Bengals v. Vikings Notebook

Fight to the Postseason

The Twins aren't saying goodbye to the Metrodome just yet.
Jason Kubel hit two three-run homers and Delmon Young added a pair of solo shots powering Minnesota to a 13-4 win Sunday over Kansas City and into a one-game playoff for the second consecutive season, this time against Detroit.
The game will be held at the Dome.
Following an impressive 5-4 win over AL CY Young favorite Zach Grienke Saturday, in which the Twins blew a 4-0 lead before Michael Cuddyer won it in the bottom of the eighth with a blast into the left field bleachers, Minnesota pounded the Royals for 13 runs on an efficient 11 hits, five of which left the park.
Walks to Denard Span and Joe Mauer set up Kubel's first homer. Young's dinger two batters later gave the Twins an early 4-0 after one inning.
And the clouts kept coming.
Kubel went deep in the third after an Orlando Cabrera double and another Mauer free pass.
Kindled by Young's second yardsale and concluded with Cuddyer's second homer in as many days, Minnesota scored at least one run from the fifth inning on.
Kansas City rallied back from an 8-1 deficit, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth and even bringing the tying run to the plate, but Rob Mahay got Billy Butler to strike out swinging to end the threat.
Earlier in the day the Tigers ended a three game slide with a strong performance from ace Justin Verlander, defeating Chicago 5-3.
Scott Baker will face rookie Rick Porcello in Tuesday's one-game playoff.

NOTES:
Cuddyer's dinger was his 10th in September/October, tying him for second on the Twins' all-time list for most long balls hit during those months. Harmon Killebrew once hit 11.
Delmon Young is hitting .529 (9-for-17) in four October games with three home runs and 10 RBI. Since becoming an everyday player on Sept. 7 (24 games), he has batted .347.
Mauer, although his average fell to .363 with an 0-for-3 afternoon, will win his third AL batting title in the past four seasons.
Kubel surpassed century mark for RBI with his second moonshot. He sits at 102.

Tigers Huge Choke Artists

Up seven games three and a half weeks ago, Detroit seemed destined to reach the postseason.
Up three games with four to play Thursday, the Tigers needed to beat Minnesota once more to seal the deal and set up a playoff matchup with the New York Yankees.
They choked -- just like in 2006 when Minnesota claimed the division from them on the regular season's final day.
No team has ever lost the division in the regular season's final week when sitting in first place May 10.
With Minnesota playing its best baseball right now, having won 15 of 19 games, the Tigers could become the first with another loss Sunday.
They'll look to ace Justin Verlander to extend the season at least one more game.
Verlander shut down the White Sox the last time he faced it, giving up an unearned run while going the distance. For his career, however, he is just 4-9 with an ERA barely under 5 against the South Side.

Adrian Peterson Serves as Eagan's Honorary Coach

St. Thomas Academy vs. Hill Murray

Led by its multi-headed rushing attack, St. Thomas Academy continued its string of dominance to begin the 2009 season with a 48-0 romp over Hill Murray, spoiling the Pioneers’ homecoming.

Tailbacks Dan Freund and Augie Braddock powered the Cadets offense with two touchdowns apiece and the defense shut down the Hill Murray (1-3) attack.

St. Thomas Academy, now 4-0, has outscored its opponents 174-27 this season.

The Cadets wasted little time flexing their offensive prowess, scoring on the opening drive of the game courtesy of a 25 yard run up the gut by Freund.

John Garry found Dan Abbott open across the middle for a 10 yard touchdown and Freund ran another in for a 5 yard score on the team’s next two possessions to push STA’s lead to 22, where it would remain through halftime.

The Pioneers never really threatened.

Playmaker Zach LaValle was held in check with the exception of a long screen pass and catch that took Hill Murray into Cadets territory, and starting quarterback Alec Conners was forced out of the game in the third quarter with an injury.

St. Thomas continued to pound the ball in the second half; a tiring Pioneers defense opened the door for some big plays.

Braddock scampered 60 yards untouched into the end zone and ran another in from 10 yards, quarterback Ryan McManus connected with Kyle Rohde for six on a 31-yard strike and John Gould broke numerous tackles during a 64 yard dash on his way to paydirt to cap the scoring.

Catch the Cadets in action next Friday, Oct. 2, as they take on the Henry Sibley Warriors, while the Pioneers head to Tartan to play the Titans.

