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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Fifteen years ago I took my firs pelagic birding trip; I was seasick almost the whole time but was still amazed at the birds we saw, especially the beautiful Sabine’s Gull, which I had never heard of. There were also good looks at many other species, particularly Phalaropes, as we cruised along the Continental Shelf […]
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 […]
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, […]
September 24: As the Twins’ freefall out of the wild-card race continues, what’s even more dispiriting is the view into the future. Each morning I watch Recap Rundown on mlb.com, which shows highlights of every Major League game from the day before. Time and again I am impressed by the exploits of some young player […]
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 […]
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 […]
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