Positive Numbers: Timberwolves (Last Week: -4). It is possible that, when its definitive history is finally told, what happened Tuesday, April 5, 2016 may go down as a turning point, the beginning of the Renaissance, and One Of The Most Important Dates In The History of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tuesday was the date when they defeated The Defending National Basketball Association Champion, presumptive champion of this NBA season, and quite possibly The Best Basketball Team Of All-Time, 124-117 in Overtime, at Golden State. I don't know what the Moneyline was for the T-Wolves to win this game, and I don't know, like, the advanced metric percentage of them winning, but both have to be astronomical.
And yet this is further confirmation -- not to mention emphatic confirmation -- that these guys can ball, and they are about to fucking erupt. Karl-Anthony Towns poured in 20 as well as rebounded and played massive D. Andrew Wiggins went off on the offensive end, chipping in 32, and Shabazz Muhammad ('Memba Him!) had a career high of 35 points. I'm telling you guys, this team now has the horses, and they are getting it. And they were able to do this against a team still chasing the 1995-6 Chicago Bulls for best regular season record ever and was still hurting from having its 54-game home winning streak (not to mention the tantalizing possibility of being the first team to ever run the table at home) snapped by Boston (Brad Stevens can fucking coach) two home contests prior. Andre Iguodala is still injured, and apparently he is the key to transforming this team to the team basketball fans both fear and are in awe of. But remember that the Woofie Dogs are 27-52 and had lost three in a row going into this game, including the first two games of this screening week at Utah and home to Dallas.
I hope I'm not being so pie-in-the-sky. But this team easily could have stooped back to their level of competition in their next game after this victory, but instead they beat back Sacramento 105-97 last (Thursday) night, also on the road. The road only goes higher from here, and it should. I saw on Twitter that one scout told a reporter that he can see the Wolves winning 50 games next year.
I can't wait for next year. Shoot, like I said last week, I really wish this year would last longer. But this is the final week of the regular season, where they play at Portland in the final road game Saturday, then return to Target Center for tilts against a Houston club still fighting for a playoff spot Monday and then, finally, New Orleans Wednesday.
#-0: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -3). It has been brought to my attention that the Gopher Nine are currently in the Top 40 in Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which is the general area in which the last teams are selected for the NCAA Tournament. The squad took a step forward (or at least did not take a step backward) towards the postseason this weekend by taking two-of-three in the Siebert Field-opening series against Iowa, then outclubbing Northern Illinois Wednesday afternoon at home, 12-10.
An early lead for team Most Valuable Player is Matt Fiedler, who is currently doing AC/DC work. He got the win by allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out six over seven innings in Friday's victory over the Hawkeyes, then hit two Home Runs in Sunday's doubleheader split vs. the Hawkeyes. Naturally, he was named one of two Players Of The Week for the Big Ten Conference.
Fiedler shares that honor with Michigan Outfielder Mike Ramsay. Interestingly enough, the Gophers play at Michigan for three this weekend. And that series is even more important because the Wolverines are also landing inside the RPI Top 40. So yes, this is an important series. Also, the U. hosts South Dakota St. Tuesday.
#-1: Gopher softball (Last Week: -1). Mercy-ruled Northwestern at Northwestern 16-0 in five on April Fools' Day. Then on Sunday they followed up an 8-4 win with a 10-2 mercy-rule loss in five. Nonetheless they remain in the rankings at #22 going into what appears to be a special week where the club is cramming two conference series, all of them to start the team's home conference schedule. Cowles Stadium opens this weekend with three versus Illinois, then they have Wisconsin in for a doubleheader Tuesday. They couldn't schedule the Badgers on its own weekend?
#-2: Wild (Last Week: -2). Wow. I don't think I've ever ranked a team so low the week they clinched a playoff berth. But in a very busy penultimate regular season week, they played four games and they lost all four games. They actually got booed in their last game, a desultory 3-0 dick-smack at home against San Jose Tuesday. But just an hour later, the Colorado Avalanche lost in Nashville, 4-3, extended their own losing streak to four. Add that before they lost four games the Wild had won six games in a row, and the Mild were able to bank into the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
Not that they'd last long in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the form they're sporting now. But who is their first-round opponent? The Bastard North Stars and St. Louis are tied for the best record in the West. Technically The Team That Was Stolen From Us would be the Wild's opponent because they have the first tie-breaker, Regulations (aka Actual) Wins. But I'm still conflicted as to whether the club face The Bastard North Stars. Remember, the Wild beat the Blues in last year's playoffs; why wouldn't they be able to do it again?
That all gets sorted out after Saturday's finale against The Bastard Atlanta Flames at the Xcel Energy Center. Postseason begins shortly thereafter.
#-3: Twins (Re-Entry!). Way to start off on the right foot, Twinks! Last year they began their season 1-6, prompting an extremely early meeting by Manager Paul Molitor. He might have to call an even earlier one this year after beginning the 2016 campaign by getting swept in three rain-delayed, dragged-out games at Baltimore. They scored two runs in all three games. There was a combined three hours and 12 minutes in the first and third games. There were two rain delays in the first game, and I think one of those rain delays had no rain. Gotta love the elements, right?
I think it's universal that most experts not only believe this franchise is going to do worse than their breakout 2015 season, but they'll regress all the way back to the bottom of the American League Central. I kind of think that's harsh. Maybe they believe that because the pitching somehow overachieved last year. I say that if the Twins could go above .500, finish in second place in the division and be in the Wild Card race until the last weekend, they can certainly do it again. And you have to remember that Miguel Sano is going to have another year at the plate, Byron Buxton might be able to figure out how to hit (and don't worry about defending; he's already got that part down), and Byung Ho Kim might be able to mash in the middle of the lineup. Maybe Jose Berrios comes up for good in the middle of the season and makes all the difference. What I'm saying is is that things are going the Twins' way. So why be so pessimistic?
Well, besides this opening series against The Bastard St. Louis Browns. They play at The Defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals this weekend, then finally open up Target Field Monday against the White Sox.
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