Entries by Bob Marshall

Twins Wait Till Next Year

The 2025 Twins’ 70-92 season is officially in the books. Because they traded away one-third of their roster at the trading deadline, the last two months have effectively been a try-out for the 2026 season. All the free agents were sent away early. There will be new ones next year–there had better be!–but it is […]

Vikings Flop

I awoke at 6:30 Sunday morning and figured that was the message for me to watch the Vikings-Steelers game being broadcast from Dublin. A mistake, except it kept me from signing up for the NFL Sunday Ticket TV package. The 24-21 final score was misleading, as the Steelers dominated both sides of the ball. What […]

The Comeback

This Netflix three-part documentary tells the story of the Boston Red Sox’s unprecedented comeback, in the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, from an 0-3 deficit in the best of seven series. What was just as remarkable to me was its depiction of the very personal rivalry that existed between the two teams. Has there been […]

Timberwolves

As a regular but casual follower (fan?) of the Minnesota Timberwolves–i.e., I study the box scores but don’t watch the games–let me wrap up the ’24-’25 season with a few observations: 1. It’s not fair to blame a 30-point playoff-ending loss to OKC on one person, but when Jaden McDaniels missed four straight corner three’s […]

Lawrence’s Goldfinch

I saw my first Lawrence’s Goldfinch Sunday when a flock of 15 or so landed in a small, leafless tree right in front of me. I was with a group invited to a morning of birding by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Birdsong Ranch, a property between Ventura and Ojai being rebuilt for birds […]

Twins Diary ’25

September 29:  The 2025 Twins’ 70-92 season is officially in the books. Because they traded away one-third of their roster at the trading deadline, the last two months have effectively been a try-out for the 2026 season. All the free agents were sent away early. There will be new ones next year–there had better be!–but […]

Twins Preview 2025

Rarely have I looked forward to a season with less enthusiasm and optimism than I have for the 2025 Twins. Their collapse at the end of last year is still bitter in my mouth and I wonder where to look for improvement. Their strategic plan for 2025 comes down to two propositions: 1. We expect […]

Vikings Prediction

I don’t use this space to make one-day predictions, but I am stunned that so many commentators are giving the Vikings any chance against the Packers tomorrow. Haven’t they noticed the comparative scores? The Packers have been demolishing opponents, while the Vikings have been squeaking by. The Vikings’ eight-game win streak has come against the […]

Timberwolves ’24

Like all fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves I had high expectations for their 2024-25 season, coming off their surprising run to the Western Conference finals earlier this year. Surely Jaden McDaniels would grow (based on the contract they gave him); surely Anthony Edwards would continue his rise to superstardom, after his impressive stint with the […]

World Series

The Dodgers’ thrilling comeback win in Game 5 of this year’s World Series highlighted one more flaw in the universe of Baseball Statistics: base hits with runners(s) in scoring position, known in box scores as RISP. The Twins have traditionally been very bad in this category, allowing manager Rocco Baldelli to make postgame comments like, […]