April 13, 2008 - April 19, 2008

« April 6, 2008 - April 12, 2008 | Main | April 20, 2008 - April 26, 2008 »

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.

And yet the season finale left me feeling unexpectedly conflicted. I've always reflexively been against tanking. And yet, it was really hard for me to appreciate the Wolves' undeniable effort during their comeback down the stretch against the Bucks.

The Wolves were one game ahead of the Grizzlies in the loss column, and the Grizzlies were getting trounced by Dallas. Why not keep the extra ping pong balls (156 instead of the 137/8 a tie for 3rd worst earn you, out of a possible 1,000) in the draft lottery?

Just before Brewer readied to shoot the potential game-tying free-throw with 27 seconds left, I remarked that his making it wouldn't be worth the team losing one of the top two draft picks. Silly to think about, and impossible to truly gauge, but a thought difficult to shake. I don't recall you disagreeing with me.

Anyway, enough deep thoughts about tanking. To Wittman's final post-game press conference of the season: It sure seemed like he's pretty high on Foye. Like, how Foye's emergence has been connected to the team's winning games over the past couple weeks (that
six-game losing streak notwithstanding).

Or how "he's a confident kid," and how that "rubs off on people."

Or how he took over the Bucks game in the fourth quarter.

It seems Wittman's sending a strong message that his beacon of hope alongside Al Jefferson (who one almost takes for granted, so essential is he to the Wolves' chances) is none other than Randy Foye.

The implied flipside of this, of course, is that Rashad McCants doesn't have a lot of options with this team. If Foye is the stud of the Wolves' backcourt, given his proven on-court incompatibility with McCants (Foye looking for his shot, McCants waiting for the ball so he can shoot), it seems likely that Rashad's gonna be the sixth man. Is that a role that McCants, at his age, with his temperament and ego, should be playing? Have we seen enough of Foye to be
confident that he's the better bet of the two? If we ship one of them off, who/what should we be looking for in return? Does it make sense for Israel to unilaterally disengage from portions of the West Bank, or should it wait until an accord can be reached with at least one faction of the Palestinians?

Please strike the last question.

Yours,
Jonathan

To: Jonathan Kaminsky
From: Benjamin Polk
Date: 4/17/08
Subject: You are a bad person.

Hi Jonathan,

First a note on tanking and the lottery. I admit that I was right with you and your mixed feelings last night (although the reason I didn't disagree with you about Corey's free throws was that I was still feeling bad for him about drawing front-iron on that tragic and amazing 1-on-0 dunk attempt earlier on). Certainly, I was pleased and heartened--as I have been all the last month--that they weren't tanking and I was happy that the fans and players got to be enthusiastic about something on the season's last day. At the very least, though, it would have been kind of nice if Memphis had put in a better showing against Denver.

That said, those 18 or 19 lost ping-pong balls notwithstanding, I'm not sure it even makes a difference. As both the Celtics (before Danny Ainge wove that magical web of trades that brought us Al Jefferson oh, and also turned the Celts into title faves) and the Wolves discovered last year, the lottery is a total crapshoot. Even once you get past the nearly blind luck of landing a top pick, almost nobody knows which college player is going to be good and which isn't. Its true that Lebron and Dwight Howard were both taken first, but so were Kwame Brown, Andrea Bargnani and Andrew Bogut. And though it seems likely that Greg Oden will be pretty good, nobody really knows for sure; and things only get dicier once you get past the first pick. When you throw in McHale's awesome post-KG draft track record...bottom line, I know that Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose are really good but I would much rather win a game any day than trade one for a minutely less slim chance in, y'know, a lottery.

One more thing about tanking. I've been on teams at levels so far below the NBA that its barely reasonable to use the word "sports" to describe both. But I cannot imagine something more destructive to team morale than tanking a game. So.

