Monday, December 6, 2004

BASEBALL TOPICS

   Koskie and Radke Thoughts

   Bonds/Steroids Thoughts

WOLVES THOUGHTS

VIKINGS THOUGHTS

NFL "WEEK 13" THOUGHTS

GOPHERS SPORTS

NFL 'EXPERT' PICKS

WEEKEND WRAP-UP

 

There is one big story in baseball right now, and it's really unfortunate! This steroid issue is frustration to me because I just have a vastly different opinion of it than what the media is feeding us. I also don't like it because it's not about baseball. This is the Hot Stove season. The Winter Meetings start later this week. We should be discussing where free agents are signing, who will be traded, and how our favorite teams will play in 2005! But instead we're talking about steroids. So, today, I will post my thoughts on it, and I hope I don't talk about it too much! I am curious as to your thoughts on it as well.

Today, I have a bunch of different topics from sports over the weekend! The Wolves won two road games. The Vikings played awful in Chicago again. There were a lot of interesting topics in the NFL. I watched some college basketball and thought I should talk about the Gophers winter sports a little bit. And, of course, we have our NFL "Expert" Picks and a new winner this week! So, without further ado, here is today's entry.

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Have a great week!

BASEBALL TOPICS

KOSKIE AND RADKE

There actually isn't a lot to report on the the Twins front right now, but I frequently get asked if I think that Corey Koskie and Brad Radke will re-sign with the Twins. I usually answer the same way. I like to think that both will accept less money to stay in Minnesota, but if they're getting significantly higher offers from other clubs, they would be foolish not to at least consider them! They have until Tuesday to decide if they will offer them arbitration. Lets take a second to look at that.

The Twins are offering Koskie two-years and $8 million. If they go to arbitration with him, he will likely ask for, and receive about $6 million. That's $2 million more than the Twins are offering, and I don't think the Twins would want to do that. If that's the belief within the organization, then they can't afford to offer him arbitration. If that's the case, then if he signs elsewhere, the Twins will receive nothing in return.

The Twins are apparently offering Brad Radke 3 years and $23 million. If they offer him arbitration after last season in which he made $10 million and had the best year of his career, he would likely get $11 or $12 million from an arbitrator. Now that equates to $3 or $4 million more than the Twins are offering him. That too is a lot of money, and even too much to make signing Radke make sense to me. So again, I don't think they would offer him arbitration, meaning they would not receive draft picks for him either.

In other words, the next 24-36 hours are crucial to the Twins in terms of keeping these two players.

Bonds Admits Using Steroids (Unknowingly?) - Friday, a day after the Jason Giambi admissions, the news of Barry Bonds' Grand Jury Testimony was leaked. In it, Bonds said that he was given a pill by his trainer, Greg Anderson. Bonds says he was told that it was flaxseed oil. He also admitted rubbing 'the cream' on his muscles, but was told it would only help him with arthritis. He says he was never told that anything was illegal, or was a steroid.

Now the question is, do you believe him? Like many of you, I am skeptical. But I urge everyone to take a step back and put yourself in that situation. Just for a second, just to give Bonds the benefit of the doubt. You're working out with a trainer. The trainer gives you a drug and when you ask the trainer what it is, he tells you that it is a supplement, comprised of natural products. I tend to believe people who are more knowledgeable than myself on topics, so I think I would believe him and take the product if I believe it will help me recover from injury.

Now, I'm not saying that is the case, because I am a skeptical person, I question the whole story. However, in this country, we have a thing called 'innocent until proven guilty'. Now, his admission of using the BALCO product makes him guilty of using the product. However, he could just be guilty of negligence or not asking the right questions, or simply trusting the wrong person. We don't know. We can make assumptions, but we don't know. I don't know. You don't know.

And now this whole situation will put a dark cloud over baseball, at least for the short-term. MLB has said that it will not punish Bonds or Giambi. I think that is a good decision. Why? Because then they would be picking on two big names. The fact that these products are undetectable simply mean that these stars who were suspected will be the only ones that will be questioned and the only ones who will ever be found guilty. Other players may never be questioned and may be just as guilty.

As I have said before, I want a clean game on a level playing ground. I will continue to stress that I do not believe that steroid use affects the game. I have seen players believed to be on steroids hit more and longer home runs. I have seen players that you would not suspect of steroid use hit more and longer home runs. I have seen players I would suspect of using steroids have injuries, and I have seen players that I would suspect remain healthy. I have seen players that I would suspect to be on steroids be really poor.

Remember, hitting is not about bulk. Even power hitting is not about bulk. Remember in the mid-90s when Marty Cordova came back to the Twins and had lifted weights all offseason? Did it help him? No.

