MINNESOTA SPORTS FAN DAILY: Wednesday, October 18, 2017

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MSF Daily: 10/18/2017

The Timberwolves Tip-Off Their Season Wednesday @ Spurs – 8:30 PM – ESPN:

Wow, we’re here.

It felt like we might never get to Timberwolves season but now we are less than 24 hours away from tip-off. Some of you might be reading this even closer to that moment, or even after. But, as I write this just after 8 PM on Tuesday night, I can’t help but get overly excited about a team I haven’t seen yet, like any good Minnesota fan. I’m high on Minnesota optimism.

I want to caution everyone though, including myself, before watching on Wednesday. This team hasn’t played together…ever. It’s a brand new team, without much for chemistry. We can all hope and believe they’ll mesh like a good peanut butter sandwich right away, but that’s not how it usually works…. CONTINUE READING

Twins Hire Baseball America’s Editor John Manuel for Scouting Department:

John Manuel is extremely popular among the baseball community. For some, there is a line in the sand between two different types of “baseball people”. There are the “old-school ball guys (and gals – stay PC)” who believe in what they see and what their experience tells them. Then, there are the analytics people who know 21,451 different baseball statistical acronyms and use those stat categories to judge the baseball they watch.

In reality, 97% of the baseball community falls in the middle. We all watch but most are intrigued by the different numbers and different opinions. Each person falls into their own spot on the “ball guy” to “stat-head” spectrum. Baseball is the most laid-back game played. I love it. But it’s nature allows for the game to be judged in many different ways. It’s part of the fun.

The point before that tangent, was to show how loved John Manuel seems to be, no matter the community you plant your flag with in the baseball world. Everyone in the baseball community today was talking about this move and everyone was glowing about John as a writer and person. I have some of them below.

Manuel started with Baseball America in the mid-90’s and…. CONTINUE READING

Gopher Basketball Picked to Finish 3rd in B1G by Media:

The praise continues to fall down on the Gopher Basketball Team. Most outlets, including this media poll referenced by Marcus Fuller, have the Gophers finishing in the top 3 out of the B1G. Coming into last year around this time, I might have been one of the only believers in this team.

Ok, I wasn’t a full believer yet but the talent was noticeable. All it took was 3 games, though. You could tell the Gophers were a much better team last year, than the year before, within those first few games. They just looked faster, better, smarter, and stronger than the previous year and continuously looked superior to the teams they were facing, until they went up against Florida State, who was ranked in the top 20 at the time.

The opposite is true this year. Everyone is looking for the Gophers. It will be interesting to see how they react.

 

Teddy Bridgewater to Practice for the First Time in 14 Months on Wednesday:

Wednesday is a day that Minnesota Vikings fans have been hoping and waiting for, for over a year. Teddy Bridgewater is returning to practice with his teammates. The Vikings plan to ease him back in but I talked about it yesterday and each day that goes by, I believe we are a day closer to Teddy being back at the helm of this offense.

I said everything I needed to yesterday. Here it is again. The link is at the bottom.

We Finally Know What Happens With Teddy Bridgewater After 2017

Today was a great day.

Yesterday was a great day too. The Vikings beat the Packers. But, I was again irritated with a question that I’ve been trying to get answers to since the Vikings declined Teddy Bridgewater’s rookie option a year ago.

WHAT HAPPENS WITH TEDDY’S CONTRACT AFTER THE SEASON?

Teddy Bridgewater was supposed to be a Free Agent at the end of the season, after the team declined his option, but there was a this “toll rule” that was getting in the way of everything? I was confused and that would be a reoccurring theme on the subject for a long time…. CONTINUE READING

How Worried Should We Be About Zach Parise’s Back?:

Apparently we should be really worried. First, read this painstaking play-by-play from Michael Russo of Parise lifting his bags off the ground after the injury.

After standing to eat lunch while talking to two injured teammates sitting at the table in front of him, the Wild forward went into a full squat to lift his belongings before leaving Xcel Energy Center with no idea as to when he’ll be able to play this season for the Wild.

Wow…. so when will we see Zach hit the ice? Nobody knows. It’s a scary situation and I’m starting to really worry about his career. I sure hope I’m wrong because it’s clear how much Zach loves to play the game and the Wild could really use him. But is it worth your back or its future? That would be my worry.

“Well, I haven’t thought about him changing the way he plays, but it worries me that something could happen to him,” Boudreau said. “I mean, that’s why we set up Monday the way we did. [It] was for battle drills to see how he did. But, I guess, before we got there, something tweaked.”

You can read Russo’s whole story here. I highly recommend it. The Athletic is subscription based but it is growing everyday and it is well worth it.

MSF Daily by Eric Strack @RealMNSportsFan

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