It’s been way too long since I’ve handed out some tips o’ the hat and wags
o’ the finger, so here we go…

First of all, a tip o’ the hat to Jeremy for his solid take on Wittman. 

A HUGE wag o’ the finger to Randy Foye’s knee.  Christ, what
horrible news it is that he’ll be out at least another three weeks. 
Jaric’s been playing at a fairly high level (for Jaric, that is), and Bassy’s
been solid at several points this season, but when I watch this team, it’s impossible not to
realize just how much they need Foye.

They need a reliable guy to handle the offense, someone who can take care of
the ball while keeping the offense up-tempo.  They need a player who can
step up in the fourth quarter, night after night.  And they desperately
need someone not named Greg Buckner or Rashad McCants who can knock down some
jumpers.  Those things are exactly what Foye brings to the table…and
those things are what we’ll have to live without for the next month or so.

The basketball gods must be punishing us or something, because this is just
insult to injury.  A 1-7 start, and now this news comes out.  I hate
to say it, folks, but these are gonna be a long three or four weeks- things aren’t going to be getting better anytime soon.

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A wag o’ the finger to Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist…clearly, old white people should opt against cranking that
Soulja Boy.  But this is all good news for Mark Madsen, because we
may have finally found people who are worse dancers than he is (and incidentally,
this is probably the 30th time I’ve posted that video of Mad Dog dancing).

A tip o’ the hat to Troy Hudson. 
He’s really bolstered his already-stellar lineup of recording artists for his Nutty Boyz
Entertainment record label as of late…I mean, he’s added some big names,
like Dizswonne, Kaytee, McBuddy, and MoUnique.  You know, when you think
hip hop music, those names immediately come to mind…so clearly, Huddy’s career in the music industry has continued to flourish after his top-selling, critically-acclaimed debut album released
last summer .

(C’mon, does making fun of T-Hud’s music career ever get old?  I
didn’t think so.)

A tip o’ the hat to Antoine Walker.  Not only did he back up his
playing time complaints by averaging just over 14 PPG in the last three games,
and not only has he been shooting the three-ball slightly less poorly than he usually does…but he just might end up becoming a starting guard for the West in the All Star Game!

Well, I’ve officially been convinced…I’ll be voting for Walker from now on.  And really, who wouldn’t want to see the shimmy at the All Star
Game?

A wag o’ the finger to Ricky Davis.  Does anyone miss this
guy?  Anyone?  Well, if any Wolves fans are actually still on the fence
about the Miami deal, Ricky’s recent shenanigans
in Miami should
convince you that McHale made a great move by getting rid of this guy. 
Indeed, Mr. Buckets has been waving off Pat Reilly, opting to do his own thing
on offense rather than…you know, passing.

A wag o’ the finger to Target
Center attendance.  I
can understand that ticket sales will be slow this year, but dang- last week,
there were two crowds of roughly 11,000 people (and of course, an announced
crowd of 11,000 really means that about 9,000 showed up).  Those
crowds have gotta hurt badly for the folks at 600 First Avenue.

I did my part for supporting our new-look squad…I picked up a six-game pack,
as well tickets to several other games (although admittedly, I mainly got the six-pack
to get good seats for the Celtics game).

A wag o’ the finger to Glen Taylor’s wallet.  Sorry, I don’t
feel bad that Glen Taylor’s losing money on this team (he’s lost $50 million over the last four years, to be exact). 
He’s deserved to lose every penny of that money- I’ll spare you of the endless
list of gaffs by this owner…suffice it to say, it’s no accident that this
team has been lightening his wallet over the past few seasons.  That’s
what incompetent management gets you.

Finally, a tip o’ the hat to Mark Madsen.  In his recent article at the Mad Dog Diary, Madsen makes
several good points about parental involvement in youth sports.

He has a great story about his high school coach…if a parent called his
coach to complain about his/her child’s playing time, then the coach would
repeat that conversation to the whole team at practice. I wish more high
school/youth coaches would adopt this policy…because really, is there
anything more annoying than the out-of-control parents at their kid’s sporting
events that scream at the refs and often scream even louder at little Timmy, their
poor 11-year-old who couldn’t care less about the zone defense?

Enjoy the holiday, and I swear that I’ll talk more about the Wolves next time.