Brady Loses? A Look at a Couple Week 2 Games

The New England Patriots lost for the first time in 22 regular season tries in games Tom Brady started, falling to the Jets 16-9 Sunday.
The streak began following a 21-0 loss to Miami in December 2006.
(Like that? The Pats had gone 21-0 with Brady since losing 21-0.)

Mario Manningham, a former Michigan receiver who dominated the Big Ten had a colossal game on primetime Sunday. He caught 10 balls for 150 yards and a score in the Giants’ thrilling last-second 33-31 victory over the Cowboys to spoil the opening of the $1.1 billion Dallas Stadium.
The night’s production accounted for 65 percent of Manningham’s career receiving yards and 59 percent of his career catches.
He began playing in the NFL in 2008.

Minnesota Meets The Best

Jukes, speed and quickness
Jahvid Best scores with ease
Gophers suffer defeat

(A Haggy Haiku)

Smile at Misfortune

When your best efforts lead to the worst results -- the showers on the hook for a loss -- there's only one thing to do.
Smile.
The always focused, generally pissed off looking Justin Verlander gave in to the "say cheese" expression Saturday after giving up what proved to be the game-winning hit to Jason Kubel.
The single came with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth of a 2-1 game on a well located 0-2 fastball down and away.
Kubel sliced at the ball, and with the help of Verlander's velocity -- the radar gun registered 100 mph -- blooped it enough to reach the outfield turf for the decisive single.
And Verlander's performance up to that point, holding the Twins to five basehits and one run through 7 1/3 innings went for naught.

Dome Friendly

The Twins are sure going to miss playing at the Metrodome next year.
Thanks to the translucent roof, the Twins pulled off a 6-2 come from behind victory Saturday over Detroit and moved to within two games of its AL Central-leading opponent.
With a runner on in the bottom of the eighth and one out trailing 2-1, the Twins' Orlando Cabrera hit a routine fly ball to left field. Don Kelly, a rookie who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, lost it in cumulus cloud ceiling.
After searching with his arms raised in obvious confusion, Kelly located the ball in its final 20 feet of flight, and made a desperation dive to his right.
He came up empty.
And the Twins took advantage.
By the time he recovered and relayed the ball into the infield, runners were on second and third.
After loading the bases with an intentional walk to Joe Mauer, who had delivered Minnesota's lone run of the afternoon earlier with his 28th home run, Jason Kubel hit an end of the bat flair base-hit into left field off of Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander to give Minnesota its first lead at 3-2.
Michael Cuddyer followed with an exclamation point three-run blast into left center off of newly inserted Brandon Lyon to ensure that the Twins would at least win this ever important series with Detroit.
It isn't the first time the Dome roof has come into play, but it certainly has to be one of the most timely.
And after sitting seven games back of the Tigers not two weeks ago, the Twins have climbed to within a couple games of taking over the lead in the AL Central.
These two teams play eachother five more times, including tomorrow's game and four at Comerica Park where Kelly and the Tigers should now see that this division battle will likely go down to the wire.

Trojan Triumph

There is a new hero in Southern California.
Just his second collegiate game, 19-year old Matt Barkley, before 106,000 excitable Ohio State fans smelling blood and against the hungry Jaws of defenses nationally, calmly punched the eye of the Buckeyes with a late-game touchdown drive and two-point conversion to lift No. 3 USC to a 18-15 victory Saturday night.
It certainly wasn't the rout of meetings past, but USC, thanks to the big plays by its true freshman quarterback, found a way to move to 7-0 against Ohio State under coach Pete Carroll's tenure and 10-0 against the Big Ten.
Barkley completed passes of 21 and 26 yards and converted two fourth downs with quarterback sneaks on the winning drive that began at the Trojans' own 18 and took 14 plays.
Entering Saturday's tilt, the Trojans' average margin of victory was more than three touchdowns, and zero games were decided by 10 or fewer points.
Those games also featured Trojan teams with well established talent, many of whom are now in the NFL.
After Saturday's impressive performance it's safe to say, Barkley has established that he's well on his way.

