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The best four hassled stadiums’ tickets are available for you. These are Ford Field Texas Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and FedEx Field; known for high intensity of crowd. Now, you are provided with tickets of all matches held in these fields. The four stadiums such as Ford Field, Texas Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and FedEx Field tickets are really hard to get. Therefore, we have made available all tickets for you. Best quality tickets to all stadiums are available for you.

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In the political world, there is something much worse than being opposed. It’s called being ignored.

And until Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and his team showed their teeth this week, they were being roundly ignored by the Legislature. The billionaire not only couldn’t get half a billion bucks from the Legislature, he couldn’t get a hearing, a cup of coffee, or a sideways glance.

But when the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission only offered Zygi millions in post-season revenues as he waits for his much bigger taxpayer financed pay day, the wounded Wilf howled.

“Shocked, exasperated, and extremely disappointed,” the Vikings penned to the Commission.

Holy moly! Shocked, exasperated AND extremely disappointed? As every good corporate communications toady knows, the Three Adjective Smackdown (TAS) is the WMD of business communications world. And today, the Vikings unleashed another rhetorical blitz, with sly talk about the need to “move on,” which of course is just two scary letters away from “move out.”

Finally, Zygi is flashing his New Jersey for us. Though he is speaking genteel corporatese, he is making it crystal clear that he is making an offer we can’t refuse.

And it’s working. Some are hating on Zygi to be sure, but he is no longer being ignored. Zygi has led the local news, and national sports news, for two days. He has DFL Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Keliher talking about a “purple ribbon commission” to study the issue. (Sure, it’s just her way of not taking a position during the gubernatorial campaign, but it’s more than the cold shoulder Wilf had been getting.)

And today, Wilf’s tantrum has generated follow-up stories about the mythical prospects of the LA Vikings Scenario, which has the purple face-paint types curled up in a fetal position. All that buzz has made Wilf’s well-timed whining the week’s top “talker” on local radio stations.

Wilf is a long, long way from winning. To get out of the big Teflon dome in Minneapolis, he is going to need to get a lot better at operating under the big gold dome in St. Paul. But he will eventually win, and the PR move he put on the pols this week was nearly as nifty as the move Purple Jesus put on the 49ers to find an obscure receiver in the back of the end zone. Skoal Vikings!

- Loveland

Now tickets to all events are available online for you. You can buy best tickets online to all the matches held in your most favorite stadiums. Therefore, now a widest collection of tickets is made online available. You can buy these tickets with ease of mind and heart. Did not you go to the match last time played and won by your favorite team? If you had not been to a match that held in the beautiful outskirts of a stadium played by your favorite team should come to us now. You will be able to never miss a live performance again. We are here to provide you best tickets of all times. Now, you can buy tickets to all live performances. These tickets are available for you. Now tickets to various matches are available at lowest price. There are four most loved stadiums such as Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum. These four stadiums are liked by most of the fans. These stadiums hold a huge number of crowds. You should buy best tickets to these avenues. If you had missed a match last time you must buy a ticket to one of these stadiums and enjoy again. Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum are the best avenues to watch a live performance. These four stadiums are much favored by most of game lovers. You can buy tickets to these stadiums at lowest price. We have been selling tickets for you to various events. You can buy tickets of all kind to these grounds. Buy tickets of all kind at competitive price. Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum are believed to have capacity for a huge crowd. We have been selling tickets to these stadiums. The hassle is of high intensity to buy tickets to these grounds. You may have been granted leave from your office to watch a match held in these grounds. But due to scarcity of tickets you could not watch it last time. Therefore, now tickets to these grounds are available for you. All tickets to Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum are available with ease. Buy tickets to various matches online. We are here to provide you a wide range of tickets to all matches for you. Watch the live actions. Watch the live performances. Wave your best compliments to lovely players. Help and shout them to win a match. Protocol them to perform wonderfully. Protect them with you hearty compliments live. See them play live. Buy tickets to Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum. All these avenues are available to be accessed for you. We have made efforts to bring the world before you. You should not waste time on hassling around for tickets. You can buy these tickets from comfort of your homes. Give us a chance to serve you with best services. Get hold of high class services. We are available for you every time. We give you a chance to be served with distinction.

