When Denver kicker Jason Elam booted a field goal to tie the game with 1:47 left in the 4th quarter, my roommate Kris and I looked at each other and said "Too much time." The cameras then panned to the sideline showing Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning standing with offensive coordinator Tom Moore. And honestly? They could have been two guys standing beside a grill in the tailgate lot or by the water cooler, or at their kids' baseball game. They were calm and cool and confident as could be. They were faced with one of the most difficult things to do in sports- the 2 minute drill- and they had no doubts they would get it done. None. It wasn't a question of WOULD they be able to get into field goal range, it was more deciding which way to do it this time? Something different to spice it up maybe? I could have sworn I saw Manning say "too much time!"

Giving Manning 1:47 to set up a game-winning field goal with all 3 timeouts? It just wasn't fair, and anybody watching knew it. SHouldn't there be a new rule (for regular season games only, of course) that Manning should only be given under a minute and 1 timeout, just to make it interesting? But the NFL allowed him to keep all that time and all those timeouts and Manning surgically ripped the heart out of the Broncos in one of the toughest venues to win in sports: Mile High at night. A dump pass here, and handoff there (a handoff!! See now that's just getting cocky), and then a couple of passes to Reggie Wayne (he of the 3 TD day who abused poor Bronch CB Derrant Williams all game) and they were in range. IT was bad enough that you knew Manning would get them in position, but to have the greatest clutch kicker in history jogging off the sidelines to seal it? And of course he did. Colts win again, and remain undefeated.

Manning looked like the best QB who ever lived in that game, and yet last night proved for me yet again that Tom Brady is still the best. BRady did what he's rarely allowed to do in the Patriots team-first system, which was go out of the shotgun and pick teams apart. Last night it was a good Vikings D he carved up (at another time we'll delve into why Belichek IS the best coach in the game. With 2 good running backs he could have tried to pound the ball against a good run D. Instead? He airs it out all game long. Even up 24-7 in the 3rd, he continued to let Brady go shotgun, and Brady continued to complete passes. Anyway, another story for another time but just wanted to mention it). We're so quick these days to want to name everything the best or worst ever, to name instant greatness when one of the hallmarks of greatness is of course longevity and consistency, two measures that can't be judged or granted instantly. But we continue to make the ridiculous comparisons, like one of the guys in NBC's Sunday Night Broadcast saying with a straight face that new Cowboys QB Tony Romo reminded him so much of BRett Favre. And Joe Montana. Really? Why leave out Roger Staubach, Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas? Ridiculous.

But for all the overhype we have to endure, the Brady/Manning rivalry is every bit as good as Montana/Marino was. Manning with the gawdy stats and the playoff failures, and Brady with the 3 Super Bowl rings. These 2 teams play Sunday Night on NBC (thank god it's not on E!SPN) and you're going to get these 2 guys shoved down your throat for the next 5 days, but no matter how much they overhype it, these two are the real deal: and nobody else is even close. That more than anything is what I took away from their two impressive performances, that as bad and mediocre as NFL quarterbacks are these days, Brady and Manning are head and shoulders better than anybody else (sit down Mr. Favre. Sit down). I would still take Brady over Manning 7 days a week and twice on Sundays. I still need to see Manning get to the Super Bowl to put him ahead of Brady. I think Manning will take Marino's place as the greatest statistical quarterback in history, but like Marino I don't think he wins a Super Bowl. I'd like to be proven wrong because it would only enhance the rivalry, and let's be honest, after last year's gawd-awful Steelers/Seahawks Super Bowl, we NEED somebody like the Colts in there to give it some juice.

Manning does have more talent around him than Marino ever did (just the fact alone that he's had a running game around him), and I wonder if Manning's slowly learning from what happened to Marino and Montana, and now Brady. After his incredible record-setting 2004 season when his Colts still fell flat in the playoffs, I think the light went on for Peyton. Marino tried all those years to win it by himself and it never happened. But I think he looks at Montana and BRady, who are great when they need to be, but don't have to put up the gawdy stats, and is starting to take a page from them. Will he throw more than Brady will or Montana did? Absolutely, and with that arsenal of receivers, he should. But Manning's proved the last couple years that he's willing to put his ego and big passing numbers aside to win ugly if that's what it takes, because a win's a win no matter how you get it- especially in the playoffs. I think Manning's taking what the defenses give him more than ever, and like Brady, can turn it on and take over when need be. If he had Vinatieri kicking for him last year against the Steelers instead of "The Drunk Kicker" we be talking about him as a Super Bowl champ instead of doing another A-Rod impression. Look no further than the Broncos game for an example. He was 14-17 for just 132 yards and no TD's in the first half. The game was close and Manning was taking what he was given. IN the 2nd half he decided to make Derant Williams his personal biatch, throwing again and again to Reggie Wayne. It resulted in the Colts victory.

