He represents all the schools. Old school, new school, middle school. -- Julius Erving, discussing LeBron James

THE routine has become a daily practice in the Boston Red Sox' spring camp. It's as if there's a podium on which players are asked daily to unburden themselves. "What do you think of A-Rod?" they are asked. It's open season on Alex Rodriguez, who has been made the poster boy of evil in the rivalry that was heated and rumbling long before he joined the Yankees. In this new version of "Get the good guy," the Red Sox are blameless. One player, Trot Nixon, ignited the game with negative comments about Rodriguez last week and a torrent of teammates have followed. But the teammates' comments have not been unsolicited. They were at the urging of reporters eager to inflame the game to incendiary levels. They were all but handed a script. Athletes have long accused reporters of creating stories, and, sadly, this is one of those instances. It has become one of the most distasteful instances I have witnessed in 45 years of covering baseball. It's not enough that Larry Lucchino, the Red Sox' chief executive, calls the Yankees the Evil Empire or that John Henry, the principal owner, criticizes the Yankees for spending ungodly amounts of money on their payroll. Or that the Red Sox players verbally attacked Rodriguez for slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's hand in the league championship series. These were not invented situations. But the current pile-on-A-Rod is different. Every player who spoke with reporters last week was asked what they thought of Rodriguez, whether they agreed with what Nixon said. Extended the invitation, some players replied with negative comments, but most of what they said in response to the invitations was far less severe than the resulting articles reflected. David Wells, for example, was portrayed as one of the players who said he didn't like Rodriguez. But let's see what he really said. Asked if he had seen comments made by Nixon and Curt Schilling, he said, "That's their business. I've put my foot in my mouth plenty of times. That's between those guys." Later in the group interview on a bench outside the clubhouse at the Red Sox' minor league complex, Wells was asked about Rodriguez again. Obviously, his first response would not do. "Trot said A-Rod isn't a real Yankee," a reporter said. "Do you think he is?" "Alex is a five-tool player," Wells said. "He's one of the best out there. I remember reading his press conference when he went there. He said a 'we' in his comment like he had won three or four rings with them, and he hadn't. That kind of disturbed me. He shouldn't put himself in that category." "You've got to earn it," a reporter interrupted. "Yeah, you've got to earn it," Wells repeated. "But you can't take away what A-Rod has done for the game. He's a great player and will continue to be a great player. In my book, he's one of the best hitters in baseball." From those remarks, Wells became someone who didn't like Rodriguez.

I don't know Canseco, besides hello and goodbye. I don't put any weight into what he says. Mark McGwire was a big boy in college. To me, Canseco, you've got to come with a whole lot more. ... It's to make a buck, that's all it is. I don't know Jose. I was better than Jose then, and I've been better than him his whole career. If he wants to go make money, go ahead. ... For somebody who brags about what he did, I don't see any of your records.

Just to keep it in perspective, remember that we have recently been reading about how Jose Canseco and company used steroids in the Oakland A's clubhouse, during the season, repeatedly. So, just to be clear, while reporters sat around asking Dave Stewart whether he liked Rickey Henderson's mom's chicken pot-pie, baseball players used performance enhancing agents right in front of them, and they wrote nothing, said nothing; and act now like Canseco had somehow hypnotized them for most of the last ten years. And this is still going to happen. Because right now, this season, when Derek Jeter, or Bernie Williams, or Albert Pujols or any other baseball players takes the field on Opening Day, odds are, he will be on pain killers, amphetamines, or some other type of PED. And notice that the sportswriters are already done with the amphetamine story. It's already over. The players think it's not so bad, so why report it? It's a concession the players weren't willing to make, when they strengthened the drug testing policy, so forget about it already. Are the reporters to blame for players using steroids? Of course not. But they are to blame for making it a story only when it was handed to them. They are to blame for writing virtually nothing of substance on the issue, even today after Caminitti, Canseco, Sheffield, Giambi and Bonds have all been exposed for being involved. Find me a story on the subject that isn't a pieced together package of press releases and AP reports and speculation. Here's a question: How hard could it be to find out if Mark McGwire was really using steroids during his super home run years? How hard could it be? We're not in the old Soviet Union. Am I to believe that McGwire had insulated himself so completely and perfectly, that not one person who could testify as to whether or not he's used will come forth? Where are these stories? Where are these people? Why aren't we reading about what they saw, or what they heard, or what they know? During that 1998 season, McGwire was trailed by perhaps as many as a hundred reporters for essentially the entire second half of the season. With a hundred reporters following him, we found out that he was using andro, an over the counter, steroids pre-cursor. How did this discovery take place? A reporter saw it in his locker. Now that's investigative journalism. Remember that asshole (ed. note: my sentiments exactly) Rick Reilly asking Sosa to pee in a cup? How come Reilly didn't do some investigating and reporting and actually find out whether Sosa used steroids? What stopped Reilly from, you know, asking questions from people who saw Sosa work out? Or, I don't know, finding a guy selling steroids and asking him if he sold some to Sammy? You wanna know how hard it is to find a guy selling steroids? About as hard as finding a gym. But not one reporter can find one guy who sold steroids to one baseball player? Doesn't that sound a bit fishy? I mean, we're talking about something that has to be used daily, every day for weeks or months at a time. How could any baseball player operate his life in such a total vaccum? How could McGwire, or any other world famous, recognizable, superstar athlete hide an everyday part of their lives from the men who are paid to write about them, about what they do and what they like and where they go, for years and years? It's a terrible tragedy, according to Lupica and his pals. So how could Lupica and his pals not write about was happening right in front of them for going on ten years?

2/23/2005 10:35:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Okay but TECHNICALLY you have to POSSESS something in order to use it. And in order to possess it prior to it's use, you would have had to receive it which would quality under trafficing, would it not?

As for indiments, as I recall, certain atheletes were granted immunity from prosecution for testifying in front of the Federal Grand Jury.

And as for non-Twin Blogs, this goes back to it must suck to be a Devil Rays fan, because I can't find any good ones. Of course, I've not had that much luck in the Marlins ones either....2/23/2005 11:13:00 AM|W|P| SBG|W|P|You might be correct about the immunity... honestly, I don't know. I will check on that. But, were they all? Or were they just subpoenaed? SBG will check it out tonight. And if I've got that wrong, shame on me!2/23/2005 06:46:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|If it wasn't out and out immunity, it was something to the effect of they weren't interested in punishing the atheletes so much as they were interested in shutting down their supplier. I believe there was some converstation as to taking action against the atheletes who refused to testify. There was also an issue as to if they pursue perjury if they could prove it as well, but I believe the whole issue was to shut down BALCO (as the supplier) without persecuting the atheletes involved.

Does anyone know what's going on with MVN?2/23/2005 08:17:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I'm no patent law lawyer, but I would assume that the laws for steroids would be simlilar to laws for other drugs, which are basically:if you don't have it, you can't get busted. If someone goes up to a police officer and informs them that they have smoked marijuana, it's not illegal. The trafficing point however is interesting. Since anyone who took steroids probably bought them (would it be illegal to tell the cop that you raised the pot yourself?) you could be persecuted on that charge.2/23/2005 08:36:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|TJ -- it's a moot point as Dianna pointed out, the players got immunity.

I didn't take criminal law, but I think that possession requires proof. And if you never paid for the substance was it trafficking? And isn't trafficking selling and not buying? I don't know and I'm too lazy to look it up. If someone else shot their steroids into your butt, did you ever actually possess? Questions to consider. Like I said, I'm no criminal lawyer.2/23/2005 08:37:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|When I say possession requires proof, I mean an element of the crime is that you have to have the actual contraband in your possession. Having injested is not enough. Anyone out there who is a criminal lawyer or veteran of the criminal justice system who can help out?2/24/2005 07:00:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I'm not a crimnal lawyer either, however, I do know from the local crime reports that if Chicken Wing - a known dealer - and Dai Dai - a known user - have their heads together down on Sistrunk Street and officer Joe Friendly sees a package change hands, he hauls both boys in for trafficing and possession. Alternately if Dai Dai stupidly walks up to officer Joe after smoking some weed and says "Man that was the most wonderful grass" and officer Joe notices a pipe in Dai Dai's shirt pocket, he gets hauled off for possession since the paraphanalia can be tested for residue, proving that Dai Dai had the substance in his possession at one time.

