mcinerney

I am too angry, upset, depressed, etc. to write about the topic thoroughly, but I’ll give it a quick try.

Psychologists would tell you that you need to talk about things that upset you this much.  Right now, this blog is my therapist. 

Rumor has it that the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a trade involving Kevin Garnett (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2954127).  Let me state that another way, the Wolves are apparently going to trade the only marketable face the franchise has known in its almost 20 years of existence. 

A month ago I came to the realization that this might happen and it might be the only way the Wolves could get better as a team.  I even tried to put myself in Glen Taylor’s shoes.  If I owned the Wolves, would I trade KG and try to get some proven talent and some draft picks?  I’m not sure.  A team never gets fair value for trading away a superstar.  I also still feel the Wolves are closer to a championship trying to find the pieces to play alongside Garnett than they would be dealing Garnett and trying to build with young players.  There are a lot of teams with nice young players that are absolutely terrible teams (see Atlanta with Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Joe Johnson, Marvin & Shelden Williams and Charlotte with Sean May, Emeka Okafur, Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace and now Jason Richardson).  Having a group of young players might be fun to watch, but it doesn’t necessarily equate to a championship team. 

So what are the parameters of this potential trade?  From the sounds of it, the trade is EXACTLY the same thing Boston was offering one month ago, MINUS the #5 overall pick.  How in the world does this make sense?  If you were buying a car and the dealer said it was $40k and you turned it down, would you go back a month later and buy it for $50k?  Unbelievable. 

Rumor has it the actual specifics of the trade have Boston sending Al Jefferson (solid player who is 22 years old and averaged 16.0ppg and 10.9rpg last season in 69 games), Ryan Gomes (nice player, but not great), Gerald Green (an amazing athlete who knows as much about basketball as I know about space travel), Sebastian Telfair (a thug who likes to pack heat and would be a terrible influence for the young players the Wolves DO have) and Theo Ratliff (a washed up player included simply to make the contracts work). 

If the Wolves decided to trade KG and get younger, I would not agree, but could understand that there was a direction for the franchise.  Al Jefferson may turn into a franchise player, and that’s great. But again this is so upsetting because this is the same trade that was on the table a month ago MINUS the #5 overall pick (used for a very talented Jeff Green from Georgetown).  There is no way to explain this current trade rumor to me that makes sense.  We won’t want any of the Celtics draft picks because having Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and KG will earn a #30 overall pick or worse. 

Glen Taylor, remember how the Vikings made the Dallas Cowboys a dynasty by trading for Hershel Walker? 

I am absolutely convinced that I could perform my current job AND Kevin McHale’s job better than he is doing his job now.  Is this a situation where McFale approached Danny Ainge and said, let’s make Boston a contender, I’ll quit my job (or get fired) with the Wolves, fly out to Boston and we’ll both smoke cigars in Red’s old office. 

One more point.

Boston was able to get Ray Allen from the Sonics for Wally Szczerbiak (big contract), the #5 pick and a handful of scrubs.  Did McFale even consider calling the Sonics and offering Ricky Davis (a 20ppg scorer who could go away at the end of the year if you wanted), Troy Hudson (who could be bought out) and the #7 pick (turned out to be Corey Brewer)?  Would the Wolves be better with a lineup of Foye, Ray Allen and KG or Foye, Ricky Davis and Al Jefferson? 

Again, if they made a decision to trade KG, that would be one thing.  But, they are agreeing to a deal that was made a month ago only missing a possible future All-Star. 

McFale gets paid to make horrible decisions like this.  Amazing.

I am a huge sports fan. I’ll watch just about any sport on television. I will watch basketball, baseball, football, golf, tennis, the major horse races, etc. I will watch just about any event when the Olympics are happening. I’ll give just about any sport a try in my personal life as well. I don’t watch any television shows at all. I do, however, watch a ridiculous amount of sports. I have programmed my remote control to turn on ESPN when the TV, receiver, etc. is powered on. I look at current stats, historical stats, standings, etc. I am addicted to sports.