As for your your good questions about the Wolves' guard situation. I go back and forth about Foye all the time. Last night's win is a good example. Seen through almost any lens, Foye was pretty dominant offensively. He shot 11-18, scored 32 points and hit some seriously clutch threes in overtime. But again, the offense did not exactly run smoothly with him on the floor (much of this can also be attributed to the clearly fatigued Al Jefferson's problems inside). And watching him get burned all over the floor by, ah, Ramon Sessions was a nice reminder that he has a long, long way to go to grasping NBA defense.

Still, my sense is that Foye has better potential than McCants. For one thing, though he does seem a little stubborn at times, he doesn't really display Shaddy's petulance. I could easily see that stubbornness and pride morph into a kind of leadership as it has for Lord Chauncey (for the record, Foye mentioned after the game that Mr. Billups is one of the players he loves to watch and learn from--a good sign, I think) And whereas Foye shows signs of climbing the steep learning curve of running a team (and Wittman made the good point that, after his injury, Foye was playing major catch-up in learning the offense), I'm not sure Rashad is ever going to get much better than he is right now. Will McCants ever be ok with the sixth-man tag the team seems intent on pegging on him? I'd be surprised.

As for the West Bank, didn't we fix that little problem when we helped ignite a civil war between Hamas and Fatah? And by "we" I obviously mean the Wolves.

love,
ben

To: Benjamin Polk
From: Jonathan Kaminsky
Date: 4/17/08
Subject: I have been grossly misunderstood.

Hey Benjamin,

All I'm saying is that part of me didn't want to see the Wolves win Wednesday night. I would've been pissed to watch players intentionally miss shots or throw the ball out of bounds or even make lazy passes. Obviously, the team's supporters deserve more. But that's different from sort of feeling torn about effort equaling execution in the final minutes of the final game of the season. I can't help but think Randy Wittman shared my ambivalence on some level, seeing as
how he sat Al Jefferson for the final 11 minutes of the fourth quarter as well as overtime. (His post-game explanation that he pulled Big Al because he seemed tired? Not convincing.) Anyhow.

As for Shaddy and the sixth-man role, it's hard to imagine him ever being happy in it, but that doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't be effective. For all his moodiness and seeming inconsistency this season, he averaged 15 points (I believe) coming off the bench, second in the league only to Manu Ginobili. On a more fundamental level, it seems like a role he gets: Enter
the game and immediately demand the ball. Dribble around the perimeter a little. Create space. Shoot the ball.

McCants' discord with the world around him, while it obviously makes him a difficult teammate, is also the thing that seems to fuel him. So who knows? I'll say this: If there's a future star--not solid contributor, but actual star--on this team not named Jefferson, I'd be hard pressed to bet against it being McCants. Granted, the chances of a dominating or even a well-rounded McCants aren't good, but who else on the roster is even worth thinking of in these terms?

Broadening out the conversation a bit: How many keepers are on this team, Ben?

Greetings,
Jonathan

To: Jonathan Kaminsky
From: Benjamin Polk
Date: 4/18/08
Subject: Foye is a natural leader; McCants is a freak of nature.

Your points about McCants are well taken. While the best case scenario for Foye is probably Chauncey Billups, Ginobili would definitely be something for Shaddy to shoot for (minus the flopping). Here, I think is my fundamental distinction between the two. I think that Foye has the potential to be a leader on a championship-caliber team (again, think Billups); driven, focussed, adept at running an offense, but also able, at well chosen moments, to attack and score. McCants, on the other hand, will probably be at his best when surrounded by other veterans who are comfortable with their roles, veterans who know the habits of winning, who are not afraid to let Shaddy go off but also not afraid to tell him to shut up, force him to play defense and pass the ball. Stephen Jackson got a ring with the Spurs in just this way. Rashad is way too talented to ever be a marginal player, but I would also be very hesitant to build a team around him.

