Opening day

M and I went to the Twins opener yesterday and I can write that for at least one day Twins fans are happy. The Twins beat the Angels 3-2. Carlos Gomez (the new Torri Hunter and the only starter from the Santana trade) did better than even the most optimistic of expectations. He was able to get on base 3 times in 4 of his plate apperances, steal two bases (including one on a pitch-out), and score two runs. Also, Livan Hernandez, Delmon Young, Mike Lamb and Brendan Harris were all impressive in their debuts.

Some quick hits:

• When one of my newly favorite writers (Clay Travis who wrote the excellent book Dixieland Delight) writes an article on one of my favorite basketball teams (Davidson) then I will always link to it: Claynation: Wondering about Davidson? Here's a small back story. As for his article I agree with Davidson academic prowess, the pride in their academic prowess, point 8 about VA Tech fans, and point 10 about the Zach Morris of the Davidson basketball team.


• Here is the Sportsguy's take on Tyler Hansbrough from his mailbag: Speaking of Favre, he already has been replaced by Tyler Hansborough as the token "White Athlete That The Media Openly and Embarrassingly Fawns Over Because of His Work Ethic and Love For the Game." (Note: Steve Nash was the overwhelming favorite here until Hansborough too over during the tournament.) For anyone who doesn't think there's a racial component to this, you're crazy. Just look at David West of the Hornets -- like Hansborough, he's a self-made player and a staunch competitor who plays with an inordinate amount of passion, an undersized forward who routinely scores on bigger bodies, someone who extracted every ounce of his potential and made the most of it. Well, have you ever read a David West feature? Have you ever heard announcers raving about him to the point that you wondered if they were related to him? No and no. I just think it's a little, um, peculiar. We'll see if this changes during the NBA playoffs.


• The problem with the comparison is that in the Nba Tyler Hansbrough will be lucky to be David West's backup's backup. If you compare David West's senior year you will see a much more complete player than Hansbrough. West and Hansbrough's scoring and rebounding are simliar, but as I have wrote before that is all Hansbrough can do. West averaged 3.2 assists (compared to Hansbrough's 0.9), and blocked 1.6 shots a game (compared to Hansbrough's 0.4). Other than that it is a good comparison. Both players are proflic scores who shot free throws well and owned the boards. I saw David West absolutely destroy Miami U. in college and have nothing but accolades for him as a player. Tyler Hansbrough is no David West.


• What? An article about a UNC player not named Tyler Hansbrough. Andy Katz wrote about Ty Lawson's sprained ankle helping UNC. Just when I think Katz is going to break the national media trend of writing about Hansbrough and NOBODY else on UNC, he goes and writes about the "stud" that is Psycho T. It almost seems like he used the Lawson angle to bring up Hansbrough again. I want to read one article about Danny Green's versatility, Ty Lawson's ability to break the press, or Wayne Ellington's ridiculous confidence in his jump shot It has gotten to the point where my dislike of UNC is overshadowed with my dislike of the overrated Tyler Hansbrough and the media's obsession over the hardest working player in college basketball's history and future.

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.