Now tickets to all events are available online for you. You can buy best tickets online to all the matches held in your most favorite stadiums. Therefore, now a widest collection of tickets is made online available. You can buy these tickets with ease of mind and heart.

Did not you go to the match last time played and won by your favorite team? If you had not been to a match that held in the beautiful outskirts of a stadium played by your favorite team should come to us now. You will be able to never miss a live performance again. We are here to provide you best tickets of all times. Now, you can buy tickets to all live performances. These tickets are available for you.

Now tickets to various matches are available at lowest price. There are four most loved stadiums such as Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum. These four stadiums are liked by most of the fans. These stadiums hold a huge number of crowds. You should buy best tickets to these avenues. If you had missed a match last time you must buy a ticket to one of these stadiums and enjoy again.

Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum are the best avenues to watch a live performance. These four stadiums are much favored by most of game lovers. You can buy tickets to these stadiums at lowest price. We have been selling tickets for you to various events. You can buy tickets of all kind to these grounds. Buy tickets of all kind at competitive price.

Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum are believed to have capacity for a huge crowd. We have been selling tickets to these stadiums. The hassle is of high intensity to buy tickets to these grounds. You may have been granted leave from your office to watch a match held in these grounds. But due to scarcity of tickets you could not watch it last time. Therefore, now tickets to these grounds are available for you. All tickets to Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum are available with ease. Buy tickets to various matches online. We are here to provide you a wide range of tickets to all matches for you.

Watch the live actions. Watch the live performances. Wave your best compliments to lovely players. Help and shout them to win a match. Protocol them to perform wonderfully. Protect them with you hearty compliments live. See them play live. Buy tickets to Dolphin Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Invesco Field and Oakland Coliseum. All these avenues are available to be accessed for you. We have made efforts to bring the world before you. You should not waste time on hassling around for tickets.

You can buy these tickets from comfort of your homes. Give us a chance to serve you with best services. Get hold of high class services. We are available for you every time. We give you a chance to be served with distinction.

Just had to share this, from the late, great sportswriter Jim Murray, about the Metrodome in Minnesota. I’m guessing he wrote this about 20 years ago.

“You should see this ballpark. It looks like a whole bunch of trash bags of hangers. The roof looks like a quilt comforter. If it had a swastika on it, you’d think it was the Hindenburg. The world’s biggest hot-air balloon. You’d be afraid to light a match in it. It’s kept aloft by air. If they ever turn off the fans, you’d have the world’s biggest pile of Teflon. If it slips its tether, you’d half expect to find yourself floating over downtown Chicago. You keep looking around for Cantinflas and David Niven… .”

I don’t know about you, but I feel better already.

The Twins crashed out of the playoffs this year against the Yankees in the ALCS, leaving behind the Metrodome for their new park, Target Field. Things obviously have to be moved to the new park (but not the crap they sold off to desperate fans) including, hey look its Joe Mauer in bubble-wrap. Yeah, you should probably bring him with you. Michael Cuddyer and Joe Nathan also made the trip in the back of the truck.

Oh, and for some reason a White Sox fan got in the back of the truck for the move too.

One question though, what’s with Minnesota teams moving their stadiums outside. The University of Minnesota moved their football field outside and now the Twins? I understand the home field advantage aspect, but it is absolutely FREEZING up there.

As for the Metrodome, I expect them to simply implode it. That’s so weak, imploding stadiums is so played out. May I suggest an EXplosion? How badass would that be?

Time for a weekend recap! Friday after work it was “date night” at Buffalo Wild Wings for me and Lauren. We sat at the bar (rather than waiting in a 35-minute line for a table) and were delighted to find someone had left a bunch of credits in the tabletop game thingy. So we sat and had a couple beers and lots of delicious boneless wings. At night Jason stopped by to hang out.

