Carlos Gomez Hits For The Cycle

Filed under: MLB

The Twins have been earning their way onto SportsCenter the last few days, in what is fast becoming a headline-heavy week for the club.

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Posted by Judd Spicer at May 8, 2008 8:20 AM | Comments (4)

 

Floyd's Near No-No

Filed under: MLB

25 year-old Gavin Floyd, whom the Twins defeated just eight days ago, survived some early control issues and a 4th inning unearned run before deftly settling in for the night, and rolling through the hot Twins lineup with a series of well-spotted fastballs and knee-locking breaking pitches. He worked fast, seemingly ready to deliver fresh pitches mere seconds after receiving the ball back from catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

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Posted by Judd Spicer at May 6, 2008 9:36 PM | Comments (16)

 

Heating Up

Filed under: MLB

Fresh off of an impressive 5-0 homestand that saw the Twins take two from Chicago and three from Detroit, the boys now visit the White Sox for three on the South Side. The series begins what should be a most telling stretch of 20 games in 20 days against tough competition that includes visits from Boston and Toronto, before heading west to take on defending N.L. champ Colorado.

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Posted by Judd Spicer at May 6, 2008 3:11 PM | Comments (3)

 

The Jo-Jo Equation, Part 2

Filed under: MLB

In one of my initial entries this season, I introduced the "Jo-Jo Equation," whereby I'll provide the periodic stat tracker of the factious trade that sent 2-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana to the Mets for four MLB-unprovens. One of the four, Carlos Gomez, is doing his damndest to make Twins fans forget Santana, both with his unhinged legs, and his occasionally-unhinged head. Gomez leads the AL in steals (11), is tied for the team-lead in hits (27), but also holds the dubious honor of leading the club in strikeouts (25 K's in 102 official at-bats, with just 2 walks).

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Posted by Judd Spicer at May 4, 2008 7:04 PM | Comments (15)

 

The Short Money

Filed under: Horse Racing

From:
Jack K. Sparks
Hillbilly Number One
El Platano Blanco

To:
SGT Sparkes, Michael
FSC 1-327 IN REG
1ST ARMORED DIV
Somewhere Overseas

Cousin Mike,

Spring is breaking across Minnesota; however, we aren't experiencing it fully because the good Lord has seen fit to extend old Martinmas into damn near May. Unfortunately, Mother Nature's roulette wheel always lands on Black around this time of year as she ushers in all of Summer's shortsighted pursuits. Chief among these are man's search for sustenance from the feral fauna of the land, and, man's search for the big score from an endless procession of glue factory nags at Parimutuel windows from Santa Anita to Belmont.

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Posted by Jack Sparks at April 29, 2008 10:37 PM | Comments (2)

 

The Demotion of Liriano

Filed under: MLB

There's no arguing with the numbers. Francisco Liriano's much-trumpeted return to the bigs ended with an unceremonious and ill-timed cymbal clash after he went just 2/3 of an inning and gave up 6 earned to the A's back on 4/24, bringing his 2008 totals to an unseemly 0-3, with an 11.32 ERA in three starts. Two days later, he was sent back to AAA Rochester.

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Posted by Judd Spicer at April 29, 2008 9:20 AM | Comments (13)

 

What, what, we got Booty!

Filed under: NFL

The NFL Draft is the annual two-day event where the 32 NFL teams choose former college football players and everyone is treated to Mel Kiper Jr.’s endless rants and impossible pompadour.

Only in America can a guy with no football playing, coaching, or scouting experience get a plush gig on national sports television making wild predictions about a player’s “raw athleticism”, “explosiveness”, and the curious ability to be “faster than the stop-watch suggests.”

I don't know about you, but I would rather hear about how a player does on the Twinkie Test than on the nebulous Wonderlic Test.

The Minnesota Vikings made they’re biggest splash the week before the draft when they sent their first round pick (no. 17 overall) and two third round picks to Kansas City for defensive end Jared Allen. A guy my brother-in-law pinned as a “someone very capable of saying some really outlandish things” after games. Indeed.

This guy should help drag the Vikes out of the cellar when it comes to pass defense.

A lot has been made of giving up so much for one player, not to mention the contract the Wilfs shelled out. But the draft is a crapshoot, getting a fifth year player before or at his peak, in a position the Vikes needed to address, is hard to put a price tag on.

With one move the team established the most feared defensive line in football. It makes me giddy thinking about opponent’s 3rd downs in the dome with the crowd on its feet with Allen coming hard off the corner and Kevin Williams busting up the middle.

Former QB Steve Young from ESPN pointed out that Jon Kitna may now be the best quarterback in the division. That's scary. But it also means that Minnesota should now be positioned to make a run at the crown. Chicago is a mess especially after the re-signing of Rex Grossman; enough said. Green Bay returns most of their team from a year ago with one glaring exception, the retirement of Brett Favre, which will at the very least will cause some growing pains that come with breaking in a new signal caller. As for Detroit, they’ll find some way of mucking it up, they always do. In addition, they lost their force in the middle Shaun Rogers to the Cleveland Browns.

