Love hurts

So the Wolves selected OJ Mayo last Thursday in the NBA Draft, just as I had hoped they would do. As everyone drifted off to sleep with visions of OJ becoming the Rookie of the Year, the Memphis Grizzlies traded their #5 pick, Kevin Love, and three other players to the Wolves for Mayo and another three throw-ins.

This has been a highly divisive issue here in Minneapolis. Some are adamantly defending the pick, but the majority are kicking and screaming because they think Mayo is the next Michael Jordan.

Right now, this trade looks to be in favor of the Timberwolves. As I mentioned in a previous post, I would be all for trading this pick if they are able to dump Marco Jaric's terrible contract in the process. Not only did they do that, but they also got rid of some other big contracts in Antoine Walker and Greg Buckner. Here's how the trade worked out:

Jaric for Memphis's Brian Cardinal: They are both equally useless and overpaid, but Jaric has 3 more years left on his contract, while Cardinal only has two. Advantage Wolves.

Walker for Jason Collins: Both only have one year left on their contracts. Walker rarely played last season and was most likely going to be bought out this year or traded. In return the Wolves get a solid center with only one year left on his contract. This looks like an even exchange.

Buckner for Mike Miller: The Wolves got rid of a guy that rarely suited up last season and had three more years on his contract. In exchange, they received a starting forward/guard who averaged 16 points a game and shot over 40% beyond the arch last season. Advantage Wolves.

Mayo for Love: Here's the wild card. Jim Souhan put it best when he said the Wolves got the sweet end of this deal...unless Mayo becomes a huge NBA superstar and Love does not. There's really no way of knowing if that will happen. He could end up playing at the same level as Clyde Drexler, Ray Allen, or even Kobe Bryant. Or maybe his ceiling will be at the level of former Gopher Bobby Jackson.

That's why Wolves fans need to mellow out about this trade. If you all want to get pissed about something, then look to the trade they made to Miami with second round pick Mario Chalmers, a point guard out of Kansas. He was the floor leader on the team that won the NCAA Championship last year and was projected by some to be gone by the middle of the first round. The Wolves got some cash and two future second round picks from Miami.

At first, I was a little upset that they gave away a player that seemed to be a pretty good steal, but I understood that they were pretty jammed up at his position when they had Randy Foye, OJ Mayo, Marko Jaric, and Sebastian Telfair projected to be playing point guard. I still thought they should have been able to get something better than two future second rounders, though. Oh well.

But then the next morning came and I heard about the big trade that happened late that night. OJ Mayo and Marko Jaric were now gone. In addition to that, the Wolves did not extend a qualifying offer to Sebastian Telfair, making him an unrestricted free agent as of tomorrow. This leaves only Randy Foye left at the point guard position. In the matter of 24 hours, the Wolves went from having 5 players at the point guard position to just one.

As I said before, there's really no way of knowing how any of these rookies will pan out in the NBA. But as a Timberwolves fan, I feel a little more pissed off about losing Mario Chalmers then I do about OJ Mayo. Only time will tell.

More NBA Draft stuff

-So maybe I was a little hard on Jim Souhan in my earlier post, as I just found another piece that he wrote about the NBA Draft lottery. This column is pretty good and tries to give hope to all of the perpetually gloomy and whiny Timberwolves fans.

- Chad Ford has updated his mock draft and has the Wolves taking OJ Mayo. He also mentions Brook Lopez and Danilo Gallinari as other potential candidates.

I'm not a big fan of the Lopez pick, simply because players like him come along almost every year. If there's still the need, we can pick a big center with limited athletic ability next year.

The Gallinari pick intrigue's me though, mostly because I don't know anything about international players. I'll eat up any evaluation from these scouts because I've never seen him play.

- The Fanhouse mentions that Kevin McHale may be high on UCLA center Kevin Love. I'm not sure how I feel about this pick because as the article mentions, his game duplicates Al Jefferson's. This would require some creative coaching to get the most out of these two players when they are on the floor together.

