Ache #18: Tom Lehman and the 1995 US Open

Minnesota fans have a special place in their hearts for home-grown talent. We love the "One of Us" stories.

Pro golfer Tom Lehman was born in Austin, MN and moved up north to Alexandria at a young age. He golfed collegiality at the University of Minnesota and went pro in 1982.

Lehman, at age 36 in 1995, was still looking for his first Major tournament win. He finished as the runner-up at the 1994 Masters Tournament behind Jose Maria Olazabal. 

Lehman was tied atop the leader board with Greg Norman at the 1995 US Open at Shinnecock Hills (NY) after three rounds after firing a third-round 67.

Greg Norman was also looking for his first career

US Open Championship in 1995

Norman was sitting -5 after Day Two of the event, but a +4 on Day Three brought him to -1 for the tournament, tied with Lehman and one shot ahead of Phil Mickelson and Bob Tway.

Corey Pavin, Nick Price, Steve Stricker, Scott Verplank and Ian Woosnam were all tied for fifth place a +2.

Norman and Lehman both par'd Hole One, but a Norman bogey on Two and a Lehman birdie on Three game Lehman a two stroke lead. Norman played Par Golf through Hole 12. Meanwhile, Lehman bogey'd Four, Ten and Eleven and Double Bogey'd Seven to fall two shots back.

Corey Pavin, who started the day at +2, was now tied with Lehman for second place and two shots behind Norman for the lead.

Pavin and Lehman each shot a birdie on Twelve, and Norman bogey'd the hole to tie the group at +1.

Hole 13 resulted in pars for Pavin and Lehman and another bogey for Norman to move him one shot back.

The group of three each par'd Fourteen. Pavin and Norman recorded birdies on Fifteen, while Lehman shot par.

With three holes left, Corey Pavin had a one shot lead at even par.

Lehman's drive on the Par 5 16th Hole ended in the rough. Lehman had to aim left and play a fade or aim right and hook it back toward the short grass. He chose the hook, only it didn't hook. He then had to chip out of the rough onto the fairway. He later missed a five-foot bogey putt. The double bogey on the hole to move to +3. Norman would bogey Seventeen to move to +2.

Pavin, meanwhile, was still E thru 17 before his second shot from the fairway on Hole 18:

Pavin later described this fairway shot as 

"the best shot of my life"

Pavin would par the hole to win his first Major. Norman finished +2, and Lehman finished +3 after having a two shot lead over Pavin after nine holes.

The 1995 US Open Champion, Corey Pavin

Norman, who was 5 under after 36 holes, was +7 over his last two rounds. He went 32 consecutive holes without a birdie.

For Lehman, numerous missed opportunities with two double bogeys on the final day, unable to overtake a plummeting Norman, yet unable to hold off a surging Pavin.

Ache #17: Twins release David Ortiz

There are very few full time DH's worthy of a Hall of Fame nod. Paul Molitor (3,319 hits), Frank Thomas (521 HR) and Jim Thome (612 HR) are in. Edgar Martinez (2x Batting Champion, 5x Silver Slugger, .312 career average) and Tony Oliva (3x Batting Champion) will likely get in. Then there's a pretty significant drop-off to guys like Brian Downing, Harold Raines, Chili Davis, Don Baylor, Mike Sweeney and Hal McRae.

And somewhere in near the top of all-time great DH's is David Ortiz.

Fans remember David Ortiz (AKA Big Papi) for his clutch hits in the playoffs for the Red Sox and his towering home runs out of Fenway Park.

Ortiz hit .290 with 483 home runs and 1530 RBI over a 14 year career in Boston. He was a 10 time  All Star, and finished in the Top-5 in AL MVP voting four times in four seasons. He helped end the Red Sox 86 year World Series Championship drought in 2004. And, for good measure, led them to championships in 2007 and 2013.

He is the all-time leader in home runs (485), RBI (1,569) and hits (2,192) by a DH. His career batting average in the World Series is .455.

And once upon a time, he was a Minnesota Twin.

And they released him. Flat out cut him.

It was 2002. The Twins had just made the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in 1991. Ron Gardenhire had taken over managerial duties after Tom Kelly stepped down after the 2001 season and had inherited a lot of strong, young talent. Guys like Torii Hunter, AJ Pierzinski, Doug Mientkeiwicz, Corey Koskie, and Jacque Jones. These guys had come up through the minors together and would help lead the Twins to back-to-back-to-back AL Central titles in the early 2000s.

Veteran pitcher Rick Reed won 15 games for the

Twins in 2002

The Twins had acquired Ortiz via trade from the Seattle Mariners in 1996, while Tom Kelly was still manager. He got his call-up to the Twins in September 1997 after batting .317 with 31 home runs and 124 RBI combined in the minors (High A, AA, AAA).

As odd as it would seem, Ortiz's bat did not fit TK's baseball philosophy or "The Twins Way". Kelly preferred small-ball tactics and solid defense in his lineup, two things that Ortiz needed to improve on.

After getting his feet wet in the bigs in 1997, Ortiz had his eyes set on the starting first baseman job out of Spring Training in 1998. But, a fractured wrist sent him to the DL and the job went to future Gold Glove winner Doug Mientkiewicz. Ortiz was limited to 10 games that season.

Tom Kelly (and the Twins) preferred Doug Mientkiewicz's

solid glove at first over Ortiz's bat

In 1999, he was the everyday designated hitter, appearing in 130 games. He hit a respectable .282, but with only 10 home runs...due in large part to The Twins Way: make plays in the field, don't give away scoring chances with dumb base running or consistently failing to advance base runners, and slapping outside pitches to the opposite field.

