I Dislike Your Favorite Team

Generally speaking, I really dislike the sports columnists of the Twin Cities newspapers. Back before I was a super powerful blogger in my own right, I was a super powerful reader of Deadspin, which used to have a regular feature called Why Your Hometown Columnist Sucks. They have discontinued it, it seems (what's up with that, Will?). But one of my first actions as a sportswebs interactor was to nominate Bob Sansevere of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. I'm pretty sure every time you see the words, "a deadspin reader says", those words are mine.

My antipathy towards Tom Powers has been well documented on this site right here. And I stand by my assessment that Tom Powers is a Stupid Fat Fuck.

All of this is my way of saying kudos to the Star Tribune columnists of late.

I'm not a big fan of Patrick Reusse in general. He reminds me of me, when I was a junior in college and it was clear I was not going to be on the varsity soccer team, but I would be a damn good player on the JV. I could have fought hard, really pushed it, and tried against all odds to make Varsity, like Rudy, or Pre, or Terry Fox would have. I said, "fuck it" and coasted and had fun. Patrick Reusse gives off that same vibe. He knows he'll never be fired, but he's not destined for National Glory anytime soon. He's not ESPN Page 2 quality, and he knows it. But this piece on Randall McDaniel was a nice antidote to all of the New Mexico, Sex Boat, Tank Williams stories out there.

Key Passage:

McDaniel works both with students who have fallen behind and with students who are ahead of the curve and need to be challenged. He also serves as a substitute
teacher at the elementary schools.

A couple of years ago, the administrators at Sandburg Middle School asked McDaniel and his wife, Marianne, if they could get involved with students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

Randall and Marianne started "Team McDaniel" for the 2005-06 school year. They asked students to join them in community service: volunteering at an assisted-living
facility, a food shelf and other outlets.

There were 36 students in the Sandburg group last year, and now the number is in the 80s.

I just flat out enjoy the writing of relative neophyte Twin Cities Sports Columnist Jim Souhan. Every time I read him, I'm impressed with his lack of bullshit, his lack of homerism, his unwillingness to write apologia for the owners (You hear me, Sid Hartman? Of course you don't, you are old and don't hear well).

He wrote the piece about a possible Iverson to Minnesota trade, and he put it out there, man. He said what needed to be said. And he said it well:

Perhaps never again in Garnett's tenure will the Wolves face an chance to trade so little for such a great, great player.

General Mismanager Kevin McHale needs to recognize where he and his "organization" reside: Nowheresville, U.S.A.

The Wolves aren't good enough to win a title. They aren't bad enough to ensure the high draft choices (they've still got their picks for 2023 and 2024) required to rebuild.

Garnett's versatile and relentless play will keep the Wolves in the middle of the pack, and the Wolves' lack of draft choices and cornucopia of bad contracts will keep them from ascending.

Which is why The Answer is the answer to the question: What have the Wolves got to lose?

I would like to salute the Star Tribune for having the courage to publish two sports editorials that weren't completely bullshit! Well done!