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!

My Twins comeback cover or suck it Yankees

Bob Collins of Minnesota Public Radio's famed News Cut is in search of a good comeback to the less than witty New York Daily News cover stating that due to their washed up, overpaid New York Yankees playing the Minnesota Twins they have an E-Z PASS. As Minnesotans we should probably let it slide because we know that the majority of New Yorkers are nothing short of assholes. They are rude, unpleasant, bitter and even unwashed humans who may or may not hate America. Oh, sure, the Yankees have been called, time and again, America's team but even with them consistently trying to buy a World Series-caliber team they have come up short year after year winning only two championships in the past decade.

But despite a World Series record of a miserable .200 in the past decade they call playing the Minnesota Twins having an E-Z PASS. Who has the better record? Twins. Who has home field advantage for this series? Twins. Who has a better stadium? Twins.

But rather than just spit out some witty comeback, I spent some time creating a visual approach to a comeback. Wishful thinking? Maybe.

Where's all that hope now Vikings fans?

Like so many others, I'm what people would describe as a fair weather sports fan. I don't pretend to know the stats of individual players on most of the Twin Cities/Minnesota teams and I don't even know the positions most of them play but I do know when their fortunes are looking either up or down.

Currently, the only bright spot for Minnesota sports fans is the Minnesota Twins. They are already a lock for the playoffs and, despite losing two of three to Oakland, are still inching closer to winning their division and having the overall best resord in the American League. But even with that comes negatives. They'll likely face the buy-a-championship New York Yankees at some point which means that no matter how well the Minnesota Twins are playing their season will come to a brutal end. It's the way it is and if you're like me you've come to accept the fate of Minnesota sports teams. A couple are usually competitive but when push comes to shove they just don't win championships because this is the midwest. We're "just happy they made it to the playoffs". But that's bullshit.

Why should we be happy, as sports fans or anything else in life, with "being good enough"? When did that become acceptable? Why have we been brainwashed to accept that second-best status? It's like the job market as of late -- I hear plenty of people, after I bitch about paying upwards of $6,000 per year for health insurance that covers nearly nothing only to have the other person in the conversation say "you should just be happy you have a job". Don't get me wrong, I'm damn happy that I have a job but would it hurt the big guy in charge to take a cut in pay so the worker bees can afford some heat for their hive?

And that comes back to sports to a certain extent. If other cities can afford to essentially buy a championship, why doesn't that work here? The Minnesota Vikings, and their owner Zygi Wilf, forked out millions of dollars and put up with hijinks, shenanigans and downright bullshit to land greying and broken quarterback Brett Favre for a second year. Has he produced anything thus far? No. Unless you count two losses in two regular season games producing results then he hasn't lived up to the legend. But by God he's here and that's good enough for the diehard Vikings fans.

But in my opinion it's not enough. Why couldn't the Vikings step up all aspects of their game and win enough games to make it to the playoffs while grooming a young quarterback under the tutelage of Brett Favre. We all know that Favre will eventually explode in to a huge cloud of grey dust and him playing for a 21st year is becoming less and less likely with each passing day and each loss so plan ahead. Do the Minnesotan thing and promote from within and quit accepting "good enough" and second best. I once had hope too but after watching yesterday's brutal and sloppy loss to the Miami Dolphins I'm back to being bitter and jaded.

For the flip side of my personality, check out the refreshingly positive MinnPics -- chock full of killer photos from across Minnesota.

Minnesota Twins interested in my HS classmate?

According to Twins writer, LaVelle E. Neal, III, the Minnesota Twins may be interested in trading for Oakland A's reliever Michael Wuertz (whom the Star-Tribune referred to as Chris in the lede). After his time with the Iowa Cubs and then the Chicago Cubs waaaay back when I was still living in Austin, I had lost track of the pitcher who graduated with me in the late 90s from Austin High School. I sort of figured that he had slipped back into the minor leagues and was sort of there to stay. It's how I assume things happen with people associated with Austin.

I think it's pretty cool that a kid that I don't really remember making a name for himself in high school (maybe he was as low key in sports as he was in school) could be headed for the home team right here in his home state. A truly nice guy pulling down just over a million dollars per year would be a nice compliment to a team who pride themselves on grooming players from within the state and would pair well with the face of the team and fellow Minnesotan, Joe Mauer.

Maybe I can even unearth the "Wuertz Watch" series of graphics I designed in 2001 for the Austin newspaper and prove just how damn legit this whole thing is - if I can find that particular stack of CDs.

And if you want to put a face to the name, maybe I can dig up a fan photo of Wuertz for MinnPics.

FOUND IT:Wow. My work circa 2002 borders on something I'd rather not claim as my own. Ouch.