The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.
Friday June 26, 2015
The Timberwolves gearing up to be the best pro sports team in Minnesota, good Christian boy Russell Wilson’s demand to be the highest paid player in football
We’re comin’, we’re comin’
Last night YOUR Minnesota Timberwolves selected Karl-Anthony Towns with the first pick in the NBA Draft. They also traded a couple innocuous picks to snatch up Duke standout (and local boy) Tyus Jones. I’m not saying that these moves make the Wolves an immediate playoff contender – they certainly would in the East, but not in the stacked Western Conference – but they definitely have the pieces in place to become relevant – and more.
Picking up Jones, even if it was at least a little bit for PR, is a good basketball move too. It gives the team much needed depth at Point Guard behind the dazzling but sometimes uneven (and injured) Ricky Rubio. If Towns and Andrew Wiggins become the superstars they’re supposed to be, other young talent like Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine (and even Anthony Bennett) can be solid, and the team continues to sign upscale bit players like Pekovic and Kevin Martin, they will be a contending team in the foreseeable future.
A sad combination of delusion and hubris
I’ve always liked Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. He’s one of the only down to earth stars in the sea of show-off prima donnas called the NFL. He’s been told his whole life that he’s not good enough to make it, in both college and the NFL, yet instead of giving up he has excelled. He’s also abnormally active in the Seattle community, even for a professional athlete. This might have something to do with the fact that he’s a dedicated Christian.
That’s why I don’t understand why his contract negotiations with the Seahawks are moving so slowly. Word is that he’s asking for a contract that would make him the highest player in the NFL. Isn’t that something of a pride thing? Last time I checked Christianity calls that the ‘chief of sins.’ Perhaps he thinks he is the best player in football and that he deserves it. I don’t want him to get taken advantage of, but he hasn’t at all proven that he’s the best player in the league, and as such his demand for that money seems like a sad combination of delusion and hubris.
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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