Am I openly cheering for Goliath, for Peyton, for the guy that's being shoved down our throats as the new Face of the NFL? I am. For the sake of good and watchable football in an age of inconsistency and mediocrity, I'm dying for a juggernaut and a dynasty and a rivalry. The folks at E!SPN and other outlets are doing everything possible to make us believe in contrived rivalries and "great" players, but there's nothing forced about the Pats and Colts. Contrasting styles meeting twice a year (hopefully anyways) to battle for football supremacy. Can Peyton shake the "A-Rod of football" tag? Can Brady continue to be the best quarterback on the planet? We'll get a glimpse of it this Sunday night, and I know I'll be watching, because in today's NFL, it's Brady, Manning...and everbody else.

8. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS, Pacific Division (05-06 record: 34-48)
This is all Don Nelson- well ok mostly Don Nelson. He's won here before and has won everywhere he's been, and this current Warriors team will respect that. I still haven't figured out why teams don't just hire a psychologist as their coach, and then get some assistants to do the X's and O's stuff. I mean, NBA coaching is 90% babysitting and 10% X's and O's. EVERYBODY in the league is talented, it's just a matter of chemistry and getting millionaires with guaranteed contracts to give a sh*t every night. Why couldn't you hire a guy with a psych degree (a basketball background would be preferred but not mandatory), and give him an assistant coach with a name like "Wex Tinters" and Wex could come up with some crazy offense with a shape name like "The Octagon" or "The Rectangle" or maybe even "The Triangle". Then Psych Coach can coddle and baby all the players and Wex tells him all the plays to run. Just make sure Psych and Wex go to a team with 2-previously-uncoachable superstars. I think this combo could be worth, what- 8? Maybe 9 championships? Just a thought.

7. LA CLIPPERS, Pacific (47-35)
I think the Arizona Cardinals choked against the Bears MOnday NIght because really, what would happen to the planet if the Clips make the playoffs 2 straight years AND the Cardinals start looking functional? Would the sky turn red and rain frogs? Would the seas boil? Would Jessica Simpson become intelligent? I just don't think the world's ready for the Clips AND Cards to be good. I have trouble believing the Clips will equal their 47 wins from a year ago. Yes they should get a whole season out of Corey Magette, Chris Kaman is a good center, and Shaun Livingston (if the kid would ever learn to shoot) could be the conference's breakout player. But Elton Brand can't possibly duplicate last year's MVP-like numbers, Sam Cassell will be the unmotivated "non-contract-year" Sam Cassell (and oh by the way he's 37), Cuttino Mobley's already 31, and they replaced the outside shooting of Vlad Radmonovic with Tim Thomas. Chances of seeing the Tim Thomas from the postseason instead of the one that he's been the rest of his career with a fat contract? Let's just say the Royals are going to the World Series before that happens.

6. LA LAKERS, Pacific (45-37)
I don't particularly like Kobe Bryant, and apparently I'm not alone. I read in Sports Illustrated's NBA preview issue (I needed something to do on my lunchbreak) that Kobe has the 6th highest "negative Q" rating in all of sports (the top 5? Barry Bonds, Terrell Owens, Ron Artest, Peyton Manning and Bode Miller. OK I made Peyton up because I couldn't think of the 5th one). Before being very unsurprised that Kobe was on this list, I wondered who voted on this and why have I not seen this kind of thing before? I don't read SI's print copies much anymore, so maybe I missed this, but did they publish a whole list of who has the highest and lowest Q ratings? Because THAT'S a list I'd want to see! Anyway, despite my dislike for Kobe I still believe he's the best all-around player in the league (if Lebron wants that title he'd better start playing D), and that he alone is worth a playoff spot. Surround him with a good 2nd banana in Lamar Odom and a developing supporting cast, and this will be a VERY feisty team come playoff time.