#3? Dang.

The NBA Draft lottery was held last night, and the Wolves ended up with the 3rd pick. For those unfamiliar, the draft lottery puts the top three draft picks up for grabs amongst the NBA teams who did not make it to the playoffs. The teams with the worst records supposedly have more ping pong balls in the lottery, giving them a greater chance of winning the top pick. However, the team with the worst record only has a 25% chance of winning; meaning they also have a 75% chance of "losing" the lottery. After those first three picks are determined by drawing, the remaining order is determined by win-loss record.

Since the NBA has a letter opening ceremony instead of actually drawing the ping pong balls on live TV, people have accused the NBA of fixing the lottery to get star players on big market teams. This year is no different as Timberwolves fans are whining that it was fixed to send the top two players to Chicago and Miami. Only having a 1.7% chance to win, Chicago made a big jump to take the first spot, but Miami actually had the worst record in the league and fell a spot to #2. On top of that, Miami is one of the worst sports cities in America when it comes to attendance (and look who's at the bottom of this list)(oh, and read point #13 on this one).

If these conspiracies were actually true, how would you explain Portland and Seattle getting the top two spots last year? They play in small markets, and the Sonics are actually about to move to Oklahoma City; a veritable hub of media exposure. Or what about the 1992 draft that Wolves fans continually agonize over? The top two picks were sent to two other small market cities: Orlando and Charlotte. We need to relax here. The NBA is not out to get the Timberwolves.

So what do the Wolves do with this pick? Jim Souhan thinks they should trade down.

Begin mini-rant:

And this is why it sucks reading the Star Tribune columnists. Don't get me wrong, I do think they have good writers on staff, but there's not enough of them. In order to provide balanced coverage of all of the major stories and sports franchises in the area, they assign columnists to cover areas they don't have much knowledge or interest in. Jim Souhan and Pat Reusse do great pieces on the Vikings and Twins, but their columns covering the Wolves, Wild, and Gophers sound like they were pieced together from the obnoxius user comments section on the paper's website. It's like they write those asinine columns to spite their editor who's forcing them to meet their quota of Wolves, Wild, and Gophers coverage.

OK, mini-rant against the Star Tribune is over. On to why I don't agree with his idea (except for the part about using this pick to help unload Marco Jaric's bad contract, and he also believes that the Wolves should draft Beasely if he happens to fall down to #3):

Trading down is a wise move for the NFL draft. Football is played with 22 starters on offense and defense, along with all sorts of situational players that are subbed in on certain plays. It's good to build up your team's depth through the draft by acquiring as many picks as you can. If the player you originally wanted is no longer on the board and the next guy on your list of needs isn't projected to be picked that high, you can trade your high pick with another team looking to move up for multiple lower picks.

This doesn't work as well for the NBA, though. There are less players on that see the court and one elite player can have a huge impact on the team. You still need depth, but the Wolves already have a roster full of guys who are not superstar material. These are the ones that need to be molded and developed into solid role/bench players. Adding multiple lower picks would only add to this pool. What the Wolves need is another elite player to take them to another level.

Now the usual consensus in most NBA drafts is that there are one or two players projected to be instant superstars. After those top couple picks are gone, it's a crapshoot. There are lots of guys who are drafted for their all around athleticism and potential; not on their overall basketball skill. This draft is no exception. There is Derrick Rose, Michael Beaseley, and everybody else.

The thing that makes it interesting is the ever-increasing buzz surrounding OJ Mayo, a shooting guard from USC. He didn't blow anybody away with his stats last year, but not every college player does. They often play within coaches systems that don't rely on some of the isolation play that the NBA uses. There's even a current rumor that was cited in Souhan's column and elsewhere saying that the Miami Heat might take Mayo if the Chicago Bulls take Derrick Rose.

