Welcome Back!

Since my last post, we have entered perhaps the darkest period in MN sports history as the Wolves, Vikings, and Wild all missed out on the playoffs, and all three major Gopher sports (football, basketball and hockey) missed out on their respective versions of the postseason.  In a normal year we could count on the Twins to keep our hopes alive late into the summer, at least until their predictable first round exit from playoffs (at the hands of the Yankees, of course).  At 20 games below .500 and 16.5 games behind Cleveland for the division lead, we are left in eager anticipation of the trade deadline and 2012. 

As a welcome back present to myself and my millions of readers, I felt it was appropriate to compile a list of “silver linings” to tide us over until better times return to the Twin Cities sports scene.  This is essentially a list of things that will keep me interested until there is actually something to get excited about.

• Ricky Rubio finally signed a contract and the Wolves “won” the #2 pick in the NBA draft lottery – This combination creates a number of intriguing scenarios for the upcoming season (if there is one).
• Jim Thome is chasing HR #600 (if he ever gets healthy)
• Meaningless Twins games will be enjoyed under the blue sky at Target Field instead of at the Metrodome.
• Twins actually “get to be sellers” at the deadline – As much as I would like to see us contend every year, there is a legitimate argument that you need a down season every once in awhile.
• Jerry Kill and Marquis Gray should make for a more entertaining losing season for the Gopher football team.
• MLB debuts for Twins pitching prospects Kyle Gibson and Carlos Gutierrez, and other top prospects getting closer to contributing in the big leagues. 
• No Brett Favre soap opera throughout training camp and pre-season (again, if these happen). Chance to focus on players who are actually on the field.

My apologies to the Minnesota Wild and the Gopher hoops squad, but I just couldn’t find anything to keep me interested at the present time.