SID's JOTTINGS

• The Twins might interview a number of candidates for their managerial position, but rest assured, unless Terry Ryan finds a phenom, Paul Molitor will be the manager as long as he and Ryan see eye-to-eye. … If Ron Gardenhire doesn't get a managerial job, he definitely will become an adviser to Ryan.

• Glen Taylor, owner of the Timberwolves and the Star Tribune, said he recently attended a meeting of local businessmen with Mark Abbott, president and deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer. Taylor was there not as a potential future owner, but rather to encourage soccer officials that the Twin Cities would be a great area for MLS expansion.

• Regarding the Target Center's $97 million overhaul, the entrance for the Timberwolves and Lynx arena will be at the corner of Sixth Street and First Avenue. Design work is already in progress and construction should start next year no later than June 15, and the building should be ready by Nov. 16.

• The Gophers men's track and field team might have the best hammer thrower in the country in Gian Ferretti, a native of Italy who has thrown more than 229 feet, a distance that would have been good enough to win the Big Ten championship. Gophers coach Steve Plasencia also has great hopes for freshman Obsa Ali, who was the Class 2A champion in cross-country last year at Richfield.

• The best bet is that the Gophers' new modern outdoor track will be located in the area of Cleveland Avenue N. and Roselawn Avenue W. in St. Paul. The intersection is the northeast corner of the university's Les Bolstad Golf Course.

• ESPN's John Bucci­gross and Barry Melrose will be at Mariucci Arena for the Gophers men's hockey game vs. Notre Dame on Nov. 9. The game is being televised on ESPNU.