That scenario would put Michael Beasely right in the Timberwolves' laps. We already have a star power forward in Al Jefferson who can score at will in the low post. Beasely has more of an outside game (38% from 3-point land) that would work well playing alongside Al. The only thing I wonder is how he'll develop as an NBA defender? This could be the difference between drafting a Rasheed Wallace or an Antoine Walker (who we already have on our roster). The experiment of playing both Beasely and Jefferson together may not work out, but these would be valuable trade assets in a few years if they still continue to develop as individuals.

If the conventional wisdom of the past few months holds up and the top two picks are Rose and Beasely, then the Wolves should select Mayo. He doesn't fill a "need" position like a center or point guard would, but he is clearly a very talented player and appears to be the best available at this point. We already passed up on Brandon Roy two years ago because we had drafted Rashad McCants the year before; and we all know how that worked out.

Haters, STFU!

After last year's series between the Suns and Spurs, there were tons of media members and their flocks of sheepish fans hollering that San Antonio won because of the "unfair" suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for game five. For those unfamiliar, the NBA dishes out automatic one-game suspensions to players who leave the bench area during an on-court fight. Incidents like this have happened in the past and have cost teams' advancement into the playoffs. Still, every once and awhile, an incident like this occurs again, and the media, fans, and penalized players all act as if they never knew of this rule.

The funny thing is that Phoenix almost won last year's game 5 without Stoudemire and Diaw. This just gives sportswriters and armchair fans more reason to complain. This was an intense series between two established teams. Some people feel that the suspensions ruined it, even though it still went 6 games. In fact, there are some that strongly feel the Suns were going to win this best of seven series, even though they still managed to lose 3 games in that series when their roster was at full strength.

Well this year, the Suns and Spurs just happened to be matched up in the first round. To make things more interesting, this was a different Suns team that now included Shaquille O'Neal. Much like last year's series, it got off to a great start. The first game went into double overtime, which the Spurs eventually won. But then San Antonio won the next two games easily, putting the Suns on the brink of elimination. Phoenix took game 4 to avoid the shame of being swept, but proceeded to lose game 5 to end the series.

There's no excuses this year. Fans and sports writers just need to accept that the Spurs are a damn good basketball team and the Suns are not. Sure, Phoenix is the sexier team. They play a fast tempo and score lots of points. They got highly skilled point guard who dishes out tons of assists, and we all know how white people love assists. They also have an athletic big man who can dominate the paint. But they cannot match the Spurs' defense, and as the old cliche goes: defense wins championships.

And if you're wondering why I care so much about this, it's because I'm a big Spurs fan. No, I'm not a "front-runner." I started watching this team during the days of David Robinson, Dennis Rodman, Sean Elliot, Avery Johnson, and Vinny Del Negro (which is Spanish for Vinny of the Black).

Why the Spurs? I grew up in North Dakota and really had no geographical allegiance to any pro basketball team. I started really watching pro basketball around the age of 12. This was the time that Michael Jordan was in his first retirement. The first few NBA Finals I really watched were the Rockets-Knicks and Rockets-Magic back in the mid-nineties. Because I was pretty tall and played center on my basketball team, I became a big fan of all the great centers playing at that time. David Robinson was my favorite and who I identified with the most. He didn't have the fancy footwork of Hakeem Olajuwan or the freakish size of Shaq and Patrick Ewing. But he was athletic, ran the floor well on fast breaks, and blocked shots. This is what I took pride in doing well, too.

And so my allegiance to David and the Spurs began. It only grew with the addition of another great center/power forward, Tim Duncan. While I have adopted a new geographical allegiance with the Minnesota Timberwolves, I'll still be cheering for the Spurs when they are not playing my current home team.

NCAA Men's Basketball Player of the Year: White Guy vs. Black Guy

ESPN.com has an article debating who's the NCAA basketball player of the year; Tyler Hansbrough or Michael Beasley. There were 11 different writers making their case for their pick. After reading the first writer's case, I immediately thought, "OK, they're all picking Hansbrough because he's that hard working white guy that isn't as talented as Beasley, but he has more 'heart'." As I read along, my gut feeling was right.