Saturday, Lauren went to earn some big bucks by working OT, while Jason and I went to the Metrodome for the Twins Metrodome moving sale. I thought this sale would be very cool—my one big chance at buying an authentic piece of Twins history. Apparently, so did 15,000 other people. We got there when it opened at 10am and our jaws hit the ground when we saw the line stretched all the way around the Metrodome and down the street. Over the speakers, a recorded message stated “you may experience a short wait in line.” That was the understatement of the day. They had a queue up at the entrance that would corral about 100 fans. The other 14,900 filed in behind. Very poor job by the team organizing that sale. I heard there were just two checkout counters, causing a 90-minute wait just in the checkout lines.

Dejected and unwilling to kill six hours to get halfway through line, Jason and I instead went out for breakfast at the Uptown Diner, home of Minneapolis’s largest, unhealthiest, most delicious portions of hashbrowns.

That night it was off to the Profile Event Center to DJ my first wedding dance since our own. The couple was very nice and fed me a filet mignon dinner. The highlight of their reception was a choreographed dance during the introductions featuring the wedding party dancing to “I Got a Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas. Their dance rivaled ours in terms of crowd participation, but an exhausted bride and groom pulled the plug on the dance shortly after midnight despite their raucous guests enjoying themselves.

Sunday, Lauren and I met up with the Berglund-Husebys for the Bar Abilene breakfast buffet. If you’re looking for a good southern-style breakfast buffet and bottomless $4.95 mimosas and no wait in line, this is the place to go! Then I spent the afternoon watching football, including the Chargers’ amazing 21-20 win over the Giants. I took a late afternoon jog around Lake of the Isles to get some exercise, and my God, the pain. My upper left abdomen was in such sharp pain I could take no more than ten steps before I’d have to stop running. The pain never really subsided, but I eventually just fought through it and ran home. It still hurts today. I wonder if I didn’t strain a ribcage muscle or something.  Then we watched Dexter, some more House from Netflix, and went to bed.

Wayne State College (NE) has posted their baseball schedule for the upcoming 2010 baseball season – Wayne State 2010 Baseball Schedule

The Wildcats open their season against instate rival Nebraska – Kearney but to play each other they are heading to Golden, CO.  Their non-conference schedule has a decidedly central US flavor to it as they play in Colorado, Kansas & a spring tourney in Indiana.  They have 2 games in late March (home and home) against D2’s 2009 National Runner-up, Emporia State.  Wayne State also has 2 non-conference sets against Northern Sun opponents, both at neutral sites (Winona State at the Metrodome and Upper Iowa in Kansas).

The 4 conference teams they avoid playing this year are Winona State, Upper Iowa, Southwest Minnesota State & Mary.  Interestingly, they show Minnesota Duluth as home games while Duluth shows them as being played in Minneapolis. 

The Wildcats are coming off of 6 straight Northern Sun Conference regular season titles and are certainly a favorite for 2010 with a strong returning senior class.  If it weren’t for a brand new head coach they’d probably be the hands down favorite to repeat again but that change at the top might give conference foes a little glimmer of hope.  Wayne State should be a heavy favorite to be among the top 2-3 teams with whomever is calling the shots.

Northern State University has posted their baseball schedule for the upcoming 2010 baseball season – Northern State 2010 Baseball Schedule

The Wolves will open their season in late February with 6 games at the Metrodome against fellow Northern Sun schools, Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston, the 2 schools closest to them in the 2009 conference standings.  One thing that stands out is that their non-conference games are against teams that match their geography and level of competition.  By playing games against the likes of Jamestown, Dickinson State, Valley City State & Dakota State they don’t have to travel as much and have a better chance to win.  The team does have a spring trip scheduled to Phoenix in early March.

During conference play the team misses out on Bemidji State, Minnesota Crookston, Winona State & Upper Iowa.  For a team that won only 1 conference game last year, it hurts to miss out on playing Crookston.

The team did also announce the names of 9 new recruits to the team – Wolves Announce 09-10 Recruits.  They better hope some of those 5 pitchers can help right away as Northern State’s conference ERA of almost 14 was painful.