The Twins Way attributed to Ortiz's light hitting and lack of power during his Twins years: a .266 average with 58 home runs over six seasons. Needless to say, Ortiz wasn't a fan of Tom Kelly's strategy. In an interview with Tom Power of the Pioneer Press in 2004, Ortiz said "I'd take a big swing and (Kelly) would be screaming at me: 'hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?' Are you kidding me? You want me to swing like a little girl? I'll swing like a little girl."

Ortiz's best season as a Twin was 2002...a breakout year for the Twins. Despite battle knee injuries and a slow start, Ortiz hit 20 home runs and knocked in 75 runs for the 2002 AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins. In the nine playoff games for the Twins (3-2 series win vs Oakland in the ALDS and a 4-1 series loss vs Anaheim in the ALCS), had 8 hits in 29 at bats (.275) with only 4 RBI and zero home runs.

Ortiz was eligible for arbitration following that season. The Twins could either pay him 1.5 million dollars, or release him.

Remember, but this time, Kelly was no longer the manager. Ron Gardenhire had taken the reigns prior to 2002, but Gardy had been a coach under Kelly since 1991 and the "Twins Way" had been instilled in him, as well as GM Terry Ryan who was the ultimate decision maker.

"Obviously, it's a situation that I watched and I've observed and I see what he's done and I see what he's done and I see what he's meant to the Boston Red Sox. Ok, I screwed it up."
-Twins GM Terry Ryan

Terry Ryan and the Twins decided to release Ortiz in December of 2002. Ortiz finished his career with the Twins with a .266 average with 58 home runs and 238 RBI over parts of six seasons. Ryan decided to cut Ortiz for a number of reasons: he didn't want him to take the Twins to arbitration, he felt Matt LeCroy would make an adequate DH over the next handful of seasons, and he wanted a roster spot for the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

Ortiz signed a one year $1.25 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in January 2003...less than the $1.5 million he was expected to get in arbitration with the Twins.

Matt LeCroy became the full time DH for the 2003 season. He appeared in 107 games for the Twins, hitting .287 with 17 home runs and 85 RBI...numbers that were comparable, if not better, than Ortiz during his time with the Twins (Ortiz hit .288 with 31 HR, 101 RBI and finished Top-5 in the MVP voting for Boston, so there's that.)

Matt LeCroy with the Twins in 2005

In limited action for the Twins from 2003-2005, LeCroy hit .273 with 43 home runs and 153 RBI. Ortiz hit .300 with 47 home runs and 148 RBI...in 2005.

The player the Twins coveted in the Rule 5 draft was shortstop Jose Morbon. They selected him from the Texas Rangers for $50,000.

Literally the only photo of Jose Morban in

a Twins uniform in existance

Morban didn't quite work out for the Twins. He was placed on waivers in Spring Training and claimed by Baltimore. He had 71 at bats for the Orioles in 2003, batting .141 with two home runs and 5 RBI, then never appeared in a major league game ever again.

The justifications/excuses to cut Ortiz were there: He was was below average in the field as a first baseman, limiting him to the DH role. He hit only .205 against left handed pitching and .240 with runners in scoring position. He also went on the disabled list for a second consecutive season with writs and knee issues. 

But mostly, it was a money thing to keep the Twins ballooning salary from exceeding a wile $50 million per year.

Ache #16: Randy Moss traded to Oakland

Randy Moss is, hands down, the most physically gifted man to play wide receiver in the NFL. The 6'4'' 210 lb receiver from Rand, West Virginia had over 9,100 yards and scored 90 touchdowns...in his first seven seasons in the NFL.

He had fallen into the Vikings lap with the 24th overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft due to character concerns and, on the field, he was well worth it (most of the time).

The Vikings were 36-12 during Moss' first three years with the team, including two NFC Championship Game appearances in 1998 and 200, but a 5-11 drop off in 2001 led to the firing of head coach Denny Green as the reigns of the franchise were handed over to Mike Tice.

The Tice era was underwhelming: four consecutive runner-up finishes in the NFC North and 32-32 record. The Vikings did back into the playoffs with an 8-8 record in 2004 with Randy Moss providing an all-time Randy moment in the win over Green Bay:

Moss had four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns

in a 31-17 win at Green Bay in the 2004 Wild Card round

2004 was a rare off year for Moss. He missed three games with a hamstring injury, and despite 13 receiving touchdowns in 13 games, he failed to reach the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career.

Some of Moss' antics and off-field issues were creating problems too. In addition to his "disguising act" in Green Bay. In September 2002, Moss was driving in downtown Minneapolis and bumped a traffic control officer trying to prevent him from making an illegal turn. A search of his vehicle revealed a gram of marijuana. 

The reason that 20 NFL teams passed on Moss was beginning to show, and in March 2004, the Vikings officially moved on from Randy Moss by trading him to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris and Oakland's first round pick in the upcoming draft.

Napoleon Harris with the Vikings in 2006

Mike Tice had his defensive piece with Harris, and with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft the Vikings selected WR Troy Williamson out of South Carolina to replace Moss in the lineup.

Troy Williamson's pre-draft measurables were great...a 4.3 40, 37" vert and a 21 Wonderlic

Harris, a first-round pick by Oakland in 2002, was brought in to help shore up a defense that gave up over 24 points per game in 2004 (26th in the league). Harris played in 15 games (starting three) in 2005 and finished with 18 tackles as he was hampered with injuries. 2005 was better with three interceptions,2.5 sacks and 96 tackles in 14 games. Harris signed a six-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs after that season. After being released one year into his contract, he re-signed with the Vikings after an injury to EJ Henderson. He finished that season with 32 tackles and one sack in 10 games.

