POD

Dogg: That dunk by Maxiell was absolutely nasty. I think he was about 2’ in from the free throw line when he took off. This Boston-Detroit series has been much more entertaining than I thought it was going to be. Yeah, there isn’t a lot of points being put up on the board but it is extremely intense. Hard fouls every night and you can see how much both teams want this series. I hope it does come down to game 7 in Boston. Detroit has dealt with that in previous seasons so it would be fun to see the outcome of a game of that magnitude...On a side note, I really with the T-Wolves could draft a player like Maxiell that late in the draft and have him pan out. I think this our year that we hit it big in the draft!

Fuzz: Why can't I do something like this? That is complete bullshit. I would pay $500 to do that once. Some guys can literally jump out of the gym and I'm jealous as hell. I think Boston is in a must win situation for Game 5. I know they won one in Detroit but I don't see them winning game 6 if they lose game 5. They need a big home win tomorrow night. I don't think this is the year for the Wolves, not with McHale still involved. I see us drafting flops...again. We have to be the worst NBA franchise ever. I see them contracting teams down the road because they have too many and we'll be one of them for sure.

Q: Dude, Jason Maxiell is an athletic freak. If it wasn't for him and McDyess, the Pistons would be done by now. Instead, they've got a fighting chance in Game 5. Stu Scott said on SportsCenter last night that 83% of series tied 2-2 had the winner decided by the outcome of Game 5. So I guess you could say that it's a huge game. I know people are going to say that since Detroit won a game there already that they have the advantage. I disagree. I just don't see that team going into the Garden and winning twice in one series. Boston in 7 is the new pick.

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Playing the Lottery

On Tuesday night, the NBA held their annual Draft Lottery to determine the order of picks 1-13 in June’s amateur draft. As was the norm for most of the first ten years of the franchise’s existence, as well as the last few years, the Timberwolves were prominently involved. Here is our expert takes on some of the proceedings from the lottery. Obviously we will have a more in depth look once we get closer to the actual draft weekend.



Question 1: The Chicago Bulls and their 1.7% odds became the second least likely team in lottery history to land the #1 pick last night (second only to the 1993 Magic). Two part question: was this a fix? Who do they take at #1?

Dogg—I don’t think it is ever a fix but ridix for sure. I think they take Derek Rose. The Bulls have a number of players worth something to other teams so I would be dealing some players for sure. I would deal Gordon/Deng/Hughes, Gooden/Nacioni because they have too many guys who can play ball. I would personally deal Gooden and Gordon for picks or a better top player. Whatever they decide to do, the Bulls should be near the top of the Eastern Conference next year.


Who gets to live in MJ's shadow?

Fuzz—Tim Donaghy is out of the league so I don’t think it was fixed---kidding. I don’t think it was fixed, I just think the Bulls got extremely lucky and something like that never happens to our club in town. We’ve never had the first pick and we have been an abysmal franchise. That’s the part that sucks. Anyways, I see the Bulls taking Beasley. This is a hard pick in the sense that they have a ton of forwards and a ton of guards. Beasley or Rose is going to add more competition to their team and bump someone out. They could be looking to trade some of the riff-raff on their roster to clear some things out. With guards Hinrich, Gordon Duhon, and Hughes, I see them going with the forward Michael Beasley.

Q—Apparently I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the group. I feel like the NBA is the shadiest professional sport, by far. Can you imagine the uproar if an NFL official was being charged with fixing games? NFL Live would be on 24/7. Somehow the NBA manages to sweep it under the rug. There have been a ton of sketchy lottery proceedings as well: the Knicks getting Ewing, the Magic getting Shaq, etc.


Yeah, this was legit...

Now you have the Bulls, a major market team (and former home of Basketball God) who is down on their luck and needs a boost, beating unbelievable odds to get the first pick and their choice of two instant League studs. Naw, that’s not fixed at all. Anyways, I think they should take Beasley with the makeup of their team. They have some talented guards and he would make their team much more complete. That said, I think they’ll end up taking Rose because everyone is scared of passing on the next Chris Paul.



Question 2: The Wolves landed at #3--not great, but not terrible either. This means they have their pick of anyone outside of Beasley and Rose. Make your case for who we should pick and why.

Dogg—I think this draft is loaded with players. I believe our franchise will take Brook Lopez or O.J. Mayo. What do I think we should do? After pondering about the draft I think we should trade down and get D.J. Augustin. Try and move into the 1st round with another pick and take Robin Lopez or Roy Hibbert. I know both won’t be NBA superstars but I’m still a firm believer that this team needs a true center who can rebound and play very good defense and take the load off Big Al a little bit. Maybe even a guy like Kosta Koufos if he can manage to guard low post players effectively. He seems to be a little perimeter oriented but he’ll be a good offensive player in the NBA.


TKOT's choice for the 3rd overall pick

Q—For sure we should take Lopez. He’s already proven that he can score the ball, plus he’s seven feet tall. At the very least he’ll be a presence defensively and on the boards, maybe more than that. I know the “experts” are going to yell until they are blue in the face that Mayo is the 3rd best player in this draft, but I don’t like him for the Wolves. We have some talent at the guard position; we don’t have a center. If you can get a center to pair with Big Al for the next 10 years, you’re rebuilding project is going well.

Fuzz—Brook Lopez, Center. Our main needs are at Center and Point Guard. He fills one of these needs. He isn’t going to be a sexy pick, but we’re rebuilding here. We aren’t making the playoffs next year with anyone we draft, so I would like to go with a solid 7-footer. He’s not a stiff. He has moves and a reliable jump shot already. Plus, he in no way will demand the ball to score, leaving our main man Jefferson free to do what he does best. We’d have a very good frontcourt for years to come with Lopez.

Question 3: Ok, now for a little negativity. We know that McHale destroys just about everything he touches, so what is the worst case scenario for our pick and why?


McHale might draft this guy just based on this picture

Q—Is it possible for us to run out of time and lose the pick? If not, then it has to involve us taking some foreign pud (copyright Kevin Kelly) who never leaves his homeland or sees the inside of the Target Center. Since there are one or two guys like that projected in the top part of the draft, the likelihood of this happening seems extremely high right now.

Dogg—We take Danilo Gallinari from Italy. I know the league has some great foreign players but odds tell us that most foreign players don’t pan out in the NBA.

