Vehicle Issues

So, my car started making a clicking sound a week or two ago. Eh, whatever... I thought something was a little odd about that, so I got an appointment to have it looked at.

I get a call back yesterday, bearing the fantastic news that my clutch is blown and I'll need a new one.... $800. Fantastic.

I get a call back today, bearing the even better news that my transmission is also dead, and I'll need a new one.... $1600. Even more fantastic.

I think the next couple of months could be a lot of fun.

...On the Perils of Being a Minnesota Sports Fan

Well, That Sucked...

First, that was a touch game last night. The Twins were up by lost a 5 run lead, then got another one, then lost it AGAIN. Guerrier and Neshek combined to get lit up for 7 runs, and defensive superstar Adam Everett played some extremely sloppy defense at short in the later innings to contribute to the Tiger onslaught. I'm all for good defense, but Everett's obviously not playing at 100% right now, and with how badly he's hitting, there's no reason for him to be in the lineup right now. All in all, a tremendously disappointing loss which wasted some great offensive efforts by folks like Jason Kubel and Delmon Young.

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Go Wild!

The Twins' loss was disappointing enough to where I had little patience for additional sports, so when the Wild got off to a less than stellar start in their game against the Avalanche, I wasn't in the mood for another heartbreaker. I turned off the game a little into the second period, but at the time it seemed as if the Avalanche were outplaying us. They just looked more organized in the Wild zone than the Wild did in the Avalanche zone.

Too bad I didn't have a little more patience, as the Wild won another overtime nailbiter. The Wild are up 2 games to 1 now, and have done so even when Colorado has often looked like the more solid team (this coming from a guy who knows little about the strategies of hockey... maybe playing a frantic game of 'keep away' is a great master plan - I just watch the little that I do because goals can come from out of nowhere, it's kind of exciting).

The Vikings were disappointing, the Timberwolves sucked hardcore, and I have my doubts if the Twins are playoff bound. The Wild truly might be the only hope for a good 2008 in Minnesota sports.

The Franchise

Francisco Liriano is going to make his first major league start since August 2006 today. The hope obviously is that he can eventually get to where he was in mid-summer 2006 when he was, arguably, the best pitcher in the major leagues. Any thoughts of him being super-dominant right away are far fetched, and I wouldn't be shocked if it took until late summer or even next season for him to get it all back. Twins fans have been spoiled the last couple of years when it comes to superstar pitching, and while the Bonsers, Bakers, and whatnot are perfectly enjoyable, the underlying hope is that Liriano can keep up the recent trend of having an overwhelming ace anchoring the staff. Here's hoping that today is at the very least a small step in a positive direction.