Players from lesser markets who should be playing in the Twin Cities
by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 29, 2009 7:39 AM CDT
Email
PrintThanks to the Ricky Rubio situation, I've had the chance to read a lot of reports on the subject from the New York media and it's taught me a great deal about how the world really works. Namely, that large cities have the right, nay, duty to publicly bitch about how they should have all of the best talent in the world. It's theirs and you will like it that way.
Seeing that Minneapolis/St. Paul is the 14th largest media market in the country, while we may not be the biggest fish in the pond, I figure that we are deserving of a little whining righteous demanding of our own. Here are some teams that owe us players via lopsided trades a'la Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler for Ricky Rubio:
- 14- Cleveland, OH: Cardinal, Gomes, Brewer, Madsen and the team's 2010 1st round pick for LeBron James
- 15- Sacramento, CA: Cardinal and Brewer for Kevin Martin
- 18- Denver, CO: The LeBron package for Carmelo Anthony
- 21- Atlanta, GA: We'd appreciate it if Joe Johnson and his agent just made a big fuss or threatened to go to Europe in order to get out of his contract for this one.
- 23- Orlando, FL: We request that Dwight Howard throw a public hissy fit about how his coach's temperament isn't suitable for a championship run and demand to be traded to a bigger market like Mpls/St. Paul so he could have puppet commercials of his own with General Mills, Target, Best Buy, and, surprisingly, Alliant Techsystems. Look at those guns indeed.
- 24- Indianapolis, IN: We don't want anyone from Indy. Sorry.
- 25- Portland, OR: Now here's a good one. Are you telling me that the 25th largest media market in the United States has LaMarcus "Cures Cancer" Aldridge, Greg Oden, and Brandon Roy? How has this team slipped its way past the New York media? Where's Mike Vaccaro with a blog post about how he doesn't normally condone such behavior but, in this case, the entire East Coast media operation should be pushing for a B-Roy/Wilson Chandler and the 7th pick trade? Seeing that the good people of Portland are so obviously our media market lessers, I officially demand (and I don't normally do this) that Brandon Roy be returned to his rightful team in order to be paired with Ricky Rubio and Al Jefferson. Something along the lines of the 2010 1st rounder, Nikola Pekovic and Brian Cardinal should be sufficient. If Portland refuses to abide by these wishes, the entire media community of the Upper Midwest will unleash the hounds to ensure that it does. The Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Des Moines Register, Bloomington Sun Current, Fargo/Moorhead Forum, Rochester Post-Bulletin, Mankato Free Press, Ames Tribune and Duluth News Tribune will be watching you Portland, Oregon. They'll be watching you.
- 28- San Antonio, TX: Seriously, you're 28th? Why don't you just give us Tony Parker?
- 29- Milwaukee, WI: We're going to get Brett Favre in purple. We already have what the cheeseheads want.
- 30- Salt Lake City, UT: I know the salary numbers don't exactly work out, but we will trade Mark Madsen for Deron Williams straight up. What's not to like about that one for the good church-going folk of SLC? (BTW: Did you know that Madsen spent his Mormon mission in Spain? I wonder if Ricky will want to hear about Joseph Smith.)
- 32- Charlotte, NC: Cardinal, Brewer, and Ellington for Gerald Wallace. The guy's not a Dukie or Tar Heel so it's not like Brown and Jordan really wanted him in the first place.
- 36- Oklahoma City, OK: OK, let me get this straight. Ricky Rubio would have been willing to lace it up in OKC because of the wonderful marketing opportunities with Mathis Brothers Furniture (3434 West Reno!), the Mile of Cars in Norman (shop Fowler Honda), and the opportunity to pal around with the Ogle brothers but somehow the Twin Cities don't offer him a platform for national (and international) marketing success? Hold on, I'm being distracted by something on the TV while I'm typing this:
Before I get back to typing I have to check something out in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated:
Ricky, if you can play, you have a home right next to the best player in football and the best player in baseball. Welcome aboard.
BTW: H/T to Poor Dick for the idea.
41 comments
|
1 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
FINALLY
Someone is doing something about the perception that we are a small market. Let’s get the word out and get those all star players. Why wouldn’t LeBron like to play here? Let Shaq go drown himself in Lake Erie. Let’s bring in LeBron and Roy. Those two with AJ, Love and RRUUUUUBEEEEOOOO!! will bring numerous titles to the GREAT state of Minnesota. Kahn – MAKE IT SO!!
Sometimes the obvious is hidden.
I apologize if you’re joking, but it’s no colder than Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, or Toronto.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 29, 2009 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions
It is...
…a tad chilly and each year around February 1st I long for the time when I lived along or south of I-40 (i.e Oklahoma, Texas, or Tennessee). That being said, if I had a job here that paid me millions of dollars, I’m sure I could find ways to spend my off season in, say, California (Monterey Bay would be my millionaire choice) or Barcelona.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Don't forget
The great lakes we have here. I always find it surprising how many celebs and sports stars—once they find out about some of the lakes up north—have cabins that they go to in the summer. It’s a fantastic getaway—beautiful and full of people who don’t know how to make a huge fuss any better. If anything we’re all too polite to invade their privacy.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
it is definitely a place..