Records seized from Balco might show delivery of a certain controlled substance to Johnny B. Goode, athelete, proving both possession and trafficing despite the the fact that the substance itself is not longer present.2/21/2005 08:00:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Hello SBG fans! Today is Twins Tuesday, a day dedicated to Twins news. Normally this means running a player though the Analyzer, but in a break with tradition, SBG analyzed the Santana signing last week. And in another break with tradition, SBG will analyze the Twins bullpen as a group. But, first things first. SBG has added some new links. If you look on the right hand side, you will see a link to the team sites for the Twins' AAA, AA, High A, Low A and Rookie Minor League teams. These sites are certainly worth an occasional look. In addition, SBG has added a link to a couple of minor league blogs. Check them out, they have a lot of information about the Twins' minor league prospects. SBG vows to spend more time this year on the minor league teams and he will start with these newly minted links on the SBG website. Next, SBG is going to a six day a week format. Wow, even more useless information from SBG! Occasionally, SBG has posted on the weekends, but in the spirit of an actual format, SBG will have a regular feature on Saturdays. Check back on the weekend for the new Saturday feature. Okay, now to the main event, the Twins bullpen. SBG read someone (damn, can't remember who) who said that it was Aaron's Guy, Bradke, and Carlos Silva, and not the Twins bullpen, who were primarily responsible for the Twins' league leading 4.02 ERA. And, in one sense, it's hard to argue that point. Here are the combined totals for those three pitchers in 2004 as compared to the rest of the pitching staff:

	IP	ER	H	BB	K	WHIP	K/9	ERA
The Big Three	650 2/3	246	640	115	484	1.16	6.69	3.40
The Rest	825 1/3	417	883	316	639	1.45	6.97	4.55

Sure looks like the big three had a big influence on that ERA. Also, look at that different in WHIP. The rest of the staff really dropped off. The big three pitched 44.1% of all innnings for the Twins and had an ERA a full run lower than the rest of the staff. Looks like those guys really were the reason. Let's look at something else. Let's compare the "Big Three" with the "Big Five" of the bullpen: Nathan, Rincon, Romero, Balfour, and Crain. I chose these five because they will likely form the core of the 2005 bullpen.

	IP	ER	H	BB	K	WHIP	K/9	ERA
The Big Three	650 2/3	246	640	115	484	1.16	6.69	3.40
The Big Five	295	91	213	126	320	1.15	9.76	2.78
Combined	945 2/3	337	853	241	804	1.16	7.65	3.21

Wow. These guys were lights out. Look at the WHIP. Look at the strikeouts per nine innnings. Look at the ERA. Yes, these five guys pitched a little less than half of the innings of the big three, but their numbers were better. Certainly, they played a big role in the Twins' pitching success in 2004 as well. Combined, these eight pitchers threw 64.0% of the 2004 innings. And combined they were stellar. Let's break these five relievers out individually.

	IP	ER	H	BB	K	WHIP	K/9	ERA
Joe Nathan	75 1/3	13	48	23	89	0.98	11.07	1.62
Juan Rincon	82	24	52	32	106	1.02	11.63	2.63
J.C. Romero	74 1/3	29	61	38	69	1.33	8.35	3.51
Jesse Crain	27	6	17	12	14	1.07	4.67	2.00
Grant Balfour	39 1/3	19	35	21	42	1.42	9.61	4.35

Very impressive stuff. The thing that all of these five guys have in common is that they throw the ball hard. All of them gave up fewer hits than innings pitched. Crain, Nathan, and Rincon had phenomenal WHIPs (and if the other two could just cut down on the walks...) All of them have fantastic strikeout numbers except for Crain, and he certainly can strike out batters (64K in 50 2/3 innings pitched at Rochester in 2004).

If these five guys can approximate their numbers in 2005 (and add about 80 innings pitched among them -- possible between Crain and Balfour), the Twins bullpen will be practically unstoppable. Can that happen? Well, it's hard to believe that Nathan and Rincon will be THAT good again. 2004 was a fantastic season for both of them. And Romero is somewhat of an enigma -- he seems to lose confidence and then magically regain it. But, he likely can pitch at that level again. And Crain and Balfour should be in the ballpark with their combined numbers (Crain a little worse, Balfor a little better). The bottom line is that these five guys probably won't be quite as effective, but they should still be good and should chew up more innings, which WILL approximate the job they did in 2004.

Yes, a bullpen will have more than five pitchers -- they need a long reliever and a LOOGY (lefty one out guy). But, the bullpen in 2004 was a major factor in the Twins success and looks like a strong point again in 2005.

Which leads us to the last point. What about the rest of the staff? Well, the fourth and fifth starters are vitally important. If Lohse and Mays can be adequate in those roles, the Twins pitching should be improved in 2005. And that bodes well not only for the Twins chances in the Central Division of the American League but also in the post-season tournament.

Yes, spring is a time for optimism. But, SBG doesn't think that optimism is misplaced when it comes to the pitching staff and particularly the bullpen.

|W|P|110904453383648468|W|P|Twins Tuesday|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/22/2005 08:41:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I just wanted to say that I really like the "Nifty Baseball Links". Every Twins blog (actually any team-specific blog) should have something like that. Very handy2/22/2005 07:31:00 PM|W|P| Butch|W|P|Yo SBG, With all these dandy links I will be on the computor all night! Should add a link for #24 and maybe #8 so the Mayor doesn't feel left out :) ha ha You are doing good!!!!!!2/22/2005 07:42:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|Stick and Ball Guys don't follow NASCAR by definition! Having said that, I knew that there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth at the Mayor's when Jr. got beat!2/22/2005 09:13:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Thanks for the minor league plug.

I have a take on the bullpen, but I need something to blog on so...

LOL!2/20/2005 08:16:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Greetings, SBG fans. Back from Chicago, SBG is ready for a more regular schedule. The patent law class was very good. The instructors were knowledgable, the class was well-organized, and the materials are very good. SBG was quite happy with the whole experience. By the end, he was practically unable to concentrate, but that was a function of the sheer amount of material presented and not because of the way it was presented. Kudos to PRG for a truly professional job. It was like three weeks of Bar-Bri (the normal state bar prep course) crammed into one week. Wow. SBG has some studying to do. This weekend, SBG spent some time decompressing. On Saturday, SBG spent some time working on his site, a little "spring training" if you will. On the right hand side, you will see that he's added quite a few links. It needs a little more work, but it should be a nice source of information. There are links to big-time websites like ESPN, semi-big time like Baseball Prospectus as well as the usual hometown links. In addition, SBG has added the Twins roster with links to the ESPN, Baseball-Reference, and in some cases, the MLB stats pages. Eventually, that will be fine-tuned and completely updated. If you are wondering about how a certain Twins player, say, Luis Rivas, is playing or about his career numbers, simply click on his stats page. The stats page will open in a new window and you can see how (poorly) he's doing or has done in the past. In addition, SBG has started a roster of local newspaper websites on the left. So far, he's put together a list of newspapers from the AL Central and AL East. Each link goes not to the newspaper, but to the section of the paper devoted to that particular team. For example, the Strib link goes to the Twins section of the Strib sports page. (Note: SBG realizes that he inadvertently deleted the Strib page.) All open in new windows. When completed, each team will have at least one link and many more than one link. SBG, the Website -- your home for Twins and other team's information. Look for more features as spring training begins in earnest. By the time the season starts, SBG will be your one-stop source for all things baseball, from links to bloggers and major sport sites to (hopefully) ongoing commentary of interest about SBG's favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. Having spent some time looking for these links, SBG read with some amusement how A-Rod has become the "least liked superstar" in major league baseball. The New York papers noted how Captain October and others went out of their way to say good things about Jason Giambi and welcome him back into the fold. But, when Red Sox players took shots at A-Rod, no one defended him. Let's see. Giambi is an admitted steroid user and has been a miserable underachiever in New York. A-Rod, while having a sub-par season, still is one of the best players in baseball. Now, perhaps A-Rod is a self-serving jerk. And perhaps he's too worried about his image. But, he's the best player on that team. And it seems that if players like Captain October were really about team, they'd defend their best player when the arch enemy, the Boston Red Sox, were openly critical of him. Check out the links for both Boston and New York on the left and read about this story. Decide for yourself what you think. Update: Murray Chass from the New York Times reveals how it is reporters who are making up the big A-Rod controversy. What irresponsible "journalism". Thank God for the Twins Also, how much does it suck to be a Devil Rays fan? While Twins fans are wondering, can the Twins win 4 titles in a row, can Santana repeat his Cy Young performance, can Joe Mauer play at a high level, Devil Rays fans are wondering, is this the worst Devil Rays team ever? Yowsa. It's good to be a Twins fan, even if our stadium sucks. ESPN2 did a survey of stadiums a while back and Tropicana Field rated 28th out of 30, ahead of only Veterans Stadium in Philly and Olympic Stadium on Montreal. Neither of those stadiums actually house major league teams anymore. And even if the team improved, they can't possibly compete in that division with the Yankees and the Red Sox and the Orioles, who have, at least in the past, been a competitive team. Canseco Book SBG mentioned on Saturday that he did not pick up a copy of the Jose Canseco book when he was in the Minneapolis airport last week (it was available there a couple of days before the announced date). Not surprisingly, many people have criticized the book, some of whom have definite agendas behind their criticism. Rob Neyer of ESPN.COM, in a review in the New York Observer, really takes Canseco apart. SBG believes that Neyer is someone who can be trusted -- he appears to be an honest, even journalist and not an apologist for anyone. He points out so many factual errors in the book that it is hard to believe anything that Canseco says. Worth a read. Also, if you have any interest in the steroid issue and want to learn more about it, go to OnlyBaseballMatters.Com. You will find not only that the author has spent a considerable amount of time providing excellent analysis on the issue, but he has also linked to many other authors who have covered it as well. A tremendous blog. Old Man Drew On Saturday, Lucy and SBG went to KFAN the restaurant to celebrate Drew's 30th birthday. Moss was there and SBG, Moss, and Drew talked a little patent law, until SBG noticed that Lucy was NOT ENJOYING IT. We had a nice time at the party. Hopefully, Drew, who has been threatening to write a column for this fine web page, will make good on said threat. Longtime fans of this page know that Drew and Moss were the first players of Pepper! Speaking of Pepper!, be sure to come back on Friday, when a special guest will match wits with SBG. And no, it will NOT be Peter Gammons. Little Known Fact About SBG SBG has cats. Now, SBG was not a cat lover. But one day about a year and a half ago, Lucy called SBG at work and told him a sob story about a cat that her co-worker found lying in the middle of the road and would SBG please take him in? Well, SBG, having a weakness when Lucy asks for things, said yes. And so, SBG had a cat, which he named after the greatest rock and roll star in the history of the world. Jags was only four weeks old and he became quite attached to SBG. But, when SBG went to law school and work, little Jags was very lonely. He would not eat unless SBG was there. Severe separation anxiety. So, Lucy talked SBG into another cat, Theo, for Jags. Now, SBG has two cats. He got Theo when he was studying for the bar. Actually, taking care of Theo was a nice distraction, because really, who wants to study for the bar? Anyway, Lucy thinks that SBG is the best guy ever for taking in these cats (and who am I to argue???), but Lucy keeps bringing pictures of Jags and Theo everywhere we go. Like at Drew's birthday party. Out come the pictures! It's something else. You may be asking yourself, why is SBG bringing this up? Well, if you see pictures of cats in the future like the one here showing Jags as a little kitten, you will know that SBG is using his website to make Lucy happy. In fact, she's ecstatic about this picture right now. A Sad Note One final note. SBG learned on Saturday night of the death of a colleague, JM. His death at such a young age was very sad. He will be missed.|W|P|110895298061645408|W|P|Monday Weekend Roundup|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/21/2005 05:28:00 PM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Very nice info on the Twins for the site! Truly original.