The other thing I have to remind people is that using player's names is dangerous. You and I can probably look to every team and pick out a few players who we suspect might have used steroids. Maybe they come back looking bigger and stronger. Maybe they have a breakout year. Maybe they are hobbled by injuries to muscles. Those types of things do not make them guilty! Take a look through the Twins roster of current and recent players. How many of them could you suspect of using steroids of some kind? Who else played in Japan with Barry Bonds on that All-Star Tour where Jason Giambi says he was introduced to Greg Anderson? Who has bulked up over a time period? Who's production quickly improved? Who has been hampered with muscle injuries? What do any of those things mean in terms of steroid use? Absolutely nothing!

 I encourage everyone to please remember the "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" theme as this all comes out!

Another thing is that I do not believe that this will be as big of an issue as many seem to want it to be. I have read in some places that it will be like the strike of 1994, that fans will be turned off by this information coming out. Man, I may be naive, but I really don't think it will be as negative as people think. Sure, we may lose some of those fans that really weren't fans to begin with, as we did in 1994. And yes, it is a big topic that needs to be dealt with. I certainly don't want to belittle it. But the game is still the game, no matter who does what! Watching it on TV is the same. Going to the stadium is still the same.

The key, as always, is how the media chooses to deal with it! Again, the media won't affect the real baseball fans' opinions, but it can affect the lesser fans. Lets be honest, we as a society so frequently believe what we are spoon-fed, what we see on TV, on the news. I would like to think that we are smarter than that, but in many cases we aren't. During the election, this comes out. CNN runs stories with a bias toward the liberal. Fox News runs stories with the bias toward the conservative. Yesterday, I was flipping channels while on the treadmill and passed CNN. They were still running a story on Voter Fraud in Ohio. They were talking about 4,000 votes. Why? When George Bush got over 125,000 more votes in Ohio than John Kerry. It's a dead story, but CNN will continue to show such stories. And let's face it, throughout his career, Barry Bonds has decided to keep his family and private life just that, private. The media doesn't like that, and so he has become a villain. In other words, the media will likely do Bonds no favors in this case either!

My point is that I wish people would be able to hear both sides of the story and make up a decision for themselves, rather than just taking what they hear as gospel. And, this steroid case is another case like that. You will hear comments from Senator John McCain about Barry Bonds, but you have to remember that McCain will likely be running for President in 2008 and loves all the publicity. (I do agree that these things should be kept out of the hands of high school kids. We've all seen high school football players using creatine or andro, and know it goes on already with full support of parents and coaches. That's sad, and that needs to be dealt with!) I like how the current administration is finding it so important to get steroids out of baseball yet there are still thousands of pounds of dangerous narcotics crossing the nations borders daily!

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear them. E-mail me.

WOLVES THOUGHTS

Well, Friday I discussed the Wolves two weekend opponents and decided that if the Wolves could win just one, they should be happy! Well, the team is maybe starting to come together, and that showed by beating both the Phoenix Suns and the LA Clippers on the road. 

Friday night, the Wolves beat the Suns, who had won nine in a row, 97-93. This was a game for the stars, and both of these teams have plenty of stars! The Wolves were led by Kevin Garnett who had 23 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, in 44 minutes. Latrell Sprewell had 22 points and 7 boards. Sam Cassell had 19 points and 5 assists. Wally Szczerbiak added 14 points while Eddie Griffin grabbed 14 rebounds. The Suns stars shone on Friday too though. Amare Stoudemire led with 28 points. Steve Nash had 22 points and 8 assists. Shawn Marion helped with 21 points and 18 rebounds. Quentin Richardson chipped in with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Saturday night, the Wolves went to Staples Center to take on the Clippers, who had won five in a row. It took overtime and a huge game from Sam Cassell to beat the Clippers, but they were able to with the 107-100 win. Cassell led with 30 points and 10 assists. Kevin Garnett had 22 points, 15 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocked shots. Eddie Griffin had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Wally Szczerbiak and Latrell Sprewell each played well and scored in double figures. The Clip Show was led by Corey Maggette with 34 points. He led five Clippers in double figures.

It does appear that, although Flip Saunders continues to play 10, 11, or even 12 players each game, the minutes are being used up primarily by fewer players. I do think that is a good thing, but I wonder how some will react to it. KG always plays a lot. Troy Hudson is still getting his 15-20 minutes as he is wisely being brought along slowly. But Wally Szczerbiak is getting more minutes of late, as is Latrell Sprewell. Fred Hoiberg is getting minutes, but the guy I worry about is Trenton Hassell. He played a combined 31 minutes in the two weekend games. I personally believe that is ok, and that he can play an important role in that many minutes with his defense. But after signing a six-year deal for big money in the offseason, I can understand why he would want to play more. Mark Madsen is starting at center, but playing only 10-15 minutes a game. The emergence of Eddie Griffin has really cost Michael Olowokandi a lot of playing time. Griffin, who is long and lanky, but not tall, has technically been the team's center, but plays all over the court.

