Asked what went into the thought process for leaving, Kelly replied, "I can't speak for Terry, but I can only speak for my own self, where I just felt it was time to move along."

Kelly managed seven seasons with Ryan as his GM. "He was good, a solid man, he looks you in the eye and he tells you what he thinks and you tell him what you think, and you go about your business: you do your job and he's going to do his," Kelly said. "He's done nothing but good here and made this a good, sound organization."

Ryan wasn't the type of boss to scrutinize the manager over the day-to-day operations of the team, unlike some GMs.

"I understand that stuff happens. We've been very fortunate. I speak for myself, and I think Ronny [Gardenhire] as well," Kelly said. "Whatever I basically wanted to do, I was able to do, and I think Ronny's pretty much in the same boat. So, we've been pretty fortunate here in the last 20 some years to have Andy McPhail and Terry Ryan, and hopefully all that will continue with Bill Smith."

Jottings

Asked for his analysis of the Twins this season, Kelly said: "I think the club was picked to win about 80-some games, 82, 84 games, by the people that know, and that looks just like where we're going to be, or have a chance to be — right at close to that number, and that's just not good enough to get it done this year. ... I think we need a few players, and that maybe some didn't have the years that they had previous. A few had a little better years, but overall, I don't think we had the consistency that we needed to be successful for a long period of time."

St. Peter said he expects the Twins to draw 2.3 million fans, and that total will be enough for the team to make its budget.

The Twins hope to award a contract to sell concessions at the new ballpark very soon. Bill Lester, who runs the Metrodome, said the Twins are close to a new deal that will keep them in the Dome until the new stadium is set to open in 2010.

Vikings coach Brad Childress was asked to describe quarterback Kelly Holcomb, whom the team acquired from the Eagles during the preseason: "He's a scrappy guy and he has been to handling school — I mean, he's been in four different systems and he knows how to get the ball out of his hand, he's not going to stand back there and nurse it. He knows where to go with it, he's seen everything that the NFL can give you in terms of defense, and really, he's been calling these [West Coast offense] plays at Philadelphia here for the last eight months."

Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said he still hasn't been successful in getting an opponent for the opening of the new football stadium in 2009.

Taylor Grant, son of Eden Prairie football coach Mike Grant and grandson of former Vikings coach Bud Grant, is a 6-4, 225-pounder who starts at quarterback for the sophomore team and is a reserve tight end for the varsity.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com