We didn't watch a minute of Wolves basketball over the weekend, but we still saw enough in two box scores from lopsided victories to make us wonder just what the heck is going on over there. Sure, the victories came against the similarly wallowing Clippers and Knicks, but let's also not forget the Wolves are 16 games out of 4th in their own division. So we'll take any positivity wherever it might come.
The biggest stunner: Ryan Hollins playing back-to-back efficient and effective games after being moved into the starting lineup to give the Wolves more scoring pop off the bench (Kevin Love moved to the second unit, even though nobody in their right mind would argue Hollins is a better player than Love right now). Hollins, who had been fairly dreadful statistically for much of the season, was a combined plus-46 in the two games and had 35 total points in 60 minutes. (Equally absurd, we suppose, is how Nate Robinson managed to be a minus-33 in just 25 minutes last night).
In any event, even though we know Hollins won't do that every night, his height and at least the threat of him blocking shots gives the Wolves a legitimate threat and avoids the Love/Jefferson duplication factor to a degree. Kurt Rambis just might be crazy like a fox.
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Unfortunately, we did see the entire Gophers/Ohio State game on Sunday. Almost without fail, when we take the time to specifically watch a Minnesota hoops game, the squad loses. We're not sure whether we are a jinx or if the Gophers just aren't that good, but yesterday's listless [redacted]-whipping in Columbus gives us a pretty good idea. We also wondered whether the Gophers would really miss Al Nolen, considering how well Devoe Joseph has shown he can play on offense. The answer came Sunday, with nobody to lead the way in a horrendous defensive effort.
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The rodeo: glad you asked. We went on Friday at Xcel Energy Center, and instead of giving you the game story (he fell off the bull ... he didn't. It's clean, but not very exciting copy) we'll just stick to two highlights:
*Mutton-busting happened. Yes, that's when little kids ride sheep. It happened at our first rodeo, but not our second. It was so good to have it back. The best part is that when the ride is over (usually in about 1.2 seconds), they just let the sheep go into a corner, and eventually there were 9 sheep just all standing around together. They're herding animals. It's just what they do.