This will just be something worth watching as the season goes along. But this week, the Wolves will play the Mavericks on Tuesday night at Target Center. This time, the Mavs will play with Dirk Nowitski, who scored 51 points in a game last week. On Wednesday night, the team will be in Philadelphia to take on the 76ers. Allen Iverson is scoring about 25 points a game. Former Wolves bench player Marc Jackson is averaging almost 15 points and over 6 rebounds a game.

Any thoughts on the Wolves, their minutes, etc.?? E-mail me.

VIKINGS THOUGHTS

I should have known it. Why didn't I pick the Bears to beat the Vikings?! The Vikings just do not play well at all in Chicago, particularly late in the season when it is a little cold. But the Bears are a really bad football team! Their QB situation is awful! Brian Urlacher hadn't played for a couple of months. The Vikings, even though we had to know that Randy Moss would play in a more limited role because of the combination of cold weather and a bad hamstring. But even with all of that, a good football team, a team that wants to win any division, a team that thinks it could battle the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFL title, should not lose to these Chicago Bears no matter what.

But our Vikings found a way to do it again! How many times have we heard that this season is shaping up just like last year? How many times have I and anyone who should really know told you that it is a different year, a different team, with different players. Conditions are different. It is not the same as last year. When the Vikings got crushed at home by the Giants, that was just coincidence, right? Sure! But now that the Vikings lost in Chicago and played horrible, again the question will be asked and this time, maybe there is something to it!

Sure the defense had its moments yesterday. Kevin Williams and others on the offensive line did put frequent pressure on Chad Hutchinson. But Hutchinson did not play poorly at all. He remained calm and poised. He made good decisions. And he did not throw interceptions (he did fumble once on a sack). Their running game was unspectacular but the combination of Thomas Jones and Anthony Thomas were used properly to gain over 100 yards.  The Vikings defense did enough to put the Bears into a lot of 3rd down situations, but the Bears were able to convert on 11-18 attempts.

The Vikings offense did move the ball well though. They racked up plenty of yards. Onterrio Smith is now the primary running back, which is the right call. I would argue that in being that, he should get more than 13 carries in a game. He did get 78 yards in those carries. Daunte Culpepper was 23-33 for 282 yards and hit six different receivers, including TD passes to Nate Burleson and Marcus Robinson. Randy Moss despite the conditions still had four receptions. And yes, Culpepper threw three interceptions. A couple of them were really bad, or from the standard eye, really looked bad (yes, every interception is bad, but...). My blame in this game unfortunately has to go to the Vikings offensive line. Culpepper rarely gets sacked, yet he was under pressure the whole game and was sacked five times. And yes, there were times when I was yelling at him to throw the ball away so as not to take the loss. But also, the offensive line had a lot of false starts. Now I know that many of them are replacements and backups, but they played so well the last couple of weeks that you hate to see them take a step backwards.

In a bad loss, there are plenty of people to blame. If you listen to call in shows, I would guess that Mike Tice may take or receive a lot of blame. I really don't know why. I am sure that the Daunte Bashers will be back out because of the interceptions. And a lot of blame is deserved, I just don't know who to give it to. Yeah, I blamed the offensive line, but the Defensive Backs were not good either. And, in general, I think it is just a big-time team loss!

Do you have any other thoughts? If so, I'd love to hear them. E-mail me.    

NFL "WEEK 13" THOUGHTS

Again, just some random thoughts on this weeks games. I found a few themes worth mentioning and plenty of big-time performances that have to be mentioned.

GOPHER SPORTS

Men's Basketball - I have been down on the Gophers Men's Basketball team the last few years. Granted, I wasn't able to watch much of them last year because of the whole Victory Sports fiasco, but I'm glad I wasn't. Every time I watched, it was The Kris Humphries Show. It was pretty much, Humphries gets the rebound, outlet to someone whose job was to get the ball to Humphries, who would then shoot. The year before, it was very similar, only Rick Rickert was the guy who got to do much of the shooting.

I was able to watch most of their game on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena against Holy Cross. I do realize that Holy Cross is a team that the Gophers, even in down years, should be able to beat. (and they did, 72-56) But I really enjoyed watching them play. If you haven't seen them play yet, you should. It is actually a team that plays like a team.

Vincent Grier is a junior college transfer. He can shoot well from outside, but he can put the ball on the floor and has the strength to play inside. He also has a bit of arrogance about him which I think is also important. He is leading the team in scoring. He also has great hair. Rico Tucker is a 6-foot guard from California. In the game and a half that I have seen, he has knocked down a lot of three pointers. Coach Dan Monson calls him the best athlete he's coached. Dan Coleman, who played with Humphries at Hopkins had a scholarship to Boston College but transferred back to Minnesota before playing there. He had to sit out last year, but he now has four years of eligibility. Brett Lawson and Aaron Robinson have been with the program for years and are now getting a chance to show they can play. Jeff Hagen, the 7-footer is being touted as a star. That's not promising for this team, but he does a good job inside and passes the ball well. Spencer Tollackson, a freshman from Chaska, started his first game on Saturday and had 7 points and 6 rebounds. He's tall and big and passes well too. J'son Stamper is new to the program too and although very raw, has a lot of talent!