Badger Football Needs New General

This season should be Bret Bielema's last as head coach.
Brought in for his ability to recruit, Bielema has consistently been outdone by just about every Big Ten school.
The most emasculating moment took place two years ago. Nemesis Minnesota, following its 1-11 2007 season, landed the 17th-best class, according to Rivals.com, whereas Wisconsin ranked No. 41.
Where the Badgers have suffered most is on defense, particularly in the secondary and on the defensive line.
Wisconsin employs a pro-style offense (11th man is a fullback or second tight end rather than a receiver), known for its ground-heavy attack; it led the Big Ten in rushing in 2008. For the most part, that translates to grinding, slow paced football and fewer points. In order to remain competitive, teams using the pro-style need a gritty defense to match.
The Badgers don't have that.
No defensive back recruit has been classified as a top-tier athlete (more than three stars) under Bielema's reign. And while the overall stars of incoming freshmen has improved since the early 2000s, the player development has gotten worse.
Jay Valai at 5-foot-9 is an undersized strong safety and Chris Maragos is only a slight upgrade from the days Shane Carter consistently played an out-of-position free safety. Inexperienced youth sits behind them on the depth chart.
Heck, the home field advantage Camp Randall used to provide seems to becoming a thing of the forgotten past. The Badgers were embarrassed by Penn State a year ago and nearly so versus Cal Poly in their own backyard. Ohio State came away with a road win as well.
Saturday, the Badgers needed two overtimes and a career long 57-yard field goal by Philip Welch to overcome a 14 point deficit and defeat unranked Fresno State 34-31. The upcoming slate of conference games could be painful to watch.
Sure the team is young with 12 new starters on both sides of the ball.
Few have proven capable of solidifying this team as a Big Ten contender, however.
Bielema has had plenty of opportunities to avoid such a decline, and his time can't be up soon enough.

Emailbag 1: Response to Twins Post

Send me a question to khagstrom23@gmail.com and I will answer it. I want to make this blog, when I take time to post my thoughts (which hasn't been too often recently), more interactive.

Here's the first set of questions. They both apply to my posting "Twins Down Now, May Be Out Tomorrow."

Question: "What happened to the scouting we used to have?"

Answer: I somewhat misspoke in writing that something has happened to Minnesota's evaluators of talent. They're still pretty solid; some of the best, in fact. The problem has been that the Twins have been winning and have therefore kept their most marketable pieces (or lost them to free agency or one sided trades) in the past few years.

Small market teams are forced to ride waves. Once they can no longer win with the talent they have, they trade it all away and start from the ground up again.

The Twins were bad from 1993 through 2000 (eight years). They’ve been competitive since (nine years). Just seems like the time is nearing where they will have to start over.

The economy will factor greatly into whether Minnesota can avoid the onset of the cycle of losing.
The Santana deal can partially be attributed to this different era in baseball. In tighter financial times teams are more wary of acquiring a major league star at the expense of depleting their farm. That's why Toronto wasn't able to deal Roy Halladay before the trading deadline. Both situations can also be blamed on the GM for not pulling the trigger at the right time when good, if not ideal, offers were out there.
I do still want to make clear that regardless of economic times, some players just aren’t very marketable. Minnesota has quite a bit invested in guys like Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young and Brendan Harris – the latter two were involved in what should be considered one of the worst trades the Twins have made in my lifetime, giving up an everyday shortstop (which the Twins just acquired back by trading for Cabrera) in Jason Bartlett and a front of the rotation starter (no one has yet filled that void) in Matt Garza.

Don’t forget the Santana trade either.

Management has begun making some mistakes. Large market teams like the Yankees can cover their mistakes by spending.

Small market teams pay the price.

It hurts to watch.

Question 2: "The Boston Red Sox recently acquired catcher Victor Martinez. Do you think they would still be in the running for Mauer, should the Twins be unable to retain him?"

Answer 2: As far as I’m concerned every team that can afford to play the baiting game will in the quest for Joe Mauer. If I’m the Red Sox, I know Mauer is the best in the business and one of the game’s top 10 players, so I go for him. Martinez always has the option of become a full-time first baseman.

