The pathetic state of pro/collegiate sports in Minnesota

Just how bad is the sports landscape in Minnesota right now? Our baseball team, the Minnesota Twins, just wrapped up a season in which more than a few people were rooting for the Twins to lose 100 games. Hey, I was rooting for that too because if you're going to have a wretched season, go big!
Then there's the Minnesota Vikings. They are an embarrassment to football teams. The 0-4 Vikings, though, think their shit doesn't stink and are still lobbying for a brand new nearly $1 billion stadium built in north bumfuck nowhere (Arden Hills). Clearly, owner Zygi Wilf needs to pony up the majority of the cash needed for his playground for millionaires because if this stadium would be put to a vote, my thinking is that it would fail. If the Vikings want to make something out of this year, either pull dreadful quarterback Donovan McNabb and replace him with Christian Ponder or shoot for a winless, 0-16 season. Once again, go big.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, probably the worst NBA team in the league, won't be missed when the NBA season, in its entirety, is canceled in a few weeks because the greedy players can't concede a few million dollars to the greedy owners. If time machines worked, I'd get in one and go back to 1992 or 1994 or whenever it was and applaud the team's impending sale to an owner in New Orleans. At least then the team would be Louisiana's problem.

The Minnesota Wild are, at best, a mediocre hockey team. They had that amazing playoff run in 2002 or 2003 but that was a fluke. Every other team simply fell apart at the perfect moment for the Wild and the team came together and won when they needed to. That doesn't happen any more. The Wild are perpetual cellar dwellers in the NHL's northwest division and no longer draw sellout crowds. They better improve or they could very well go the way of the Minnesota Northstars.

Then there's the Minnesota Gophers football team. They are the joke of the Big Ten conference. If the Big Ten had their way, maybe they would trade the U of M for North Dakota State University because the Fighting Sioux have shown that they are capable of beating the Golden Gophers. If I were a betting man I'd say that the Gophers football team wins a mere one more game - either beating Northwestern or Illinois - but coach Jerry Kill gets to keep his job because he's a legitimate coach and simply inherited a total mess of a team.

But the one bright spot in Minnesota sports are the Minnesota Lynx. They play tonight in the second game of the WNBA finals against Atlanta. The Lynx are for real and I have faith that they will provide the only national championship this year and definitely the only winning season in Minnesota sports this year. Go Lynx!