Minnesota Twins/MLB -
The Twins finally made a move by acquiring an actual human being to play for us. They signed Luis Ayala which is a move that the jury is still out on, but they also got a third baseman that can hit more than one or two home runs a year in Joe Crede. I can not begin to tell you how excited I am for this move. The only thing the concerns me, like everyone else, is that Crede has a really bad back and he only played 142 games the previous two seasons. Even if Crede plays 3/4 of our games, that's 120 games. I would take that in heartbeat. Ever since Corey Koskie left in 2004, we've been looking for a guy to replace his production in the lineup. Time will tell if we've finally fixed that, but if Crede can stay healthy, watch out for the Twins.
The Twins are also looking at RP Juan Cruz from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cruz is a Type A free agent which means that the team that signs him has to give up a first round pick as compensation. The Twins, although they have drafted terribly over the past couple of years (sans Aaron Hicks and Ben Revere), are incredibly stingy with their draft picks. MLB has tried to help since a lot of teams have balked at this. So, what the Twins can do now is work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Diamondbacks. The Twins have made an offer, but they also have to figure out what talent to give up to satisfy Arizona. Cruz pitched really well with a 2.61 ERA in 51 2/3 innings. If the Twins get him, a lot of people will be dancing in the streets of Minneapolis.
As for Mr. Rodriguez, I'm sick of hearing about it. I've probably been desensitized to it and therefore, I don't care who comes out anymore. A-Rod did "apologize" but he also lied about where he got the roids and who gave them to him. He deserves everything that's coming to him. If you play fantasy baseball, do NOT take A-Rod unless you're at the bottom of the round. I took Ryan Braun ahead of him as I believe this recent development will send the well fragile A-Rod into a career downward spiral. Remember, he is 34 years old already which is insane!
Vikings/NFL -
Sage fucking Rosenfels? Are you kidding me. I don't care how much we had to give up for him, this is a JOKE! I believe that Brad Childress is trying to lower the competition level for the incumbent Tarvaris Jackson. The Vikings need to acquire a QB still. This is not over! My suggestion is to sign Jeff Garcia to a two year deal. Yes, he's 39 and has two more wins than your boy T-Jack, but he'd be a stop gap for a QB that we should draft. I hope we can get Mark Sanchez or Josh Freeman as they would look awesome in Purple. I'm not sure where this will go, but I pray that the Vikings do not stop at Sage fucking Rosenfels.
Free agency starts Friday, but I don't think we'll see anything huge from the Vikings. I do believe that Albert Hanesworth and Julius Peppers will switch teams. They're already saying that Hanesworth could fetch 100 million dollars. That's insane for a defensive tackle. The Vikings shelled out about 72 million for Jared Allen last April, but that seems like a bargain. Hanesworth is a great player, but 100 million dollar contracts should be reserved for franchise QBs in my opinion. As for Peppers, he may wind up in Green Bay. I know for a fact the Packers were licking their chops when Peppers said he was sick of playing in a 4-3 and wanted to go to a 3-4 defense. The Packers have convieniently switched this offseason with the arrival of Dom Capers as their defensive coordinator. If the Packers really want Peppers, we could see another Jared Allen like situation this offseason, and then let the fun begin.
Wolves - Man, it really sucks that Al Jefferson got hurt. The Wolves were finally starting to become watchable and then WHAM! They weren't going anywhere this year obviously, but Kevin McHale has really gotten the most out of this team. Now, the Wolves have to look forward to the offseason. I think that it would be awesome for this team to land a big man like Haseem Thabeet in the draft, but I have to remember the Wolves history in the lottery, which is not very good. We can pray for Blake Griffin all we want, but it won't happen. I also like James Harden from Arizona State, but I like our current backcourt of Sabastian Telfair and Randy Foye. Our future is incredibly bright, and since we have four first round draft picks next year, we have room to mingle and move our way up.
Wild - Not going to lie, I haven't watched too much of them, but the Western Conference is incredibly tight right now. Josh Harding looked amazing last Sunday against the Blackhawks. I hope that the Wild can get on a run and get into the playoffs, but without a legitimate goal scorer, I don't see a way the Wild can get out of the first round. The Wild will have to hit the free agent wire or the draft to get a guy who can put the puck in the net.
Gopher Basketball - They've slumped a bit, but I think they can make the NCAA tournament right now. The Gophers are 20-7 right now and looking at their schedule, they have a chance to win two of their last three games...
Thursday - at Illinois (L, 20-8)
3/4 - vs. Wisconsin (W, 21-8)
3/7 - vs. Michigan (W, 22-8)
Then, there's the Big 10 Tournament. Right now, the Gophers would draw Iowa who the Gophers can beat on a neutral court. That would make them 23-8 and most likely a tournament team no matter what happened in the next game. However, it's a lot of fun talking about Gopher Basketball again. Remember, they weren't supposed to compete and next season the Gophers will have two elite recruits coming in to make this team even better than it is right now. Add in games against UCLA, Kansas, and West Virginia and it couldn't be more exciting to be a Gopher fan right now.
Whew...well, I'll try and keep this updated a lot more. I would also like to remind you that I have a radio show from 6-8 every Thursday night on WRFW 88.7 in River Falls. (I can also be heard on www.pureradio887.com)