5. HOUSTON ROCKETS, Southwest (34-48)
Why aren't more people talking about the Curse of Tracy McGrady? The guy goes to Orlando along with Grant Hill and they look to be a dynasty in the making. Of course Hill's foot explodes while T-Mac carries the team for a few years, and he finally forces a trade to a contender with another superstar, Yao Ming. Another dynasty in the making, right? Of course not. T-Mac's back becomes worse than Rockstar Supernova and the Rockets limp to a spot in the lottery. So do things finally change this year? I just don't see it. Sure, IF T-Mac's healthy for all 82 and Yao plays like a house-a-fire (and stays healthy), this could be the best team in the West. But bad backs are like annoying ex's- they just don't go away, and I can't see McGrady playing more than 65. The Battier addition was good (I'd like to tell you they'll regret trading Rudy Gay but I can't. He'll either be great or a journeyman. THere's no in between), and Bonzi was a steal, but I'm still not sure they have enough shooting, a point guard, or depth for if/when McGrady goes down.

4. DENVER NUGGETS, Northwest (44-38)
Ok ok I'll admit it: I have a man-crush on Carmelo Anthony. He's my favorite player in the league to watch right now, and I think he makes the superstar-leap this year. In the only Timberwolves game I attended last year, I watched him torch the Wolves for 30, including the game-winner on an impossible fade-away 3 from the corner. I STILL believe he's more Bernard King than Glenn Robinson. I do agree with the pundits who said that his dominance in the World Championships this summer was due to the fact his game translates better to the international game than the NBA. However, I also think that experience and further bonding with Bronbron and Dwade will get the competitive fire burning more than ever. Wade's got a title. Lebron looks on the cusp. Melo does not want to be left behind. The Nuggs division title hopes rest largely on other factors however: one is low-post health. For Marcus Camby (used to be mentioned in the same sentence as Fred Taylor and Grant Hill when it came to frailness) and Nene (missed all of last year with knee injury) it's physical health. For Kenyon Martin, it's mental. The other factor is getting something- ANYTHING!- out of the shooting guard spot. The Nuggs may have stole JR Smith from the Bulls. I say MAY because the kid has the talent to be a star, but he hasn't proven yet he's got the desire. This is where Melo's leadership will be needed more than ever.

3. PHOENIX SUNS, Pacific (54-28)
One of these days I'll have to delve into "The Curse of the Power Forward." Think about it, starting with Lenny Bias' death we've seen at least 4 transcendent talents at power forward fizzle in the L: Bias, Derrick Coleman, Chris Webber, and Shawn Kemp. All had ridiculous game but for one reason or another they never lived up to their mountainous potential. I'm worried we could be adding Amare Stoudamire to that list soon. "Micro-fracture surgery" has become the scariest phrase in basketball, especially for a guy like Amare who depends so much on explosiveness. The guy who before his surgery I had rated as one of the top 3 guys in the league I'd start a team around, now is fighting just to play again. Personally, I think Stoudamire never fully returns to his pre-injury form. For Phoenix, even if they get Amare at 80% of what he was, they're the best team in the league. However, I don't think you're going to get even 80% of him for a full 82 games. Not only will he be trying to work his knee back in shape, you're now trying to work a guy back into your offense that needs the ball. With 2-time MVP Stevie Nash (seriously that's STILL surreal to type- and keep in mind I'm Canadian, you hosers!) running the show, sharing shouldn't be a problem, but it's the small stuff like this that can tweak a team's chemistry just enough to change things. If Amare's back to 80% by the end of the year, this is the favorite come playoff time, but I have my doubts that happens this year- or ever. The other thing working against Phoenix? Nash cut his hair. Has he not heard the story of Sampson?

2. SAN ANTONIO SPURS, Southwest (63-19)
Honestly, I've got them in 2nd only because of the "nobody's had the conference's best record 2 years in a row" thing. Tim Duncan had an "off" year by his standards, Manu was never quite himself, and Big Shot Bob's age might have finally caught up with him. And they STILL won 63 games!!!! Duncan will have a monster comeback, Manu will be feisty and annoying as ever, and I'm sure teams will inexplicably continue to guard Tony Parker like he has a jumpshot (even though he obviously doesn't), allowing him to drive and slash and dish and score. I hate the Spurs, but this is my pick to win the whole thing- which means another boring, methodical NBA Finals. Oh well, at least it will mean plenty of shots of Eva Longoria. Mmmmmmmmm hi Eva.