With the seventh overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected WR Troy Williamson out of South Carolina to replace Moss.

Troy Williamson couldn't catch a cold...

Williamson had all the tools to be the deep threat to replace Randy Moss: the size, the speed, the smarts. The one thing he couldn't do was catch the damn ball. He blamed bad depth perception for his poor hand-eye coordination that resulted in 11 drops in 2006, none worse than the one Week 17 against the Denver Broncos.

The Vikings started 3-6, but after five straight wins were sitting at 8-7 and on the verge of an unthinkable playoff spot. A win over Denver, who had a playoff spot in the AFC locked up, would put them in the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Then, Troy Williamson happened. 

First, with the Vikings down 7-3, Williamson dropped what would have been a guaranteed 73 yard touchdown from Tarvaris Jackson:

This is still painful to watch...

The second drop was on a crucial first down later in the game. The game would head to overtime tied at 19-19 before a Tarvaris Jackson fumble at the Vikings' 13 yard line set up a 30 yard Jason Elam field goal to win the game. The Vikings were officially eliminated with Washington's 27-6 win over Dallas as the Redskins grabbed the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC.

Williamson's Vikings career ended with 1,067 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons. He averaged two catches per game. He was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a seventh round pick in 2008.

Moss, meanwhile, was having a career resurgence. After some disgruntled time in Oakland, he was traded to the New England Patriots, where Bill Belichick sorted him out. Moss scored an NFL record 23 touchdowns for the Pats in 2008, helping lead the way to the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history. Meanwhile, the Vikings have only had two 1,000 yard receivers since Moss was traded (Sidney Rice in 2009 and Adam Thielen in 2017).

Ache #15: Michigan 58 Minnesota 0

Not really to much to say about this one. The final score says it all, other than the fact that it could have been much worse. Which is saying a lot because it's already the largest Big Ten loss in Gopher history.

Michigan leads the all-time series between these two teams 75-25-3 including winning 41 of  45 meetings dating back to 1968.

The Gophers were 1-3 heading into the Big Ten Opener, one week after a loss to FCS North Dakota State at TCF Bank Stadium. It couldn't get more embarassing for Gopher fans than that, right?

Wrong.

Michigan welcomed first year head coach Jerry Kill and the Gophers to the Big House on October 1st, 2011 and, in front of a crowd of 111,000 strong, proceeded to annihilate the Gophers.

But perhaps annihilate is too nice of a word.

Michigan dominated in all aspects of the game. It was Michigan's first Big Ten shutout since 2001, and their first shutout of any opponent since 2007. Michigan outgained Minnesota 580-177. Junior running back Vincent Smith had touchdowns rushing, passing and receiving on Michigan's first four drives.

Vincent Smith (2) had 72 all purpose yards and

3 TDs in the first half

Denard Robinson was 15-19 for 169 yards and 2 TDs along with 53 rushing yards and a TD before being pulled after jumping out to a 38-0 halftime lead. Backup running back Fitzgerald Toussaint had 108 yards and a touchdown, freshman Thomas Rawls had 73 yards rushing, and senior Michael Shaw added 60 yards on the ground. The Wolverines gained 10 or more yards on 18 different plays. 

QB Max Shortell was 11-22 for 121 yards against Michigan

On their way to shutting out the Gophers, the Michigan defense didn't allow a Minnesota first down in the opening quarter, and only gave up four in the first half.

The Gophers were in a great position to score and break the shut out before a David Cobb fumble was returned 83 yards for a touchdown by Courtney Avery.

While the numbers were ugly, the outcome was much worse. The 58-point rout was only the third worse loss in Gophers history, because the Wolverines took their foot off the gas.

Ache #14: The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft

In 2017, the NHL was expanding from 30 to 31 teams with the addition of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. It was the NHL's first expansion since 2000 when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild entered the league.

With an expansion franchise, comes an expansion draft and one player being plucked from every roster in the league.

Minnesota lost two.

In the 2000 expansion draft, the 28 NHL teams were allowed to protect nine forwards, five defencemen and one goalie or two goalies, three defensemen and seven forwards. But in this expansion draft, teams were only allowed to protect seven forwards, three defencemen and one goaltender or one goaltender and eight skaters regardless of position.

Teams had to expose at least two forwards and one defenceman that had played at least 40 games in 2016-17 or more than 70 games in 2015-16 and 2016-17 combined. Teams were also required to protect players with No Move Clauses in their contracts.

The Wild were in a tough spot. It had to protect Jason Pominville (who had a NMC). One of the players that was left unprotected was Eric Stall (who scored 42 goals for the Wild in 2017-18). The Wild also had an outstanding core of young talent (Matt Dumba, Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin, Mikael Granlund and Las Vegas native Jason Zucker)

After months of speculation, the Wild protected Pominville, Brodin, Coyle, Zucker, Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Devan Dubnyk, and Nino Niederreiter.

Jason Pominville scored 30 goals in his first full 

season with the Wild, but only 42 in his next 235 games

This left players like Dumba, Eric Staal, Marco Scandella, Darcy Kuemper and Erik Haula exposed.

Wild fans were nervous that Dumba would be the one selected. Dumba was a first round pick by the Wild in 2012 and was regarded as one of the best young defensemen in the game. George McPhee was willing to pass over Dumba for a forward as long as they got a prospect in return.