Concordia University has posted their baseball schedule for the upcoming 2010 baseball season – Concordia 2010 Baseball Schedule

The team opens its season against Northwestern Iowa College at the Metrodome on February 4th – the same day SWMS & UMD play their first game against each other there.  What strikes you immediately is the number of non-D2 opponents the Golden Bears are playing.  Their first 6 games are against 2 NAIA programs and a D2 program.  Later in March they also play D3’s UW La Crosse.  In fact, the only non-conference D2 program on the schedule right now is a home & home series with Minnesota Duluth.  The team does have a spring trip to Orlando but it’s unclear whether they are in the same Russ Matt Tourney as most of the rest of the Conference since that is technically taking place in Winter Haven, FL.

The 4 Conference teams that Concordia doesn’t play this year are Minnesota Duluth, Mary, Upper Iowa and Southwest Minnesota State.  This could be a year of transition for the Golden Bears who lost a few really good players and will have a young team.  22 of the 31 players on their roster are either sophomores or freshman.

Catch me at the Metro with K Holtz at a Twins game
Shit I made a Twins game drunker then a Twins fan
You should know I bleed booze, but I ain’t alcoholic though
But I got a barrel of that Premium ready to go
Welcome to the Freezing Spot, corners where I’m buying pot
Joe Mauer shit, home of the big stick
Blue and White, Yellow Cab, Green and White, Rainbow Cab
When it get busy it ain’t fair, they never call you back
8 million stories, this side of the Vegas
we play beer pong, we drink Strip N Go Naked
Me I got a song, Biz Markie “Just a friend”
If we lost KG, let’s pick up a free agent
We played Cee-Lo, Swallow some Molly’s
In every dorm room, posters of Bob Marley
Statue of Mary Tyler, Long live the light rail
Long live the Metrodome, but I’m a watch St Paul Saints in…

(TWIN) CITIEEEES
612, 651 we run this!
We got what you can’t miss, Twin
CITIIIIEEEESSSS
These streets always got construction
Pardon the interruption
Let’s hear it for the Cities, the Cities

Compare to the original lyrics:
http://ohhla.com/anonymous/jigga/blprint3/empire.jyz.txt

AND stop back tomorrow for WordPlay Friday! It’s an all sports theme manana

The University of Minnesota Duluth has posted their baseball schedule for the upcoming 2010 baseball season – Minnesota Duluth 2010 Baseball Schedule

As I had previously reported, the team will be heading to the Russ Matt Invitational in Winter Haven, FL along with at least 5 other Northern Sun teams.  They hope to play as many as 10 games down there.  That’s a good thing as the vast majority of their other non-conference games will be played against other Northern Sun teams (12 games).  They do have 1 mid-week contest in April against Wisconsin Superior.  They open the season at the Metrodome against Southwest Minnesota State and have 8 games scheduled at the dome.

The Bulldogs face every other Northern Sun team except Augustana since they have the non-conference 4 game sets against SWMS, Mary & Concordia.  Their first conference opponent is once again Wayne State.  What’s interesting is that last year the Bulldogs were scheduled to have Wayne come to Duluth in late March but because of something called “winter” they had to move the games to Wayne, NE instead.  I had assumed that Duluth was out of luck and would have to travel there again this year but the games are listed as happening in Minneapolis (not the Metrodome).  Not sure if that means they will try to find an outdoor field in the Twin Cities which may still be difficult in late March.  This Twin Cities resident will appreciate if it really plays out this way.

Bemidji State has posted their baseball schedule for the upcoming 2010 baseball season – 2010 Bemidji State Baseball Schedule

Here are a few interesting things to notice –

• The Beavers play their first 14 games at the Metrodome.  Lots of trips to the Twin Cities but they do have them on back to back days most of the time.  If they implode the Metrodome some day it will really hurt D2 baseball.
• Bemidji State is the first team to announce its schedule that “isn’t” going to the Russ Matt spring tourney.  In fact, BSU is only taking a short 3 day trip in the early spring to play tough games against Emporia State in Missouri and then on to Arkansas Tech.  They do finish the season with 4 games in Montana.
• The team plays every other Northern Sun Conference team.  They play a non-conference series against all 4 teams not on their regular schedule during their Metrodome swing.  Those include Minnesota Crookston, Northern State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State.
• It looks like once again Wayne State may be a big beneficiary of Northern Sun scheduling.  What are the chances that Bemidji’s field will be ready March 20th?  Last year, Minnesota Duluth gave up an early home series and had to make the 8 hour drive to Nebraska in March.  Looks like Wayne State could benefit from this again.  The Conference should schedule southern teams with home games in March and force them to travel to more away games later. 

