As a Twins fan watching my team steamroll National League opponents as if they were Triple A fodder, I am depressed knowing that even winning 12 of 13 games moved them no closer to a playoff position.

Even worse, I don't see Detroit or the White Sox cooling off any time soon.

But in the National League? Gosh, if the Twins were in it I would be thinking about making playoff hotel reservations. The NL West is full of mediocrity once again. In other words, they all suck.

The NL Central? Gosh, the Cardinals are pretty good, but they couldn't beat the Tigers or White Sox if they played all week.

The Mets? OK, I'll give the NL the Mets. But someone has to beat up those other NL East teams, and does anyone really expect them to win the World Series?

One could easily argue that seven of the top eight teams in baseball are in the American League. (Red Sox, Yanks, Blue Jays, Tigers, White Sox, Twins, A's)

Roger Clemens isn't going to save the Astros. The Brewers can't beat the Pirates or the Royals. The Phillies are underachieving (again).

Interleague records for the National League teams are embarrassing.

Having the winner of the All-Star Game get home-field edge for the World Series makes no difference. The NL is terrible, awful, and bad. The big question is whether it will actually win a game in the Series this year.

I realize this is a bit of hyperbole, but Brett Favre has gotten away with more #### in the past 12 months than anyone in the history of professional sports.

First, he had the ego to opine about another player's situation when he said Javon Walker should be in camp. Yes, he was only responding to a question, but a true professional would've declined comment.

Next, he threw 29 interceptions, few of which were his fault. Because he's so tough, and because his "supporting cast" was so poor, and because he can still throw the ball harder and faster than anyone in the game, it's all OK. Besides, it was all Mike Sherman poor game-planning anyway.

Then, of course, he mulls retirement for four months, including the first two months of free agency when most of the major moves are made. So much was made of this soap opera that I'd rather not go too much into it, but certainly one question must be answered: Would Packers GM Ted Thompson have drafted Aaron Rodgers last year in the first round if he had known Favre would stay around this long?

Finally, and this is the real kicker, is that Favre will not be at the Packers' next mini-camp. The hypocrisy here is unbelieveable. Other players need to be there, according to him, but he doesn't? I'm completely baffled.

An almost surreal sidenote to this story is not one member of the Green Bay media (I live in Green Bay -- I know) seems to be challenging why Favre doesn't need to be at the minicamps learning the new system while everyone else does. It's a complete non-story.

When Mike McKenzie and Walker choose not to attend a minicamp, they are labeled as malcontents. When Favre doesn't show, it's considered to be a great time to get some reps for his backups.

People in football always say that their sport is the ultimate team game because winning championships is impossible to do with one star player. In no other sport, these pigskin heads say, is unity and togetherness as important as it is in football.

I don't care how many MVPs he's won, and I don't care how much money he makes; Favre is clearly running this team, and I would think it's embarrassing to Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy, neither of whom want to be remembered as the man who stood up to Brett Favre.

But, if they're not careful, they'll be out of town before even Favre is.

Now, when exactly is he retiring?

Quite distressing news out of San Francisco today, where the Chronicle reporters are being given subpoenas and asked to reveal the sources of their book that chronicles Barry Bonds and the BALCO deal.

The First Amendment must be protected in cases such as this. This is Investigative Reporting 101; we need these people to have the protection to obtain information that public figures might otherwise lie to the public about.

Much of the BALCO case has come to light as a result of such excellent reporting. Without it, we'd have to take Bonds' word for everything, and we'd have absolutely no clue as to what was said to the grand jury. We'd have our opinions about BALCO and steroids, but they would be formed mostly through guessing.

No one seems to be debating whether or not the book's contents are true. All that is in debate is how the reporters got the information. Well, it's good, old-fashioned journalism. It's not the rah-rah, support-the-team stuff that comes out of 98 percent of today's media.

Stay strong, guys, and don't let the government force those sources out of you. Good reporting always makes for good reading.