Matt Dumba stayed in Minnesota on Expansion

Draft Night

The player McPhee liked was Haula, who had spent most of the previous season on Minnesota's fourth line. Haula, a 7th round pick in the 2009 Draft out of the University of Minnesota, was coming off a season in which he scored a career-high 15 goals for the Wild, while averaging just under 14 minutes a game.

While McPhee was concentrating on building a franchise, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher was trying to protect his. He knew that, logically, one of his young defensemen would likely be taken. But he wanted to try and trade one of them for some forward help, while trying to clear some salary cap space.

Fletcher accomplished each of those things. After Las Vegas eventually passed on a Wild defenseman, Fletcher traded Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville (and his salary) to Buffalo for forwards Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis (both of whom were protected by the Sabres).

For Vegas, the one piece left in the puzzle was the prospect the Wild would send them to not take Dumba or Scandella. Three names were at the top of their list: Jordan Greenway, Kirill Kaprizov and Alex Tuch.

Minnesota send 2014 first round pick Tuch to complete the deal.

Tuch appeared in six games for MIN with a +/- of -3

Tuch played in his first full NHL season for the Golden Knights and scored 15 goals. Haula went on to score 29 in 76 games, nearly doubling his 2016-17 total. It's worth noting Foligno and Ennis combined for 16.

Chuck Fletcher got inside his own head on this one. Not only did he give up two players to protect one, but he didn't realize what he had in Eric Haula. Why wasn't Haula putting up near-30 goal seasons with the Wild? The previous season, Fletcher decided he had to trade three draft picks (including a first) for Martin Hanzel and Ryan White. Then Bruce Boudreau gave Hanzel more ice time than Haula.

The Wild had Haula and wasted him, then willingly gave him away plya another pretty good forward to boot.

To put more salt in the wound: Haula, Tuch and the Las Vegas Knights became the first expansion team to win their division and reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Wild's postseason struggles continued as they lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Ache #13: Winter Storm Xanto

Minnesota is proud of their "great, white North" heritage. From freezing Vikings games at The Met and TCF Bank Stadium, to frozen 5Ks, polar plunges and various winter celebrations the cold and the snow are part of Minnesota culture.

But not so much for baseball.

"Spring" 2018 was unseasonably cold, wrecking havoc across the baseball landscape. The New York Yankees, Mets and Detroit Tigers all had their home openers snowed out. Detroit had six of their first twelve home games rescheduled due to weather.

But the worst was still coming.

Winter Storm Xanto hit the the Midwest Friday April 13th 2018 and dumped 15-22 inches of snow in the Metro Area in Minnesota. The Twins had a four game series against the Chicago White Sox scheduled the 12th thru the 15th. 

The fountain (and literally everything else) froze

at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City

The one game the Twins played was a 4-0 win over the southsiders on Thursday the 12th. The other three games were all postponed due to the snow.

And that begs the question that sparked a debate across Twins Territory: should Target Field have been built with a retractable roof like Milwaukee?

One click of a button, and no snow-outs in Milwaukee

The coldest game played at Target Field was April 17 2014 with a temperature of 31 degrees at first pitch. The Milwaukee Brewers played at home the same day, but nobody inside Miller Park made a big deal about the snow until they went to their cars and realized the roads home were covered in snow and ice. Inside the stadium during game time, it was a balmy 62 degrees.

Rain outs and snow outs are a part of baseball. During Xanto, the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs played a game in 38 degree weather, 24 MPH winds, snow and sleet. But nobody is demanding Wrigley Field be rebuilt with a roof.

Every single time there’s a rainout (or a snow out), people complain because the Twins used to have the Metrodome. Rain or shine, you could count on the game being played in the Dome and everyone was happy. Except, The Dome was ugly. We had to crane our necks because home plate was 70° off to the side. Fly balls were lost in the white roof and ground balls bounced over defenders or raced past them at breakneck speed. It was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved, unless you came from North Dakota, because at least your trip to the Twin Cities to see the Twins came to fruition because you were able to watch the Twins.

Though there were discussions to put a retractable roof on the new ballpark, it was ultimately decided that it would be an open-air stadium. The space where Target Field was built used to be a parking lot, meaning the ballpark had to be tiny.

Literally, a parking lot

(Source: www.twinsballpark2010.com)

Not only would a retractable roof cost tax payers more money, but there wasn't really any place to put it because of the size crunch the stadium was already in with their construction site.

The original design of Target Field did include a retractable roof, 

But, as terrible as the weather was (for everyone) during Winter Storm Xanto, there probably aren't many Twins fans that would trade a couple more games in early April for a view like this:

Ache #12: Leo Hayden

If you're a die-hard Vikings fan and have never heard of Leo Hayden, there's a good reason for it.

The Minnesota Vikings won the 1970 NFC Central championship with a 12-2 record. However, they weren't able to make it back to the Super Bowl after being upset in the first round of the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers, 14-17.

The Purple People Eater Defense was thriving. The offense wasn't.

Quarterback Gary Cuozzo had taken over as signal called after Pro Bowler Joe Kapp signed with the Boston Patriots. In 1970, Cuozzo completed less than 50% of his passes for 1,720 yards, 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Backup Bob Lee was 2-0 as a started with 610 yards and 5 touchdowns and 5 picks.

The running game wasn't much better. Dave Osborn led the attack out of the backfield with 681 yards and five touchdowns on 207 carries. Clint Jones added nine touchdowns out of the backfield while splitting time with Boom Boom Brown.