The University of Minnesota Crookston has posted their baseball schedule for the upcoming 2010 season – Minnesota Crookston 2010 Schedule

The Golden Eagles kick off their season with 6 winnable games at the Metrodome.  Bemidji State should be favored but games against the leagues last place team, Northern State, and D3’s UW-Stout should be match-ups they can win.  Like every other Northern Sun Conference team that has announced their schedule, Crookston is heading to Winter Haven, FL for the Russ Matt Tournament in March.  As a side note, the season opening games on February 5th at the Metrodome are also scheduled games for Southwest Minnesota State against Minnesota Duluth so there’s a chance to see 4 NSIC teams play that day (although there seems to be a time issue as SWMS lists a DH starting at noon and UMC lists a DH starting a 2pm – something’s messed up).

It’s interesting that they went ahead and scheduled their first Conference games at the Metrodome against St. Cloud State.  Those will be considered home games.  Crookston’s 4 Conference foes that they don’t play are Bemidji State, Northern State, Augustana and Minnesota State.  It’s a tough schedule as they don’t get to play the 11th & 13th place teams in last year’s standings.  They do sprinkle in a few more winnable non-Conference games during the Conference schedule against Valley City, Mayville State, Concordia-Moorhead, Jamestown and another Bemidji State matchup.  All of those extra games may prove taxing on the pitching and grades.

The two oldest stadiums in major league baseball are Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. While Fenway Park is home to a variety of famous baseball events, including hosting the winners of 6 World Series, Wrigley has had a much less rich history. Consider the World Series as an example.

The Cubs moved into Wrigley in 1916 and have played there ever since. During the 1918 World Series, for some reason, they played their home games across town in Comiskey Park. After that World Series, the Cubs have made the Fall Classic 4 more times, 1929, 1932, 1938, and 1945. They were swept by the Yankees in 1932 and 1938. In 1929, the Cubs won only one game, Game 3 in Shibe Park in Philadelphia. They lost both games played in Wrigley. That leaves 1945.

1945 is famous in Cubs history as the last time the Cubs made the World Series. It should also be famous as the only time the Cubs won a World Series game in Wrigley Field. The 1945 Series format does not look like the modern format; it began with three games in Detroit and concluded with four in Chicago. The Cubs won Games 1 and 3 in Detroit but dropped Game 2 in Detroit and Games 4 and 5 in Chicago. Facing elimination, the Cubs won Game 6 in Wrigley Field in 12 innings. The winning run was scored by Bill Schuster, a minor league hall of famer called up to replace regulars serving in World War II. He would never play major league ball again. The Cubs lost Game 7 and left the World Series behind for several generations.

Age does not of necessity beget history. Wrigley Field is famous for its age and for its many beautiful features. Unfortunately, the nature of the Cubs precludes Wrigley for being famous for an array of great baseball moments. While the Metrodome closes down after this season after hosting 8 Twins World Series victories and 2 titles, Wrigley soldiers on, hopeful that history will finally descend upon it.

Update: I forgot the 1935 World Series. The Cubs win Game 5 at Wrigley, 3-1

Minnesota State has posted their schedule for the upcoming 2010 baseball season – Minnesota State 2010 Baseball Schedule

The Mavericks open their season on the road in Lakewood, CO against RMAC’s Colorado Christian – a team at the bottom of their Conference last year.  They then play a pair of non-conference doubleheaders at the Metrodome against Bemidji State before heading to Winter Haven, FL for the Russ Matt Tourney.  So far 5 teams from the Northern Sun Conference are playing in the Russ Matt.

In conference play the team avoids playing Winona State, Minnesota Crookston, Bemidji State and Augustana.  This team finished a close 2nd last season in the conference and advanced to the NCAA Regional.  They did lose some key contributors but once again had a solid recruiting class that should help assure that they will be competing for a top 3 position this year.