As expected, whenever a woman does anything in a man's world that is an accomplishment of any sort, men everywhere choose to rip her, humiliate her, downgrade her efforts, and criticize almost everything she's ever done.

It's easy, because there will be so many others willing to put down their beer, jump on your bandwagon, slap you a high five, and thrown in a rip of their own.

Biting critics of Michelle Wie and what she is trying to do are totally missing the big picture. Instead, these people are so focused on whether she's actually taking first place and beating every male in the entire field, that anything less becomes cause for cackling.

I don't see what is wrong with setting goals in life that are higher than anyone expects. I suspect that many, if not all, of the doubters on this blog site are simply jealous that she has a talent and a desire and sense of courage to see how far she can go.

She's obviously entertaining, which is what sports are all about anyway. She draws big crowds even though she isn't actually winning these events, probably because the general public knows good theater and recognizes individuals with special characteristics and potential. It's not like she's embarrassing herself by taking last place. Hordes of spectators are still interested in following her around the courses she plays.  

She is a role model for many young girls who see a sportsworld that is so male-dominated that the only ones who really make a dent in the mainstream media are the ones who will also strip for a magazine (any tennis players come to mind?). Wie is garnering media attention for her play, and any success she has will bring more girls into sports at a younger age. And that is a good thing.

If you must criticize Wie, go ahead. Be another close-minded, testosterone-proud guy who revels in the fact that the best men can still beat the best women in just about every sport out there today. Whoopee!

I'll stick to following a good story and rooting for young people to set no boundaries on their futures, whether or not it's in the field of athletics.

The number of home runs Barry Bonds ends up with is irrelevant. If and when he passes Babe Ruth, great. If and when he passes Hank Aaron, great.

Bonds will not be remembered by his statistics. Heck, none of us will. Accomplishments and numbers are things to write in an obit or fill a scrap book with, but they pale in comparison to the type of person one is.

In the end this is what matters: Did he treat people with respect? Was he a good family man? Was he a good teammate? Did he carry himself with humility and a sense of humanity? Did he make this world a better place?

The answers to these questions are what Bonds will have to live with once he is no longer a part of the show, no longer hearing the cheers and jeers, and no longer having a horde of cameras documenting every move.

He says he doesn't care what we think, and he shouldn't have to. Some of us love him, some of us hate him, some of us defend him against a predator-like media, some of us can't wait to see him fail.

Those who came across Bonds will remember how he treated them, not how many home runs he hit.

If what I've read is true, those may be Bonds' worst days. For his sake, I hope he's got someone to share his retirement with.

I hope that everyone got at least some fresh air on Saturday and refused to succumb to the temptation to couch potato all day, hunker down, and watch the NFL Draft.

Is there a bigger waste of television time than this? Was anything said or revealed that couldn't be picked up in two minutes' time the next day in the paper?

I didn't think so.

If I ate a handful of popcorn for every cliche said during draft coverage, I'd get so large that I'd have to be rolled out of my living room.

Ridiculous idea No. 1: When a commentator says that a team "really filled a need" with that pick. Well, isn't that the point of every draft in every sport ever created?

Ridiculous idea No. 2: These media experts later start grading drafts on a scale from A to F. What a farce! What they should be doing is grading and debating the drafts from three or four years ago. That's analysis. Speculation is tiresome and degenerates into nothing but a shouting contest. No thanks.

Ridiculous idea No. 3: Every interview done of every player or general manager. Wow! An 18th-century shield is needed to block all of the predictable quotes and sappy comments spewing from these team-player lovefests showing in all 32 cities.

Unfortunately, I've watched too many drafts in the past to know.

I enjoy following the NFL just as anyone else. But I spent Saturday outdoors at the park with my kids and got some exercise by going swimming in the afternoon.

As for what Mel Kiper thinks of my favorite team's picks?

Does it really matter?