1. DALLAS MAVERICKS, Southwest (60-22)
Well we'll definitely see what Dirk Diggler Nowitzki is made of now. He finally broke the Euro-stereotype of disappearing in the playoffs- well at least until the Finals. Dirk became human against the Heat, and that (well besides the fact the Mavs were getting called for fouls on Dwyane Wade the moment they got off the bus) was one of the main reasons a title eluded the Mavs. How do they respond? Will the be as fiery as ever? With the Little General Avery Johnson, I say yes. They resigned Jason Terry, which was HUGE for their chemistry, and these guys know what to expect now from each other and from a long playoff run. Dirk will be in the MVP-running again, Devin Harris SHOULD become a bigger factor, and with another deep bench the Mavs will have no shortage of scorers. By the way, LOVE the Maurice Ager pick. The Mavs are too deep for him to be in the rookie-of-the-year conversation, but he'll still be one of the league's best rooks from day 1. Still, I think the Spurs will be just a bit better when they meet in the conference finals.

Your Hometown 9, those fiesty, pesky, pirahnas, the scrappy, gutty Little-Engine-That-Could have picked up the $12 million option on centerfielder Torii Hunter's deal that will keep him in Minnesota for 2007. As Strib baseball scribe La Velle E. Neal explains according to the language in the deal, Twins GM Terry Ryan had 5 days from the end of the Twins season to exercise option, and he chose to do so. Both sides may come to an agreement on a long-term deal over the winter, but we now know Hunter will be roaming centerfield under the big white plastic bag for at least one more summer.

My take? Ahem, I'll need a moment here...to remove my rather large foot from my rather large mouth...hold on...it's WAY in there...in the meantime don't forget to check out the Fire Glen Mason site...ok almost got it...WHEW! There it is! Hey thanks for your patience. Still a piece of shoelace down there but I'll tough it out.

Ok then, this was a move Terry Ryan had to make. Had to. I've been Hunter's biggest detractor since I found out late last year that this $12 million option was a possibility for 2007. I just didn't see the point in overpaying a 31-year-old centerfielder who's a .268 lifetime hitter that had never hit 30 HR's in a season. I especially didn't see a point in overpaying for a team with Carl Scrooge Pohlad calling the shots. When you've got a very limited budget (Pohlad's one of the richest men in baseball with a team in a top 15 market, yet the payroll is not in the top 15. I'll keep mentioning this as long as I have to), it might not be wise to overspend on a #6 or 7 hitter in your order who's calling card, his defense, is going to start to slip as he approaches his mid-30's. I still think he's overpaid, but it was a move Ryan had to make. Torii's loved in the clubhouse and in the community, he busts his ass every day he's out there, and although his defensive skills will start to slide as gets older, he's still an excellent outfielder and nobody knows the, shall we say, "intricacies" of playing the outfield in the quirky Metrodome.

It helps that he had a career year at the age of 31, which to some makes this extension a no-brainer. Here's his 2006 stats compared to his career #'s:
AVG/OBP/SLG HR/RBI/R
2006 .278/.336/.490 31/98/86
career .269/.323/.463 21/76/72

As you can see, his numbers are up across the board, and his HR/RBI/Runs totals are WAY up! Unless you're a lefthanded-hitting outfielder in the Bay Area who magically gains 30 pounds of muscle and an increase of like 8 inches in your hat size, you're not going to get better as you get into your 30's. Torii's much more likely to regress closer to his career averages next year than hit 30 HR's and hit over .275 again. As a matter of fact I'm willing to bet on it:

Torii WILL NOT hit 30 HR's AND hit over .275 again next year!!!! Write it down!

All of this isn't to make myself feel better for saying all along they shouldn't sign him to a big extension (ok maybe a little bit), it's just to say that Terry Ryan didn't give him the extension just because of his numbers. THey certainly helped, but Ryan knows what he's got in Hunter, and the team and players know, which is why he's coming back. Keeping this nucleus together is important, and although Torii's overpaid for an aging #6 or #7 hitter, he'll probably look like a bargain compared to what Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee will get in free agency this year.

I'll delve further into the Twins offseason in the next few weeks, but for now, this was a good move by the Twins. I just hope they don't stop here in looking for more hitting. Now if you excuse me, I have to go dislodge that shoelace.

With Twins Fever sweeping the nation, the Vikings scoring less than and the Gophers football season essentially over, you know what that means: it's NBA preview time!!! Sure nobody but me cares or is all that interested, but we're gearing up for the 2006-07 season that could be the most wideopen in decades. Literally. My 3rd annual NBA Preview is forth-coming, (click here and scroll down for 2004 and 2005) but first, some things you should know for the upcoming year...

