Minnesota Sports
Feb. 14th, 2005 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lollardfishAnyone who knows me knows that all of my true sports-fan energy is focused on the Red Sox; but they only play 162 games a year, and that leaves a certain amount of time (in between the World Series and Spring Training, perhaps) to focus on local athletic endeavors. In Minnesota, we are blessed with two, truly astounding, position redefining, athletes: Daunte Culpepper and Kevin Garnett. It will be a great shame if, when all is said in done, they never win championships.
Let me explain - in each case, they are unique athletes.
KG is over 7 feet tall (he's officially listed at 6'11", but has grown since he joined the league, while his height in the program book has not) but can play point guard (and has). He shoots equally well outside and inside, but his signature move is a fade-away 12 foot jump shot from the sideline. He hits it rather a lot, and no one can stop it. In the off season, he goes "into the laboratory" and works on improving his game, and drills himself relentlessly. He's a team leader; unselfish with the ball, but capable (now, he wasn't always) of lifting the team onto his shoulders, and just deciding that, win or lose, this game will be decided by his play. He blocks shots - he blocks shots by jumping so high that he sometimes gets called for goal-tending (that is - affecting a shot when it's already on the way down to the basket, which is illegal. You can hit the ball as it paths upwards, but not once it passes the midpoint of the arc) simply because the referees cannot believe any human could have jumped high enough to hit the ball on its way up. He has this explosive energy on the floor that he channels into his play, into inspiring his teammates, into leading - not into violence or taunting. He controls a game on both the offense and defense, and when he's on, it's a beautiful thing. He even took a pay cut in order to free up more space in the budget to bring in other players around him (although he makes plenty of money, no doubt). KG truly is a great competitor, seems like a pretty good person (he's matured nicely since he came into the league out of highschool), and no one has ever moved quite like him.
Daunte, on the other hand, is a linebacker who plays quarterback for the Vikings. Most quarterbacks, even the "new" quarterbacks of the NFL, are strong and quick, but not big. Daunte is big. 270 lbs of pure muscle big. Defensive backs, hell, even linebackers, get through the offensive line to hit Daunt and they fall over. But he's nimble, too, and fast. He can slip from the pocket in a heartbeat and run for 10 or 20 yards. He has a strong, accurate, arm and good field vision (being a giant makes it easier). Mostly, though, it's about the size and power - all those DBs hitting Daunte and falling down instead of the other way around. KG is one of the greatest players in the NBA. Daunte may not be the best QB in all kinds of categories, but he is unique, and he can be just amazing.
The problem is that both organizations have let these wunderkinds down. The T-Wolves have only drafted one quality player since KG - so that makes 2 in the history of the organization. They decided that Joe Smith was "the Answer" and so made an secret contract with him to get around the salary cap, got caught, got penalized, and then gave Joe tons of non-secret money - when Joe Smith was NEVER the answer. They have made reasonable decisions that didn't work out, but then refused to change their mind when better options presented themselves (choosing Will Avery over Bobby Jackson is my favorite example). Taylor and McHale award big contracts to players who have not earned them (T-Hud). Now, when it's clear that some players need to be moved, the Wolves fired their excellent coach and replaced him with a guy who has never coached a game! The T-Wolves, run as they are now, will not put together a championship team. They spend money - it's not being cheap - they just spend it poorly.
The Vikings problems are simpler, really. Whereas the T-Wolves management and players seem to need psychoanalysis, the Vikings just need an owner who wants them to win. Red McCombs, who bought the Vikings on the cheap (249 million or so. He's selling it for 600 million today or tomorrow), has basically tried to spend as little money as possible while attempting to blackmail Minnesota for a stadium. Credit is due to Minnesota lawmakers and voters for not caving. Some of the disasters for Daunte have been inexplicable: the 42-0 loss to the Giants in the NFC championship game. Our defense wasn't that bad, and our offense was amazing - except during that game. Other have been all too explicable - there was a rebuilding process. The fundamental issue, though, is how cheap the organization has been. They run below the salary cap - I think about 20 million this year. How many linebackers and corners could the team have added to go from being a 'contender' to a real Superbowl threat this year. The team's plan is to spend as little money as to make them pretty good, and hope to get lucky. That's not how champions are built. And it's not just about players on the field, but coaches too. Time and time again, the team goes for the cheap coaching option - and the poster boy for that is Mike Tice. In a year when Tony Dungy and other experienced (and pricey) NFL coaches were going to be available, McCombs signed Tice because he was cheap. We lose at least 2 games a year because Tice makes the wrong decision, and 2 games in an NFL season is pretty significant. And I can't think of any games, ever, that we have won because Tice did something clever.
But the bright spot is that maybe there is an opportunity to turn things around. I think firing Flip Saunders was a poor move, and I think the T-Wolves will collapse this year. KG is hurt. The old guys (Casell and Spree) are surly and slow but also not inked to long-term contracts. They'll get a decent draft pick this year, KG will heal, they will hire a new coach, and maybe, next year, approach things differently. The Wolves were able to be complacent because each year the team seemed to be getting better, climbing higher mountains - this year is a disaster.
Meanwhile, a new guy (conglomerate) is about to buy the Vikings. Maybe they will want to win, not just threaten to move the team every week if they don't get a new stadium.
