#0: Lynx (Last Week: -2). I saw these guys play Saturday night against Phoenix after seeing them win against New York last Tuesday ... and I'm not ashamed to say it. (And I ain't even a lesbian!) For the first time ever, I saw a Lynx team pick destroy their opponent. And unlike the game against the Liberty, where they came out flat to start the second half, they actually put on their afterburners against the LifeLock in the third quarter, turning an 11-point halftime lead to an insurmountable 25-point advantage after three. And they shut down the surly Diana Taurasi; she scored only eight points, and she didn't make a three-pointer this game, breaking a streak of 55 straight.
But now they have started to show a lot of gumption on the road, as they won at Atlanta, 91-85. As they did in the previous game, they lowered the boom-boom-pow on the Dream to start the second quarter, going on a 14-2 run. And Jen Gillom has settled on a powerful six: Candace Wiggins is leading this team without Seimone Augustus, and Nicky Anosike, Charde Houston, Roneeka Hodges and the platoon of Kelly Miller and Renee Montgomery at the point seem to be rolling. The result: The Lynx have won their straight game, and at 7-3, they are leading the Western Division for the first time in, I'm guessing, fucking ever. They are home Thursday against Sacramento and Tuesday against Washington. If you're a sports fan, go see them. This is shaping up to be a very good, and dangerous, team.
#-1: Twins (Last Week: -3). A 5-2 week. More importantly, they end their long road swing, where they have played shittily, at 6-3. On the downside, that has gotten them to only two games above .500, a first this season. On the upside, that gets them to within three games of first-place Detroit -- and the Tigers play at the Metrodome Independence Weekend. It would be just about criminal if Joe Mauer doesn't start in the All-Star Game, but the M&M&M boys (that includes Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer) just might be locking it in this season, and that just might be enough of a difference in the division. After the Tigers, they host the Yankees mid-week.
#-2 (tie): Wild, Timberwolves (Last Week: Re-Entry!, -1). What do you say? These two franchises seem to be in lockstep with every move they make and with every obstacle thrown in their way. This week it's questions over the draft and important players not keeping secret how they don't like Minnesota.
For the Wild, it was a mediocre, maybe even disappointing draft. (I've had to dig around cyberspace for those "draft grades" you always see for the NFL and NBA. I saw one, and I'm basing part of my rating on that.) Apparently they wanted this guy named Ryan Ellis, but when Nashville took him, they traded down. With the sixteenth pick, they drafted a native Minnesotan, which is always good for public relations, but they took this young man named Nick Leddy with presumptive top Minnesotan Jordan Schroeder still on the board (he was picked up by division rival Vancouver six picks later.) And that's the extent of Wild draft analysis I can see.
Thursday began the free agency period, and marked the death of an era. Marian Gaborik, the first pick in Wild history and the last charter player of the franchise, said fuck this to Minnesota and signed with the New York Rangers to a contract that, per year, was less than the last contract offer the Wild gave him. Despite more money and the opportunity to play in a new, wide-open offense, he decided he wanted a fresh start ... and decided to go to a team playing in the most intense sports-media crucible in the country. He leaves holding Wild records for most goals and assists, and finishes eighth for most points in Minnesota Professional Hockey History. I'll pray for your groin, Gabby. (By the way, I feel obligated to to note that General Manager Cliff Fletcher fired Assistant General Manager Tom Lynn the middle of last month. I feel nothing either way about this.) (Edited to add that I forgot about the Wild signing Martin Havlat. No big name I know has been signed here as a free agent since Pavol Demitra. This is a good change, but like Gaborik, he's injury-prone. Are we trading one part-time player for another?)
I don't fault the Timberwolves for drafting Ricky Rubio; for a long time he was regarded as the second-best player in the draft and there's a lot of buzz over this kid, and he just fell into their laps. But him balking on getting out of his contract just goes to show how players, in particular basketball players, hate teams in flyover country (why is that?), and is another sign of how cursed this franchise is.
That doesn't absolve General Manager David Kahn's other moves, however. Did he know that he could pick other players besides point guards? He followed up Rubio by drafting another PG, Jonny Flynn. And then he drafted yet another PG, Ty Lawson, although they traded him to Denver for a future first-round pick. Kahn did the right thing in trading away two of the ridiculous six draft picks they had this year. But he still insists that not only are they aiming to get Rubio to play for the Wolves, but he and Flynn will be the starting backcourt tandem. Really? And there is still a lot of questions whether Rubio, Flynn, Wayne Ellington or Henk Norel (who?) will pan out, since this could still be the worst draft class of the modern age.
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