Fuzz—A lot of people are jumping on the OJ Mayo bandwagon. He’s the risk/reward guy. Before the college season, he was the #1 pick. Now, he’s somewhere in the top 5. I’ve never liked him, so I don’t want him but I’m afraid we’re going to take him. I think he’s an egomaniac that has a piss poor attitude. The worst case scenario is for Mayo to turn out to be a superstar only to pull a Marbury and ship himself out of here. I’m stereotyping here, but guys like Mayo don’t want to be “stuck” here in Minnesota. We take him 3rd, he rips it up and he’s gone in three years. That would suck…


Does this look like a guy who would want to stay in Minny?

Question 4: One last Wolves question: we have two of the top four picks in the second round. What are some names that you'd like to see us go after with these picks?

Fuzz—I think those picks will be based off what we do with our 1st rounder, obviously. If we take Lopez, we’d go with someone smaller with these picks. Vice versa if we take a guard/forward. Anyways, if there were a way that we could trade these picks to move up to the late first round and take a guy like Ty Lawson, I wouldn’t be pissed. I don’t know if this is even a possibility, but I would like them to make a move up if they could.


Potential 2nd Round Pick?

Dogg—If we take Brook Lopez with the #3 pick I say we roll with Ty Lawson early in the 2nd round. He is small but he’s got strength so I wouldn’t worry about him getting abused in the low post. This team needs a true PG and I think Ty Lawson can be effective in this league. The other guy who I think could have a solid NBA career coming out of the 2nd round is D.J. White from Indiana. He seems he could be that guy off the bench who averages 10 and 5 which every good team needs.

Q—These guys hit the nail on the head in that picks 31 and 34 depend entirely on who we take at 3. Since this isn’t the NFL, I seriously doubt that we’ll be able to move up by exchanging the two of them either. So if we take Lopez at 3, then I’d like to see us go after at least one guard, maybe two. Some guys I wouldn’t mind seeing us take in the 2nd round include: Ty Lawson, Kyle Weaver, Davon Jefferson, and Wayne Ellington.


Question 5: Make a call--who is the sleeper in this draft that no one is talking about right now?


Fuzz's Sleeper: Donte Green

Fuzz—Jerel McNeal. Kidding, he fucking blows. I like Donte Green from Syracuse. He’s been overshadowed since day one. He was a top 10 freshman coming in last year, but all the accolades went to Beasley, Rose, Love, & Mayo. He’s a big kid at 6’10, 225. He averaged nearly 18 points and 7 boards a game his freshman year. A few casual college hoops fans don’t even probably know who he is. He projects in the mid 1st round and could end up being the steal of the draft. His perimeter game improved greatly and if he could be a #3 in the NBA, he’d be lethal.


Q's Sleeper: Davon Jefferson

Q—I really like Davon Jefferson out of USC. He’s a 6-8 wing who can score, rebound, and defend. Obviously, as is the case with most draft sleepers, it is going to depend on who he gets drafted by. If he can get on a team where he can fill a niche, a la Brandon Bass in Dallas, then he could be very good. I’d love to see the Wolves pick him up at 31 to come off the bench as Brewer’s sub when he inevitably gets benched.


Dogg's Sleeper: Kyle Weaver

Dogg—I like Kyle Weaver out of Washington St. He knows how to play tough defense coming from that school and seems to have good NBA game. I’ve seen him in the low block and also on the perimeter with scoring abilities from both positions. I would love to see the Wolves select him in the 2nd round.

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Voices from a Stranger

The fellas are back from HK Stables to give you a recap of the Preakness this past weekend.

The H from HK Stables

Two down and one to go for Big Brown's chase at the elusive Triple Crown of horse racing.

HK stables again, back to recap everything that went down this weekend involving the Preakness and local live racing at Canterbury Park.


Preakness-

Once again, Big Brown, showed on Saturday why he is currently considered the best horse in the country. Big Brown in his past two races has won by a combined total of 10 lengths over the competition, and has looked unstoppable. Most who caught the race on Saturday from Maryland noted that Big Brown actually took it easy coming down the stretch and the jockey has been quoted as saying "I eased him up. There was no reason to keep pushing him; he had the win wrapped up". Big Brown is still searching for competition and may find it in a Japanese import known as Casino Drive in the final race towards horse racing history.

The win was pretty inevitable as all who took note could have told you and this was no clearer than in the winner's payouts. Big Brown was the clear 1-5 favorite and only paid out $2.40 for the win bet. He also was the lead horse in the following payouts: $36.60 exacta, a $336.80 triple and a $1,192.30 superfecta. Big Brown has made it hard for all of us bettors out there to make money and this will continue into the Belmont Stakes on June 7.

HK stables does not want any credit for those who took our advice and played Big Brown in the favorite over the field bet, but congratulations to those who took it. As for the two of us, we split up a fairly hefty Trifecta bet (see photo) only to come out slightly ahead. This is what will happen when there is a heavy favorite and a weak field; just how the Preakness shaped up.


Canterbury-

Members of HK and Bluewater Stables were in attendence for this past weekends live racing at Canterbury Park, with some members attending the races Friday through Sunday. There were two major races on Saturday with the 10,000 Lakes stakes and the Lady Slipper stakes. Both races paid $50,000 to the winners.

In the 10,000 Lakes Stakes (boys only), Bankers D Light edged out the competition winning over Trickeyville Dew and Bee o Bee Bob. The filly paid out nicely for those who had here parlayed into exotic bets such as Exactas, Trifectas and Superfectas, as she was a long shot going in at 10-1 (morning line)

In the girls' race, the Lady Slipper Stakes, it was A.J. Banks and jockey Scott Stevens brining the win home for trainer Todd Hoffrage. A.J. Banks (7-2 morning line) beat out Hills of Ireland and Pretty as a Smile to claim the $50,000 stakes at Canterbury.

On a side note a new partnership was formed at Canterbury on Sunday afternoon with the newly named Tres Borrachos (named after the horse in the Preakness race) all holding winning Trifecta tickets. H, K and Moe all bet the same trifecta combination (without knowing it) in race 6 yesterday paying off $110.80 for the $1 investment! Needless to say the Oil Cans (Fosters Beer) were flowing after that, and the Tres Borrachos all left the track Sunday with cash in our pockets.