As for the keepers. Though I think that both Foye and McCants could be great, I still want more info--like, for example, a full season of them playing together--before making any big proclamation. Brewer, with his stunning athleticism, length and energy could be a Tayshaun Prince someday, but, obviously, that jumper (not to mention his play at the rim) needs to get (uh, vastly) better before we say anything. That leaves Al Jefferson, who will be a sure all-star if this team ever wins more than 40 games, and our boy Ryan Gomes. The stats don't bear this out quite yet, mostly because Wolves put him in some bad positions both by asking him to guard power forwards almost exclusively and also by leaning on him for 20+ shots on nights when the team was struggling. But, with his consistent aggressiveness and a savvy awareness that belies his youth, Gomes was clearly the Wolves second-best player for most of the year. He's a restricted free-agent this summer; I promise you, if the Wolves fail to keep him, he will be making big contributions for somebody late in the playoffs sometime very soon.

all my very best always,
ben

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at April 18, 2008 5:21 PM | Comments (4)

 

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.

Gomez, in fact, leads the majors with 9 steals (having been caught just once).

But while we're collectively enjoying the youngster's celerity and flash, it needs to be noted that, should Gomez truly grow to be one of the league's top leadoff men (especially in the A.L.), he will no doubt need to refine two very specific skills: hitting the ball to right field and bunting

Here in the Bread Basket -- as Gomez will surely come to learn -- we're big on the basics, the fundamental foundations of baseball. And although Gomez reached based with a bunt single last night, it seems that most conversations I've had regarding the kid involve his present inability to lay down a sacrifice bunt -- intentionally giving up his at-bat to move along a base runner.

As a longtime coach, here are some of the basic tenets of bunting I've passed along to my ballers:

#1: It's a sac bunt. You know you're going to lay it down, as do the bulk of your opponents. So square early, by pivoting both feet toward the pitcher in an athletic position with knees bent. (Some coaches instruct you to move your back foot around to parallel with the front, so the chest is fully facing the pitcher. I never liked this, as it runs the risk of stepping on the plate and thereby being called out by rule should the ball be put in play).

#2 Slide the top hand up toward the barrel, performing a "Fonzie" with the bat resting on all curled fingers, and the thumb raised. The lower hand acts as axis. The upper hand regulates the feel, or touch.

#3 Get the bat out in front of the body, with the barrel tilted up and the handle down. A ball bunted employing this angle will greatly enhance downward movement, while also greatly reducing the chance of a pop-up.

#4 While reacting to the pitch, use the knees to direct the necessary height of the bat position -- not the arms. The arms should remain in place, extended. We have less control of placement when the bat is too close to our chest.

#5 Watch the ball make contact with the bat- focusing the eyes on the barrel.

#6 Be soft with the hands. It's okay to allow the force of the ball to impress the bat back toward you slightly, creating english and touch. We don't want a ball bunted with too much force, going right back to the pitcher or respective corner infielder. Don't "punch" at the ball, allow it to come to your ready hands.

#7 Run like Hell.

Here are a few examples of both good and untoward bunting:

I don't like this guy. Note the poor angle of the barrel. This ball is certain to be popped-upward. In addition, the grip of his top hand is more Potsy than Fonzie. An 85-mph fastball won't do any favors for those exposed knuckles.

This guy is far better. The bat is tilted properly, and top handed is masked, and look at where the eyes are focused.

Young Gomez has already shown us a great deal in his first month as a Twin. If such promise is indicative of future results, this too shall come in time.

Lastly, as an homage to our greatest bunter of modern day, please enjoy this super-chill and romantic tribute to Omar Vizquel:

Blogger's Note: On a very personal level, the greatest congratulations go to my little brother (a fine bunter in his own right) who just this morning learned that he passed the MN Bar Exam. Way to go, kid.

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.