Here are some of the phrases that these writers used to describe Hansbrough's intangibles:
"unyielding leader of a title-contending Tar Heels team"
"the toughest and most relentless player in the country"
"the ultimate teammate that will do anything to win"
"his will exceeds his considerable skill"
"Hansbrough's heart is bigger"
"Hansbrough has had the bigger impact"
"the only player in the country who plays hard all the time"
"He is what college basketball is all about"
"player who has worked insatiably to improve himself and maximize his potential"
"simply plays harder than anyone else"
"continued to play with even more passion and purpose (if that's possible)"
"he always seems to make the plays when they matter most"
"He is tough, committed to the cause of the Tar Heels winning and desperately wants to be in a Final Four and compete for a national championship"
"Hansbrough has been too valuable, too genuine and too dominant to deny him this honor"
"Nobody in the country plays harder or better in the biggest games than Psycho T"

If I presented this to my ex-girlfriend, she would immediately start hollering that all these writers were racist. Everybody and everything always seemed to be racist to her. I'm not sure how, but she could probably also argue that this article was sexist, too. Based on the quotes I provided above, I would have to agree that it feels like race is a factor, but I'm not going to label these writers as racist. They're just kind of lazy. Instead of them all defining what makes a NCAA Player of the Year, they just keep repeating the same nonsense: both of their stats are similar, and Michael Beasley is the more talented player, but Tyler Hansbrough "plays harder" and therefore is the winner.

As I mentioned earlier, all of these statements comment on traits that are intangible. This means that it is harder to prove these statements one way or the other. However, after reading through every writer's comments, I began to see some proof. Instead of just saying that Tyler Hansbrough has more heart and hustle, Dana O'Neil lays it out like this:

But the player of the year isn't the guy with the most prodigious talent. It is the player who lives the cliché, who puts a team on his back and carries it to greatness. This year that player is Tyler Hansbrough. Down to its third point guard, North Carolina dropped just two games and while the Tar Heels were waiting on Ty Lawson, Hansbrough shone. In the six games without Lawson, Hansbrough averaged 29 points and 10.7 rebounds. Despite Beasley's Herculean efforts, Kansas State remains at best an NCAA tourney bubble team. Carolina, on the other hand, has hovered in the top five all season, and Hansbrough has never had a bad night, reaching double figures in every game and recording double-doubles in 16.

Mark Schlabach further sways me with this:

How valuable has Tyler Hansbrough been for the Tar Heels this season? After point guard Ty Lawson went down with a severely sprained ankle in early February, Hansbrough stepped up and prevented North Carolina from taking a big step back. In the six games Lawson missed, Hansbrough averaged 29 points and 10.7 rebounds. North Carolina won five of those contests, even as their big man was constantly facing double and triple teams.

These actually give some good, hard evidence as to why Tyler Hansbrough should be the player of the year. They cite stats and W-L record during a stretch of games when another key teammate was injured and also use the team's record as part of the selection criteria. It's kind of like how a lot writers vote for the MVP in the NBA. Kevin Garnett won the MVP in 2004 when the Timberwolves were the top seed in the Western Conference, and there is talk he may be an MVP candidate this year with Boston sitting on top the Eastern Conference. The three years in between, there was not any serious consideration for the award. It's not like he was playing any different. He putting up similar stats, but his team was failing to make the playoffs. How "valueable" can you really be then? You could have taken KG out of the lineup those years, and I'm pretty sure we would have gotten the same result: no playoffs.

