I Even Miss Silva...

Twins pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers for spring training in 20 days. Not soon enough.

Things have been incredibly slow around the Minnesota sports scene these days, as the only major recent events I can think to make note of are Kevin Garnett's All-Star selection, TwinsFest and Brian Rolston's two-goal, two-assist performance in the NHL All-Star game. While I love watching good pro hockey, the All-Star Game - with no hitting or any real strategy - bores me. Plus, like many others, I had no idea it was on television.

In other news, the Wolves got their first win under "interim" head coach Randy Wittman on Saturday, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers, 101-87. More impressive to me was the way Craig Smith dominated the Sonics on Friday night, scoring 15 first-half points... and then not playing at all in the third quarter. After re-entering the game in the fourth, Smith added 11 more. And of course, the next day, he was rewarded with a whopping 18 minutes.

Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale (I'll put money on that duo as the Strib's next Co-Turkeys of the Year without even knowing what is to come in the next ten months - any takers?) think this team is more talented than they are perceived to be. I agree - but I don't see that talent in Blount, Davis, James, and Hassell like McHale and Taylor do. The talent is buried on the bench - Randy Foye, Craig Smith, and even Bracey Wright deserve more playing time than their veteran counterparts. Add Rashad McCants to that list when he comes back.

The Wolves are too guard heavy, they trust their young talent even less than the Twins, and the front office is delusional. As much as I try, it's tough to see any hope for the near future.

The Wild are exciting but inconsistent. Plus, they only play 2-3 games a week and most of them are at 9 pm. And I don't know enough about hockey. When its playoff time, I'll be tuned in - provided the Twins aren't on.

Super Bowl XLI will be a nice diversion - but there isn't anything there to excite me in the week leading up to the game. Manning and Dungy might choke, Grossman isn't very good - same things I've heard the last three weeks. Some hype...

I NEED the Twins. I wish FSN would cover all of spring training - everything - I'd (seriously) sit and watch some long-toss between Chris Heintz and Scott Baker ahead of watching the mess that is the Wolves. Anything Twins-related except for Mike Redmond's naked batting practice. I could go for a spring training, Twins-Devil Rays, Silva vs. Jae Seo matchup right now.

They say that hope springs eternal. Sadly, spring is still a few weeks away.