Thoughts from the Stands

With loss to Columbus, Wild's season sinking fast

2012-02-12T16:11:00.003-06:00

I had a long and busy week at work, so I was looking forward to going to the Minnesota Wild game with my parents Saturday. Too bad the boys couldn't find the back of the net more than once as they lost 3-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Like me, this week wasn't a good one for the Wild either. They lost in a shootout in Dallas a week ago Saturday, then lost 3-1 in Columbus (the worst team in the league, by the way), then followed that up with a 5-2 home loss to rival Vancouver. That prompted some harsh words from head coach Mike Yeo about how the team "stinks."

Playoffs?!
Last night's game may have been one of the nails in the coffin for the Wild's season and playoff hopes. Too soon for a statement like that? Could be. As sports will teach you, it's not over until it's over. But right now, I'm thinking it would be a smart move for the Wild to quit focusing so much on getting into the playoffs, and management should think more about draft picks.

I haven't really looked at the standings since the Wild went on their winning streak and were the best in the league earlier this season - really, it wasn't that long ago. Now, they've been somewhere around the playoff bubble. It's a moot point if the Wild can't start playing better hockey, however.

Failing to light the lamp
The Wild had 35 shots on goal Saturday. Unfortunately, only one of those shots went in. While Columbus goalie Steve Mason did his job in between the pipes, he doesn't deserve all the credit. His glove was sharp, except where Devin Setoguchi beat him in the first period, but he didn't exactly have to turn cartwheels to make some amazing saves either.

I found out later from my mom that Mason was the second goalie for Columbus, who used all new equipment. He also hadn't won a game since Dec. 29, 2011. Just some food for thought.

Old habits
It seems as though the Wild players have gone back to that old mentality of breaking into a zone only to look up and search for a teammate to pass the puck to, instead of thinking about shooting or scoring a goal. Mikko Koivu seemed to be one of the worst offenders of this Saturday.

Although it wasn't frequent, I also spotted the Wild with three players behind the goal line in the offensive zone at times - not exactly the key place to score a goal. But, old habits die hard. The Wild need to worry more about having a stronger presence in front of the net rather than behind it. Maybe if that was the case against the Blue Jackets, a few of those shots would have made it past Mason - as he was being screened.

Niklas Backstrom didn't have that bad of a game. He gave up a goal in the last minute of the first and second periods, but that was a result of Columbus putting on the pressure late. The third goal was an empty-netter that sailed down the length of the ice.

More boo birds
After the final horn, the Wild quickly skated off the ice and into the locker room. They were whisked away to the sounds of boo birds filling the Xcel Energy Center. It wasn't the first time that's happened this season, and it probably won't be the last.

Also? Can we please get rid of the mascot Nordy? He's really cramping my style.

Clijsters pulls out the win in 'wacky' Australian Open match

2012-01-22T13:51:00.005-06:00

With the bitter January cold that comes upon us in Minnesota, so too does the heart of the summer heat arrive in Melbourne, Australia for the annual kickoff to the tennis Grand Slam season, the Australian Open.

I'm always jealous watching the tournament coverage, from my couch with snow drifts outside, when I see players sweating out their matches. With the extreme time difference, it can be tough to keep up with the Aussie Open, when live, prime time matches are played in the middle of the night for United States watchers.

With social media and the the cyber world, it's pretty much impossible to not find out what happened before you can watch the tape-delayed match later on in the day. But I do my best to try and watch as much as I can, and the tennis fever officially hit me last night as I became engrossed in the fourth round match between Kim Clijsters and Li Na.

A setback that wasn't for Clijsters
The tennis commentators kept remarking on how "wacky" the head-to-head matches between these two have been. This one was no exception. Before the final ball was struck on their three-setter, the crowd saw an injury, nerves affecting both of the players, momentum swings and one helluva tiebreaker.

I first tuned in to see Clijsters wincing in pain while getting attended to by the trainer. I kept watching to find out she was in the middle of a serving game at 3-3 in the first set, when she rolled her left ankle. Not only that, but when she fell to the court after returning the ball, she got up again to go get the next shot. Talk about being focused on the game.

As she got her ankle taped up, it appeared as though this had the potential to be a short match. How, if at all, would Clijsters be able to respond after getting shaken up by her injured ankle? She moved a little slower, but her game didn't seem to be hindered too much, and if it did she made adjustments.

That first set wound up 6-4 in favor of Li Na, the French Open champion last year. What was odd up until this point though, were all the breaks in serve for both players. Not exactly a commanding performance from either end.

One amazing comeback
Then the second set reached a tiebreak - and all appeared to be over for Clijsters, who was the defending champion of the Aussie Open. Li Na got the mini break right away as Clijsters failed to come up with the first point, and then another and another. All of a sudden, Li Na had racked up six points and had a string of match points coming her way.

And Clijsters saved all four of them. She dug deep and pulled out the second set, continuing her run of never losing a tiebreaker at the Australian Open.

It was a huge momentum shift. Li Na with a mini collapse and Clijsters with a rejuvenated burst of energy. Losing four match points in a row was obviously a big mental setback for Li Na, and it carried over immediately into the third set. Clijsters jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and it looked like she might bagel her opponent to close out the match.

Then the nerves took a jump to the other side of the court and nipped Clijsters. She was up 5-2 and was broken on her serve before she finally was able to close out the match, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Just another reason to enjoy sports
This match reminded me why I enjoy watching sports so much. Four match points in a tiebreaker where nothing was going right for Clijsters. Odds on paper are, Li Na would take the match in straight sets. But just because a player appears to have no fighting chance left, doesn't mean a thing until the game is 100 percent finished.

It may be a cliche, but it's a good one that I love: That's why they play the game.

The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2011 - Part two

2012-01-08T14:59:00.007-06:00

Part one of The Best 'Thoughts' are a lot more fun to look back on, especially when you consider all of the tragedy in sports in 2011. Like the last time though, I was able to compile fewer Worst moments than Best, so there's that.

Here are the not-so-great moments, left in chronological order:

The Worst...

Wild end 2010 on a low note
This was my first entry of the year, and I wasn't all that happy to write about a Wild game that I attended on New Year's Eve which was a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators. The Wild dug themselves an early hole they couldn't get out of and did not give their best effort to ring in the new year.

It has to get better, right?
2011 was a year to forget for the Twins, but at the end of April, I assumed the direction for the team could only go up after the first few weeks. From the terrible opening series in Toronto though, the season really didn't turn around much. But for 2012, it has to get better, right?

RIP Boogey
One of the more tragic moments of the year came with the sudden death of former Wild player Derek Boogaard. I first saw the news on Twitter, and it was really a huge shock. He was a fan favorite in Minnesota and was known in the sport as being an enforcer on the ice, but also a very caring individual off the ice.

RIP Dan Wheldon
This was another tragic moment for the year and for the entire IndyCar and racing community. In what was supposed to be an exciting, battle-for-the-championship season finale in Las Vegas, it turned into a tragic day in racing.

Thirty-three-year-old Dan Wheldon, the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, died 12 laps into the race in a terrible multi-car crash. I was glued to my TV and Twitter throughout the afternoon to follow the coverage and await word on Wheldon. He will be greatly missed in the IndyCar series.

The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2011 - Part one

2012-01-08T14:26:00.012-06:00

We're into the new year already, so I thought before it gets too far along in 2012, I'd reflect back on the best and worst sports thoughts I wrote in 2011. It's fun to look back and see what went on during the last calendar year in the world of sports, or at least the ones I write about.

One thing that sticks out for me is the number of blog entries I wrote, which was not on the same pace I had been keeping in the past. I got busy this year with a new full-time job, and my blog ended up getting neglected at times. Among my New Year's resolutions for 2012, one of them is to do a better job of keeping my blog updated.

Just like last year, I left the moments in chronological order. Here you go:

The best

Good news on the Minnesota sports front
The Wild were on a roll last year in January, but that didn't carry through the rest of the season. Brent Burns made the All-Star team, in what turned out to be his last season with the Wild. University of St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso was named Coach of the Year for NCAA Division III. Twins pitcher and fan favorite Bert Blyleven finally got his call to the hall.

Shutting out the Canucks
The Wild had an easy time with Vancouver last year, especially for this particular game with a 4-0 home win. Rookie goalie Anton Khudobin was sharp all night long in the net. The game was physical and included some highlight-reel goals.

Plus, whenever the Wild can keep the Sedins from notching any points, you need to count that as a successful night.

It's been awhile, but at least I have a good reason
This was the first blog update after my job started. I had a montage of updates including how I went through high school hockey tournament withdrawal, recounting the Wild's slide in the loss column, my opinion on throwback jerseys, the St. Thomas men's basketball team winning a national championship and the start of both baseball and the IndyCar seasons.

Centennial Indy 500
My family and I attended the 100th running of the greatest spectacle in racing. It was a beautiful day and a great race. The finish was one for the books, with the lead car crashing on the final turn, giving the victory to Dan Wheldon. The win takes on a whole different meaning now, as Wheldon was killed in October in the IndyCar season finale.

Sheppard, Delmon out of Minnesota sports
This was a happy moment for me: Delmon Young and James Sheppard left their Minnesota sports teams. If you're a reader of my blog, it's no secret that I was not thrilled with Young's play in the outfield for the Twins, and Sheppard's performance for the Wild was just terrible. Shep went to the Sharks to showcase his "offensive" skills, and Young went to division-rival Tigers, where he did quite well.

A classic World Series
The 2011 World Series featuring the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers was a great one that went seven games and had a couple of amazing comebacks. Extra innings, home runs and Joe Buck's "We'll see ya, tomorrow night" call are all major components of this series.

Check out The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2011 - Part two for some of the tough, not to mention sad, sports moments of the past year.

IndyCar 2012 schedule has arrived

2011-12-28T18:22:00.008-06:00

The 2012 IZOD IndyCar schedule is in place. So let the planning and daydreaming about attending every race begin.

It took longer than normal to release the schedule, which came out last week, because of the investigation surrounding the crash in the 2011 series finale in Las Vegas that took the life of Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon. Once those results were released, the series could move forward and look ahead to next year.

We only knew one thing for certain - that the Streets of St. Petersburg would be the first race of the season. It's now less than three months away, on March 25.

I would love to go see this race on the streets of this beautiful city on the gulf side of Florida. I was there a couple of years ago on vacation, the weekend before the race. So I got to see some of the stacks of tires and barriers lining the streets. Plus, who wouldn't want to get out of frozen Minnesota in March in favor of some sunny, warm Florida air?

Some of the usual suspects are on the schedule as well, like Texas, Iowa and Indianapolis. I think Iowa might be one of the tracks my dad and I hit for the first time this year. Now that I've moved to southeastern Minnesota, the drive is doable without even a need for a hotel stay.

Ovals aren't my favorite tracks, but I'm certainly not going to turn down a chance to watch IndyCars in action.

One course that has been absent, although not surprisingly, for this primary open-wheel circuit is Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., a beautiful four-mile road course that's been a favorite of drivers and fans for many years. We made Road America our annual racing trip as a family for many years during the CART and ChampCar eras.

With only 15 races on the schedule so far, I can certainly keep my fingers crossed that Road America will somehow make it on there. I know it's a favorite of Dario Franchitti's, and as one of the more veteran drivers with such winning ways on a primary team, his opinion should matter, right?

I would also love to see the cars running again in Cleveland, on the airport runways off the shore of Lake Erie. But with an airport race in Edmonton, it seems like a good replacement. Selfishly though, Cleveland would be more convenient for me to travel to than Edmonton, in case I wanted to be in the stands like I have in the past.

Returning after a few-year absence is the Streets of Belle Isle in Detroit. I'm having trouble placing this track; I can't seem to remember it. The oval in Fontana, Calif. is also back on the schedule. It's listed right now as the final race of the season, much like it was in the past.

Off the schedule is the race in Japan, but in its place you could say, is a race in Qingdao, China. It's a street race slated for Aug. 19. No Watkins Glen either. It's also no surprise that Las Vegas is absent from the lineup. Even without the tragedy that occurred there, the stands didn't looked packed either - for a race that fans could get a free ticket for.

Overall though, the schedule isn't bad. A lot of nice road and street courses are represented, which is better than having ovals every week like some series. Short ovals can be exciting for passing, but I think my preference will always be with the tracks with a little more variety.

A classic World Series

2011-11-06T14:43:00.003-06:00

We're into November now, which means yet another World Series is behind us and the baseball offseason has begun. But before we move on, let's remember that the 2011 World Series has been one of the best in years.

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games. The Cards, as a Wild Card team, had homefield advantage and were down 3-2 after the three straight games in Texas. But just like the Twins did in 1987 and 1991, St. Louis won games six and seven in dramatic fashion.

Game 6 of this series will probably be talked about and shown again as a "classic" game. I wouldn't say it's one of the best game 6 contests, but it was certainly exciting, dramatic and a constant swing of emotions. When it was all said and done, just before midnight, the Cards came away victorious with a 10-9 win in 11 innings.

Before the last couple of innings and the extras, game 6 really wasn't that great of a game. There were multiple errors by both sides, and it just wasn't that clean of a game. The hometown kid who turned out to be the man of the hour and the Series MVP couldn't catch a pop-up above his head. But he did own up to it in post-game interviews, which was nice to hear.

Then, things got interesting. Texas was one strike away from becoming the champs. Twice. But they were denied, just like last year when they were on the losing end of the World Series. The bottom of the ninth and extra innings turned into a slug fest.

David Freese hit a triple, which homerun-machine and right fielder Nelson Cruz could have caught to end the season. I think Cruz had a case of nerves. He didn't position himself to get to that fly ball like he might have been able to, and then on a later single he bobbled the ball a bit in between his legs.

After trading leads, homers and nervous-wreck emotions, Freese sent the series to a seventh game with one swing of the bat. It was a smash to center that sealed the deal for the Cards from a momentum standpoint.

Play-by-play announce Joe Buck used his father's, "We'll see ya, tomorrow night" call for the game-winning homer, 20 years and a day after his dad said it for Kirby Puckett's game 6 home run. Some people thought it was a great tribute when son Joe said it, others didn't like it. I was in the latter category; get your own line, Joe. I liked color analyst Tim McCarver's, "How did this happen?" line better, because it was fitting after the game that had just taken place.

You'll notice in my "We'll see ya, tomorrow night" quote from Joe Buck, that I did not use an exclamation point. That was most definitely on purpose because his excitement level didn't deserve one.

Game 7 wasn't as exciting, of course, a 6-2 win for the Cards. Texas was fighting an uphill battle of being on the road and being defeated mentally. It's too bad; I was pulling for them. But in the former Twins category, scrappy infield Nicky Punto has a ring, and so does pitcher Kyle Lohse. Good for them.

RIP Dan Wheldon

2011-10-16T20:55:00.014-05:00

The IZOD IndyCar Series lost a member of its team Oct. 16, 2011. Dan Wheldon, 33, died from the injuries he sustained in a large, 15-car crash just 12 laps in to the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wheldon was a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, in 2005 and this season in 2011. He was the series Rookie of the Year in 2003, and he captured a series championship in 2005.

During Sunday's race, Wheldon started at the back of the bigger-than-normal field in the 34th spot. He had quickly moved up to the 24th position when the carnage-filled wreck occurred on the oval track. Wheldon's was one of the cars the went airborne and hit the catch fence above the SAFER barrier wall.

He was airlifted to the medical center where he later died. The race was red flagged immediately following the crash, and the drivers made the decision to run five laps in a tribute to Wheldon, rather than finish the race.

In a fact that, appropriately, didn't seem to matter, the championship for 2011 was won by Dario Franchitti. His competition for the award, Will Power, was involved in the crash. But there was no celebration. The tone of the day really hit home when ABC cameras caught Franchitti breaking down in tears while he was being strapped into his car for the tribute.

Following the coverage
I was in the middle of cleaning my apartment when I turned on the race, just a couple of laps before the crash. I turned on the television, sank back into my recliner and was set to watch the final laps of the season tick away.

But when the coverage cut to the 15-car crash, I bolted upright in the chair and uttered "oh my God." One of the first words that came to my mind was "carnage." Twitter has become a habit of multi-tasking during races for me, and part of my first Tweet after the crash read: "Whoa. Biggest carnage of the year."

I saw some drivers out of their cars, which is always a good sign. I also saw many safety team personnel rushing to attend to drivers in their cars, another good and familiar sign of the IndyCar Series.

From then until it was officially announced that Wheldon had passed away, I kept my eyes on the ABC coverage and on Twitter. Waiting for a word on Wheldon just gave me a bad feeling - seeing the helicopter blades fire up didn't help either. The whole thing reminded me of when Dale Earnhardt died; nothing was said until word came of his death.

Tragic memories
Another vivid memory that struck me was the death of CART driver Greg Moore on Oct. 31, 1999. That race was also the season finale, a race I remember watching at home as a 7th-grader. Moore's car hit one of the inside walls extremely hard and he sustained fatal head and internal injuries. I remember that no replay was shown of the crash, and commentator Paul Page's call of "An enormous crash! Oh my God."

Unfortunately, Wheldon's outcome was the same as Moore and other drivers. Guys like Paul Dana (2006), Tony Renna (2003) and Scott Brayton (1996).

Open-wheel racing has made some great strides in safety over the decades. Everything from improved helmets to the HANS device to the SAFER barriers which lessen impacts along the walls. And there are so many crashes that look horrific, destroying the race car, but the driver often walks away. It's so easy to forget that death is a possible, and very real, risk when drivers strap in.

It's certainly not something anyone involved with the sport, fans included, want to think about. Everyone will go into the offseason with this event weighing on them until the next race and especially at Indianapolis, where Dan won't be there to defend his Indy 500 crown.

Thoughts and prayers go out to Dan's family, his wife Susie, sons Sebastian (2 years) and Oliver (six months), and also to all of the other drivers and teams in IndyCar.

RIP Dan Wheldon.

Above: Dan Wheldon takes a victory lap in the pace car after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500. (Photo credit: Kyle Rule)

Austin Packers homecoming game

2011-09-24T13:29:00.005-05:00

I took in my first Austin High School football game Friday night. The Packers played a decent game but eventually fell to Big Nine opponent Mankato East 24-13. It was homecoming week for the Packers, who are still winless on the season, and the defeat was a crushing blow in the last couple plays of the game.

With 1:37 left in the game, East led 18-13. To their credit, the Packers marched down the field, picking up some big first downs to find the red zone. The Packers failed to convert in the endzone on fourth and 13, appearing to end their chances. But a roughing the passer penalty on East gave Austin a new set of downs.

Packer quarterback Sean Coffey tried multiple times to put a pass in the endzone in the hands of a receiver. On the final play of the game, Coffey was looking to connect with wide receiver Zach Wessels. The pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown as time expired.

Wessels was slow to get up, dejected for being oh-so-close to giving his team a homecoming win.

It wasn't a bad game for the Packers, considering they're now 0-4. This might have been their best shot at a victory all season.

After a scoreless first quarter, East ran in for a touchdown with four minutes left in the half. A failed extra-point attempt left the score at 6-0. Then the Cougars kicked a field goal with 24.2 ticks remaining in the first half, making the halftime score 9-0, still within reach for the Packers.

But it was the Packers who struck first in the second half. They had two receivers wide open for a touchdown reception, narrowing East's lead to 9-7. Later in the third quarter, the Packers defense came up big on third-and-goal as they stopped the Cougars in their tracks, making them settle for a field goal and a 12-7 lead.

Austin answered with a touchdown late in the game on a lucky play with a tipped pass that ended up in the hands of a Packer. They decided to go for two, but the failed conversion left the score at 13-12, the only lead of the game for Austin.

There was too much time left though because, despite Austin intercepting East, the Cougars were able to come up with a touchdown on another possession. It gave them that 18-13 edge leading up to the final drive of the game.

Even though the Packers lost, it was still a good game to mark my first one in Austin. I was itching to go to a high school football game, and I wasn't disappointed.

Sheppard, Delmon out of Minnesota sports

2011-08-16T20:29:00.007-05:00

In recent weeks, or days, two players who I never really cared for in Minnesota sports are no longer a part of Minnesota sports teams. They would be James Sheppard (Wild) and Delmon Young (Twins).

Hallelujah! No more Shep
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw on Twitter that Sheppard had been dealt to the San Jose Sharks for a third-round draft pick in 2013. I was so excited that a) he was gone, and b) the Wild actually got something for him in return.

Loyal readers of this blog know my disdain for the not-so-offensive-minded forward. I believe his last regular season of hockey (2009-10), he tallied just six points. Six. That's pretty pathetic for any NHL player, let alone a forward.

As the ninth pick overall in 2006, Shep was the pet project of former General Manager Doug Risebrough. This young kid has not spent a game in the minors, which is really too bad for his sake. Riser promised a superstar-caliber player. Instead, he looked flat and clueless on the ice.

The Wild and the Sharks have made a few deals during this offseason, which isn't something you see all the time. It really doesn't matter though. What's important is that Shep can go be below-average somewhere else.

No more Delmon either, at least not for the Twins
Bumbling outfielder Young was also just sent to the Detroit Tigers. It worked out well; he got off the Twins bus and walked into the Tiger locker room at Comerica Park instead of the visiting locker room.

This was a trade a couple of years ago that sent pitcher Matt Garza to the Tampa Bay Rays. I was a fan of Garza's stuff and was disappointed to see him go, especially after the great playoff run by the Rays. But Young was supposed to come in and be a superstar, much like Sheppard for the Wild.

Well, we waited and waited, but stardom didn't happen. The only reprieve I gave him was at the start of the season last year when he showed up a few pounds lighter, looking fit and ready to play. He did much better offensively last season, so I came around a little for him.

Fast forward to this year and those pounds seemed to have come back. He is a staple in left field, where he looks more uncomfortable than a fat kid in a health-food store. It had become automatic to cringe each time a ball was hit in his direction. His fielding style can be quite awkward.

Need proof? Just think back to when he twisted his ankle earlier this season. That's a pretty odd way to go into the wall and try to play a baseball, don't you think?

Of course, during his first game with the Tigers, playing against the Twins, Young hits a homer. That just figures. But I'd rather have him on the opposing team now. And since he's still in the division, the Twins will see him enough that they can all try and hit some balls Young's way. Then he can do what he does best, look awkward and uncomfortable while trying to make a play.

Twins keeping quiet at dealine is a good thing

2011-07-31T22:24:00.006-05:00

The trade deadline passes and the Twins do nothing. I actually don't mind at all. There were rumors last Friday that Denard Span might be trade bait.

All-Star Michael Cuddyer has been tearing it up this year at the plate and at various positions in the field. (How many of you flipped back over to the 20-6 debacle in Texas, just to see Cuddy throw some pitches?) He's still here too, for now. I don't want to lose him to free agency either.

A quiet trade deadline for the Twins was a good trade deadline, in my opinion. When everyone's healthy, the Twins have a lot of extra outfield help. But that's a better problem to have than trying to call up lots of AAA bodies.

Keep Span around awhile
Giving away Span with the hopes of Ben Revere stepping right in as his replacement might not have been the smartest idea either. So I'm glad Bill Smith didn't try it. While I like the spark Revere brings to the team, it's no secret that he needs to work on his fielding game, specifically throwing.

When I say it's no secret, that's really true. All of the Twins' opponents have caught on to Revere's weak arm, so opposing players will constantly run the bases when the ball is hit in his direction.

Staying put is a good thing
I'm glad the Twins didn't succeed in making a deal for a division run or a playoff run. Maybe they wanted to, but the bottom line being that they didn't is a good thing. Why? Because I still don't see this team winning the division, much less getting anywhere in the playoffs. (Although, history could tell us that last part.)

There's always waivers in August though, so we'll see what happens.

Broken record?
Inconsistencies are still abundant for this team. Nick Blackburn started the embarrassment that was the 20-6 game against the Rangers, and he wasn't entirely turned around in this next start either. Starting pitching hasn't been on the ball lately.

The Twins have historically been a second-half team. Well, July is over with, meaning there are two months of regular-season baseball to play. I haven't seen anything to indicate a surge yet. Not to mention that some of those comeback years, most notably in 2003 when the Twins acquired Shannon Stewart at the deadline, the Twins were propelled along by a key player.

Maybe I'm sounding like a broken record regarding the Twins not winning the division this year. Maybe I need to jump on a new point. Or maybe the Twins could go on a huge winning streak and give me something exciting to write about.

We'll see.

An odd first-half for the Twins

2011-07-12T20:44:00.007-05:00

It's been an interesting first half for the Minnesota Twins. They lost their first game, and series, in Toronto, and it's been an uphill battle ever since. Certainly one of the more head-scratching seasons for the Twins under Ron Gardenhire.

At the All-Star Break, they are 41-48 and 6.5 games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers in the WALC (Weak American League Central) Division. Last year, the Twins were in third place at 46-42.

Anyone remember that before the season got underway, teams throughout baseball were already limping with injuries? Everyone except the Twins, ironically. They've been hit hard by the injury bug ever since.

In a 162-game season, it's no question that injuries play some kind of role in player and team performances. It's easy to point to this excuse as the reason for slumps, or for anything that doesn't go your way. But it's just part of the game and teams need to find a way to dig deep and step up to overcome the struggles.

So many injuries
I can't keep track of all the injury troubles the Twins have had this year. A much shorter list would be the players who haven't been knicked up (there have been some, right?). Tsuyoshi Nishioka got knocked out within the first few games, Justin Morneau had a season's-worth of boo-boos by June, Delmon Young mangled his ankle because he still cannot play his outfield position properly and Joe Mauer's leg weakness threw the entire sports community for a loop.

They've had so many minor leaguers up and down with the ball club that it's not always clear whether you'd be looking at the major league roster or the AAA one. It's been that kind of a season so far.

I must give kudos to the team's lone All-Star this year though: Michael Cuddyer. Though I love him in right field with his arm, he is a true gamer willing to play anywhere they need him.

All that being said about injuries, let me be clear that I am not blaming Minnesota's fourth-place position in the AL Central on injuries. Not at all. It's been unfortunate, but you can't pin the outcomes on key players missing from the lineup.

Pitching
The bullpen has struggled a lot more than in recent years. Of course, a few of the arms from last season aren't with the club anymore. Joe Nathan returned from Tommy John surgery only to have trouble stepping back into the closer's role, not exactly shocking. Matt Capps has already blown a few saves, especially recently, so he's been tough to figure out.

Jose Mijares. Don't get me started. His main selling point to the Twins is that he's a lefthanded pitcher. That's really about it. He blamed Mauer in a loss at Miller Park because he only called fastballs. Ok, Mijares, but I don't think Mauer meant throw the first three fastballs nowhere near the strike zone, and then throw a cookie to Prince Fielder so he can hit an RBI double. Take some responsibility.

Alright, so I guess I did get started there.

Starting pitching hasn't been outstanding; it's been a typical up-and-down pace. Probably the biggest bright spot of the year has been Francisco Liriano's no-hitter in Chicago.

Hitting
The big excitement here has been counting down until Jim Thome finally hammers out home run No. 600. Only five more to go. He's also had some injury issues, but I'm willing to give him a season pass - because he's 40 years old.

Cuddyer struggled a lot early on. His RBI count, which had been high the past few years, was almost non-existent for awhile. But he's really come around and been a clutch hitter lately. He's now carrying 13 home runs and 43 RBI.

I'm enjoying watching Danny Valencia and Ben Revere come around this season and contribute. Jason Kubel is a continued presence with his bat, although he's injured right now.

What's next?
The Twins have been known to be a second-half team throughout the past decade. But they also haven't dealt with the amount of struggles like this season. They're seven games below .500 and yet still only 6.5 games out of first, not an unreachable deficit.

They did make a good run in June, making up about a 10-game margin with a nice winning streak they put together. They've come back from unlikely places to win the division before, so I don't think you can ever completely rule them out, especially in the WALC.

I am still not pegging them to win the division though. We'll see how things go in July, see if the trade deadline brings about anything. Right now, it's just important for the Twins to get back above .500 and stay there, then concentrate on winning more games at home and winning more series.

Twins are making up ground

2011-06-21T20:33:00.011-05:00

Who put a quarter in the Twins? No, seriously. What can explain this amazing turnaround from the team that was the worst in baseball not too long ago? Well, things have improved. Clearly.

The Twins are riding an eight-game winning streak, have gone 15-3 in the month of June, swept the San Diego Padres in interleague play and have won 10 of their last 11 games. Oh, and they put up eight runs in the first inning in San Francisco against the defending World Series Champions Tuesday night.

I'd say that's a pretty decent stretch of baseball. Plus, you know something is up when Alexi Casilla homers for the second consecutive game. He hit one out in the ninth inning Tuesday, to seal the 9-2 win.

Making their way back
The Twins have crawled out of the AL Central basement and are now 6.5 games behind the leading Cleveland Indians. The Tigers are right with the Indians, but the Twins only trail the Chicago White Sox by a couple games, meaning a jump into third isn't that far out of reach.

How big of a leap in the standings has the Minnesota club made? Well, it was 16.5 games out of first place on June 1. So the players have rallied together to make up 10 games of the deficit in less than a month. Not too shabby.

Negatives have turned to positives as of late. Pitching and hitting have improved, which should go hand in hand with improving your ball club.

Shaking off the injuries
Also, it's helped that some players have returned from the injury line, most notably Joe "Mr. Minnesota" Mauer and the Japanese player Tsuyoshi Nishioka who hasn't played enough with the team for anyone to make a strong evaluation of him yet. The lineup has been almost unrecognizable at times; I can't keep up with who's in, who's been called up or sent down and who's hurt.

Veteran slugger Jim Thome is down with an injury right now. He's the guy I'm willing to give a pass to though, because he's 40 years old. However, I'm not too excited about Justin Morneau being banged up with multiple ailments, landing on the disabled list, like it's mid-September. He's definitely a missed bat in the lineup.

