JOTTINGS
• NBA.com released its surveys from all 30 general managers. The Timberwolves were predicted as the fifth-best team in the Western Conference. Karl-Anthony Towns was voted as the most likely player to have a breakout season, while Andrew Wiggins was voted fifth. Towns was voted as the best center in the NBA. The Wolves were picked third for having made the best offseason moves, with Jimmy Butler being ranked second for biggest acquisition. And the Wolves were voted as the most likely team to improve.
• The Lynx, in their championship-clinching game over the Los Angeles Sparks in front of a capacity crowd Wednesday at Williams Arena, appeared to outdraw the Gophers in any contest in the past 10 years. Scalpers were getting up to $100 on tickets outside the building. ESPN reported that the TV numbers were the highest for a WNBA Finals game since 2003.
• Talk about draft choices, Kansas City traded the Vikings the No. 104, No. 132 and No. 245 picks in last year's draft for the right to the Vikings' No. 86 pick, which they used to grab Toledo's Kareem Hunt, who is a breakout star, with an NFL-best 502 rushing yards along with 157 receiving yards. His six touchdowns are the second-most in the league.
• The Vikings have lost five of their past seven games with the Lions, who from 2000 to 2010 had lost 20 of 22 in the series.
• Twins hitting coach James Rowson was the Yankees' minor league hitting coach last year and was given a lot of credit for the improvement in their young hitters. And he can take the same credit with the young Twins stars this year.
• Word out of Detroit is former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will be interviewed for the Tigers opening.
• The Twins and Yankees received about 90 percent of the gate receipts of the wild-card playoff game at Yankee Stadium. That would give each player and the coaches between $18,000 and $20,000.