Twins Down Now, May Be Out Tomorrow

Losses continue to mount.
The starting pitching with the exception of Scott Baker is crumbling. Francisco Liriano will never again resemble his dominant 2006 self, nor may he ever be a reliable arm in the rotation again (his 11 losses are a major league worst, as is his 5.63 ERA, among pitchers who have hurled at least 100 innings).
And guys like Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla continue to appear in Minnesota's lineup.
The present is bad, despite sitting just 4.5 games out of first place with a 53-55 record.
The future, well that looks worse.
I hesitate to bet on my bold prediction made earlier in the week -- the Washington Nationals will have a better record than the Twins in 2011 -- because the new stadium will bring in additional revenue as new fans emerge among people who enjoy the outdoors, comfortable leg room and backrests, are interested in checking out the team's new digs and any or all of them in between.
With that money the Twins will be able to acquire some mid-level talent and, hopefully, before the start of next season, when the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Dodgers start calling, to lock up Joe Mauer for life.
If Twins management creates another mess like it did of the Johan Santana situation, failing to lock up the ace long-term before his market value could truly be assessed, Mauer will walk.
Or, he'll get traded for a bunch of ruffian, mediocre prospects 29 other MLB teams want nothing to do with.
Mauer loves the Cities, sure. He cherishes the idea of playing in front of his family and friends in his hometown, no doubt. He's likely a model citizen that many can rightfully look up to.
But he's not stupid.
No way he, let alone his agent, accepts a hometown discount if it's less than say 80 percent of the asking price.
Should the Yankees offer a seven-year, $136 million contract (which I think is a reasonable estimate of what may go down), the Twins would have to offer, at a minimum, in the range of seven years at $110 million. To go six years, maybe $120 million would cut it.
At least the incentive to re-sign is also there in the form of a protective power bat and pal, Justin Morneau, who is with the team through 2013.
The obvious disadvantage of playing in a small market is the inability to retain your top stars without shelling out top dollar. There comes a point when you just can't compete.
That's why you trade movable chips and stock up the farm system. You understand the concept, I'm sure.
Where once the Twins were strong, now could be their true undoing ... for a long time.
The Big League roster is loaded with undesirable talent of the players Minnesota would be willing to move, especially with the undoing of Liriano.
Because Minnesota can't use players at the big league level as bait -- think Chuck Knoblauch for Eric Milton, Pat Buchanan and Cristian Guzman or A.J. Pierzynski for Boof Bonser, Liriano and Joe Nathan -- or it botches opportunities like the aforementioned Santana deal, the entire farm system is reliant on drafting talent.
Nothing is wrong with the team's player development and scouting staff.
There are just fewer opportunities to acquire top prospects, making life difficult for the Twins organization as a whole.
That contrasts sharply to the days the farm system was thought to be a garden of ripe arms.
It all comes down to this: No talent on the farm and no money to bring it in leaves GM Bill Smith in quite the dilemma, hence the logic behind my on the breath prediction. As an aside, Washington has a loaded farm system when it comes to pitching and an already very talented, potent lineup.
The reason Minnesota couldn't be a player in the race for Jarrod Washburn at the trade dealine was because it didn't have the intrigue Detroit had to offer.
That move alone should bolster Detroit's chances of making it to October.
Chicago also improved its rotation, acquiring 2007 NL Cy Young winner Jake Peavy last week from San Diego. Peavy is recovering from an ankle injury and won't be back until late August at the earliest.
He's a good pitcher, better than Washburn, but hasn't been effective against AL Central teams, posting a 4.54 ERA in seven starts (up from a career 3.29 mark).
Going from pitching in about as pitcher friendly as you can get at Petco Field to one of the most homer-happy parks in U.S. Cellular won't help.
He'll be a solid front end of the rotation guy, not unstoppable.
Chicago gave up way too much to get him and he won't really factor in to this year's playoff race. Should the Sox make it to the postseason, which is a good possibility, Peavy will be a asset to have. He's also signed through 2013.
Enjoy the move outdoors Minnesota, because the sun could very well be the only thing shining over the Twins for years to come.