This past week I was talking to some friends and we were talking about how depressing sports is now. If you looked at www.espn.com a few days ago the headlines would read:

1. Tim Donaghy fixing games as an NBA official (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=expertexplainsNBAbets)

2. Barry Bonds is about to break one of the most unreachable records in all of sports, but is clearly marked as a product of steroids (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2948334&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2948334%26name%3dolney_buster)

3. Mike Coolbaugh died after being hit by a line drive while coaching first base with his two kids and pregnant wife at home (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2948334&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2948334%26name%3dolney_buster)

4. Michael Vick going to court for allegedly being the ring leader of a dog fighting ring (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=munson_lester&id=2950481)

5. The Tour de France is in the middle of more doping scandals (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2007/columns/story?id=2949477)

If you were a parent and your child wanted to idolize an athlete or simply buy a poster or them to put on their wall or buy their jersey to wear in the backyard game was football or baseball or basketball, wouldn’t you have to do some research on that individual before you allowed your child to grab hold of that athlete? Michael Vick is an exciting player to watch on a football field. If I had kids, I would not want them wearing a Falcons #7 jersey. I suppose times change with the generations and we are forced to adapt. I remember my parents screening the movies we watched or tapes we wanted to buy. Today I guess along with movies and CDs, parents also have to monitor internet usage and the athletes their kids want to follow.

Beyond the athletes, it is just a depressing time in sports. Fixing NBA games challenges the integrity of all sports. Most depressing of all is the young coach dying on a freak accident. A husband with two young children and another on the way.

This is terribly depressing as a sports fan. I long for lead stories to be of players getting better and hitting game-winning homeruns in a critical game during the pennant race.

I currently live in St. Louis Park and have lived there for most of my life. The house I live in currently is literally three blocks from the house my parents owned until three or four years ago. I guess I’m a momma’s boy. Anyway, one reason I enjoy living in St. Louis Park is because of the location. I am only a few blocks from Minneapolis and a few blocks from Edina. It takes me a minute or two to get to the bike trails or the lakes. It is also located only a few blocks from all the new shops, restaurants, etc. at Excelsior and Grand. I have sworn by The Park since college and I contend that everyone has a connection to SLP.

My house is the smallest house in the neighborhood. I’m okay with that fact, as it is fine for me and I really like the location. Over the past year I have had a fair amount of work done to the house. The upstairs and kitchen were gutted and completely redone. A bathroom was also added upstairs.

One BIG negative of St. Louis Park is the inspections. With any construction permits need to be pulled and code needs to be followed. I understand and accept this fact. I have even accepted that the same person cannot inspect the plumbing, electrical and building. That needs to be done by three separate individuals (usually on three separate days). What is beyond frustrating is that there does not seem to be any process for inspecting the work. Meaning, one person may miss something that the next person sees.

A few weeks ago I had an inspector come to do a final inspection of the upstairs. Everything looked good with the exception of the railing going up the stairs. I knew this needed to be done, but wanted to know if I was up against anything else before I made what I had hoped would be my last of a million trips to Home Depot. I was happy to hear that the railing was indeed the only thing missing from a final sign-off.

The other day I had a St. Louis Park city inspector come over (actually a couple of them). They checked the updated electrical (has been inspected twice already), the furnace and water heater (both were installed in 2003 and have been inspected on a couple separate occasions) and the electricity in the garage (this was done prior to me even purchasing the house). They also noticed a railing at the top of the stairs that has been there for six months and at least three inspections. The railing, which by code, has to be no more than four inches from the floor is 5 ½ inches off the floor. Why didn’t either of the other two inspectors notice this? No one seems to know. What I know is that it would have been a 20 minute thing to resolve before the carpet was installed and the walls were painted. Now I’m going to have to just add wood to the underside of the railing. There is no question it will be an eye sore, but it will meet code and won’t require me to tear up carpet and repaint.

Through all of the work done to the house, I have talked to a number of contractors, plumbers, electricians, etc. that refused work in my house. Why? Because it is in St. Louis Park and the city inspectors are too strict.
I understand the reason for the codes, etc. What I don’t understand is how countless inspectors can miss so many things. I also can’t understand (maybe I do understand) why some inspectors are afraid to sign their name next to the work they inspected. The City of St. Louis Park needs to get control of this and get the right people hired that can do the job the same way and follow the same rules.

