Wolves in Miami, West Race as Tight as Can Be

The Wolves are in Florida for back to back games, tonight against the Heat in Miami and tomorrow in Orlando to face the Magic.

Dante Cunningham, as reported, did not travel with the team yesterday, whether he joins up with them on the trip remains unknown. Looks like Nikola Pekovic is unlikely to play this weekend, though he too has not been definitively ruled out. For the Heat, Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen might miss tonight's game with late season ailments, but again nothing definitive.

No word yet on who the Wolves might bring in to take the A.J. Price roster spot.  One imagines that they have someone in mind, but who knows?  If so, I would anticipate a signing that would include a non-guaranteed contract for next season to give them some flexibility. We'll see how that plays out.

On the rookie front, AndyG has his usual good stuff on Shabazz Muhammad, looking at the positives in his recent play and considering what might be to come.  Check out Punch Drunk Wolves--it should be regular reading.

Elsewhere, the Thunder ended the Spurs winning streak at 19 last night in Oklahoma City. It's interesting to note that while the Spurs lead the Thunder by three games in the Western Conference, the Thunder have now swept the four games between the teams this season.  It makes you wonder whether there are Popovichian tactics going on.

The Mavericks got a big win away to the Clippers last night, moving them a half game in front of both the Grizzlies and Suns; that thing seems to be going down to the wire.  A big night tonight as the Mavs are still in L.A. to face the Lakers, Memphis is at home to Denver, and Phoenix travels to Portland.

The Final Four games are tomorrow, with the UConn-Florida matchup after 5:00 Central followed by the Frank Kaminsky Invitational (Wisconsin-Kentucky).  However, the games are on TBS, which I find somewhat annoying.  Is this the first year of that? What happened to CBS?

Today in History

1581: Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth
1814: Napoleon abdicates (for the first time)
1832: Charles Darwin reaches Rio on the HMS Beagle
1870: Golden Gate Park established in SF
1918: Battle of the Somme ends
1944: British troops capture Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
1949: NATO treaty signed
1968: Martin Luther King assassinated in Memphis
1974: Hank Aaron matches Babe Ruth with his 714th career home run. 
1989: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays his last NBA game

Today's musical birthday is Muddy Waters, born in 1913 (d. 1983).

Have a great Friday.