In other words, I am not going to say that this team will compete in the Big 10. As a matter of fact, I think middle of the pack would probably be a success. But this team will play hard and will compete, and to me, most importantly, they will play like a team and be fun to watch!

Women's Basketball - The Gophers women's basketball team improved to 7-1 yesterday with a 62-45 win over a Kansas team that they beat in the NCAA tournament last season. The team is ranked 18th in both polls. Now, as everyone knows, the team is now without All-American Lindsey Whalen who went on to the WNBA where she helped the Connecticut Sun to the WNBA Finals. But they do still have All-American Janel McCarville who has just recently returned from a broken bone in her hand.

So far, Jamie Broback is leading the team with 17 points a game with over five rebounds. McCarville has averaged 13 a game, along with almost 10 rebounds. Shannon Schonrock has averaged 11 points and 4 rebounds. Fosston native Kelly Roysland is the team's top scorer off the bench at 9.4 points a game.

Men's Hockey - The Gophers Men's Hockey team got a split with Colorado College this weekend, losing 1-3 on Friday night and winning 7-2 on Saturday. Ryan Potulny (21 points), Danny Irmen (19) and Tyler Hirsch (18) are the big point scorers on offense. But the key to this team's success has been goaltender Kellen Briggs. The team is 11-4 on the season. They are currently tied for third in the WCHA, but were ranked #1 in the country going into the weekend. 

Women's Hockey - The women's hockey team is also ranked #1 in the country. This weekend, they played 4th ranked Wisconsin and won 2-0 and tied 3-3. They are now 12-0-2 and atop the WCHA standings and have outscored their opponents 77-13 in conference games. Krissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz, both long-time veteran's of Team USA in international competition, have 45 and 44 points respectively. 

NFL "EXPERT" PICKS

Well, it took until Week 13, but the Twins Geek, John Bonnes showed us that he knows a little about football too! So far this week, he is 13-2, three games better than anyone else in this panel, so he will be our winner!

Seth Stohs Melissa Olson Ben Jacobs Aaron Gleeman John Bonnes Ryan Maus
SethSpeaks.net SethSpeaks.net Hardball Times Aaron's BB Blog Twins Geek Twins Chatter
San Francisco @ St. Louis Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams
Buffalo @ Miami Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills
Carolina @ New Orleans Saints Saints Panthers Saints Panthers Saints
Houston @ NY Jets Texans Jets Jets Jets Jets Jets
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons Buccs Falcons
Cincinnati @ Baltimore Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens
Minnesota @ Chicago Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Bears Vikings
New England @ Cleveland Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots
Arizona @ Detroit Lions Lions Lions Lions Lions Lions
Tennessee @ Indianapolis Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts
Kansas City @ Oakland Chiefs Chiefs Raiders Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs
Denver @ San Diego Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Broncos Chargers
NY Giants @ Washington Redskins Giants Giants Redskins Redskins Giants
Green Bay @ Philadelphia Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles
Pittsburgh @ Jacksonville Steelers Steelers Jaguars Steelers Steelers Steelers
Dallas @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks
           
Michael Labuda David Bergner David Bloom Vic Quick Mike Brasel Jeremy Kovash
ChiSox Daily Baseball Savant Ya Gotta Believe KDUH-Sports FFB Guru Wolf Lake Mgr
San Francisco @ St. Louis Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams
Buffalo @ Miami Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills
Carolina @ New Orleans Saints Saints Panthers Saints Saints Saints
Houston @ NY Jets Jets Jets Texans Jets Texans Jets
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay Falcons Buccs Falcons Falcons Buccs Buccs
Cincinnati @ Baltimore Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens
Minnesota @ Chicago Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings
New England @ Cleveland Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots
Arizona @ Detroit Lions Lions Lions Lions Lions Lions
Tennessee @ Indianapolis Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts
Kansas City @ Oakland Chiefs Raiders Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Raiders
Denver @ San Diego Chargers Chargers Chargers Broncos Chargers Broncos
NY Giants @ Washington Redskins Redskins Giants Giants Giants Giants
Green Bay @ Philadelphia Eagles Eagles Packers Eagles Eagles Eagles
Pittsburgh @ Jacksonville Steelers Jaguars Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers
Dallas @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Cowboys Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks

 

That is it for today. Again, I would love to hear any questions or comments, e-mail me. And, have a wonderful week!   

 

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