Jason Kubel and Denard Span are also ailing, hence the need for all the AAA players called up to the bigs. But Delmon Young is still around; you need someone to be out there making fans nervous as he plays left field.

Stepping it up
Michael Cuddyer has certainly turned up his offense. He has 10 home runs and 29 RBI. While I appreciate his willingness to be a "gamer" and play whatever position is needed, I still prefer him and his strong throwing arm in right field. Cuddyer's name is being thrown around for the Twins representative in the All-Star game.

I'm really warming up to outfielder Ben Revere. He reminds me of Jacque Jones, and no, it's not just because they share the No. 11 jersey. I like Revere's effort in the field and at the plate. I also like Danny Valencia, providing some much-needed consistency at third base. But he's also been hit with a small injury bug lately.

As I mentioned, pitching is also better. The Twins went into the top of the ninth inning with a one-run lead on both Friday and Saturday. Manager Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Matt Capps for the save attempt. I write "attempt" because he's 11-for-16 in save opportunities with a 4.06 ERA. He got the job done on those two occasions.

Division title? Let's slow down a little.
A friend asked me last Friday if the Twins were going to win the division. I said no. They've been playing better lately, but they also dug themselves a large hole to start the season, and keeping pace with 15-3 ball is tough to do over a longer span of time.

It's just turning around and going the Twins' way right now. We shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves. Now, could the Twins come back and win the division? Well, stranger things have happened. They are a second-half team and have made comebacks before in recent memory.

I will say this: If the Twins do manage to come back and win the AL Central, it will prove once and for all how extremely weak the division is.

Videos: 2011 Indianapolis 500

2011-06-01T20:56:00.004-05:00

A few of my videos from the turn four stands of the Indianapolis 500.

Parade lap

Green flag racing

Under caution

Restart

Restart

Centennial Indy 500

2011-05-31T18:04:00.015-05:00

It's quite fitting that my 100th blog post will be about the 100th anniversary of the greatest spectacle in racing, the Indianapolis 500. The Centennial celebration Sunday was the 95th running of the great car race. (The first race was in 1911, but the event wasn't held during the World Wars.)

My parents, brother and I had the chance to attend the race in 2009 (the first year of the Centennial Era), and now in 2011, ending the era. It was a pretty great experience to be part of history.

There's still nothing like attending an IndyCar race in person, but the Indy 500 is like a whole other machine. It's the biggest single-day sporting event in the world; it's like one giant party at times too. Where else can you have 250,000 cheering fans circling the 2.5-mile oval?

Anything can happen
The anticipation for this event was huge, even more so because the qualifying field of 33 wasn't exactly typical. The two dominating teams of Penske and Target Chip Ganassi had their issues. Dario Franchitti ran out of gas on his qualifying run, starting him ninth on the grid for Target. And Team Penske's best qualifier was Will Power, starting fifth.

Team Target's Scott Dixon was a favorite heading into the race, because he started second behind polesitter Alex Tagliani.

I was kind of interested to see how the race would play out with such a jumbled field. But boy, did this field deliver. Fans were treated to 23 lead changes, 10 different leaders and a crazy finish where a rookie driver came oh-so-close to drinking that bottle of milk.

It all came down to the very end
Due to various pit strategies and cars that needed to come in toward the end to get fuel, the last stint of laps out of the 200 were pretty exciting. Golden-girl Danica Patrick led for 10 laps, and she was likely a caution flag away from her first Indy 500. But she needed to pit, and then I assumed Franchitti would be in position to take the race, since he pitted earlier and is always competitive.

But he must have been off the pace. Suddenly, here comes rookie JR Hildebrand into the lead with two laps to go. Anything could still happen, but when he came around turn four on the final lap, I assumed he'd have the race.

I, and probably everyone else, was wrong.

In what's being dubbed a rookie mistake by Hildebrand, he made the decision to go on the outside and pass the lapped car of Charlie Kimball in turn four. Bad move. He got up into the "marbles" on the outside of the track and hit the wall coming out of four and onto the main straightaway.

I can't believe that finish
I saw him hit the wall, stood up on the bleachers and tried to figure out who actually won the race. I had no idea who was running directly behind him. It wasn't until a few seconds later when I heard it on the public address system that Dan Wheldon had come out in front. Hildebrand still managed to cross the finish line in second place.

It was Wheldon's second Indy 500 win, in his only race of the 2011 season as he is without a full-time ride in the IZOD IndyCar series (like so many other talented drivers). The end was pretty shocking and exciting. A finish to remember like 1982, 1992 or 2006.

There was some question as to whether Wheldon should be named the official winner though. Because you can't pass cars once the caution comes out, in this case, because of Hildebrand's wreck. But replays clearly show the yellow light came on after Wheldon passed the wrecked rookie on the main straight for the win.

This call wasn't as close as the controversy with Paul Tracy and winner Helio Castroneves in 2002 (a race that should be Tracy's, in my opinion).

Such a great race
Thankfully, the weather for race day was perfect. It had been raining in Minnie and Indy for what seemed like weeks. But the skies finally cleared and temperatures rose - a nice, sunny 90-degree day was in store for the 500-mile journey.

The race didn't disappoint at all. It was a blast.

Twins are still in a tailspin

2011-05-16T15:32:00.014-05:00

OK, so maybe it doesn't have to get better. The problems for the Twins go all the way back to the first inning of the first game of the 2011 season. You'd think they wouldn't have anywhere to go but up, although the light at the end of the tunnel seems to get fainter by the day.

They are the worst team in baseball, with a record of 12-27. They are riding a nine-game losing streak, after getting swept at home by the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. Now they are on the road for seven games. What will it take to stop the bleeding?

From silent bats, to bullpen implosions, to starting pitching problems, Twins baseball remains tough to watch at times.

Looking on the (small) bright side
Thanks to a gracious invitation from my former professor Kris Bunton, I attended the game on Saturday. It was a beautiful day for... football. I dressed in layers for the chilly, rainy weather. It actually wasn't all that unbearable; we just focused on pleasant conversation and the game.

The one bright spot for the day was that the Twins were getting hits. They just weren't timely hits; their LOB count was at 12 by the end of the game. Michael Cuddyer also hit a home run to left field to break a 2-2 tie.

And, I'm reaching here, the Twins also completed a successful rundown play. They had the Blue Jay caught between first and second, and I said, "Uh-oh. It's a rundown." The rundown play will never be routine for the Twins again, I said after the runner was tagged out. Let's remember that they failed to convert this play during that first game of the season.

Nick Blackburn pitched well and into the eighth inning. He was taken out after one batter too many though, surrendering the tying run. The Twins continued to have their chances and continued to strand runners on base.

That awful 11th inning
Then came the top of the 11th inning. This is where it gets embarrassing.

At a 3-3 tie, the Twins started the inning with Glen Perkins and Jim Hoey. Perkins got a batter on base, and Hoey was the first one to really give the game away by giving up a two-run shot to home-run king Jose Bautista (you know, the same guy that went on to hit three homers in Sunday's debacle?).

Here's an idea: Don't pitch to Bautista. Don't give the guy anything good to hit. You can accomplish this by walking him (intentionally or "intentionally") each time he steps to the plate. Unrealistic you say? Maybe. But pitchers need to at least pitch very, very carefully unless they want to get burned.

So, with a 5-3 score, it looked like the game might be over. But the top-of-the-11th antics were only getting started. I wished I would have been timing it. The inning went on so long, that I looked up at the scoreboard and didn't even realize that there weren't any outs recorded.

Pitching woes only continue
Walks have been a problem for the Twins pitching staff, and it was walks galore during the 11th. Hoey got the hook (after walking two batters) in favor of Jose Mijares, who promptly came in and gave up two screaming hits down the left-field line and then walked a pair.

If Mijares didn't throw with his left hand, I really don't see how he would still be on this team. He's since been placed on the disabled list after experiencing soreness in his elbow.

Alex Burnett also came in to pitch. When all the damage was done, the Jays batted around and put up six runs, giving them the eventual 9-3 win and the series victory.

It began to rain harder during the inning, but I think the stadium mainly started to clear out because of the play on the field. Small bright-side consolation for me: I didn't have to worry about fighting traffic getting out of the parking ramp.

Still no answers
Losing nine in a row is never a good thing, and it makes you wonder if there is any coming back from this, as far as a division title goes. It's just amazing how fast and how hard the Twins have fallen. At 13.5 games back in the AL Central, it seems they've become the division doormat. Look at the rest of baseball and you'll see divisions that are pretty close, or at least not so out of reach.

Injuries have been a problem for the club this season, but I don't think I can point to that as the culprit for this abysmal season. Cuddyer can't hit with runners on base. I don't think Justin Morneau has returned to his old self (at the plate or digging out balls at first). Drew Butera's average is hovering around the .100 neighborhood.

They need to turn things around and, at this point, at least win a game. Guys need to step up and start hitting. Jason Kubel's been doing OK at the plate; maybe he should start giving out pointers.

Somebody needs to save the Twins from this tailspin they're on before they nosedive to their worst season in recent memory (or ever).

RIP Boogey

2011-05-15T19:50:00.010-05:00

Taking life for granted. I believe it's something we've all done at one point or another, even though some days we're reminded why we should enjoy every moment we have. Days like this past Friday, when Minnesota and the entire NHL community were hit hard with the news that Derek Boogaard had passed away.

I was sitting in my apartment checking the various social media sites on my computer, when I read a Tweet that shocked me. It came from Star Tribune Wild beat writer Michael Russo (@Russostrib):

"Awful news: Derek Boogaard was found dead today in his Minneapolis apartment by members of his family. He was 28. #mnwild #nyrangers"

Then I quickly saw three retweets from other Twin Cities sports media personnel. Honestly, I didn't want to believe it and probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been from Russo; I knew he wouldn't mess around with a Tweet like that unless it were true.

An enforcer, not a goon
Boogaard was known as "the Boogeyman" during his time with the Wild. He was a fan favorite because he was the team's enforcer and stuck up for his teammates by racking up tons of five-for-fighting penalty minutes.

I always said that I liked Boogaard because he was an enforcer and not a goon. The difference being that he wouldn't take cheap shots or go after players half his size just because he was a big guy looking for a fight. He made his presence known on the ice as a guy you didn't want to tangle with.

Boogey's presence against Anaheim
One of his most famous moments that I'll always remember was during the 2007 playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks. Brad May had just sucker-punched Kim Johnsson, and while the penalty minutes were being sorted out, Boogey started jawing with the Anaheim bench, challenging its guys to a fight.

Fans wanted Boogey. Chants of Boo-gaard echoed the building. After asking for approval from the coaches (I think), Boogey skated onto the ice, drawing electric cheers from the crowd at the Xcel Energy Center.

Teddy bear with a drought
What was also so special about Boogaard is that as tough as his image was on the ice, he was apparently the complete opposite off the ice, like a "teddy bear," as many players have said.

He wore number 24 in Minnesota, and I have to say that it just didn't look right when Martin Havlat changed to the 24 jersey.

Boogaard's last games were played with the New York Rangers. He had a goal drought of more than 230 games before scoring on a slapshot, breakaway goal last November. That had to be one of the highlights of his career.

Life is short
The cause of his death probably won't be known for a few weeks. But it'll be hard to get closure for whatever the result will be. It's a tragedy to die at 28, no matter what the reason.

So it's times like these that make us take a closer look at our lives, and how fast they can be gone. It's easy to take life for granted, but heartbreaking tragedies like Boogaard's seem to make us step back and realize the gifts we have throughout our lives.

Enjoy today as a gift, because tomorrow is not a given for any of us.

RIP Boogey.

More Boogaard coverage: "So long to the Boogey Man" Russo's Rants blog, Startribune.com

It has to get better, right?

2011-04-30T22:02:00.004-05:00

I said a couple weeks ago that things can only get better for the Twins. Well, that doesn't seem to be happening just yet.

After beating the red-hot Cleveland Indians for a couple games to go on a mini winning streak last week, the Twins turned in their worst performance of the season in a chilly, home series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The first game didn't happen due to rain (Ma Nature is going to offer serious payback for the good weather during Target Field's inaugural season.), and it wasn't long into the first game the two teams played that I dubbed this "a series to forget."

Forgettable Thursday
The doubleheader on Thursday was absolutely pathetic. I had trouble looking at the Tweets during the day game because the news just kept getting worse. A 15-3 beating. Tampa's Ben Zobrist went nuts with 10 RBI on Thursday alone.

Then in the nightcap, improvement was still no where to be found for the Twins. It took until the seventh inning before the they scratched across their first hit, and then a measly run. The stats from these games were just ridiculous, in a negative way.

Good old KC... not
Next up was a trip to Kansas City, a place where the Twins have always felt welcome. But these April Royals aren't the normal pushovers, and they took the first two games. A 4-3 win Friday, and a score-deceiving 11-2 win Saturday. Errors and bullpen trouble led to an eight-run bottom of the eighth, blowing a tight game out of the water.

The injury concerns are still present as well. Delmon Young went on the disabled list this week. Jim Thome and Jason Repko were out for a game with strained muscles (stretching, anyone?). Joe Mauer's return is anyone's guess, although it's probably later rather than sooner.

It was so bad this week that the Twins only had one healthy bench player for a game, before making a couple roster moves. Plus, the flu bug has now hit Carl Pavano, along with Justin Morneau and Mauer this season.

Casilla is the James Sheppard of the Twins
I'm probably going to start writing as much about Alexi Casilla as I do about James Sheppard for the Wild, in a negative light, of course. Casilla's play in the infield is baffling at times, especially for a guy who isn't a rookie. He's 26 and has been up and down with the Twins for a few years now.

The Twins infielders have had to step up with the injury to Tsuyoshi Nishioka, but Casilla is still not getting it done out there. He makes poor decisions and his bat is nothing to write home about either.

Last Sunday, he made a base running mistake that most little leaguers would avoid. He tried to score from second on a single to right field but was tagged out before reaching home. On his turn at third base, he made no attempt to look at the third base coach but was instead looking at the direction of the ball.

That's why you have a base coach, Casilla.

Enough is enough
The "it's still early" excuse is getting a little old. April baseball is done now and the Twins are 9-17, holders of the worst record in the American League. They are nine games back in the AL Central, the biggest margin of any division in the majors.

You've got to hand it to Michael Cuddyer though, a gamer who wants to play any position the manager asks him to. Cuddy has been stepping up this week and taking responsibility; no excuses, they need to play better baseball.

Maybe it's just the case that the Twins are hitting their injury, pitching, hitting and fielding slumps all at the same time, in the beginning of the season. Maybe they'll turn things around in May (or June). Maybe.

But if not, we're in for more painful-to-watch baseball more often than not.

For the Twins, things just keep getting worse

2011-04-16T20:37:00.004-05:00

Oh dear. If I thought the 2-4 start for the Twins was bad, it certainly hasn't gotten any better until this point either. From team-wide hitting slumps to injuries to blown saves, the Twins have provided their fans with a major slump to start off the first half of April.

The Twins haven't won a series yet, hold a 4-10 record, have lost four in a row and are in the American League Central Division basement. They have managed to win just one game in each series, and that's assuming they'll be able to salvage the final game of the four-game series in Tampa on Sunday.

I thought maybe the home opener last week would set a spark in motion for this ball club. While it did win its first game against Oakland, the hits and runs didn't get going until the eighth inning when they knocked in a couple for a 2-1 win on April 8.

Maybe the one bright spot in the homestand was a 4-3 walk-off win Tuesday over Kansas City when Danny Valencia came up with the bases juiced and knocked in the game-winning RBI single. But that game was followed up by a 10-5 loss.

Then the Twins went down to Tampa Bay to play in front of the huge crowds there. (Seriously, what's with the lack of interest in the Rays?) Tampa had also been struggling to score runs, so it was a battle between two teams looking to get the bats going. With three games in, Tampa has that battle won.

April 14, 2011: A day Twins fans would like to forget

Before the game even started, fans had reason to scratch their heads. Joe Mauer wouldn't be playing for the second game in a row because he needed to rest. That means Drew Butera was in, and therefore the Twins basically send eight guys to the plate.

Runs were hard to come by again, but Carl Pavano pitched a gem of a game, leaving after eight innings with a 2-0 lead. All they had to do was finish off the Rays in the ninth. Enter "closer" Joe Nathan.

With a couple guys on and a hard-hit double, the game was tied 2-2 through nine innings. That was blown save No. 1 of the night. Valencia again tried to be the hero with an RBI single in the 10th inning, but then Matt Capps (closer No. 2) allowed a walk-off two-run homer by Johnny Damon to give the Twins a tough 4-3 loss. Blown save No. 2 of the night.

Following the game, it was announced that Mauer would be going on the 15-day disable list with "bilateral leg weakness," whatever that means. So, not the greatest day for the Minnesota ball club.

More of the same on Saturday

After a 5-2 loss Friday night, the Twins fell again to the Rays as they did Thursday. Another blown save by Nathan, another starting pitcher with a no-decision (Scott Baker), another 4-3 loss, another walk-off hit from Damon. Capps gave up a run in the eighth for a 3-2 Twins lead when Nathan got the ball again in the ninth. The second pitch of the inning landed in the outfield seats to tie the score.

Nathan had trouble finding the plate, giving up two walks. He was yanked for Jose Mijares, who also had trouble finding the zone. With two runners on, both Nathan's responsibility, Damon struck again with an RBI single to right field. Blown save No. 2 on the season and the game's loss went to Nathan, who also has an 8.44 ERA.

What do I think?

I think the Twins are in a huge funk. We're now halfway through April and these guys aren't showing me anything. Batting averages are pathetic, especially so early in the year. And I know "the book" says you go to your closer in the ninth, but what if you don't have a closer? Nathan and Capps need to figure things out, and fast.

I also think it was a mistake to have Nathan step right back into the closer role after being off for a year due to surgery. He wasn't exactly lights-out pre-2010 either, always making his outings interesting.

Tommy John surgery isn't like flipping a switch. Have the Twins forgotten about Francisco Liriano's first year after TJ surgery? It wasn't too pretty. Give Nathan chances to pitch, just not as the closer.

Bottom line for this team is that the bats need to get going. Somebody needs to step up and start carrying these guys. Right now, I don't care about the "big picture" argument that it's early in the season and they'll come around. It's pretty tough to watch your team perform this way on a consistent basis right at the start of the season.

Not the best start to 2011 for the Twins

2011-04-07T20:57:00.007-05:00

The Minnesota Twins have yet to play a game at Target Field this season, and it's already been a rocky road for them. They will kick off their first homestand with a 2-4 record following trips to Toronto and the dreadful New York.

I can hardly imagine a worse way to start the season than how the Twins started 2011 last Friday night against the Jays. What went wrong in that 13-3 loss? Well, let's see: A misplayed rundown, an error, a hit batter, walks, walking in a run following a double steal, a balk and giving up four runs. And that was just in the bottom of the first.

Yes, it was just the first inning of the first game of a 162-game season. But that first inning, and the whole game, was brutal. Baseball fans waited six months for this? With a 13-3 score, I won't go into the rest of the details.

Things didn't get better

Saturday's game really wasn't much different for the Twins. Sure, they didn't have all the first-inning "jitters," and the score was a bit lower. But the equation was the same: Poor pitching with little hit/run support.

They finally managed a win with a salvaged game on Sunday, as they barely hung on to win 4-3. Joe Nathan came in for his first appearence since his surgery last year, and he had to make it interesting. He loaded the bases and gave up a run before getting the save. Too close for comfort, yet again. Thanks to Denard Span for his homer in the eighth inning.

That's why they call it an insurance run.

New York, and why is Mauer being rested?

Then, it was off to the Bronx to play four games against the Yankees. It turned out to be three with a rain-out on Wednesday, but the game that the Twins won was a good one. They finally got a clutch hit when Delmon Young hit a bloop, bases-clearing double to tie the score late at 4 apiece. Joe Mauer knocked in the run in the 10th to give the Twins the 5-4 victory.

Speaking of Mauer, he was rested Sunday and manager Ron Gardenhire also wanted to rest him on Wednesday. I understand his injury-filled past, but it's early in the season. And, oh yeah, he's on a $184 million contract. Let him play.

I'd also be curious to know how much other catchers around the league are rested, since they are playing the same physically-demanding position.

Nishi heads to the DL

Bad news for the newbie Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He's going on the disabled list after getting taken out in the field by Nick Swisher sliding into second. The result was a broken fibula. I hadn't been too impressed with Nishi so far, but a few games is not enough to decide his worth. Plus, I think he definitely had some butterflies out there.

All the experts are pointing to a clean slide from the Yankee Swisher, and if the rule is that he needs to be able to touch the bag, then I agree that it was clean. But I still don't have to like it. He's a Yankee and as a baseball fan of any other major league team, I reserve the right to dislike anything relating to the Yankees.

That's just one of those unwritten rules of baseball, right?

It's been awhile, but at least I have a good reason

2011-03-31T19:05:00.026-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't updated my blog since Valentine's Day. I don't think I've ever let it go that long, but at least I have a good excuse... I landed a full-time job! I am now a news reporter with the Post-Bulletin in Austin, Minn. I moved down about a month ago and have been keeping busy with my new job and getting my apartment in order. Things are going well so far.

As far as sports go, that's what I have this blog for. So much has happened in the sports world that I don't know where to begin. I won't try to recap everything, so maybe I'll just make a list of some of the notable highlights and things on my mind sports-wise.

Tourney withdrawal

With the television set up I have at my new place, I don't get the Twin Cities local channels, which includes missing all the televised high school state tournament games. I was going through major high school boys' hockey withdrawal. Like many, the boys' state tournament is one of the greatest sporting events of the year.

I was able to catch a couple of games, including the instant-classic Class 2A final between Eden Prairie and Duluth East in multiple overtimes. From everything I read, it seemed as though the section playoffs and then the state tourney were just filled with great games.

Wild find a tailspin

Oh, the Wild. They were on the verge of making a push for the playoffs about a month ago. They were playing well. Then the blades came off. They started losing, and bad. These weren't close games. Two 4-0 games where they didn't show up at all, then an 8-1 beating at home.

I have gone back and forth all season with their up-and-down play and have said "they're done." Well, after their streak, I think it was a pretty safe bet that they were absolutely done. It was just bad. As in, Richards-might-get-fired bad.

Throwbacks

Awhile ago, I wanted to write an entry about throwback jerseys in professional sports. I don't know whose idea it was to start digging up all these jerseys from decades ago, but whoever it was started a huge fad.

Initially, I think the idea was kind of neat. Fans get to see some old-school jerseys for a nice change of scenery. But now I just think the concept is overdone and has lost all meaning. Teams are wearing throwbacks so much that it's really more annoying to try and figure out which teams are which in some cases. Of course, money makes the world go round.

With throwbacks, plus teams coming out with third jerseys or new jerseys altogether, organizations can market those to fans and make some more money. Whatever. They just don't mean much to me.

St. Thomas basketball: National champs

The St. Thomas men's basketball team won its first-ever NCAA DIII National Championship. I was keeping up with their run mostly through articles and social media. They had made deep runs the past few years, having a strong program, but they ultimately fell short. It was nice to see them bring some good sports news to Minnesota since the rest of the teams weren't doing anything.

IndyCar season has arrived

Last Sunday marked the start of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar season. The opener was on the streets of glorious St. Petersburg, Fla. It was 85 degrees and sunny (unlike the thunder and rain of last year that delayed the race until Monday). Yes, I was definitely jealous that I wasn't there in person.

I did get to watch the race in beautiful HD since I was visiting my parents for the weekend though. (But trust me, TV does not do those racing machines justice.) The start was a little rocky, with the new restart format. And just like last year, Marco Andretti was on his head in the first corner of the first lap of the season.

It was a pretty good race though, with the main highlight coming off the drive of Simona de Silvestro. She finished a career-best fourth and gave Tony Kanaan a run for third near the end. Last year's champion Dario Franchitti drove to victory lane.

Baseball season is here

Opening day has arrived for Major League Baseball. For some reason, baseball season snuck up on me this year. Maybe it was because I didn't pay attention to spring training, which doesn't mean much anyway. Or maybe it was for the same reason that I ignored this blog for so long, I was going a mile a minute with my new job and moving.

As for the Twins, we were all left with a bitter taste in our mouths after last season, which I will not get into. Their bullpen got a bit of a shakeup, they picked up a player from Japan, their starting rotation (though average) is intact from 2010.

Can they make a deep playoff run? I'll believe it when I see it. Last year was pretty crushing. I flipped through my Sports Illustrated and saw they have the Twins winning the division, but I think we all take that for granted.

A couple schedule notes: There seems to be a lot more four-game series than I remember, which I'm not initially a fan of. Also, since they are starting right at the beginning of April, they are also done playing regular-season ball before my birthday at the end of September. I don't remember that before either.

So, once again I write a lengthy post when I meant for it to be a bit shorter. That's just how I do things, I guess. I'll try to fuel my sports cravings with posts more often. Thanks for reading!

Touch-up icing versus no-touch icing

2011-02-14T15:39:00.007-06:00

As the years tick by in the sports world, things change. We've seen the digital age spill over into professional sports with the use of video replays to help determine that the correct call is made. There's also the steroid era, most notably in baseball. And in a lot of sports, either by nature or enhancing drugs, athletes are getting bigger and stronger.

Change is a part of life, so sports are no exceptions.

Examining whether certain rules need adjusting is a big talking point among analysts and the casual fan. As the saying goes, "there's always room for improvement."

Can't touch this
I want to dive in to the debate between touch-up icing and no-touch icing in hockey. The high school level has no-touch icing, while the NHL does not. I'm in favor of changing the rules in the NHL to institute the no-touch rule.

The No. 1 and obvious reason why? Injuries. Just ask former Wild player Kurtis Foster and Houston Aeros' player Tyler Cuma, who tore his ACL over the weekend after a nasty collision with the end boards. Foster broke his leg and was out of commission with the Wild for 11 months. He got hurt after being hit against the boards while chasing the puck in a game in San Jose.

So the question to ask: Is it really worth risking serious injury to players just for a race at full speed to a puck in hopes of getting to it first to make a play or for a well-positioned faceoff?

Not in my opinion.

Injuries always a threat, still...
Now, I know injuries can happen at any time during games, or even warm ups. Heck, players can be forced to sit out after seemingly harmless things like cutting his finger on a suitcase zipper. (See former Twins pitcher Rick Reed in 2002).

But sometimes there are precautions you can take to help minimize the number of injuries, and I think the icing versus no-touch icing falls into that category.

I mean, how many times does a player actually get back in time to touch the puck first so there is no icing call? It happens, but I'd say more often than not, it's touched up for the icing call. So if icing is the case most of the time anyway, than why not just have the no-touch rule to save on some potential injuries.

Just don't take the risk
Players chasing down the puck with an opponent, and then colliding with each other on the end boards at a high rate of speed isn't a great combination. The play happens so quickly that incidental and dangerous contact is hard to avoid.

Instituting no-touch icing might result in a couple more faceoffs, and it will give teams a few more seconds on the power play (which can be good or bad, depending on which side you're on at the time), but so what? Why risk it when there is so much at stake.

If it can work at the high school level, it should also be fine at the professional level. It'll eliminate a lot of problems and headaches - or worse - for teams all across the league.

Let's do away with All-Star games

2011-02-07T21:35:00.006-06:00

All-Star games. Is it time to do away with the concept of gathering professional sports' best stars and actually playing a game? Yes, I think so. The games are just turning into laughable affairs, or at least games that don't really represent competitiveness.

I watched the NHL All-Star game last weekend. Of course, I went into it knowing what to expect - an offensive outburst of breakaways and goals. On a recent entry I joked about a 15-12 game. I was a little high; the final score ended up being 11-10 in favor of Team Lidstrom, part of the new format for the NHL contest.

It actually might have been one of the better games in recent history; at least it was close at the end. Early on though, it didn't look too good when Team Lidstrom got down 4-0 to Team Staal in the first period. As expected, there were numerous breakaways, and not just 2-on-1s either. We're talking 3 or even 4-on-1 advantages.

The results were pretty, highlight-reel goals. Those were made possible by a style of play that included little defense and pretty much no physicality. If you like checks, hits and fights, the All-Star game is not for you; it's more like a women's hockey game.

Wild boys
Brent Burns and Martin Havlat were the representatives for the Minnesota Wild, and they were both drafted by Team Lidstrom. It's a good thing too, because then I knew who to cheer for in the non-competitive game.

I didn't think Burns was anything special during the game; he seemed to make a few mistakes once in awhile. Havlat had three assists and Burns had one. It really would have been cool to see one of the two score a goal, since those were flowing so freely during the game for other players. Oh well.

New format is... alright
As far as the new format goes, where two chosen team captains draft players at random regardless of conference, I was sort of indifferent. I always like to cheer for guys from "my" team in All-Star games, so as I said, I'm glad Havlat and Burns ended up on the same side.

If they had been split up, I don't know how I would have liked it. I guess I would just have to treat it like the exhibition contest that it really is and admire the pretty goal scoring. Heck, the Sedin twins from Vancouver were split up, so things were definitely jumbled.

Oh, and how about Phil Kessel getting a brand new car because he was the last guy picked in the draft? Somehow I don't think that's how it works when kids are playing a pick-up game at the local rink. Sorry, nobody wanted you, so here's a car.

Stop the games
But back to my thought about why All-Star games should cease. The NFL Pro Bowl was later that same night. I didn't watch any of that game, but I heard it was pretty ridiculous. The NFC was running away with the game, making it a huge laugher. And just like there is no checking in hockey, apparently tackling was non-existent at the Pro Bowl.

