 4 brackets. And believe me
for a Duke fan, it’s tough to have to pencil in the
Tarheels, but they may be the best team with a chance to
knock The Wildcats off in the championship game. We’ll see
how this weekend goes, and then update the picks next
week. And remember, gambling on NCAA pools is illegal, and
is not endorsed by this column.
2/27/2012 ....and the Oscar goes to.......
Two
exciting, contrasting and yet often similar examples of
the entertainment industry were on display Sunday evening.
The NBA All-star game and The Academy Awards. They both
combine elements of comedic and dramatic acting. There
are awards for creativity and showmanship and directing,
along with foreign languages being spoken and interpreted,
just like at the Awards show. At the end of the night they
awarded the Best Actor Award (MVP) to the West's Kevin
Durant in the All-star affair. And out in LA, the Best
Actor and Actress went to Jean Dujardin from The Artist
and Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady respectively. But even
with The Artist winning Best Picture, I'd probably rather
watch a re-run of Forrest Gump or the Packers in last
year's Super Bowl than buy a ticket for what is supposedly
the best movie of the year.
And
speaking of Awards and highlights, how about our Twolves.
They had Kevin Love on the West squad and he was solid. He
also won the 3 point shootout! Also Derric Williams and
Ricky Rubio took part in the Dunk contest and rookie
games. So all of a sudden the Wolves are making an impact,
both during All-star weekend and quite possibly still
during the regular season. I will not be surprised to see
a playoff run as we get cranked up for the second half of
the season.
If we
were handing out Academy's to the Wolves, it'd go
something like this. Best Actor goes to Kevin Love. Just a
few short seasons into what should turn out to be a
lengthy NBA career, he has transformed himself into a
legitimate NBA superstar. Best Actor in a supporting role
could go to several players, but I'll give it to Luke
Ridnour. He contributes every night, is second in FG
percentage, 3 point field goals and assists and third in
average minutes played per game. And he has several game
winners including a dramatic last second buzzer beater the
other night against Utah. Best Foreign film award goes to
Nikola Pekovic. He sat on the bench last year, but has
shown he belongs in the starting lineup. He's averaging 25
minutes a game, and leads the team in field goal
percentage and blocks and is second in rebounding next to
Love. And I'd create a new award for foreign film 'short
story' and give it to Ricky Rubio. He's been more than we
could have hoped for and looks to be the real McCoy. And
of course Best Director goes to Rick Adelman. Nothing
against Minnesota's own Kevin Mchale who is doing a fine
job now in Houston, but Adelman is getting the team to
believe, work together and pull for one another. For the
last few years with all the losses mounting, the bench
players usually sat disinterested as the players on the
floor went through the motions. Now the bench is on their
feet and totally into it. Just a small thing perhaps, but
another step in the right direction under coach Adelman.
I'll be anxiously watching as the Wolves play 4 road games
on the west coast in 5 days starting on Tuesday out in LA.
This will go along ways in determining if we really are a
playoff contender, or just another pretender. And if we’re
really lucky, we’ll be watching the next great sports
story unfold, maybe we call it “The Wolves Run to the
Playoffs”.
2/7/12 Football is
King, and Vegas Loves the Super Bowl!!!
There is not
much more of an exciting time to be in Las Vegas than
Super Bowl weekend. From my experience this past weekend,
Vegas is alive and well. The casinos, sports books, gaming
tables, restaurants and bars were jam packed.
We
stayed at Harrah's on the strip as some friends had some
comp'd benefits that we were able to share in. Its sort of
"old school" Vegas, but right in the center of the action.
And if you can get past the $40 room service breakfasts
(coffee not included), overall it's a pretty reasonable
and fun place to stay. Back to the Super Bowl. It turned
out to be an exciting game but there is no way I can be
convinced that the Giants are the best team in football.
They just got hot at the right time. Much like the Packers
did last year. And much like the Giants did a few years
back when they also knocked off the Patriots in the super
bowl, putting an end to the potential "greatest season
ever" by the Pats. Also keeping Miami's perfect season
record intact. Same thing this year, a close hard fought
game, with just a couple of key plays the difference
between winning and losing. I just wish I hadn't been
swayed by our cabbie from Wooster, Mass who was so intent
on the Patriots winning, that I switched off of the
Giants, and backed the Pats. Needless to say, shortly
after the game I was wandering the Vegas Strip in search
of a Wells Fargo cash machine. Ouch!!! I wish I had bet on
the coin flip, color of Gatorade dumped on the winning
coach, over/under on the national anthem, or whether
Madonna was going to appear in fishnet stockings (she
did), rather than the game's outcome. But being a huge Tom
Brady fan, I'll go on record now picking New England back
in the big game next year, but it will be against the best
team in the NFL, the Packers. Already put my money on it
in the sports book! And a side note, if Indianapolis can
host a Super Bowl, let's get a new downtown stadium with
some high profile corporate sponsors and get Minneapolis
on the list for the big game! The TV audience hit a record
111 million viewers, and was also the largest streamed
sporting event worldwide ever, so football fandom is at an
all time high. Let's hope we have a team in MN for all to
enjoy.