First Period

Let's get the band back together: Wild coach Jacques Lemaire has wisely decided to reunite the Fedoruk/Dmitra/Gaborik line that has proven to be a winning combination. Puck drops and the Wild are out to show that even if the Avs are too chicken to drop the gloves, this is going to be a physical game. The Boogeyman chases John-Michael Liles who gets blindsided by Stephane Veilleux! Boy, Veilleux is looking fired up this shift. Must have something to do with that fight last game. Todd Fedoruk lays out Peter Forsberg with a big hit. This is bigtime physical hockey and the Wild are really punishing the Avs. Ryan Smyth drives for the goal but Martin Skoula cuts him off and corrals him around the back of the net. That booing from the crowd means Derek Boogaard is back on the ice and looking for trouble. Colorado is on the power play--Milan Hejduk fires it in, the puck bounces off a skate and lands in Andrew Brunette's lap and he chips it in for the goal. 1-0 in the first period is becoming all too familiar for the Wild. Cody McLeod is in front of the goal chirping again. Forsberg takes a dive. Great sign in the crowd: "Swedish diving champion Peter Flopsberg." Brent Burns drives to the net and shoots; Fedoruk has a good look at a second chance but can't finish. Wild on the power play working the cycle--Burns with a beautiful dish to Pierre-Marc Bouchard who scores! Finally, the Wild end their long drought of first period scoring. That's a big momentum shifter as the period comes to an end.

Second Period

The puck drops and Wild get the draw. Boogey lines up against Laperriere but Lapussy wants nothing to do with it, Boogey squats in front of the goal and snaps back Liles head with a stiff shove. Gaborik to Demitra but the puck won't settle down. Veilleux in front of the net with a chance but Theodore kneels down on it. Bouchard leaves it for Rolston but his slapper is stuffed by Theodore. Veilleux is called for hooking and the Avs will have the man advantage. Burns loses his stick but he still throws a nice hit. Two minutes down with no shots on goal. Good penalty kill, boys. Keith Carney fires it in and Gabby has a great second chance but Theodore gets his left shin pad on it. Boogaard collides with Laperriere who stays down and eventually limps off the ice. Just desserts. Rolston gets a step and takes a great wrist shot that trickles across the crease but nobody's there to follow. Rolston fires a missile of a slapper and Theodore with another great stop, though he'll be feeling that one tomorrow. Avs have a two-on-one breakaway but it's broken up by Erik Reitz. Potential game-saver by a guy without a lot of minutes--good to see him stepping up. Demitra with a long slapper that scores, but the refs whistled it dead. Damn. Gabby to Skoula back to Gabby who has a great look. Fedoruk with another opportunity. Wild are getting a lot of chances--shot differential is 30-13--but Theodore is having a great series in goal. Rolston crosses to Burns who by all rights should score but Theodore shrugs it off, literally stopping the puck with his shoulder. Here's Gabby with a shot--stoned! Theodore is like the opposite of Neo from the Matrix--he sees projectiles in slow motion and finds a way to get his body in front of it. He's singlehandedly keeping the Avs in this game. The period ends tied 1-1.

Third Period

We're all tied up going into a crucial third period. Wild have played strong late in the game all series, so let's hope they can keep it up. Leperriere gets leveled by Fedoruk! Boy is Leperriere taking a well-deserved beating this game. Gabby on the odd-man rush with Demitra but it's broken up. Avs are getting off a lot of shots--this is dangerous. Smyth flops and it's another power play for the Avs--the officials have not been kind to the Wild. Across the ice to Wojtek Wolski one-timer scores! Let's get it back. Burns loses it to Hejduk who dishes to Stasny who backhands it past Backstrom and just like that the Wild are down 3-1. After dominating the game, it's starting to look out of reach for the Wild. Burns drives the net with Gabby but there's nothing there. Avs are sitting on their lead and running down the clock. With seven minutes left the team of 18,000 is getting restless and eyeing the exits. Sheppard with a great chance in front of the goal but Theodore dives on it. That may have been our last best chance. Lemaire pulls Backstrom at just under 2 minutes. Wild gets the draw and Rolston shoots and scores! Too bad there's only 2.5 seconds left. It would take a miracle slapper from center ice. Nope.

