Hello out there to all my followers.
I apologize for the absence of my blog, graduating from college, working two jobs, and spending a lot of time with family and friends has taken a majority of free time, that does not mean, however, that I have not been paying attention to the sports world. Here is what I have to say about what has transpired this week in Minnesota.
First and foremost, welcome back Vikings, and a warm welcome to Donovan McNabb. I am excited about McNabb's presence in Minnesota. He saves this season and potentially next season, he is going to be a great mentor for Christian Ponder, and he will sell tickets which will hopefully keep the Vikings in Minnesota for many years to come. Goodbye Sydney Rice, you will be missed, though you did not have the best year last year due to injuries, you were a dynamic offensive threat, and I am sorry you are being sent over with Tavaris, try to make the best of it.
15-4: Lucky win last night, Lynx, but a win is a win. Now extending our Western Conference lead to 4 games with a league best 15-4 record, the Lynx are finally stirring up a new buzz in the state. I can not deny the fact that since drafting Maya Moore, I have paid close attention to the Lynx and after watching them on tv this week, we are a very good team. Taking down Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury proves how good our defense is, keeping them to a low 73 points in that home win. Looking ahead, we should be able to handle our opponents as easily as we have in our first nineteen games and will be a big threat in the playoffs, a place we have not been in years.
Perhaps we should have been buyers: Since the trade deadline, the Twins have not looked good. Losing 7-1 last night and scoring our only run from a solo homerun by Powdered Toast Man himself, Jim Thome (thanks for that one 93X). Our starting pitching has looked shaky at best and Valencia's defense is not looking so hot either. Perhaps the Twins should have made a move at the trade deadline, I for one would have like the Twins to have gone for Ubaldo Jiminez and another relief pitcher in exchange for Span. People may disagree, but with an outfield currently consisting of Kubel, Span, Cuddyer, Young, and Revere, I think giving them Span would be a fine trade with a young, speedy, determined, flashy, and most importantly healthy Revere still on the team.
Thus concludes this edition of my blog, I promise more will come soon. I forgot how much I love writing on here, even if I have fewer than 10 followers :)
The Minnesota Sports Man
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Chicago Bulls vs Minnesota Timberwolves 03/30/2011
On a sunny day, snow melting, everyone in high spirits, and college students eager to get their five dollar tickets to witness the soon-to-be MVP Derrick Rose take the court against the Timberwolves. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves didn't show up.
One thing the Wolves can take away from their many losses is that they put in a lot of effort. They usually have leads going into the half, and many of those times will carry a lead into the 4th quarter; we have yet to establish ourselves as a team well enough to close off games, but we will get there. Last night, though, the Wolves looked effortless. From the opening tip, the Bulls out-husseled the Wolves on every posession, offensive and defensive. Rose did whatever he wanted to, Boozer was consistently making his short-range shots and his free-throws, and Deng was deadly from the mid-range zone as well. Oh yeah, they also have Kyle Korver off the bench, one of the leagues top three-point shooters in the league who hit a long-range jumper as the buzzer went off for the half to end.
There is nothing the Wolves should be proud of out of last nights "performance." The only thing I can take light of is Luke Ridnour, he is the only player who really looked like he was ready to play last night; he ran all the plays with determination and hit some great shots throughout the game. The Wolves missed a lot of easy shots, though, and only assisted on 12 out of their 35 shots while the Bulls assisted on 31 out of 41 shots.
Heads down, lack of hussle, and frustration looming on their faces, it seems as if the Wolves took the court assuming the Bulls were going to have their way. Sure they lost by 17 points, but for those who watched, the score doesn't reflect the effort put in by the Wolves and the fact that many of the starters for the Bulls played in the 4th quarter, the only quarter the Wolves outscored the Bulls (25-22).
I am not saying I am not a Wolves fan, I definitely am. There is a difference, though, when you watch your team lose when they put in 110% as opposed to watching your team lose when your team only puts in a fraction of effort. I have seen plenty of games where the Wolves lost by a few points to top-ranked teams where we truly fought hard and gave it all they had for a full 48 minutes. It is dissapointing to see them lose, but at least they played hard, when they play lazily and carelessly, well that is just frustrating.
One thing the Wolves can take away from their many losses is that they put in a lot of effort. They usually have leads going into the half, and many of those times will carry a lead into the 4th quarter; we have yet to establish ourselves as a team well enough to close off games, but we will get there. Last night, though, the Wolves looked effortless. From the opening tip, the Bulls out-husseled the Wolves on every posession, offensive and defensive. Rose did whatever he wanted to, Boozer was consistently making his short-range shots and his free-throws, and Deng was deadly from the mid-range zone as well. Oh yeah, they also have Kyle Korver off the bench, one of the leagues top three-point shooters in the league who hit a long-range jumper as the buzzer went off for the half to end.
