New Year's resolutions can be tricky. Some people swear by them, using the turning of the calendar as an opportunity to assess their shortcomings and improve themselves. Others eschew the notion --simply because they already like who they are or because they can't stand the idea of an arbitrary moment in time inspiring change.

As such, we would never pretend to recommend a resolution for anyone. Instead, dear fans, think of these as goals for the coming year. They are not all that hard. This does not involve eating right, exercising more or anything else that is a major lifestyle change. In fact, we would guess all of these goals could be accomplished in 2012 from the seat of your couch:

1 Try to tone it down just a bit when it comes to Ricky Rubio. Yes, he is the main reason it's fun to go to Target Center again. Yes, he has been a lot of what people had hoped he would be already. And yes, we were standing right there Friday when the Heat's Dwyane Wade said: "The kid has something. He has that Steve Nash capability. They have a gem in him, and he's going to be great for them."

Those are all wonderful things. But Rubio is still very young. He has still only played four games in the NBA. If it is possible to remain excited about the young Spaniard while also managing your expectations -- and that should be possible -- then that is a great 2012 goal.

2 Give yourself from now through the end of March to not think for a single minute about the Vikings' quarterback situation. Yes, we understand the two biggest questions facing the Vikings in 2011 -- Can Christian Ponder play and can Leslie Frazier coach? -- have incomplete answers now that the season is over.

But the Ponder/Webb/Quarterback X? dilemma will not be solved any time soon. There is no use worrying about it right now. Why expend all that energy when you could be fretting over the health of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau?

3 Speaking of which: 2011 was an awful season for the Twins in just about every possible way. Everybody knows this. If you are going to have any chance to enjoy 2012, however, it is time to wipe that taste away. No, that doesn't mean giving the Twins a free pass for everything that went wrong. It means not letting one horrible regular season ruin another one.

4 Try not to get infuriated every time you remember the first-round draft choice the Wolves traded 84 years ago as part of the Marko Jaric/Sam Cassell trade is finally coming due this year.

5 Whether most of your sports interaction comes in person, via texts with friends or on Twitter -- to name a few -- try two things: 1) Respect other opinions and 2) Think before you say something ridiculous.

Remember, these are not resolutions. Just goals for a happy 2012.

MICHAEL RAND