The K from HK stables says:

I couldn't have thought of a better weekend to take in the races. The official formation of Tres Borrachos was one of the highlights of my young horsemen career and I couldn't have been more proud of the handicapping we completed that race. That seemed to be the start of something good, the very next race, we didn't handicap the same race but Borracho Moe's horse beat mine out by a nose in a photo finish for the show and he won another, smaller trifecta. Even though I lost, it's always more fun when the horse you liked at longer odds makes a run for the money. Borracho Moe and I are also on the lookout for the owner of a certain horse that absolutely screwed us both on a rich trifecta. When we find that horse, it's going to the glue factory. Borracho Moe wasn't the only hot handicapper this weekend, I managed to pick A.J. Bakes in the Lady Slipper, a nice $68 exacta payout. And finally, Borracho Hill hit the biggest winner of the weekend, taking the field over Trickeyville Dew in 10,000 Lakes Stakes. Unfortunately, after a few too many Oil Cans on Saturday, I was literally a Borracho and threw the damn ticket away. I got you on that Borracho Hill.

As for Big Brown, nobody is going to beat this horse. End of story.


Three weeks until we find out if Big Brown can end the 30 year Triple Crown drought...

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Picture of the Day

Dogg: Garnett just laid a load on Paul’s grill.

Q: There's a lot of inappropriate things that could be said about this picture. The bottom line is that the Celtics may not be as good as everyone thought they were. It took an improbable game from THe Truth to get them to the conference finals. Their opponent, the Pistons, are one of the few teams that have proven they can win on the road, plus they're rested for the series. I got Detroit in 6.

Fuzz: I agree with Q in that the Celtics aren't as good as we thought. It's strange because they won 66 games but seem to be just hanging on in the playoffs. Why? Maybe it's because Ray Allen still hasn't showed up. Or they aren't even coming close to a road victory yet. I think they'll need to win at Detroit in order to win the series because I don't see the Pistons losing every road game. They are too much of a veteran team to do so. Buuuutttt, I still like the Celtics taking the series. I think a lot of people will be on the Pistons bandwagon, but I'm taking the Celtics in 7.

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Voices from a Stranger--Preakness Preview

HK stables back at you again for another preview of one of the horse racing worlds Triple Crown events. This week we are taking a look at the second jewel in the crown; The Preakness from Pimlico Park in Balitmore Maryland.


CURLIN wins the 2007 Preakness

The Preakness being held on May 17th this year, has a long history, running for the first time in 1873, two years before the first Kentucky Derby. Many people will write off the Preakness as the worst of the 3 triple crown races. What it does do, is set the stage for a possible Triple Crown winner (a horse that wins all 3 Triple Crown races; Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes). Throughout the 125 year history of the Triple Crown ONLY 11 horses have accomplished the goal, and not one has done it since AFFIRMED in 1978.

Typically, the Preakness is run by the winner of the Kentucky Derby; this year Big Brown, as well as other horses that didn’t quite perform as well as they had hoped. This year however, only one other Derby contestant, Gayego, will try for another shot at Big Brown. Many people say that this is due to the fact that Big Brown is the best horse they have seen and can not be beaten, others say it is just too quick of a turn around to run another race (2 weeks) for these young horses. Recapturetheglory, who finished 5th, at the Derby behind Big Brown was scheduled to race, but was with drawn due to fever and will not risk further sickness or injury to try and catch Big Brown. Gayego, may be the only real threat that Big Brown would face in the Preakness after he got off to a bad start in the Derby and finished 17th out of 20.


BIG BROWN

Other contenders to Big Brown’s race towards the first Triple Crown in 30 years are Behindatthebar, Kentucky Bear, and Macho Again. Of those three many feel that Behindatthebar is the closest competition that Big Brown will face. He did win his last start just before the Derby, winning the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland , but was purposely kept out of the Derby. His trainer, Todd Pletcher has said, “it was too soon for him to come back (for the Derby), I am much happier with these 4 weeks off to get ready for the Preakness.” The other MAJOR area for concern, especially for me is that the only other starts of Behindthebar’s young career have all come on synthetic tracks, never racing in a major stakes race on a dirt track. As we all found out in the Derby, the previous synthetic track horses did not fair well.

K of HK stables says:
The Preakness is going to be a race for second place. Desormeaux can run BIG BROWN in reverse and he’ll still win by three lengths. GAYEGO is the only derby horse to take on the challenge at Pimlico on Saturday and I don’t know that this colt has what it takes to pull it out. I’m not going to put too much time in trying to handicap the Preakness because I’m that unimpressed with the contenders and I’m just that confident BIG BROWN will completely clobber these horses. I don’t remember the last time I used the word “clobber”, but this is as good of an occasion as any to put it in my vocabulary. I’ll admit, I wasn’t too excited about BIG BROWN’s starting position in the Derby, but I did know this horse was good. The fact that he won from that post, and in such amazing fashion, proves (affirms if you will) win the Triple Crown. For those of you who don’t get my pun, AFFIRMED was the last horse to accomplish this feat, way back in ’78. I am not nearly as excited for the Preakness as I was for the Derby but any horse race is an exciting horse race….except harness racing I guess. YUCK!


Harness Racing!!

Current odds for the Preakness on Saturday, the 17th (after post positions were announced):
Post/Horse/ML Odds
1 Macho Again 20-1
2 Tres Borrachos 30-1
3 Icabad Crane 30-1
4 Yankee Bravo 15-1
5 Behindathebar 10-1
6 Racecar Rhapsody 30-1
7 Big Brown 1-2
8 Kentucky Bear 15-1
9 Stevil 30-1
10 Riley Tucker 30-1
11 Giant Moon 30-1
12 Gayego 8-1
13 Hey Byrn 20-1

H of HK stables wagering guide for the Preakness:
Win bet: Big Brown
There is no doubt this horse will win….unless…..never mind he WILL win

Exacta Box bet: Big Brown with ALL as well as ALL with Big Brown
HK touched on this last week following the Derby as our new favorite betting option when there is a clear favorite, and then the outside chance that a long short could win (great for big races and sloppy tracks). You are placing 2 bets, one as the main bet and one is sometimes referred to as the “hedge bet” or covering you’re a** if the favorite you pick does not come in first he can still come in second and you would win the bet.

The theory behind the bet is that you have a favorite, Big Brown, and then a bunch of other longer shots who could win. Ultimately, with the bet you are hoping that any other horse comes in first and Big Brown will come in second, this will pay out much higher than the flip side of the bet.

The cost of the bet will be a bit higher than a traditional bet, such as win, place or show, but you are betting multiple combinations of scenarios, as long as the favorite you have picked comes in first or second.

