A Few Sports Notes.....

I haven't commented on sports quite as much as in the past, so here are a few notes to make up for that:

1. Joe Mauer sits out with back pain. I am putting my sports hope and faith in the Minnesota Twins this summer because the other Minnesota teams have all been a letdown since the mid-90's. The Twins have a chance to be very competitive this year, but the proverbial elephant in the room continues to be the Joe Mauer injury situation. As you may have heard, Mauer had minor kidney surgery in December and has been experiencing back pain since that time. He hasn't been able to practice in spring training and even though he seems to be feeling better, he will certainly miss some time when the 2009 regular season begins. The rumor seems to be about a month, or roughly 25 games.

The longer Joe Mauer is out, the more the Twins season will be negatively impacted. You don't remove one of the best defensive catchers in the game and a two-time batting champion and not feel the pain. I love Mike Redmond as a back-up catcher, but his skills diminish when forced to play every day. Plus, he hits about a 100 points lower than Mauer. Behind Redmond is all-hit, no-defense Jose Morales and all-defense, no-hit Drew Butera. (By the way, you know you're getting old when a guy you watched play in high school and college has his son playing Major League Baseball. Drew Butera is Sal Butera's son. Sal played pro ball from 1980 to 1988, largely for the Twins). So basically what I am saying is that for each day Joe Mauer misses this season, the Twins chances at winning the AL Central take a hit. And that, folks, is hard-hitting journalism.

2. Vikes could have had Jay Cutler? Tom Powers is reporting today in the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the Vikings could have traded for quarterback Jay Cutler of the Denver Broncos, but the trade was nixed by "some elements in the Minnesota coaching staff (that) weren't entirely sold on Cutler."

That "element," according to Powers, would be Brad Childress.

Now, don't get me wrong. Why would a team with future Hall of Famers Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfelds be looking for a new quarterback? Sounds crazy doesn't it? Here is what Powers had to say:

The Vikings showed interest in trading for Cutler before Tampa Bay became involved in a possible three-way deal involving New England quarterback Matt Cassel, who ultimately was traded to Kansas City, Yahoo.com reported today.

Citing two league sources, Yahoo.com said the Vikings would have traded draft picks to Denver for Cutler, and the Broncos would have acquired Cassel by dealing picks to New England.

"...the deal fell apart early on, after some elements in the Minnesota coaching staff weren't entirely sold on Cutler."

Now, I am not a General Manager, Coach or Owner of an NFL football team, but I do know this - the Minnesota Vikings need to worry about winning games, selling tickets and securing a new stadium, and not necessarily in that order. If this report is true, and Childress nixed this trade, the Vikings head coach has hitched his wagon (and his coaching future) to T-Jack and Sage Rosenfelds. He has possibly hitched Zygi's stadium hopes to that same rickety wagon. T-Jack and Rosenfelds ain't gonna sell tickets. Cutler would spark some interest and ticket sales among the fans and might even win a few more games for the Vikes. But, don't listen to me. I'm just a fan. I'm sure Chilly knows what he is doing, right?

3. Marian Gaborik returns to the Wild. To sum up the Wild's luck this year, they finally get Marian Gaborik back after a 64-game injury hiatus and then, in the very game Gaborik returns, Mikko Koivu (arguably the team's best player) gets injured. Typical. I will say that Gaborik's return has instantly upgraded the offensive ability of this team. He's already scored 3 goals and had a 4-point game in his first 3 games back with the team. It would be interesting to see where the Wild would be if Gaborik would not have injured himself in that fateful hacky-sack game. My guess is that they'd be a 5 or 6 seed in the playoffs rather than most likely missing them all together.

There is some hope that the Wild will be able to retain Gaborik after the season but I personally believe that "bridges have been burned" between he and GM Doug Risebrough. My guess is that Gaborik will sign a short-term contract with a more offensive-minded team (possibly hated Vancouver) to prove he can remain healthy. If he is successful, he'll sign with that team long-term. If this happens, the Wild will receive no compensation for him. And with the Wild's luck, Gaborik will proceed to become the next Wayne Gretzky.

4. The Timberwolves are still playing. Yep. When is the lottery?

5. Gopher Men's Basketball eliminated in NCAA Tourney. Hey, I have to add some positivity to this post. Even though the Gophers were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament this year, I believe Tubby Smith has this team on the right path. With next year's recruits, I see a top-3 finish in the Big Ten and maybe even a couple of victories in the tournament. Small steps, people. Dan Monson had this team at rock-bottom, and it's taken a near biblical-effort by Tubby to get them back this far.

That's all for now.

Jeff