The Rock Says…

Are you serious??? You can’t make stuff like that up. I thought there was something very bizarre about what he was saying and then you show up to take his side!! I was going to comment on what he said, but obviously there’s no need. I actually was starting to feel bad that I wasn’t taking him seriously. But then, who is that on the horizon? It’s the man who couldn’t sell steak in a famine! The man who couldn’t argue that Hitler was a bad guy without offending every Jew on the Internet! Please! Tell me more about the way things are! I need to know! I NEED TO KNOW!! AAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Seriously, thank you that was maybe my personal favorite moment on this site. Hey, I have a request! Could you come up with another funny, pottymouth name for this site? Anus Poopus was great, it was. But I know that with such tearjerkingly unique insight into everyday life, such as what you possess, that was just a t-shirt in Liberace’s closet. More. MORE. MORE MORE. I WANT MORE. I WANT MORE. I WANT MORE!!!!! MOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMOR

Here at TWB, we’ve posted thousands and thousands of posts.  We have thousands and thousands of forum comments.  I don’t even need one hand to count the number of people we’ve policed or banned, because that number is zero.  You want to say something that we think is idiotic?  Go ahead.  You want to call us out on something?  Be our guest.  The lunatic who ranted above has visited our site and trashed us in our own comments and we let it stand.  Why?  Because we built this site for the fans and we believe the fans should be allowed to speak their minds.  This concept is in stark contrast to Hoopus where Stop-n-pop openly admits, and I quote…

It [Canis Hoopus] was created first and foremost for Wyn and I

And that, right there, sums it all up.  It explains why we were happy to co-exist with Hoopus and work side by side, while they felt the need for years to make several “sneak” plays to poach our lead writer at the expense of severely hurting this site and the people who did everything possible to help them out when they were a young blog.  It wasn’t good enough that Wolves fans had several good blogs to read, several good forums to chat in, and a thriving online community overall.  No.  It all had to be on their site, using their rules, where they could dictate who and what was discussed.

That right there is the fundamental difference between Hoopus and TWB.  We’ve absorbed other blogs in the past, but we’ve always taken the entire group. We’ve never cherry-picked one writer and screwed the rest over.  We’ve never built this blog at the expense of other fans who were doing their best to also cover the team.  We’ve never silenced those who disagree with us.  We’ve never tried to control the direction of a discussion to suit our purposes  Every decision we make, we make for our fellow fans, and we make it out in the open without any hidden agenda.

Before I move onto the Daily Links, I’d like to address a couple of points that have been brought up this past week…

Isn’t this just sour grapes on the part of TWB?

I’ve heard so many people say this.  It’s ridiculous.  If you’re going to use a term, at least know what it means. “Sour Grapes” is a term used when somebody bad-mouths something good, just because they can’t have it.  “Sour Grapes” would be if we said things like “Sonia wasn’t that good anyway”.  We never said that.  Quite the opposite, actually, as we’ve done nothing but thank her for the solid work she put in for nearly three years.  All we said was that we were stabbed in the back, which is the truth.  Otherwise, in the post last week, nothing negative was even said about Hoopus.

Why go public with the “behind-the-scenes” action?

Because TWB 3.0 was created as a direct result of Hoopus’ betrayal.  We’re dedicated to not holding anything back, and you can’t explain the new version of this site in full without bringing up that topic. It would be like explaining the Celtics 2008 title without mentioning the KG trade.

Why do people have to side with TWB or Hoopus?  Can’t we just all get along?

We aren’t asking anybody to take sides.  We aren’t asking anyone to stop visiting Hoopus.  Whether I agree with the philosophy behind the site or not, it’s still a good site.  In fact, it’s even better now that Sonia’s on board.  Honestly, the end result of all of this is that Wolves fans win.  They get both the Hoopus/Sonia combo, as well as the new and improved TWB 3.0.  It’s more quality coverage than ever.

So what’s the point of this post then?

To call out the Hoopus guys for their ridiculous treatment of Roundhouse, Dave, and Mike the past few days.  As fellow members of the TWolves Nation, Wyn and Stop-n-pop have free reign to come over to this site and say pretty much whatever they want.  Why aren’t my fellow bloggers shown the same respect?  Hoopus states they have no beef with us and are taking the “high road”.  Prove it.  Man up, unban Roundhouse, and stop deleting their fairly benign comments.  That’s the high road.