The offensive line was there with future Hall of Famers Mick Tinglehoff and Ron Yary. The defense was loaded with talent and only gave up 200 yards per game. The offense was inconsistent, averaging about 272 yards per game. 

The Vikings needed a dynamic play maker. 

And they thought they found him in the 1971 NFL Draft.

Leo Hayden was a backup running back during his time at Ohio State, but when he was on the field, he flashed brilliance. Taking carries behind Big John Brockington (who was selected 9th overall by Green Bay in 1971), Hayden ranked seventh in the Big 10 in Yards From Scrimmage (787) and first in Rushing Yards Per Attempt (5.8). He scored three touchdowns on the ground that season as well.

John Brockington (42) and Leo Hayden combined for 20 rushing

touchdowns for the National Champion Buckeyes in 1970.

Brockington had 17 of them.

With the first pick in the 1971 NFL Draft, the Boston Patriots selected quarterback Jim Plunkett (they were 2-12 with Joe Kapp that year). Pro Bowlers Archie Manning, Dan Pastorini, JD Hill, Frank Lewis, Isiah Robertson and John Brockington and Hall of Famer John Riggins all went in the top 10. The offense-needy Vikings watched the top quarterbacks go one-two-three and saw five running backs go off the board before they picked at 24. So maybe Hayden was a panic pick and felt the need to grab somebody. The fact of the matter was that the Vikings needed to improve on their abysmal 3.2 YPC from 1970.

It's also worth noting Hall of Famers Jack Ham and Dan Dierdorf were still on the board, both selected in the second round. Pro Bowl caliber quarterbacks like Ken Anderson, Joe Theismann, and Lynn Dickey still available as well.

To say Hayden's Vikings career was underwhelming would be a dramatic understatement. 

Hayden appeared in seven games for the Vikings in 1971, finishing the season with exactly zero touches. In 1972, he was with the St. Louis Cardinals. His stats from 1972: 8 carries for 11 yards and a touchdown, good for 1.4 yards per carry. He also added one catch for 17 yards. In 1973, he was on kick return duty for the Cards, returning five kicks for 98 yards.

In 1974, he was out of the league.

Ache #11: The 1981 Stanley Cup Finals

Now in their 14th season in the NHL, the North Stars had finally built a contending team.

The 1980-81 North Stars were looking to build off their then-franchise record 88 points from the previous season. Prior to their 88 point season, they had missed the playoffs five times in six seasons. With a rebuild beginning with 1978 #1 overall pick Bobby Smith, the 1981 team boasted a lot of young talent (Steve Payne, Dino Ciccarelli, Don Beaupre, Tom McCarthy, Craig Hartsburg, Curt Giles) with a couple of veteran guys sprinkled in (Gilles Meloche, Paul Shmyr, Fred Barrett), GM Lou Nanne had a team built for the future.

And the future was now.

Steve Payne scored 30 goals for Minnesota in 1980-81

A year after losing in the conference semi-finals to Philadelphia 4-1, the North Stars had their eyes set on the next level: the Stanley Cup Finals. They finished one point shy of matching their 1979-80 point total with 87 total points (35-28-17), which tied them with the Boston Bruins for second place in the Adams Division. They drew the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs for the first and only playoff match up between the two teams.

The 1980-81 NHL Playoff seeding. Teams were reseeded after each round

PRELIMINARY ROUND VS BOSTON:

When these two teams played the previous February, these two teams battled at Boston Garden for a game that resulted in a combined 406 penalty minutes. Minnesota won Game One at Boston Garden (they were 0-35 all-time in Boston up to that point) in large part to a Steve Payne hat trick. In Game Two, the North Stars blew them out 9-6. In Game Three back at the Met Center, Minnesota scored four first-period goals in a 6-3 win, sweeping the hated Bruins out of the playoffs.

Yeah...these guys didn't like each other...
This is what 392 penalty minutes looks like

QUARTERFINAL ROUND VS BUFFALO: 

After reseeding the field, Minnesota drew the Adams division winner Buffalo in the quarterfinals. These two teams had met one other time in the playoffs...a two-game sweep by Buffalo in 1977. Minnesota won Game One 4-3 in OT courtesy of a Steve Payne winner with :22 seconds left. Minnesota also won Game Two at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. The series shifted back to the Met Center. Minnesota won Game Three 6-4. After trailing in Game Four 3-0, the North Stars scored three quick goals (Ciccarelli, Christoff, Payne) in the second period to tie the game before losing in OT 5-4. Minnesota closed out the series in Game Five 4-3 to advance to the semifinals.

SEMIFINAL ROUND VS CALGARY

Through the first two playoff series, Minnesota was 6-1. The Calgary Flames were just as much of a surprise in the playoffs as the North Stars were. Entering the tournament as a 7 seed, they swept the Chicago Black Hawks and then upset Philadelphia in Seven Games in the Quarterfinals. The teams split the first two games at Stampede Corral. The North Star's offense exploded in Games Three and Four, scoring 13 goals in the two games with Ciccarelli's hat trick in Game Four. Flames goalie Pat Riggin, who had 41 saves (on 47 shots....) in the games at the Met calmed down in Game 6, allowing only one goal to the North Stars on 34 shots in a 3-1 Flames win to force a Game 6 back in Bloomington. The North Stars advanced to their first ever Stanley Cup after a 5-3 win at the home.