What a frustrating loss. Saturday is a must-win. In the meantime, check out my colleague Ben Palosaari's take on the game.

Here's a game summary courtesy of Wild PR dude Ryan Stanzel:

Post-Game Notes

April 17, 2008 ♦ Xcel Energy Center ♦ Saint Paul, Minn.

ATTENDANCE: 19,364 (overflow sellout)

Team 1st 2nd 3rd F
COLORADO (3-2) 1 0 2 3
WILD (2-3) 1 0 1 2

LW Wojtek Wolski and C Paul Stastny each scored early third period goals and G Jose Theodore made 38 saves as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in front of 19,364 at Xcel Energy Center to take a three games to two lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference Quarterfinal series. Former Wild LW Andrew Brunette also scored for Colorado, which can win the series on their home ice Saturday at 9 p.m. (CDT).

G Niklas Backstrom made 14 saves for Minnesota in suffering his third loss of the postseason.

RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s first period power-play goal marked the Wild’s first goal in the opening 40 minutes of any game in this series. The Wild had been outscored 10-0 in the first two periods, including LW Andrew Brunette’s goal at 12:24 of the first, and hadn’t scored a goal on its first 50 first period shots of the series. Bouchard netted his second goal of the series and third of his post-season career. He scored the game-winner in overtime in Game 3.

LW Brian Rolston’s goal at 19:57 of the final stanza marked the fifth consecutive playoff game that the Wild has scored in the third period. It marked Rolston’s second goal of the postseason and, combined with his assist on Bouchard’s second period goal, gives him a team-leading six points in the postseason (2-4=6).

C James Sheppard earned the first point in his playoff career with an assist on Rolston’s goal.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, when a best-of-seven NHL post-season series is tied 2-2, the Game 5 victor has gone on to win the series 158 of 196 times (80.6 percent). Minnesota is a combined 6-2 in games five, six and seven.

The Wild has twice won a series when trailing 3-2. The Wild is the lone team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in back-to-back playoff series - against Colorado and Vancouver in 2003. Minnesota is 7-2 all-time in elimination games.

Colorado has won Games 4 and 5 by a combined 8-3 margin.

Before the Avs tallied a pair of third period goals tonight, the Wild had a 7-2 third-period advantage in the series, and a 9-3 bulge counting overtime. The Wild has led for 4:31 of the 324:23 played in this series - 1.4 percent of the time played.

The Wild fell to 4-9 all-time in home playoff games. A victory tonight would have marked Minnesota's first set of back-to-back victories at home in franchise history.

Minnesota has allowed the game’s first goal in nine straight playoff games, dating back to Game 1 of the 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinals versus Anaheim - the last time the Wild scored first.

Wild D Erik Reitz made his NHL playoff debut.

Minnesota’s 40 shots tied a team record for a playoff game last accomplished on April 17, 2007, in a 4-1 win over Anaheim in Game 4 of the conference quarterfinals. The Wild’s 17 first-period shots were a team playoff record. The old mark of 16 was set May 14, 2003, in the first period of a 4-0 loss at Anaheim in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

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.

Minnesota has been spending so much time in Colorado’s zone, they should have their mail forwarded there. While the Avs’s five skaters have been trying desperately to handle the Wild’s assault, they’ve been ineffective at preventing shot after shot from just about Wild player. But Theodore is negating both Minnesota’s impressive shooting, and Colorado’s lackluster defense.

The man simply will not yield. He showed a possible chink when a shot from the blue line zoomed past him and found the net, but was called off for off sides. Otherwise, he’s been an impenetrable wall of goalie supremacy. Wild lead scorer Marian Gaborik is still goalless despite having a couple decent chances in this game. Let’s hope Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom has found some way to stay awake (maybe he keeps a copy of War and Peace or something in the net), because the Avs might actually come out with an offensive pulse in the third period.