What
about the Wolves!! Just off a win at home against
Sacramento with Kevin Love on suspension. The win puts
them a game over .500 and currently sitting in the 10th
spot in the
Western conference, and continues what has been a great
start to the season under new head coach Rick Adelman. Can
the Wolves really be considered a Playoff contender? Well
if Rubio keeps playing like he has, and someone reminds
Love its not polite to stomp on your opponents chest, I
think they can!! And can there be any truth to the rumor
that the Twins are in talks with Rubio's people about a
possible tryout as a shortstop/pitcher based on his little
league highlights from back in Spain? We can only hope.
1/20/12 When Can I Go Back in the Water?
That’s what we used to ask Mom after wolfing down
our meals and then running down to the beach all ready to
dive in. But the answer was always the same. You can’t go
back in for at least an hour! And we’d whine and all that
stuff kids do, then run back into the water as soon as
that hour was up. Well that’s how I feel now about the
NFL. When can I go back to watching football? I hate
losing. I hate it when my team loses. When I was a kid I
hated to lose too. When I was a kid I hated when one of my
favorite teams lost. So I’ve pretty much sworn off talking
about or watching or listening to all the football chatter
this week…..since the Packers lost. I was probably 6 or 7
when we first passed through Green Bay on a road trip to
my Dad's home state of Michigan. We took a small detour by
Lambeau Field on that trip and I was hooked. Much to my
Dad's chagrin, I became a Packer fan and never changed
from that. I paid no attention when the Vikings brought
their funny looking purple uniforms and helmets to
Bloomington. If it wasn’t green and yellow (or gold
depending on the light of day), it didn’t matter to me.
The only thing that did matter during football season was
how the Packers did on Sunday. Well this past Sunday was
hard to digest. They lost a playoff game they should have
won. Sure the Giants were a hot team and I give Eli
Manning credit for his solid play. But the Packers
receivers dropped balls all over the field with two of
those drops for likely touchdowns. They also fumbled the
ball away a couple times and when the game was on the line
the defense played like a high school team. Basically they
played their worst game of the year, and at home for gosh
sakes! But I am slowly getting over it. Five days have
past and I was actually able to look at the sports section
of the star tribune today. I still haven't watched
SportsCenter since Sunday, and don't ever want to see the
replays or highlights on the NFL Channel of that game. But
the Pack will be back and I feel improved next year. As
will likely the Lions and possibly the Bears. Not sure we
can say that about the Vikings yet. But probably the
biggest news on the Vikings side of things will be if some
sort of Stadium bill gets passed. Here’s hoping the powers
that be get it right and get a new stadium in the works
soon. And as far as the NFL goes, New England is my pick
to win the Super Bowl. They’ll get a rematch with the
Giants and prevail this time. (we’ll see how that works
out on Sunday).
Meanwhile
on a much brighter note, the Twolves continue to impress.
A nice come from behind win over Detroit on Wednesday
brought their record to 6-8. I haven't checked into it to
verify, but I believe it's been quite a few years since
they have had 6 wins through 14 games of a season. The
young guys are showing lots of spirit and athletic
ability. Love is developing into a true NBA all-star and
Ricky Rubio is surpassing many of the tempered
expectations and getting a fair amount of national
recognition in the hoops sports world. There is definitely
more excitement down at Target Center than anytime since
KG left town. It will be fun to catch the game on tonight
out in LA against the Clippers to see how we stack up
against another team loaded with young stars. The Clippers
are trying to challenge the Lakers as the top team in LA.
And
talk about teams moving in opposite directions, the Wild
have now lost 15 of their last 17 games and are just
trying to keep in contention for a possible spot in the
playoffs. Injuries and lack of scoring have brought about
a huge change of direction in the season, following their
hot start. There is still a long way to go so we’ll see if
coach Yeo can get his team back on track. This will be a
tough task for the rookie coach, but I’m hoping they can
crank it back up a few levels and make a playoff run. But
if they don’t get some kind of offense going, as their
scoring has been abysmal, they don’t stand much of a
chance.
So I'm making my way back into the water, albeit slowly.
If the AFC and NFC championship games were today, I
probably wouldn't be ready to watch them. But by Sunday
I'm pretty sure I’ll be ready for some football. Its just
not the same when your team isn't in it anymore. Now I
know what the Vikings fans go through most years.
12/28/11 Wolves Show Flashes.....But Can They Win?
