Patrick Reusse: Between the quotes

"I’ve enjoyed myself more in one week here than I did the past three years in Minnesota." -- Dan Monson, Long Beach State’s new men’s basketball coach, to the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Another failed excuse

The Wild was whipped twice in Anaheim to start the playoffs. Coach Jacques Lemaire offered this excuse -- the Ducks were getting away with interference -- and asked the St. Paul fans to hoot at the officials when they spotted those tactics.

It didn't work, and the Ducks cruised to a five-game victory.

And now this is the excuse offered by Lemaire: He had a bunch of fuzzy-cheeked lads not experienced in the playoffs.

Among the players mentioned was Nick Schultz, who was in the Wild lineup during the 18 games played on the run to the Western Conference finals in 2003.

Here was the playoff experience for other Wild players entering the Anaheim series:

Marian Gaborik, 18 games as the star of the Wild's '03 run; Keith Carney, 80 games and led Anaheim in ice time on the way to Stanley Cup Finals in '03; Martin Skoula, 68 games; Pavol Demitra, 66; Brian Rolston, 47; Todd White, 39; Kim Johnsson, 33; Wes Walz, 27; Branko Radivojevic, 24; and Mark Parrish, 21.

Bottom line: The Wild skaters logged 1,469 minutes in the five games with Anaheim, and 913 minutes (62.2 percent) went to players with 18 or more games of NHL playoff experience.

Missing piece: $734 million

The interactive display and drawings for a new Vikings stadium were very impressive. There remains one small issue with this vision:

There's absolutely no funding plan to cover the estimated $734 million needed after Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and the NFL make their contributions.

Wilf has suggested he is willing to combine with the NFL for one-third of a roofless stadium's cost. When you look at the projections released last week, a roofless stadium with construction starting in 2010 would cost roughly $660 million. That would put in Zygi and the NFL for $220 million.

The retractable roof (as envisioned in the plan) runs the stadium price to $880 million. Throw in $70 million plus for parking and street development costs and you have the current estimate of $953,916,000 for a Vikings retractable-roof stadium that would open in August 2013.

So where is the $734 million that Zygi and the NFL aren't going to pay going to come from?

The only logical approach would be to try to get approval for a metro-area sales tax of a quarter-cent, minimum. A bill calling for that isn't going to get through the Legislature without a referendum provision. And with Wilf having made all those enemies in Anoka County, a seven-county referendum has no chance.

BTQ called three local politicians and bureaucrats and asked: How does this happen? The answer was the same: No earthly idea.

Big man for Wolves?

James Davis, listed at 7-1 and 335 pounds on the current Lamar University roster, is expected to declare for the NBA draft.

The fourth-year junior has had quite a journey since leaving Minneapolis North in the spring of 2003. He went to Garden City (Kan.) Community College out of high school. The Gophers signed him in the fall of 2004, but they reneged on the offer when he was cited on a gun charge (later dismissed).

Davis spent the 2005-06 season at Schoolcraft, a two-year college in Livonia, Mich., and then played last season at Lamar. He averaged 15.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He missed three games because of a suspension.

The website draftexpress.com offered this assessment: "Big man with plenty of natural talent, but also serious concerns about his conditioning."

Another possibility: Cummings

The names nominated by the public and the media to replace Sidney Ponson in the Twins rotation have been Matt Garza, Glen Perkins and Kevin Slowey. The organization still mentions Scott Baker.

Here's another possibility: Jeremy Cummings, 30, a righthander signed as a minor league free agent. The Twins' big-league staff talked up Cummings this spring.

He was given his first start for Class AAA Rochester on Sunday. The result was four scoreless innings and eight strikeouts.

One blip for Cummings: He had a 15-game suspension for violation of baseball's steroids policy with the Cardinals organization in 2005.

Jots with dots

The Wild drafted Aaron Boogaard, Derek's kid brother, in the sixth round in 2004. The Wild didn't make a qualifying offer, and Boogaard was a free agent while playing three more years in the Western Hockey League. Pittsburgh signed the 6-3, 245-pounder on Monday. ... The Wild dispatched an alarm Monday to local media outlets, inviting coverage of a "unique photo story": dismantling the boards and removing the ice at Xcel Energy Center. If you see a tape of this on a local TV station today, do yourself a favor and never watch that station again.

bombast by btq

We’ve been hearing a lot about local pro teams without coherent plans for success. The 2007 Twins might be in the same category. They had no backup plan for Rondell White getting his annual injury. They brought in Sidney Ponson, above, the anti-Twin in every imaginable way. Terry Ryan needs to set aside the Kevin McHale GM Handbook, trade for a righthanded-hitting outfielder and accept that the current Ponson numbers — 36 baserunners in 151/3 innings — are sample enough.

"The starting pitching is unreal. It’s three up, three down and then we get to hit." -- Class AAA Rochester outfielder Trent Oeltjen, describing the Red Wings’ early-season pitching to beat reporter Jim Mandelaro.