….where you can get away. The BWCA is my favorite place on earth.
Somehow, I don’t think ball players are looking for a good place to canoe and backpack. ;)
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
That's true
But apparently Joe Mauer’s cabin has a bowling alley in it. And not to generalize, but all the Spaniards I know love hitting the beach and spending time on the water (verified by a friend of mine from HS who now lives in Seville).
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
I just spit coffee all over my computer screen...
laughing at the Mathis Brothers comment…their commercials down here are ubiquitous and are your prototypical local furniture ads with low production values….imagining Ricky lounging in a pleather recliner telling us “we will save the money at the mathis brothers for the furnture” is going to keep me giggling all day.
But otherwise I am so glad that you guys are taking on this garbage about small-market teams deferring to large markets. Specifically, Mpls/St Paul is an unbelievably nice MAJOR metro area and the teams and fans should not fall victim to this “we’re not good enough for a big star” crap. Lebron plays in a smaller, much crappier city and somehow manages to pay his bills. How about Peyton Manning? Indianapolis is like a glorified Fargo and he is in nearly every commercial on television. The whole crew in San Antonio does just fine and all there is in SA is the Riverwalk which is cool the first time you go and then exponentially becomes less cool each time your visit when you realize its sole purpose is to entertain conventioneers with theme restaurants. The new arena the Spurs play in is literally at the fairgrounds…it is surrounded by cattle barns and a medium-sized fair where I actually saw pig races in February while there for work. There is not a restaurant, bar, or hotel for miles. So if Ricky never ends up playing for us it had better not have anything to do with “needing to play in a big market.” Utter and complete bullpoop.
I'm typing on a desk from Mathis Brothers..
…right now. I couldn’t decide whether or not to go with Frontier City or Mathis Brothers so I went with the goofy commercials.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
SI Cover
Actually that’s an old Mauer SI cover. His 2nd cover can be found here:
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/11267/index.htm
Hahah
Man, it’s borderline sour grapes but I sure did laugh my ass off + you make a good point so Hah, nice one.
The thing is though I think the Timberwolves aren’t so SEXY. It’s the age old “here they go again” thing that makes other people not wanna play here … Let’s hope Ricky can bring that change about.
Haha; Lamarcus “cures cancer” Aldridge .. hilarious
Beater of the early Thabeet drum ... but not so much of the late one
The way the league works
It seems like the sexy thing is right on. If KG was still here, Rubio would be tripping over himself to come and play in our backyard. What I hope Rubio understands is that if he does come over here, his presence will make us a vastly more desireable FA location, which will only help him in the long run.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
by biggity2bit on Jun 29, 2009 11:00 AM CDT up reply actions
true true
it’s just ignorance really. he’s never been here, he’s so young he prolly doesn’t even know who prince is. doesn’t know we have like 3 million people in the metro area. and it’s a great advantage to be in the “middle” of the country when you travel every week
cromscorner.blogspot.com
Exactly
His agent is manipulating him and his family so he can cash in on him as soon as possible.
Does anyone really think taking an 18 year old KID and planting him in the middle of the toughest media in the country is really going to be good for his psyche? Remember, he still has to work on his shot and has a frighteningly high turnover ratio for a true PG. New York will chew him up and spit him out in two years, potentially ruining him long term.
He’s a shy kid who has never been away from home. If he comes here and plays out his contract (and grows up a little so he can tell that his agent is an a**hole) I think he will love it here.
by Cobra312004 on Jun 29, 2009 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Good point
Looking at the biggest sports stars of MN history and how well loved they are, it’s pretty easy to see that Ricky’s got the right combo of star potential and personality to make his way into that group. We can be fickle, but we never really let you go once we’ve adopted you.
Examples:
Baseball—Kirby, Torii, Johan, MnM boys, Radke, Everyday Eddie, Hrbek, even LaTroy Hawkins
Football—AD, Birk, Moss, Carter, Smith, Randle, Daunte (although he’s an example of how to mess it up, along with Starbury), Winfield, Williams Wall, JA, etc.
Basketball—KG, Cassell and Sprewell (while they were here and playing, although it was pretty short), Porter and Mitchell, Malik, and even Googs
I think if he’s willing to give it a shot, Ricky will be impressed by the fans here.
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
Question
How is market size calculated? For example, are the potential neighboring states (and the fact that I think the Wolves used to and might still have radio rights in Montana) factored into their size?
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 29, 2009 11:36 AM CDT reply actions
I'm not sure...
….I’m sure that differs for different teams. The Twins are big here, the Dakotas, Iowa, Montana, and even Nebraska…as are the Vikes. I’m not so sure about the Wolves beyond the Dakotas and northern Iowa.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
Market size
I thought market size was determined by the metropolitan area itself, and didn’t factor in outstate considerations. If you did that the East Coast would become a huge mess of trying to untangle who watches what when and how often, etc etc. Perhaps internally each team kind of knows their marketsize and adds to it outstate figures. I think for basic TV ratings and season ticket base, looking at the size of the metro area the team plays in is probably the basic figure. I know the TC metro (with suburbs and maybe even exurbs) is around 2.7-3 million people last I checked, and that matches pretty well with the media market size figures I’ve seen. (Remember that the TC metro extends into WI too, just a little).
