MinnesotaSportsScene.com

I’ve been thinking about how some sports bloggers get invited to do local radio interviews and the like, and why I always seem to be left out of the fun. Granted, my blogs are relatively new - haven’t been around for a decade or more like some folks - but still, it’d be nice to be prepared if that day ever comes, y’know?

So, I recently had a chance to try out LogoYes.com and try my hand at creating some branding for myself. I kind of like the results. Using LogoYes.com’s logo design and business card creation tool, it was quick and simple to get the elements of my logo together and start fiddling around with them until I found a look I like. (I did the same thing recently over at ProWrestlingViews.com, with terrific results.

What I like about their tools is that there’s plenty of clip art, a decent amount of flexibility, and so the limits, really, are more about creativity than anything else. I was able to get a look I like put together in about 15 minutes or so, and I like that I was able to incorporate both Vikings purple and Gophers maroon into the gold card design that both teams share in common; gives the card a real “MinnesotaSportsScene” look, which is what branding is all about.

If I had had the money to invest, I would have ordered a set of 100 on the spot.

Former Minnesota Timberwolf Kevin Garnett is showing Boston Celtics fans just how underrated he was when he was in Minnesota, leading the Beantown team to an easy win in playoff-opening action against the Atlanta Hawks.

Garnett and the Celtics have the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage through the Eastern Conference finals. Their 104-81 win over Atlanta - in a game that didn’t even look that close - seems to indicate a four-game series and easy advancement to the second round; Garnett only made it past the first round once with the Timberwolves, when he led the team to the Western Conference finals before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Look for Garnett to get at least that far with Boston this season; seems Garnett will make frequent use of the Dymo labels to add to his award shelf this season. And here at MinnesotaSportsScene, we’re happy for him. No one worked longer or harder to finally be rewarded with post-season bliss.

Minnesota Gophers legendary coach Tubby Smith lost out on a highly-recruited player he had targeted for the first time in his tenure as Gophers coach; Krys Faber finally settled on DePaul instead of Minnesota.

It’s hard to blame Faber for his choice, since the Gophers already have recruited two true freshmen post players in this year’s class; South Dakota’s Colton Iverson and Georgia’s Ralph Sampson III. Sampson is 6′11″ and plays the most like Faber, albeit on diet pills; Faber’s beefier. While Faber is more Big Ten-ready that Iverson and Sampson, it’s hard to blame Faber for choosing a university where he’ll be caught in less of a numbers game.

The Gophers still have Champaign Central Illinois point guard Verdell Jones in their sights, who is also considering offers from Kentucky and Indiana. With five recruits already signed in this class and two scholarships remaining, if Smith fails to land Jones, he may opt to carry the open scholarships into next season, when a whole new crop of top recruits will be available.

Smith’s 2008 Gophers recruiting class already ranks solidly in the Top 15 nationally, even without Faber and Jones. If Jones signs, that class might tick up a couple more notches, but there is a good argument to be made for carrying the scholarships over to the 2009 recruiting class.

The Minnesota Timberwolves improved their chances, however slightly, in the NBA Draft after winning a tie-breaker with the Memphis Grizzlies this weekend. Both the Wolves and the Grizzlies finished with 22-60 records, but the Timberwolves had rare draft-related good fortune and won the tie-breaker, placing them in the third spot in the NBA Draft, which gives them a slightly better chance in the NBA Lottery to determine draft position.

If the Wolves’ lottery chances continue to fall on the rosy side, they could advance even higher in the draft. In the worst-case scenario, they would pick no later than sixth. The Wolves’ chances of winning the top pick in the lottery is 13.8; Memphis’ chances are 13.7 after the tie-breaker. Someone with a reliable Patek needs to keep an eye on the clock on this one.

It appears the Minnesota Vikings may be close to securing a trade for Kansas City DE and NFL sack leader Jared Allen. Allen, who’s not happy in KC, is seeking a contract in excess of $70 million over six years.

For the Chiefs part, while they’d like to retain Allen, they’d be willing to give him up for a first-round and second-round pair of picks in this year’s NFL Draft, scheduled for next weekend. For their part, the Vikes are offering first and third round picks.

Allen would be a genuine upgrade to the defensive line, but he comes with baggage; he is one strike away from being banned for an entire season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, which makes him a huge risk; it also would add a player of questionable character to a team that has worked hard since Zygi Wilf bought the team and hired Brad Children as his heach coach enforcer, to steer clear of controversy.

I don’t mind giving up a first and third if Allen stays clean; but it would be a huge price to pay if he never even makes it to camp before screwing up. I’d favor a deal that has at least one of the picks be a conditional pick in next year’s draft. Say, perhaps, if Allen stays out of trouble, it becomes a second-round pick, but if he screws up and gets suspended within his first season as a Viking, the pick gets downgraded to a third-round pick.

Heck, toss in a Branson golf package either way for KC coach Herm Edwards and maybe we can get this deal done.

The Minnesota Wild’s postseason ended earlier than expected tonight as the team lost game six to the Colorado Rockies, handing them the series and sending the Wild packing back home sooner than their regular-season results seemed to indicate might happen.

The Wild applied some anti wrinkle cream this season and became a bit younger in some areas, a bit more experienced in others, and a whole lot more physical. They had a higher seed than Colorado and played a better season; but the Avalanch had their number.