Rookie winger Dino Ciccarelli scored a rookie-record 14 goals (in 19 games)

in the 1981 playoffs

STANLEY CUP FINALS vs NEW YORK ISLANDERS

The North Stars faced their toughest test for the Stanley Cup...the defending champion New York Islanders. NYI had a pretty smooth path to the finals...a sweep of Toronto in the prelims and a sweep of the rival Rangers in the semis. The only team that gave them trouble was Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton took them to 6 games and was the only road team to win at Nassau Coliseum during the tournament.

Games One and Two were at Nassau, and the Islanders won them both by identical 6-3 scores. A sold-out Met Center welcomed the North Stars back for Game Three. The Stars played great hockey at home as well, having gone 5-1 at home, with their one loss coming in overtime to Buffalo. 

Minnesota led 3-1 after the first period after goals from Christoff, Payne and Smith. But, in the second, Butch Goring scored two of his three goals that game, and Bobby Nystrom added another. Mike Bossy also tallied two goals in a game that ended in an Islanders win, 7-5.

Game Four was at the Met Center, too. After Gilles Meloche gave up six goals in Game Three, North Stars head coach put rookie Don Beaupre between the pipes. Beaupre responded by stopping 33 of 35 shots in a 4-2 North Stars win.

That would be the only Stanley Cup Finals loss the Islanders would suffer the rest of their dynasty.

C Butch Goring had five goals (seven points) in the five game series,

including a hat trick in Game Two.

In Game Five back in Long Island, Goring netted two goals in the first period as the North Stars failed to show up. New York won the game 5-1, capturing the second Stanley Cup in what would be a four-year Islanders dynasty as the North Stars became a footnote in Islanders history.

Ache #10: 2017-18 Gopher Hockey Misses The Postseason

Minnesota is the State of Hockey. The state high school hockey championship attendance dwarfs that of NHL teams. There are five DI hockey programs in the state with easily the most talent.

But sometimes, things don't line up the way they should.

The 2017-18 Minnesota Gophers Men's Hockey team was a shoe-in to make the NCAA Tournament. In the middle of February, the team was ranked #8 in the country after beating and tying Ohio State and were on a 6-1-1 stretch. The Gophers lost their last two regular season games to Penn State, and then drew the Nittany Lions again to open the Big Ten Tournament.

The Nittany Lions won the three-game series 2-0, ending the Gophers chances at an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Gophers were outscored 21-11 in the four games.

The Gophers were now score-board watchers. After North Dakota beat Minnesota Duluth (the 2018 NCAA Men's Hockey champion), the Gophers were up to #12 in the rankings...the final spot for at-large bid.

There were six conference tournament games left to determine the majority of the 12 at-large teams for the tournament. Minnesota needed one of these teams to win to make the field: Providence (Hockey East), Clarkson (ECAC), Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey), Northern Michigan (WCHA), St. Cloud State (NCHC) and Ohio State (Big Ten).

Just one of those team winning any of their respective championships would have put the Gophers in the Top 12.

Here are the scores from those conference championship games:

HOCKEY EAST:

Providence- 0

Boston College - 2

ECAC:

Clarkson- 1

Princeton - 2 F/OT (Clarkson tied the game with 7 seconds left in regulation)

ATLANTIC HOCKEY:

Robert Morris - 1

Air Force - 5

WCHA:

Michigan Tech - 2

Northern Michigan - 0

NCHC:

St. Cloud State - 1

Denver - 4

BIG TEN:

Ohio State - 2

Notre Dame - 3 F/OT

All six teams lost. The last result to come in, an OT winner by Notre Dame's Cam Mortenson 9:23 into the extra period, gave Notre Dame an automatic berth into the tournament and ended the dreams of the Gophers. The final PairWise rankings for the 2018 NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament:

1.  St. Cloud State

2.  Notre Dame

3.  Denver

4.  Cornell

5.  Ohio State

6.  MSU-Mankato

7.  Providence

8.  Northeaster

9.  Clarkson

10. Michigan

11. Minnesota Duluth

12. Penn State

13. Boston University

14. North Dakota (did not make tournament)

15. Minnesota (did not make tournament)

Teams that did not crack the Top 20:

Air Force (automatic bid)

Michigan Tech (automatic bid)

Gopher Head Coach Don Lucia stepped following the season after 19 years as head coach. Lucia had coached the Gophers to NCAA championships in 2002 and 2003, but hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game the previous four seasons.

Ache #9: Royce White

The Gophers have a recent history of losing their best in-state recruits to outside schools. Prospects like Cole Aldrich (Kansas), Tyus Jones (Duke) and Jon Leur (Wisconsin) all led their schools to the Final Four (Aldrich and Jones won NCAA championships), Gopher fans began pleading for the coaching staff and administration to start keep Minnesota's high school stars in state.

In 2009, fans got their wish.

Royce White, the Hopkins star that led the Royals to a perfect 31-0 season, was Mr. Basketball that season and committed to join the Gophers. The 6'8" White was ranked the 19th best player in the class fo 2009 on the Rivals.com board and was all set to join Hopkins hero Blake Hoffarber in maroon and gold the next season.

This Blake Hoffarber shot, which won an Espy, may 

be an all-time ache for Eastview High School

Gopher basketball had a couple down years prior to White's arrival. After Clem Haskins' resignation following the academic fraud scandal that vacated the Gopher's Final Four run in 1997, U of M Athletic Director Joel Maturi hired Dan Munson away from Gonzaga to replace Haskins.