Win/Place/Show bet: Kentucky Bear
I placed this same bet on Eight Belles at the last minute before the Derby and made a decent return. If the final odds drop to 12-1 or 10-1 on this horse, I may rethink this, but for now I will be putting a little change on the horse named after Krebs if he moved to live closer to the Derby.


Example ticket of the Exacta bet explained above

K of HK stables wagering guide for the Preakness:
As for bets, I’m with Hill on this, I’m going to place BIG BROWN over the field and hope the long shot places. I’m also going to take the Field over BIG BROWN (now that sounds like a porn flick), and secretly hope that somebody edges him by a nose. My choice for the sleeper is TRES BORRACHOS. Until about five minutes ago, I didn’t know what a borracho was but I found out it means drunk in Spanish. Hopefully the trainer gives him some Corona before post time. The U.S. Treasury tells me that my economic stimulus check will be deposited by Friday, if so, look out Canterbury!

That’s it folks. Not much else to be said. The Preakness is not the most exciting of the three Triple Crown races, but as stated, you should watch; you may be witnessing history in the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. GO BIG BROWN!! RIP EIGHT BELLES, you are with us at every race.

-HK stables.

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NBA Roundtable

Another roundtable! This is a random conversation about the current NBA playoffs. Let's roll!

Fuzz: First off, I want to first give props to the Detroit Pistons for their sixth straight conference finals appearance, but is anyone else sick of them? I am. And, I have no idea why? I've always liked Flip, because Flip coached here and I love anyone that has Minnesota ties. Love Billups and Prince. The others are also good players as well but I'm not crazy about them. Rip can still shoot the lights out and RaWeed is still one of the best characters in the league. They also play mad defense in a league that forgets that once in a while, or all the time. Yet, I don't want them in the finals. Am I alone here?

Q: I don't hate Detroit. I think Flip is an overrated coach and that they'd have been to more NBA Finals (maybe another title too?) with a different/better coach, but that's just me. As good as Billups is, I just don't get him. How can he spend the first half of his career bouncing around with terrible teams (Denver, Boston, Minnesota) where he can get all the playing time in the world and not be any good, yet as soon as he lands in Detroit, he becomes captain clutch and the leader of 6 time conference finals team? I love Wallace because he's extremely talented, emotional, and hilarious. I love Prince because I told Dogg that he would be a great pro coming out of Kentucky and he's proved me right (one of the few calls I've ever been right on). They may not play the most exciting brand of basketball, but they do have continuity, likeable players (which separates them from San Antonio), and they just flat out win. I'm cool with them beating the Celtics/Cavs in 5 or 6 games and then getting destroyed by LA in the Finals.


Dogg: The Pistons aren’t the most exciting team to watch in the league but you’re right when saying props is a must with this organization. 6 straight conference finals? I don’t know what to think about that because the East has been the JV to the West for the past about…6 years. They do have an NBA title though but with a road that easy to the Finals is definitely an advantage against the West teams who have to struggle to get out of the first round. That hasn’t been the scenario this year but has been in past years. Billups, Weed and Prince are very good players and I actually don’t mind these players either. I cannot stand Rip Hamilton though. First of all, I call BS on that nose protector. He said this year that he has to wear it because he would need surgery if he broke it one more time. Why didn’t you tell us 19 years ago when you first started wearing the stupid mask? Rip is a little bitch on the court and I hope Ray Allen absolutely destroys him in the next series. Yes, I think Boston advance because nobody can touch them at home right now. It would be great to see Boston win the NBA title without winning a road game. What you fools think about that?

Fuzz: If Boston pulls that off, that would be frickin great. They have home court advantage throughout, so this is possible. Plus, they play like shit on the road and awesome at home making this a real possibility. This Boston team has shown some serious weaknesses this postseason. They won like 65 regular season games but they have no go-to player (not surprising with KG on your team) and they seem a tad bit old. Atlanta and Cleveland won because they are out running/working them. Boston can't keep up with these teams. Another side note about this: If it's a Boston/New Orleans finals, the Hornets are going to kill the Celtics. Also, has anyone seen Ray Allen this playoffs? I'm surprised he's not on a back of a milk carton by now, because he's been missing for 3+ weeks. It's a little shocking Boston isn't worried about him because he is no where to be found. I still probably also like Boston taking the Cleveland series but I have them losing to Detroit. Detroit is the better team.

Q: I'm starting to get a little tired of all the hype around the Celtics. They are on every single commercial, story, and magazine cover involving the NBA. We get it: they have three veterans who are all very good and have not won a title. Maybe there's a reason for that. I do love listening to all of the Boston fans bitch and moan about KG doing nothing in the fourth quarter but fall away J's from 15 feet out. Did you guys miss the first 10 years of his career? He's been doing it for quite some time now. It's also embarrassing that they can't win one game on the road. They had the best overall and road record in the league this year, but they can't beat the Hawks in Atlanta or the Cavs in Cleveland when LeBron isn't playing like LEBRON JAMES? C'mon. I know it's their "right" to play at home more than on the road, but if they lose one home game, they're screwed. I don't want my NBA Champion to be completely inept in games away from their own building.



Dogg: I don’t know why everybody is so concerned with Boston after winning 65 regular season games. Yeah, they aren’t dominating teams like they did in the regular season but who is? Detroit had a tough time with a poor Philadelphia team and the Hornets/Lakers are both going deep into their 2nd round series. Both teams have shown major weaknesses on the road so I don’t understand why Boston is getting criticized for not winning on the road when no other team really is either besides Detroit.

They don’t have a go-to player? That is really weird since they have 3 HOF’ers (Allen, Pierce, Garnett) in their starting lineup. I believe all 3 of them are go-to players in their own right and don’t buy any of that talk about Boston not having “the man” in the 4th quarter. Play team ball and get a good shot then. It doesn’t always take a Lebron or Kobe to charge into the lane every 4th quarter and throw up a shot no matter how many guys are surrounding them. Make the extra pass and get an open shot. Your players playing crunch time should all be able to knock down open jump shots and Boston should just play a solid team game even in the 4th quarter. They are not short on great players so things shouldn’t get difficult just because it’s the 4th quarter. Shouldn’t we be scared that Ray Allen and Paul Pierce haven’t shown up in playoffs yet? They are still winning games and advancing without having 2 of their best players not showing!