So stop going through the formality of actually playing these games. It has no real representation of the players and what they can really do because they are not giving 100 percent, competitive effort. One obvious reason is because no one wants to send a player back to his team with an injury. I get that, but there is always an injury risk during games, no matter how you play.

A way to fix the MLB All-Star game
The MLB All-Star game is the only one that's semi-decent in quality. It has dominant pitching shutting down some of the best hitters in the game. And for the past few years, the game's result has consequences: The winning league earns homefield advantage for the World Series.

Now, if we do away with All-Star games as I suggest, how would this advantage get decided, you ask? It's really very simple. We go back to the way it was before that infamous 7-7 tie from 2002 and just award homefield to the different league every other year. I never had an issue with that and it keeps things fair, especially since most of the players playing in the All-Star game won't get to enjoy that advantage in the Series that they played for.

Meet in the middle
I'm not saying the concept of All Stars should go away altogether; I just think the games should stop. You can still elect a group of All Stars based on their outstanding performance during the season. You can still choose a city to host a bunch of festivities associated with the big game so fans can come and have a good time and the athletes could do something to put on a show for the fans.

Or, I'd also be fine with simply naming a team and giving the league a break for a few days; the players like their vacations anyway. Whatever you do, just don't bother with the game.

Home run derby is losing luster
I'm also including the Home Run Derby in my list of things to cut. It can be a fun and exciting contest for the fans to watch, but the selection of participants is becoming a joke. By the time you have your hitters in the box, there have been a lot of candidates asked to participate who have declined. You're getting third and fourth choices up there swinging for the fences.

A big reason for the no's? Fear of injury or messing up one's swing for the rest of the season. Whether it's legitimate or not, it's just another reason to do away with it. If players are so concerned about getting injured, then fine. Don't try to put on some second-rate game where everyone is playing it safe.

Just end all of the All-Star hoopla, take a short break, so we can get on with the rest of the season.

Minnesota Wild at the NHL All-Star break

2011-01-26T15:54:00.009-06:00

The Minnesota Wild went into the All-Star break with a 4-2 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. This puts the Wild in eighth place in the Western Conference with 55 points (tied with San Jose) at the measuring-stick point of the season.

They have been an inconsistent, up-and-down team this season, as in years past. It's been a team that can impress and amaze one night, and then completely collapse the next. A team that can go from a decent first period, to coming out absolutely flat in the second period.

Being in the hunt for a playoff spot is fine, as long as you can maintain your level of play in order to break into the top eight. And even then, you'll end up playing the top-seeded teams and have your back up against the wall.

But hey, it's still about halfway through the season, so let's just wait and see how things shake out in the ever-tight West. Three-point games make the standings extremely competitive and ever-changing. It's hard to scoreboard watch too far in advance, and it's best just to keep trying to win as many games, in regulation, as possible to help your team.

Two All-Stars for the Wild
Brent Burns was named to the NHL All-Star game, and just this week it was announced that his teammate Martin Havlat will join him. It is only the second time that the Wild will have two representatives at one All-Star game. The other came when St. Paul hosted the event back in 2004.

Havlat has been having a great season and he leads the team with 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists). Mikko Koivu is right on his tail with 43 points.

At one point, the defenseman Burns was leading in the goal category. Now, he joins Koivu, Havlat and Cal Clutterbuck who are all sitting at the 14-goal mark.

Like goals? Then the All-Star game is for you
The new-format All-Star game is this Sunday in Raleigh, N.C. We'll see how the ratings do. Star player Sidney Crosby won't play because he's been out for most of January with a concussion. His Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin won't play either.

Plus, I'll be honest. The NHL All-Star game is never too exciting of a game in my eyes, from the standpoint of competition, that is. If you like to see goal scoring, then sit back and enjoy the 15-12 goal fest. I kid, but it does seem to have that offensive quality to it, unlike the Major League Baseball All-Star game which is a little more like a regular game, and it actually means something now too.

It's a little harder with hockey because hitting and physical play are such a part of the game, but no one wants to be responsible for injuring a player in an exhibition game, so it is a different atmosphere.

If you want to catch the All-Star action this weekend, watch on Versus at 3 p.m. for the big game. Cheer on Burns and Havlat.

Shutting out the Canucks

2011-01-17T16:16:00.019-06:00

Sometimes in sports, you just have a team's number. That seems to be what's happening with the Wild whenever the Vancouver Canucks come to St. Paul for a division-rivalry game.

Left: Wild goalie Anton Khudobin

With a 4-0 win for Minnesota on Sunday night, it marked the fourth straight game at the Xcel Energy Center that it's won against the Canucks.

Vancouver has such a hard time playing here that it didn't start its dominating goaltender Roberto Luongo (whose statistics at the X are less than desirable), but instead started Cory Schneider. The goalie switch-a-roo didn't seem to phase the Wild one bit.

The shutout win snapped a three-game losing streak (preceded by a four-game win streak) for the Wild. It was a great effort against a team with the best record in the NHL, a team which had only lost one game in regulation since early December before the loss to the Wild.

Wild came to play
Right from the start, there wasn't much to complain about. I could tell early on that Wild rookie goalie Anton Khudobin was on his 'A' game. He made some great saves all night, with some help from his defenders, to earn his first career NHL shutout in only his third career start. Amazing job for the call-up filling in for the injured Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore.

No goals were scored in the first period, but that didn't stop the fans from giving the Wild a warm reception as they went to the locker room. It's much better than booing them into an intermission, that's for sure. The Wild held a 8-0 shot advantage until almost the halfway mark of the period.

The Wild got on the board a few minutes into the second, with a diving-effort, power-play goal by Andrew Brunette. It would turn out to be the scrappiest goal of the night. Martin Havlat continued showing his offensive skill with a pretty breakaway goal about halfway through the second.

Makin' the highlight reel

In the middle of killing a penalty, Minnesota native Matt Cullen grabbed a bouncing puck that had trickled out to center and away from a Vancouver defender. Cullen turned on the jets and created a beautiful breakaway for a shorthanded goal.

It's pretty rare that you can see two breakaways in a game, let alone having both of the shots hit the inside of the cage.

Cullen's goal early in the third seemed to end any chance the Canucks may have had to come back. John Madden also had a highlight-reel goal later with great assists to Cullen and Chuck Kobasew.

As for the shutout, anytime you can keep the dangerous Sedin twins off the score sheet, it's a good day.

Physical game? Check.
I was hoping for some hitting and fighting during the game, being that it was Vancouver and all. I got my wish. The Boogeyman-replacement Brad Staubitz dropped the gloves with Aaron Volpatti in the first after Staubitz hit Andrew Alberts so hard that he went sailing on the ice into his team bench.

In the second, it was Kobasew getting into the action with a scrum against Keith Ballard. Both fights were worth it, many punches were thrown. Ballard and Kobasew even had to be separated by the referees because they went on so long on the ice that they were tired out. No take down there.

Hitting, and often times fighting, are a part of the game. It was great to see these parts showing up on Sunday.

Above: Me and my friend Michael.

Thanks goes out to my friend Michael for inviting me to the game; we had some great seats. That's him in the above photo, wearing a Wild jersey for the first time ever. It was his first piece of hockey apparel. I was a proud sports friend.

What's next?
The Wild now hit the road for a few games. We'll see if the effort put forth against the league's best team can hold up for a little while.

If you're watching the points in the standings (which I don't like to do since it changes so much, so frequently), eight teams are currently ahead of the Wild in the Western Conference. Minnesota is tied with San Jose and Los Angeles with 49 points each. But that's at the moment.

Good news on the Minnesota sports front

2011-01-11T14:16:00.005-06:00

A lot of good things have happened recently in the wide world of Minnesota sports. Maybe it's enough to overshadow the fact that the Vikings went from being oh-so-close to a Super Bowl last season, to finishing last in their division in the very-odd 50th season.

But back to the good news. The Wild have turned things around a bit, at least for the moment, as the halfway mark of the season arrives. To add to the rejuvenated excitement, Brent Burns was named to the NHL All-Star game.

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso was honored as the Division III Coach of the Year. Bert Blyleven finally received the call to the Hall. Yes, there is a lot to celebrate these days and take our minds off the snow that seems to be stuck in the 'on' position.

Wild are showing some life
It's a good time to be following the Wild right now. They are playing well on the road, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins (minus an injured Sidney Crosby) and the sliding New Jersey Devils (with former coach Jacques Lemaire).

Their record is 8-3-1 in the past 12 games to put them in the thick of things in the extremely tight points race in the Western Conference. As of Tuesday, they are sitting in the middle of their Northwest division with 47 points.

The funny thing about this season has been the role reversal of playing at home versus on the road. Last season, the Wild got off to a horrible start on the road and never fully recovered. This season, they are playing much better when they are away from the X, which is not helpful for the paying customers at home games.

If one thing has been clear, it's that the Wild are an inconsistent team. They win a couple here, lose a couple there. This is the first real sign of life for them, and a sigh of relief for coach Todd Richards. Let's keep those fingers crossed that the Wild can ride this high wave a little longer.

Burns is an All-Star
Defenseman Brent Burns at one point was leading the team in goals. Currently, his 12 tally trails hitter Cal Clutterbuck's 13 goals. Burns also has 14 assists for 26 points and is having a great year. He will be representing the Wild as the organization's sixth-ever All-Star.

Apparently, he had a trip planned to Mexico with his wife over the All-Star break. I guess he'll have to cancel. I'm sure his bride will understand.

Deserving award for Caruso
Before the BCS football game took place Monday night in Phoenix, St. Thomas head football coach Glenn Caruso was named the 2010 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year for NCAA Division III. In his third year at UST, he is the youngest coach to win the award.

He turned a 2-8 football team in 2007 into a MIAC and DIII powerhouse team. This season, the Tommies snapped a long losing streak to the rival Johnnies, as they made their way to a perfect 10-0 regular season. They lost to Bethel at home in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Caruso has given St. Thomas football a complete makeover and is very deserving of this award. Bob Nielson of Minnesota Duluth was the top coach honored in DII football.

It took 14 years, but he's in
Bert Blyleven now has another countdown to keep track of, besides the number of days until his next birthday. The date now circled on his calendar should be July 24, when he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Fourteen years may seem like a long time to wait, and I'm sure Bert is relieved to finally be part of the elite class of Hall of Famers. Certain stats, like his win-loss record, were arguably holding him back from being a clear candidate as considered by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

But hey, at least he got in. That should be all that matters, right?

The pitcher in the 70s and 80s is well-known now for his color analysis for FSNorth on the Twins broadcasts. For someone of my generation, this is how I am most familiar with Bert. It's unfortunate that I can't recall his playing days.

He spent half of his career with the Twins, during two different stints. He was here to be part of the 1987 World Champion Twins team. He pitched in an era before there was so much weight put into closers, middle relievers and set-up guys. He went to the mound intending on finishing eight or nine innings.

One piece of sad news from the Twins family
The legendary face of the Twins, Harmon Killebrew, announced that he has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. This was quite sad and unexpected news that came to light recently. The Killer, a Hall of Fame veteran who still has deep ties with the Twins organization, is thought of fondly by many fans.

His spirit seemed very high in his released statement, where he gave every indication he would be beating this illness. The entire Twins and baseball community will be wishing for a speedy recovery for Killebrew.

Minnesota comes out on top in a 'wild' one at home

2011-01-03T21:29:00.018-06:00

I'm really not sure what to think about the Minnesota Wild's 6-5 overtime win Sunday night at home over the Phoenix Coyotes. It was a very interesting game, and coach Todd Richards had it right in his post-game comments in saying, "it was like a movie."

I'll go with that.

Let's lay everything out from the beginning. We got to the Xcel Center extra early to enjoy our seats in the corner seven rows up from the glass. Seeing the boys up close for warm-ups was pretty cool. It also gave me a chance to get some nice photos of them in their green uniforms.

Above: Cal Clutterbuck

The game started out alright. Nothing too earth-shattering, until the Coyotes got the first goal of the game. Then the people who made the intermission food dash a little early missed out. Andrew Brunette scored with 4.4 ticks remaining in the first to tie the game and give the Wild some life.

Not a bad second, for a change
Then came the second period, a frame the Wild have been known to forget about this season. We were a little worried too, since our seats were at the end where they would be looking to score during the second.

As it turned out, the second period might have been their best. Brunette scored his second of the night on the power play, and Nick Schultz fired one in from the point to give the Wild a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.

Back-and-forth third
Things got a little hairy in the third. The Wild seemed to once again forget that a hockey game is 60 minutes long, not less. They came out looking like a team that was trying not to lose, rather than win.

Jose Theodore had to be good on a night when the Wild gave up 44 shots, tied for the most this season. So giving up five goals isn't a bad ratio. The problem was, the Coyotes scored two goals in a 13-second span early in the third to tie it a three.

Above: Wild goalie Jose Theodore

Brent Burns got the lead back, which was followed by the Wild again sitting back on its heels. Phoenix wasn't done putting pucks in the net either. They tied it, and then the dagger came with just under three minutes to go for a 5-4 advantage.

The night looked to be over, but the scoring still wasn't done. With the extra attacker on the ice for a pulled Theodore, Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored with 26 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Talk about excitement.

Time for OT
While we were waiting for the OT to start, I said to my brother, "Well, somebody better score in overtime, otherwise we might as well leave if they get to a shootout." Negative? Maybe, but the Wild haven't proven they can win in shootouts this year.

Luckily, we didn't have to wait long. Cam Barker, of all people, was the big hero of the night. His shot from the point looked to be stopped by Phoenix goalie Jason LaBarbera, but the puck trickled through his pads for the win.

Pandemonium ensued at the X. It was a pretty wild win, and much needed.

Other notes
- Mikko Koivu had a banner night in his 400th game. He tied his career high with four assists, which gave him 201 for his career.

Left: Mikko Koivu

- After Brunette's second goal, I asked my brother if he was going to throw his NDSU hat on the ice should Bruno get the hat trick. The opportunity had never arisen for us before, being so close to the action, and he said he was "thinking about it."

- Martin Havlat was a minus-4 for the game.

- Despite the Wild's awful streak in shootouts, they are 4-1 this season in overtime contests.

- We were close enough to the ice that I could see Burns say "F*&@" after making a bad passing decision in the Wild zone.

Wild end 2010 on a low note

2011-01-03T15:26:00.017-06:00

Talk about a listless, lackluster hockey game. I guess the Minnesota Wild were thinking ahead to New Year's Eve plans, but forgot they needed to show up at the Xcel Energy Center first in what turned out to be a 4-1 loss to the slumping Nashville Predators.

It's been awhile since I've seen that kind of a poor performance in person. The boys had no energy, not even enough to hit, apparently. They just came out flat. The Star Tribune's Michael Russo really hit the nail on the head with his game story.

Not their best effort
The score is a little misleading. It was basically a 2-0 game, until the Wild cut the deficit to one with about two minutes left in the game. Then they gave up two empty-net goals for the first time in team history.

Although, the Preds did have a lot more chances where they could have easily put the puck away, so a 4-0 or 5-0 score would have been appropriate too.The first period wasn't all that bad. The Wild put themselves in a hole when they gave up an early goal.

Stopping screening your goalie
Goal No. 2 was scored in the second period. Both times, however, it appeared Nicklas Backstrom was screened on the play - by his own players.

I believe it was Cam Barker on one of the goals. The defender is in front of the goal to keep an eye on the opponent who's camped out just above the crease.

But, what the defender also needs to do is a) rattle the guy's cage by shoving, pushing, grabbing... anything that you can get away with so you won't end up in the box; and b) be aware enough to not screen your own goaltender, making his job 10 times harder.

I've noticed this before with the Wild, although I suppose other teams could have the same problem too. They need to take more initiative in front of their own net. Protect your goalie and defend your zone.

Hit somebody already
Along the lines of not being aggressive, what the Wild really could have used Friday was some physicality to their game. Sometimes a fight is what a team needs to get some inspiration, which would have been nice, but I would have settled for some decent hitting.

I realize Cal Clutterbuck missed the game due to injury; however, he can't be your only hitter. Play with some intensity and throw some bodies against the boards, unless you want the crowd to think they're watching a women's hockey game.

Since nothing seemed to go right, the power play didn't either. It was pretty bad. The Wild once again were chorused with boos from the crowd and shouts of "shoot the puck." This was later in the game when fans were finally starting to get restless after it appeared the building had been zapped of its energy, like the home team.

Too little, much too late
A little offense finally came to life with a goal from Chuck Kobasew with about two minutes left in the game. I have to be honest; I wasn't that excited.

I mean, it was nice they finally put a puck in the net, but then the place decides to come to life along with the "pump up" music from the sound system. Sorry, but the Wild decided not to show up for 58 minutes. What makes you think they will score again before the game is over?

Then things got really ugly, with the two empty net goals. I didn't really understand why they kept Backstrom out after it was 3-1. They had trouble controlling the puck all night, and they thought they could play keep-away at the end. Nope, not working.

So, the game ended to the sound of boos from the unhappy crowd. It was quite fitting for the lack of effort shown by the home team. Then it was off to kick off the New Year with a more joyous celebration than the Wild mustered.

The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2010 - Part two

2010-12-31T01:03:00.007-06:00

Part one of The Best 'Thoughts' are certainly more fun than looking at The Worst 'Thoughts.' But sports aren't always about what goes right; a lot can go wrong over the course of a season for teams. On the bright side, I did find fewer Worst moments than Best, so that should make you happy.

I left the moments in chronological order because that seemed easier than trying to rank in order of the biggest/worst moments.

The worst...

Free Petr! Veteran Sykora sits out
When the Wild and coach Todd Richards sat veteran player Petr Sykora while others like James Sheppard played, it was not one of the finer moments for the organization. Sykora was not given a fair shake. Plus, my negative feelings for Shep kept going strong.

The most dreaded words for a pitcher: Tommy John
Twins' closer Joe Nathan went down before the season started. Some discomfort in a spring training outing led to one of the biggest injury setbacks a pitcher can have: Tommy John surgery. He was out for all of 2010. Time will tell if he can return to the same form at some point in 2011.

Twins get swept, time to reflect
Sigh. Another great season and division title, and it all comes crashing down (again) with an early exit from the postseason. This was the year I (and everyone else) was really pulling for the guys to go further, or perhaps all the way. This is certainly one of the most difficult 2010 moments to swallow. (Also see: Pondering the Twins)

Tommies end season with a snow-filled loss to Bethel
It was really too bad St. Thomas had to have its magical season come to an end. Without two of their star players, they fell to MIAC rival Bethel 12-7 at home. The snow also dampened things, from my perspective anyway.

The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2010 - Part one

2010-12-30T23:56:00.010-06:00

As the year draws to a close, I wanted to organize some of the best and worst sports moments that I have written about throughout 2010. Since this is the first entire calendar year I have been maintaining my blog, I thought it would be kind of fun to look back.

I left the moments in chronological order because that seemed easier than trying to rank in order of the biggest/best moments.

The best...

A golden finish
The Olympics in Vancouver held one of the greatest gold-medal hockey games since perhaps the Miracle on Ice. Quite fitting too, since it was the 30th anniversary of the Miracle. Team USA skated its way to the final game against hometown-favorite Canada. It was a thriller that ended with a 3-2 overtime win for the Canadians after a goal by golden boy Sidney Crosby.

At last, Mauer's deal is done
If the hometown hero Joe Mauer could leave Minnesota in search of more money with another team, then there would be no hope for anyone sticking with one team for an entire career. Luckily, the Twins and Joe agreed to terms on an eight-year, $184 million deal.

Another opening, another "outdoor" show
Perhaps one of the biggest stories of the year was the return of outdoor baseball to Minnesota with the opening of Target Field in April. The facility is simply stunning, and Mother Nature went against logic by blessing the 2010 season with gorgeous weather. (Also see: Target Field: The inaugural visit)

Walking off the Sox
I was there for the first Twins walk-off win in Target Field history. Of course, this win may get overlooked because it wasn't a walk-off hit, but oh well. The Twins came from behind by knocking around White Sox closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth on the way to a 7-6 victory.

Mid-Ohio - Days one and two
Checking out a new race track with my dad was a highlight of my summer. I was very excited to watch the IZOD IndyCar Series race at the beautiful track, and then have the chance to write about it for Examiner.com, too.

Touring the Brickyard
Of course, part two of the highlight of my summer was taking the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grounds tour. Talk about acting like a youngster on Christmas morning.

Two in a row: 2010 AL Central Division Champions
The Twins did it again. They managed to win yet another division title to round out the decade. No Game 163 this time; they were the first team in baseball to clinch. Let's just enjoy this memory. There's no need to think ahead. (See the Worst section if you want to ruin this happy memory.)

Covering tennis for the Strib
This was a very proud moment for me. I was given the opportunity to cover part of the high school girls' tennis state tournament. It was so great to cover a sport I played, and seeing your name in print isn't half bad either.

A perfect season for the Tommies
Watching the St. Thomas football team have a perfect season, that also lasted a couple games into the NCAA playoffs, was pretty cool. A big congrats to coach Glenn Caruso and the Tommies on a record-setting season of accomplishments.

Check out The best and worst 'Thoughts' of 2010 - part two for some of the not-so-great moments from this past year.

Wild make it two straight against the Flames

2010-12-21T23:22:00.009-06:00

I was watching the Minnesota Wild at the Calgary Flames game on television from a local establishment Saturday night when the boys pulled out a 3-1 win on the road.

While I was glad for the victory, I also thought this meant the Wild would have the usual letdown game when they came home to face the Flames again on Monday night - and more importantly, when I would be in attendance.

The boys proved me wrong.

Two-game streak

Minnesota came up with a 4-1 (really 3-1; Cal Clutterbuck threw in an empty-netter to seal it) win over the division rival Calgary Flames on Monday at the Xcel Energy Center. It was a very snowy night, one a majority of Minnesotans will remember for the Vikings versus Bears game played at TCF Bank Stadium.

It's really too bad the Wild were overshadowed by the local football team, although I'm sure they're used to it by now. There were some shining moments on the ice, as well as some not-so-great moments.

The Wild were outshot all night long, with the final totals 35-23 in favor of the Flames. Early on, I was very surprised Calgary didn't score. They were getting all kinds of chances, but kudos to Niklas Backstrom for making some great saves.

Niklas Backstrom stretching in the crease before making 34 saves. Photo Credit: Kyle Rule

Second period slump... again
What's a bit of a head-scratcher for me is that the Wild managed to score two power-play goals; the first time since Nov. 14. Their power play didn't look too hot at times during the night. In particular, the Wild held the man advantage nearing the end of the second period.

It was pretty hard to watch, what with not being able to set up plays and multiple Wild men turning the puck over. That was not a good way to end the period, and they were hearing it from the fans (yes, myself included.).

Of course, the second period wasn't a complete slaughtering, at least on the scoreboard (1-1 after two). The Wild still struggled a lot, as has been the story of the season, in the second. But it was the superb play by goalie Backstrom that kept them in the game.

Havlat on a roll
Martin Havlat continues to produce, this time he was patient and netted the puck with a slick backhander right in the crease. Veteran John Madden scored a power-play goal, and recent call-up Marco Scandella got an assist on Kyle Brodziak's first-period goal.

This was the first game my family and I have been to this season, and therefore the first since the sell-out streak ended. There were quite a number of green seats at the X. I'm sure the weather, traffic and the football game were factors too.

Opening faceoff. Let's play hockey! Photo Credit: Kyle Rule

Attendance and other notes
My dad told me, "Now you know what it was like to go to a North Stars game when they weren't doing so well." Official attendance was 18,315, but there were not that many people in the seats.

One other interesting note from the evening. On part of our side-roads drive down to the game, we hit a heavy traffic spot and were crawling for a while. From the backseat, I looked over to the driver on our right, and the guy is working on a power point from his laptop that he had positioned on the passenger seat next to him - while driving. Idiot.

But at least we got there and were able to enjoy the game and some good food. It was also a nice treat to see my friend Michael, who stopped to say hi after his shift.

'Til the next game, Go Wild!

Me in my Wild gear. Photo Credit: Kyle Rule

Tommies end season with a snow-filled loss to Bethel

2010-12-06T17:38:00.020-06:00

Below freezing temperatures, mounds of snow and... football. While two of those items may go together better than the other, they were all snowballed this past Saturday as the St. Thomas Tommies hosted the Bethel Royals in the NCAA quarterfinals.

It was a rare and exciting matchup to have two teams from the same conference playing each other in the playoffs. The Tommies bested the Royals earlier this year in a 10-6 homecoming victory.

But this time it was the school from just a few miles north that came away with the win. Bethel topped St. Thomas 12-7 to move on to the semifinals next weekend against powerhouse Mount Union.

Photo Credit: Joe Henke

One score early, then D takes over
With the snow and parking ramp adventures, I was walking up to the ticket booth as I heard the PA announcer proclaim a touchdown for St. Thomas running back Colin Tobin. This was just a couple minutes into the game. But with the strong defensive play on both sides, I thought to myself, "Great. I'll bet that's the only time they score." Hoping, of course, that I was wrong.

I met up with my friend Joe and his friend Joan. The stands were pretty packed, a good thing to see, but we found some standing room in the front row along the 15-yard line.

As expected, the elite defenses took over the game. Both sides traded possessions and tried to convert on fourth downs, hoping the other would give just enough. Bethel scored a touchdown in the second quarter, but failed on the two-point conversion. It was a move that seemed odd to us in such a defensive game, but afterward I found out Bethel doesn't have much of a kicker.

Just not their day
The score at halftime was 7-6 in favor of St. Thomas. Bethel scored another touchdown late in the second half (again failing to convert for two points) to take the lead for good at 12-7. The Tommies had their chances, but failed to get enough first downs to move the ball down the field.

A couple big passing plays didn't go their way either. A long pass down the sideline appeared to be caught in bounds, but was ruled out of bounds. (At least according to what Joe could see, being that he had the height advantage.)

Another play later had a St. Thomas receiver with the ball in his hands, but he failed to complete the catch as he went down to the ground with a defender.

Bethel's star of the day was Logan Flannery. The 2010 MIAC MVP had 28 carries for 200 yards in his record-setting performance Saturday. He not only helped his team advance to the next round, but he also ran his way to becoming the MIAC's all-time leading rusher.

Key injuries to key Tommies
It was a pretty typical game, except two pieces were missing for the Tommies: Star All-American senior running back Ben Wartman didn't start due to injury. Junior wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel was knocked out of the game early with a hip injury.

Those were big losses for the Tommies. Wartman and Waldvogel had been two of the team's biggest playmakers. It's a shame they couldn't contribute during the final game.

Photo Credit: Joe Henke

As a result, Tobin was the main source of offense. He rushed 28 times for 122 yards, but it wasn't enough to put more than seven points on the board, a credit to the strong Bethel defense.

Penalties were once again a problem for St. Thomas, as they have been all season long. A few false-starts, holding and face masks did not help the Tommies along the way. It stopped momentum and helped the Royals on their drives.

Outdoor football in Minnesota
Several inches of fresh white powder made the day a little more interesting. Of course, we are talking about December in Minnesota; we can't expect great weather on Dec. 4. The field was scraped clean, and the snow piles were abundant around the sideline track and the end zones.

The remnants left behind after clearing the field looked like cookies-n-cream ice cream, or an Oreo blizzard, as Joe put it.

To be honest, it was a little hard to concentrate on the game at times, what with the feeling in my toes disappearing. Snow also started falling again during the second half. But it was still a fun experience.

Well done
Congratulations to the Tommies on a fantastic, record-filled season. They finished the regular season undefeated at 10-0 and finished 12-1 overall. They finally beat St. John's after a 13-year drought, and they beat Bethel for homecoming in an absolute thriller. Kudos.

As a reward for coach Glenn Caruso's hard work, he was honored as the Region Coach of the Year. Here's to a job well done coach.

Tough times for the Wild

2010-11-30T23:30:00.006-06:00

The wheels are starting to fall off for the Minnesota Wild. Offense continues to be stingy and the goaltending wall that helped the team to some wins early on, has faltered lately (or is it the bad defensive play?).

Saturday's loss at Colorado was pretty bad. A 7-4 beating after the usual second-period coma. The Wild were up 2-1 after the first, not too shabby. But they gave up four goals in the second, entering the final 20 minutes behind 5-3. Things got worse in the third when the Avalanche really came down before the mercy of the final horn signaled the 7-4 loss.

Niklas Backstrom gave up a career-high seven goals. Maybe he would have been able to save face if head coach Todd Richards would have pulled him for Jose Theodore after the fifth or sixth goal, not the seventh.

Baks isn't playing that well lately, with his stats going in the wrong direction, but it's hard to put it all on his shoulders. He stood on his head for many games early on this season, which helped the Wild pull off some victories.

It's the same old story for the Wild as to why they are struggling. Bad turnovers, playing in their own end too much, the second-period sleep walking and a lack of offense from the big guns. Matt Cullen, Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette and Brent Burns need to step it up.

Richards, where are you?
But what really bugged me about Saturday's loss was Richards. Maybe it's always been this way and I just haven't paid that much attention, but he shows as much emotion as a stone. The TV camera showed him after every goal against. Nothing.

When the Avs were putting up goal after goal, Richards showed no desperation. Call a time out. Pull the goalie before things start to get out of hand. Start yelling at the guys on the bench. Something. Of course, we don't know what is said during the intermissions and in the locker room after the game, but still.

Whatever happened to that rigorous practice after a bad Vancouver loss earlier? The Wild straightened up and flew right in the next game. Maybe Richards needs to hold more practices like that one.

Results certainly need to turn around, or who knows if Richards will still have his job by the end of the season.

PMB returns
One bright spot is the return of Pierre-Marc Bouchard to the lineup tonight against the Coyotes. PMB has been sidelined with a concussion since March 2009. We all know how tricky the concussion injury can be, so let's hope Butch is fully healed and ready to go. Maybe he'll bring that much-needed spark to the team.