Update: Backstrom ovbviously got cold while going untested for so long. The Avs just went up with two quick goals.

Update: Finally, the Wild blow one past Theodore with about 2 seconds left. Not much help in this game, but maybe it will be a psychological boost in game six. These are the games that frustrate fans more than anything else. Minnesota out played Colorado, they did almost everything right, but were beat soundly and repeatedly by one player. That’s all that takes in some games. Onto game six in Denver. The end.

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

 

Colorado fears Boogaard

Filed under: Wild

With the score out of reach in the first blowout of the series, Game 4 got chippy and also gave us the first fisticuffs. So which of the many goons on the Wild did the Colorado Avalanche decide to throw down with? Stephane Veilleux, a 181 pounder who hardly holds a reputation as a prolific pugilist:

While Veilleux was in the penalty box, there was a lot of chirping between him and Cody McLeod, the gap-toothed agitator who earlier took a cheap shot at Eric Belanger, boarding him when he didn't have the puck.

In fact, the Colorado Avalanche have made being pussies a major part of their playoff strategy, according to this Strib story. But that hasn't deterred Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard from calling them out. Here's Boogaard on McLeod:

"I'm pretty sure it's the same McLeod that my brother [Aaron, former Wild draft pick and current Pittsburgh farmhand] was chasing after in juniors. My brother said he pulled the same stuff. That's probably why he has no front teeth -- somebody caught him."

And on Ian Laperriere, who was brave against the smaller Veilleux ("He plays hard and he knows he has to back it up, and he did.") but skates for the bench when tougher guys are around:

"Tell Laperriere to step up [tonight] if he wants to say that," Boogaard said.

Why are they so afraid of the Boogeyman? Here's a sampling of three YouTube clips from Derek Boogaard's Greatest Hits.

Boogaard's marathon beatdown on D.J. King

Boogaard breaks the face of his future teammate, Todd Fedoruk

Boogaard vs. the glass at prospects camp

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at April 17, 2008 3:33 PM | Comments (1)

 

Derby days are here again

Filed under: Horse Racing

Jack K. Sparks--hillbilly music aficionado, Kansas City Royals fan, and certain product of at least three generations of inbreeding--has been sending me hostile, deranged emails for months about the Kentucky Derby. On opening day of the baseball season, slurping Miller Lite like a hog at a trough, the drunken savage hollered at me incoherently until I agreed to go in with him on some ludicrous superfecta bet on the first Saturday in May. (Which by the way is the name of a documentary about the Kentucky Derby that opens on Friday at the Lagoon.) It was almost as pathetic as watching that sad drunk Hank Goldberg analyze races for ESPN.

But with all the significant prep races out of the way it's time to start seriously contemplating the field for the finest day on the racing calendar. There's still the Lexington Stakes this Saturday, but only a few half-assed contenders (Atoned, Salute the Sarge and Tomcito) are slated to run.

Andrew Beyer is whining (registration required) that the increasing prevalence of synthetic tracks makes it nearly impossible to predict what these three-year-old beasts will do once they hit the dirt at Churchill Downs. But the Derby's always been a fool's bet, with horses running in the largest field of their lives and at a distance that none of them have previously competed at. I'll not be dissuaded by one more wildcard.

The top three contenders, according to current odds, are Big Brown, Colonel John, and Pyro. The first two thoroughbreds won their final tests at the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby respectively. But Pyro--the horse that Sparks has been frothing at the mouth about for two months--finished a dismal 10th at last Saturday's Blue Grass Stakes. Horse gambling fiends are now feverishly debating whether that wretched performance should be ignored because of Keeneland's polytrack surface. (Last year's winner, Street Sense, also faltered in the Blue Grass.)

War Pass was the favorite heading into the prep season, but he's failed to win in two straight races and doesn't look to have the stamina for the 1 1/4 mile test. To my bloodshot and misguided eyes, Gayego (winner of the Arkansas Derby), Z Fortune (2nd in Arkansas), and Recapturetheglory (winner of the Illinois Derby) look like longshots that could prove worthy of watching.