BTW, cats are evil.2/21/2005 05:40:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Cat are NOT evil, Cheese Wiz. They are simply a superior race.

As for the D-Rays, I have been thinking that very thought for the past several weeks. However, I also remember going to the see the Lightning play in 1997 when some of the fans were walking around with paperbags on their heads so no one would know they were actually at a game. And you could buy front row seats off the scalpers for $10.

So...maybe the Rays just need to get sold to a group of Japanesse investors like the Bolts did and build from the ground up.

We are plotting a bus trip to see the Twins take on the D-Rays at Tropicana on May, Should be much interesting.2/21/2005 05:49:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|SBG is not sure if cats are evil or not. Jags has so thoroughly ingratiated himself to me that if he is evil, he's an evil genius. Perhaps he intends to take over my household. Wait, he's already done that. Cat lovers and haters beware: Lucy's Saturday Cat Blogging could become a regular feature of SBG, the website.

As for the Rays, I remember in 2001 how they swept the Twins in a four gamer in August -- a devastating series that for all intents and purposes knocked the Twins out of contention.2/21/2005 07:48:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|It will just be interesting because myself and Kenny, the two biggest leather lungs in Fort Myers will be on the bus. So we figure that we two, plus the other 38 people on the bus, should easily outcheer any Rays fans in attendance.

Perhaps you should get your cats their own Blog? My Diamond already has her own blog. Her typing's not that great, but she's working on it.

Besides, how many animals learn to mimic human words and understand them? Cat are very good with "Mom" and "No". Diamond also uses "For me?" and "Wow" almost every single day.2/21/2005 07:51:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|Sometimes this site appears to be written by cats.2/19/2005 11:21:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|SBG got home last night from his trip to Chicago. What a grueling week! By the end, all resistance was eliminated, and SBG was overwhelmed by the intricacies of the patent law. Yeow. Warning: patent law related reference coming up. Do not read the following paragraph unless you either (a) are familiar with law in general or patent law in particular or (b) are a glutton for punishment. At the end of the last session, the head guy complimented the class on our attentiveness and hard work. Then, he opened the floor for questions. The very first question was "can a parent application of a CIP be a 102(b) reference against the CIP?" SBG could not believe it. But, then again, he could. The instructor had to be beside himself with that question. On that note, SBG left and hit the bar. The hotel bar, not the patent bar. One great thing about this course is that all questions are left until breaks, so you don't have to listen to THOSE kinds of questions. Okay, enough of the geek references. Or at least, enough of the patent law geek references. Anyone who says they like to fly commercial is either (a) lying or (b) not actually done it much. Prior to going to law school, SBG had logged over 250,000 air miles, enough to know that commercial air travel sucks. Further, SBG made the mistake of saving a couple of bucks in Chicago by contracting a shuttle service to take him to the hotel at which he was staying (round trip). On the way to the hotel, the shuttle stopped and picked up a Chicago family and we went way out to some suburb and dropped them off. And the guy was giving the driver instructions in this Chicago accent, and kept calling him "Boss". Take a right at the next light, Boss. SBG was fuming. A fifteen minute ride turned into 50 minutes. SBG had learned long ago not to trust outfits like this. But, he hadn't travelled in a while, so he forgot. On the way back, SBG called for a reservation for a ride back. Despite having a 9:30 flight, the latest the old shuttle service would pick SBG up was 6:30. So after two beers in the hotel bar, shaking off that 102(b) question and visiting with a couple of classmates -- SBG went and waited at the front door. And waited. And waited. Finally, SBG called the shuttle service. Oh, your driver is stuck in traffic. He'll be there in ten five minutes. SBG, having regained his travel sensibility, smelled a lie, and knew that if he hadn't called, he wouldn't have gotten a ride. Sure enough, the driver admitted that he was called after my call -- they didn't have anyone to pick SBG up. Of course, the guy was out of gas, and had to stop to get fuel. Of course. And he was driving and talking on a cell phone -- in Spanish. Now, SBG knows a little Spanish, enough to know that the call was personal in nature. And yes, the traffic was NOT snarled, and it was about 25 minutes to the airport, including 10 minutes sitting at the gas station. So, SBG gets to O'Hare and is checked in. He couldn't find a counter with an agent, it was all self serve. SBG did ask an employee of the airline (which shall go unnamed but is based out of Chicago and has the naming rights to the Chicago Bulls stadium) for help, because he wanted an earlier flight. Lo and behold, there was an earlier flight, and it was boarding in 15 minutes. Good thing, because SBG's scheduled flight was now postponed to 10:30. The agent, an experienced liar, told SBG everything was running late, due to "high winds". Then, why was the flight that you put me on standby running on time? SBG smelled a rat. SBG checked his bag, and the agent handed him the claim ticket and put the sticky label around the handle of the bag. SBG went to the gate, praying that he could get on the flight, because he suspected that the now 10:30 PM flight would be cancelled, no doubt, due to high winds. Luckily, the flight was nearly empty, so SBG got on, knowing full well that (a) that next flight was going to get cancelled and (b) his luggage would not arrive. Well, SBG got to Minneapolis and his bag did not. Of course. And it wouldn't be coming in because the last flight was canceled. Of course. If SBG hadn't jacked up the shuttle service, he'd have missed this flight and would have spent the night in Chicago. Now, just his bag spent the night in Chicago. So this morning, SBG got a call -- and his phone was on vibrate so he didn't hear it. But, he got a voice mail with an 800 number to call. And he was informed by a computer that the (unnamed) airlines did not know where his bag was. So SBG wanted to talk to an agent. But, all agents were busy and the wait time was approximately 17 minutes. Since the charger to SBG's phone is in his bag, he couldn't run down his battery hoping to find out whether anyone knew where his bag was. So, he waited. Just as he started this diatribe he got a call -- the bag is in Minneapolis and will be delivered sometime between noon and 4PM. So, stay home all damned day and wait for the stupid bag. The good news is that SBG is home and safe. He doesn't have to put up with the lies and mistreatment associated with commercial air travel. And he's sharpened his passenger skills again, so that next time, he'll be more savvy.|W|P|110883605544103775|W|P|The Food is the Least of their Problems|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/19/2005 02:42:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Moss thinks the answer to the question above is "HELL YES."

Moss2/19/2005 02:50:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Moss is also wondering if SBG knows why Ndubi Ebi wasn't in the Frosh-Soph game last nite...2/19/2005 02:51:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.2/19/2005 02:51:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|"Dud" has bad knee.2/19/2005 04:51:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I went by the ballpark today. The field is in PERFECT condition. Bring on the Twins!2/19/2005 05:00:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|I cannot begin to express my jealousy, Dianna. I am looking outside at a lightly falling snow. Oh well, it will soon be spring.2/17/2005 05:32:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Greetings Pepper! fans! Welcome to the best thing going at this website! That's right, it's time for another game of Pepper! As you probably know, each week SBG invites someone to answer a series of 10 questions, with each answer limited to 50 words. SBG has been inviting his fellow Minnesota bloggers to play the game. Their talents have made this game very enjoyable for SBG and hopefully, for you. Last week, Aaron Gleeman was my guest. Thanks, Aaron! He's a tour de force in the blogging world. The week before, it was Seth Stohs, another big-time Twins blogger and supporter of this site. This week, SBG is happy to announce that Shane Nackerud from the intringuingly named Greet Machine is SBG's guest. Shane's site is a regular stopping point for SBG. His site is extremely well-written. In addition, Shane is, without question, the leading blogging authority on stadium issues in Minnesota. Shane's columns on stadia are well-thought out, and always informative. Plus, he writes a lot of other stuff that is funny and interesting. And he has a neighbor named Cheesehead Craig. Shane is also the head of a project called UThink at the University of Minnesota, a blogging project over on campus. Says Shane:

Through UThink the University of Minnesota Libraries provides blogs to the students, staff, and faculty of the University of Minnesota. Anyone with a U of M Internet ID and password can create as many blogs as they want for free. The University Libraries have a number of goals with the UThink project. First of all, as the traditional defenders of intellectual and acadmic freedom on campus we are excited to give U of M affiliates the opportunity to share their opinions with the world. We believe passionately in the freedom of speech and we feel blogs are an excellent way for people to exercise that freedom. We also hope to encourage classes and professors on campus to consider using blogs to enhance the learning experience, and a lot of classes are already using UThink in this way. We also hope blogs will help the libraries retain the history and cultural memory of the institution. We hope that students, faculty, and staff will leave their blogs up even after they have left as a record of their time at the university.