Fuzz: That's not a bad argument. I don't have much to say to that, other than that either those three don't take the big shot or aren't that great at it. KG always passes during clutch situations or fades away if he does take it, like Q said. I like the guys that go in the lane and try to draw a foul and KG doesn't do that. Yes, he probably can and should, but 12 years of watching him locally says he does not. Pierce can probably get in the lane (and would be my pick for a game winning shot), but he's dirt slow now and guys like Lebron are too quick for him to go around. Ray Allen? He's been dead this playoffs and he's more of a spot up shooter. He needs to break loose. Yes, they have three talented players but they have weaknesses in a tight game. It might not hurt them, you're right. However, if the situation arises, it will be interesting to see if they can pull through. I'm not sold yet they can in a really tight game against a good defensive team--example the Pistons.

Q: I agree that you can win without a dominant player. Just look at the Pistons and Spurs over the last few years. The problem is they seem to shy away from the spotlight late in tight games. All season long they have made the extra pass, gotten clean looks, and pushed the ball in transition. When it comes down to the end of a close game, that style doesn't necessarily work because NBA teams actually try on defense at that point and everything is a slow-down, halfcourt type of game. That doesn't suit the Celtics at all. Pierce is the only guy who can (and is willing to) create his own shot. When he's getting doubled or not doing that, their offense sucks.


By the way, I'm not so sure that all three of those guys are HOF'ers. KG for sure, but the Hall has proven that you need to be more than a three-point shooter to get in (Ray) and I'm not sold on Pierce's credentials either. Also, you can't call Ray Allen anything more than a glorified role player at this point. He sucks.

Dogg: Ray Allen is not just a glorified role player. He is one of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history and you just don’t lose that overnight. Yeah, he hasn’t performed well in the playoffs but neither has Carlos Boozer. Is he just a role player now as well? No, he’s just having a tough stretch in an important time so all fans are seeing it. Guys go through slumps but nobody knows during the regular season. Ray Allen will hit a clutch shot in this postseason and will turn it up a notch soon...Pierce and Allen are fringe HOF’ers but KG is a lock.

Fuzz: Ok, enough about the Triple A of the NBA and onto the West. With a 3-2 lead, are the Hornets going to take down the dynasty that is the San Antonio Spurs? If so, is this the end of the Spurs as we know them?

Dogg: I guess I will continue with this year's trend and take the Spurs at home in game 6 and the Hornets take game 7 at their place. Until this trend changes, I'm going to continue to believe nobody is going to win on the road. I wish I would've known that no NBA team can play on the road because I would've been betting the home team the entire postseason. I don't know what the Spurs do if they lose. Do they really destruct after going into the 2nd round and to a game 7 at that? I don't see how they are going to get any better unless they sign somebody under their average age of 57. I would say they try one more after this year with the same core and if that doesn't work then they blow up a little bit. I don't see Duncan going to another team though. Maybe he plays one more season and calls it quits. He's already got 4 rings I believe so he might get out of dodge early. I hope so because I hate him and the Spurs.

Fuzz: The Spurs have to be close to being done as a dominant team. I guess it all depends on Tim Duncan. Once he retires our starts breaking down, the Spurs will never be the same. He's showing signs of this already. Personally, I think this is their last year to do anything and it's not looking good being down 2-3. Teams like the Hornets, Lakers and maybe even the Jazz are better than them now and will be next year just based on their youth & experience they are getting this playoffs. They better turn it around ASAP because I see this year as their last real shot at another ring.


Dogg: The Spurs need to get rid of Finley, Horry, and Vaughn. They are veterans but these guys can only manage the game for so long. If they can keep Duncan, Ginobli and Parker to go along with a couple fresh role players, they still have a good shot. Ginobli and Parker are still in their prime but they need some fresh meat as role players. Go out and get a Bonzi Wells type player (not this playoffs). I'm not counting them out until they have a bad regular season and a bad postseason or even missing the postseason.

Fuzz: Speaking of the Hornets, you have to love this squad. This team wasn't in the playoffs last year and now they're one game away from the conference finals. I love stories like this. It's what makes sports so great. With Chris Paul cementing himself as a superstar, this team could be good for a long time. I hope one day the T-wolves have a turnaround like the Hornets had. They waited & waited and now the fans there are in for a decent run the next 6,7,8 years. I'm jealous.

Q: I think that NO will take down the defending champs, but it won't be in Game 6. Good teams don't lose at home in the playoffs. Scratch that. NOBODY loses at home in the 2008 playoffs. San Antonio will be jacked up, Timmy will bank in 15-20 points, Ginoblli will be flippy-flopping all over the place, and CP3 will shoot about 35% from the field. Game over. Then the Hornets will take care of business at home in Game 7. Is it the end of the dynasty? I'm going to say yes unless the Spurs make some serious changes this summer. They have one of the oldest teams in the league with guys like Finley, Horry, Barry, Duncan, Thomas, etc. I just don't see them making deep playoff runs with the team they have right now, especially that bench.

Fuzz: We didn't even touch the Lakers/Jazz series but we'll be back next week with another one of these. The NBA playoffs have been phenomenal so if you're not watching, I would start. They have been extremely entertaining and the TNT halftime crew is a must watch.

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The View from 101--Part II

Welcome to the second installment in this six part series in which the three writers of TKOT travel to downtown Minneapolis to take in a Twins game as part of a ticket package that we purchased. As usual, we see a lot of things worth mentioning (both sports related and not) and feel it is our duty to pass along this valuable information on to our readers. So here’s what went down at Monday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox.



Well, I have to start with a major complaint. Traffic in the Twin Cities metro area has gotten out of control. It took Dogg and me an absurd amount of time to get to the Dome because of all of the backups due to construction. I know the 35W bridge collapse was an unforeseen dilemma, but is this really the best that the Minnesota Department of Transportation could do? When planning all of these construction projects at the same time, didn’t someone on staff raise their hand in a meeting and say “Hey, maybe we should stagger these a little so people can actually travel through the area”? It is simply impossible to drive more than 5-10 minutes on any major freeway in the Twin Cities area without hitting some sort of congestion due to construction.

That said, we entered the Metrodome with two outs in the bottom of the first because of the aforementioned traffic issues and because ESPN has an East Coast bias and moved the time of the game up to 6:10. Lucky for us we didn’t miss much, just an RBI single by Ortiz and a two-run homer by Ramirez in the top of the first and an RBI double by Morneau in the bottom half. There was a pretty big crowd at the Big Inflatable Toilet (copyright 93x), especially for a Monday night game. I’m not sure if this had more to do with the national TV thing or the fact that we have a first place ballclub on our hands here. Either way, it was nice to see some support for the Twins.



