OK. It's been ages since I last posted here. Extenuating circumstances (moving back into my house, re-prioritizing my life, etc…) aside, it's been way too long. So let's just jump right in while the water's wet.
Reality bites, but maybe I'm coming to grips with it
In the past three or so years:
- Randy Moss was traded (for next to nothing) to the Oakland Raiders.
- Kevin Garnett was traded (for a pu-pu platter) to the Boston Celtics.
- Torii Hunter signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Having spent 30 of my nearly 31 years in Minnesota, rooting for Minnesota teams, this has been heartbreaking to watch. We're talking about the three favorite athletes of my adult existence. Moss (30) – who was born two months after and 30 miles up the road from me in West Virginia – and Garnett (30) were fellow Class of '95ers, while Hunter (32) broke into the league shortly after I finished high school.
I feel a close connection with them, not only because they came into their own around the same time I did, but also because they are such dynamic athletes/personalities. They were easily the three most popular Minnesota athletes of the past decade. Garnett was the most popular Timberwolf of all time. Ergo, he WAS the Timberwolves. It's nearly impossible to think of them without thinking of KG. Moss filled the Metrodome to capacity every game he played there, and despite his controversial personality, was adored by Vikings' fans everywhere. And Hunter was the most personable of them all, a perfect successor to the much-beloved, late Kirby Puckett.
And now they are all gone. Poof!
Sigh. (Give me a moment.)
Here is what I have come to grips with.
That no matter how much I hate to see them go and how much I still love 'em, it is for the best. Maybe not for me as a fan, but it is for them.
Moss languished two years in Oakland before moving on to become one of the two most integral parts of the Patriots, the greatest NFL team I've ever seen and maybe the best ever, in their quest for perfection. Moss is having his best season ever (and that's saying something) on an 11-0 team.
Garnett fell into the perfect storm in Boston with two other stars in their prime, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, who are almost as hungry as he is to win an NBA title. Garnett has his best supporting cast ever and his best chance to reach (and win) the NBA Finals on the 11-1 Celtics.
Hunter was offered twice the money and the security of two more years to play baseball in sunny Anaheim on a contending team in a large market where his infectious smile and joy for the game will be embraced. He will also play on knee-saving grass instead of taking half the money to play in the unforgiving Metrodome on a team with an owner unwilling to pay to upgrade the talent in order to become a contender, despite the fact that a brand-new, taxpayer-bought ballpark opens in 2010.
Moss is happy. Garnett is happy. Hunter is happy.
I'm happy. Both for them and with them.
The reality is. I'm a Minnesotan. And no matter how many times I'm stabbed in the back by them, no matter if the owner is a penny-pincher (Twins), if the front office is incompetent (Timberwolves) or if I despise the head coach (Vikings), no matter what happens, they are still MY teams. If there is anything for which Minnesota pro sports fans are known for, it is for being fickle. Bandwagon jumpers. There's something to be said for loyalty, sticking with someone through the thick and the thin. That's something I've learned, especially in the past year, in my personal life. And truth be told, I bleed Minnesota, and I always will, no matter where I end up.
That being said, I'm now a huge fan of the Patriots. And the Celtics. (Who woulda thunk?) And I'm gonna love the Angels.
It's not about divided loyalties. It's about stayed loyalties in your teams and the athletes that have meant so much to you.
So Godspeed Randy, Kevin and Torii. The reality might suck, but I've come to grips with losing you.
More on Torii
There have been a lot of fans who have lashed out at the Twins (rightfully so) for not making much of an effort to resign Hunter. There have also been a lot of fans who have lashed out at Torii (wrongfully so, for taking the money and running), lamenting the lack of loyalty by players in today's era of free agency.
Puh-lease. Look at it this way. In your job, where overall morale is slipping, you are making $50,000/year and your boss keeps letting go of competent and excellent coworkers whom you've worked with for years and replacing them with wet-behind-the-ears college students. Another CEO out there swoops in and offers you $80,000/year plus job security for an upwardly-mobile group. Sure, you'll have to uproot your family and move across the country, but I'm pretty sure you'd do it, wouldn't you.
I'm going to miss Torii's ever-present smile, his passion for the game, his headlong dives into walls and onto hard-as-rock carpets and his wicked, no-holds-barred swing.
He's going to be impossible to replace.
More on KG
Five games into his Celtics' career, Garnett had already moved past all the great all-time Celtics and into a tie for first place with Larry Bird as his favorite Boston player ever for one lifetime Celtics' fan.
The passion, the intensity, the will to win, the drive to make everyone around him better are written in indelible ink in Garnett's game. His new team is feeding off of that.
Da Kid, I mean, Da Man, deserves a championship.
More on The Freak
Last week, one of my favorite columnists, Foxsports.com's Jason Whitlock eloquently stated his case (http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7472596) for Moss to be the NFL's MVP this season. As if I wasn't predisposed to think that already, it convinced me even more after reading it.
Even after Moss was limited to five catches for 43 yards in Sunday night's near-loss to the Eagles – it should have been six for 47 and a TD; that push-off call was a joke – I still agree. Philadelphia had to pay so much attention to Moss that it opened up the field for Wes Welker and company to do the heavy lifting in the win.
Brady's been unbelievable and will no doubt win the MVP this season. But it is the addition of Moss that has made the 2007 Patriots unstoppable and the stuff of legends.
Random thoughts
Anyone else notice that Matt Niskanen has been playing the second-most minutes per night for the Dallas Stars for the past couple of weeks? He's also become a huge part of the power play and penalty kill units. Sunday, he spent much of the game against the Rangers going head-to-head against Jaromir Jagr. Looks like the 20-year-old is here to stay. And by here, I mean the NHL. Atta boy, Niski.
At the beginning of the season, I predicted West Virginia would beat Ohio State in the national (college football) championship game. After the Mountaineers lost early and the Buckeyes late this season, I thought it wasn't meant to be. But here we are with a week to go and it very well could happen. No. 2 West Virginia will be in for sure if it beats Pittsburgh in the 100th annual Backyard Brawl, and No. 3 Ohio State will slip in the backdoor if Oklahoma dispatches No. 1 Missouri in the Big 12 title game Saturday. Just goes to show you in this topsy-turvy season, even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes.
How about them Vikings? After embarrassing Eli Manning and the Giants 41-17 Sunday, the 5-6 Vikes can take control of the race for the final NFC wild card spot with a win over 6-5 Detroit at the Metrodome next Sunday. And with Adrian Peterson coming back, the odds are in their favor. The rest of the schedule is filled with chumps, and I don't think even Chilly (Vikings' coach Brad Childress) can screw this up. Then again, what do I know? I sat the three-TD-scoring Purple defense for the first time this season in one of my fantasy leagues. Doh!
The winter sports season is under way locally. Looking forward to frequenting our local gyms and arenas and covering some games again. It's been a long time coming. Like this blog post.
Until next time…
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