The last two years I've correctly picked the winning beast, but failed to put any money on either because the odds weren't sufficiently profitable. It's that kind of betting brilliance that repeatedly results in me leaving the track broke.

The fabulous Daily Racing Forum web site has video footage of almost every single prep race so there's no excuse for ignorance. For the third year running, the Derby will coincide with the commencement of the racing season at Canterbury Park.

Posted by Paul Demko at April 17, 2008 1:42 PM | Comments (2)

 

Team of 18,000 Reams Denver Post Columnist

Filed under: Wild

In his Tuesday sports column in the Denver Post, writer Mark Kiszla complained about some rough play from the Wild. Minnesota fans decided to give him a piece of their collective mind on the Post's discussion boards. Ouch.

Once the faithful team of 18,000 caught wind of Kiszla's nagging about 'mugging' being the only Minnesota will win the series, the board became one giant crap on Kiszla fest. He claims, ignoring the major injury issue the Wild have had, that their weapon of choice against the aging Avs is brute force. He takes the liberty of bestowing a motto upon the Wild: 'If you can't beat 'em, break 'em.' Which isn't entirely true, but at least it's clearly marked as his opinion. Kiszla does cross the line however when recounting the Wild's Pierre-Marc Bouchard's game-winning overtime goal in game three as the result of luck. That is in no way an accurate portrayal of the goal, which could adequately be described as 'pretty darn snazzy'. And to add fuel to the fire, one smart reader posted a 2003 Kiszla column which was, er, very similar to this one. Anyway, there have been more than 500 comments left on the Post's site about this column, mostly it appears from Wild fans. Here are some choice comments:

'I didn't realize the Denver Post hired 12 year olds to write articles for them.'

'Grow up and stop the sour grapes, juvenile journalism.'

'Rip the uniforms, rip the fans and rip the state. It's all you can do when you know absolutely nothing about the sport that you are trying to cover. The truth is, fans from both teams have seen three great hockey games with plenty of scoring chances and great goaltending at both ends. I expect it will continue tonight and look forward to another great game.'

'Wow. You weren't watching the game, fella. Our "Goons" didn't even make a difference last night. Voros was ineffective, as was Simon, and the Boogeyman didn't play a lick.'

'And finally, the best posting, to lauded for its succinct, pointed analysis:
Kiszla overall I think you are as worthless as a rubber crutch in a polio ward, but congratulations, you have everyone in the Twin Cities laughing this morning with your cut-and-paste job from your 2003 article.

P.S. It shocks me that you have a job.'

The thrashing continues here.

Posted by Ben Palosaari at April 16, 2008 3:35 PM | Comments (2)

 

Study: Girls play sports, but get less exercise

Filed under: General sports

According to a University of Minnesota study released earlier this week, girls are participating in sports in record numbers, but they are on the whole less fit.

"While some girls are physically active, many girls fail to meet minimal standards of physical activity needed to accrue developmental and health benefits, or worse, they are completely sedentary," writes Nicole LaVoi, who authored the report for the U's Tucker Center.

Translation: Suburban (mainly white) girls are able to get their soccer or broomball on like nobody's business. Poor (largely inner-city and minority) girls face more obstacles in going out for the team.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at April 16, 2008 1:39 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Return of Liriano

Filed under: MLB

Pre-game: The Kansas City forecast calls for 45 degrees, following a series of early-morning flurries. At approximately 1:10 p.m., Francisco Liriano will make his first MLB start in nearly twenty months following Tommy John surgery. In recent days, AAA Rochester manager Stan Cliburn, prior to learning that "The Franchise" would be called up to start, told reporters that he didn't feel Liriano was quite ready for the task, following the lefty's bulky 7.56 ERA in two minor league starts.

