Generally mid-August is known as the dog days of summer because during a long baseball season, the schedule starts getting grueling during the heat of August. The NFL is still in training camp. The NBA season doesn't get going for awhile.
But it seems there are many sports stories going on right now, and many of them are Minnesota related, which is really surprising. So let's just talk about some of the things going on and get your thoughts on them. So consider this a smorgasbord of information.
The Twins are now six games under .500 and really struggling. Their starting pitching, which was supposed to be a stength, has been absolutely atrocious. Francisco Liriano was put on the Disabled List with "Arm Fatigue" and you can't help but wonder if this break is as much about clearing his mind as saving his arm. Inexplicably, Philip Humber will be back with the Twins to replace Liriano.
Joe Mauer is just amazing. Despite the Twins struggles and watching so many of his teammates take rough at bats, maybe trying to do too much, he just continues on an even, level-headed plane and knocks hits left and right (well, mainly to left, but you know what I mean.). With a 3-5 game last night, he is now hitting an incredible .380 and has 23 home runs! Is he baseball's best player? The fact that we can legitimately ask that question, with Albert Pujols in the League, speaks volumes for how good Mauer is.
The exciting news associated with the Twins right now is that minutes before the 11:00 central time deadline the team agreed with their top pick, Kyle Gibson, on a deal that makes him officially a member of the Minnesota Twins. Generally considered a top 5 pick before the draft, he suffered a stress fracture in his pitching forearm, and that made him fall to the Twins with the 22nd pick. There was quite the negotiation that went down to the wire, but the big picture is that the Twins and the Pohlad family came through and met in the middle with Gibson and his representatives and a deal was reached. With less than two hours remaining before the deadline, Gibson called in to my weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast and gave us an interesting perspective on what was happening.
The Vikings played their first preseason game last Friday, a win at Indianapolis over the Colts. Injuries are the key thing to watch at this time of the season, and Pro Bowler Jared Allen went down yesterday, so I'm sure we will continue to get updates on him.
But the big news again is that there is a chance that the Brett Favre saga is not past us quite yet. In fact, rumors heated up thanks to Fox Sports's Jay Glazer, who reported his opinion (based on discussions with players and other sources) that Favre would still sign within the next couple of weeks. In fact, this morning, there are rumors that he is on a plane bound for Minneapolis. If, in fact, Favre were to become the Vikings quarterback after all, would you really be surprised? And then we can start debating if this version of Favre is really better than Sage Rosenfels.
The Timberwolves finally have their coach. It took forever, but David Kahn decided on Kurt Rambis as his new coach. It certainly seems to make a lot of sense, and he should do a good job. But what will he have to work with the next couple of years? The Kahn Man continues to deal player after player in moves that must make sense on some level. I actually am excited to watch the Wolves for the first time since Kevin Garnett left for Boston because of the talent that they are accumulating. Hopefully Rambis is given a real shot. Can't help but wonder what his coaching style will be after spending so many years playing for Pat Riley and coaching under the Zen Master himself, Phil Jackson.
And seriously, there are almost as many twists and turns to the Ricky Rubio situation as there has been with the Favre situation. Will he stay in Europe or come to the states? That is the (as much as six) million dollar question!
And Tiger Woods was unable to win at Hazeltine on Sunday. It marked the first time in his career that he has led a tournament going into the final day and lost. Why can't people simply give credit to Y.E. Yang, rather than feeling this need to overanalyze Tiger Woods? I have a feeling that he will be just fine.

The Minnesota State Amateur baseball tournament will get started this coming weekend, so if you have a chance, check out some great baseball action.
What else is going on in the world of Minnesota sports? Obviously following the Star Tribune sports pages is a great start! What are the sports stories that are important to you?