Homerism in Minnesota

It's time again for another episode of "Minnesota Gets Shafted", where angst-ridden sports fans can vent about the injustices that professional sporting leagues have wreaked on our local franchises.

Today's topic: The NBA All-Star weekend -"LOVE AND JEFFERSON GOT JOBBED!"

Your host: the one, the only, our Chief Vindicator, Jim Petersen...

Nope, I'm not going to mock anyone today. But reading some of the local missives here in the Great Cold North, you'd think the wind chill had gone directly into the bloodstream. On the other hand, I had my first Chuck Norris shot last night, so maybe I'M the one hallucinating.

Did Love deserve the nod? Sure, but I can understand why he didn't make it. As I pointed out last post, it looks like the primary consideration was the quality of minutes played in the first half of the season. Here, actually I'm giving credit to the Wolves organization; they did the right thing by babying Love along. It looks like compared to Marc Gasol--who is older, more experienced and started sooner--Love's stats didn't get the benefit of the doubt. People who say that Love should have gone instead of say, Eric Gordon, aren't paying attention to the idea that probably the NBA doesn't want a roster full of lumbering forwards playing in a showcase exhibition. In the end however, I think the Wolves have no one else to blame but themselves in not letting Love develop on the court. If he continues his progress--and the Iron Ranger actually starts him sometime--he will represent the Sophmores next year, if they decide to actually continue that ridiculous event.

Jefferson, on the other hand, is an offensive, not defensive All-Star. Being that the All-Star game features absolutely no defense, his skills would have certainly been showcased for a nation of basketball fans. But politics, small vs. big market, and won-loss record all factored in when Shaq got the nod instead of Big Al. Don't forget that in the last few years that KG was in Minny, there were calls for him not to make the squad because the Wolves were awful. In that case, the politics and longevity angles worked for us.

So, put down the bias-ridden stats, grab a paper bag and breathe deep. Quit whining. Love and Jefferson were slighted a bit, but not jobbed. As the cliche goes, hopefully they will use it as motivation, since the best team in West is actually showing up for a game tonight.

BTW, how about the Gophs last night? It's amazing how a young team can overachieve when they play great defense...