So I'm going to go ahead and agree with the writers who anoint Hansbrough as the player of the year. After sifting through some of the nonsense, it becomes clear. These are both players who put up exceptional numbers and were leaders of good teams. One team is looking at a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament and the other is on the bubble. One team plays in arguably the toughest conference in the country, while still posting a 30-2 record, while the other team is in an arguably weaker conference and posts a 20-11 record. Yes, you could argue that North Carolina has more all-around talent to push the team to greater heights, but Hansbrough still puts up stats that are similar to Beasley's. If there were more talented players surrounding him, you'd think he would have less impressive stats, mostly points per game. But he doesn't.

Lastly, out of the three writers who voted for Beasley, none of them really gave me a good reasons to think that he was indeed the player of the year. One of the writers basically just put together an NBA scouting report:

Beasley is the nation's third-leading scorer (26.9 points per game) and top rebounder (12.6). He has 12 30-point games, three 40-point games and leads the nation with 25 double-doubles. At 6-foot-10 and 235 pounds, Beasley is as skilled as a 6-5 wing. He can score inside with either hand on turnaround jumpers or on power moves through contact. He can drive from the wing and shoot the 3 with ease. He is a terrific rebounder because he can rebound out of his area, and he will not accept box outs when pursuing the basketball. Also, Beasley possesses great confidence and toughness. He competes at all times and has a tremendous basketball IQ. Many times during the course of the season, Beasley received the ultimate compliment from opponents by facing junk defenses, which might slow him down, but still couldn't stop him from recording staggering numbers.

This tells me that he is indeed a great ball player and will probably be an exceptional NBA prospect, but it does nothing to convince me that he should be the NCAA Player of the Year. Tyler, you have my vote, and not just because you are a white guy who "hustles" and "plays with heart".

*****

Good night for Minnesota basketball: Gophers win on a Blake Hoffarber buzzer-beater to advance to the semi-finals in the Big Ten tournament, and the Timberwolves get a win on the road against the Oklahoma City...I mean Seattle Supersonics.

It Takes Brass Balls

Last week it appears the Republican Party of Minnesota suffered a blow when Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a transportation bill was overridden. Six Republican house members crossed the party line to override his veto. Since then, these "rogues" have been stripped of committee leadership positions and threatened with less party support come election time.
They have also been met with praise from many DFL supporters, a few GOP supporters, and lots of free thinkers in general for their guts. Going with their conscience and not with their party definitely takes some balls. I am also praising them. I am a supporter and big believer in mass transit programs, and one who doesn't get too wound up over taxes that add up to a couple pennies for each purchase I make.
Let's break down this $6.6 billion:

• Gas Tax - According to a Star Tribune article, the gas tax will rise in increments up to 8.5 cents over the next 4 years. With the way gas prices are going, these 8.5 cents are going to be like dumping a glass of water in the ocean. It won't make a difference to consumers. I feel better knowing that at least a small portion of the constant gas price hikes are going to fund and support our state's transportation infrastructure instead of further lining the pockets of some rich oil tycoon.
• Sales Tax - The .25 percent sales tax is not even set in stone yet. The seven metro-area counties must first need to approve it through their county boards. If you, the citizen of Minnesota, are really that against this tax, you still have time to make your pissing and moaning count for something. The remainder of the out state counties in Minnesota also have the option of raising their sales tax up to .5 percent, but give the people even more power by approving it through a voter referendum. Ultimately, I think this sales tax is a good thing, too, and doesn't weigh too much on the everyday consumer. Here's some quick math for you, Minnesota: a .25 percent sales tax increase equals an additional nickel for every $20 you spend. I understand our state can't keep raising the sales tax little by little for every funding need, because eventually we are going to really feel that impact. The nickel for every $20 can quickly become a dime or a quarter, and I like dimes and quarters. I like dimes because their combination of size and buying power makes it the most efficient piece of coinage, and I need quarters for things like parking meters and laundry. However, our state's transportation has become so underfunded over the years that we had to suffer embarrassments such as the Hwy 62/I-35 crosstown project being delayed for a year because we did not receive a single construction bid when we wanted to start work back in 2006. Why didn't we receive a single bid to work on this huge, lucrative project? The state did not have any money to make an upfront payment. We were just hoping some company would come along and start working on some sort of gentleman's agreement to pay them later. Also, we were mocked for rejecting federal funding in The Onion, America's Finest News Source. When The Onion is making fun of you, it's time to take notice.
• Registration fees: I haven't really found any definite numbers on the registration fee increase, but I heard it was going to be on luxury cars and SUVs. This makes sense. If you have the money to go buy yourself a new Lexus or Cadillac Escalade, then you can fork out the extra dough to that register that vehicle, too. I don't care what condition our economy is in: if you can afford to pay for luxury vehicles, than you can afford to pay for luxury registration fees.

