Minnesota Sports Fans

It is well known that Minnesota sports fans expect the worst when it comes down to a big game for their team. Whether this stems from the Vikings’ 0-4 record in early Super Bowls or a general Midwestern lack of self-confidence,  I don’t know. Nor do I know whether this defeatism is at all unique […]

Timberwolves

June 1: I don’t feel at all bad that the Timberwolves lost to the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. I’m sorry they didn’t win a second game and glad they at least won one. Dallas was clearly the superior team: not only did Doncic and Irving outperform Edwards and Towns, their secondary players–Gafford, Washington, […]

Twins Diary ’24

July 25: Cory Provus called it the Twins’ best win of the year, and I think I know why he said it. Their 5-4 comeback over the Phillies was so unexpected–it was the kind of game the Twins have been losing for years. It wasn’t just that the Twins had fallen behind 4-1 going into […]

Twins Preview ’24

As the Minnesota Twins’ 2024 season opener approaches I am more doubtful than sanguine. While the national prognosticators uniformly pick the Twins to win their division, I read this more as a referendum on the weakness of their rivals than an endorsement of the Twins’ strength. And given their success last year–winning the division plus […]

Stupid Rule 2

While baseball has a stupid rule or two–one less next year, as I’ll discuss later–football has a doozy that has more actual impact on the game: the fumble-out-of-the-end-zone-for-a-touchback rule. When this rule was invoked against the Vikings in mid-season it may have cost them a win and led to general speculation that the rule would […]