Good things simply do not happen to the Wolves. It could be simply bad luck. It could be that Minnesota is supposed to be a hockey state, not a basketball state. It could be because of the Joe Smith fiasco from what seems like a decade ago (Is Joe Smith still contributing in the league?). Or, it could be because I have spent more time wishing bad things on Tim Duncan (complainer), Dirk Nowitzki (complainer) and Kobe Bryant (Colorado). Whatever the reason, the Wolves have bad kharma working against them anytime they are looking for ping pong balls to land their way.

From the time the Wolves were an expansion team, they have been in the lottery 11 times. They have moved up exactly NEVER. The lottery rules and odds were changed because of the Wolves. They were the worst team in the league when Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning were entering the draft. The Wolves slid two spots in the draft and selected Christian Laettner. For 11 tries in the ping pong barrel the Wolves have never been helped by the process. When I get some time I should research the odds each year (they have changed over the years and so have the lottery rules) and compute the chances of them NEVER moving up in the draft. I can say this with certainty; the odds are not good.

So the Wolves are scheduled to pick at #7. There have been some decent players selected in that slot over the past few years. Randy Foye (2006), Charlie Villanueva (2005), Luol Dent (2004) , Kirk Hinrich (2003) and Richard Hamilton (1999). There has also been some flops. Eddie Griffin (2001), Chris Mihm (2000) and Lorenzen Wright (1996).
What matters is that KG needs help immediately. They do not have time to work with a project. They need someone that can step in and contribute their rookie year. Similar to the way Foye and McCants have done in the past two years. KG’s prime cannot and SHOULD NOT be wasted anymore.

Obviously Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will be going #1 and #2. Under that assumption, I’m hoping Corey Brewer is available at #7. If he is gone I’d be happy with Brandan Wright. I think Brewer is ready to play on opening night. He is already an NBA level defender and being as athletic as he is, at 6’9€? he can play right away. Brandan Wright seems a little weak to me at this point, but has a soft touch for a bigger guy and I like his potential.

Whichever player the Wolves end up with, he needs to be the steal of the draft. The Wolves deserve it, KG deserves it and I deserve it.

A group of us went to Fogo de Chao (www.fogodechao.com), the new Brazilian Steak house across from GameWorks in Block E. This is the place that used to be Copelands and before that was the Nankin. I think I speak for everyone in our group when I say it was fantastic. For those that are not familiar with a Brazilian Steak house, it works like this: There is an enormous salad bar that is continually stocked with vegetables and fixings that look like they came right out of a magazine. There are no slightly ripe tomatoes here. Then you sit down and let the food start coming your way. You have a card in front of you with two sides, green and red. When your card is green, the wait staff carrying many different types of meat will come over and cut a portion for you right on your plate. They will cut the meat to your taste (rare, medium, etc.). The wait staff will continue to bring different types of meat to your plate until your card is showing red. You can take a few minutes to relax and enjoy what is on your plate and simply turn your card back over to green and let the food keep coming.

I have no idea how they train their staff, but they have it down to perfection. Your beverage glass never gets empty without it being refilled. The bread, mashed potatoes, etc. are continually refreshed on your table as well. When your card is green, you don’t wait long for food to be put on your plate. The most remarkable thing to me is that you never feel like people are hovering over you. With this quick of service, you would think the wait staff would be standing over you the entire time. That is absolutely NOT the case. They are not imposing or pushy, but they are there when you need them.

I’m hardly a restaurant / dining professional, as I do not have the taste buds to decipher between mediocre and great. I am truly happy eating just about anywhere and eating any type of food. And, truth be told, I rarely eat red meat. I will have a chicken sandwich over a cheeseburger or a steak more often than not. However, the service and quality of food at Fogo de Chao is top notch! I would highly recommend the experience (and yes, it is an experience). I would recommend planning a three hour dinner and going with some good company. Add a few drinks for a fantastic night out.