MinnesotaSportsScene.com

Timberwolves rookie forward Kevin Love has a lot of learning to do, and if coach Randy Wittman has his way, it will be defense that Love, and the rest of the team, learn first. In year two of the post-Garnett era, Wittman is again preaching defense to a team still looking to find an identity the way real estate lovers are looking for Outer Banks rentals.

Part of the identity issue was solved last season when Al Jefferson, the cornerstone of the trade that sent Garnett to Boston, asserted himself as the team’s top big man, posting better numbers than Garnett most of the season, despite being on a losing team while Garnett rode the Celtics to his first NBA Title.

Love will be part of the mix this year, but whether he plays starter minutes alongside Jefferson or comes in off the bench alongside Jason Collins remains to be seen.

Whether Brad Childress, whose tenure with the Vikings is on a pulse oximeter, gets to finish out this season as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, or becomes the next coach to be fired mid-season, is a tale that may be told over the next three games. Currently a very disappointing 1-3, the Vikings face crucial opponents, starting tonight.

First, on Monday Night Football tonight, the Vikes will have a showdown with the New Orleans Saints, a game they ought to win. After that, there will be key division match-ups against NFC North foes Detroit and Chicago.

If Childress secures all three wins, he’ll survive the season, at least, leading the Vikings into their bye week with a 4-3 record. He’ll probably survive if he drops one of those games.

However, if Childress loses two of the next three games, or worse, loses all three, we may see a coaching change going into the bye week. And it will be long overdue.

If owner Zygi Wilf does decide to release Childress during the bye, look for assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier to be named to the interim spot, with a strong chance to retain the job once the season’s over, if he can turn things around. If Frazier can’t turn things around, expect Wilf to clean house and start over fresh in January.

You heard it here first.

Minnesota Gophers receiver Eric Decker is making maroon-and-gold fans forget all about the one that got away, Cretin Durham Hall grad Michael Floyd, now with Notre Dame. That’s because Decker currently leads all Division I receivers with 696 receiving yards through six games; he’s also third in the nation in catches, with 50.

By comparison, Floyd has only 21 catches for 333 yards over five games.

So forget all those Fenphedra-popping wannabes; Decker is the real thing for the Gophers and is a big part of elevating the team from a one-win train wreck last season to a 5-1 phenom this season.

While the Big 10 schedule is sure to take its toll on the Gophers and add a few more losses, one more win will make the Gophers technically bowl-eligible, and two more wins in the Big 10 will seal the Gophers for a post-season bowl bid.

Considering where the team was last season, anything beyond seven wins is gravy!