sports

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said that the team has one of the highest payrolls and is paying the luxury tax.

"We found that signing all these players to those big contracts has [not] worked so there must be a different way to get the job done," said Taylor.

In defense of Kevin McHale, Taylor spoke of how the Spurs got lucky and twice won the NBA draft lottery, taking David Robinson in 1987 and then Tim Duncan in 1997. "Had McHale been that fortunate, there wouldn't be any critics," Taylor said.

The Wolves held a town meeting the other day with 160 season-ticket holders attending at the team practice facility. McHale and assistant GM Fred Hoiberg answered questions.

"People were a little tough on McHale at the start but he has a way to engage them and at the end they understood some of the reasons why the team wasn't playing well," Wolves President Chris Wright said.

NBA Entertainment was here Tuesday to do work on a historical DVD on Kevin Garnett.

Jottings

Alan Reichow, son of Vikings personnel consultant Jerry Reichow, is one of the eye experts at Nike headquarters in Oregon, and the word is that when Vikings receiver Troy Williamson was out there getting his eyes checked, it was the younger Reichow who worked with him. While not wanting to comment on Williamson's exam, Childress did say that he talked at the NFL combine to Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore. Moore, the former Vikings assistant, told Childress that when Jake Reed was a young receiver with the Vikings in the early 1990s, he went to get examined by Nike, and he then went out and caught 85 passes in 1994.

The Twins have sold out Monday's opener with Baltimore, but they will not remove the curtain from the second deck to make more seats available.

Speaking about his upcoming first season as Gophers men's basketball coach, Tubby Smith said: "I think there's still a scholarship or two available, so we're going to try bring someone in that can help us. If not, if they can't help us, we don't really want to waste a scholarship, so we want to make sure it's someone that can step in and contribute right away." ... Smith was in the office on Tuesday, but apparently he hadn't told any of the current Gophers assistant coaches if he has plans to retain them. ... Former Gophers forward Richard Coffey said he has applied for a position on Smith's coaching staff.

Dave Nelson, the football coach at Minnetonka High School, reported that his brother Steve resigned as football coach and athletic director at Curry College in Milton, Mass. Steve Nelson was a former great player for Anoka, North Dakota State and the New England Patriots, and he was at NCAA Division III Curry from 1998 to 2006.

Former Wild prospect Patrick O'Sullivan has five goals and 13 assists in 39 games for the Los Angeles Kings. In 14 games in March, O'Sullivan had two goals and 11 assists. ... Former Gopher Andy Sertich entered Wednesday with seven goals and 36 assists in 67 games for Utah of the East Coast Hockey League. ... Former Gopher Kris Chucko has 12 goals and 14 assists in 70 games for Omaha of the AHL.

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