Rant: Is it even remotely possible for casual Twins fans to cheer for anyone other than Joe Mauer? We get it, he’s from St. Paul and now he plays for the Twins and you all think he’s god. I’m just getting really tired of all the cheers and screams for only him. We have other players, good players, hell, local players on this team that deserve some acclaim as well. It’s time for the fans to quit sucking Mauer’s popsicle and cheer the entire team and their actions like they actually know what’s going on. End Rant.

Livan threw a heck of a game after those first inning jitters. He might be the king of “scattering 10 hits”. There was never a legitimate scoring threat for the Sox after that rough first inning. He may not throw hard, but the guy what Gardy might call a “professional pitcher” and he knows how to get things done. If he doesn’t suffer from Ramon Ortiz Syndrome, when might be able to sustain this winning pace.



It was really nice to see the team hit so well with the national audience watching us. Mauer was his usual patient self at the plate, Morneau collected a couple of hits, Monroe continued his hot streak of late, and Young even managed a couple of hard-hit singles. This is the production a lot of people were expecting from this lineup before the season started. As long as the bats don’t have any prolonged cold streaks, this team should stay in contention throughout the summer.

Alright, enough about the game: if you wanted game stats and observations, you’d probably go to a much more credible website. One of the very best things about going to Twins games is the people watching. There is so much to see and gawk at, that you can get distracted very easily and miss parts of the game. Here are some things we saw:



•We sat in the highest traffic area of the entire Metrodome. At the end of each inning, no fewer than 150 people made their way up the stairs to hit the bathrooms, concession stands, souvenir booths, etc. It was simply astounding how many people left their seats after every single inning. When it first happened, Fuzz asked me if we were missing something in the concourse. I’m still very sure that we missed the free beer that they give out after the bottom half of every inning. There is no other excuse for the volume of people leaving their seats. The most amazing part was how many people seemed to do this just about every inning. Are people’s attention spans that short that they can’t just sit and enjoy a game?

•People love to drink at Twins games. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Monday night and they have to work the next morning; if the majority of fans over the age of 21 (and quite a few under) are going to be at the BIT, then they’re going to do so with a beer in hand. More than a handful of people were seen in an alcohol-induced dance, conversation, yelling match, or struggle with staying upright. I just don’t get how these people can go out the next morning and perform at their places of employment.



•Jerseys: it’s a topic that seems to come up at every single Twins game I’m at. Maybe I’m a jersey snob and that’s why I notice/complain about these things, but some people need to buy a clue when it comes to purchasing team-related regalia. Last time, we covered the whole “don’t let your mom sew the name/number on your back” thing. Today’s gripe: don’t put an old player’s name and number on a new jersey. It doesn’t work. I have no problem with a pull-over, powder blue “Gomez 22” jersey circa 1984. It’s fake retro, but it works for some reason. The opposite is not true. Do not buy a navy blue Twins alternate jersey from 2007 and put “Gladden 32” on the back. It looks terrible and you look like an idiot wearing it.

•On a related note, we were discussing with Twin we would get on a jersey or t-shirt if we had to. None of us understood why EVERYONE needs to wear a Mauer or Morneau jersey. I know those are the two best players and they’re the most commonly sold, but you can be more creative than that. Anyways, Dogg decided that he would go with Punto (because he’s gay), Fuzz thought a Neshek jersey would be cool since he’s a local guy (you mean there’s another one other than Joe!), though I think it would be required that you wear navy Under Armour with it at all times, and I took Guerrier because, well, it was unique.

•As usual, there were an inordinate amount of good looking women at the game. We’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Twins games are an amazing place to scope out the ladies. And almost every woman looks 10 times hotter than they normally are in a Twins jersey/t shirt and a hat with the ponytail sticking out. All in all, it’s a pretty good situation—or so I thought. Then I looked into it more closely at Monday night’s game (I know, it’s a rough and creepy job, but someone’s got to do it) and realized this: 90% of all the good looking females at a Twins game are either A) with their boyfriend/husband or B) at least 5-6 years younger than I am. Apparently the Metrodome is not the place to meet attractive, single women in their mid to late 20’s. Who knew?



•The pretzels with cheese at the Dome suck. Don’t buy them…A small pop is 42 oz. and definitely not “small”…Cookies and milk at a baseball game is still a stupid idea…Obviously there were a ton of beer vendors in our area during a game when we’re not drinking…Dome Dogs are one of the greatest creations on earth…Does anyone ever actually buy the Lemon Chill?

All in all, it was a great game to attend. The Twins won and thus held on to their game and a half lead on first in the AL Central, we actually were able to see this team hit the ball for once this year, and Fuzz finally decided that it was ok for the three of us to not sit rightnextto each other’s during the game. Good times.

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Minnesota Sports Notes

A little round-up from the local teams.

Gophers

I saw a little action from the recent AAU tournament this past weekend. The main attraction was the 17+ team, the Howard Pulley Panthers. It’s the best traveling AAU team in Minnesota. My friend Kevin has a brother (Michael) that plays for this team.

(A little background: Kevin, the oldest brother, became famous for his stifling defense at St. Thomas and memory loss at the bar Major Goolsby’s in Milwaukee. The second brother of this trio is Dan and he became famous for his long-range shooting at Marquette and his ability to tolerate six traveling fanatics. Michael is the youngest brother and he’s already famous for his silky smooth J and being waaaay cooler than his brothers. Back to the column...)

Anyways, the team is consisted of about 10-12 local Twin Cities kids that are all bound to play college ball at some level. The two headliners are Royce White and Rodney Williams. The Royce White name should ring a bell since he just verbally committed to the Gophers a couple weeks ago. White and Williams are two very highly recruited players in the whole country. On rivals.com, White ranks 32nd and Williams ranks 43rd. To put that in perspective, in the last five years, Minnesota has had only two players ranked better than 43rd. Cole Aldrich was 30th in 2007 (now at Kansas) and Kris Humphries was 15th in 2003 (now in the NBA). So, if you’re not catching my drift, these kids are real good. Nationally good.