THE MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME, THE MORE THEY CHANGE?
This was one of the most boring offseasons in memory. The free agent crop was weak, and the draft, although deep with decent players, provided no impact guys. When guys like Al Harrington or Peja Stojakovic switching teams are considered the big moves of the summer, you know there just wasn't much available. Honestly, I was going to give you the 5 biggest/most important offseason moves, but I could only find 3! The teams you saw last year won't look much different on opening night.

THE EAST IS MEDIOCRE-- AT BEST
Big Ben Wallace going to Chicago from Detroit was THE move of the offseason, but it actually made the conference worse, not better. East Coast fans will shout about how the East has won 2 of the last 3 titles, and they have the game's 2 best players in Lebron and DWade. While true, it can't hide how average the conference is, and once again how far behind the West they've fallen. Big Ben makes the Bulls better but it DOES NOT make them the favorites in the East (they're KG away from doing that). Losing Wallace in Detroit brings the Pistons back to the pack, now giving them no inside presence and still no bench. Miami got a year older, and since they were old to begin with, that means they got worse (and in Shaq's case, a LOT worse), so DWade is going to need the refs on his side more than ever to get the Heat back to the Finals.

THE WILD WILD WEST WILL BE JUST THAT
For the first time in a long time there's no dominant team. There's no preseason juggernaut like the Spurs of past years or the Shaq/Kobe Lakers. 14 of the 15 teams out here have legitimate postseason aspirations. Seriously. They break down like this:
FIGHTING FOR...
BEST RECORD: Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix
THE 4th SEED: Houston, LA Clippers, LA Lakers
A PLAYOFF SPOT: Everbody else but Portland
Everybody's got issues, everbody's got flaws, so all the little things will make the biggest difference in who makes the playoffs out West. Oh and so does David Stern's stupid 3 division format, meaning SOMEBODY in the Northwest has to make the playoffs.

HOORAY REGULAR SEASON!
I can't tell you how I know this, but I do: the regular season should be the most fun to watch since the mid '80's. Stern's going to give hardcore basketball fans like me the run and gun beauty of how basketball should be played in the regular season. Thanks to Mike D'Antoni, Steve Nash, and the Phoenix Suns, the point guard, play-making and the fast break has become relevant again. With the success of Dallas' wide-open attack, more teams will be going that route this season, including Toronto, Milwaukee, and Chicago out East. With only one true dominant center left in the game (surprise! It's Yao, not Shaq), teams are finally realizing that putting their best 5 guys on the floor and going is a recipe for success. Well at least until the postseason, that is...

BOO CREEPY 1-ON-5 BASKETBALL
Because when the playoffs roll around we're going back to the 1-on-5 basketball we saw Miami play last year. Stern knows that superstars still drive his ratings. High scoring basketball is all well and good but for average or casual fans to watch in the playoffs, Stern knows you need DWade or Shaq or Lebron or Kobe. And he'll get them. Wade and King James will be parading to the free-throw stripe like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The East is so watered down this year, I am GUARANTEEING either Miami or Cleveland goes to the Finals this year. That's right, you're getting an iron-clad MWSR guarantee. Wade and Lebron are two megawatt stars on average teams. In the West they'd be fighting to get in, but in the East they'll be battling for a spot in the Finals. Actually, do you want me to ruin the ending, and tell you who'll be representing the East? Hint: he'll be assuming the throne as the "King" of the NBA.

ONE PLAYER COULD DECIDE THE 2007 NBA CHAMP
That one guy would be Mr. Kevin Garnett. Although the Wolves have a playoff shot because of their division, a LOT has to go right for them to have a chance, and I just don't see all of it coming together. For KG's sake, hopefully he realizes that this is his best year to win a championship somewhere else. This coming summer there'll be plenty of free agents and impact kids in the draft so the NBA landscape will look dramatically different a year from now. Wolves VP Kevin McHale is too gutless to deal Garnett because it will prove what most of already know: McHale's tenure running the Wolves has been a complete failure. He's had 11 seasons to put a quality team around his Garnett and he hasn't done it. They're further away from a championship now than when Garnett came to the Wolves in '95. So he'll hang onto his superstar until he forces his way out. IF KG forces a trade by the deadline, teams will line up with offers because in a wide-open season, a player of Garnett's caliber could vault a ton of teams into the Finals. The Bulls are the most obvious example, as he's the perfect fit there AND they have the draft picks/young players/cap room to make it work. KG in Chicago automatically makes them the best team in the East. Still, I see McHale locking himself in his North Oaks mansion until season's end, his eyes closed and hands over his ears, pretending the KG era in Minnesota isn't over. It is, and if KG forces a trade by the deadline, it's going to make this wide-open year even more exciting.