This really doesn't seem to affect me all that much. I will survive, and so will the rest of Minnesota. If the gas tax is too much for you, than find other solutions. Carpool. Ride your bike. Take the bus. Walk to where you need to go. I again solute the GOP members who dared to go with their gut and not their party. I think they'll be able to gain support and still win elections. It's not like the general voting public delve to deeply into important details of the laws they pass anyway. Lately it seems like everybody treats politics like cheering for their favorite sports team. They don't actually participate in the political process or read too much into the issues. They just pick a side so they have a position to argue when they are at the bar. To those steadfast Republicans who need some ammo to argue with their liberal friends, spin it this way: your team is still the manly one. You still got the big, brass balls. Six members of your party had the strength and courage to do what they felt was right. You should be proud of that. Conversely, there were two DFL members who originally voted against this bill, but when it came time to block the override of Tim P's veto, they folded and voted with their party. There you have it. You can blame this loss on those damn, pussy-ass Democrats who don't have the balls to stick with their gut. Tell your pansy liberal friends to suck on that one for awhile.

*****

Speaking of having some balls, I wished NBA organizations had a some bigger ones. This is the time of the year after the trade deadline when veteran players bitch and complain because they want to play for a championship contender and not play with a struggling team trying to rebuild. Now obviously, if their current team could trade their worthless ass, they would have before the deadline. Unfortunately, because nobody else wants these washed-up, overpaid hacks, they start pushing for a contract buyout.

Now I understand when a buyout makes sense. Take the Timberwolves with Theo Ratliff. Theo's contract ended at the end of this season, and the Timberwolves were most likely not going to resign him. He was injured for the entire first half of the season and therefore teams were not willing to give up anything in a trade to acquire his services. After the trade deadline the Timberwolves bought out his contract and it looks like he's heading to Detroit. This is what I consider a good buyout. The Timberwolves had really no use for him if they didn't plan on resigning him. They are not going to make the playoffs, so if he plays and helps the team win, he's really just hurting their chance at winning the draft lottery. They could sit him on the bench and let his contract expire at the end of the season, or buy him out for less than what his contract is scheduled to pay and let him go earlier. The Timberwolves win because they don't have much use for him and get to pay him less than what they owe him. Theo wins because although he has to give up a little money to leave his contract, he gets to sign on with a championship contending team.

I am a bit disappointed with the Clippers handling of Sam Cassell. Sam was bought out and is signing with the Celtics. I get pissed at this situation because Sam obviously had some trade value. You can get a look at his season stats here. On top of that, his contract was expiring in the summer. This guy is dripping wet with trade value. The Clippers had to have heard talks from his agent or just listened to rumblings from the media to know that he wanted to play in Boston. They should have worked a deal with the Celtics to get at least a draft pick or something. If the Celts are playing hardball thinking that Sam and his agent will negotiate a buyout, that's where the Clips have to put their foot down and let the Celtics or any other team know that if they don't make a trade for Sam, then he will remain with the Clippers for the rest of the season and they can bid for his services in the summer as a free agent. Sure, they weren't going to make the playoffs and Sam's contract was expiring in the summer, so much like the Timberwolves and Theo Ratliff, it may have made sense just to buy him out. The difference is that Sam Cassell had a lot more demand for his services than Theo Ratliff did. This was a lack of balls shown by the Clippers' front office.