So far the project has been a huge success. There are over 1,000 blogs, almost 15,000 individual posts, and over 1,900 users making UThink the largest academic blogging site in North America. This has been very gratifying for me since some people thought my idea to create UThink was stupid, and I was even accused of creating UThink only to gain a larger audience for the Greet Machine and my stadium ramblings! That was just an added bonus... :)

Whew! I think that answer was more than 50 words! (SBG requested that Shane provide this and did not limit him.) Now, let's get on to the main event, Pepper! Topic # 1 -- Vikings stadium Shane: Reggie's first option should be to renovate the Dome. If that won't work then Reggie had better be prepared to pay for at least half. Philadelphia, New England, Detroit, Washington, Dallas, all are paying half or more. If that happened here, I think the legislature would finally take notice. SBG: I don't care if the Vikings play in a sardine can. I don't care if they play in Mankato. I do care if they leave the state. Because NFL franchises actually do move and LA is an open market, Minnesota is on the hook. Get it done, already. Topic # 2 -- Twins stadium Shane: Fact: Twins won't stay in the Metrodome forever. Fact: New stadium won't be built without some kind of state financing. Pohlad needs to change his tactic by upping his contribution significantly and picking a site. Legislature needs to change its myopic view of the issue and hammer out a deal. SBG: This has GOT to get done. And it has to be done soon. Twins need to contribute, yes, but SBG cannot stomach the idea of the Twins leaving or folding. State needs to get off ass and find solution. SBG wants to watch Twins outdoors and not at away games. Topic # 3 -- Red McCombs Shane: Clueless. He wanted a stadium, but did the exact opposite of what he needed to do by threatening to move the team to LA. With that move he ruined any chance he had with the legislature. I booed him heartily at the Dome every chance I got. SBG: What can I say? He sucks. He's a miserable owner. Set the Vikings back a long way. Topic # 4 -- Reggie Fowler Shane: Definite upgrade over Red, but I still can't figure him out. Exaggerates on his resume. Says he won't move the team. Quiet, realtively poor for NFL owner. Hints he will privately finance large portion of new stadium. How? Partners are intriguing (known for real estate and mall development). Tepid optimism. SBG: How will the NFL approve this guy? Questionable (and relatively scant) net worth. Multiple embellishments on resume. Tom Clancy and George O'Leary's love child. Topic # 5 -- Victory Sports Channel Shane: For years fans demand Pohlad quit whining, build his own ballpark, put a winning team on the field. He tries by creating his own TV network. Estimated increase of $20 to $25 million/year in revenue. Hypocritical, short-sighted fans flip out. Victory would have assured the Twins stayed in Minnesota. SBG: It's really too bad that Victory didn't work. Clearly, the Twins were getting a bad deal from FSN (subsequent doubling of rights fees). Further, Twins not helped by bad publicity. No Victory is bad for Twins fans. They just don't realize it. Topic # 6 -- Packer Fans as Neighbors (Ed Note: Cheesehead Craig is a Packer Fan and author of Oracle of Cheese) Shane: Everyone should have a Packer fan for a neighbor. Cheesehead Craig provides hours of entertainment, and writing material, every week. When the Vikes beat the Pack in the playoffs having him by my side made it that much more wonderful. He is a great neighbor and friend. SBG: As far as I know, Packer fans can be good neighbors. They might loan you their saw or drill just like regular folks. They may have weird ideas, but, God love them, they are people, too. Topic # 7 -- Future of Twins Ownership Shane: No one will buy the Twins without a stadium plan in place. Pohlad won't sell the team to the state, or donate it to a foundation, without a guarantee that a stadium will be built. Jim takes over team when Carl is gone. Pohlad doesn't really want to sell anyway. SBG: I don't believe Pohlads will sell to Glen Taylor. Carl is 89. He's not going to be here forever. Son(s) want the team. Unless Carl wants to die on a bigger pile of money, team stays with Pohlads. Topic # 8 -- University of Minnesota Shane: Great place to work. Think about it. My place of employment has a football and basketball team. Does Wells Fargo have a football team? Didn't think so. An on-campus stadium is a done deal and will probably happen this session. Ski-U-Mah, my friends. Ski-U-Mah. SBG: One of Minnesota's best assets. The most urban Big 10 school (except maybe, Northwestern) and SBG thinks that hurts its big time sports programs. A college town atmosphere would be better for those programs. Gophers not even close to biggest show in town. Topic # 9 -- Light rail Shane: Hiawatha line hugely successful and the North Star line would expand a greatly needed transportation system. Stupid House. Filled with morons. Federal government would pay for 50% if we agree to the other half. Does anyone regret building the Hiawatha line? The Metrodome? Mall of America? State financing every one. SBG: Regular rider of light rail. Believes state should go forward with additional lines. Plural. Minnesota's reluctance or refusal is wrong-headed and akin to its failure to build stadia. East Dakota! Topic # 10 -- Steve Perry Shane: In the immortal words of Maynard, "The story is: Journey rocks." Inside joke between me, Greet Machine readers, and SBG. Do a Google search for "steve perry robocop" to find out what we are talking about. Click first link. My link is the ninth one down for further explanation. SBG: Journey sounded good to SBG at one time. It takes a big man to admit that. (Ed Note: Have provided hotlink and picture for your enjoyment! Who thinks of stuff like this?) There you go. Another fantastic episode of Pepper! Check out Shane's page. His writing is great, and his site is excellent. Be sure to come back next week for another game. SBG will have another special guest to answer his questions.|W|P|110868631952032939|W|P|Pepper! with Shane from Greet Machine|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/18/2005 08:32:00 AM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|We Cheeseheads make great neighbors! Property values have gone up since I moved into Shane's neighborhood (both times). Thanks for the plug, although I'm not sure Vikings fans will like my post today.2/18/2005 05:42:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Nice game. I like Greet Machine, it's one of my favorite Blogs.

However, I still think you should have Bat-Girl in for a game of Pepper! You're ratings will soar higher than ESPN's rip off of your game.2/18/2005 11:38:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|Be patient, Dianna. Be patient.2/16/2005 09:37:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Welcome to Wild Card Thursday at SBG, the website! As I have spelled out, tonight is a night in which I am free to talk about anything I want (as if that isn't the case any night!). I had a number of topics in my head earlier this week -- steroids being one of them. However, as I pointed out earlier, Only Baseball Matters has the steroid issue nailed, and I'd much rather read about it there than write my own piece. Also, I could talk about the pending Vikings sale and all of the news associated with that. However, SBG the Website has its regular feature of Pepper! coming up on Friday, and there will be Vikings talk there. DON'T MISS PEPPER! This week SBG has another special guest, the author of a local blog who talks about the Vikings a fair amount, including their stadium issues. If you haven't guessed yet who that might be, well, come back Friday for what promises to be another good edition of Pepper! SBG is pretty convinced that ESPN stole the Pepper! idea. Having Aaron Gleeman playing and linking to this site last week brought in readers from all over the country, including, no doubt, some readers at ESPN. And, wouldn't you know it, two days later, Stu and Peter are playing the game on national TV. This proves two things: Pepper! is bigger than this humble website, and the writers at ESPN must be completely devoid of ideas. Now, it's possible that ESPN didn't co-opt this idea from SBG the Website. But the author prefers not to think about that possibility. I could talk about a lot of other things, I suppose, but, frankly, SBG's brain is pretty much fried. Four long days of patent law discussions have left SBG with a puddle of gray matter where his once vibrant brain cells were located. SBG was last seen mumbling about interferences, restrictions, reissues, continuations in part, abandoned applications, and malpractice insurance. SBG doesn't really know what it all means at this point, but he does know that just about everything requires a fee. SBG was thinking about putting together a list of a patent attorney's favorite songs, you know, geeky insider jokes that no one but patent people would understand. But, his list was just one song long -- "Anticipation" by Carly Simon. Scratch that idea, even if I can come up with more. Nope, about all SBG can think about right now is that he's tired, he's ready to come home, and although it's been a good class, he doesn't really want to go anymore. Two more days to go!