There is nothing the Wolves should be proud of out of last nights "performance." The only thing I can take light of is Luke Ridnour, he is the only player who really looked like he was ready to play last night; he ran all the plays with determination and hit some great shots throughout the game. The Wolves missed a lot of easy shots, though, and only assisted on 12 out of their 35 shots while the Bulls assisted on 31 out of 41 shots.
Heads down, lack of hussle, and frustration looming on their faces, it seems as if the Wolves took the court assuming the Bulls were going to have their way. Sure they lost by 17 points, but for those who watched, the score doesn't reflect the effort put in by the Wolves and the fact that many of the starters for the Bulls played in the 4th quarter, the only quarter the Wolves outscored the Bulls (25-22).
I am not saying I am not a Wolves fan, I definitely am. There is a difference, though, when you watch your team lose when they put in 110% as opposed to watching your team lose when your team only puts in a fraction of effort. I have seen plenty of games where the Wolves lost by a few points to top-ranked teams where we truly fought hard and gave it all they had for a full 48 minutes. It is dissapointing to see them lose, but at least they played hard, when they play lazily and carelessly, well that is just frustrating.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Kevin Love
Last night, Kevin Love broke an amazing record. Because we live in Minnesota I am sure most of you are aware of this astonishing feat. He recorded his 51st consecutive double-double which is the longest consecutive streak since the merger in 1976-77.
Eager to see the accomplishment and watch the highlights on Sportscenter last night, I instead had to waste my team hearing Erik Spoelstra talk about his players crying in the locker room after losing to the Bulls, and Dwight Howard's suspension due to his inability to keep his big mouth (physically and metaphorically) shut. This is simply outrageous.
What Kevin Love accomplished Sunday was something that hadn't been done by Karl Malone, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Dennis Rodman, or Michael Jordan. Ever heard of them? And Kevin Love does not finish every game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Sure he has a few here and there, but so does Dwayne Wade or Tim Duncan. Kevin Love usually exceeds 20 points and 15 boards. Remember his 30 point 30 rebound game a few months back? The first 30-30 game to be done in over 20 years.
We are all aware that the Wolves are a miserable 15- 50 and in the 51 consecutive double-doubles streak, the Wolves are 11-40. This may sound bad, but when you think about it, the wolves were only 4-10 before the streak started, how many people really thought we were going to make a serious run this year? David Khan sure didn't. I am sick of hearing about the Wolves' unfortunate woes this season while discussing Love's streak. We all know the Wolves like to blow leads in the 4th quarter, as they did last night, but do not take credit away from Love.
To finish my case, Kevin Love's accomplishment is very impressive and nothing at all to arrogantly smug at. We all realize that the Wolves are not a winning team and will not be for a few years (with or without Ricky Rubio) and we all know Beasley needs to cut his hair and Johnny needs to stop acting like Steve Nash; so please everybody, stand up and give love to Love. To give him all the credit he deserves, he is THE best double-double player to play the game since the NBA merger. Want to argue?
Tyler Strickland
Eager to see the accomplishment and watch the highlights on Sportscenter last night, I instead had to waste my team hearing Erik Spoelstra talk about his players crying in the locker room after losing to the Bulls, and Dwight Howard's suspension due to his inability to keep his big mouth (physically and metaphorically) shut. This is simply outrageous.
What Kevin Love accomplished Sunday was something that hadn't been done by Karl Malone, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Dennis Rodman, or Michael Jordan. Ever heard of them? And Kevin Love does not finish every game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Sure he has a few here and there, but so does Dwayne Wade or Tim Duncan. Kevin Love usually exceeds 20 points and 15 boards. Remember his 30 point 30 rebound game a few months back? The first 30-30 game to be done in over 20 years.
We are all aware that the Wolves are a miserable 15- 50 and in the 51 consecutive double-doubles streak, the Wolves are 11-40. This may sound bad, but when you think about it, the wolves were only 4-10 before the streak started, how many people really thought we were going to make a serious run this year? David Khan sure didn't. I am sick of hearing about the Wolves' unfortunate woes this season while discussing Love's streak. We all know the Wolves like to blow leads in the 4th quarter, as they did last night, but do not take credit away from Love.
To finish my case, Kevin Love's accomplishment is very impressive and nothing at all to arrogantly smug at. We all realize that the Wolves are not a winning team and will not be for a few years (with or without Ricky Rubio) and we all know Beasley needs to cut his hair and Johnny needs to stop acting like Steve Nash; so please everybody, stand up and give love to Love. To give him all the credit he deserves, he is THE best double-double player to play the game since the NBA merger. Want to argue?
Tyler Strickland
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