Monson coached the Gophers for part of eight roller coaster seasons. He finished with a respectable 118-106 overall record, but the Gophers struggled in Big 10 play with a 44-68 record. Monson resigned seven games into the 2006-07 season and interim coach Jim Molinari finished the season 7-17. Monson led the Gophers to one NCAA Tournament. Despite Monson's inability to conistantly put a winning product on the court, he was heralded for his ability to bring integrity and cleanliness back to the program that was still in the shadow of the Haskins scandal.

The next season, Maturi replaced Molinari with a big name hire: former Kentucy coach Tubby Smith, who had a National Championship on his resume. Tubby recruited Royce White, and the tide seemed to be turning.

Stay tuned for the Tubby Smith ache article

But that tide turned into a tsunami that engulfed the U of M campus. Before ever taking the court for the Gophers, White was suspended after an incident at the Mall of America and later pleaded guilty to fifth degree theft and disorderly conduct. Later that academic year, White was charged with trespassing in connection to an alleged theft of a laptop from a dorm room. He left the team in February, never appearing in a game for the Gophers.

Tubby won 20+ games in five of his six seasons in Minnesota, but didn't see any Big Ten or NCAA Tournament success. He was fired after another first round NCAA exit following the 2012-13 season and would have undoubtedly benefited from Royce White being on the court.

White, on the other hand, transferred to Iowa State. According to the Star Tribune, White asked Tubby if he could stay on the team, but concerns about White's behavioral challenges and social circle raised too many red flags. So Iowa State and coach Fred Hoiberg got a former Top-20 prospect.

Due to NCAA transfer regulations, White was ineligible to play the 2010-11 season, so after two years away from a regular season game, he suited up for the Cyclones on November 12th and posted a double-double against Lehigh with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Three weeks later against Big Ten powerhouse #15 Michigan State, White recorded another double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds as well as 4 steals. After leading Iowa State to the NCAA tournament, the post-season awards came rolling in including the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was First team All-Big 12. White was also the only player in the country to lead his team in the five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

White declared for the 2012 NBA Draft in March and was selected 16th overall by the Houston Rockets in the NBA Draft.

Ache #8: Black Out Game 163

When you mention "Game 163" up here in Twins Territory, most Twins fans will smile. They remember Alexi Casilla knocking in Carlos Gomez in the bottom of the 10th inning for the 2009 AL Central title.

What fans have erased from their memory is the Game 163 when the ball didn't bounce their way. The Blackout Game 163 against the Chicago White Sox on September 30th, 2008.

A little background on the 2008 season first: nobody expected the Twins to even be relevant enough for a Game 163. Torii Hunter had signed with the Angels after the 2007 season. Johan Santana was traded to the Mets for a handful of prospects. The Twins also lost Carlos Silva in free agency to the Mariners, and traded pitcher Matt Garza to the Devil Rays for Delmon Young and utility infielder Brendan Harris.

Francisco Liriano's dominant rookie season had been cut short by Tommy John surgery, which forced him to miss the entire 2007 season. Third base, as it had been since about 1991, was a question mark as well.

The Twins proved the experts wrong.

The young outfield featuring Carlos Gomez (who was centerpiece of the Johan Santana trade), Denard Span (the Twins first round pick in 2002) and Delmon Young (the 2007 Rookie of the Year runner up) held their own. The combination of Nick Punto, Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris at third base didn't solve the long-term need but got the job done.

The young outfield was fun to watch in 2008, even

with the weird cut-off sleeve uniforms

Livan Hernandez won 10 games for the Twins before being placed on waivers in August, while Glen Perkins and Kevin Slowey led the team with 12 wins a piece in a new-look rotation that also featured Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker and occasionally Boof Bonser.

Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan were all All-Stars. Morneau won the Home Run Derby. Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle. Mauer won his second Batting Title and his first Gold Glove.

And most importantly, the Twins were in position to win their fifth AL Central title in seven years at the end of September.

After falling to six games under .500 in June, they rattled of 10 wins in a row to get back in the race. After August 1st, the division leader changed 18 times. The Twins were 2.5 games back entering a crutial three game series at the Metrodome with the first place White Sox on September 23rd with 6 games left. The Twins swept the series, including a series finale in which the Twins erased a 6-2 deficit before winning the game in extra innings to take a half game lead into the final regular season series against the lowly Royals (75-87) while the White Sox had a four game series against the Indians (81-81).

All the Twins had to do was beat Gil Meche, and

they couldn't do it...

The Royals won the series against the Twins 2-1. The White Sox split the four game series with Cleveland to force a tie atop the division.

The Coin Flip

The Twins and White Sox finished with an identical 88-74 record, meaning the two teams would play one game to determine the 2008 AL Central champion. A major factor in Game 163 in 2008 would be home field advantage. In 2008, home field advantage during a one-game playoff was determined by a coin flip. The Twins and White Sox were both 53-28 at home and 35-46 on the road, so whomever was given home field would have a considerable advantage. Chicago won the coin flip, so the Twins would have to travel to US Cellular for the game. However, the Twins had won the season series over Chicago 11-8 and fans argued that the Twins should have had home field advantage. The rule was changed during the following off season.

The Game

White Sox fans were encouraged to wear black, which is why the game is referred to by many as The Blackout Game. The Twins started Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.05 ERA) against John Danks (12-9, 3.32 ERA) who was pitching on three days rest after allowed 7 ER against Cleveland in Game 1 of that series.