Shout Outs

A big shout out to DREW. The original player of Pepper! turns 30 on Friday. See you this weekend, my man! A sheepish shout out to HENK. I owe you $10, Henk. I'll get that to you ASAP. A huge shout out to AARON GLEEMAN. Thanks for your contribution last week. Great work, and thanks for directing all your readers this way. Anyone who is a Twins fan and is not reading Aaron's site is missing out. A big old shout out to SETH STOHS. Loved your "story" this week. Seth is very supportive of SBG and SBG, the Website. Keep up the good work, guy! A shout out to BUTCH. Hang in there, Dad. The cast is off his thumb and he has a splint on it now. A shout out to TWINS GEEK. TG took a contrarian position on the Johan Santana signing. SBG doesn't agree, but respects TG standing up and saying his piece. Sounds to me like SBG should invite TG for a game of Pepper!, as seen on ESPN. A shout out to STU SCOTT and PETER GAMMONS. BOO-YEAH. A shout out from DOWNER'S GROVE, ILLINOIS. Get me out of here! A shout out to 7th ANGEL. Thanks for the mention. I'll read that thing this weekend. A shout out to TOMORROW'S Pepper! player. Thanks for helping SBG out. From an outpost in a Western Suburb of Chicago, Illinois, this is SBG signing out. Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow!|W|P|110861333884501926|W|P|Wild Card Thursday|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/17/2005 05:47:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I think you should have Bat-Girl in for a game of Pepper.2/17/2005 06:32:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|I'll certainly give her an opportunity. SBG would like a link on her page, however, and she's refused to provide that, so I don't know if she'll play a game at my site.2/17/2005 06:32:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|She is welcome, however.2/15/2005 05:50:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|SBG has some grand designs for his blog, well, design. Long-time readers know that this site has had a number of "looks", from a traditional "Blogger" style that it started out with to the current style, which attempts to approximate a sepia-tinged look. (Note that the pictures fade directly into the background. That's because the background is the same color as my photo editor's rendition of white coverted to sepia. A lot of blogs, and a lot of good blogs, are written by authors who couldn't give a damn about things like a "look". SBG is not an expert by a long shot in HTML, but he's fooled around enough to have some parts of his blog looking the way that he wants it -- some others don't look right and someday will get fixed. Of course all of that stuff is not substantive, it's just worthwhile if the content itself is pleasing. To that end, I'm trying, folks. One of the things that you might notice is that SBG has a title on the right hand side called Hometown Links, which has a number of links to blogs either written by Minnesotans or about Minnesota sports teams. These links provide two purposes, one, it gives recognition to those who work hard to put out their pages and two, it gives SBG an easy tool to check out the sites he wants to read. Below that, he's got a title that says Out of Towners. And that's empty. Or it was until now. Eventually, SBG will fill up that section with out of town bloggers who, in the judgment of SBG provide quality posts on a regular basis. Sometimes, SBG will comment on those blogs (in Wednesday Media Watch) and sometimes he'll just add links. Tonight, I want to comment on a blog that I have been reading for sometime called Only Baseball Matters. OBM is written by a guy named John J. Perricone, and his team of choice is the San Francisco Giants. John's page is visually quite pleasing, with excellent formatting and well-organized links to information. And substantively, Only Baseball Matters has great information. Perricone discusses the steroid issue at length and with great frequency. He peels away a lot of the hysteria and focuses on the issue and the hypocracy surrounding the issue. When SBG wants to read about the steroid issue, he goes to OBM. You may not agree with everything he says, but I think you will agree that his site is very well written. Oh, and during the season, he talks quite a bit about his favorite team, and their biggest attraction. Check him out. I watched ESPN Sports Center on Sunday night and imagine my shock and horror when I saw Stuart Scott asking Peter Gammons a series of questions and giving Gammons just a little time to respond. Stu called it "pepper"! I had never seen that before! Perhaps they've been doing that for some time, but it's also possible that Sports Center has stolen this idea from SBG! If you know, drop me an email or comment. Listening to Gammons blab on about who MLB "knows" is clean was particularly grating. I want proof! Until then, if I want to hear a bunch of speculation, I'll head down to the local pub. If you are interested in a REAL game of Pepper! and not the ESPN version of pepper, come back on Friday. SBG has another of the local bloggers committed to play. Hopefully, ALL of the Twins bloggers will eventually get their chance to spice up this web page! Being on the road, I haven't had a lot of opportunity to follow the media this week. So, I don't have a lot more. Sorry, folks! Come back tomorrow for Wild Card Thursday. SBG has a number of topics that he is contemplating, and at least one of them will be on tap. Until then, this is SBG, for SBG, the website, reporting from Chicago.|W|P|110851424470754133|W|P|Wednesday Media Watch -- Blogs|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/15/2005 10:37:00 PM|W|P| Ryan|W|P|SBG, I commend you on your attempt improve the aesthetics of your site. I have failed in my attempts to improve my site thus far, partially because of my rudimentary html skills. Good luck with your project!2/16/2005 02:34:00 AM|W|P| Andrew|W|P|I like the tone of the background, its easy on the eyes. The dual sidebar action you've got going on is nice too. Look out for a little overhaul over at my place. I'm having a Graphics Design major friend draw me up a logo and everything.2/16/2005 12:44:00 PM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|I understand your desire to improve the visual aspect of your blog. I changed how mine looks and I'll be doing more to it as well. It's very fun. I am enlisting the aid of the author of The Greet Machine himself, Shane to help me with mine. Seeing as how he lives next door, it makes sense.2/16/2005 07:16:00 PM|W|P| Butch|W|P|Yo SBG, I also saw the "Pepper" on ESPN, first reaction was "Hey these guys have been reading SBG". Time to use your skills (patent, ha)2/14/2005 07:04:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|SBG was taking a break from his patent class today in Chicago and checked his voice mail. He had a message. He checked his message and found out it was Moss, telling him that the Twins had signed Our Guy Johan Santana to a 4-year, $40 million contract. Wow, this was big news! What a Valentine's Day present to Twins fans! SBG was prepared to contemplate the signing for the rest of the day, but then -- work got in the way. Drat. After class, SBG went for dinner thinking this is a huge day in Minnesota sports. The Twins have signed the reigning Cy Young Award winner to the largest contract in franchise history (in terms of dollars). What could be a bigger story than that? Then, SBG went to www.startribune.com, expecting to see Johan's smiling face on the top of the page. But, no. Red McCombs agreed to sell the Vikings to Reggie Fowler today. Whether that deal will be blessed by the NFL remains to be seen, but a $625 million sale of the premier (why?) sports franchise in the state trumps the Santana signing. Man, the Twins cannot catch a break. Remember back in December 2001 on the day that the Twins hired Ron Gardenhire? Remember the media frenzy? You don't? Well, that's because the Twins had the great misfortune of announcing the hiring of the first new manager since 1986 on the day that the Vikings fired Denny Green (or was it the other way around? SBG is still not sure). Well, the Vikings may have grabbed the headlines today, but SBG doesn't care. The Johan Santana signing is big. SBG had intended to put Santana through his Twins Analyzer, but he's decided to take a slightly different tack and analyze the signing. Besides, everyone knows that Santana was outrageous in 2004, you don't need the Analyzer to tell you that. This signing probably signals the end of the Twins' off-season activity. Of course, SBG cannot be sure of that. Perhaps the Twins will package Jacque Jones and Luis Rivas in a trade for Miguel Tejada. Hey, it's not absolutely impossible! (In case you think that SBG has been hitting the hooka pipe, that was a joke.) If it is the end, SBG grades the off-season a success. If you've read this page at all, you know that the author thinks that the Jones/Rivas signings were evidence that Terry Ryan was maybe indulging in some religious ceremonies involving Peyote. And it's hard to understand why Juan Castro deserved two years worth of million dollar salaries. But, when faced with truly important decisions, Ryan did the right thing. Clearly the first priority for the Twins was to get Brad Radke signed. And at $18 million for two years, Radke was inked at a very reasonable deal. In fact, some have called it the best signing in the offseason. The next priority, in SBG's opinion, was to settle the Santana situation positively. Others may argue that the Koskie situation was more important, after all, he was a free agent, but SBG ultimately disagrees. The decision there was whether to sign Koskie or replace him with someone cheaper. Mike Cuddyer is an okay substitute, although he looks better at second and with someone else at third. Santana, however, is the Twins' NUMBER ONE ASSET. It was imperative that he be taken care of. You might say, whoa, SBG. Santana was not a free agent, and he won't be a free agent next year. This situation was NOT critical. I beg to differ. The Twins won the Central Division and had a realistic chance to go to the World Series - and win it - last year with the 10th best offense in the AL. In other words, only four teams had a worse offense, but the Twins really could have won it all. How? Because they had the best pitching staff in the American League -- and much of that was the direct result of the stellar seasons put in by Messrs. Radke and Santana. Radke was flat out great. Despite winning only 11 games, he was clearly one of the best five pitchers in the AL, and in the estimation of Moss (and SBG) he was third best, behind only Mr. Self Promotion and his teammate, Santana. And Santana was clearly the best pitcher in the major leagues. After a dreadfully slow start (remember, Santana did not make the all-Star team and wasn't even seriously considered), Santana caught fire and was absolutely unbeatable for the entire second half of the season. Santana had, arguably, the best season ever by a Twins pitcher. In 2004, Santana set team records (for starters) for lowest WHIP (0.92) Hits per inning (0.68), strikeouts per nine innings (10.46), strikeouts (265), and ERA+ (a weighted factor that accounts for ballparks and league average ERA, 100 being avergage, 182). It was Santana, and then Radke, who were most responsible for the Twins' 2004 success. Still, you might say, why not just go to arbitration? The Twins could save money and most certainly would eliminate the risk of overpaying. Well, Santana went to arbitration after the 2003 season -- and lost. The gap between Santana's and the Twins' numbers $1.8 million this year was second only to the obscene difference between the Astros and Roger Clemens. So, Santana was beginning to experience repeated hard ball negotiations. Plus, Santana was quite angered by the fact that he was not in the starting rotation at the beginning of 2003, a fact that surely cost him his arbitration case last year, and precluded him from asking for more this year. Just as Kyle Lohse benefitted from prior (relatively) good seasons this year, Santana was suffering from his past, a past in which the Twins had now allowed him to pitch his way to a larger contract. In other words, Santana felt that the Twins usage of him on the field had cost him millions of dollars. And if the Twins had continued to low ball him, he likely would have been gone after the 2006 season when he would have been eligible for free agency. Still, you might say, so what. Well, here's the so what. Santana has the chance to be the best pitcher in the history of this franchise. More importantly, he provides the team with a chance to win and win big. I'm not talking about winning the Central division -- that is, proving that the Twins are better than the moribund franchises in KC, Detroit and Chicago and the improving but still unproven Cleveland outfit. Santana gives the Twins a weapon in the post season, a starting pitcher who can shut down any lineup in baseball. And for those who value championships, Santana represents the best asset the Twins have to acquire one of those things. And he will be wearing a Twins uniform for the next four years. Yes, there are risks. He could get hurt. He could come back to earth. But, Santana's 2004 season, as great as it was, wasn't completely out of the blue. His 2003 campaign, when he was 12-3 with a 151 ERA+ was no slouch. He had 9.60 strikeouts per nine innings and allowed just 7.23 hits per nine innings. Both of those numbers would have been good for 2nd in the AL had he thrown enough innings to qualify. His ERA+ would have been fourth. So, it's not like Santana woke up one day last July and started pitching well for the first time in his life. And yes, the Twins have risked overpaying. (Did they overpay anymore than Cincinnati with their 3-year $25.5 million deal for Eric Milton? Check out what starters cost these days. Santana's contract is far from unreasonable.) But, sometimes you just have to bet the farm. By signing Santana, the Twins are saying that they believe that they can compete in 2005 and beyond and they have told their fans that that's what they intend to do. And Santana will be at the front line in that fight. A while back Bat-Girl wrote an article demanding that the Twins apologize for their shenanigans over the years in order to win back the fans. To which I say, talk is cheap. SBG does not care if the Twins say "I'm sorry". What I want, and what all fans of sports teams want (if they are being honest), is a team that competes (if you are Yankee fan, only winning counts). Don't tell me you love me, entertain me with good play. The Twins have done enough to make this fan believe that they intend to compete. I'll be there in 2005 when Santana pitches and when Radke pitches, just like I was last year. I'll even go once in a while when Lohse is pitching. I won't be thinking about contraction or the 1999 season or anything else. I'll be cheering on my favorite team, knowing that they have done a good job to put a competitive product on the field. Go, Twins!!!! Coda. A few days ago I put up a trivia question. The question was who is the only active player with a higher career total than KG in four of the five following categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. No one ventured a guess, and I doubt anyone would have gotten the right answer with out a lot of research. The answer? Vlade Divac. Garnett has more total points than Divac, but old Vlade is ahead of KG in all of the other categories!|W|P|110843519868302995|W|P|The Santana Signing|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/15/2005 03:14:00 PM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Amen to the comment on that the fans want a competative team. That is why I am so geeked for this season and the Brewers. They spent $, make bold trades and improved their roster tremendously.2/15/2005 06:06:00 PM|W|P| Greek House|W|P|I--like all Twins fans--was excited about the signing. I think it's now safe to say that the Twins have had the best offseason in the division. They only made two big signings, but they were huge!