It’s a disappointing result a year after the Wild were bounced in the first round by Anaheim, a loss that was expected, and that resulted in the team working so hard in the off-season to put together a more playoff-calibur squad.

Although the Minnesota Timberwolves have been anything but as reliable as car insurance this season, I have to give them credit for not losing out, even when it endangered their lottery position. The team won two of its final four games when it might have been easier to lose them.

The final game of the season against Milwaukee was a fine example. They led early, let it slip away, then fought back to tie it up at the end, take it into overtime, and ultimately win the game. That’s not a team that’s giving up in order to improve their draft position, and they still wound up positioned in third-worst in the NBA, so they didn’t hurt their lottery chances by winning two of the final four, either.

With Al Jefferson now established as the franchise player, the Wolves go into the off-season with at chance at a Top 5 pick, and, I believe, perhaps another first-round pick in the coming draft. The team has a very talented young core group of players, though most must keep improving to make the Wolves a playoff-contending team, and with more young talent headed the Wolves’ way, they can let some of the undertalented older players go.

Along with Jefferson, I believe the Wolves will want to keep Ryan Gomes around. Keeping Sebastian Telfair, however, will ride on who the Wolves draft in July. Telfair’s a solid backup PG, and filled in nicely the first half of the season while Foye was out. But if the Wolves land a draft spot to pick the Memphis point guard who’s coming out, Telfair, a restricted free agent, will likely be allowed to sign elsewhere.

There’s plenty of talent on this team, and plenty of draft picks in this future. A 22-win season is a downer, but the future is bright. What a contrast to last season, when they won more games, still missed the playoffs, Garnett’s contract prevented them from acquiring free agent help, and they faced the propsect of losing two of their next three draft picks.

As a makeover team, rebuilding from the ground up, I’d have to say this year’s Wolves, while a work in progress, as much better to invest some hope for the future into, than last year’s edition.

Minnesota Timberwolves big man Al Jefferson, who pivots between power forward and center depending on the lineup coach Wittman sends out on the floor each night, admitted to local media sources this week that his conditioning isn’t where it needs to be for the Wolves to make the post-season and perform well in the playoffs.

This is likely a result of the trade from Boston to Minnesota; in Boston, as a younger player, Jefferson was not used quite as much as the Wolves have played him this year as a full-time starter. Jefferson’s numbers have been stellar most of the season, but in the Wolves’ six-game losing skid at the end of the season with four games to go, Jefferson’s numbers have suffered as well.

“I feel like if we were to start the playoffs in two weeks, I’d have a mental breakdown,” Jefferson told the PioneerPress earlier this week. “That’s why I’ve got to do a better job this summer of getting my body in great shape, because I plan on being in the playoffs real soon. I really feel like if we started the playoffs this year, my body would break down and I would have a mental breakdown, too.”

It’s a surprising bit of honest, but not uncommon among young players adjusting to the demanding NBA schedule; even Kevin Garnett went through it. In high school, a regular season schedule is usually about 20 games long, thought that varies from state to state. That rises to an average of about 30 games in college. But in the NBA, the schedule is 82 games long, nearly three times as many games as are played in college in the regular season.

The crowds have been sparse in this 19-win season at Target Center, but the Wolves have a young, talented roster that’s only going to improve after this summer’s draft; soon they’ll need a Bose home theater system scaled up to arena-size in order to capture the roar of the crowds, once this team hits its stride in another season or two.

Despite a strong run in March when the Minnesota Timberwolves won six of nine games, the team has been in a downward spiral of late, losing eight of the last nine, including six straight losses. At the moment, the Wolves would need to win their final four games - and the New York Knicks would need to lose their final four games - for Minnesota to lose their grip on the third-worst record in the NBA.

It’s not that the Wolves haven’t been playing tough, though tonight’s 122-90 loss to New Orleans makes you wonder, but more that the last baker’s dozen of games have been perhaps one of the tougher portions of the Wolves’ schedule this season. And of course, the youth of the squad has affected their longevity down the stretch as well.

While the team may be booking cheap flights the rest of the way to the post-season, the losing streak has helped them with their lottery chances. Additionally, if Seattle wins even one more game, the Wolves would have a chance to improve their lottery chances by becoming the team with the second-worst record in the NBA. Miami, at only 14 wins, is virtually a lock to have the worst record in the NBA this season.

Losing out has never looked smarter for the Timberwolves. Their final four games are against Orlando, Memphis, Detroit and Milwaukee, whereas Seattle faces Houston (tonight), Dallas, San Antonio and Golden State. The teams Minnesota faces have combined for 151 wins this season, while Seattle’s final four have combined for 204 wins, so the chances of Seattle maintaining the second-worst record look good at the moment.

Still, Wolves fans can be grateful that their team was able to rally and win enough games to spur on some hope for the future, while still keeping their chances on a top lottery pick solid. The last time the Wovles bottomed out to this degree, they had a bad enough record to get the top overall pick, but through bad lottery luck, were bumped back to the third pick and drafted Christian Laettner out of Duke.

Good news for the Wolves is that this year’s draft is at least three blue-chippers deep, with Michael Beasley of Kansas State, Derrick Rose of Memphis and O.J. Mayo of USC all declaring for the NBA Draft, and some question marks still remaining as to who will declare this year. The bad news is that, if the lottery goes against the team once again, they could fall back as far as the fifth of sixth spot, provided enough teams leapfrog the worst three teams in the lottery.