Something needs to change, or it will be a long season.

Heather's Turkey of the Year candidates

2010-11-22T15:31:00.005-06:00

It's Thanksgiving week. It's a time to sit back, relax, enjoy some time off from work or school, eat a lot of food and watch football.

There's also Black Friday, but apparently it's not the holiday-season kick-off it used to be. (If anyone knows what exactly is the new, earlier start to the season, let me know. I'm having trouble figuring it out.)

For me, I'm looking forward to my own traditions I've started on Thanksgiving. Like watching as many Friends Thanksgiving episodes on DVD as I can.

Of course, reading Patrick Reusse's Turkey of the Year column in the Star Tribune is also a treat. In honor of his masterful concept, I thought I'd try to come up with a few Turkey candidates of my own.

So here they are, in no particular order:

Derek Jeter - shortstop, New York Yankees
This talented Yankee player thinks he's pretty special. He's probably always thought this way, but his recent contract negotiations seem to show that even more.

A winner of five World Series Championships with the Bombers, he will turn 37 next season. After a declining year in 2010, he is holding out for at least a four-year deal. Apparently, the three-year, $45 million contract offered by the Yankees just isn't enough for this greedy veteran.

I think three years is awfully generous for a player in his late thirties, and for someone who has most likely hit his peak. But what do I know.

Jason Kubel - outfielder, Minnesota Twins
I suppose I could be more broad and list the entire Twins lineup for its poor performance in the playoffs. But it's Kubel's .069 career postseason average that led me to single him out.

He has been referred to as one of the most underrated players in baseball. He hits clutch home runs and contributes well offensively. But there is nothing clutch about his horrible postseason numbers.

Sorry Kubes, but you need to bring your bat with you after 162 (or 163) games.

Tim Brewster - former Golden Gophers football head coach, University of Minnesota
This is an easy pick, and I think Reusse might have chosen him already in a previous year (and could easily this year). It's just too good to pass up.

Brewster was fired mid-season this year after his team failed to win more than one game (a game they probably could have lost if the opposing star quarterback would have been playing).

He was just nauseating to listen to during news conferences; his answers were border-line delusional. This makes me loathe the guy even more than how he coached his team to such pathetic, laughable losses.

Joel Maturi - athletic director, University of Minnesota
Here's a guy who should be fired. He doesn't exactly have the best track record as of late. Exhibit A: Hiring coach Brewster and thinking he was the man to turn the football program around. Instead, it's gone in the tank.

To quote Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan, from his Sunday radio show on 1500ESPN, "I wouldn't buy an apple from this guy [Brewster]."

Then there's the men's hockey team, another sinking ship. Earlier in this decade, the team was a national champion. What happened? Firing coach Don Lucia isn't the answer. And using the excuse "all the good players go to the NHL" isn't flying anymore either. That happens to a lot of other schools too.

The U just named a new president. His first act should be to fire the AD and start building up the sports programs again. And please, if you know what's good for you, don't let Maturi hire the new football coach. Unless you want a repeat of the Brew era.

Todd Richards - head coach, Minnesota Wild
During his first full season with the Wild last year, I was willing to give him a pass for the mediocre team that failed to make the playoffs. Call it a grace period.

But now just shy of two months into the season, I'm expecting more. The Wild have shown mediocrity yet again. Not showing up to play a full 60 minutes of hockey, a lack of five-on-five offense, getting outshot and camping out in its own end have been the major problems plaguing the team game after game.

And what's with all the optional practices? Unless I'm just imagining things, it seems like there are a lot of no-practice, or optional skate days. Maybe that's normal and I'm just ignorant, but I think it's a little odd.

It's the day after a horrible loss, sure, take the day off boys. Bring 'em out on the ice, skate 'em hard and let 'em know mediocrity is not acceptable.

Oh, Richards is also a candidate because of his strong faith in the ability of youngster and under-achiever James Sheppard. Loyal readers of this blog know how I feel about Shep's on-ice performance.

A slew of Viking candidates...
I won't get into all the details for these guys, but here are some other options from the purple pool, again in no particular order:

Brett Favre
Brad Childress
Sidney Rice
Ryan Longwell
Bernard Berrian
Randy Moss

So there you have it. Do you have a top Turkey from my list? Or another candidate you'd like to nominate? Let me know in the comments.

Happy Turkey Day!

State volleyball tournament

2010-11-16T11:59:00.004-06:00

One of the best things about prep sports is the state tournaments. Of course, they're a lot more fun if your favorite school happens to have made the elite cut, therefore giving many high school students across the state a day to play hooky.

The state volleyball tournament at the Xcel Energy Center was this past weekend. Thursday through Saturday the section champions from each of the three classes competed for championship and consolation titles. Twenty-four teams boil down to three state champions.

Let's go Huskies!
Being that I'm an Andover girl, I can't go further without mentioning that the Huskies made it into the tourney once again. They came away as the consolation champions in 2009, and they were the runners-up a couple of years ago.

I was unable to attend the quarterfinal matches on Thursday, where Andover lost to powerhouse Wayzata in Class 3A. The quarters are always an exciting atmosphere, because every team is in contention for a championship, thus bringing out a ton of fans. For teams that fall to the consolation brackets (like Andover) on Friday, the number of supporters shrinks significantly in most cases, and pep bands often don't make the trip either, which is a shame.

Going against this trend, I decided to watch Andover's 11 a.m. consolation semifinal match against Moorhead on Friday. The Huskies took care of the Spuds in three (games or sets... the term has changed recently, but I think I like the old-school games). It was fun to watch some volleyball again and see a few familiar faces from the Andover crowd.

Pleasant surprise
Afterward, I headed down to see if I could meet up with one of the Star Tribune writers who was there covering the afternoon and evening matches. I thought I was just going to say hi, but then he quickly found someone from the High School League and got me a media pass. So I spent the next couple hours watching from the media table down on the floor.

I also took a walk around the entire concourse at the arena level, going past all the locker rooms and getting a peek into the media room, complete with large, blown-up photographs of the Minnesota Wild hanging on the walls.

Match of the tournament
The match I watched that afternoon was the Class 1A semifinals with No. 1-seeded Minneota versus No. 4 Martin County West. Being the No. 1 seed always results in being the favorite, but MCW fought back from two games down to win 24-26, 17-25, 25-11, 25-19, 17-15, upsetting Minneota.

It was probably one of the best matches of the tournament. Five-gamers are always intense, especially when the winning team comes from behind the way MCW did. There were also a lot of 3-0 sweeps, so a match like this one was welcomed, and it came with an electric atmosphere.

Watching the match from the floor level was pretty cool. I enjoyed being in the thick of things, trying to keep track of some of the star players and just generally learning more about the game.

Thanks a lot, snow
Had it not been for the snowy blizzard on Saturday morning, I probably would have returned for the 9 a.m. consolation-final match between Andover and East Ridge. Instead, I decided to head down there later for the 3A final that looked like a good one on paper, between Wayzata and Lakeville North.

Once again, I was able to watch the match from the floor at the media table. I even got into the action by tossing the stray ball back to a Wayzata player after it landed on the table a couple of points into the match.

It wasn't the classic match you would expect from the No. 1 and No. 2-seeded teams; North (No. 1) swept Wayzata in three games with scores that really weren't that close: 25-13, 25-18, 25-13. The McNeil sisters on the Lakeville side were just too much for Wayzata. The first-game domination set the tone for the rest of the match.

So goes another sporting event to stash in my learning-experience file. I just want to keep learning more about more sports and about how to cover them from a media standpoint. It's all about trying to improve while enjoying sports at the same time.

A perfect season for the Tommies

2010-11-08T13:01:00.009-06:00

A 10-0 regular season. The St. Thomas football team has accomplished this feat for the first time in its 105-year history. Statistics and records from this season are incredible. This all comes just three years into head coach Glenn Caruso's career at St. Thomas.

With a bye in the final week of the season this Saturday, the Tommies can rest easy and know that they have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. It's a spot they deserved after winning their first MIAC title since 1990, and its first outright title since 1983.

This was their year
A lot of things went right for the Tommies this season, including huge victories over St. John's and Bethel. Those were probably the two biggest games of the year. In a homecoming game for the Johnnies, they were upset in overtime by the long-time rival Tommies, 27-26. It was the first time St. Thomas had been victorious in the Tommie-Johnnie battle in the last 13 tries.

In the homecoming game for Caruso and his players, it was a game of undefeateds as tough-squad Bethel arrived at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. I attended that game, along with 6,000-plus others, to watch the Tommies come away with a 10-6 win in a strong defensive battle. That was a great game.

Double-digit win total
This past weekend, I also went to cheer on the Tommies in their last regular-season home game against Carleton. I got a little nervous during the first half. Having trouble getting first downs, 56 yards in penalties and just a 10-7 halftime lead were enough to make me squirm.

But they came back in a tale of two halves, as they say. Caruso's squad came out firing with 28 unanswered points before securing a 38-7 win, ringing the victory bell and raising the MIAC trophy in celebration on the field.

If you are hungry for some more stats and records, chew on these...

This team became the fourth in 95 years to have an unbeaten regular-season record
As of right now, St. Thomas is the only Division III football team to hold a 10-0 record
They are among six teams in all of NCAA football to have a 10-0 record
282 points for senior Ben Wartman, breaking a school record

And in case you missed it, check out this amazing feature (complete with photos and video) on Caruso and the Tommies written by the Star Tribune's Rachel Blount.

Now the Tommies wait until next week to find out their opponent in the first round of the playoffs, where they will have home field advantage. In my mind though, no matter what happens from here on out, this season was a huge success in Tommie football. I hope it's the start of many more successful years to come.

Highs and lows for the Wild

2010-11-01T12:13:00.004-05:00

The Wild had an up-and-down week. Last Monday they blew a 2-0 lead and lost to the visiting Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in a shootout. Wild players also held another parade to the penalty box throughout the night.

Blowing a 2-0 lead is one thing, but to do it by constantly putting yourself in a bad position by playing shorthanded is just bad. A lot of the penalties are things like hooking and tripping, meaning the Wild aren't keeping pace so they need to try to grab guys from behind.

Shootout woes
Then there's the shootout. Despite what the numbers and records say (and I don't think it's too good), I just don't have a good feeling when the Wild reach the shootout. When they head to overtime, I'm silently hoping the game ends there. They've already lost two shootouts this season, the first one coming against Carolina in Finland.

Yes, Niklas Backstrom doesn't have the greatest record in the deciding session, but he can't do it alone either. Maybe this is all in my head, but Wild players don't exactly pound in the goals. They may only get one or two goals in a longer-than-three-tries shootout.

Like in the games, many players try to get too fancy. Some will miss the net entirely, or fail to get a shot off. I'm not asking for perfection every time, and obviously the goalie is trying to make a save, but they need to step it up a bit.

And what did the Wild earn for their blown performance? Another intense practice with coach Todd Richards as the slave driver (something that worked for a huge win against the Canucks)? No. They had an extremely optional practice the next morning.

Now I remember my main beef with Richards last year. He seemed to hold a lot of optional practices for a team that struggled all season long, right from the start. Pick your moments, coach.

Mr. Ovechkin comes to town
The Wild followed up the ugly loss with a solid win over the tough Washington Capitals on Thursday evening. One of the NHL's most popular players, Alexander Ovechkin, came to town to try and get his team a victory in the X for the first time ever.

It wasn't to be. The Caps are the only NHL team without a win on the Wild's home ice. Of course, with the way the League schedule works out, and the fact that these two are in different conferences, the Caps have only visited St. Paul six times.

Minnesota played well all night long. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, and this time it stuck. The only tally for the Caps was a third-period goal by Ovechkin, resulting in a final score of 2-1.

I did feel a little bad for the hometown boys, because the fans didn't seem very enthusiastic about the fact that the boys were playing well. At one point, the Wild were moving the puck around like it was a power play, and it was 5-on-5 hockey. When the puck was finally cleared, the cheers from the 17,000-plus in the seats were weak at best.

I thought they played a really great game on Thursday, especially against such a high-profile, high-talent team like the Caps.

Back down the slide versus the Cup winners
The Wild then went back down on Saturday with a 3-1 loss to the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. I wasn't able to watch it, but from what I saw on Twitter, it was a tight first period, then things got worse for the Wild in the second as Chicago took a 2-0 lead.

A too-little-too-late goal came with just under six minutes remaining in the game, but an empty-netter off a turnover by Martin Havlat sealed the deal for the Hawks.

Speaking of Havlat, his agent Allan Walsh spouted off to the media last week about how Havlat wasn't being treated like the star player he is, in regard to ice time and such. I don't really agree with that. It's still early in the season, and Havlat hasn't impressed me much yet.

Truth is, newcomer and Minnesotan Matt Cullen is emerging as the team's best player so far. He has three goals and seven assists, plus he looks commanding on the ice. He goes for the net, and tries to make big plays happen.

New season, same inconsistency
A good game here and a bad one there is the same inconsistency we've seen from the Wild before. It's not a way to make the playoffs. And with the official sellout streak being killed at the Xcel Center, it's clear that the honeymoon is definitely over.

It took 10 years, but fans now want to see more than a bottom-eight finish in the Western Conference.

Covering tennis for the Strib

2010-11-01T11:53:00.003-05:00

I had the privilege last week of covering the Class 1A girls' state tennis tournament in Minneapolis. It was an exciting couple of days for me because I earned my first official bylines in the Star Tribune.

Wednesday was the team finals, and Friday was the singles final. I wrote a small story about each match. It was a nice experience to cover an event, and then turn right around and write the story for the daily deadline.

I was a tennis player in high school, but I had never witnessed the state tournament festivities before. Covering a sport I was very familiar with at that level helped me feel a lot more comfortable.

Getting my feet wet
Watching the team tennis final is a bit more challenging than watching the singles final. There are seven matches going on at once, and you don't know which will be competitive, which will finish first and which might clinch the win. You also don't get to watch a lot of one match, so the team final is more about finding a good story angle.

The singles final between two of the top-ranked players looked like it would be a good, close match up. The pair played before in the section finals, and one was a section champion while the other was the defending state champion.

It turned out the match was a little more of a route than you'd think. It was a 6-2, 6-1 straight-set win for Amber Washington of Mounds Park Academy. I talked with Amber before and after her match. I found a great anecdote to use for my story lede, and I think it made writing my story a bit easier.

Improvement on day two
It's amazing how much more comfortable I felt after my first day covering the tournament. I also enjoyed being able to watch the entire singles match. It's more fun to be following one match at a time rather than seven.

Covering the tournament was a great experience, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to write about such a great event. I hope I will have the chance to cover more high school tournaments in the future.

Hockey season is here

2010-10-25T22:49:00.004-05:00

With all this attention on baseball lately, I realized I haven't focused on the Minnesota Wild since the regular season started. Now is a good time to dive in.

Expectations for the Wild aren't exactly high this year. In just his second year behind the bench, it is believed that head coach Todd Richards may be on a short leash in terms of his job security. Last season was not the greatest, but I was willing to give Richards a grace period to implement his new system.

I'm not sure I agree with firing Richards during this season. There's been enough #fire____ topics in Minnesota sports lately with the very-necessary firing of Gophers football coach Tim Brewster, plus the shots being taken at Ron Gardenhire and now Vikings coach Brad Childress.

Let's see where the Wild stand at the end of the season, then it may be time to re-evaluate the personnel, but not before then. For the record, I'm just hoping the Wild can improve off of last year. And no, I don't think they have a good chance to advance to the playoffs (but hey, you never know).

Starting far from home
A lot of excitement has followed the Wild already in its young season. It started with two losses across the pond in Finland. The first game wasn't very good, and the second was the case of a great goaltender in a shootout loss.

Everyone will remember the first game against division-rival Vancouver this season at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild played extremely well in a 6-2 win, but it was the physical part of the game that told the story.

Getting a little too physical
Canuck Ryan Rypien grabbed a fan that had a seat right next to the visitor's bench area. This was after Rypien reached over an official to punch Brad Staubitz in a skirmish along the Wild bench. It was clear from the beginning Rypien was out of line, with no instigation from the fan.

The NHL suspended the Canuck for six games. I don't have too much fault with this. Although contact with a fan is a big no-no, so maybe 10 games would have made a bigger statement, but at least he didn't skate by with just a couple. The NHL is so inconsistent these days with fines, penalties and suspensions, so this was a pretty decent result.

End of sell-out era
Another item to note, the Wild's consecutive sell-out streak officially died with the second home game this season. Of course, anybody who's been in that building on a somewhat consistent basis should have noticed the huge amount of green seats during games last season. Now it's just official.

On the plus side, if you want tickets to Wild games, they should be more readily available now, unlike in seasons past. I just hope it doesn't get as bad as the Timberwolves games though, where they have trouble giving tickets away.

The Wild are fresh off a home shootout loss to Los Angeles Monday night. After jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first period, they began an all-too-common march to the penalty box. The Kings tied it up and won in a shootout. I'm never very confident when the Wild reach the shootout.

They are now 3-3-2. However, they did win in Edmonton, so they won't have a huge winless streak on the road to start the season like they did last year.

Pondering the Twins

2010-10-13T23:59:00.011-05:00

I have a few more thoughts on the Twins and their ALDS series loss. Plus, what repercussions this may cause for the future.

Find another excuse
Besides the fact the Ron Gardenhire's post-game comments after Game Three were bordering on Brewster-like, I was also not happy with the same old excuses from the players as to why they lost, again, to the Yankees.

"It's the Yankees... Damn Yankees... We got matched up against the Yankees." Enough. That excuse is no longer valid. During the other lost series of this decade? OK. But not this time. This year was supposed to be different, and the Twins had so much going for them. Yes, New York has a dominant team, but you can't keep hanging your hat on that one element.

And they say the Yankees aren't in their heads? Yeah, right. This just proves to me that they are. The New York starting pitching was not so unhittable in this series as the Twins made it seem. The Yankees aren't up there whiffing at pitches, hitting into double plays or failing to get the ball out of the infield. That's all on the Twins lack of production at the plate.

They have to find a way to beat the Yankees, and getting behind the eight ball mentally because of who your opponent happens to be is just not going to fly.

This was "the year"
Was the 2010 season a failure for the Twins? It's hard to group the whole season on three games, but at the very least it was a huge disappointment. The Twins opened up their new, beautiful ballpark which seemed to be invincible to bad weather this year. They went out and got some free agents during the off season and have spent more money than in years past.

The expectation, proclaimed by the Twins themselves, was to get beyond the first round of the playoffs, and possibly to the World Series. They overcame huge adversity early with the loss of All-Star closer Joe Nathan to Tommy John surgery, and then losing Justin Morneau for the second half to a concussion.

They won 94 games on their way to a sixth division title since 2002. They had all the cards in their favor for the heading into the postseason. So what happened?

It wasn't just the fact that they again were bounced out in the first round. It was more the way they lost. Giving the Yankees a run for their (big) money in four or five games would have been an improvement from years past. It would have broken the losing streaks while being marked as less of a failure than a sweep.

Weak division and a crossroads
I've said it before: The Twins play in a weak division. Kansas City has been a great team to beat up on this decade, and now Cleveland is also on the down swing. It's great you can dominate your own division, Twins, but if you can't beat the AL East teams and show up to play postseason baseball, what's the point?

I think this series is a big crossroads for Twins fans. My friend John wrote something interesting as a Facebook comment:

This is a give-take relationship. I am still a hardcore fan, but I need to see some effort in return. That was pathetic.

I never thought of it that way, but it's something to think about. Why get all excited, spend the time and money, all season long when you pretty much know what will happen once October hits? Until the Twins prove they are capable of winning even one game in the postseason, it should be assumed that they are not up to the task.

Fire Gardy? Not yet.
Many were asking for Gardy to get the axe after the sweep. I'm not ready to go there yet. I don't think you can point the finger at him for the Twins not getting it done at the plate. He has led the team to six (weak) division titles. It's just getting that next step that's hard.

Also, look at how well new management has worked for the Wolves and Wild right now. The Wolves are a joke, and the Wild are headed in a downward spiral. If they don't get off to a good start, second-year coach Todd Richards could get canned.

If anything, I think the Twins need something to light a fire under 'em. Something so they'll have that extra kick to make it to the next level.

Long winter
While there is still baseball to be played in 2010, the Twins' role is done. It should be an interesting off season as far as the business side goes. Plus, we'll still be keeping an eye on the health and progress of both Nathan and Morneau.

I'm not sure how next season will shake out. And if they reach another division championship, I'm really not sure how I will feel in the postseason.

Twins get swept, time to reflect

2010-10-12T16:12:00.009-05:00

Well, another Twins season came to an abrupt and disappointing end at the hands (or rather, bats and fastballs) of the much-hated New York Yankees. This 2010 postseason exit for the Twins hurts more than the other first-round blanks from the past decade because many thought this was "the year."

Disappointment, frustration, anger, bitterness, sadness. Those are all some emotions I'm sure Twins fans were feeling during the three-game embarrassment that the hometown boys tried to pass off as Twins baseball.

I have given myself a few days to digest the losses and the aftermath, trying to figure out what needed to be said - and there is a lot. Some of it will be blunt. Of course, unless you are a true optimist, you might also agree with some of these not-so-flattering thoughts.

It's a bad trend
Now it's time to reflect. The Twins were swept out of the ALDS yet again. We've all heard the numbers. An 0-11 postseason-losing streak. Three ALDS sweeps in a row. The horrible 18-57 under Ron Gardenhire record against the New York Yankees. Jason Kubel's embarrassingly-abysmal .069 career postseason batting average. The list goes on.

The bottom line for me in this series was the lack of offensive production. Hitting .216 as a team and going 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position won't help you win many ball games.

You can't score a couple of runs a night against the Bronx Bombers and think you'll have a shot at winning. It just won't happen. You can look at the lineup and pick any one of the Twins hitters for not getting it done, although some stick out more than others.

Danny Valencia is the only guy I'm willing to give a free pass to because he's a rookie. I have been impressed with him stepping up this season, in what will hopefully be the everyday third baseman the team has been looking for since the Corey Koskie era.

Two below-average performances
The two guys I was more disappointed with were Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel. Mauer knocked a couple of singles to the outfield, but didn't do much more than that. He was highly scrutinized for needing to step up to carry the team as a postseason leader, either with his bat or by breaking out of his introverted shell.

Then there's Kubel. He went 0-for-8 this series, and is hitting .069 for his career in the postseason (2-for-29). That's pathetic. Not that anyone else was lighting things up, but I mean, come on. At least Michael Cuddyer and Orlando Hudson hit a couple long balls. Denard Span led off with a couple hits, and even Valencia coaxed a walk that resulted in a tying run.

But Kubel? Zero production. It's just ridiculous. I just can't get past .069. That's bad.

What did you say?
Another thing that worried me during the series was the stuff I was reading in the newspaper. Players like Mauer and Kubel were asked about stepping up; somebody needs to be that postseason hero.

Instead of a player owning up and taking responsibility for the comatose offense, they seemed to pass the buck. Players were getting quoted making generalizations, saying there's a lot of talent in their clubhouse, and any one of the guys could be the one to step up and be the hero/leader.

That didn't sit well with me. Guys should have enough fire and will to win to say, "Yeah, I need to step up my game. I want to be that guy who gets the bats going for my team." I get they're a team with talented guys, but where's the passion? Take it upon yourself to get the big hit.

ALDS Twins versus Yankees recap - Game Three

2010-10-12T16:10:00.009-05:00

Game Three - Yankees 6, Twins 1 - Series is officially over

Well, I'd say Game Three was the worst for the the Twins. Just one run (coming in the eighth inning) and seven total hits for the night in their last game of the 2010 season. Just an abysmal effort. Fortunately for me, at this point of the series I was already a bit past the bitter station, and I had moved on to the "over it" station on the postseason train.

Hitting was once again the biggest problem. The regular lineup for the Twins made Yankees starter Phil Hughes look like a Cy Young candidate. He threw perfectly the first time through the lineup, and faced the minimum through four (after Denard Span's lead-off single was quickly negated by Orlando Hudson's double-play ball).

It was just depressing. The Twins were consistently swinging and missing on 91, 92 mph pitches. I'm not a huge expert when it comes to pitching, but I didn't feel like those pitches and their speeds were insurmountable. I mean, it wasn't like the guy was throwing 99-mph heat up there.

You're major league hitters, make some contact with the baseball, preferably something that makes it out of the infield.

Total Twins hit count: 7. LOB (left on base) count: 7.

On the pitching side for the Twins, young Brian Duensing failed to make it through the fourth inning. But you know, the hitting for the Twins was so bad, I really don't hold him responsible. It's ironic though because he seemed to take the loss pretty hard, as did Carl Pavano in Game Two.

When the Twins finally got their one run in the eighth, with a couple of hits, it was very much too little, too late. You can't wait until the end of the game to start putting runs on the board, especially in New York. There was something one of the TBS announcers said that stuck with me, saying Twins hitters were "due."

Yeah, they're all "due," but they're not "dueing" anything.

At one point of frustration with the Twins lineup, I suggested mixing it up. Why not swap out players for the three utility infielders on the postseason roster, Alexi Casilla, Nick Punto, Matt Tolbert, and outfielder Jason Repko.

None of the regulars were getting it done at the plate, so why not try something different? They might surprise you. What have you got to lose? (except the game, series and pride)

Twitter is good therapy
Shifting gears a bit, I'll once again plug how great Twitter and sports fit together. During Game Three I probably Tweeted about 35 times. I even started a hashtag - #postseasondepression as the game got deeper. It's just nice to share your thoughts with Twins fans and the media who cover them.

The loss didn't seem to hurt as bad because half of my attention was really focused on Twitter, rather than hanging on every at-bat during the game. It really is a great outlet to vent, plus get some insider information during the game - like learning that the classy New York faithful were chanting and taunting Span while he was in center field.

Same old story
By game's end, the result was the same. The Twins losing to the Yankees in three straight games, and not really showing up to play their best baseball in any of them. I won't get in to all the statistics, but the numbers in most categories for the Twins when facing the Yanks are not good.

Watching the Yankee celebration was quite telling - because there was no celebration. They shook hands on the field like it was a normal game, because their competition had failed to make the series competitive.

Handshakes said it all.

ALDS Twins versus Yankees recap - Game Two

2010-10-12T16:09:00.011-05:00

Game Two - Yankees 5, Twins 2

So if I thought Game One was a must-win, it goes without saying that Game Two at Target Field was a must-win-otherwise-it's-over game.

If there is someone out there confident enough to think the Twins could win three straight against New York, with two games in the Bronx, then they have to be lying. While it's true that anything can happen in sports, and it's not over until it's over, holding that optimism just seems unrealistic.

Gardy sent veteran and rotation-stabilizer Carl Pavano to the hill, a former Yankee. Just like Liriano, he really didn't have that poor of a showing. It also wasn't a huge Yankee blow-out, just a handful runs.

The call that wasn't
Probably the turning point (or at least the most-talked-about moment) of the game came in the seventh inning when veteran Lance Berkman was at the plate for the visitors with two strikes in the count.

Then there was a pitch that caught a very large portion of the plate, according to booing fans, the TBS pitching graphic and Orlando Hudson, who apparently was jumping up and down in the infield after home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt failed to ring up the Yankee.

The very next pitch, Berkman hit an RBI double to center to break a tie game. The Yanks never looked back. Gardy made a trip to the mound, not to change pitchers, but to calm Carl down (according to the skipper). When Wendelstedt made the "break it up" walk out to the mound, Gardy was vocal about the non-call.

As has happened many times, Gardy got tossed as he tried to plead his case in true Gardy fashion. These two guys have a history together, and it's not good at all. Plus, managers Bobby Cox (Atlanta) and Joe Maddon (Tampa Bay) got tossed last week as well. This coming after five years of no postseason managerial ejections.

It hasn't been a banner year for the umpires in the postseason, just like in 2009. But that's another topic for another time.

Bad luck, but still...
Now, I am in no way saying that the Twins lost Game Two because of a very, very questionable call from behind the plate. Their bats were very silent for the entire series, so there's one of the biggest reasons for their fate.

But when I'm on Twitter seeing many media personnel and fans express their complete disagreement with the call, you know it's a bad one. Still, it's not enough to blame the loss on. You've got to support your pitching staff with more than two runs and six hits.

Total Twins hit count: 6. LOB (left on base) count: 3.

Then it was off to the Big Apple for some really must-win games. Going down 0-2 to the Yanks - it's familiar, and yet, another way to say "series over."

ALDS Twins versus Yankees recap - Game One

2010-10-12T14:41:00.010-05:00

Game 1 - Yankees 6, Twins 4

The anticipation for Game One of the ALDS at Target Field last Wednesday was high. I was pretty pumped for the Twins to kick things off in the postseason; so many things just felt different about it this time. My friend Cassie and I even went to Billy's in St. Paul so we could take in the game in a fun atmosphere.

I was still a little nervous for Francisco Liriano, who was making his first career postseason start. As it turned out, good news on that front. He did not struggle early, which was the concern. He did well until he hit a wall in the sixth inning. He saw the 3-0 Minnesota lead shrink down to a 4-3 deficit.

The biggest blow came off the bat of former Detroit Tiger Curtis Granderson, who struggled at the plate this season until about mid-August. He hit what first appeared to be a catchable fly ball to right center, but instead it hit off the wall for a triple.

Cuddy starts the scoring
It looked to be a good start for the hometown boys when Michael Cuddyer (the only current Twin to have played on all the postseason teams of this decade) smashed a two-run homer to the pine trees in center field. Jim Thome was on base after getting plunked on the hands by the big ace CC Sabathia.