The Monday night season opener brought back
memories of the best times at the Target Center. A packed
house and Rickey Rubio created a sensation we hadn't felt
for a long time. But in the end, it was another loss. I'm
writing this as I watch the Tuesday night game in
Milwaukee as the Wolves have rallied back from 20 points
down to make a seemingly out of reach game into a tight
battle in the waning minutes. Will it be the new-look
Wolves who pull out a victory, or more of the same old
stuff and another loss in a close game without the finish
needed.......same old Wolves. A loss to the same team we
beat last week in both of our pre-season games. Damn.
Close but no cigar. The Wolves go 2-0 in the pre-season,
but now face Miami, Dallas and San Antonio this weekend
and next Monday. There's a good chance we'll be staring up
at an 0-5 start. But all is not lost, the young guys look
like they can play with the big boys, and it's going to be
a fun ride.
And
like all good sports junkies, I was channel flipping and
caught the Gopher game also. As with the Wolves in the
regular season, wins are going to be tough to come by in
the Big Ten. No matter what you do in the pre-season or
non-conference, the regular season is all that matters and
it'll be a struggle the whole way. The Big Ten is loaded
with good teams and the Gophers would appear to be in the
middle to lower part of the pack. A loss to Illinois on
the road in the Opener isn't shameful, but the
Illini would seem to be a middle of the pack team also.
It's going to be one of those seasons where the Gophs will
need to win a majority of their home games, and beat some
of the lousy teams on the road to have any shot at being a
.500 ballclub. Losing Mbakwe sure didn't help, but the
other guys are stepping up so far so again it could be a
fun season.
And just when we thought the Vikings season
couldn't get any worse. They lose Adrian Peterson to a
season-ending and possible career threatening knee injury
in a meaningless game that no one wanted them to win
anyway. So now instead of having a shot at the #1 draft
pick and at least having that to look forward to, they'll
finish up the season in another meaningless game hosting
the banged up and beaten Bears on Sunday with nothing at
stake. I'm sure tickets are easy to come by, so get out
and watch Joe Webb and Toby Gerhart take on the Bears and
their 2nd or 3rd string quarterback along with a couple of
back-up running backs. If they aren't careful, they might
finish up the season with a 2 game winning streak! Does
anyone care?
12/8/11 The NBA is Back!! And Elvis has left the Building
With the NBA labor dispute settled, it's time to look
forward to a new beginning for the T-Wolves. A new coach
with a solid reputation and winning history, Rick Adelman
takes the helm. Practices start later this week and the
first game is December 26. Honestly I didn't think I'd
miss the NBA, but now that it's all settled I'm excited
about the potential that this team has. It's hard not to
get anxious to see Ricky Rubio finally in a Wolves
uniform. He hasn't exactly garnered rave reviews playing
over in Europe recently, but he's a classy young player,
and if he's anything like the player we thought he might
be, he'll be a great addition at least in terms of
marketing and fan appeal. Along with Kevin Love and
Michael Beasley, he'll be a great fit as one of the young
faces of the newly re-invented Timberwolves. Still yet to
sign rookie Derrick Williams is another bright spot and
should develop into a significant cog in the machine. I
think he’ll be a nice reward for getting that second pick
in the draft last year. I might be getting a little
ahead of myself, but I believe they'll be significantly
improved over last years team and it should result in more
wins for us fans to enjoy.
On
the other end of the spectrum, the Vikes, like Elvis, have
apparently left the building. They got derailed by the
Tebow Train this past Sunday. And while the somewhat
unorthodox southpaw is being scrutinized for his poor
passing statistics as well as his religious fervor, the
Broncos have ridden the Tebow Train to first place in the
AFC West. While the Vikings are more likely to be found
riding in a converted Blue Bird school bus halfway across
the north woods of Wisconsin on their way to Detroit.
Christian Ponder will win many more games in his
career, but maybe no more this year. They face Detroit
(albeit slumping) on the road, New Orleans here at home
(no chance), travel to Washington (should be a close
game), and then finish up with the Bears here in the dome.
Now that game could be interesting if the Bears are still
fighting for a wild-card spot and should also be a close
game, as most are with the Bears. Ponder is a bit banged
up and is questionable for the start this week anyway,
which might bring Joe Webb back into the QB picture.
Another question the Vikings face and will come into play
impacting potential wins and losses, is how much do you
run Adrian Peterson down the stretch in a lost season. Of
course he wants to play and is said to be about 70%
strength right now, but the Vikings need to be planning
for next year. And a healthy AP is a must to get back to
even thinking they can be a .500 team. That and a lot of
help in the secondary and likely the offensive line, might
get them there.
Hey, and
don’t forget the Tommies are still in the running for a
national championship in D3 football. After a couple of
very impressive playoff wins at home, they head out to
visit UW-Whitewater in a semi-final match-up. This will be
a lot tougher. Whitewater has won the last 2 national
titles and playing at home will be very tough to beat. But
it's great to see them get that far. You can catch that
game on WCCO radio Saturday afternoon also. Let’s see if
we can bring home another national championship to the
Twin Cities (remember the Lynx!).