It was good to see Carl "Mr. Burns" Pohlad finally make an effort to sign a big name player to a long term deal. It's been years since the Twins have had a bona fide superstar.

Of course, the signing should also pay dividends from a financial standpoint as well. I remember during one of the first Timberwolves games of the season, KG went out with a a shoulder injury. I had tickets to a game a couple weeks later and I felt extemely disappointed thinking that he wouldn't be playing. Having KG on the team really helps put fans in the seats, and having Santana around for years to come should do the same for the Twins.2/13/2005 09:46:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Greetings from the city with big shoulders! That toddling town! Yes, SBG fans, the author of this blog is sitting in a hotel room in suburban Chicago. It is Sunday night, and after a long day of listening to people talk about patent law, he's pretty tired. SBG will be taking the patent bar at some point in the next few months, and he is at a review course to help prepare for the test. Class started at 8:30AM on Sunday morning. It is all day through Friday night. SBG travelled here Saturday night, leaving town shortly after the Flip Saunders story broke. Clearly, this is the story of the weekend. (Actually other things could have happened, I just am unaware of it.) The story for me is not that he got fired, but that the Wolves have been so bad that they got in this position in the first place. It's hard to feel sorry for Flip -- he'll feed the family -- but the whole season has been frustrating. The NBA had other stories this weekend, too. How about Miami beating San Antonio in a game with 22 ties and 22 lead changes? Wow, a finals series between the Heat and the Spurs. That will be great. And how about Kobe v. LeBron? Well, advantage Cavaliers. And as for Kobe? Well, Stuart Scott was oohing and aahing on Sports Center, showing make after make. Then, they showed his stats. He was 7-22. Good God, they must have shown every one of his makes on TV -- and NONE of his misses. The story for SBG, though, is his first business travel in years. Prior to attending law school, SBG was a very regular business traveler. Let's just say that my travelling skills are rusty. I could have taken a cab, but I took a shuttle -- it was over $20 cheaper. But, then the shuttle picked up a family and we went way out of my way to their house. I was in that van for 50 minutes for what should have been a 15 minute ride. No way does a seasoned traveller make that decision -- and I realized I wouldn't have made it a few years ago. I just lost my head for a while. Also, SBG saw the Canseco book in the airport on Saturday. I had thought about buying it -- but seeing it with a picture of Jose pointing at his bicep on the back cover, I thought save that $26. Also, on the steroids front, some woman claiming to be Bonds' mistress says he admitted to her that he was using steroids to recover from injuries. She told this to Geraldo Rivera on Fox News Channel. She's trying to sell a book about her alleged affair with Bonds. Now, SBG isn't saying that her story isn't true, but look at the circumstances. Neither this story nor Canseco's story have sterling credibility, but with all the sharks in the water, the media feeding frenzy will ensure. Tonight, Peter Gammons talked about the issue and his story was ridiculous. He was talking about the BALCO trial -- excuse me, have there been any indictments? and the possibility of Bonds being tried for perjury. Now, come on, Peter. Have you read the grand jury testimony? (The answer to that is no.) No one is any position to speculate on whether Bonds will be indicted on any charges. But, that doesn't stop Gammons from flapping his gums. Then he said that baseball will make a big deal about Jeff Bagwell, Ken Griffey, and others that baseball KNOWS ARE CLEAN reaching 500 homeruns. Who knows absolutely that Jeff Bagwell (or others) are clean? He looks pretty damned big to me. And how about Ken Griffey with all his injuries? How can he say that baseball knows that ANYBODY is clean? SBG gets tired of listening to crap like this. There you go. Craig, that is a good old-fashioned stream of consciousness rant! Have a good week, everyone. Come back tomorrow for the weekly Twins report. Finally, SBG strongly urges you to go and read Seth Speaks. He has an UNBELIEVABLE story of his experiences of late. Seth has been a huge supporter of this site. When I read what he has been going through lately, I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT.|W|P|110835566844589734|W|P|Monday Sports(?) Roundup|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/14/2005 09:54:00 AM|W|P| Butch|W|P|Had to go to Seth Speaks to read about his "adventure" The guy is a good writer but how did he get the Mayor in the pictures of the bar?? They always say the everybody has a "double" but this is scary! ha ha2/14/2005 11:01:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Moss thinks Seth posted his article about six weeks too soon...did SBG get reeled in??

Moss2/14/2005 04:51:00 PM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|The stream of conscienceness pleases me2/14/2005 05:54:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Seth had me completely fooled. Now I feel like a tool.2/14/2005 06:54:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|SBG was not reeled in. But, that's only because SBG has had enough contact with Seth personally to know that he was putting people on. If you read SBG carefully, you would have seen that I said that I could not believe it -- and that was in capital letters. :)

I enjoyed the article and thought you might too. Incidentally, Seth and the Mayor are about the same age. Nice job, Seth.2/12/2005 04:02:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|In a somewhat shocking move, the Timberwolves fired Flip Saunders. Kevin McHale will now coach the team. SBG is surprised by this move, and then again he isn't. Just this morning, the Strib had this to say about Flip:

But with Sloan around, in his 17th year with the Utah Jazz, and enduring his worst season yet, Saunders has had at least a little bit of cover from critics who figure that changing the coach would be the Wolves' best fix. "It's amazing to me how this business gets all thrown out of proportion," Sloan said before the teams' game Friday. "Flip is a good coach, he knows what he's doing. He's as good a coach as there is in basketball. That's the sad part about it."