Even when they went down 4-3, they came right back the next inning to tie the score (by resisting the swinging temptation) with a bases-loaded walk. But that score was once again short lived. Jesse Crain came on in relief and watched as Mark Teixeira hit a two-run shot down the right-field line, just barely staying fair.

That was the game's difference.

Need to cash in on opportunities
Of course, that's not to say that the Twins didn't have their chances. The most notable one sticking out in my mind was J.J. Hardy striking out with the bases juiced in the sixth inning. He helped Sabathia get out of a jam by swinging and missing when the big man was having trouble finding the strike zone.

Total Twins hit count: 8. LOB (left on base) count: 10.

Must-win? Yes, it was.
Looking back, I would say that Game One was the best one for the Twins. They got progressively worse as the series went on. At least the first game had that familiar feel of a close game, with the Yankees always managing to get that extra boost to come out victorious.

Game One was a must-win game for the Twins. Not technically, but it still felt that way, especially being at Target Field. The loss meant that no matter what happened in Game Two, the Twins still needed to find a way to win in New York.

I got most of my frustrations and anger-filled emotions out after the first game. Even though hope wasn't all lost (it was just the first game, after all), it still felt like the Twins were backed into a huge corner. The Yanks do have something to do with that.

If it had been any other opponent for the Twins, I wouldn't have been as worried. But the Yankees are always a dangerous team to try and prevail over, especially for Ron Gardenhire and his team.

Previewing the postseason: Twins versus Yanks... again

2010-10-05T15:02:00.004-05:00

Alright kids, here we go. The 162-game (yes, not 163 this year) regular season is complete, and it's time for October baseball. In case you're not aware, here are the Major League Baseball playoff teams.

American League

Minnesota Twins - Central Division champion (and the most important team of interest to this blogger and fan)
New York Yankees - Wild Card
Tampa Bay Rays - East Division champion
Texas Rangers - West Division champion

National League

Atlanta Braves - Wild Card
Cincinnati Reds - Central Division champion
Philadelphia Phillies - East Division champion
San Francisco - West Division champion

While the Twins were the first team in baseball to clinch a division and playoff spot, the other clubs waited a bit longer to decide their fates. The Rays and Yanks both knew they would be in the postseason, but their division and wild card positions weren't decided until the last day of the season.

These two AL East squads played below-average ball in the final stretch of September, very much like the Twins did as they went 3-8 after clinching their title. I think because no team got on a hot streak to end the regular season, this makes it easier to digest Minnesota's recent skid.

It's often not who you play but when you play them. So the fact that the Rays, Yanks and Twins all sort of limped to the No. 162-finish line, that puts them on a more even playing field.

The experts have told the Twins Territory fanatics not to panic with the way the Twins have been playing. I'm hoping they're right. It's a clean slate beginning with the first pitch of postseason play Wednesday, so the boys from Minnie better bring their 'A' games.

Facing an all-too-familiar foe
That's right, the Twins get the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs yet again. This brings back so many bad memories from the past decade that I'm really not going to get into it. We all know the history, the mystique, the winning ways of the defending World Series champion Yankees.

They took out Minnesota in the first round last year in a convincing three-game sweep. The second-half/September miracle run to the Central Division title (capped with that amazing Game 163) had the air taken out of it by the Bronx Bombers. With the big homers they hit against the Twins last year, there's a reason that's their nickname.

The Twins still struggled against the men in pinstripes earlier this spring. Much was made of their series, but one could also be quick to point out that a lot happens over the course of a season, so just because they didn't beat New York earlier, doesn't mean there's no hope now.

Things are different
With history strongly stacked against Minnesota when it comes to the playoffs and the Yankees, it would be easy to give the edge to New York. But there are some differences that might be working in the Twins' favor.

For instance, since the Yanks are the wild card team rather than the division champion, the Twins are the ones with home field advantage for the best-of-five series. This is huge. Playing in Yankee Stadium for games one and two is quite an intimidating and obnoxious (due to Yankee fans) atmosphere. The Target Field faithful will be out in full force to support the Twins in hopes of bringing a 1-1 or, dare I say it, 2-0 lead back to the Bronx.

The Twins also have a very different lineup than last year. Delmon Young has had a huge turnaround this season, producing clutch hits and more than 100 RBI. Danny Valencia has brought his explosive bat up from the minors, and looks to be the team's new consistent third baseman. Jim Thome has added some power, and Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy also weren't with the team last year.

When it comes to bullpens, the Twins have been one of the best in baseball. But they will have to be careful not to throw any cookies to the Yankee lineup. They've proven they don't miss. The Bombers still have a strong team, but it isn't the same team from a year ago either, and age may soon start to play a factor with their top players.

Game on
Because playoff television coverage caters to the big-market Yankees, the Twins are looking at prime-time games for the first round. The game-one first pitch is scheduled for 7:37 p.m. central time on Wednesday for the first playoff game in Target Field history. Game two will be at 5:07 p.m. Thursday.

The pitching match up for game one will be 21-game winner CC Sabathia versus Francisco Liriano (14-10), making his first-ever postseason start. Sabathia has nasty stuff, but Liriano has emerged this year as the dominant pitcher we all thought he was before Tommy John surgery. The only problem will be if Liriano gets a case of nerves; his pitching is strong.

A key to success for the Twins will be keeping their cool on the defensive side, and then getting the bats going. I think it'll be tough to win a game with one or two runs. I'd like to see the Twins put up a few rallies, get some run support for their pitchers (and insurance) so they can stay away from the nail-biters in the late innings.

As far as a prediction goes, I'm not sure I want to offer one. First off because sports are so hard to predict, that's why the games aren't played on paper. But also because I am still a bit superstitious. It's a no-brainer that I want the Twins to finally prove all the critics out there wrong and be able to advance past the Yankees to the AL Championship Series.

If Minnesota fails to make it past the first round, especially if they get swept again, it will be a disappointment. They need to get the New York monkey off their backs and prove they belong deep in the postseason.

Oh, and if Phil Cuzzi is part of the umpiring crew, heaven help the Twins hitters who try to hit a double down the line.

Two in a row: 2010 AL Central Division Champions

2010-09-22T12:16:00.009-05:00

As I'm sure you know by now, the Minnesota Twins clinched the AL Central Division title. The celebration came late Tuesday night after their 6-4 win over Cleveland, and then another White Sox loss out in Oakland.

It was pretty cool to see former-Twin Craig Breslow pitch the ninth inning, and get Paul Konerko to ground out to second for the out that sealed the deal for the Twins. Thank you Oakland!

Before the game, the players and manager Ron Gardenhire were talking business as usual. Gardy said he would be at home by the time the Sox game ended. Yeah, right. That theory didn't pan out after the Twins comeback-win was final, and the out-of-town scoreboard showed the Sox being down early.

Late-night party
Watching the celebration on FSNorth was pretty cool to see, as it has always been. It was nice that they were able to clinch at home (even if it wasn't on the field) and christen the new clubhouse in Target Field's inaugural season.

It was also nice to see a cluster of fans stick around for the celebration. Slowly, players came out onto the field to high-five fans, and spray them with beverages. Jon Rauch threw a bucket of cold water(?) over the dugout and onto the fans. I wish I could have been there with those true fans.

The night was also special for Gardy because the win marked No. 800 for him in his managing career. He's helped the team to division titles in 2002, '03, '04, '06, '09 and now '10, with just a few ejections along the way. If he doesn't get awarded the Manager of the Year title this year, it'll be a crime.

The work isn't done
Cold-beverage spraying was still going strong around midnight - 12 hours before the afternoon, series finale with the Cleveland Indians. Many thought Wednesday would be a "hangover" game for the Twins, especially with their second-string lineup in their first effort to rest some of the everyday players. But they won 5-1 to improve their record to 92-60.

After Tampa Bay beat the Yankees that evening, the Twins were officially tied with New York for the best record in the American League. That's the new goal the Twins will be working toward in the remaining games, along with getting healthy and mentally prepared for the postseason, in order to secure home-field advantage throughout the AL Championship Series.

With Texas seemingly out of the best-record race, the Twins will be playing either Tampa Bay or New York, based on who finishes as the AL East Champ and the Wild Card. Either way, it'll be a test for the Twins, as they have had trouble with the East teams this season, especially the Yankees.

Since the Twins have become the first team in baseball to clinch a division and playoff berth, it should work to their advantage. Unlike last year with a race to the finish in Game 163, they can have a chance to prepare for the postseason and hopefully make a deeper run into the playoffs.

A few notes
Nick Blackburn made history Wednesday by getting his 10th win of the season. It marked the first time in Twins history when they had six, 10-game winners on their pitching staff.

The 92-60 overall record includes a 52-25 record at Target Field, and a 40-35 mark on the road. In the World Series season of 1987, the Twins went 85-77, and 95-67 in 1991.

Francisco Liriano has been named the Game 1 starter in the AL Division Series. Carl Pavano, Brian Duensing and Nick Blackburn will round out the rotation. Liriano is 14-8 and 6-1 in his past 10 games, but his nerves in big situations make me a little nervous.

The Homer Hankies have returned, this time with the colorful symbol of Minnie and Paul shaking hands that has become the staple logo at Target Field.

It's nice to enjoy another division title, but I think we all know that the goal is bigger than that. Anything less than getting through to the ALCS will be a bit of a disappointment.

The Magic Number gets even lower

2010-09-20T12:33:00.013-05:00

I was lucky to have the chance to attend another game at Target Field. My good friend Michael was nice enough to invite me (thanks Michael!) to the rubber game on Sunday versus the Oakland A's. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and our seats in the outfield meant we had a great view and the sun in our faces - my red nose is proof of that.

After sweeping the White Sox during the week, on the road, the Twins further extended their AL Central lead, reduced the Magic Number and looked to be in a good position to clinch the Division very soon. Too bad they had a bit of a let-down at home with a 2-1 series loss to the A's.

They went on huge scoring sprees in Chicago, but only managed seven runs in the entire Oakland series. With a total of 26 runs against the Sox, the Twins scored more than seven runs in each game.

Nice day, flat play
Sunday's game was about enjoying some good seats, good weather and good company, since the Twins felt a little flat on the field. Their offense didn't come through, with just a smattering of hits. Their only runs came in the sixth inning with solo blasts to left field coming off the bats of Michael Cuddyer and Jim Thome.

Francisco Liriano got his team behind the eight ball early by giving up three runs in the first inning. That's all it took.

You're outta here!
Manager Ron Gardenhire also got tossed yet again, and I think it was for good cause. A ball was hit to left-center field, which I assumed would be caught since it was just out of my sight line. Apparently, the ball was dropped at some point, so that left Twins base runners at first and second.

Then things got complicated. It was a little confusing at the time (being at the stadium and not having the benefit of a television replay and analyzing the situation), but I guess the umpires first ruled a no-catch and then reversed the call to a catch, saying the ball was dropped on the transfer.

The problem was, both runners were out. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me (and to Gardy, obviously), because since it was first not a catch, that meant the runner on first needed to go to second. Instead, when they reversed it, the base runner was doubled off first.

It's really too bad because that play brought some energy into the crowd, and it could have been a start to a good inning. So instead of two runners on and nobody out, there was nobody on and two outs. Kind of a rally killer.

Missed opportunity
The final score ended up 6-2. What was really a shame about the day was that the Twins could have taken a huge advantage with a win. The Rays and Yankees both lost (after Baltimore came back in the bottom of the ninth and then won in extras against NY), and the Twins are chasing them for the best record in baseball.

Later that night, the Tigers finished off a sweep of the White Sox, lowering the Magic Number again down to 4. But let me tell you, the end of that game was not pretty. The Tigers blew a 7-3 lead in the ninth inning with a horrendous job by the bullpen, then won it 9-7 in 11 innings. The Sox left 18 (maybe more?) runners on base throughout the night.

Regulars are injured, giving newbies a chance
The Twins are also a little banged up at the moment. Sunday's lineup included recent call-up Ben Revere replacing Denard Span in center, and Jason Repko was in for Jason Kubel in right. Both Kubel and Span have a couple nagging injuries, but they should be back soon. Nick Punto also returned to the lineup, in for Orlando Hudson at second base.

Joe Mauer will also be out for a few games now with a knee injury that he apparently suffered during the game. I was wondering why Jose Morales was pinch-hitting for him yesterday. Hopefully Mauer will be back soon; I think he's listed as day-to-day.

Of course, Justin Morneau is still out (as he has been since just before the All-Star break), so Cuddyer is still the fill-in at first base. Most don't think Morneau will play again this season, especially since he wouldn't be able to rehab in the minors, with those seasons having concluded already.

Filling the 3B hole
One guy I'm really impressed with lately has been third baseman Danny Valencia. This is a guy that has been in the Twins minor leagues for a few seasons now. It seems like the Twins were always hesitant to bring him up, saying he still needed more work. Well, with home runs on Friday and Saturday, I'd say he should be up here to stay.

I'm hoping he'll be able to fill the third-baseman void that's plagued the Twins ever since the Corey Koskie-era ended. Valencia is hitting very well right now, so I hope he'll be able to transfer his success over to next season.

On tap for the Twins
The Twins take on Cleveland for a three-game series at home this week before heading off to Detroit for the weekend. The White Sox are facing off in Oakland this week. With the Magic Number at 4, it's possible the Twins would be able to clinch at home, with a some help from the A's.

Let's hope they can get it done so their players can rest up for the postseason, while maybe trying to get their hands on home-field advantage as well. This is all a luxury the Twins didn't have a chance at last year, but this time, things are different. It's time to get some wins and plan for October.

No shortage of sports these days

2010-09-20T11:33:00.007-05:00

It's an exciting time for sports right now. The Twins are on the cusp of another AL Central Division title, the Wild are on the cusp of their first preseason game, the Vikings have two losses under their belt, the preps season is well underway, along with fall college sports. So many sports options.

The only thing that's ending is the IndyCar season. With this past weekend's race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, that leaves the finale in two weeks at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. And just like last year, the overall IZOD IndyCar Series champion won't be decided until after the final checkered flag of the year.

Here's what I'm keeping tabs on right now:

Huskies, Huskies, bark, bark, bark!
- The Andover Huskies football team is 3-0 to start the season after wins over Centennial, Park Center and Northwest Suburban conference-newcomer Armstrong. The real test for the fighting dogs will be when they match up with top 10-ranked Blaine in an away game Oct. 15.

Let's go Tommies!
- In my other alumni category, St. Thomas football is also 3-0 (1-0 MIAC). The Tommies are coming off a huge win over St. Olaf Saturday. They won 49-14 in Northfield, beating the Oles who were also 2-0 going into the conference opener.

It was a little payback for two years ago when the Tommies lost at St. Olaf in six overtime sessions. That loss, and a gut-wrenching one to St. John's, were the only blemishes on the regular season for then first-year head coach Glenn Caruso. That program is flying high.

Let's play hockey
- Hockey gets going again this week as the Wild open the preseason. They play seven games in this country, before jetting off to Finland to open the regular season Oct. 7. I'm not really sure how the second year under coach Todd Richards will shake out.

Right now, I'm just hoping they can improve from last season, have a better start and possibly make a run at getting into the playoffs. I'm not expecting a postseason, but I wouldn't say it's out of the question.

They did pick up a couple veteran players in the off season, including Minnesota-native Matt Cullen. Of course, they also lost the NHL's best enforcer Derek Boogaard, but at least they won't be losing any offense there. Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who was out all last season with a concussion, should be back soon, and this time with a special helmet to cushion blows to the head.

The big injury news is lackluster center, James Sheppard. He had knee surgery after an ATV accident when he was training out in Colorado recently. He's listed as being out three to four months, but who knows. It's no secret that I don't see this as much of a loss to the team. I'm sure they can find a way to make up his six points that he contributed last year.

A weak Brew
- Mr. Brewster's Gophers are 1-2, after what many local media personnel are calling the worst loss they've ever seen in a 41-38 punch-in-the-stomach loss to South Dakota a couple weeks ago, and then a more predictable loss to USC.

I haven't been sold on Brewster from the start, really. And it appears that this year many other fed-up fans are getting on the "Fire Brewster" bandwagon. This guy is just nuts. I can't even stand to listen to him in his news conferences or interviews. His extremely positivity is much over the top.

Bad start for Brett
- Oh, and the Vikings are 0-2 with a loss in New Orleans in a rematch of the NFC Championship game, and a turnover-filled home-opener versus the Miami Dolphins. I just think it's funny that when Brett Favre returned (not really a surprise), everyone seemed to think it was a guaranteed ticket back to the Championship, or even the Super Bowl. Those hopes are getting off course in a hurry.

We're gonna win Twins!
- Probably some of the biggest excitement these days has focused around the Twins and their quest for a Division title. They swept the White Sox in Chi-Town last week to essentially stick a fork in their rivals.

Currently, the Magic Number is 4, so the Twins should be able to clinch sometime this week. Unfortunately, it might happen on the road. But how cool would it be to celebrate the clinching at Target Field in its inaugural season? If they can take care of business, then they will be able to rest some players and have them fresh for the playoffs, unlike last year when they played Game 163.

Baseball in football-like weather

2010-09-10T13:37:00.014-05:00

"It's a beautiful night for baseball." The now-seemingly-famous words spoken by Fox Sports North announcer Dick Bremer prior to the start of most Twins games played at Target Field. Most of the time this season, that has been the case. But not recently.

Since Ma Nature decided to slap Minnesotans in the face with a sudden jump from summer to instant autumn, going to Target Field within the past week or so has been like going to a football game. Cool temps and wind have ended the great summer evenings of baseball.

I went to the game this past Tuesday with my friend Cassie. We were fortunate enough to see the Twins thump the Kansas City Royals 10-3. Thanks Brian Bannister for your 2-2/3 innings of work, allowing the boys to score six runs in the third.

It was one of those cool evenings, so I came prepared in layers. Long underwear on the bottom, warm socks inside my hikers, a long-sleeved shirt under a hooded sweatshirt covered up by my Twins jersey. I came with mittens and blankets, but fortunately those were unnecessary; we were warm enough with our layers.

Big, offensive night
The Twins took an early lead and never looked back. But the six-run third inning was where the game really got away from KC.

Delmon Young was a big hitter for the night, as he tried to come back to his July ways after his hiccup in August. He was 3-for-4 with four RBI (all coming with two outs). Even lowly J.J. Hardy is breaking out a little bit. He hit his first home run at Target Field this week, and Tuesday he was 1-for-3 with three RBI.

Utility infielder Matt Tolbert also knocked out an RBI-triple (he's making a habit of it recently). We also got to see call-up Ben Revere pinch-hit for the high-socks-wearing Denard Span. Revere struck out, but he also made a nice catch in center field.

Thome's the man
One of the best offensive moments of the evening was when Jim Thome hit his 586th career home run to, where else, the right field platform near the flag pole (which he already hit head-on with a bomb over the weekend). It was a solo shot that was pretty much a no-doubter.

With the blast, he tied Frank Robinson for the No. 8 spot on the career home-run list. This got the crowd to its feet, and Thome was nice enough to come out of the dugout briefly for a well-deserved curtain call.

I gotta say, it's so nice to have him on our team after all the years he spent in Cleveland and Chicago, hitting homers against us. The 40 year old can't run very fast, but that doesn't count in a home-run trot.

Lucky 13 for Liriano
On the pitching side, Francisco Liriano improved to 13-7 with seven strong innings. He gave up seven hits, two earned runs and struck out four on the way to the victory. Glen Perkins pitched the eighth, and I was happy to see Pat Neshek return to the major-league mound for the ninth, although he didn't look too commanding as he walked two and gave up a hit resulting in the third run for KC.

Another highlight of the night was when the Chicago White Sox game went final on the out-of-town scoreboard. Cheers erupted from fans as the Tigers beat the Sox 9-1.

It was a great game and thank goodness the cooler weather didn't get in the way of enjoying it. It didn't hurt that the game didn't drag on for three-plus hours either. Plus, my Target Field record improved to 4-1.

It's Magic Number time

2010-09-08T20:31:00.007-05:00

As we get deeper into the month of September, Major League Baseball gets more exciting. Races for division titles and playoff spots heat up, or teams that are essentially already in or out of the playoffs begin to coast. Best of all, it's Magic Number time.

I have maintained that I think the AL Central is one of the weakest divisions in baseball. I say that because it's not usually a race to see which team can get 100 wins first, but rather which two teams will be battling for first playing .500 ball.

What have you done for me lately? A lot.
As of late however, the Minnesota Twins have turned things up a notch, and so have the Chicago White Sox since their big run in June that gave them the division lead. The Detroit Tigers looked to be a factor for a bit, but they are 12.5 games back. Kansas City and Cleveland are out of it as well (each about 25 games back), maintaining their division-doormat statuses.

The Twins have been winning lately, and so have the White Sox. How frustrating it must be for the Sox as they went on a seven-game streak but couldn't gain any ground. One-run games are also very present for the hometown boys, which is good only when they are able to end up on the winning end of things.

Joe Mauer and company swept the Texas Rangers during their recent home stand at Target Field - during a first true test of some cold, football-like weather at the outdoor ballpark. If you want to look ahead to the playoffs, the Twins should feel confident going against the Rangers.

Breaking down the Magic Number
Right now, the Magic Number is 17 with the Twins holding a five-game lead over the Sox. Thanks to the Tigers for helping by beating the Whities in their series this week.

If you're unaware, the Magic Number is the combination of Twins wins and Sox losses needed in order for the Twins to clinch the division. The other night the Magic Number was 20, but the Twins beat the Royals and the Tigers beat the Sox, therefore, the Number dropped to 18.

The Twins caught another break Thursday when they gained a half-game without even playing as the Sox lost again. Of course, with a luke-warm Twins loss to the Indians and a Sox comeback win Friday night, the Thursday gain was a wash.

Another positive note is that the Twins are playing over-.500 baseball right now. Their record stands at 83-58. They are also in first place right now, unlike last year where they went on a tear in the last month in order to chase down the Tigers. Of course, this should give the Twins reason to keep pushing for the title and not get chased down themselves.

Race to the finish
Then there's the potential of Game 163. It's certainly not out of the question. I mean, who would have thought there would be two 163s, two years in a row, and that it would be in the same division with the Twins playing in each of them?

A good division or not, the AL Central is competitive on its own level. The problem becomes the postseason, just like last year. It looks as though the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays will be playing in October, and the Twins have struggled against the AL East in general, especially the Yanks.

But for now, let's just take it one game at a time, until the Magic Number reaches zero and Minnesota can hopefully celebrate another Division title.

Marking the end of summer with a Grand Slam

2010-09-05T20:20:00.005-05:00

Everyone knows that Memorial Day weekend is known as the unofficial start of summer, and Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer. It seems as though we've reached the latter bookend, which has its good and bad points.

I love summer and the wonderful hot weather it brings, so I'm always sad to see it end. But with big events marking the occasion such as the Minnesota State Fair and tennis' Grand Slam event - the U.S. Open - those are two great reasons to wish for the end of August to come quickly.

September also brings the final month of regular-season baseball, meaning tight divisional races, collapses and title-clinching games. For football lovers out there, the college season has just gotten underway, and the NFL will be starting the regular season soon too.

Injuries and upsets
I wasn't sure how the U.S. Open would go this year. Many of the circuit's top players seemed to have been bitten by the injury bug and many pulled out of the Open. Justine Henin, defending men's champion Juan Martin Del Potro and last year's tirade queen, Serena Williams were three big names not playing on the courts in Flushing Meadows.

There have been some upsets and a few early five-set matches. Last year's young, American sensation, Melanie Oudin, was knocked out in the second round. It was too bad because all the analysts were saying her draw was quite favorable. Plus, I really was on her "believe" bandwagon last year after she pulled out multiple upsets of highly-seeded players.

Another shocker (or maybe not) was ninth-seeded Andy Roddick also being sent packing after losing a four-setter in the second round. I didn't see that match, but apparently he was quite upset about a foot fault and the line judge's mix-up between left and right.

I saw a Tweet later that night where the Tweeter basically said he or she doesn't see Roddick winning another Grand Slam event again. I wouldn't doubt it. It is unfortunate that he is in the middle of the Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal era, but Roddick has also been known to choke at times.

Players are still alive
Kim Clijsters, the defending women's champion, is still alive, but she also isn't 100 percent health-wise. She hasn't been challenged too much thus far. I hope she can hold on to make a run back to the final, and this time she can win it outright, instead of by default.

Probably one of the best matches so far was in the men's second round between Sergiy Stakhovsky of Germany and an 18-year-old American named Ryan Harrison. It was a long five-set match that ended in a final-set tiebreaker. Harrison came out on the losing end, but not before winning the crowd over, playing some disciplined tennis and earning three match points before losing 8-6 in the tiebreak.

I'll be keeping Ryan Harrison on my tennis radar for awhile. I hope he and Oudin can continue to improve and bring some success to American tennis. It would be great if these two could prove themselves as worthy competitors, and not just flukes at a Grand Slam on their own soil.

Touring the Brickyard

2010-08-12T15:45:00.010-05:00

The fun didn't end after the Honda Indy 200 in Mid-Ohio. On our drive back on Monday, dad and I stopped at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a grounds tour. It was definitely the whipped cream on top of a great racing weekend. I suggest you take the tour if you ever have the chance - it's amazing.

Our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He said he could tell right away that my dad and I were huge race fans and that it wasn't our first time at Indy. I guess it was our Indy apparel and my dad's IMS credit card that gave us away.

The tour started out on the bus that takes you around the track starting just before the backstretch. The bus speakers began with the "drivers, start your engines" call, live from race day. That alone is enough to get you excited.

It's a learning experience

Being driven on the track is a pretty cool sight. You see things from a different view and try to learn a lot as you try to remember the loads of information the guide throws at you. For instance, did you know there's a golf course within the speedway? Or that there were hot air balloon races at Indy way back in the day?

We also heard the stories behind the Brickyard traditions like why the winners drink milk, the kissing of the bricks and the fence climbing. It's hard to take it all in at once, but it's awesome just to be there too.

At the start/finish line, or the yard of bricks, we were able to step out of the bus and onto the speedway. Despite it being an extremely hot day (especially on the asphalt), standing on the track was incredible. We stood on the bricks, took photos and looked around in awe of where we were.

Media Center!

From there we went around to some of the different buildings along the grandstands that face the main straightaway. Among the rooms we ventured to: a hospitality suite, the broadcast booth and... the Media Center!

For anyone who knows me, I'm sure you'll understand why the media center was such a big deal for me. While the rest of the group was standing and listening to the guide, I was walking around with wide eyes like a kid in a candy store, or in this case, a huge race fan/journalist wannabe hoping to someday be able to work in the media room.

The big room was filled with long tables, chairs and televisions for hundreds of media personnel to be in attendance covering some of the biggest events in auto racing. I was a pretty happy camper to have the opportunity to see where the sports journalism magic happens.

Gasoline Alley and a little Jim Nabors

We also went out to see the podium where past winners have stood. And although we didn't get to tour the garage areas in Gasoline Alley on foot, we rode past them in the tour bus. Plenty of photo ops all around.

The tour concluded with the bus bringing us back to the entrance to the museum, with the sounds of Gomer Pyle... I mean Jim Nabors, singing the end of "Back Home Again in Indiana." It was a slightly corny conclusion that still made me smile.

Dad and I then did a walk-through of the museum, since I hadn't been there since I was a youngster. It's a pretty weird walk down memory lane. And to see some of the older cars and their designs, it's a wonder how far cars have come in terms of style and safety.

After a pretty-much mandatory trip to the gift shop, we were on our way. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is amazing. I had an absolute blast.

Turn four, to the main straightaway

Mid-Ohio - Day two

2010-08-11T19:25:00.018-05:00

Sunday is race day, and that's always exciting. The big event of the day at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was the Honda Indy 200. Before the IndyCars got on track though, the support series Firestone Indy Lights ran 100 miles.

On a warm, sunny day, it was perfect for being at the race track. We took another spin through the paddock in the morning. This time we walked along the balcony of the garage areas so we could look down below at the cars being prepped for the race. It was a new perspective of looking at the cars. I think you can actually see more this way, so it's pretty neat.

We had some time to kill before the Indy Lights race, so we headed into the infield along the big hill around turn four. It's probably the most popular spot for race fans to set up their lawn chairs and coolers to take in the on-track action. After making a purchase at the IZOD IndyCar souvenir tent, we grabbed a bite to eat along the hillside.

Our grandstand seats for the race gave us a great view of lots of spots on the track. There's the main straightaway going into a prime passing zone in turn four. The sharp elevation changes in the track as they cruise down the hill also make the track interesting.

Firestone Indy Lights - start

Watching the Lights race was a good way for us to get acclimated with the cars on the part of the track we hadn't seen before. Martin Plowman for Andretti Autosport was the pole-sitter (with a track record) and the race winner. There was not a whole lot of action with the Lights race, but it was a good warm-up for the IndyCars.

Green, green, green!
A lot of festivities take place before the big race, including the introduction of the drivers as they parade around the track in sports cars. Before you know it, the drivers are warming up their tires on the pace laps.

The wave of the green flag was pretty exciting, and the only miscue was Tony Kanaan taking a little detour through the gravel on his way out of turn four. That's not bad for a first lap where a field of antsy drivers can get themselves into trouble before the race really begins.

IZOD IndyCar Series - start

Being right down by turn four gave us a great vantage point for some passing. It's a perfect spot, and we saw a lot of action throughout the race. Justin Wilson tried to make a pass on the inside of E.J. Viso, but it didn't work out and the two tangled themselves out of the race about 20 or so laps in. On the restart, Takuma Sato came in to the corner too hot and ended up meeting the tires to see his strong race come to a halt.