Do we even need to review the Vikings or Gophers losses? If you read this site Friday, you'd have known it was going to happen. The Gophs season is essentially over, and if the Vikings don't find a way to get some offensive touchdowns, there's could be as well. But the Twins? My goodness the Twins!

This just feels like the year of destiny, doesn't it? I've been sitting here all morning trying to rationalize their strengths and weaknesses, but what this team has done and is still capable of doing defies logic. There's really no other way to say it. Tied with the Tiggers going into the weekend, I would have said a Gopher win over Michigan was more probable than the Tigers getting swept by the Royals, a team I pointed out on Friday (as did everybody else) that were just OWNED by Detroit. And yet it happened. The Twins took 2 of 3 from a White Sox team that had to feel like it was playing in the Twilight Zone instead of the Metrodome. They had a playoff team down there on the SouthSide, and a team that on paper was better than the Twins or Tigers, yet they'll be watching the playoffs from home instead of defending their title. And I think that's the point: it takes more than talent to win a World Series. You have to have luck and chemistry, and since June the Twins have had a ton of both.

The chemistry, with the "Smell those Runs" campaign started by backup catcher Mike Redmond, is the best in baseball. Seeing them on the field after the game, watching the Jumbotron to await the DEtwah/KC finish, they just looked like a team of guys that really liked each other and really got along. The Yankees are unquestionably the best team in the postseason. That shouldn't be argued by anyone. They have flaws, sure, but that offense alone is enough to overcome any pitching woes they have. But don't they seem like a bunch of hired guns forced to work together? Like every guy there wants to win for himself (well other than Jeter), not for the other guys in the room? Sure there's an "I" in Minnesota, but there's also t-e-a-m!
And that's what gives your hometown 9 as good a chance as anybody to win their first World Series since 1991.

Now back to logic. DO NOT, for one second, take this Oakland team lightly! I know the Twins won't, but I worry there's a lot of fans out there who are already dreaming about a Twins/Yankees ALCS (let's be honest, if the Tiggers take a game, I'd be surprised. I won't bore you with the breakdown but they don't match up well at all with the Yankees. Not that anyone does, but you know). Don't. Worry about the guys in Green and Gold first, because they're a very good team and have been just as hot as the Twins down the stretch. This is a Billy Beane "Moneyball" team to a tee: solid pitching, good defenders, and patient hitters. Their lineup doesn't get much respect (then again neither does the Twins outside the Land O' Lakes), and the only offensive category they're better than MInnesota in is homeruns (and this isn't exactly the Reggie Jackson A's of the 1970's or the Steroid Boys of McGwire and Canseco), but they've still got some veteran hitters that can hurt you.

The Twins have baseball's best bullpen (scroll halfway down this column by Jason Stark to see other teams raving about the Twins pen), but the A's have starting pitching, something the Twins are very thin on. Both clubs fit the "Little Engine that Could" tag, so it should be a great series, but the A's don't have Santana, Mauer, Morneausy (who, by the way, was sporting a Todd Bertuzzi Vancouver Canucks t-shirt during postgame fesitivities. Kind of brings a tear to the eye watching the local kid), or any ability to "Smell those Runs" so the Twins get the edge.

HOWEVER, Minnesota has to win the opener tomorrow. Let me repeat that: they HAVE TO WIN THE OPENER. And just because Santana's on the hill tomorrow, doesn't make Game 1 a gimme. Zito is not only a lefty, which makes it tough on Mauer and Morneau, but he's also a soft-tosser, which seems to give the Twins fits this year (see Redman, Mark as an example). As Buster Olney points out in his blog (I'd link to it but if you don't have Insider there's no point), if Zito gets the fastball over for strikes early, he's going to make life difficult on Twins hitters because his big curveball, maybe baseball's best, becomes almost unhittable.

The pen will be the key here, and as Olney also points out, not only is the Twins pen better, but the A's don't have a lefty to neutralize the M&M Boys. If the Twins can get to Zito early, or at least battle him and get him out by the 5th or 6th, their chances look pretty good.

OF course as this Twins team proved over the weekend, they don't worry too much about logic or matchups or strengths and weaknesses: they just go out and win. And they're 11 more away from a World Series Title, no matter how improbable that may seem.