I want to see Daunte and KG win championships, because no one has ever played the game the way they do. But no matter how good they are, they need a team, and an organization, around them.
Go Twins?
Let me explain - in each case, they are unique athletes.
KG is over 7 feet tall (he's officially listed at 6'11", but has grown since he joined the league, while his height in the program book has not) but can play point guard (and has). He shoots equally well outside and inside, but his signature move is a fade-away 12 foot jump shot from the sideline. He hits it rather a lot, and no one can stop it. In the off season, he goes "into the laboratory" and works on improving his game, and drills himself relentlessly. He's a team leader; unselfish with the ball, but capable (now, he wasn't always) of lifting the team onto his shoulders, and just deciding that, win or lose, this game will be decided by his play. He blocks shots - he blocks shots by jumping so high that he sometimes gets called for goal-tending (that is - affecting a shot when it's already on the way down to the basket, which is illegal. You can hit the ball as it paths upwards, but not once it passes the midpoint of the arc) simply because the referees cannot believe any human could have jumped high enough to hit the ball on its way up. He has this explosive energy on the floor that he channels into his play, into inspiring his teammates, into leading - not into violence or taunting. He controls a game on both the offense and defense, and when he's on, it's a beautiful thing. He even took a pay cut in order to free up more space in the budget to bring in other players around him (although he makes plenty of money, no doubt). KG truly is a great competitor, seems like a pretty good person (he's matured nicely since he came into the league out of highschool), and no one has ever moved quite like him.
Daunte, on the other hand, is a linebacker who plays quarterback for the Vikings. Most quarterbacks, even the "new" quarterbacks of the NFL, are strong and quick, but not big. Daunte is big. 270 lbs of pure muscle big. Defensive backs, hell, even linebackers, get through the offensive line to hit Daunt and they fall over. But he's nimble, too, and fast. He can slip from the pocket in a heartbeat and run for 10 or 20 yards. He has a strong, accurate, arm and good field vision (being a giant makes it easier). Mostly, though, it's about the size and power - all those DBs hitting Daunte and falling down instead of the other way around. KG is one of the greatest players in the NBA. Daunte may not be the best QB in all kinds of categories, but he is unique, and he can be just amazing.
The problem is that both organizations have let these wunderkinds down. The T-Wolves have only drafted one quality player since KG - so that makes 2 in the history of the organization. They decided that Joe Smith was "the Answer" and so made an secret contract with him to get around the salary cap, got caught, got penalized, and then gave Joe tons of non-secret money - when Joe Smith was NEVER the answer. They have made reasonable decisions that didn't work out, but then refused to change their mind when better options presented themselves (choosing Will Avery over Bobby Jackson is my favorite example). Taylor and McHale award big contracts to players who have not earned them (T-Hud). Now, when it's clear that some players need to be moved, the Wolves fired their excellent coach and replaced him with a guy who has never coached a game! The T-Wolves, run as they are now, will not put together a championship team. They spend money - it's not being cheap - they just spend it poorly.
The Vikings problems are simpler, really. Whereas the T-Wolves management and players seem to need psychoanalysis, the Vikings just need an owner who wants them to win. Red McCombs, who bought the Vikings on the cheap (249 million or so. He's selling it for 600 million today or tomorrow), has basically tried to spend as little money as possible while attempting to blackmail Minnesota for a stadium. Credit is due to Minnesota lawmakers and voters for not caving. Some of the disasters for Daunte have been inexplicable: the 42-0 loss to the Giants in the NFC championship game. Our defense wasn't that bad, and our offense was amazing - except during that game. Other have been all too explicable - there was a rebuilding process. The fundamental issue, though, is how cheap the organization has been. They run below the salary cap - I think about 20 million this year. How many linebackers and corners could the team have added to go from being a 'contender' to a real Superbowl threat this year. The team's plan is to spend as little money as to make them pretty good, and hope to get lucky. That's not how champions are built. And it's not just about players on the field, but coaches too. Time and time again, the team goes for the cheap coaching option - and the poster boy for that is Mike Tice. In a year when Tony Dungy and other experienced (and pricey) NFL coaches were going to be available, McCombs signed Tice because he was cheap. We lose at least 2 games a year because Tice makes the wrong decision, and 2 games in an NFL season is pretty significant. And I can't think of any games, ever, that we have won because Tice did something clever.
But the bright spot is that maybe there is an opportunity to turn things around. I think firing Flip Saunders was a poor move, and I think the T-Wolves will collapse this year. KG is hurt. The old guys (Casell and Spree) are surly and slow but also not inked to long-term contracts. They'll get a decent draft pick this year, KG will heal, they will hire a new coach, and maybe, next year, approach things differently. The Wolves were able to be complacent because each year the team seemed to be getting better, climbing higher mountains - this year is a disaster.
Meanwhile, a new guy (conglomerate) is about to buy the Vikings. Maybe they will want to win, not just threaten to move the team every week if they don't get a new stadium.
I want to see Daunte and KG win championships, because no one has ever played the game the way they do. But no matter how good they are, they need a team, and an organization, around them.
Go Twins?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-02-14 08:06 pm (UTC)