I’m kind of a college basketball-recruiting nut, so I was excited to see this team and specifically these two players in action. This was my first time seeing both White and Williams. First reaction is that they both lived up to the eye test and the ability test. Both are in the 6’6-6’7 range and both are extremely athletic. Williams needs to put on some lbs and White is already pretty cut for being just 17 years old. Ally-oops, flat footed-stand still dunks, and threes were in both of their arsenals. Williams probably had the dunk of the year and only about 200 people saw it. It was ridiculous. He jumped from about the third block up the lane (yes, that far) on the right side and two handed hammered it. Brought down the house. Kevin mentioned that it was like “Rucker park-MN edition” after the dunk. The whole bench exploded with about half the guys on the court.


On the flip side, I personally saw one thing that wasn’t that pleasant. Royce White’s attitude. I only saw one game and they beat the team by 40 points, but he was unbelievable lackadaisical and cocky for most of the game. Almost like he was too cool. Side note: He also had a mohawk with a huge letter “M” carved in the back of his head. I guess he wants to broadcast that he in fact is signing with the U. I don’t know if this is always like he acts, but it was noticeable. Everyone else on the team played relatively hard given the fact that they were killing them, but White stood out. I’m interested to see how he plays when Tubby’s watching. I bet his demeanor changes. And it will have to, because Tubby isn’t going to put up with that shit.

Overall, the team has good talent and White & Williams have the potential to be game changing college players. The word is that they are good friends and it would be great for the program to get both of them and let Tubby work his magic.

Twins

Your Minnesota Twins just took 3 of 4 from the best team in baseball, the Boston Red Sox. They are now 20-17 and leading a balanced Central division. We talked a lot of Twins last week but this weekend series win vs. the Sox was a good sign. This wasn’t a below average team, they had the best record coming into this series and we took three games. Our pitching is holding up, our bats are coming around and are fielding is right there again. I didn’t see this coming. If we’re hanging around the lead at the end of May and into June, then that’s a pattern and I’ll really start getting my hopes up. Right now, it’s cautious optimism. Random Twins thoughts:

-The Neshek injury is a biggie. From the sounds of it, he’s gone for the season. The Neshek/Nathan combo was almost like having two dominant closers on your team. If you can get to the 8th with a lead, it was pretty much game over. Now, the 8th inning is going to have to be pieced together by guys like Rincon, Guerrier, Crain, and Reyes. Some decent arms in that group but not nearly as effective as Neshek. Gardy is going to have to work his pen very well to soften this blow.


-Craig Monroe is seeing the ball like a beachball. He’s on fire. I didn’t think I’d say that line this year. A common theme this year so far, stuff happening that most didn’t see coming. Monroe’s hot hitting is one of them. Along the same lines...

-Livan Hernandez is 6-1! I think he’d get votes for the AL Cy Young right now. He throws about an 85 mph fastball but he keeps winning. Unreal.

-Morneau hasn’t had a homerun in 13 games. I’m calling one tonight vs. the Blue Jays. I deposited my money in the bomb pool, so pay up when it happens.

Timberwolves

One week from today is the NBA draft lottery. The Timberwolves are again in prime position for a high draft pick. No surprise there. They have the third best position with a 13.8% chance of getting the #1 overall pick, which if we get, would be historic--since we’re a really shitty organization. We’ve made it past the first round of the playoffs one effing time and yet, we’ve never got the #1 pick. Is this the year? History says no. But, it has to happen one of these years or I’m going to start thinking this franchise is cursed.

We can go as high as #1 (unlikely) and as low as #6 (likely). Guys I want: Rose, Beasley, Bayless or Lopez. Guys I don’t want: Gordon, Mayo, or foreign guy from Italy. Those are the players that have been projected near the top of most mock drafts. Like everyone lately, I’m on the Derrick Rose bandwagon. An ultra quick, pass first, but not a midget point guard. He also can fill it when he wants. This is still a dream since anywhere out of the top two puts you at zero chance of landing him.


I know I sound like a poser since I’ve been pimping Beasley on this site for five months, but after everything went down with the season, march madness and media reports, I’m going with Rose now. If we get Beasley, I’m not going to pissed. Let's get that straight. But, word is his attitude sucks and Rose would fit in with our team better. Is Beasley going to play the 3? Big Al is a perfect 4, so moving him would seem stupid. Whatever happens, Beasley on this team wouldn’t suck but I’m rooting for that “make everyone else better point guard” and that is D. Rose.

So, stay tuned to next Tuesday to see where our luck lands...

Vikings

May is finally the month that the NFL kind of takes a break, which has been nice. Vikings notes have been minimal at this time. That of course doesn’t stop me from mentioning them on the back end of this column. It’s the Vikings for Christ sake; they are king in this town.

Anyways, SI.com and ESPN.com have both come out with their power rankings now that the draft is done. SI has the Vikings as the 7th ranked team heading into pre-season and ESPN has them at #12. Too high? Too low? Or just right? Personally, #7 seems aggressive and #12 seems a little low. I would put us at #10, a good round number. With the additions we’ve made (Jared Allen in particular) and assumed maturation of some players (T-Jack), I like the 10th spot for the Purple. That puts us right around the 4th or 5th spot in the NFC. I can live with that.


Another quick note- Our schedule came out maybe a month ago and here it is for those that don’t pay attention:

@Green Bay, Indy, Carolina, @Tennessee, @New Orleans, Detroit, @Chicago, Bye, Houston, Green Bay, @Tampa Bay, @Jacksonville, Chicago, @ Detroit, @Arizona, Atlanta and NY Giants.

Two things: 1) I should switch that #10 ranking, I only see three losses (Indy, @Jacksonville, and one of the Green Bay games). 2) The coldest place we play is Oct. 19th at Chicago. Everything else is perfect weather. That could be huge.

We’re comin, We’re comin...

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POD

I would click on the picture for a better version. It's a must.

Dogg: That photo is absolutely ridiculous. I know it was passed around last year but WOW! Is she single? I sure hope not. What would this girl look like on the beach? Seriously, how many awkward chubby’s has Natalie caused throughout her years? This might go down as the greatest POD in history…On a side note, do women golfers ever date men golfers? It seems that they should but don’t often.

Q: What? What's the big deal with this picture? It's just a girl stretching out to play some golf. I really don't unders...oh, wait a minute. Oh I get it now. There are plenty of comments to go with this picture, but this is a family website, so I'll just leave it at "Wow".

Fuzz: 41 days. Does anyone else have one of those Christmas type calendars where you pull off each day as they go by until the U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen in Edina? I do. If you don’t, start doing that right now. We’re 41 days away until this “beautiful baby” graces the fairways of Interlachen. You need to get there. Clear your schedules right now for the last week in June. Seriously.

