We didn't watch a minute of Wolves basketball over the weekend, but we still saw enough in two box scores from lopsided victories to make us wonder just what the heck is going on over there. Sure, the victories came against the similarly wallowing Clippers and Knicks, but let's also not forget the Wolves are 16 games out of 4th in their own division. So we'll take any positivity wherever it might come.

The biggest stunner: Ryan Hollins playing back-to-back efficient and effective games after being moved into the starting lineup to give the Wolves more scoring pop off the bench (Kevin Love moved to the second unit, even though nobody in their right mind would argue Hollins is a better player than Love right now). Hollins, who had been fairly dreadful statistically for much of the season, was a combined plus-46 in the two games and had 35 total points in 60 minutes. (Equally absurd, we suppose, is how Nate Robinson managed to be a minus-33 in just 25 minutes last night).

In any event, even though we know Hollins won't do that every night, his height and at least the threat of him blocking shots gives the Wolves a legitimate threat and avoids the Love/Jefferson duplication factor to a degree. Kurt Rambis just might be crazy like a fox.

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Unfortunately, we did see the entire Gophers/Ohio State game on Sunday. Almost without fail, when we take the time to specifically watch a Minnesota hoops game, the squad loses. We're not sure whether we are a jinx or if the Gophers just aren't that good, but yesterday's listless [redacted]-whipping in Columbus gives us a pretty good idea. We also wondered whether the Gophers would really miss Al Nolen, considering how well Devoe Joseph has shown he can play on offense. The answer came Sunday, with nobody to lead the way in a horrendous defensive effort.

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The rodeo: glad you asked. We went on Friday at Xcel Energy Center, and instead of giving you the game story (he fell off the bull ... he didn't. It's clean, but not very exciting copy) we'll just stick to two highlights:

*Mutton-busting happened. Yes, that's when little kids ride sheep. It happened at our first rodeo, but not our second. It was so good to have it back. The best part is that when the ride is over (usually in about 1.2 seconds), they just let the sheep go into a corner, and eventually there were 9 sheep just all standing around together. They're herding animals. It's just what they do.

*When one rider was thrown to the ground, the song "It's Raining Men" started playing. Nicely done.

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And finally, after being upbraided by no fewer than three people in the past week, we watched "Footloose" for the very first time last night. Here are a few key takeaways:

*"If I gotta get up in front of that council, you gotta learn how to DANCE!"

*Stirring performance from John Lithgow (not so politely referred to as "a bull-[redacted] Gene Hackman" by our pal Jody. Of course, he also says the same thing about bearded Brad Childress in relation to Eric Clapton.

*The plot: They're not supposed to dance because it's evil and kills kids. They dance, and nobody dies.

*"Footloose" might have set a record for earliest flashback montage ever in a movie. 35 minutes in!

*Carrie Bradshaw?! It was nice to explore her small town roots. It explains a lot.

*The scene where Kevin Bacon dances by himself might be one of the five funniest things ever recorded.

*Remake? Yeah, let's redo Ferris Bueller's Day Off with Daniel Radcliffe while we're at it.

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Your thoughts on any of these things and more, as usual, in the comments.