Rubio arrives

I must confess: It seemed awfully strange to see Ricky Rubio coming down the Target Center hallway toward the Timberwolves locker room this afternoon and then to watch him practice his jumper in the gym later.

I guess he really is here.

Rubio arrived in town on Tuesday after taking a two-day excursion to Ottawa, Canada to get a work visa at the American consulate there.

On Wednesday, he looked at some apartments, chatted with new teammates Michae Beasley, Anthony Tolliver, Wes Johnson and others who also were working out and met with media members.

Some of what he said during a short session in which he charmed again:

* On his first day at work: "I've been waiting for this time to come here to practice at Target Center a long, long time. So I'm ready."

* On landing smack in the middle of a Minnesota winter: "Yesterday, I came here and it was like freezing. You know, in the skyways make it easier. It's nice to see some snow in the street because I'm from Barcelona and I never see a lot of snow there. It's kind of nice at the moment."

* His mom and his girlfriend are with him to help him get settled. His family is coming for Christmas and some friends might visit later in the year. He said his family will come to live here next year when there's a full, normal season because his sister will attend high school here.

"Maybe this year I will be alone," he said.

* You're going to like this guy. He said he put the Wolves schedule, released Tuesday night, into his iPad.

"I was saying, `16...17...18.' I mean, three games in a row? What the hell?"

* On that condensed 66-game schedule: "It's going to be tough. But I came here to play basketball, to enjoy there are a lot of games, almost four a week. It's going to be amazing playing those games."

That means no trip to Madison Square Garden, where he has dreamed of playing.

"That's a little sad because the big, big teams, you want to visit."