Knowing that I would need some time off around late March/early April, but still wanting to provide content for the paper, I set about to find a series that was hopefup:explodedlly relevant but could also be produced in advance.

The idea that was settled upon is gimmicky … but ultimately it proved to be fun, so I hope you enjoy it.

I set up a "Sweet 16," if you will (get it, because we can't get enough brackets this time of year), of what I determined to be the 16 greatest single-season teams in Minnesota sports history. At first I thought I would pick 68 teams for a full field. But it felt like a lot of mediocre teams would make the cut if I did that (not that it stops the NCAA). Cutting to 16 was easier than expanding to 68.

I limited my prospective candidates to teams that play at the highest possible level of college or professional sports. That ruled out any high school team; any college team playing in Division II or below; and any pro team playing in a league that is not at the top of the food chain in its sport.

There were 16 numbers chosen at random for the 16 teams. The team assigned No. 1 "plays" the team assigned No. 16, No. 2 plays No. 15 and so on. I set these up at random instead of truly "seeding" the teams because, well, this would be pretty boring and predictable if I seeded them because it stands to reason that I should be picking the higher "seed" to win every time, as opposed to an actual game with variables that allow for upsets. It also created some tough eliminations and fun early matchups.

Without further explanation, here are the random matchups of what I deem the 16 best seasons in Minnesota sports history:

No. 1 (2006 Twins) vs. No. 16 (1976 Vikings)

No. 2 (1998 Vikings) vs. No. 15 (1991 Twins)

No. 3 (1969 Vikings) vs. No. 14 (1950 Minneapolis Lakers)

No. 4 (2012-13 Gophers women's hockey) vs. No. 13 (1990-91 North Stars)

No. 5 (2001-02 Gophers men's hockey) vs. No. 12 (1987 Twins)

No. 6 (2003-04 Gophers women's basketball) vs. No. 11 (2011 Lynx)

No. 7 (1940 Gophers football) vs. No. 10 (1965 Twins)

No. 8 (2003-04 Timberwolves) vs. No. 9 (1996-97 Gophers men's basketball)

On Tuesday, I'll determine winners in the eight matchups; on Wednesday, we'll go from eight teams to four; on Thursday, from four to two. And finally, on Friday, we'll crown the best team in Minnesota sports history.

Feedback, as always, is appreciated at mrand@startribune.com.

MICHAEL RAND