For the Vikes, the passing game remains a big question mark. Will Tarvaris Jackson show marked improvement this year and connect with new wide receiver signee Bernard Berrian? It remains to be seen. Another looming area of concern is the offensive line. Center Matt Birk is in the last year of his contract and less than happy with the team’s attempts to resign him. Throw in Bryant McKinnie’s recent run-ins with the law, and the long-term health of this formidable unit is in jeopardy.

However, this fan is beyond optimistic for this season. With the reigning rookie of the year in Adrian Peterson and a defense that has only gotten stronger with multiple offseason moves by the front office, hopes and expectations are high.

Again, they have us right where they want us.

Posted by Eric Refsland at April 28, 2008 7:57 AM | Comments (7)

 

Now is the time! Now is the time?

Filed under: MLB

It is perennially at this juncture of the baseball season that I feel some anxiety over the Twins' performance. Of course, the campaign is merely 21 games young. However, with both the Wild and the Wolves now done for the year, with the NFL draft conducted this weekend, and with SportsCenter pumping the leviathan popularity of the NFL our way as early as July, I've developed an unrest that the Twins need to win now to truly magnetize their fan base, ride the wave of early-season buzz, and maintain sports page headlines.

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Posted by Judd Spicer at April 24, 2008 9:14 AM | Comments (11)

 

Minnesota Thunder season preview: Happy Birthday Frederico Moojen! Now score some damn goals!

Filed under: Thunder

The Minnesota Thunder have endured three-straight miserable campaigns. Struggling with a paltry player payroll in a league that escalates in quality each year, the once-proud franchise (having advanced to the league championship four times between 1998 and 2003) hasn't qualified for the post-season since 2004. During Amos Magee's first two campaigns as coach, the club has compiled a sad 12-27-17 record.

As an obsessed fan of this lowly team, I have endured approximately 24,387 minutes (whether at The Jimmy or watching games on the Internets) of abject misery over the last three years. Now granted that statement probably says more about the misguided priorities of my life than it does about the state of a minor league soccer franchise that the general public really doesn't give a shit about. But that's the path I've chosen and it's too late to alter my destiny.

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Posted by Paul Demko at April 23, 2008 11:33 AM | Comments (0)

 

Air Fair? Rochester to Minneapolis

Filed under: MLB

The Twins have an unofficial rule regarding AAA call-ups from Rochester that essentially guarantees a position player will be in the starting lineup for the first game for which he is eligible. Which, I've long felt, is a good thing: A young fella doesn't have time to let the nerves fray, day-after-day, watching the starters, and waiting for his chance to play. You get up, you get in.

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Posted by Judd Spicer at April 21, 2008 7:17 PM | Comments (15)

 

UEFA Champions League: the final four

Filed under: Soccer

Liverpool hosts Chelsea on Tuesday. Most troubling for the hosts is the questionable status of midfield talisman Steven Gerrard. He was ruled out against Fulham on Saturday owing to a neck injury, but is expected back in the lineup for tomorrow's showdown. Will Gerrard be fully fit? Chelsea has more significant woes. Midfield dynamo Michael Essien is suspended owing to yellow-card accumulation, while Michael Ballack (hamstring) and Didier Drogba (knee) are banged up. Liverpool is looking to dump the Blues from the semifinals for the third time in four years. In six Champions League encounters all time between the clubs, a miserly three goals have been scored. Expect nothing different this time around. A single goal should make the difference. Who will it be? Fernando Torres.

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Posted by Paul Demko at April 21, 2008 1:04 PM | Comments (2)

 

All mediocre things must come to an end

Filed under: Timberwolves

To: Benjamin Polk
From: Jonathan Kaminsky
Date: 4/16/08
Subject: Randy recognize Randy

Hey Benjamin,

Say what you will about me, but throughout this trying season, I have remained a die-hard supporter of our (and by 'our' I mean 'Glen Taylor's') Timberwolves.

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Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at April 18, 2008 5:21 PM | Comments (3)

 

Baseball 101: Carlos Gomez and the bunt

Filed under: MLB

Fifteen games into our young season, new CF Carlos Gomez is looking most comfortable in his new environs, as evidenced by his sound batting average (.262), his confident body language manning center field (0 Errors; 1 Assist), and in oft-demonstrating his well-documented speed.

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Posted by Judd Spicer at April 18, 2008 5:56 AM | Comments (11)

 

Liveblogging the Wild: Game 5 vs. Avalanche; Wild lose 3-2

Filed under: Wild

Coming home off a drubbing in Colorado, this game is huge in terms of momentum. History shows than 81% of the time, the team that wins Game 5 wins the series.

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Posted by Kevin Hoffman at April 17, 2008 10:58 PM | Comments (1)

 

Playoff Liveblog: Wild Are So Close to Great... But Not

Filed under: Wild

The Wild have been playing, especially in the second period, like they’re constantly on a power play—passing at will, shooting at the right time, but it’s all for naught. It’s thrilling, frustrating playoff hockey.

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Posted by Ben Palosaari at April 17, 2008 9:33 PM | Comments (0)