Watching Marco and the leaders
I was also keeping a close eye on Marco Andretti (who started ninth) all day long. First, he had a good battle going on with Wilson for position, and then he was trailing Simona de Silvestro for most of the race. It looked like Marco was going to make a move on the inside of her a few times as they came down the straightaway, but he wasn't able to pull the trigger.

Will Power, Alex Tagliani and Dario Franchitti each took turns at the front, with Tag seeing an off-pit-strategy gamble pay off so he was able to lead the most laps. Franchitti essentially won the race in the pits, after he came out ahead of Power on the first stop. The pits were tight as it was, as there were 27 cars in the field.

The race really seemed to fly by. Maybe part of it was because spectators had no idea what lap the race was on. The large, electronic scoreboard in the middle of the infield was great for identifying drivers, car numbers, placement and lap times, but it lacked lap numbers. This made it a little difficult to keep tabs on the race progress.

Duno shocks everyone
Probably the biggest surprise was Milka Duno. She is an extremely slow driver and was recently put on probation for failing to keep pace with the leaders during races. Because of her knack for getting lapped and being in the way of other drivers, she usually gets pulled in to the pits just a few laps into the race. And that's after she usually doesn't even attempt to qualify.

But in Mid-Ohio, she actually finished the entire race, even if she was a few laps down. That's not to say she didn't get in the way a few times. She also was pulled into the pits when she was getting too close to the leaders. But she finished and did not hold last place. It's a head-scratcher, I know.

One of the funnier moments was when she was finally passed after a few laps by first-time racer Francesco Dracone. He passed her right in front of our grandstand, earning somewhat of a Bronx cheer.

Franchitti finally wins at Mid-Ohio
The podium winners were Franchitti, Power and Helio Castroneves - the standard representatives of the "elite 5" (drivers from Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing). Tagliani finished fourth, de Silvestro eighth and Marco ended the day where he started - in ninth. I was disappointed that Marco couldn't come up with a pass all day, and seemed to lack aggressiveness.

I had a blast at Mid-Ohio for my first visit. I really hope I have the opportunity to go back again to the beautiful track. Until Road America gets put back on the IndyCar schedule, I think Mid-Ohio will be my strong favorite of places to take in a race.

Mid-Ohio - Day one

2010-08-09T20:35:00.015-05:00

I was pretty excited when my dad brought up the idea of a trip to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course the first weekend in August for the IZOD IndyCar Series race, and also the American Le Mans Series. It's a bit of a drive (we split up over two days each way), but it is certainly well worth it.

Mid-Ohio is a 2.25-mile, natural terrain road course. It is a similar venue to Road America in Wisconsin where my family made annual visits for many years, until the race got dropped from the open-wheel schedule. I love RA, and so I thought I would also love Mid-Ohio. I was right.

It was definitely a little weird when we drove through the main gate at the course. Instead of the very familiar Road America, this was an entirely new track for my dad and me. It would have been nice to have Friday at the track as well so we could have done a little more scouting of the different areas of the track, but we made up a lot of ground on Saturday.

One of the benefits of our Super Tickets was having access to walk in the paddock/pits area. That was the first order of business. Walking the paddock is always fun because you can see the cars up close, mechanics fine-tuning engines and possibly running into some of the drivers themselves.

No sooner had we entered the area of transporters, trailers and garages did we have our first driver sighting: Scott Dixon whizzed by on his scooter. We saw quite a few drivers before the weekend was over: Simona de Silvestro, Justin Wilson, Will Power and Ryan Briscoe. We also saw Versus IndyCar broadcaster and team owner Robbie Buhl, as well as IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard.

Of course, Murphy's Law made sure we didn't run into Marco Andretti, since that would have been awesome because I write about him. In fact, we didn't see any of the Andretti Autosport drivers. It was also no surprise to see the biggest crowd of fans hovered around Danica Patrick's transporter. She is the most popular driver in the series, after all (or so I keep reading anyway).

We found a good spot along the fence (a section without debris fencing) to watch the IndyCar qualifying and take some photos. We were right off the exit from pit road, so the cars were going slow enough for me and dad to get some good shots.

The qualifying sessions were pretty fun to watch. If you've never seen these cars in person, be aware that television does not do them justice. TV also flattens out the landscape. The other interesting thing about this track are the drastic elevation changes.

The ALMS race was later Saturday afternoon, and we used some of this time to roam the track. Unlike RA which is four miles, Mid-Ohio allows spectators access to essentially walk around most parts of the track. We made our way around through the crowds of people set up with their lawn chairs, mostly on one of the most popular hills, and kept following the track around until the main straightaway.

We watched a good chunk of the race from a small grandstand in the carousel part of the race course. Then if was off to find a Fazoli's for dinner, since the chain isn't in my backyard anymore. As long as I'm on the subject, we also hit up Bob Evans and Steak 'n Shake twice, Waffle House and Krispy Kreme on the trip. Food is half the fun of a vacation, right?

Controversy should lead to consistency in IndyCar

2010-07-27T14:31:00.008-05:00

Frequent readers of this blog may notice I haven't written a ton about the IZOD IndyCar Series, although I am a big follower of the series. I get most of the IndyCar writing out of my system through my Marco Andretti Examiner articles on Examiner.com.

But I thought I would jump over to the blog to give my thoughts on the controversial and much-talked-about Honda Indy Edmonton race from Sunday. If you didn't see the race, take a look at this video. The first 93 of 95 laps didn't seem to matter, it was just the final restart and ending that became the focus.

Basically, Helio Castroneves was leading on the last restart, he went on the inside of the first turn with his Penske teammate Will Power on the outside. Castroneves was penalized for blocking Power, resulting in a drive-through penalty. Since it was almost the end of the race, Helio took the checkereds anyway, but Scott Dixon (who was in second) was the winner.

Castroneves was officially placed in 10th, behind the last driver who finished on the lead lap.

Control your emotions
Afterward, Helio got out of his car and starting screaming, gesturing at and grabbing collars of any race official who happened to be in his path. Some referred to this as passion, but I think his actions were uncalled for. Yes, you thought you got screwed, but cool your jets and get your head together before you make a spectacle of yourself. (He later apologized.)

Did Paul Tracy make a huge scene after the 2002 Indy 500 was taken away from him and Helio came out victorious? No, I don't think so. And that's a race where you really should expect to see fireworks for miscues.

Following the rules
The gist of the rule for blocking in a corner is that a driver can only be on the inside if he or she is trying to overtake another for position. The driver also must hold the same line. In this case, Helio took the inside when he was already leading, therefore blocking Power.

I'm not the best judge of the rule, that's the job of the officials, but I will say I've seen worse moves than that have no repercussions. From what I've heard and read, this rule is talked about at all the driver's meetings, and many of the driver's agree with the call that was made. Even Power admitted he was being blocked.

Slippery slope
What's important going forward is that IndyCar doesn't fall down the slippery slope of inconsistency that the NHL has taken (not having the same measuring stick for penalties, suspensions and fines). Since this call was made (the right one, in many views) that essentially changed the race result, the series needs to be consistent in the races to come.

That means if a driver looks to be blocking in any way according to the rules, assess the penalty - no matter when during the race or which driver it is. The key is consistency. Drivers need to be responsible enough to have clear knowledge of the rules so they know their limits on the race track.

So, to sum up: Helio's tantrum was a bit much (But on the plus side, it helped give the series some publicity, even if it was negative.), it appears the correct call was made regarding the blocking penalty and series president Brian Barnhart needs to be careful and consistent to avoid any further controversy.

I'd get into the Penske/Ganassi series dominance and the head-shaking mess that is Milka Duno, but those are two other cans of worms.

Walking off the Sox

2010-07-19T14:48:00.013-05:00

Some of the most exciting wins in baseball are walk-offs. It doesn't really matter whether it's the bottom of the ninth or the 15th. For at least one game it isn't impossible to comeback from a deficit and beat the odds to win.

I had the privilege Sunday of witnessing maybe the most exciting victory in Target Field's young history. The Twins came back to beat the division-leading Chicago White Sox 7-6 and grab a series win to open second-half play. It was a game that was filled with a variety of baseball elements, but let's start with the good stuff.

Knocking around the closer
So many things about the way the Twins won in that last half inning of play are astounding. They came into the inning facing closer Bobby Jenks, who looked to get the save with a 6-3 lead. A couple of walks, hits, two runs and no outs later, the Twins had chased Jenks to the showers and had brought the game within reach at 6-5.

Sergio Santos was the relief, but he wasn't much better. He also did not record an out as the base-runner parade continued for the Twins. He walked a batter on five pitches to load the bases for Delmon Young, who had already hit a two-run homer to the left-field bleachers in the second.

Nick Punto was the pinch runner at third, and Michael Cuddyer was checked in at second as the potential winning run. It didn't take long for Young (who had struck out twice after his blast) to hit a single to center. The 40,000-plus crowd erupted as Punto came in to tie the game. But the play wasn't over yet.

Where was he throwing that ball?
I looked to third base to see if Cuddy was being held or not. It looked like he was going to be stopped, but then Alex Rios made an air-mail throw into the infield that went sailing to the Sox dugout. With that costly throwing error (the only one of the game), Cuddy easily scored the winning run and the celebration ensued.

It was an amazing victory for the Twins who were able to grab three of four games against the hated-rival Sox. Rallies like that against a tough closer are pretty rare. All the more reason for fans to stick around for all 27 outs. I am definitely not a believer in leaving the game early, no matter the lead difference. Is it really that important to beat traffic?

Still trouble for Blackburn
Nick Blackburn started the game, and he didn't have the best outcome, but it wasn't horrible either. At the start, he looked like he had turned a corner from his previous bad outings. He gave up a few hits and just a couple runs through five innings.

But he hit a huge wall in the sixth and wasn't able to get an out. The final dagger was a two-run, RBI single to give the Sox the lead at 4-3. At this point, Brian Duensing came in from the pen and ended up pitching the rest of the way. He also had a rough start as Chicago went on to bat around in the sixth and scored a total of four runs in the inning.

The game went on knotted at 6-3 until the very end. After the Twins wasted a couple opportunities in the later innings, it looked like the lack of clutch hitting would be contributing to a loss. When all was said and done, both teams pounded out 16 hits.

But the hometown boys also left 10 men on base, which explains the no-clutch situation. With all those hits, you'd expect more runs than there were.

Another good day at the ball park
I had a great time in my third visit to Target Field. My mom and I went, and this time our seats were in the left field bleachers (actual bleachers, which is kind of cool), thanks to a pair of tickets from my mom's bowling buddy. We were seated right next to the bullpen, which was a different but neat perspective.

The weather was once again beautiful, which helped make up for the fact that I was sold a burned corn dog (I got another one.), and that the klutzy lad behind us accidentally splashed his Sprite on my mom and me. We also saw a friend, so that was a nice surprise too.

But all in all, a great day and a great ball game. When we arrived at Target Field and were walking on the plaza, I spotted a $20 bill on the ground. I said, "It must be my lucky day." I guess maybe that luck rubbed off on the Twins too.

Limping into the break

2010-07-11T23:19:00.009-05:00

While the Twins as a team haved limped into the All-Star break, I think for the starting pitchers it's more like they've gone into a coma. Instead of a first-place lead in the weak AL Central Division, the Twins stumbled toward the break and now sit in third place with a 46-42 record.

They have a losing record on the road, which is no wonder considering how poor the starters have thrown the ball when away from Target Field. Nick Blackburn needs a stint in Rochester to get his stuff together. Kevin Slowey, Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano have all had some bad outings recently. Carl Pavano and his still-present mustache seems to be the only reliable one.

I even saw a stat thrown out on Twitter pointing out that only four teams in the majors have won fewer games than the Twins since June 1: Baltimore, Toronto, Washington and Pittsburgh - all non-contending teams that the Twins should be embarrassed to be in the same category with.

This isn't just a little slump; it's a big concern. Losing series after series will only lower your position in the standings. A big problem lately has been pitching. As good as their lineup is, they don't have an ace on the mound. And it's like the common saying: Good pitching beats good hitting.

Good for Young, bad for Cuddy
One bright spot this season has been the offensive stylings of outfielder Delmon Young. To his credit, he got in shape for the season and is producing results. We're finally seeing the benefit of the trade that brought him here from Tampa a couple years ago.

Young is an (often clutch) offensive weapon for the Twins right now. It's a good thing too, because someone has to step up for Mauer's "slump" of hitting below .300. Unfortunately, Young still isn't getting it done in left field. But I guess his offense can make up for the fact that his fielding could use some work.

Turning to a strong outfielder, apparently Michael Cuddyer is turning into the next Denny Hocking. In my eyes, Cuddy is an outfielder with a great arm. But with interleague play in June, boosting the lineup and filling in for the injured, he's the utility infielder getting time at third and first base (when Justin Morneau is out).

I remember his time as a regular at third base a few years ago, and I wasn't impressed. His arm is too strong to suffocate in the infield. It's great that he wants to be a team player, but his talents belong in right field.

Maybe the worst sports injury ever - the concussion
On the injury front, Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy are both back in the infield, but Morneau may be in some trouble after taking a knee to the head in a slide collision in Toronto last week. He is sidelined with concussion symptoms, not a first occurance for the first baseman who played hockey in his youth.

His health will certainly be a thing to keep an eye on because concussions are just so unpredictable. Just ask Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Corey Koskie. Morneau already missed the entire weekend series in Detroit, and he will be forced out of the All-Star game where he and Joe Mauer were supposed to be starters.

But the All-Star game is another issue altogether.

With the collapse before the break, stats are being thrown out there saying the Twins are a second-half team. Maybe that's true, but if you don't have starting pitching, you'll be going nowhere fast.

The Upsets - Wimbledon

2010-07-03T00:43:00.006-05:00

Part of the reason we love sports is for the upsets and the underdogs who complete them. It can be great fun to cheer on the lowly rookie or the unranked competitor when he or she steps into the David versus Goliath situation. Just not all the time.

The 2010 Wimbledon grand slam at the All England Club has certainly been a memorable one, and it's not even over yet. If you love upsets, you might just be sick of them by this point. An upset in tennis is generally an unranked player beating a ranked player, or a lower seed beating a higher seed (21 over 2).

Some of the casualties of this year's tournament? Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters are some of the more notable names in singles. Oh, and the big one? Roger Federer. Yes, the man who won his 16th grand slam last year in an epic match against Roddick lost in four sets. He even lost one set 6-1; that's just amazing.

On the doubles side, the American sibling powerhouses named Williams (Venus and Serena) and Bryan (Bob and Mike) both fell short before the goal of a title.

If all the upsets weren't enough, let's not forget about the longest tennis match in history between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut back in the first round. You know, the one with the 70-68 fifth set in which Isner finally won after more than 11 total hours spanning three days? Of course, Isner somewhat expectedly had a letdown in the second round with a straight-set loss.

I think I was the most disappointed about Roddick's upset, even more so after Federer was bounced in the quarterfinals. Andy came oh-so-close to winning the grass title last year, and I was really pulling for him this time around.

On the men's side, Tomas Berdych has twice been the spoiler. First, he was the one to knock out Federer in the quarters, and then he pulled off another upset when he beat Djokovic in the semis. If he can pull a third rabbit out of his tennis hat, he'll win the Wimbledon title in his first final appearence in a major. But he'll have to go through Rafa Nadal to do it.

Nadal moved on to the final after a 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 win over sentimental favorite Andy Murray. After Federer was gone, I was hoping Murray could pull off some magic of his own to win Wimbledon. This was his shot. But not only is Federer a huge hurdle, Rafa certainly is no slouch either. He's playing amazing tennis right now.

All that's left is Breakfast at Wimbledon this weekend for the men's and women's finals. Serena Williams looks untouchable as she will face No. 21 Vera Zvonareva. And Rafa should have the edge in the men's final.

So, will it be the dominant past champions Rafa and Serena? Or will Upset Wimbledon 2010 continue with another act or two?

What's new in the world of sports

2010-06-24T11:51:00.005-05:00

Since the last update, the Los Angeles Lakers won yet another NBA title, the Chicago Blackhawks broke a 49-year drought by winning the Stanley Cup, World Cup soccer has turned the world into a frenzy and history was made at Wimbledon with the longest tennis match ever played.

As for the local Minnesota angle, the Twins haven't exactly dominated interleague play as in year's past, the Wild are preparing for the draft (after signing James Sheppard, much to this blogger's disapproval) and the first-ever Prep Championship Series was played at Target Field, crowning three baseball champions.

Let's break it down.

Sheppard signing is a waste
I don't think it's any secret that I am not James Sheppard's biggest fan. In fact, I think the 22-year-old is a waste of time for the Wild to keep pumping money and energy into in hopes of trying to make him the superstar-player former general manager Doug Risebrough promised everyone.

GM Chuck Fletcher signed the forward to a one-year, $803,250 deal. I'm sure glad we retained this guy who put up these kind of under-achieving numbers last season: Two goals and six points in 64 games.

From what I read of the GM's comments, he doesn't want to give up on Shep just yet since he is still a young player. The problem is, I see nothing from this hockey player, if you can even call him that. And what about when they gave up on Benoit Pouliot and Petr Sykora last season before they really gave them a chance?

It's not like Sheppard's going to be rolling in dough, but he needs to start producing something, anything, on the ice. Two goals for a forward is pathetic.

Prep Championship Series
This year, the Minnesota State High School League held its championship baseball games for the three classes at Target Field last Saturday. Tickets for the entire day in the lower level were a steal at $10 apiece. And the weather cooperated as well.

I took in the Class 3A game between Eden Prairie and Burnsville with my friend Chris. High school games are seven innings, but for this one it was the beginning and the end that were the parts to watch. Home-team Burnsville looked like it had a few nerves on the big stage as it committed three errors in the first inning (and four total for the game).

Eden Prairie jumped out to an early lead, and it looked like the men in red would have no trouble winning the title. Things got interesting in the sixth inning though when Burnsville's bats came alive. Two home-run bombs were hit in the inning, one to the left-field bleachers, and the other a blast to the bullpen. Those were certainly the biggest highlights of the game.

The Eagles eventually prevailed with a 7-5 win.

Huh? What?
I'm not much of a basketball fan, so I didn't really follow the NBA playoffs, or the storied Championship Series between the Lakers and Boston Celtics. It went seven games before the Lakers won in their star-studded arena.

If you asked me to make a pick, I'd pull for Boston because 1) It's always nice to root against the "top-dog" of Los Angeles, and 2) Kevin Garnett left the Timberwolves and has achieved greatness. Go figure.

I also am not a soccer fan. Sorry, but I'd rather just watch hockey. So you can imagine I'm not glued to my TV set to watch all the world-wide action. Soccer may be the world's most popular sport, but folks, it's not the most popular in America. We're a football (yes, American football) country.

(Not great) history at Wimbledon
Wimbledon just started this week, and already it's been full of excitement. The first round matches are set up so highly-ranked players should (theoretically) have an easy time of it. In other words, we shouldn't be seeing the long five-setters that have taken place so far.

But the biggest moment of the tournament (I don't know how you top it) was the longest match in tennis history between American John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. It took 11 hours and five minutes over three days for the ranked Isner to finally prevail: 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. No, that's not a typo.

At Wimbledon, the deciding set cannot end in a tiebreak, and the winner must win by two games. This match broke records, but it certainly wasn't the championship thriller between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick fans were treated to last year.

For a match to go on that long means no player could muster winning two games in a row. They held serve and couldn't break the opponent. Isner had the edge of serving first, putting him ahead in the game count, but he couldn't finish it off until the fifth match point on Thursday.

It may be the longest tennis match in history, but it definitely wasn't the greatest.

As for the Twins...
They boys of summer are doing OK. In one of the weakest divisions in baseball, they should be able to hold a bigger, more comfortable first-place lead over their opponent (mainly, the Detroit Tigers). Interleague play used to mean a string of wins for the club, but this year they've been dealt the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies to give them some stiff competition.

The Twins have also run into their fair share of aces, making them work for their wins. They were able to pull out a series win in Philly with an amazing comeback victory last Saturday. But then they dropped the first two at border-rival Milwaukee Brewers.

On the injury line, Orlando Hudson is back, J.J. Hardy still is not. And in the bad-move department, call-up Danny Valencia and Brendan Harris are left riding the bench as Michael Cuddyer has made a (temporary?) move back to third base. His strong arm belongs in the outfield.

94th running of the Indianapolis 500

2010-06-04T16:47:00.007-05:00

The 94th Indianapolis 500 was this past Sunday. I'm a little late with a blog entry, mostly because I've been writing so much about the race for my Marco Andretti Examiner page. So if you want more extensive coverage, take a gander at my articles.

Being at the race last year was amazing, and trust me, you want to go back every year after you've been there in person. But this year we stayed home, which was alright too. In fact, with my good buddy Twitter, watching the race on television wasn't so bad. I'll say it again, being able to converse with Twitter peeps who are watching the same sporting event as you makes it so much better.

One complaint: ABC
The race coverage on ABC wasn't the greatest, however. Viewers missed seeing the first two lead changes, one time so that we could listen in on Danica Patrick's pit radio. Of course there was also the side-by-side commercial break coverage, versus just straight commercials that were, coincidentally or not, poorly timed out between yellow and green flags.

But my biggest beef with the coverage was at the end of the race. It finished under caution, so we saw the winner Dario Franchitti followed closely by Dan Wheldon cross the bricks. Those were the only two cars viewers saw cross the line, and then the race results didn't scroll across the top of the screen under a few minutes later.

Part of this may have been for good reason, there was a horrific crash with Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay on the last lap. Showing that scene instead of the finishers is understandable; cutting to shots of Franchitti's wife Ashley Judd is not. Plus, the race ended with a little controversy involving Andretti, but we didn't see the finish.

All the while, I needed to write an article about Marco, and I still had no idea where he finished because ABC couldn't even give us the results right away. There were more than a few complaints on Twitter. ABC rant: over.

Watching, writing, Tweeting
Marco was eventually awarded third place after video data showed he was passed by three cars that didn't slow down for the crash. This gave me a lot to write about, and it was nice to see Marco run a good race and do well at Indy.

Watching the race and then writing about it took up most of my Sunday, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It only comes once a year, and for race fans, the Indy 500 is our Christmas. I still wish Paul Tracy would have been in there vying for the win, but I guess we'll have to wait until next year.

One of the other feel-good stories of the race was Tony Kanaan, who made a strong run through the field all the way from the back. He was trying to be the first driver to make it from the 33rd spot and come back to win the race. It would have been an instant classic he had succeeded. But Franchitti was too good with a strong race car. Kanaan ended up 11th after making a late pit stop.

No history for Helio
I was also glad that the much-hyped story of the day didn't pan out: Pole-sitter Helio Castroneves did not get his fourth victory at Indy, which would have put him in elite company. He stalled in the pits, on a day where pit lane was a flurry of activity and mistakes. Will Power and Scott Dixon also had issues in the pits, proving how costly mistakes are.

It was another great race at the Brickyard, and I really hope I can make it back there next year. Of course, this year's race was one of the warmest on record, so Murphy's Law would suggest that next year might be unseasonably chilly, but we'll see. I'd love to go back to the greatest race track and see the greatest spectacle in racing.

MLB instant replay: Time to take a closer look

2010-06-04T15:16:00.008-05:00

It is the great debate in sports at the moment, whether or not to expand the use of instant replay in Major League Baseball. For every person who supports instant replay in America's pastime, there is someone else who is against it.

For those who are in favor, they have wondered what, if anything, it would take for MLB to expand the replay system beyond the home run calls. The answer has finally come this week: A botched call cost Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game on Wednesday.

The call, which didn't appear to be that close, came with two outs in the ninth inning. Umpire Jim Joyce quickly became a recognizable name, a trending topic on Twitter - and not in a good way.

Sidenote: As fate would have it, the Twins suffered a loss to the Mariners later that night after a controversial call was made at second base, which allowed the winning run to score in extra innings. And speaking of blown calls, who could forget Phil Cuzzi's call in the playoffs last season?

In the aftermath: Class
While baseball fans everywhere seemed to be ticked at the perfect-game-that-wasn't, what followed that evening and the next day certainly changed a few attitudes. With the exception of a few Detroit players arguing the call with Joyce on the field after the game, everyone involved handled the situation with class, dignity and respect from there on out.

All reports said that Joyce was extremely upset for missing the call, after seeing the video replay. He apologized to Galarraga. I respect Joyce so much more for how he responded afterward. Instead of sticking to his guns, acting arrogantly and not admitting his error, he realized the mistake and felt horrible about costing the young man a place in MLB history.

One of the great moments
The Tigers and Indians finished up their series the next day with an afternoon game. Galarraga met the umpiring crew at home plate, and he presented Joyce with the lineup card. Joyce was given the option to sit the game out, but he stood up and took his place behind the plate.

It was a truly touching scene as Joyce had trouble keeping his emotions in check. As far as Galarraga, he handled the situation with nothing but class. The same goes for his manager Jim Leyland.

Crackin' open the can o' worms
This incident obviously reopened the instant-replay can of worms, which would be expected. I think the thing that surprised a lot of people, or at least me, was the debate Thursday as to whether Commissioner Bud Selig would reverse the call at the first base, therefore awarding Galarraga with a perfect game.

In the continued classiness, Leyland and Galarraga were both humble when faced with questions related to the decision to overturn the call. They conveyed that they were fine with what happened, and that they knew how bad Joyce was feeling. They made sure to say that they did not want to demand the call be reversed.

The good word from Selig was that he would not be overturning the call. I agree with this. It's one thing to change a call right after the fact on the field, but to overturn a call in a game that has already taken place would be disastrous. It's a very slippery slope with undefined standards.

What the commish did say was that he would look into expanding instant replay beyond determining home runs. I am in favor of this decision.

Instant replay. Yes? No?
There's always a heated debate with the topic of instant replay. Some of the arguments? Baseball is too long already, replay takes away the human element, etc. On the other hand, the rare bad calls cost teams games, if we have the technology, why not use it?, etc.

I would like to see instant replay in baseball. I think this particular situation is finally the "ah-ha" factor that will make that happen. The NHL, NFL and tennis all have the use of video replays, and it seems to have worked just fine. When calls are overturned, they are usually correct. That's what's important: getting it right.

Now, of course baseball is a different game which has already been criticized for its slow pace. But there must be a way to try and factor some replay into the game.

Up for a challenge?
I still maintain going with the challenge system used by the NFL and in tennis tournaments. Whenever you have human officials making subjective calls, there will always be human error, so why not try to correct it? I like the challenge system because there's a limit, so you won't have to sit through a challenge every other play.

Video doesn't lie. I think it should be in place for those tough calls, or close calls that might be hard to make in real time. And hey, who wouldn't love to see Gardy all fired up and red in the face, throw a red flag onto the diamond to ask for a challenge?

No matter what MLB decides to do as far as the instant replay expansion, I'm just glad it is getting a closer look. It doesn't need to be taken to an extreme, but it's time to use it in moderation.

I've given you my opinion on instant replay in MLB, now feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with me on the subject.

Target Field: The food

2010-05-29T16:54:00.007-05:00

I wasn't sure what I was going to chow down on at the ballpark for my second visit. I considered going the traditional way of getting a hot dog of one variety or another. Or maybe I'd spot something that would make my mouth water as we made our lap around the concourse.

Instead, I went with the pizza that I had last time. You get two hunks of piping-hot, pan-style pizza for $6. Not a bad deal at an event where everything is overpriced.

A feast for the family
My dad, brother and I shared a canoe (yes, the paper container was in the shape of a canoe) of cheese curds from the State Fair food stand located in the outfield side of the stadium. The curds weren't nearly as greasy or salty as the ones you'll find at the Fair, but they were still pretty good.

Mom tried the Murray's steak sandwich, which looked good although messy. The bottom of the paper tray was filled with icky grease, and the roll was splitting apart at the top.

Dad, of course, had a classic hot dog, purchased for him by my brother Kyle. This was a big moment since Kyle had "owed him a hot dog" for quite awhile now.

With just one little complaint...
Our biggest complaint from the new park was that despite the huge concourse and multiple food vending areas, there were no high-top tables or ledges along the wall (like you'd find at the Xcel Energy Center, for example) that would greatly assist in someone trying to eat their overpriced food.

We had to walk awhile from the pizza stand back to our seats so we could enjoy our Italian goodness. For my first game, our seats were right near the pizza, so the thought about the tables didn't even cross my mind. Maybe a few tables could be an area of improvement for the Twins and Target Field to work some of the kinks out.

Stay away from the ice cream
As for the ice cream I tried, there's five bucks I'll never see again. I was debating between a Kiddie Cone ($4) or the classic ice cream helmet. I went with the helmet because, unlike at the Dome, there are toppings available.

I ordered vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and sprinkles. What I got was a soupy mess of hot fudge (big difference from sauce, making the ice disappear even faster) and sprinkles with a dollop of visible ice cream on top.

If I wasn't so concerned with getting back to my seat and the game, I should have asked for another one. And the ice cream isn't that creamy kind of soft-serve, it's more of a watery texture. I think I'll be passing on the ice cream from now on.

So there you have it, the low-down on what my family and I feasted on while at Target Field. It's almost as important as the game, right?

Target Field: Visit No. 2

2010-05-29T15:29:00.013-05:00

First visit with the family to Target Field? Check. We made it to our first game as a family Friday night to see the Twins get a 2-1 win over the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. To quote Dick Bremer, "It was a beautiful day for baseball."

We arrived at the park quite early, entering thought the main Gate 34, so we had a chance to admire the surroundings. The first task as we began to walk around the lower-level concourse was to locate our seats on the first-base side. We were far enough back in the section to be under the overhang, near the Twins dugout.

Taking a lap
We then made a walking-lap around the ballpark, taking it all in, and picking up some food along the way (More on that later.). Once we made a full "circle," we stopped near the FSNorth staging area so my mom could take a few pictures.