This really pisses me off when teams fold like this. I know the players have a union that holds some clout, but the organizations shouldn't be pushed around like this. It made me sick when Alonzo Mourning acted like a little bitch and didn't even report to the Toronto Raptors when he was traded a few years ago. They ended up paying him somewhere around $11 million to buy him out, and then he got to ride the coattails of Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O'Neal to an NBA championship.

Think about the real world and normal people in this situation. What if your company went through some organizational restructuring and decided to move you to another department in the company? You would still be receiving the same pay, but your role would be different and your desk or office would be moved. Would you refuse and demand a severance package? Maybe, but most likely you wouldn't have much of a choice. It would be either take this new position or quit with no compensation at all. Being an at-will employee, you don't have the option of pushing for a contract buyout. Maybe that's why you white collar yuppies should unionize. If basketball players with high school diplomas can figure it out, why can't you and your Ivy League MBA do it?

They'll be back...they always come back.

Shortly after the NBA All-Star break, Pat Reusse wrote a column lamenting about the lack of interest in the NBA amongst the fine residents of the Twin Cities. An article published a couple days later confirms his lament. I got to admit, I was a bit surprised:

TNT's coverage of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday had a 0.8 rating in the
Twin Cities, placing this market last among the 56 metered markets in the United
States. That means 13,654 households in this area watched the game. By
comparison, last month's NHL All-Star contest on Versus had a 2.1 rating (35,841
households) in Minneapolis-St. Paul. That placed fifth out of the metered
markets.

Ouch. My fellow Minnesotans, this is not good. It's really hard to explain when the article goes on to say the Twin Cities also were ranked fifth when it came to TV ratings for both the MLB All-Star Game and the NFL Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl?! Are you kidding me? Who the hell actually watches the Pro Bowl?

I'm not sure where we strayed. Obviously, the home team's current state has something to do with this. If your home team is losing, the casual fan is going to quit following them. If they're not following the T-Wolves, then they're likely not paying attention to the rest of the league.

Another point is the player dubbed as the "Big Ticket" is no longer with the team. Again, combine the losing record with the loss of some other main attraction, and the casual fan will find it hard to follow this team. I feel the only time this season you'll hear some NBA buzz in the Twin Cities will be April when the debate will rage about the ethics of intentionally tanking games to gain better draft position.

It's sad, too. I just got back from the game against Utah tonight. The crowd seemed to be decent (15,009) for a Tuesday night in February against the Jazz. Perhaps the tide is turning and Minnesotans are warming up to the NBA again. Then again, maybe the crowd was there because they received free vouchers to this game when they attend the game against the Celtics a few weeks ago. I know that's the reason I was there.

Regardless of how these fans got their tickets, they ended up seeing a pretty good game. The Wolves played extremely well balanced, with 4 players scoring 20+ points. Craig Smith had a sloppy but entertaining assist while leading a fast break. Kirk Snyder, the supposed scrub we received in exchange for Gerald Green, played a solid 23 minutes. I think I even saw that annoying Howl-o-meter redline for the first time this season. Finally the key ingredient to a successful evening: they won.

I believe the casual Timberwolve fan is just in an akward phase right now. Think of it like a bad heartbreak. It's like their lover for over a decade breaks up and leaves them for another partner. You are shattered. To help you forget, your friends set you up with a bunch of blind dates. You're pretty reluctant at first, but decide to give it a chance. After all, it's not as if they are bad people. You're just not sure if you're ready yet. One is kind of cute, another quite intelligent and saucy, and one you just know would be pretty fun for a one night stand. You begin to slowly forget just a little bit about the one who got away and become a tiny bit more interested in these new potential lovers with each passing day.

Just give it a chance, Timberwolves fans. You'll soon find someone that'll make you forget about that other guy.