Clearly, this team has underachieved. If you have read this webpage at all, you would know that the author has been at wit's end with the piss poor basketball that this team has played this year. In fact, the author of this website has been downright offended by this team, moreso than any other sports team in Minnesota history (he expects bad things from the Vikings). Something had to give. And Flip is the fall guy. In retrospect, Flip should have been tougher on these guys. It's probably true that he lost this team. But, is it all his fault? McHale put this team together. He's the guy responsible for bringing in Sprewell and Cassell, for signing Hudson to his long term deal, and for the whole Joe Smith debacle. He's the guy that drafted Ndudi (drop the "N" and the "i" and you get the truth) Ebi instead of Josh Howard. It is McHale that has provided Saunders a team that is old, unathletic, and full of troublemakers. Thanks for that Olowokandi singing, Kevin. You could argue that the only really good personnel decision he ever made was to draft KG. Flip deserves some blame, too. KG has gone 16 games in a row with less than 20 shots. Flip should have demanded that the ball go to KG 85% of the time. Maybe he did. But, it didn't happen and in this league, that will be the coach's fault, fair or not. Hey, he was giving Anthony F'n Carter extended minutes. He took Sprewell out at crunch time. He was constantly trying to find a combination that would work. What else could he possibly do? Goodbye, Flip, you've done a good job with this team before this year. It's too bad it had to end this way. Your players got you fired. With the series of games that we have seen, including that digusting debacle at home against Phoenix last week and that equally disgusting performance last night, something had to be done. Glen Taylor, who is losing millions on this team, and is not willing to take on another bloated contract in place of Sprewell's, surely demanded some accountability. And McHale, whose job probably is riding on a trip to the playoffs, and possibly a first round win in the playoffs, jettisoned his longtime buddy. Good luck Kevin. You, my friend, are going to need it. Update: Flip, who has another year on his contract, will be "reassigned" within the organization. What an outrage. If the Wolves do not let him actively pursue a coaching position next year, they should be roundly criticized. Pay him off, and if he gets a new job, he'll likely have to give the money back. But don't do this. Let him go.|W|P|110824700237568597|W|P|Flipped Out|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/12/2005 10:29:00 PM|W|P| Greek House|W|P|When I read about Flip being reassigned, I assumed that they were doing it as a favor to him. That they were giving him some sort of job rather than cutting him out of the organization entirely. I could be completely wrong, but I would assume that given the relationship between Flip, Kevin McHale and Glen Taylor, that they would let him go if the opportunity to coach another team came up.2/12/2005 10:45:00 PM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|I'd like to say I told you so from an earlier post here about Flip. I thought it would have been after the season, not during.2/13/2005 06:47:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I A) Don't think it was fair that Kevin was fired, but I dont think the organization did either, and that isn't the real matter. The Wolves just needed a Jolt, somthing to wake them up, and if firing Flip will get us into the playoffs even though he didn't directly do anything wrong, then so be it. In the words of Wolves ex-coach (hehe) Flip "It's a cutthroat league." B)I also don't feel bad for him for being fired without directly doing something wrong because he's still going to get paid huge bucks for sitting at home in his boxer-shorts this year and next2/13/2005 09:36:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|The Wolves have to pay Flip unless he takes a new job. The reassignment doesn't make much sense at all. You are probably right, GH, they would most definitely let him coach elsewhere next year -- then they'd be off the hook for his $4 million salary.

It's not like I'm devastated by this firing. Flip Saunders will be able to feed his family, if you get my drift. And, talking with Butch about it, we agreed that this was probably the first time he's ever faced this type of situation. Previously, he's always had a team that played about where you thought that they would. He didn't seem to handle it all that well.

Nevertheless, firing Flip at this point will do nothing to solve the problem. McHale has zero experience as a coach at any level. Besides, I think McHale is the biggest problem -- he's the one that should go.

What upsets me the most is that they have played as crappy as they have. And they continued it again today with a home loss to the Bulls. I didn't get to see the game, but at least KG got a pile of shots -- 22. But, just one trip to the free throw line and a crucial miss on a dunk(!) in the last minute. Even though he didn't get the job done, he at least got the chance, and I'll take that option.

However, I read that the Bulls went on a 20-2 run that started when KG went to the bench with his first rest. Typical.2/12/2005 07:19:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|SBG doesn't normally (although it is not without precedent) post on the weekends. However, he is leaving town today, headed off to school. No, this isn't one of those best twelve years of his life episodes, he's going to Chicago for a class that will train him to pass the patent bar exam. These types of trips are NOT fun. SBG will leave MPLS around 7:00 PM. The course starts at 8:30 SUNDAY morning and goes until 5:30 Sunday afternoon. That's day one. Repeat five more times. The subject matter is quite important to SBG, patent law and procedure to practice in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The course will be quite helpful in two ways: it will help SBG pass the exam and it will help him learn necessary procedures that will come in handy on a daily basis. SBG is quite glad that he has the opportunity to attend this course. It is important. But, it will not be fun. But really, could it be any less fun than watching the Timberwolves get thoroughly manhandled by the Utah Jazz? This is a team whose owner ripped this week for a lack of effort -- and they responded by destroying the Wolves. SBG could point out that KG had just nine shots, his lowest number of the season, but more telling is that the team took just 64 shots, and embarrasingly low number. How could this happen? Well, the T'Wolves went to the line 23 times, had just four offensive rebounds, and committed 21 turnovers. As much as SBG loves KG's game, he has to admit that KG had a tough night last night. KG seemed slow, he was having difficulty handling the ball, and he was basically just not a factor. KG needed 14 points to reach 15,000 for his career coming into this game. He was sitting on 12 points late in the game when the Wolves got a turnover and KG was streaking down the court. A teammate (was it Hudson?) delivered the ball right on KG's hands for a breakaway dunk -- a nice way to hit the milestone. However, KG fumbled the ball and ended up dribbling out of bounds. And he stayed on 12 points. He'll get his 15,000th point on Sunday against the Bulls. SBG'll not get to see that game -- he'll be in class. Trivia Question: As you may know, SBG loves career numbers and is following KG's rise up the career lists in the five major categories in basketball: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. Only one player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, has a higher total in all five of these categories for a career than KG. Another ten have a higher total in four of the categories, but only one of those players is active. Can you name him? Put your answer in the comments section, if you have one. Hint: it's not Karl Malone, he's retired (but he is one of the ten). If SBG has Internet access this week, and that is not a foregone conclusion, he will post regularly, including another game of Pepper! on Friday. Otherwise, this will be the last post until at least next weekend. Have a good week, in any event!|W|P|110821607286322874|W|P|Back to School|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/12/2005 09:55:00 AM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Good luck with classes!

Given how KG has played lately, I think the unthinkable may be happening: He's packing it in. He knows this team is not good enough for the playoffs, and his is getting no help from his teammates. He knows this is not the year they will win it all, so why bother? I hate saying this about the guy, but the past 3 weeks have been absolutely miserable for him and this team. He knows they should be better and he realizes that they don't care. It's rubbing off on him.2/12/2005 10:51:00 AM|W|P| SBG|W|P|You are right Craig, it is unthinkable. At some point in the future, SBG will forget that this season even occurred.

SBG is a diehard Wolves fan, no doubt. The last couple of games, he's even been encouraged by the somewhat improved play by Olowokandi. Now, that's diehard. But, it cannot be denied that KG has not been himself lately. Why that is is up for debate.

Last night, in the fourth quarter, KG seemed depressingly flat-footed.

I was watching the other night as time after time Hudson or whoever let guys drive right past him and KG came over to help on defense only to have no one rotate. Then, the guy with the ball throws it to the guy KG was guarding for an easy layup. Last night, I didn't see the help defense as much. Of course, I could have a fuzzy memory. All I can remember is one dunk after another followed by one open three after another.

Think of it! No defense on the perimeter. AND guys can drive with impugnity and dish to open players for dunks. AND Utah had lost 5 of 6 before last night.2/12/2005 01:31:00 PM|W|P| Greek House|W|P|I think KG has packed it in a little. But can you really blame the guy? I'm not even watching the game with the same passion as I normally do. I watched it last night, but for most of the game, I just had it on in the background as I read stuff on the internet.