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Minor League Report

So it’s no secret that I love the Twins: more than a normal human being should like a sports team, some might say. I can’t help myself; baseball is the greatest sport, in my opinion, and the Twins are the only professional game in town. My love runs so deep that I follow all four of our minor league teams on a pretty regular basis just to be as informed as I can about my favorite squad. I know this is the second baseball article in as many days—deal with it. All statistics and records are current as of 5/8/08.



AAA—Rochester Red Wings (14-21)
Let’s start this thing off with our AAA team, the Red Wings. For the last few years they have been the toast of the International League. They were simply a dominant force, especially on the pitching front. Well, things have changed and this team is struggling, though through no fault of their own. When the big club is going through as much change as the Twins are, the team that suffers the most is usually the AAA team. Any talent that is major league ready is called up and most of the talent that isn’t ready still needs to prove itself in the lower leagues. Thus is the case with this year’s Rochester team. No where is this more evident than in the lineup, where the only two guys hitting over .300 are Darnell McDonald (you may remember him from his unspectacular call up last fall) and Denard Span (yes, the same guy you have been hearing about for years and has done virtually nothing). That’s it, that’s the list. So what about the rest of the team? TKOT’s boy Brian Buscher? .280 with a very low RBI total (11). Spring training superstar Randy Ruiz? .245 with a team high 37 K’s. The “second baseman of the future” Alexi Casilla? .215 with 2 RBI. Former power hitting prospect Garrett Jones? .176 and no signs of ever becoming a factor with this franchise. Yeah, you could say the team is lacking in the hitting department.



As previously stated, the strongest part of this team used to be the pitching. And even though the Twins have plucked the best that Rochester had to offer, this is still the case. No, there aren’t the gaudy numbers like Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn were putting up last year, but there is still some quality pitching to be found on the Red Wings. Before being called up for a start or two, Glen Perkins was 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA in 6 starts.



Unfortunately, he was the only starting pitcher to be putting up any kind of quality numbers. The other three starters (Brian Duensing and Santana tradee’s Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber) combined to go 5-11 with an ERA over 4. However, the talent on this team lies in the relievers, who clearly have had to pitch quite a bit. They are led by closer Bobby Korecky, who has 2 wins and 5 saves while posting a 0.68 ERA, prompting his call up to Minnesota a few weeks back. There’s also Casey Daigle (aka Mr. Jennie Finch), Mariano Gomez, and Ricky Barrett, who all have ERA’s under 3. This team is struggling, and will continue to do so until some of the AA players are ready for a promotion. Speaking of which…



AA—New Britain Rock Cats (19-13)
With Casilla’s aforementioned struggles, the most likely candidate to move up is New Britain’s second baseman Luke Hughes. This kid has been on fire this year. You could make the case that he’s the best hitter in the organization right now. Through 31 games, Hughes is hitting .388 with 9 bombs, 20 RBI, and 88 total bases. In case you don’t know, those are unbelievable numbers.



He’s just the tip of the iceberg for a Rock Cat team that is absolutely raking to start this season. There are 6 guys on this team hitting over .280, and that doesn’t include Matt Moses, Eric Lis, and David Winfree, who have combined for 10 HR’s and 51 RBI. One of those big hitters is my personal favorite minor league player, Trevor Plouffe. When you look at the weakness that is the shortstop position for the Twins, it’s really nice to see such a promising prospect making his way through the system. He’s hitting .286 and has a freaking hose for a right arm (don’t let those 4 errors fool you; he’s a legit defensive player). Depending on the Twins position in the playoff race, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this guy get a call up in September to see what he’s got.



This team could be a lot better if the pitching would step up (another domino effect of the big club going with such a young rotation). The only starter worth mentioning is Yohan Pino, who has a 2.32 ERA through his first 5 starts. Otherwise, all of the other starters have an ERA over 4 and have only won a few games because our lineup has carried them. If New Britain can get even a little bit of consistency in their rotation, they should be able to win a league title. Otherwise, the only reason this team will matter is because it’s where Hughes and Plouffe used to play.



High A—Fort Myers Miracle (19-13)
The Miracle is another team that has had some early season success. The tough part about analyzing a single-A team is that you get two types of players. The first is a guy in his mid to late 20’s (or mid 30’s, right Danny Graves?) who is still trying to hold on to the dream for one more year or two. The other one is a kid who is just passing through for a short time on his way to bigger and (hopefully) better things. One example of the latter that currently resides in Fort Myers is Deolis Guerra.



You may remember him as the X factor in the Johan Santana trade. The 6-5, 200 lb righty is only 19 years old and already possesses a mid 90’s fastball, among other potentially dominant pitches. He started off the year impressively, giving up only 3 earned runs in his first 4 starts. It appeared that our phenom had arrived. Then, over his last two starts, the Future has gotten torched to the tune of 11 earned runs in just 8 1/3 innings. So maybe he won’t be in the Bigs by the time he’s 20, but he’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on.



Low A—Beloit Snappers (14-18)
Much like Fort Myers, the Beloit Snappers are a team that is tough to analyze. The one really nice thing about low-A ball is that you don’t have the older guys looking for “one more year in the sun” (copyright Jake Taylor). This league is just for young prospects to get their feet wet in pro ball. Team success means much less down here, which can be unfortunate because that means everyone is likely out to get theirs, which can’t be a fun environment to play in. Nevertheless, there are a couple of names on this squad to keep tabs on this summer. One of those is last year’s #1 pick Ben Revere. Despite less than glowing reviews and even comparisons to Span (yuck), the kid is starting off 2008 hot. After 9 games, he’s hitting .432 with an OPS of 1.043. Not bad for a “light hitting” outfielder, but only time will tell if he can sustain any kind of success. The other name of note is outfielder Chris Parmelee. He’s just 20 years old and has a shot at being a nice hitting prospect for this team in the next couple years.



Ok, so here’s an easy recap of our entire minor league system: Rochester—terrible team but only because the Twins are so young right now. New Britain—great hitting team led by stud prospects Luke Hughes (2B) and Trevor Plouffe (SS). Fort Myers—decent team; player to watch is SP Deolis Guerra. Beloit—watch the progress of OF Chris Parmelee to see if he can start to climb the ladder. Those are the names to know. Track them, use them to impress your friends, forget them, whatever.

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