Sunday, May 15, 2011

Lightning Round - 051511

I've been writing a lot about the Vikings stadium recently, but clearly there are other things going on. So let's weigh in:
  • I read all over the intertubes that Mike Huckabee is not going to run for president in 2012. Good. I've long thought of him as a Clintonian character and not just because he is also from Arkansas. I wish him well and remain pleased that I can avoid listening to him throughout the upcoming election cycle.
  • The recount in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between David Prosser and JoAnne Kloppenburg continues apace. Steve Eggleston is keeping a close (and gimlet) eye on the festivities. Kloppenburg isn't going to be able to close the gap without getting a lot of votes thrown out, but there's reason to believe she might try just that. Remember, we must count every vote unless the votes don't count up the way we want.
  • The news in the sports world has been uniformly grim around Minnesota. The Twins have been absolutely wretched all season long and we've learned in the last few days that the great Harmon Killebrew is entering hospice care and now have the shocking news that former Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard was found dead in his apartment on Friday. Man, that's brutal stuff. I only remember Harmon Killebrew from the end of his career, when he was slowing down. Even then he was a fearsome sight at the plate, turning loose that big swing. Unless you lived in the market where a player plied his trade, you didn't get to see players much in the early 1970s -- ESPN was still nearly a decade away and the Twins weren't regulars on the NBC Game of the Week in those days. Since I grew up in Wisconsin, I didn't see that much of the Twins, but the local stations in Green Bay would show Twins highlights from time to time on their newscasts and so I saw a few of the bombs that Killebrew sent deep into the night at Met Stadium. He is much beloved around here and it's easy to see why -- he's been a positive force in this community long since his playing days ended. I hope that Killebrew is able to live his final days with a minimum of pain, secure in the knowledge that he will be remembered for a lot more than the home runs he clouted. For more perspective on Killebrew and his legacy, my friend Brad Carlson offers his thoughts.

1 comment:

CousinDan 54915 said...

First Santo, now Killebrew. Two great tenders of the hot corner. Hard to see current MLB third basemen in the same light.