Danks allowed 2 hits over 8 scoreless innings. The middle of the Twins lineup (Mauer, Morneau and Cuddyer) went a combined 1-for-9. The one hit was a Michael Cuddyer double in the fifth inning. A Delmon Young sac fly moved Cuddyer to third base with one out. Brendan Harris hit a shallow fly ball to Ken Griffey Jr in centerfield. Cuddyer tried to tag up and score, but Griffey threw a bullet to catcher AJ Pierzinski to gun down Cuddyer at the plate.

Yup. Junior played for the White Sox

Nick Blackburn also pitched a great game, except for one pitch to Jim Thome in the bottom of the seventh inning:

Even though this happened, I still can't hate Jim Thome

Thome's solo blast was the difference maker as the White Sox won the game 1-0 and won the AL Central Division title.

The White Sox would lose to eventual American League Champion Tampa Bay in four games.

Ache #7: Kurt Rambis and the Triangle Offense

Things were going downhill for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009. Kevin Garnett, traded two years earlier, had gone to back-to-back NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the Wolves had gone through five head coaches in five seasons.

Following a 24-win season in 2009, Kevin McHale fired Randy Witman (who was 38-105 in 2+ seasons) and hired long-time LA Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis. Rambis, an assistant under Phil Jackson with the LA Lakers, was a student of the triangle offense...an offense that produced 11 NBA titles. An offense that had produced 11 NBA Titles was worth a shot, right?

What is the Triangle Offense? 

The Triangle Offense has been, pretty much irrefutable, the single most dominant offensive attack (in any major sport) over the past 20 years" - Chuck Klosterman

The Triangle Offense was designed by Sam Berry at USC in the 1940s. It was picked up and developed further by Tex Winter, who would coach at Kansas State as well as for the Houston Rockets. It really took off when Winter became an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls in 1985 and began to teach the offense to Michael Jordan. Two years later, the Bulls hired the head coach of the CBA's Albany Patroons Phil Jackson (as an assistant), who immediately became obsessed with learning the style under Winter.

When Phil Jackson was promoted to head coach of the Bulls in 1989, he had mastered it and coached the Bulls to 6 NBA titles between 1989 and 1998,, then would win four more titles with the LA Lakers from 2000-2010, including a three-peat in the early 2000s.

The Triangle focuses on three players: the center at the low post, the forward at the wing, and the guard in the corner. The strategy is to create good spacing between players and allows each one to pass to four teammates. Every pass is dictated by what the defense does.

Why didn't it work for the Wolves? 

Phil Jackson had a couple once-in-a-generation players playing for him: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neil.

Kurt Rambis did not.

He would have to make due with the youngest roster in the NBA featuring Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer, and rookie Jonny Flynn.

Also, David Kahn was putting together his roster.

If there were any wheels in David Khan's head, you

would probably see them turning in this picture.

A key component of the Triangle is the players you have on the court. To say the Wolves didn't have the talent of the Bulls or Lakers dynasties is a dramatic understatement. In Rambis's first year with the Wolves in 2009, the team won 15 games...their lowest win total since the 1991-92 season.

Rambis and David Kahn agreed that the reason the team wasn't clicking was because they weren't "athletic enough". The Wolves ranked 20th in PPG (98.2) and 29th in Opponent PPG (107.8). They figured the odd man out on the offense was 290 pound center Al Jefferson (the Triangle suited 325 lb Shaquille O'Neil just fine...) Jefferson averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds that year.

Following the 2009 season, Kahn traded Jefferson (the final remaining piece of the Kevin Garnett trade three seasons earlier) to the Utah Jazz for Kousta Koufas (who played 39 games for the Wolves) and two first round picks: Dontas Motiejunas (Rd 1, Pick 20 in 2011) and Terrence Jones (Rd 1, Pick 18 in 2012).

D-Mo and Jones never played for the Wolves. Motiejunas was drafted by the Wolves, then immediately traded to Houston with Jonny Flynn for Brad Miller (who played 15 games for the Wolves) Nikola Mirotic (who never played for the Wolves but was immediately traded to the Chciago Bulls for Norris Cole and Malcom Lee), Chandler Parsons (who refused to play for the Wolves, so he was traded back to the Houston Rockets for cash) and a first round pick in 2012 which ended up being Andre Robertson (who never played for the Wolves, but was traded with Malcolm Lee to Golden State for cash).

Photographic evidence that Braid Miller did,

in fact, play for the Timberwolves

Got it? Me neither.

With Jefferson gone, it opened the door for recently-signed draft bust Darko Milicic to assume the center role with second round pick Nikola Pekovic (6'11", 307 lbs, seemed to fit the mold of a David Kahn athletic center) coming off the bench. The Wolves also acquired Michael Beasley, Luke Ridnour and Sebastian Telfair and drafted Jonny Flynn's former Syracuse teammate Wesley Johnson  with the fourth overall pick (over players like DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George and Gordon Hayward).

Rambis had his re-tooled, athletic and faster roster. This would be the breakout year for the Wolves, right? The pieces were in place.

(They weren't.)

The Wolves won 17 games in 2010, and Rambis was fired in the second year of a four year. He went 32-132 in his two seasons with the Wolves. The Wolves hired Rick Adelman to replace him.

Adelman won 26 games in 2011, and the Wolves finished 40-42 in 2012...their best season since 2004.

Rambis was re-hired by the Lakers as an assistant after getting canned by the Wolves. A year later, he would follow Phil Jackson, who was hired as the president of the New York Knicks, to the Big Apple. He worked as an assistant under Derrick Fisher for two seasons until Fisher was fired by Jackson would fired in 2016. Rambis was named the interm coach, and led the Knicks to 9-19 record over the final 30 games that year.