With Phillies runners on second and third, one out, down 4-5 in the 8th inning, the Twins, as is their practice, brought the infield in for a potential play at the plate. Instead, the next batter hit a soft popup over first base, which a second baseman playing at normal depth probably would have caught. […]
August 16: The Twins were schooled by the Phillies, swept even after leading the last game 5-0 in the 6th inning. Maybe now we can dispense with the “only a half-game out of the third wild card spot” chatter. This was never remotely realistic. Although it seems like a game or two is not that […]
The Vikings closed their disappointing 2025 season with a win over the Packers in a “meaningless” game that was thrillingly satisfying for its small moments as much as its decisive 16-3 final score. First, the victory gave the Vikings a winning record for the year, 9-8, and meant they technically finished ahead of the Lions, […]
Every great baseball game–and the Dodgers’ 5-4 seventh-game win was a great one–has a myriad of small moments a little flip of which might have altered the outcome. That, plus the amateur’s ability to see and second-guess so many of these moments, is one of baseball’s enduring virtues. Here are some of the things I […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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