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.

They Fired the Wrong Guy

The Minnesota Timberwolves fired Dwane Casey today, and have appointed Randy Wittman as the new head coach. I've never been much of a Casey fan, but with the talent Kevin McHale has given him, I don't think 20-20 this year is bad at all. I don't remember seeing anybody picking the Timberwolves to make the playoffs before the season began, and Casey has them in a playoff spot. I've disagreed with some of Casey's in-game decisions and would like to see Randy Foye and Craig Smith get some more minutes, but I don't think there's any question the team has played better than the talent they have. I have hope for Wittman, but Casey was fired without much reason.

The wrong guy was fired today. Casey had very little chance to do better, as McHale has assembled a pitiful team for him to work with.

Check out this poll on startribune.com. At the time of this writing, 69% of Minnesota fans think McHale should be gone.

UPDATE: I just heard this on the Sludge & Lake show on KFAN and I agree wholeheartedly: If McHale hadn't blown two first-round picks in the Cassell and Szczerbiak deals, Allen Iverson would be a Timberwolf and Casey would still have a job.

Jaric Leaving Town?

The Star Tribune's Steve Aschburner reports this morning that the Timberwolves are working on a deal that would send one of Kevin McHale's biggest mistakes to Detroit. In return for Jaric, the Wolves would recieve one of three Detroit big men - Nazr Mohammed, Antonio McDyess, or Dale Davis. Aschburner states that the salaries match up best between Jaric and either Mohammed or McDyess, so Davis is the least likely to be traded.

I began reading the article with some optimism, hoping that maybe getting rid of Jaric was the first step in climbing out of this hole that McHale has dug. Mohammed and McDyess both make between $5 and 6 million, but McDyess is only under contract through 2007-08. Mohammed on the other hand, is in the first year of a 5-year deal with Detroit. So the logical move would be to go for McDyess... and therefore McHale's move will be to bring in Mohammed, yet another big man who can't rebound with an enormous contract (see Olowokandi, Michael; Blount, Mark; and Madsen, Mark). And Detroit can have a first round pick while we're at it.

Jaric has reportedly asked for a trade, so he'll most likely be leaving Minnesota soon, but I hope it's not in a Jaric-for-Mohammed deal. I'd happily welcome McDyess, although it would mean even less minutes for my favorite underused Wolf this season, Craig Smith. Detroit is desperate to move a big man soon, to make way for Chris Webber, but here's my plea to McHale:

Whatever you do, please don't saddle us with the contract of Nazr Mohammed. Or trade another first-round pick.