Patrick Reusse: A different sort of anniversary

This was the 35th anniversary of the perfect season for the Miami Dolphins. The surviving members were not able to break into the champagne supply this time, since their regular season of 14-0 was outdone by New England's 16-0.

These gentlemen could demonstrate munificence by holding onto the champagne for possible shipment to another pro team marking the 35th anniversary of another historic season.

The Philadelphia 76ers of 1972-73 continue to claim the worst record in NBA history at 9-73. A challenger to that futility has surfaced here in Minnesota, where the Timberwolves fell to 4-27 with a 90-79 loss to Portland on Wednesday night at Target Center.

The 76ers did not get a fourth victory until the 42nd game of the 1972-73 season, so the Timberwolves will need to increase their ineptitude over the final three months of the season.

Anyone watching them on the back part of the five-loss road trip that concluded Monday against the L.A. Clippers should have confidence the Timberwolves continue to get worse, not better.

That's a substantial disclaimer -- "anyone watching" -- when you consider the television ratings. The Wolves lost 109-90 on Saturday night in Seattle, with the local telecast on Channel 45 drawing a 0.2 rating and a zero share.

That's zero, as in, so few households in the Twin Cities were tuned in that the Woofies did not qualify for a single share point.

The lack of interest went from television to a sparsely filled and quiet home arena on Wednesday. Portland eased ahead by five late in the first quarter, and the Woofies' body language said they knew a sixth consecutive defeat was inevitable.

Portland's young roster has won 14 of 15, with versatile big man LaMarcus Aldridge and ultra-smooth Brandon Roy as the leaders of the amazing charge.

Roy was the Timberwolves' original choice at No. 6 in the 2006 draft, then was exchanged for Portland choice Randy Foye in a deal arranged before the draft.

Basketball boss Kevin McHale's memorable quote was that the Woofies deemed Foye to have "more juice." We now know that even with Foye healthy, that juice would come in a poor second to the ice water that runs through Roy on a basketball court.

What's scary about this Portland bunch is it has the same youth as the Wolves, along with 15 more victories in early January.

Przybilla plays defense in the middle and enables Roy, Aldridge, Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw -- to name four -- to do the offensive damage.

"Everything's fun about being part of this team," Przybilla said. "They are basically kids, with a lot of talent, and also a lot of class as people.

"LaMarcus and Brandon are going to be tremendous players in this league for a long time. As you could see tonight, nothing gets to Brandon on the court. You never see him rattled."

This is Przybilla's fourth season in Portland. The locals were making cracks about the "Jail Blazers" and were down on their only major league team when he first arrived.

"You would be surprised, though," Przybilla said. "Even when the fans weren't happy, there was more support than I saw here tonight. It was dead in this arena tonight.

It was mentioned to Przybilla that the ticket-holders were so indifferent that they didn't even bother to boo him. That was a tradition during earlier visits to Target Center after the big man's early departure from the Gophers.

"I even heard a few cheers when my name was announced," he said. "What's going on?"