Umm… Does this really need to be a front-page post on your site?

Maybe not, but I can guaranteed you that this post is far more interesting to read than a recap of our 16th straight loss.  At TWB 3.0, we’re breaking up the mundane flow of depressing Wolves news with colorful commentary and off-topic fun.  Today’s off topic fun just happens to involve vintage video clips of the Rock mocking French people.  If you don’t care about this stuff, then don’t read it.  Chances are that if you’ve made it this far into the post, you’re at least a bit intrigued.

And now, your daily links, after the jump.  Click on “Read More” to view them…

Timberwolves Daily Links 3/28/10

Wolves Fall to Phoenix, Lose Franchise-Record 16th Straight Game

From the AP:

The Wolves, who also lost 16 in a row in both 1994 and 1992 and had a 15-game skid end in November, showed more fight than they have in a long time and came within one point in the fourth quarter. They also held the Suns under 120 points for the first time in four losses this season.

Wolves coach Kurt Rambis lamented that his team was lured into playing the Suns’ fast pace, and out of their element, in the last meeting. This time, midway through the quarter, it was almost as if Minnesota’s overall lethargy lured Phoenix into a lapse.

Just an awesome strategy by Rambis: Bore your opponent to death, and then turn things up a notch when they least expect it!  I’m guessing the Wolves would have at least 16 wins this season if they had figured this out earlier!

Wolves Earn Another Dubious Honor

From the Strib:

Minnesota, one of seven teams in NBA history to lose 15 consecutive games twice in one season, lived down to its reputation when it allowed the Suns to romp to a 25-point lead in the first half. The Wolves, however, preferred to focus on the way they erased it almost entirely in the second half.

With 8:30 to play, the Wolves trailed by a point, 89-88, and though the ultimate outcome goes down simply as loss No. 60, the home team took that rally as proof that they’re not the no-hope imposters their record says they are.

“It shows we can do it. We can beat teams like that,” rookie guard Wayne Ellington said.

Love the enthusiasm, Wayne.  But there’s a huuuuuuge difference between coming back from 25 points down on a team you put to sleep and actually playing a competitive game.

Yet another Recap of the Phoenix Game

From Ray Richardson at the Pioneer Press:

Sunday night’s 111-105 loss to Phoenix at Target Center stretched the team’s losing streak to 16 games, matching the franchise record, but Rambis insists the team’s 14-60 record is not a fair indication of its recent performance.

“I don’t believe our record demonstrates the amount of progress that we’ve made as a ballclub,” Rambis said after Sunday’s game. “The fact that we can do a lot of good things against a team like Phoenix is a good sign for me.”

I realize that as the coach, Rambis has to stay positive, but again, the fact that the Wolves got themselves down 25 points in the first half is waaaaaaaaaay more indicative of where this team is at than their comeback against a team that had already mentally checked out.

Spin City

From Lindsey Young, Timberwolves.com

They say the third time’s the charm, and tonight the third quarter was what mattered for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Although they fell in a narrow 111-105 loss to Phoenix, the Wolves returned from a 22-point deficit at halftime to give the playoff caliber team a run for their money. Kevin Love led the team with 23 points and a career high 22 rebounds.

Seriously, this game was a complete embarrassment. It wasn’t a “narrow” loss.  Any time you have to spin things by clinging to a third quarter performance as the lone bright spot, you’re much better off just stating that, as a whole, the Wolves were a total joke last night.

Random Pictures of Bats and Fish…

From Canis Hoopus:

This is a link to a picture of a straw-colored fruit bat (for some reason, the fruit bat pic crashed a big chunk of our page).  I learned about it last night when I switched the Wolves over to Discovery Channel’s new series, Life.  30-6 second quarter runs will do that to a guy.  What is amazing about the straw-colored fruit bat? According to Life, the current mushito of straw-colored fruit bats is over 10 million strong.  They consume over 6,000 tons (yes, tons) of fruit per night.  Thankfully, they are not straw-colored brain bats.

Whatever you do, don’t tell the fish to take their meds.  You WILL get banned.