While we were hanging around there, Roy Smalley came through the area. Another fan was setting up to take a picture of him, which Roy noticed, so he offered to pose for a picture with the whole family. Then he made small talk with them. That was a nice gesture to see.

Same old story with the bats
The game itself wasn't the offensive outburst the Twins produced the night before in an 8-2 salvage-win over the Bronx Bombers. Instead, we were treated to more of the same from them: A lack of clutch hitting, more double plays and yet another high LOB (runners left on base) count.

Designated hitter Jim Thome had a chance twice with the M & M boys on base, but failed to produce. Then he came up with the bases empty and knocked a double down the right-field line. Go figure. And I believe yesterday's LOB count was something like 9, but don't hold me to that.

Joe Mauer drove in the team's two runs with an RBI-single in the third, and by hitting into a bases-loaded double play with nobody out in the fifth. Want DP stats? Mauer has already hit into 12 this season; it was 13 for all of last year. As a team, the Twins currently lead the majors as they have hit into 61 double plays.

I'm also not sure on the Twins' team average with the bases juiced, but it can't be above .200 (and that mark is being generous). With two months about to be in the books, clutch hitting for the Twins is still a struggling point.

The other side of the coin is if they can still win games (which they can) and still be in first place in the division (which they are), then who cares? True, but these stats are something that can be improved upon.

A home-run review and strong pitching
Anyway, I've already rambled on these things before. The game did have some exciting points. We experienced an umpire's review when the Ranger's Ian Kinsler hit a ball down the left-field line toward the foul pole. I didn't see where exactly the ball hit, but I saw it cross the pole on the foul side. Apparently, so did all the fans on the platform who were motioning foul.

The third-base umpire signaled a home run, but Gardy came out to make his case, and the umps headed in to look at the tape. They overturned the ruling, but Kinsler ended up scoring anyway, tying the game at one apiece.

Starter Kevin Slowey earned his sixth win by going 6-2/3 innings. He kept his pitch count manageable and, unlike his past outings, he didn't hit a wall in the fifth or sixth. Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier came on in relief and didn't allow a run.

Then Jon Rauch came in to close things down. He gave up a hit, but finished off the game and redeemed himself for his loss and blown save in his previous couple outings. The crowd was up on its feet during the ninth, cheering the home team on to victory.

We hung around afterward to take a few pictures before heading out. It really was a beautiful night for baseball. A sunny day with temps in the 80s. What's not to like?

Indy 500 qualifying

2010-05-25T20:14:00.007-05:00

It's time for the Indianapolis 500 yet again. Sunday's race will be the 94th running of the greatest spectacle in motorsports. Who's excited?

Last year was the first time I was able to attend the Indy 500. I went with my family and had a blast. The few downsides were Marco Andretti crashing on the first lap of the race, and Helio Castroneves taking home the win. I was pulling for some of the "underdogs."

I really wish I was going back to the speedway this weekend to be a part of the largest single-day sporting event in the world, but I guess I'll just have to wait. For those that haven't been to see an IndyCar race in person, you're missing out. Television doesn't do the sport justice.

Now that I am the Marco Andretti Examiner for Examiner.com, I have been paying even more attention to everything related to the IZOD IndyCar Series. That includes getting fired up when the Indy 500 festivites commence.

Let the racing begin!
The drivers arrived at the brickyard a week before Pole Day (which was this past Saturday). They practiced all week leading up to the qualifying weekend, including Pole Day and then Bump Day on Sunday.

All week, the weather conditions at the track were mostly overcast and fairly cool. There were even delays for rain, and Monday's practice sessions were scrubbed altogether. But when the weekend hit, the sunshine beamed down onto the pavement, resulting in significant changes to the race track and therefore, qualification speeds.

Versus provided the coverage all day long on both Saturday and Sunday, so if you had nothing else to do, sitting in front of your TV watching racing would be a great way to spend your time. I watched all the coverage I could when I wasn't busy, and also stayed updated by my beloved Twitter.

Pole Day, Fast Nine and Bump Day
This year is the first for a new format on Pole Day. Positions 1 through 24 were decided, and the remaining drivers would have to try and qualify on Bump Day. In addition, the top nine drivers advanced to the Fast Nine 90-minute qualifying session to determine the pole position and the remaining P2 through P9 order.

The Fast Nine segment was exciting to watch. Although, Castroneves took some wind out of the sails when he posted laps in excess of 228 mph as the first car out on the track. Positions jostled during the rest of the session, but no one could match Helio's blistering speed.

There were a few crashes during the weekend. Tony Kanaan had near identical crashes in qualifying and then practice. His bad luck at Indy continued, and he was lucky to make it into the field on Bump Day. He'll start 32nd.

Poor PT
I think the biggest disappointment for me, and for a lot of race fans, is that racing veteran Paul Tracy failed to make the field. He was one of the first cars to attempt to make a qualification on Saturday morning, but his car decided to go into neutral on him.

That left Bump Day, where he had appeared to make the cut. But if a driver wants to make another attempt to try and better his or her speed, he or she must withdraw the previous attempt - as if it never happened.

Tracy's team made the call to go out again late in the session because they felt PT would be bumped by rookie Jay Howard. He failed to make it in and was unable to make another run before the gun went off. As the saying goes, that's racing.

It's really heartbreaking for Tracy because he has unfinished business at Indy. He feels he should have won the 2002 race (instead it was Helio's second win), but was denied on a technicality regarding a yellow flag that came out around the same time Tracy made a pass for the lead on Castroneves.

There was so much more that happened over the weekend, and as usual, I'm already writing a lengthy entry. Check out IndyCar.com or the Indy 500 website for more details and tidbits about qualifying and the race itself. Or, head over to my Marco Andretti Examiner page for the specifics relating to Marco and his Andretti Autosport teammates.

It's the Yankees

2010-05-15T17:04:00.007-05:00

It's the same old story. The Minnesota Twins can't beat the Yankees. For one reason or another, they just can't get back into the win column. It really gets harder and harder to watch the match-ups between these two ball clubs.

This series in the Bronx between the Twins and Yanks early in the season has been both over-hyped and at the same time, downplayed. "Can the Twins finally beat the Yankees?" (hype) "It doesn't matter in May, what matters is beating them in October." (downplay)

While it's true that this is early on in the regular season, I still hold a lot of importance in this weekend series in May. If the Twins can't beat the Yankees now, therefore proving to themselves that they actually can accomplish the task, then how do they expect to beat them come playoff time?

Still looking for a win
The 2010 Twins are much-improved and much-hyped as a team that has the potential to be a contender deep into the postseason. They currently lead the AL Central with a 22-14 record. By losing the first two games in New York, the Twins have only dropped their second series of the season. They lost Friday 8-4 and Saturday afternoon 7-1.

Friday was another example of a typical game between these two. The Twins had a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning before, in classic, Yankee-like dramatic fashion, things unraveled for the Twins.

With two on and Brian Duensing pitching, manager Ron Gardenhire elected to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira to fill first base for a potential double-play ball. Typical textbook move. Then, with the ever-dangerous Alex Rodriguez due up, Gardy sent Matt Guerrier to the mound. The match-up by the numbers? A-Rod was 4-for-6 against Matty with three homers and a double.

Big mistake
As you might expect, the Twins got burned. Mr. A-Rod cracked a grand slam to put the Yanks in front for good. I have a couple of thoughts here. If the Twins are going to lose to the Bombers, why can't they lose in an average 5-3 game? Why must the Yanks always get that dramatic home run or big hit to prevail? It's highly annoying.

My other thought is that Gardy was acting quite hypocritical. Here's what he had to say after the game: "We have all the confidence in the world in Matty. Numbers aren't everything."

"Numbers aren't everything"? Right. Looking at the numbers and going "by the book" is how you manage your team, Gardy. I'll admit that I don't always like the textbook ways in every situation, but this was not one of them. If there is ever a time to go with the numbers, it's against the Yankees.

Of course there will always be second-guessing of managerial moves based on the outcomes. But I like how Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan put it: "Second-guessing riles big-league managers, but there was a lot of first-guessing going on in the Yankee Stadium press box on Friday night."

Yankee mystique
Also, I vote that giving intentional passes to put a pinstriped-man on base should be outlawed in the Twins rulebook. You're just tempting fate. Sure, the double-play-ball theory works a good amount of the time, but you always have to remember: It's the Yankees.

It doesn't matter how you try and justify things, that the Twins are no longer an underdog team, they have the ability to beat New York, etc. Leaving out all other factors, the Yankees still possess a mystique about them that is intimidating and lucky.

Denard Span led off Saturday's game with what looked to be a base hit to center field. Instead, a diving catch was made to start the game. That says it all. The Twins have had more than a few bad-luck balls for outs that could have easily been base hits.

I'm not trying to get the Twins off the hook here, they still need to find a way to get the big, clutch hits, drive in runs and get wins against the Yanks. But there is also a small percentage of luck that just never seems to be there for them, and is always there for the Yanks. Of course, that's just my opinion.

In other sports news...
Yesterday was Opening Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the IZOD IndyCar drivers began a string of practice sessions in preparation for the Indy 500. Practice sessions will take place every day next week (weather permitting) leading up to Pole Day next Saturday.

The month of May is always an exciting time for race fans. After all, the Indy 500 is the biggest one-day sporting event in the world. I'll be keeping up with all the action at Indy, and driver Marco Andretti, on my Marco Andretti Examiner page. Be sure to check it out to see the latest information with Indy.

High LOB count catching up with Twins

2010-05-08T18:33:00.004-05:00

"That's why they play the game." It's a rather common saying in the sports world. Basically it means that just because a team is theoretically better than another on paper (overall records, stats, etc.), that doesn't mean the outcome of the games will always work out that way.

Twins versus Birds
Case in point: The Minnesota Twins versus the Balitmore Orioles in a four-game set May 6 through May 9 at Target Field. The Twins (19-9 before series) are in first place in the AL Central; the Orioles (7-21 before series) bring up the rear in the AL East.

If you're thinking the Twins should have no trouble brooming the Birds, this time you're wrong. Sure, on paper you'd be a wise better to pick the Twins. But if you did for this series, you've lost some money. Heading into the nightcap of the split doubleheader on Saturday (Friday's game was rained out.), the Twins were down two games to none.

They lost 2-0 on Thursday night, and 7-3 on a chilly, rainy Saturday afternoon. Thursday's loss was particularly hard to take. For his second outing in a row, Carl Pavano got zero run support for his stellar pitching performance. The two runs were scored on an early-inning two-run shot by veteran Ty Wiggington, who's second in the league in homers.

Struggling with runners on
The Twins' bats struggled yet again with runners on base, and also with the bases full. It's been the story all season. Heading into Saturday, the Twins were an abysmal 7-for-47 (.149) with the bases juiced. That's not good.

If the LOB (left on base) count was looked at as a serious statistic, I wouldn't doubt that the Twins would be leading the majors in this category. Game after game it seems they continue to leave multiple men (sometimes in the double digits) on base, failing to bring those runs around to score.

Of course, it's a little nit-picky to focus on such a what if?-statistic. The LOB count is like shots-on-goal in hockey. It doesn't matter. What matters is how many goals/runs you score.

Throughout April, the Twins kept up their trends of leaving runners on base. The important thing is they were winning ball games. Good teams get some luck, and I think that's what happened to the Twins. They were finding ways to win without the big hits.

Gotta win the easy ones
Now it's catching up with them. A team comes in here with a horrible record, and also some not-so-amazing pitchers with hitter-friendly ERAs. And what have the Twins done? Struggled. Yes, it's only two games, but these should be "gimmes" for a team that's supposed to be a contender.

On Thursday, it was the bats that went silent. The Twins had a chance to set a team record for scoring in the first inning for seven games in a row. That obviously didn't happen.

Saturday afternoon it was a little bit of the offsense and the fact the Francisco Liriano had an off day, giving up 10 hits and five earned runs in six innings of work. Of course, Jason Kubel (.209) continued his hitting slump, and designated hitter Jim Thome struck out and hit into a double play.

On the bright side, Justin Morneau hit his first bomb at Target Field for a two-run shot in the first. Michael Cuddyer continues to enjoy the new digs as he went yard yet again for his fifth homer of the season.

Why they play the games
It's nothing to panic about, but the bottom line is the Twins should be beating up on the Birds, especially at home. After two 163-game seasons, we've learned every game means something.

These guys have a great lineup of hitters, and eventually the average with the bases loaded has to get better, and the clutch hits will start coming. As for when, time will tell. "That's why they play the game."

Pitching, puck and a dash of tennis

2010-04-29T21:08:00.016-05:00

It had to happen sooner or later. The Twins finally lost a series this season, after winning their first six to start the year. They lost the final two games of a three-game set in Detroit this week, in a rematch that had been awaiting the Tigers since their end-of-season collapse and loss in Game 163.

All about pitching
Francisco Liriano seems to have regained his dominant 2006 form. He's throwing deep into ball games. He's leading the majors with a 0.93 ERA, and his record is 3-0. On a pitching staff without an established ace, Liriano is making his case to take over as the No. 1 guy.

Just a month into the season, it's too early to make that proclamation, but he's well on his way to shedding the bad memories of the last couple seasons.

On the other hand, opening-day starter Scott Baker seems to have sunk into another one of his low spots on his pitching roller coaster. Simply put, consistency and Baker don't mix. The Twins put up some early runs for Baker Wednesday night, and he responded by turning a 6-1 lead into a 6-5 game.

The bullpen fell apart (my Twitter feed was flooded with "Crain Wreck" mentions), Gardy got tossed for the first time this season and the final score ended up 11-6. So, it wasn't all Baker's fault, but only going four-plus innings isn't getting it done. Let's hope he can find his peak again.

Former Wild players shine
In a huge upset in game seven of the first round of the NHL playoffs, golden boy Alexander Ovechkin and his No. 1 Washington Capitals were eliminated by the No. 8-seeded Montreal Canadiens. Versus isn't going to like that one for ratings.

Habs goaltender Jaroslav Halak was spectacular once again, but in the 2-1 victory, it was two former Wild players who provided the offensive spark: Dominic Moore and Marc-Andre Bergeron. It's nice to see former Wild players have some success.

Speaking of which, my birthday buddy Benoit Pouliot will also be heading to the second round with Montreal. He was traded for Guillaume Latendresse earlier in the season. It was a move that worked wonders for both sides, something you don't see too often.

It's a good day to watch some tennis
On Tuesday I visited my old stomping grounds, or the tennis courts at Andover High School. It was a beautiful day - sunshine and no wind, a perfect combination for a good tennis day. I was in the mood to watch a little live tennis action, so I thought I'd stop by.

I watched the third-singles match featuring my awesome neighbor Erik Jones. He's a ninth grader, but he's been playing on the varsity squad since seventh grade. He is turning into quite the player; I sure wouldn't want to face him in a competitive setting (although we have hit around together, for fun).

Erik was well-matched against an eighth grader from Maple Grove. The pair had a number of lengthy points and games. Some of the shots they hit back and forth to try and put the other away were amazing. Some well-positioned put-aways and point conclusions drew visible and audible emotion for both players, which was great to see.

The end result was a 6-4, 6-3 win for the Maple Grove eighth grader. But what matters is it was a well-played match. Erik was down early in the first set, but rallied to win four games. It was a good show, and I'm glad I was there to watch. Keep up the good work Erik!

Target Field: The inaugural visit

2010-04-21T12:41:00.020-05:00

Last night I made my first visit to Target Field to watch the Twins in their second night game at their new digs. Yes, it was awesome. The whole experience was amazing and had this brand-new, first-experience kind of feel to it.

I went to the game with my friend Cassie (kudos to her for getting us tickets). We're both big Twins fans, so we knew we wanted to go to a game together. Now, let me start from the beginning and try to pack in all the details I can from the night.

Getting there
Since Target Field is on the opposite side of downtown Minneapolis from the Metrodome, figuring out how to get there and where to park was a big challenge for two suburban girls. Coming in off of I-94 used to be the "back way," so we reversed our driving strategy and took I-35 instead.

We drove around trying to pick out a ramp to park in, and we eventually ended up in the 5th Street ramp right next to the stadium. Literally. That wasn't our intention since we wanted to avoid traffic issues. But if you don't mind paying the $15, then milling around for awhile after the game, parking here isn't bad.

Unfamiliar surroudings
As we walked along the plaza area near the main Gate 34, we were surrounded by Twins fans. For some reason it gave me the feeling of being at the State Fair, although I can't really pinpoint why. We continued to walk around to our gate and entered the new ballpark.

It didn't take us long to join the rest of the herd and make our way around the huge open-air concourse to try and find our seats. While walking I took note of the new surroundings: The souvie shops, various food stands and looking to my right and being able to see the field.

Our seats were down the third baseline, looking out into the middle of left field. Being in the lower level was amazing and the view from our seats was great. Of course, they came with a price, but I honestly forgot all about that when I sat down.

Gotta have the food, nice weather
After taking in the sights for a few minutes and still having that surreal feeling wash over me, it was time to sample some of the much-hyped cuisine (since we forgot to grab something before we entered Target Field, like we had planned). It was off to the pizza stand, and by the way, Pepsi is the beverage supplier. Both get a thumbs-up from me.

While we waited for the game to start, there was more staring and picture-taking from our seats. It was also nice to enjoy the weather. It was a beautiful 70-degree April day in Minnesota. The weather gods really have been with the Twins this spring. I was comfortable in my short-sleeved jersey until the final out of the night. Gorgeous.

Oh yeah, there was a game too
Amid all the excitement over the brand-new park, there was a baseball game that night. The Twins against the Cleveland Indians. Kevin Slowey pitched an absolute gem of a game, going eight innings with nine strikeouts.

Many out there (myself included) would make the arguement that Slowey should have gone out in the ninth, but he had 98 pitches. By the book, by the book. His only mistake of the night was a pitch that Twins-killer Travis Hafner drove into the right-field bleachers.

If you missed the third inning last night, you missed out. It wasn't a great offensive night for the Twins. Jason Kubel struck out three times, Joe Mauer was 0-for-4 and they left the bases loaded yet again this season. But that didn't matter because the Twins took advantage of Cleveland's mistakes.

The Tribe's shortstop let a double-play ball slip through his legs, which was the costly error of the inning. In a 1-1 game, the Twins scored four runs in the third. One came on a bases-loaded walk, two on a wild pitch and one on a sacrifice fly. It was certainly an unconventional way of scoring runs.

In one of the later innings, a towering foul ball came back toward our section. It bounced off of some spectators just a few rows up, then landed in the hands of a gentleman just behind us in the next section over. That was something to get used to; I didn't get a lot of foul balls my way up in the cheap seats at the Metrodome. Go figure.

It went out of style 30 years ago
My eye-roll moment of the game came in the Twins half of a late inning. Some lower sections along the first baseline made a few attempts at starting The Wave. Unfortunately, they were successful. I did not participate; Cassie and I just sat there shaking our heads. To make matters worse, I also spotted a beach ball near where the wave started.

There were no home runs, although Justin Morneau came close. I believe that means the Twins have yet to hit a homer in a night game at Target Field. We wanted to see the illuminated Minnie and Paul shake hands after a bomb, but we settled for the handshake after the Twins sealed the 5-1 win over the Tribe.

We obviously wanted to hang around after the game to let traffic thin out, so we left the park in search of Hubert's. Lucky us, we stumbled onto the newly-moved, Twins-themed establishment not far outside the plaza. It was a great way to end the night.

Well, to sum up...
Target Field is awesome. Watching outdoor baseball is a treat we Minnesotans can get used to, I'm sure. Of course, it's much easier to enjoy the experience when the weather cooperates; we really lucked out.

I've been a huge backer of a retractable roof, especially in Minnesota. But on perfect nights, I admit there's nothing better than watching the Twins put on a show in a beautiful, outdoor ballpark. Simply glorious.

Another opening, another "outdoor" show

2010-04-13T20:30:00.006-05:00

It's official. Outdoor baseball has returned to Minnesota. Although, unless you're about 35 or older you don't have a recollection of Major League Baseball outside the K-MART-stadium Metrodome.

The last time the Minnesota Twins played outside was in 1981 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, now known as the Mall of America. From 1982 through 2009, the Twins made their baseball home in a football stadium.

But those Dome memories are all in the past now. The Twins held their first ever home-opener at Target Field Monday, April 12, 2010. It was a day of firsts, beginning a season of firsts.

FSNorth and Twitter have it covered
FSNorth was all over the coverage on game day, starting early in the morning and going through the evening. They recorded everything from the first beer sold at the Field, the unveiling of the Kirby Puckett statue and just an overall overload of information to everything Twins and Target Field-related.

As a sidenote, if you're a sports fan without a Twitter account - get one. Interacting on your Twitter feed during a sporting event is awesome, especially when everyone's talking, er, Tweeting about it. You learn so many cool tidbits about the game you might not otherwise know, or at least you'll see it first on Twitter.

All you have to do is start following a bunch of beat writers, sports news outlets and fans of your favorite team(s). There are a lot out there for the Twins, but I'll just mention the two head writers for the Star Tribune: Joe Christensen and LaVelle E. Neal. Follow them for all the latest with the Twins.

Hard to concentrate
I have to admit, sitting and watching all the pre-game coverage really gave me the itch to be there in person, more than I thought it would. And I'll tell you something else, my productivity level throughout the entire day was horrible. I volunteered with kindergartners in the morning and then intended on writing up the IndyCar race for my Marco Andretti Examiner page.

After meaning to write my story before the game began at 3:10 that afternoon, I didn't publish it until after midnight. I imagine the productivity at many offices and schools had a similar fate, especially for those at the ball park. Many were obviously playing hookey from work or school.

The weather turned out great for the game: 65 degrees with some sun. With the current weather pattern we've had, the Twins were very lucky.

Introducing...
Both rosters were announced before the game. No cap-tips or smiles from the Red Sox; they looked thrilled to be there on the historical occasion.

A not-so-classy moment came when the Twins third base coach Scott Ullger was announced. He received a small chorus of boos for his huge misjudgement in the White Sox game the day before. I thought that was pretty poor from the fans; it was just one game, you don't have to ruin his Target Field Opening Day moment.

Carl Pavano threw the first pitch (a close pitch called a ball), and from there the firsts began with baseballs being taken out of play so often for keepsakes that I hoped they wouldn't run out.

The Twins got things going early and put some runs on the board. It was some great, typical baseball to watch.

I missed it!
Then leading off the bottom of the seventh inning, Jason Kubel connected on a no-doubter pitch for the first home run ever hit at Target Field. Unfortunately for me, I was only able to hear the call as I was on my way to work. I didn't get to see the replay until later that evening, and was quite bummed I missed watching the historic moment.

I also missed the end of the game, but closer Jon Rauch came in and got his fifth save in as many tries to clinch the first win for the Twins in their new home. If you missed any of the action, FSNorth replayed the game that evening and twice on Tuesday. But like I said about missing Kubel's homer, "It's not the same." (As watching it live, of course.)

Baseball needs to pick up the pace

2010-04-10T15:32:00.015-05:00

I've read some interesting articles the last couple of days regarding two of Major League Baseball's elite teams, veteran umpire Joe West and the pace of baseball games.

West publically singled out the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox for the long length of their games. The American League Eastern Division rivals opened the season and couldn't finish a game in less than three hours and 20 minutes. The other games in the series were pushing four hours.

He called the two teams "pathetic" and "embarrassing." His comments drew a lot of feedback from across the league. Boston manager Terry Francona was careful about what he said, but his second baseman Dustin Pedroia fired back.

Targeted players outraged
"If he doesn't want to do Red Sox and Yankee games, he should tell the umpires' union. Then when we're in the World Series, he'll be out of that assignment, too," Pedroia said in an ESPN.com article.

The Yankees also had something to say about the matter. Yankee closer Mariano Rivera said, "What does he want us [the players] to do, swing at balls?" And Pedroia said he was going to step out and take a deep breath when playing the Yanks.

But I think they're all missing the point of West's comments. I'm also glad someone finally decided to call out these two elite, yet much-despised clubs.

That's not the point
Here's the deal. If every other team in MLB can play their games in a more timely fashion (although still not ideal), why can't you? The Yanks and the Sox are the two teams that stand out as having the longest games.

Of course you shouldn't start swinging at balls or not step out of the box entirely. But there are other things the players can do that will add up. I think it's interesting and frustrating that West's comments unleashed such outrage from the players. He's justified in his remarks and the players should think long and hard about them.

It looks like West will not be fined, but he was basically told by MLB that he needs to keep his comments to himself. I just hope some good comes out of this situation.

Pick it up
In recent seasons, more attention has been paid to MLB games and ways to possibly speed them up. Games should be shooting for the three-hour mark, in my opinion. Obviously since baseball is not a timed sport, the element of time is a huge variable. But I don't see why the Yanks and Boston need to play these long games night after night.

There are many reasons for why games last as long as they do. A batter steps out after a pitch where he doesn't move in the box, but he still feels the need to readjust his batting gloves. A catcher goes out to talk to his pitcher multiple times in an inning. A pitcher throws over to first base, or steps off the rubber to give him a look, multiple times during one at-bat.

Those are just off the top of my head and probably don't begin to scratch the surface of the variables out there. Are all these actions during a game really necessary?

A few minor changes add up
If you blast a foul ball into the seats on a 94-mph fastball, by all means readjust your gloves. If you need to touch base with your pitcher, please use just one or two quick trips to the mound. If you want the runner at first (that you already let get on in the first place) to know you're paying attention to him, play catch with your firstbaseman once or twice, and after that only if you really have the guy in a bind.

I guess what I'm getting at is these simple elements of the game are getting more exaggerated and drawn out. I'll bet if you watch a game from 20 years ago, the pace would be a lot different.

Of course, television broadcasts do play a role in the length of games, with the set amount of time needed between innings so they can run the commercials that pay the bills. But some of the pacing is in the player's and manager's control.

For example, changing pitchers three or four times in an inning because you're trying to go with the right-handed/left-handed pitcher-to-batter matchups is a little excessive. I'm not a big fan of this strategy in general, and it certainly prolongs the game.

Apples and oranges, but still...
Take this for what it's worth, but I enjoy the fact that I can sit down on my couch and watch a Minnesota Wild game in two-and-a-half hours. A few years ago, the NHL made some changes, including "hurry-up faceoffs" that help improve the game lengths from around the three-hour mark to 2:30.

Again, baseball and hockey are two different sports, but if the NHL could find a way to speed things along, why can't MLB?

Are you ready for some baseball?

2010-04-09T21:03:00.014-05:00

Baseball season has begun! That means from now until early November, baseball fans will be able to get their daily fix. And for Minnesota Twins fans, this year offers more than one reason to get excited.

The Twins are embarking on their 50th season this year, and coincidentally marking this milestone is the return of outdoor baseball to Minnesota with the opening of Target Field. On top of that, this year's roster is stacked with potential.

It's pretty hard to find a lot to dislike about Twins baseball at the moment, with Joe Nathan's season-ending injury probably the obvious exception. One of the bright spots comes from the offseason moves made by the front office.

According to the USA Today, the Twins are ranked No. 10 in the payroll department. Apparently, while many teams were seemingly affected by the recession (14 teams cut their payrolls), the Twins went the opposite direction and upped their payroll by 49 percent to a franchise-record $97.6 million.

Opening day
With the expected unpredictable Minnesota weather in early April, the Twins opened their season with a four-gamer in Anaheim, followed by a weekend series against the division-rival Chicago White Sox.

Losing opening day and then winning three straight was a pretty productive showing for the Twins, who have struggled at Angel Stadium. They hadn't won a series there since 2002. So leaving with three-out-of-four isn't a bad showing.

Maybe one of the more positively-pleasing statistics from the series was the Twins hitting nine home runs. First baseman Justin Morneau, newcomer J.J. Hardy and the slim-and-trim Delmon Young each had a pair of bombs.

In the finale, Brendan Harris got the start and certainly made the most of it by putting the Twins in front for good with a blast. Yes, that was Brendan Harris.

Of course, the batting champ didn't want to risk being left out, and former Twins killer Jim Thome also got in on the action. I have to say, it's so much better now that he's in a Twins uniform.

Mound masters
Pitching-wise, Scott Baker looked shaky in his opening-day start, and Jose Mijares really let the game slip away by giving up back-to-back homers (although he did redeem himself with a strong outing on Thursday). Jon Rauch earned his first save as a Twin, and it was a good one. A one-two-three inning. Quick and simple; that was nice to see.

Nick Blackburn and Carl Pavano won their games, and Kevin Slowey looked decent, considering he hadn't pitched in a game since July 3 of last season before being bitten by the injury bug. The only real downside of this first trip was four games starting at 9 p.m. Central time. As a result, the team didn't get in to Chicago until very early Friday morning.

Home sweet outdoor home
Although the Twins and their fans got a taste of Target Field with two exhibition games last weekend, the official opening day at the new ballpark will be this coming Monday. I've already seen and heard a lot about the park, thanks to friends' photos, media coverage and a great special section in Sunday's Star Tribune detailing just about everything you need to know about the new digs.

As you might imagine, tickets are going as fast as free food at a college campus. I won't be one of the lucky ones there on opening day or for the opening series. Would I like to be? Of course, along with thousands and thousands of other people, I'm sure. But I'm not fretting over it.

To me, it's still so surreal that I won't be going to the Metrodome to see the Twins play when I eventually go. I'm taking it in stride; I'll get there when I get there. When I do I'm sure it will be an amazing experience. And until then, it's a good thing I have no problem watching sporting events on TV.

Above: Me and my friends Pam and Laura waiting to head in to the Dome for a Twins game last summer.

Time for some racing and baseball

2010-03-30T21:37:00.011-05:00

As we make an uncharacteristically-smooth transition from winter into an actual spring here in the Twin Cities, the weather isn't the only thing that's changing. With a new weather season comes a new sports season.

