"The Number 23" is a movie that came out five years ago. It features Jim Carrey obsessing about this and that. The plot is all over the place, the dialogue is laughable and the movie, overall, is not very good. The IMDB plot synopsis, however, does close with this:

Slowly, with danger to himself and to his family, he closes in on the truth.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the state of Minnesota sports. And the truth hurts. If we want to keep playing off of the theme of 23, here it is:

The Twins, through 23 games this season, are 6-17. The year is quickly getting away from them, a continuation of last year's theme. Staying the course with the current plan is starting to seem less and less logical.

The Vikings, in their last 23 games, are also 6-17. They are selling us hope, which is nice, but the truth is they are probably at least a year away from trying to at least a .500 record (despite our wacky 10-6 prediction for 2012).

The Timberwolves, in their last 23 games this season, went 4-19. That came without Ricky Rubio and, in a few instances, Kevin Love. There is more than hope being sold there. But the roster still needs considerable remaking in order for the promise of 2012's first half to hold up long-term.

The Wild, in its last 23 games this season, went 9-14. And fans were largely upset about a lot of those wins, feeling it cost the squad a chance at a better draft pick. Minnesota will enter a crossroads year in 2012-13, hoping to an injection of talented young players will make a difference.

There you have it: 25-67 combined. It's just another way to tell a sad story, but the narrative keeps getting more bleak.