If the Wolves are serious about winning a championship this year, we're going to need to start playing KG 45 minutes a game. However, if you're like me and have accepted the fact that it's never going to happen, we should ease up on KG as much as possible. Slowly giving him fewer and fewer minutes, down to around 30 by the end of the season. He's been battling a knee injury all season, and you'd hate to see him aggrivate it to the point where it required surgery. He could turn into one of those guys (like me) who has surgery and is never the same afterwards. It would be tragic if that happened to KG while trying to save this sinking ship.2/12/2005 01:40:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|GH -- I think that you are right, KG will play less minutes. He played just 35 last night -- and he sat on the bench as the game careened out of control. If there was a sense of urgency, I can't believe Flip would let him sit there. But this game was a lost cause because no one was playing hard. So, why kill KG at this point?2/11/2005 12:54:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Welcome SBG and Aarongleeman.com fans to another edition of Pepper! For those of you who aren't familar with Pepper! it is a regular Friday feature of SBG. SBG picks 10 topics and coerces someone to give 50 words on each (and SBG adds 50 words of his own). The last two weeks have been a lot of fun. Last week he had Seth Stohs of Seth Speaks as his guest and this week SBG's guest is Aaron Gleeman. Aaron has a little blog known has AaronGleeman.com, which, in case you don't know, has had over 1,000,000 visitors. Aaron also is a co-founder of The Hardball Times and a co-author of The Hardball Times Baseball Annual. Aaron is a student over at the University of Minnesota and SBG has had the opportunity to meet Mr. Gleeman in person. He's a great guy and a lot of fun to talk baseball with. Thanks, Aaron for your contribution to this column. And now, let's play Pepper! Topic # 1 � 2005 Oakland A's Aaron: They're going to be a lot better than the majority of people are giving them credit for. A friend told me earlier this week that an online sportsbook was offering 12.5-to-1 odds on Oakland winning the AL West, which is one of those bets a professional gambler (or me, if I had any money) sees and starts drooling. SBG: This is THE team to watch. After trading two of their �big three� starters, many think they�ll be much worse than recent team. A playoff berth would be a thumb in the eye of Beane�s critics. SBG thinks that the bar should be lower � a .500 season would be great. Topic # 2 � Santana's Future with Twins Aaron: I am realistic enough (or perhaps pessimistic enough) to realize that the chances of an extraordinary talent like Santana spending his whole career with the Twins is very remote, but I am fairly optimistic that he'll at least stick around through his twenties. It sounds like Terry Ryan and Santana's agent are making some headway in the negotiations, at least. SBG: Twins Geek criticizes Twins� latest four year offer, pointing out that Santana could get hurt. SBG cannot agree. Insure the contract. Get the deal done. More arbitration battles probably mean he�s gone in two years. He�s their best asset. They should take a chance on rare talents like Johan. Topic # 3 � Favorite Sports Writer Aaron: Bill Simmons, no contest. If I could write like anyone, it would be him (I try sometimes and usually fail miserably). As for "real" sports writers, I like Rob Neyer, Alan Schwarz, Eric Neel, Dayn Perry, and Aaron Schatz. In the blogging realm, Jon Weisman of "Dodger Thoughts" is my favorite (aside from all the guys from The Hardball Times, of course). Oh, and SBG! (Editor�s note: what a sense of humor Aaron has!) SBG: SBG liked Ralph Wiley. True, some of his columns were stream of consciousness rants. Sometimes they were written in �street language.� But, Wiley had ideas; he was original. Does SBG think he was the best? Don�t know about that. But he was certainly a favorite. Topic # 4 � Bobby Kielty Aaron: I've been wanting to write a Kielty column for a really long time now, to kind of sort through all the thoughts I have on him. The 50-word version is that I was completely wrong about his potential as a player, and whether that is because of injuries or some other outside factors is secondary to the fact that Terry Ryan made a very good trade and I mocked it at the time. SBG: SBG hesitated to put this topic in. After all, Aaron has done a lot of very insightful work. But, he missed the mark on Kielty. Everyone is entitled to mistakes. SBG gives Aaron a pass because he was so damned right on Johan Santana. Topic # 5 � Lew Ford Aaron: I continue to be amazed by the lack of respect Ford gets from the organization. Shannon Stewart pushes him to DH despite Ford being a superior defender, they talk about Ford like he's not a member of the starting lineup, and they discuss the depth in the outfield like Ford is nothing more than a fourth outfielder. Meanwhile, he was the most valuable offensive player on the entire team last year and has a fantastic minor-league track record. SBG: It�s fairly amazing that the Twins are willing to hand a starting job to Luis Rivas again and not to Lew Ford. Clearly, the organization is not high on this guy. Look at the off-season. Now, he may be at his ceiling, but so is Rivas. SBG prefers Ford�s ceiling. Topic # 6 � Jose Canseco Aaron: My gut feeling on Canseco is that he is a very sad person, but that may have something to do with the fact that I couldn't care less about the steroids stuff. If he were spilling his guts about some inside stuff (true or not) that I actually cared about, I might see him as less of a sleezeball. The image of him sticking a needle in McGwire's butt is some high comedy, though. SBG: Suppose everything he says is true. Suppose McGwire was shooting steroids. How does that impact your thinking about Bonds, Sosa or any other big homerun hitter? If everyone is cheating, can you really blame anyone? SBG knows Butch�s answer. Roger Maris is the king! Topic # 7 � Poker Aaron: Oh man, I've got it bad. I have had the most successful stretch of my life playing poker this week, winning what is to me an ungodly amount of money. I just filed the paperwork for my second "cash out" from Party Poker in the last month and I am so obsessed that I have convinced a couple of my buddies to go with me to Canterbury on Tuesday so they can play live for the first time. SBG: Grandma loved poker. She loved to play and she played all the time. SBG�s never played the casino game, but he�d like to try. Poker is a tradition in the family. But, how long will the fad last? Topic # 8 � College Aaron: I was hanging out on campus last weekend and overheard a conversation that is the epitome of college. GIRL: Why were your sheets wet? You didn't puke on them again, did you? GUY: Yeah, I must have had too much to drink or something. GIRL: You didn't go to sleep on it, did you? GUY: Yeah, it wasn't that smelly and I was pretty tired. SBG: Best twelve years of his life. (He�s been there multiple times.) Topic # 9 � Gopher Basketball Aaron: I actually just wrote an entry about the Gophers on my blog yesterday. The 50-word version is that I was totally wrong about their prospects this season, they've surpassed even the most optimistic expectations that people could have possibly had for them, and yet I am still appalled by the fact that they lost to Northwestern, at home. The Wisconsin game was great, at least. SBG: These topics were assigned before the Gopher loss to Northwestern. What a pin in the old balloon. Even so, there seems to be life at Williams Arena and that�s a good thing. Kris Humphries, the Gophers DO NOT NEED YOU! Topic # 10 � Future Plans Aaron: Nothing too exciting. This season I'll be writing columns all over the internet. I'll have daily stuff on the Twins and other random things at my blog, semi-daily stuff on general baseball topics over at The Hardball Times, and then a couple of weekly columns at some places I'll be announcing as soon as my agreement with them is finalized. In other words, if people aren't sick of me by now, they will be soon. SBG: SBG plans to continue reading aarongleeman.com as long as Aaron keeps writing it. There you go! Aaron might have gotten away with a little bit of "Gleeman length" answers, but SBG thinks you'll agree that his answers were fun. Come on back in the future for more Pepper!|W|P|110808768948090233|W|P|Pepper! with Aaron Gleeman|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/10/2005 10:54:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|"SBG gives Aaron a pass because he was so damned right on Johan Santana."

Moss adds "...and Rivas."2/11/2005 09:04:00 AM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Good to see that you went by the old addage "If at first you don't succeed; try, try again" when it came to college, SBG.2/11/2005 09:44:00 AM|W|P| SBG|W|P|Well, SBG did get a degree every time. He's done now, though.2/11/2005 11:03:00 AM|W|P| SBG|W|P|Happy Birthday, Moss!2/11/2005 11:41:00 AM|W|P| Andrew|W|P|As you guys know, I'm really big on Lew Ford. I think SBG and Aaron both got it right, the organization doesn't give Lew a fair shake. Then again, I am biased.

Also, the new Blogger posting page is pretty sweet.2/11/2005 01:13:00 PM|W|P| Greek House|W|P|I--like Aaron--have been experiencing my best run of poker lately. I'm moving up in stakes and have already won more money this year than I did all of last year. Beats writing about the Timberwolves. Guh.2/11/2005 06:03:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|I was in a bar about two weeks ago and World Series of Poker was TV. It made me realize how badly I'm missing the NHL. It was slighly more exciting than the Grand Masters of Chess, but certainly generated no where near the amound of action that the PBA tour does, let along a good billards tournament.2/13/2005 04:25:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Did Gleeman keep ANY of his responses under 50 words? I just picked one at random, and counted 78.

I'm not really complaining though. The more Gleeman, the more better.2/13/2005 09:43:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|I didn't count to see if he did. But, I will make an exception for him for the following reasons:

1) He's very gracious to right on this page in the first place.

2) While he agreed to do it well in advance, I only gave him the topics on Wednesday night, with a Thursday deadline. Bad SBG!

3) I agree with you. The more Gleeman the better. He is always invited back any time.

4) I won't complain about anyone breaking the 50 word rule. If people stick within it, great! But, it is hard to discuss a topic in 50 words.

Thanks to Aaron, Seth, Moss, and Drew, all who have played this game so far. Look for more participation in the future from other members of the Twins blogging community!2/10/2005 03:47:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|SBG left work last night, rode the train to his station and got off. He was extremely tired and not feeling well. He was looking forward to lying under a big blanket. SBG has been suffering through the worst part of a very bad cold. As he walked to the parking lot, looking for his vehicle (he parks in pretty much the same spot everyday) it dawned on him that he had driven to work. (Expletive deleted!) So, back on the train he went to downtown Minneapolis. He got home and collapsed in the chair. The T-Wolves were on, but SBG was sleeping. When he woke up, the game was well over, and Surprise! they won. SBG then hauled himself to bed and slept. It is now about 3:30 AM and he writes to tell his readers that he's not feeling well, and they won't get anymore out of him today than this. Do come back, tomorrow, however. SBG has a special guest for Pepper! SBG thinks it will be fun. |W|P|110802942083561164|W|P|Sick Day|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com2/10/2005 08:19:00 AM|W|P| Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Get better buddy!2/10/2005 09:39:00 AM|W|P| SBG|W|P|Zero energy right now, hopefully will improve shortly.2/10/2005 10:17:00 AM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Lucky for SBG it's a Wild Card Thursday. --Moss