That's right. The Minnesota State High School League wrapped up the winter season of sports this past Saturday with the conclusion of the boy's basketball tournament. The girls competed the weekend before, and the boy's hockey teams the week before that.

Now, we have baseball in the Twins' new home of Target Field just around the corner, a new season of the IZOD IndyCar series has two races under its belt and the Wild, well, let's just look forward to the start of next season. It's another great time to be a sports fan. But then, when is it not?

It's IndyCar - not IRL
First off, I want to make something clear: The IRL (Indy Racing League) no longer exists, at least not with that name. With the merger of Champ Car and the IRL a couple of years ago, the correct term for some of the greatest open-wheel racing out there is the IZOD IndyCar series (or IndyCar series).

Now that the journalistic part of me has cleared that up, let's talk racing. The series opened its season in Sao Paulo, Brazil back on March 14. After yet another first-lap, first-turn incident, this time involving several cars, the race turned out to be a pretty good one. Will Power from the dominant Team Penske got the win.

Round two was scheduled for this past Sunday on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. I took a day-trip to St. Pete last spring during my vacation. It was a week prior to the race, so I made sure to snap a few photos of the concrete barriers and tires waiting to be put into place.

Anyway, the race was postponed until Monday morning due to heavy rains and thunderstorms. The footage of standing water around parts of the track was pretty amazing. Even with rain tires, it would have been hard to run the race.

Pole-sitter Power went on to win this race, becoming the first driver to start the season two-for-two since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2001. For Power, that's a great way to come back after an injury last season.

Marco Andretti Examiner
Not only do I get to watch IndyCar races as a racing fan, but I am also now the Marco Andretti Examiner for the Web site Examiner.com. I write three to four short articles per week relating to Marco, and usually the IndyCar series. It's fun to be able to write about a topic I enjoy. Be sure to stop by my Examiner page and read an article or two.

Stick a fork in 'em
I mentioned earlier that it might be good to look toward next season as far as the Wild are concerned. Although they aren't mathematically out of the playoffs yet, they are darn close. A slew of injuries, continued inconsistent play and road struggles, and basically not winning enough games have all been factors.

After the Olympic break until maybe a couple weeks ago, playoff hopes were still semi-alive. But when it became apparent that the Wild were not going to go on an amazing March run, those hopes slowly evaporated.

Work has coincided with the heavy schedule of Wild games lately, so I haven't been able to watch a lot of their games. Some nights, I'm not missing much.

Here's one "highlight" for you though, James Sheppard tallied his first point since December last week. That's right. An offensive player went point-less for months. Yet Richards and the Wild organization continue to put him on the ice. I still don't understand how he has flown under the radar so much when his play is so abysmal. But that's a rant for another time.

Play ball... outdoors
The regular season for Major League Baseball is right around the corner. But baseball as we known it in the Twin Cities is a whole different ball game. To me, it's still almost surreal to think that if I want to go to a Twins game, I'll be going to Target Field rather than the Metrodome. Outdoor baseball will certainly be something to get used to.

I haven't been to Target Field yet, but I have enjoyed looking through my friend's photos on Facebook when they were able to visit during open houses the past couple weekends. I've heard and read great things about the park and the great food. The only problem is that tickets are selling like hotcakes. I'll have to get my hands on some.

So enjoy the weather, the baseball and a fresh start to a new season.

At last, Mauer's deal is done

2010-03-21T21:37:00.004-05:00

Finally! Today the news broke that the beloved, hometown boy Joe Mauer will be wearing a Twins uniform for eight more years. The Twins and Mauer agreed to an eight-year, $184 million deal (which works out to about $23 million per year).

The deal also has a full no-trade clause attached. According to local news station KARE 11, Mauer's contract is the fourth largest in the history of Major League Baseball. Meaning? We're not in a small market anymore, Toto.

Breathing a sigh of relief
This bit of news is a huge weight lifted off the shoulders of Twins fans everywhere. He's an All-Star, MVP, batting champion and one of the best players in the American League. Plus, he's a hometown hero playing in his own backyard. What more can you ask for in a baseball idol?

Mauer's current contract is up at the conclusion of the 2010 season, after which he would become a free agent. The bidding wars between the Yanks and Red Sox would have been fun to watch.

Avoiding baseball suicide
It was widely known that the Twins needed to lock up Mauer before this season got underway, therefore eliminating any contact/trade talk distractions during the season. And of course, letting Mauer walk as a free agent just one year into the Target Field era would have been baseball suicide on the part of the Twins organization.

This deal had to get done. It just had to. So, in one of the most positively-productive offseasons in quite some time, the Twins were proving to fans that they were trying to do everything possible to put a world-series contender on the field. See J.J. Hardy, Orlando Hudson and Jim Thome.

I wasn't worried about the Mauer deal until spring training started. Yes, the regular season wasn't underway yet, but with each passing day, the prospect drew some uneasiness from local media members and social media fan bases. I mean, I feel like the rest of the positive moves this offseason would be forgotten if the Twins went back to their old ways and let Mauer walk. See Torii Hunter and Johan Santana.

According to some sources close to me, if Mauer was not signed by the start of the regluar season, it would be time to say goodbye to him at the end of the 2010.

Hearing the news
Now, I am usually quite "plugged in" these days. In an age with Facebook, Twitter, email and blogs, it's hard to stay away from all the social media sometimes. But today was a beautiful day outside, so I went for a nice long walk with a friend. Afterward, we decided to go out to dinner, so I hopped in my car and pulled out of the driveway.

Star Tribune Preps Leader Michael Rand had been hosting a sports-focused radio show on KSTP1500 that afternoon, so I tuned in on my drive. When the commercial break ended, Rand came on the air and said, "it's a good day if you're a Joe Mauer fan or a Twins fan." (Or something like that.)

I was pretty much speechless. No, really. I was just so surprised that the deal was done, I didn't know what to say (to myself, alone in the car). It was a great feeling knowing he was going to be sticking around for years to come.

Nathan's overshadowed news
This Mauer hoopla positively overshadows the earlier news of the day that everyone was expecting: Joe Nathan is done for the year. No one following his recent injury saga should be falling out of their chairs at this announcement.

Nathan tested his arm today while playing catch with pitching coach Rick Anderson. After just 10 minutes, Nathan made the decision to have season-ending Tommy John surgery to repair the injured ligament in his right elbow.

He is the Twins closer who leads the majors with 246 saves since 2004. The void he leaves will be big, and now we will wait to see if the Twins decide to replace him with a current member of the bullpen, or look elsewhere and make a trade.

We'll have to see how the closer situation plays out, but right now, all the focus is on Mauer. This St. Paul native, Cretin-Derham Hall graduate and phenomenal baseball player will be a Twin through 2018. How cool is that?

Tourney time in the State of Hockey

2010-03-13T17:37:00.017-06:00

Minnesota is dubbed the State of Hockey. No other time throughout the calendar year is this more true than during the four-day boys high school state hockey tournament. The state-tournament tradition is what the State of Hockey is all about.

This year marked the 10th one at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. As the last few years of the tournament have gone by, I have grown more and more interested in watching.

One of these times I'll have to go down there myself because the atmostphere looks electric. I was hoping to make it down there to see my Andover Huskies this year, but despite having their best team in school history and a Mr. Hockey candidate in Cal Decowski, they lost in the playoffs to eventual section champion Duluth East.

The love continues to grow
My fondness of the tourney grew closer toward obsession stage this year; all I wanted to do was watch every game in its entirety. I had a chance to watch a lot of Class 1A hockey on Wednesday, but was a little disappointed with the results. Three of the four games were blowouts, the biggest being dealt by Breck with an 11-1 route of New Ulm.

I also watched the afternoon games Thursday when the big schools of Class 2A got things going. I was sad to see the No. 3 seed, and Andover's conference rival, Blaine get knocked out 2-0 by unseeded Apple Valley. I jokingly blamed the loss on a "Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year" curse, as Nick Bjugstad of the Bengals earned that honor. Blaine also lost in the consolation round.

Semifinals, more minutes than expected
Play got interesting during Friday's semifinal rounds. Warroad advanced to the Class 1A championship game after an emotional-roller-coaster ending against Mahtomedi. After seeing a two-goal lead disappear in the final period, Mahtomedi appeared to score the game-winner (breaking a 6-6 tie) as regulation time expired. As the referee signaled it was a goal, a championship-like celebration took place on the ice for the Zephyrs.

But upon the video review, it clearly showed the puck was not in the back of the net as the clock hit 0.0. The game would be decided in overtime. It took just over a minute into the extra session for Warroad sophomore Jared Thomas to score the most important goal of his career and send his team to the championship game.

Instant classic: Hill-Murray vs. Tonka
The overtime drama did not stop there. As Edina coasted to the 2A championship game with a 2-1 win over Apple Valley in the early game, Hill-Murray and No. 1 seed, the heavy favorite to win it all, Minnetonka took to the ice. Each team tallied a goal in the first and that's where the scoring would stay until much, much later.

In a game that featured no penalties, you could tell as it went on that these teams were evenly matched. Watching in the third period, I just got this feeling that the game had the potential to go on awhile. Call it a gut feeling.

The contest remained tied after one overtime. Then two. Then three. (The first overtime period is seven minutes, then ice resurfacing before a 17-minute period and the process repeats.) In the fourth overtime, it was another sophomore, Erik Baskin of Minnetonka, who sent the Skippers to the championship with a wrap-around goal at 2:31 of the fourth overtime. 2-1 final.

In a day that saw record attendance numbers at the X (more than 11,000 for the Class 1A games, and more than 19,000 for 2A), fans were treated to a real classic. Had the game prolonged about seven minutes more, it would have set the record for the longest game in tournament history. I know Edina was hoping that would have happened.

State champions
On championship Saturday, it was Breck who prevailed to win back-to-back titles, becoming the first team in Class 1A to do so, and the first overall since Bloomington Jefferson in 1992-94. The outcome was unfortunate for opponent Hermantown, which often outplayed the Mustangs throughout the day, and scored the first goal of the game.

It was a deflection shot scored with 100 seconds left in regulation that gave Breck the 2-1 victory.

Now, while I believe most of the consolation and third-place games have been decided, we just await the 2A championship this evening. Since I have other plans, I have the DVR set up to record the last of the 2010 tournament. See, I told you I'd edged closer to obsession.

Venting sidebar...
Note: You'd think at some point the MSHSL and the tournament would figure out the timing of the games. The quarterfinal games are all scheduled two hours apart (11 a.m., 1 p.m in the afternoons; 6 p.m., 8 p.m. in the evenings). I'd like to point out that this does not work, especially in the quarters when the entire roster gets introduced.

Games aren't even done in two hours, and then you have to factor in the warm-up time for the next two teams coming in. There's a simple solution: Schedule the games three hours apart. I just had to get that off my chest.

Update:
I scanned through the 2A championship in the wee hours of the morning today. Edina scored in the first minute of the game and never looked back. Tonka scored a couple quick goals at the start of the third period, but they couldn't overcome a 4-0 deficit. Edina took home its first state championship since 1997 with a 4-2 victory.

The most dreaded words for a pitcher: Tommy John

2010-03-10T16:22:00.009-06:00

Unless you've been living under a rock in the Minnesota sports world over the past couple of days, you know that Joe Nathan's pitching future is in jeopardy.

He is a four-time All-Star and has been the closer for the Twins ever since getting traded here in the A.J. Pierzinski deal back in 2004. He has 246 saves since that year and is known for what closers do best, closing out baseball games in the ninth inning.

Nathan came out of a spring training game over the weekend after feeling some discomfort during his 20-pitch outing. He then flew from Fort Myers to Minnesota for a "precautionary" MRI. Of course, no one from the Twins was speculating until they knew the results of the scan. But I'm not sure anyone really thought they'd be looking Tommy John surgery in the face.

Nathan has a torn ligament in his right elbow. From what I've read, it's a recent injury and nothing that lingered after he had surgery in his elbow after last season. The plan now is for Nathan to rest for a couple weeks, then try pitching through the pain a bit. But there also isn't a lot of optimism out there among beat writers, bloggers and even the Twins clubhouse.

Worst-case-scenario injury
Tommy John surgery is probably one of the worst injuries in baseball. It officially knocks you out for a season, or maybe more. And then when you do finally return to action on the mound, you're often not the same pitcher you once were. Just ask Joe Mays, Pat Neshek and Francisco Liriano.

But the concern is much greater in Nathan's case, due to the fact that he's 35 years old. The thought has already been thrown out there that this injury and accompanying surgery could be career ending for the Twins closer. Right now, I'd say that's the case. Even if he comes back to pitch, it will not be the same Joe Nathan out there with his signature horse-like deep breath.

This is big and damaging news for a ball club that had one of the most positively-productive offseasons in a long time, and is trying to make a run deep into the postseason. So it just figures that they'd get hit with something like this.

There seems to be some panicking out there in the blogs and such. Everyone is scrambling to think of who should be Nathan's replacement. Of course, it's one step at a time, but you have to be prepared too. No one in the Twins organization has anywhere near the closer experience that Nathan holds, but this is a perfect time for someone to step up and earn it.

Joe's replacement
I'm not really sure who would be a good fit right now. I loved watching Neshek with his stuff and unique delivery before he had his surgery. He still hasn't pitched in a major-league game since then. It'd be great to see him pre-surgery as a closer, but I'm obviously dreaming. He needs to get back into the swing of the bullpen first.

Tattoo-man Jon Rauch is the Twin with the most save experience, and right now he's looking like the most logical candidate. I don't really have a problem with that at this point. Honestly, I don't think I've seen him pitch enough to get a good feel for him.

There's also Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares. I'm not a fan of going with these options. Crain and Guerrier work fine as set-up men and it should stay that way. Mijares has already earned a strike or two with his team after getting involved in throwing at batters last fall, and then having Delmon Young blame him for a retaliation toss, plus he was late arriving to spring training due to a Visa issue.

Some have mentioned Liriano's name as an option for the ninth-inning man. I don't even want to hear it. This guy seems like he's in his head too much as it is. I don't know if he could handle the mental aspect of the closer role. Plus, he still has to prove his worth after a medicore showing last season, and then a stellar performance during Dominican winter ball.

There's also the idea being bounced around about trading for an arm outside the organization. I'm not really on board with this theory yet either. Especially when a certain contact for a certain Cretin-Derham Hall alum isn't getting done. Let's just see what Nathan can do, and/or what our bullpen can do, before we go looking for help.

All we can do as Twins fans is sit back, relax, wait for Target Field to open and not panic about the Nathan situation. Now the Mauer situation, that's a different story. No contract done by opening day and I'll be ready to hyperventilate.

Hitting it big

2010-03-06T21:08:00.010-06:00

Now that the Olympics are officially over, it's about time to shift the focus to March Madness, MLB spring training and NHL playoff pushes. Plus, the dead of winter is slowly slipping away and spring is on the horizon. What could be better?

Last weekend was a good sports weekend for me. Friday night I visited my old stomping grounds at Andover High School and watched the female Huskies beat Anoka 66-28. Although the game was somewhat of a mismatch (the lady Tornadoes were only victorious once this season), it was still a fun game to watch.

I followed that up on Saturday by going down to watch a section semifinal boys hockey game at Braemar arena between Bloomington Jefferson and Burnsville. This was a special game for me because I was there officially as a member of the Star Tribune staff, all set to write a short summary for the roundup.

Along with the great turnout of fans in the rink, I was treated to a great hockey game. Jefferson seemed to have the upper hand in domination and pressure throughout the game, but Burnsville commanded the lead on the scoreboard for most of the contest.

It took overtime to decide who would move on to play at the Target Center for the section final, and Jefferson came away with a 4-3 win.

I interviewed a coach and the winning goal scorer, then headed back to the newsroom for my shift. I surprised myself with how quickly I was able to put together a couple hundred words about the game and get it sent off to the copy desk.

The result was my very first byline in the Star Tribune. Needless to say, I am very proud of that roundup box in the bottom right-hand corner of the Preps sports section from the Feb. 28 Sunday paper.

A golden finish

2010-03-06T21:06:00.010-06:00

Last Sunday afternoon was a time to kick back and watch the much-hyped, much-anticipated gold medal men's Olympic hockey game between Team USA and Canada.

As Star Tribune Minnesota Wild beat writer Michael Russo pointed out, it's not often that games of this magnitude live up to all the hype, but this one did. It was a great game to cap off the entire tournament in Vancouver which was host to some spectacular hockey.

Once Canada scored the first goal, the odds and statistics were stacked against USA. Canada was undefeated when scoring first, and it marked the first time that USA had trailed during the tournament. Plus, how likely was it that USA would be able to beat Canada twice in one week?

It was a good game, even though USA had to come from behind. The final minute of play in regulation ticked down under the 30-second mark, and I began to lose hope for the boys in blue. But lo and behold, they would not give up that easily. Minnesota boy Zach Parise, who had been a star throughout the Games, punched in a puck to tie the score at two apiece with 24.4 seconds remaining.

For me, it was the most exciting moment of the game. To send the game into overtime against an all-star caliber team like Canada, was pretty amazing. I think with the dramatic way in which it went into overtime like that, it lessened the blow when Canada's golden boy Sidney Crosby won the game with a shot through the five-hole on Ryan Miller.

Note: Miller got a well-deserved night off from his Buffalo Sabres goaltending duties in the first game after the Olympic break, but he received a standing ovation from the Pittsburgh crowd - it was an even bigger welcome than they gave Sid the Kid. I was glad to hear that Miller was getting the recognition he deserved after such a magnificent performance during the Olympic games. He was named the MVP.

Hold your head high
That gold medal game was one for the books. It even received record ratings in the United States. I'm glad to see so many people tuned in to watch hockey, a game that can be listed as No. 4 in the list of "big four" professional sports (football, baseball, basketball).

Team USA accomplished a lot with its silver medal, even though at the time they would have given anything to wear gold. The young team came into the Games with some low expectations from critics. Some didn't even think USA would medal.

It is quite remarkable how far they came, especially beating Canada a week before the Olympic finale. If you compare lineups, there almost is no comparison. Canada is filled with heavy hitters like Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash and, of course, Sidney Crosby.

What's next?
This gold-medal game might have to hold us for awhile as far as the Olympic games are concerned. The 2014 Games are in Sochi, Russia. The NHL and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia do not have a good relationship. This means that NHL players and the Olympics may be just a memory in four years.

I really hope this doesn't happen. Nothing is for sure yet, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that all the great hockey from the Vancouver Olympics will carry over to 2014.

USA against Canada. It's on.

2010-02-26T23:21:00.009-06:00

As the Olympics in the land to the North begin to wind down, I think it's fair to say I've had my fair share of hockey viewing. Yesterday alone there were four games in the men's medal-round of the tournament, and I managed to watch at least part of all of them.

The gold medal game is all set: USA versus Canada. North American hockey fans, hockey fans in general and especially NBC could not have asked for a better match-up in the final game. USA beat Canada 5-3 last Sunday prior to the medal rounds. Canada is now looking to follow the lead of the women's team, which beat USA for gold on Wednesday.

For Canada to win gold on both the men's and the women's sides of the puck in the country where the game was created, there is nothing better. Even though the Canadians haven't had quite the overall medal success I think they were hoping for, it has been clear from the start that a gold in men's ice hockey would be the ultimate prize.

USA takes it to the Finns
Team USA won handily 6-1 over Finland in the semifinal game Friday, routing the Finns for six goals in the first period. In the process, Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff bascially took himself out of the game after the fourth goal and was replaced by the Minnesota Wild's own Niklas Backstrom.

It wasn't just the goaltending that was causing problems for Finland. They looked flat the entire first period, typical of a team that "didn't show up," as they say. The first period was really the story of this game.

The final two periods were good to watch, and a bit more even. USA goalie Ryan Miller, who has been stellar throughout the tournament, was given a break with a few minutes left in the game. This was mostly to give Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas a shot to play in the Olympics. He gave up a goal to the Wild's Antti Miettinen.

Making it through to the final
Canada played the evening game on Friday against Slovakia. (I once again forgot that this game was on, because I was busy watching the other Olympic coverage on NBC.) I caught most of the third period. Canada had a 3-0 lead deep in the third, but things got interesting when Slovakia tallied a pair. They came close at the end, with former-Wild player Pavol Demitra firing a point-blank shot wide with less than a minute remaining.

But in the end, we'll get the match-up we've all been hoping for: USA versus Canada, 2:15 p.m. (Central time) Sunday, and NBC was gracious enough to run this high-profile game on its main network. I have a feeling this will be a good way to wind down the Games before the closing ceremonies that evening.

USA. Canada. Gold. Let's play hockey!

Thoughts on the Olympics

2010-02-21T21:01:00.015-06:00

The Olympics are a worldwide sports spectacle that only come around every four years (or two years, depending on how you view things). Some could care less about the Games, some might only become sports fans during these two-week spans every few years and some may be salivating at all the sports overload they encounter during the Games.

Often times, viewers will likely prefer one set of Games to the other (winter versus summer). If you know me and my dislike for winter at all, it's not that far of a stretch to guess which I prefer. (Summer, in case you missed it.) This may seem contradictory since I am such a huge hockey fan. But I really get hooked watching the swimming, diving and gymnastics competitions during the summer games.

Game basics
The winter games have a variety of competitions to offer. While hockey is my obvious favorite, speed skating is also not bad, as well as some of the skiing races and figure skating competitions.

There are a few sports that I really haven't watched all that much, and I don't really see them grabbing my interest. The two that are on my mind right now are curling and the biathlon. Case in point: Trying to watch either of these while doing a cardio workout at the gym isn't too exciting.

Even though the future of NHL players participating in the Olympics seems to be in jeopardy, the tournament so far has been a good one. I think it's cool just to see all these NHLers spread out on the different teams of their home countries. Rivals in their profession, but teammates in the Games (or vice versa).

I'm not a fan
As far women's hockey goes, here's my proposal. Let's have the USA and Canada duke it out for the gold medal. The other games have been complete blowouts. Take an 18-0 Canada win against Slovakia. I mean, are you kidding me? The team was actually criticized after this for running up the score. When you're ahead 17-0 (or 15, 14, 13, 12, etc.), why keep shooting? Do you really need the practice?

I'm not the biggest fan of women's hockey anyway (more on that another time, but basically, no checking/physical play=not hockey). At least in the men's tournament there's a few good, competitive teams out there, making for some exciting games. With the women, it seems like Canada and the USA are the only teams that have a chance. I'd be very shocked if these two don't go one-two for the gold and silver medals.

Back to hockey
Now that my women's hockey rant is done, let's get back to the men's side of the puck. I haven't watched every single moment of ice time, or even a good amount of hockey, but what I've seen has been good. I enjoy watching the Wild representatives including Mikko Koivu, Martin Havlat and Niklas Backstrom. I just love the dynamic of all these NHL opponents jumbled up and playing for their countries.

Take Sunday's game against neighbor-to-the-north Canada. It was a highly-anticipated day of hockey that lived up to the hype. Canada was considered the favorite in this match-up, but the USA pulled off a 5-3 upset. The boys in red, white and blue struck first, less than a minute into the contest. In fact, the first two goals given up by New Jersey Devils netminder Martin Brodeur were a bit out of character.

From the parts of the game I saw, it was exciting, but no more so than during the last few minutes of the game. USA made it 4-2 before Canada got within one with about three minutes remaining. It was an intense finish with steady pressure from the Canadians and a heroic empty-net goal scored by a diving Ryan Kesler.

Questioning the coverage
Unfortunately, I have missed some ice action, or forgotten about games, because the coverage carrier NBC has sent the premier sport hockey onto its sister networks USA, CNBC and MSNBC. It would have been so nice if I could have watched a hockey game while I was pedaling away on the elliptical at the gym, instead of looking at curling.

I've seen a few Tweets describing NBC as standing for "Nothing But Curling," because... I guess they show a lot of curling. There has also been a lot of Tweet-venting regarding the hockey games not being televised directly on NBC. I know it's 2010, but I'm sure there are those out there without cable. They can't enjoy hockey right now. (Note: NBC did switch over to the USA/Canada game when it was near the finish.)

It just seems a little odd since the men's hockey gold medal is the one that's most important to Canada and the interest seems great for the fans that are there in person. So why isn't NBC showcasing this premier sport?

One other point about coverage: Why do we watch skiing races on tape delay? The Games are in Vancouver, not exactly half-way around the world where timing would be an issue. I'm sure it's NBC wanting to show the big events in primetime to make money, but then the fun often gets ruined for those who want to be surprised with results.

Rant over
While this may sound like a big complaining rant, these points have all been talked about and debated among the media and online communities. They're all valid points regarding the Games.

In the meantime, the Games are now about half over. We've seen some great competitions so far, so much that it's hard to write about everything.

I hope to watch more of the Olympics in the coming days, including more hockey, which should only get better as it gets closer to the medal stages.

Pondering the Wild at the Olympic break

2010-02-15T16:31:00.008-06:00

Now that the NHL Olympic break has arrived and players head off to either represent their home countries, or just head home, let's take a closer look at the Minnesota Wild. Who's confident this bunch will sneak into the playoffs? Anyone? You won't find me jumping on board this playoff bandwagon.

Yes, I know the Wild played a great game to help couples out there celebrate Valentine's Day. A 6-2 win over the rival Canucks at home before a two-week break should give you a lot of momentum to carry over to the remaining part of the season. It was a game with lots of offense, career-highs being tied and broken, and an all-around entertaining game.

Heck, even my "favorite" James Sheppard got into a scrum. (I was at the gym at this time and not one TV was tuned to the Wild game. I did not believe it when my brother told me Shep had been in a fight. Who would've thought?)

But one great game doesn't take them off the hook for what lies ahead if the boys in red and green want to extend their season.

Playoffs?
Obviously, a team that sits within a few places of the eighth and final playoff spot needs to be thinking about how they can get in. They need to continue to break out their A-games each night and fight for their right to the playoffs. In other words, you gotta try, don't give up, etc., etc.

But that's from a player's perspective. I'm giving you a fan's perspective, which is: It's not gonna happen.

Those following this team closely enough shouldn't be all that surprised. The Wild are in their first year under a head coach not named Jacques, and a new general manager is holding the reigns. You can't expect to jump right to the top when there was such a shift in leadership, not to mention the NHL is filled with countless skilled and competitive teams.

Righting the ship
That's also not to say that the changes in coaching and management have been a bad thing. I don't think they have; quite the contrary in fact. I have seen some bold moves made from new GM Chuck Fletcher. Moves that you would probably never have seen from previous GM Doug Risebrough.

As far as coach Todd Richards goes, I'm going to give him a little more time, kind of a "grace year," if you will. He came in here trying to implement an entirely new system, focusing more intensively on offense rather than the defensive style preached by Jacques Lemaire.

I think everyone can agree that this season's start was not what anyone was expecting. Yes, we thought they would have some transition pains, but they were a bit more abysmal than anyone could have predicted. Road woes have pained the Wild all season long, but not more so than at the start where they could not win away from home at all.

I hate to keep going back to what seems to be a big cliche phrase, but the season has been somewhat of a roller coaster. (OK, I guess most teams can say that, but it's still true.) There have been good games and bad games, good streaks and bad streaks.

Getting on a four-game roll is great, but it's also negated when you lose the next three or four. When you have an 82-game season, you're bound to run into a lot of different factors contributing to your ups and downs as a team.

By the numbers
With all that said, let's talk numbers. Eight teams from each conference make the playoffs. (That's roughly half the teams out there.) The extra point teams earn for losing in extra frames, has made earning your spot in the top eight a tougher task than ever the past few seasons. Points are so tight in the final weeks of the season that it's hard to tell who will end up where.

Right now, the Wild are in 13th place. I don't have a prediction for exactly which position the Wild will find themselves in come season's end, but I just don't see them playing past their regular-season finale against the Dallas Stars on April 10.

My reasoning? A big one would have to be the Wild's March schedule.

Tough schedule
There has been much debate about the NHL schedule during Olympic years, and even debate as to whether NHL players should be competing in The Games at all. As it stands right now, the league still plays its 82-game schedule in the same six-month span as any other year. This makes for some time crunches and more than a few back-to-back games.

Case in point: The Wild play 16 games in March, including road-and-road back-to-backs three weeks in a row on the Thursdays and Fridays of the month. That means they play in one city one night, and another the next.

This is something all teams have to deal with, back-to-back games. But the Wild have seemed to have difficulty in the past with these games. Maybe others do too.

In a back-to-back situation, a team plays two games; that's 120 minutes of hockey. The constant problem for the Wild this season has been actually playing solid hockey for all of those minutes (even playing 40 of the 60 minutes in one game makes a difference).

Team A, team B
When a team is playing on the second night of the duo, they seem to be one of two types: A) Energized, in control and perhaps running on adrenaline to propel to a victory, or B) Sluggish, one step behind and doesn't give their all in an eventual loss. In which case they can afterward blame their woes on how tired they were after playing two nights in a row.

While I'm sure many teams could be considered Team B, I include the Wild in this group as well. It's not always in the second night of a game, but they have come out slow on occasions. It's even harder to watch when the Wild have had a short break, and then come out looking like Team B while their opponent is Team A after playing the night before.

The Wild need to come out strong after the break. Maybe "strong" isn't even a strong enough word. They need to dominate if they want to have a shot at the playoffs. I'm not guaranteeing that they'll make it or they won't.

Sports are not about guarantees. And after all the heroics and against-the-odds runs that I've witnessed from the Minnesota Twins in recent years, I'll never count a team out until it's official.

Basically, there's always a chance, but I just don't see it this year. They're playing some good hockey at times. They're making good moves for the future, so that's where focus should shift. As they say, there's always next year.