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
Ricky better not...
Steal Mauer’s endorsement for Land O’ Lakes Grip N’ Go milk. Or should I say “Leche de Agarrar y Ir” now?
"I'm gonna make you cry...I'm gonna make you cry and dip my cookie in your tears!!!"
I was seriously waiting for this post
for like my whole life. Thank you, now I can rest in peace. O ya, and fuck anyone that hates on the middle of the country. Except Oklahoma. Hate away.
Our former buddy at the STrib just ranked the desirability of playing in the 30 NBA markets
Guess who was #30
30. Minnesota: Rubio isn’t the first NBA player to notice it’s cold there. Stephon Marbury initially said the harsh winters left him no choice but to stay in the gym, working on his game. Then he bolted town barely two seasons later, his teeth chattering and thermal underwear beneath his jeans — in March. Isaiah Rider at least turned the cold to his advantage, adding a dead battery and broken water pipes (from ice expanding) to his list of creative excuses for late arrivals and no-shows. Odds are, the NBA logo today would be a silhouette in galoshes, had the Lakers not moved to L.A. the summer they drafted Jerry West.
He's still bitter
That the Strib wouldn’t take him back. :)
(I kid, I kid. I always enjoyed Aschburner, and he is the one who introduced me to the notion of Shadow Lord Moor making decisions for the franchise. Just would’ve hoped for a bit more love from him.)
"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."
To be fair...
… he often forces the Wolves into stories or brings up Minnesota-inspired or specific issues in SI a good deal. This is one of the few times I’ve seen him take a solid crack at the state.
I hate Pod Six. I don't even know why we have a Pod Six. Total suck pod.
by Kevin Loves McHale's Navy on Jun 29, 2009 5:55 PM CDT up reply actions
He does it too often, in my opinion. Still, quoting a guy with a tat on his head as the leading authority on whether Minnesota is a less desirable destination than places like Milwaukee or Indiana isn’t what I’d call reliable journalism. Billups was willing to stay here; KG would’ve played here his whole career if Taylor would’ve extended his deal. Even though the last real free agent the team added was Mike James, they got him over warmer climes like Dallas and Houston because they offered him a better contract.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 30, 2009 11:05 AM CDT up reply actions
Also...
..if you read the article he says that Cleveland is a desirable destination completely because of LeBron. If the Wolves get Rubio and he turns out to be the bee’s knees, then does the same hold true?
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
My Favorite Part?
He uses the example of Stephon Marbury to trash the Wolves. Yep, Steph didn’t like it here, so yeah, IT MUST SUCK, because he’s so freaking level headed. And who wears galoshes in the winter ferchissakes? Galoshes are made to be worn in the rain, not in snow.
On the whole...
…I like Aschy but he’s still capable of turning out a column that seems bitter as hell and only written to make fun of the Wolves.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
What was that?
Ricky, if you can play, you have a home right next to the best player in football and the best player in baseball. Welcome aboard.
I didn’t know Tom Brady and Albert Pujols played in Minnesota.
A three-pointer is not a "triple." A triple is a hit in baseball.
A three-pointer is not a "trey." A trey is either an ESPN sportscaster or something that bad spellers eat cafeteria food on. - Dave on Mar 20, 2009 10:00 PM PDT
Mauer is the
best player in baseball right now. period. and if he isn’t extended his next contract will likely be the biggest in baseball history. even if he is extended it could still be the biggest in baseball history. and AP is the best player in Football. brady may have been great, and he is certainly a hall of fame calibur QB, but when they went 16-0 he had a hall of fame WR as part of one of the best WR corp to throw to. and after last year, he may not be the same QB.
Will the Real Thor Please Stand Up ... ?
by the Real Thor on Jun 29, 2009 9:14 PM CDT up reply actions
The Mauer thing could get...
…crazy with the contract. I read somewhere that he’s providing upwards of $30 mil in value to the team.
The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com
38 Million per year.
Pujols was first at 39 Million per year valued added to team.
by College Wolf on Jun 29, 2009 11:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Debates aside...
The point remains the same. Minneapolis isn’t too small for Joe Mauer or AP, just like it wasn’t for countless other All-Star athletes who played here.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jun 29, 2009 9:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Ideas are worthless
without excellent execution.
This is what I wanted to say, only like a hunnert times better than I could have done. You’ve created something that for years will be linked to whenever some dope poses something about small market inferiority.
Rooting for a Rubio Revolucion since roughly 10:20 a.m. on June 24th, 2009
I'm thinking Rubio could be screwing up royally...
Over and above Marbury, the one that comes to mind for me is Eli Manning. I didn’t really like him all that much in college, but with the way he acted (e.g. whining and complaining and stomping his foot about playing in San Diego) – I lost all respect for the guy. No matter what he does in his professional career, it will always be overshadowed by his spoiled antics upon entering the league. I would loathe to play for the Browns or Yankees, but if it put me and my family in a better situation, do what you gotta to. Rise above. Rubio needs some better advisers in his corner.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
