What about the Woofies?

The Twin Cities are one of the few places that have teams in all four of the major sports; of comparably sized places, only Denver also claim this distinction. Typically the Vikings command the majority of the attention around here, while the Twins and the Wild lately have been dominating the sports pages through their successes. But the Timberwolves have been largely ignored lately.

Interest in the local NBA franchise has dwindled in the face of two consecutive disappointing seasons. It's was less than three years ago that the Wolves came within a few games of winning their first conference championship, but since that time they have seen little but misery. First the two talented mercenaries who teamed with the iconic Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell, decided to become disruptive forces and both quickly disappeared. Then Michael Olowakandi, a talented but indifferent big man, and the photogenic Wally Sczezerbiak, or however the hell you spell that, were unceremoniously traded off to Boston for a collection of players that no one had ever heard of before. Interest faded and by the end of last season, the Wolves finished with a road-kill record of 33-49. Attendance many nights would be announced at 15,000, but it was likely the Wolves were counting legs.

Things were so bad that I was able to get two free nosebleed tickets to see the Wolves' opener on Wednesday night, simply by sauntering into the new Fridley SuperTarget at 8 a.m. and asking a security guard holding 50 pairs of tickets. He was not mobbed. So Ben and I hired a sherpa and climbed to the very top of Target Center last night to watch Dwane Casey's troops battle the Scarmento Kings, who have concurrently fallen on hard times. The Wolves were alternately sleepy and lively, but managed to play well enough down the stretch to win the game, 92-83. So what did we see?

• We saw that Kevin Garnett is, eternally, Kevin Garnett. The Big Ticket is still a dazzling player with astonishing body control and the ability to score and rebound at will. Garnett may not possess a killer mentality, but he's always a treat to watch.
• It appears that, for now, Troy Hudson has returned from the dead. The dreadlocked guard had been a key contributor to the Wolves during their successful 2003-04 season, but had contributed almost nothing since. On Wednesday he essentially took over the game during the 4th quarter, scoring and defending with vigor.
• Randy Foye, the 1st round draft pick, is definitely a work in progress. He seemed tentative and only played briefly. He was a fine player in college at Villanova, but he didn't show us much yesterday.
• On the other hand, Craig Smith, the 2nd round pick, was pretty good. Smith is a bruiser, a 6-7, 275 pound space eater with a nice shot and a mean streak. He played fairly extensively until he fouled out. Smith reminds me a little of Lonnie Shelton, a former NBA star from the 1970s whose son is now an NFL lineman. The Kings were not taking liberties in the lane when Smith was in the game.
• Marko Jaric, who failed as the Wolves' point guard last year, looked significantly more comfortable, and useful, as a wing player. He was able to use his height and wingspan effectively on the perimeter. Jaric is not an exciting player, but he played very well yesterday.
• Mike James, the new point guard acquired in the offseason as a free agent from Toronto, showed almost nothing. It's only one game and he had to deal with Sacramento's Mike Bibby, one of the best in the league, but he'll need to do a lot more to earn the handsome salary he'll receive this year.

I don't know if the Wolves will win the fans back, especially with the Wild's strong start this year. But as they showed last night, failure will not come from a lack of effort.