Play Ball! (almost)

I'm in a baseball mood! Maybe it's from watching a thrilling 12-inning game last night (inside the park 3-run homerun in the bottom of the 9th!!! Are you kidding me Delmon??? Get your head in the game!) Maybe it's because it's spring/summer (all 3 months we get here in MN) and that always puts me in a baseball mood. In any case, I want to blog about the future of Twins baseball today. No, not the future pitcher down in AA or who we should draft. Heck, I don't know anything about that. But I do know WHERE the Twins will be playing in 2 years.

A couple weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the new Twins stadium under construction. It's a fascinating site, and they are literally shoe-horning that stadium in there between 2 bridges, a freeway, a coal rail line, 2 future rail lines (Northstar and LRT), a waterbody (Bassett Creek) and the Target Center. The constraints on this construction site probably make it one of the most challenging buildings ever built in Minnesota. They are cantilevering the stands over a railway, building the stadium from the inside out so that heavy machinery never rests on top of the future field, and building the stadium OVER a 20-foot span over the aforementioned Bassett Creek which is now in box culverts deep underground.

The location is really superb. It has great access to all the municipal ramps, 2 rail transit lines, multiple freeways and all the restaurants and amenities of the Warehouse District around the Target Center. You may have your opinions on whether this is an appropriate use of public funds (as I have strong opinions too), but it's hard to not get excited about the future of baseball in Minnesota after seeing this site. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

The view from around 3rd base

View of stadium from new plaza near Target Center

Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

8 inches of freakin' snow? Are you kidding me??? Check out my blog post from 1 year and 5 days ago. Yep, 81 degrees. And today we have over half a foot of snow on the ground.

Last night I went to the Twins Opener with Misty Mike (he calls me Nasty Nate for no other reason than alliteration, so I thought I'd return the favor), Dr. Em, and one of my friends (and by far the biggest Twins fan I know...nah, 2nd biggest Twins fan I know. NO ONE is a bigger Twins fan than Beth. Check out her blog for a recap on the game). Anyway, I'm sure you all already know that since we were prominently featured by national TV. During the standing O to Torii, the cameras lingered on us. Why? Because we're beautiful people, that's why! Then the text messages started pouring in from friends who saw us on TV. Good to know so many people are watching the game!

The game was incredible, great pitching by Livan. Good hitting, base running and all-around great small ball baseball which is always fun to watch. Hopefully the power turns on. We've got a lot of guys with that capability. I'm going back tonight for the game, so hopefully we get a power display! Come on Morneau, earn that huge salary! One guy who DID earn his salary upgrade was Joe NATHAN. He is so money! I was proudly wearing my Joe Nathan shirt, and he did not disappoint.

In other news, I'm going back and forth on this snow business. For one, I'm really tired of it. I'm so sick of walking through it, running through it, and mostly, NOT being able to pull my summer bike out of storage yet, although I'm sure the winter bike is enjoying the extra attention this year. BUT, this morning, I ran to work, and while it was the toughest 12-mile jog (and probably the slowest) I've done in years, it was also the most beautiful. The Minnehaha Parkway wasn't plowed, but that made it more picturesque. Seriously, it was really magical out there. I may have even had a runners high (there, now officially every running blog on earth has linked to this NYT article), and I didn't even need a harvest moon to get excited about running! But as magical as it was, I'd like the snow to magically disappear so I can get back to training for Boston and get back on the soft trails.

You Know You Were Watching

I guess last night's sporting event was the most watched ever. So you know you saw it. And you know you were watching the ads too. Lame game until the end. And even then, lame because now we have to endure another 36 years of Don Shula and his undefeated Dolphins with their sub 0.400 opponents winning schedule. But whatever. I don't really care about football. I do enjoy watching the ads though.

And I was disappointed. A couple shone through. I loved the Doritos man-in-a-rat-suit ad. That was my big ad favorite. I generally agree with THE ROCK that ads with animals suck. But that's a reason why this ad was so money. It wasn't a cutesy or sarcastic animal. It was a dude in a rat-suit kicking the crap out of someone. High-larious.

But the best ad was the Twins ad they played. Watch it here:

I miss TK. (no offense to Gardy). It was a sign of the times (and the age of the people I hang out with), when only a couple of my friends recognized TK. Then again, most of us were the same age last night. It must be a sign of my Twins obsession.

Win Twins!