Kobe, Lakers Crowned

Kobe passes, defends
Plays team game to perfection
Easy Lakers win

(A Haggy Haiku)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kobe Bryant wasn't about to let the Orlando Magic spoil his quest for a fourth NBA championship and first without Shaquille O'Neal. Rather than trying to go it alone -- as done unsuccessfully in the past -- he entrusted his teammates to the task.
The result: an impressive 99-86 win by the Lakers Sunday to earn their fourth title since the Y2K scare.
Bryant played perhaps his best basketball game of the playoffs -- an effort which had the Magic hopelessly searching for a program that would thwart the Lakers' star to avoid elimination.
No such luck.
Bryant was his usual unstoppable self, offensively, scoring 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting, and defensively, recording two steals and four blocked shots.
He got his, no doubt.
But what stood out was the way he involved everyone else.
Either as the primary passer or setting things up with his ability to score at will, Bryant time and time again found open teammates who in turn made Orlando pay.
Four other Lakers finished in double figures, highlighted by Lamar Odom's 17.
Few of Bryant's own shots were forced. And the fluidity, prowess and efficiency of Los Angeles forced even the imposing Dwight Howard and his Magic to bow; they discovered Bryant is king.

Notes:
Phil Jackson passes Red Auerbach and sits atop the record book for most NBA titles won by a coach. He now has 10.

Derek Fisher and Bryant join a select few of active players (O'Neal and Tim Duncan) with four rings.

(Photo taken by Robert Gauthier of the Los Angeles Times)

No Magic in Orlando

Magic fans have to be thinking it's 1995 all over again.

With a chance to make it a two possession game, up 87-84, Dwight Howard stepped to the line. Eleven point one seconds.

The first, a line drive with little rotation. Long.

One more.

Howard wiped his brow and mouthed a few words of encouragement before taking aim.

Rotation and arc restored, the shot soared high into the Amway Arena air, but Howard shifted his weight. Deep inside he knew.

Long again. Timeout. Lakers ball.

Orlando had been given its chance, much like its 1995 team when Nick Anderson clunked four consecutive freebees in Game 1 to open the door for Houston to storm back and tie at the end of regulation, win in overtime and sweep the series.

Now it was time for the experienced Lakers to take charge.

Off the inbound pass from Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant found Trevor Ariza who swung the ball cross court at midcourt to veteran Derek Fisher. Seven seconds.

Despite obvious woes, including brutally inaccurate shooting throughout the postseason, the gritty veteran cleared past troubles from his mind and pulled up from downtown -- open to shoot because Magic guard Jameer Nelson sagged below the arc defensively.

Swish. Tie game.

Orlando's Mickael Pietrus rushed a shot wide and deep right as time expired, knowing too well it was only a matter of time that the Lakers would prevail. After all, they had weathered the Magic storm, mounting a comeback after trailing at halftime by 12.

Orlando briefly held a lead after a trey from Rashard Lewis on the first possession of overtime. But the team's courage was gone -- replaced by halfhearted hustle and more carelessness (a key turnover with the score still close; 17 in all).

Los Angeles and Bryant found their old gunner to be true again; Fisher drained the game-winning three with 31 seconds to play and Pau Gasol's two dunks secured the 99-91 Lakers win Thursday, putting Los Angeles one win away from an NBA title.

And with history on its side, holding a 3-1 advantage, it seems almost inevitable Bryant and the Lakers will get their first -- without Shaq.

The youthful, resilient men in blue and white were right there. Instead they'll leave this night, and perhaps season, feeling but one free throw short, one turnover away.

Notes:

Kobe Bryant found late-game success when he entrusted the ball in another's hands. Twice he passed the ball in overtime and twice the Lakers scored -- a Pau Gasol dunk and Fisher's game-winning 3-pointer. Even on the brink of his first championship without O'Neal, he still hasn't realized the only way to make that dream happen is through his teammates, not by himself.

Bryant has struggled with his shot in the crunch, due in part to great defense from either Pietrus or someone else and poor shot selection. He followed a 1-of-5 fourth quarter Tuesday in Los Angeles' 108-104 loss with a 2-of-8 effort Thursday. After two characteristic Bryant makes at the front end of overtime (pullups from the right elbow and free throw line), he started to press a bit with his shot, selecting to shoot, and missing, despite being well defended.

Get this: The Lakers are 6-1 this postseason when Fisher scores more than 10 points. He finished with 12.

Orlando missed 15 free throws (22-of-37), including five (2-of-7) in the backend of the fourth quarter. Howard finished 6-of-14 from the charity stripe.

Speaking of the Orlando big man, Howard set a single-game Finals record with nine block shots. He also hauled in 21 boards.

Though his stellar help defense kept the Magic in the game, he proved to be somewhat of a liability on the court, thanks to eight missed free throws, seven turnovers and several rushed, awkward looking shots.