But ready or not ... Hell, from my vantage, it's time to remove the kid gloves and replace them with spit and leather. Personally, I'm all for patience when it comes to injury =- but in this instance, the time is now. Twenty months is considered to be at the longer end of waiting periods between MLB starts following Tommy John, and given that the club has won three straight to ascend the .500 mark at 6-5 (without our bats really going yet), let's keep the mojo moving, I say, ride the early wave, and enjoy what days we have with a winning mark before the tide of Detroit, the White Sox, Boston, Toronto, and Colorado provides the undertow to begin May.

What we should focus on today is not so much the proverbial End, and opposed to the Means. Countless hours, away from the Big Stage, have been spent refining Liriano's delivery. If he goes 5 today and gives up three or four runs, that's fine. It's how he looks in doing so that we should be mindful of.

Considering such intense magnification of mechanics, I thought it wise to revisit some recent reading I'd done on the great Sandy Koufax's opinions (from Jane Leavy's A Lefty's Legacy) as pertaining to proper pitching mechanics. Here area few excerpts of what another legendary southpaw had to say:

"Everybody who performs an athletic event of any kind is a system of levers. You can't alter what the bones do. If you can make the bones work, the injuries to the soft tissue will be a lot less. It's when guys are in a bad position and now they try to make the muscles do something to compensate for the bad position that they injure themselves . . . You gotta do what the bones do."

Today, should those aforementioned countless hours of behind-the-scenes work a have paid off, we should look for the following from Liriano's delivery:

-A slight turn and torque in his initial motion
-Followed by his upper body out over his leg just after release
-Concluded with a less-violent body crossover to complete the deliver

Such information was gleaned, in part, from a great article/diagram by the Pi Press' Kelsie Smith in a recent piece on Liriano and pitching coach Rick Anderson, although I also feel confident in identifying -- based on my own baseball background -- that the 2006 version of Liriano, while brilliant, was also flawed in that he was employing too much upper-body versus leg power, and that his barbaric finish, while offering flair and intimidation, lacked the polish required for the long and prosperous career we collectively envision for such a rare talent.

To further illustrate the "old" Liriano, here is some video of him in his 2006 form:

Postgame: The Twins lost Liriano's return 5-1, and the lefty's line worked out in the following form:

IP H R ER BB SO HR
4.2 6 4 4 5 4 0

But still, I felt we saw some of the things we needed to view to feel confident in his return to the Bigs. While the 5 walks were sticky, his 4 K's stood out, as did his overall body language on the mound. He appeared neither nervous, nor apprehensive, tossing his slider with some authority, and battling a few Royals in what became victorious showdowns for the good guys.

As per the aforementioned mechanics, I didn't really pick up on much of a change in the onset of his motion, although I think it was readily apparent that the follow-through was far more tame than what we saw in '06. This is a good sign, maybe a great one for things to come, as that finish was most seemingly the onus of the ligament issues. This "new" finish appeared far gentler on the young man's body, had some newfound polish, and was, at times, quite effective.

All great journeys (or re-routes) require some kind of beginning.

Here's a photo of Liriano from today:

Blogger's Note: I'll make haste in concluding my report on Mexican prospect Jorge Gomez Luis Rivas Gomez. After seeing him toss for close to an hour -- I extended the portly, albeit largely talented unknown a contract for which my betters at C.P. had provided authority. For legal purposes, I cannot divulge dollar amount. Yet, although the money was earnest, Gomez declined, insisting that a codicil be added in which he would be allowed take Diablo Cody out for dinner. After a series of heated calls back to the States, I ultimately swam back to my hotel that night with my lovely assistant, leaving Gomez' unsigned contract floating aimlessly with the unchained tides of the Pacific . . ..

Posted by Judd Spicer at April 13, 2008 8:54 AM | Comments (19)

 

« April 6, 2008 - April 12, 2008 | Main | April 20, 2008 - April 26, 2008 »