The Metrodome was home to the Twins since 1982. They are moving to the new Target Field, right next to the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis beginning next season.

Known around the U.S. as one of the worst fields in the majors because of it’s pressured dome, tough turf and of course, being indoors, the Metrodome still has had many highlights.

The Metrodome is the only stadium to ever have hosted the NFL Super Bowl, the MLB All-Star game, the World Series and the Final Four. It hosted the Super Bowl in 1992, baseball’s All-Star game in 1985 and the World Series in 1987 and 1991. The Division I men’s basketball Final Four was played out in the Metrodome in 1991 and most recently in 2001.

It’s a sports magnet. Before that final Sunday, the dome went through a classic setup in its history, playing a one-of-a-kind Minnesota Vikings game just prior to the Twins taking to the field. Not many stadiums, let alone cities, get to see the best of more than one sport in back-to-back days at the same venue.

Breanna and I were there for that final game against New York. We listened to the chants of “M-V-P” when Minnesota favorite Joe Mauer was at bat, we heard the loud boos for Derek Jeter and we laughed as the crowd chanted “Steroids, Steroids” each time A-Rod stepped to the plate. Sadly it was A-Rod who sucked the wind out of the dome with his homer to give the Yankees the lead that would never relinquish.

It was my fourth time watching a game in the dome. I love the baseball the most, though. You can still see the sidelines for a football field stretch through the field during a Twins game and also the faded purple words marking the Vikings’ endzones just off first base and in left-center.

Every time a high fly ball is launched toward the top of the dome, you think that it might just get stuck, like it did several times over the years.

It’s the same dome that first baseman Kent Hrbek grew up in the shadows of and where he would done his now retired No. 14 jersey. It’s also the same dome that watched 10-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove Award winner Kirby Puckett play some of his greatest games in his hall-of-fame career.

It’s time for a new era for the Minnesota Twins. After winning their fifth American League Central title in the last eight seasons this year, hopefully that momentum launches Target Field the way it should be. Hopefully winning 17 of their final 21 games is just the beginning to a bigger season in 2010. Maybe the Twins will begin their tenure at Target Field similar to the way Puckett started his career (he smacked four hits in his opening game in the big leagues, only the ninth player ever to do so).

Thanks for the memories Metrodome. It was a tough way to say goodbye to baseball, but we’ll still stop by every now and then to catch a Vikings game, even though it won’t be the same knowing the Twins no longer share the dome.

This is the best time of year — Midnight Madness, NASCAR, College and Pro football, hockey and baseball… Can you see why I am so lost in July and August when NOTHING is on TV?

Here are my Week 6 Picks

Detroit vs. Green Bay

X Baltimore vs Minnesota — This was such an amazing game

Giants vs. New Orleans

Houston vs Cincinnati

Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh

Carolina vs. Tampa Bay (Panthers need to find the running game)

KC vs. Washington

STL vs. JAX

X Philly vs. Oakland — UMMM… not sure how the Eagles lost to Oakland, must be that calling more timeouts than you have curse

AZ vs. Seattle

TN vs. New England —- THIS WAS RIDICULOUS… LOVED IT!!!

X Buffalo vs. NY Jets (braylon edwards is such a huge asset)

Chicago vs. Atlanta

Den vs. SD (I am picking SD because the Chargers are coming off of a bye and its in their house -plus, it’s time for cinderella to lose a shoe)

Tripping out on the Twins

Despite all but one of the series being three-and-done, the first round of the MLB Playoffs had its share of highlights: Mark Texeira’s walk-off, Vladimir Guerrero’s game-winning single off the legendary Jonathan Papelbon, a pair of gems from Cliff “he’s no Halladay” Lee and a career’s worth of clutch hits by A-Rod. Still, the moment that stood out most to me was the above screen cap from TBS’ coverage of the Yankees-Twins finale. And here I thought I’d never find a fan that could outshine Facepaint Guy, who was a regular during Philly’s World Series run last season (but oddly wasn’t in attendance in this year’s NLDS, from what I could tell).

(Note: According to some online investigators, the Twins fan is Chris Mars, who used to play the drums in a Minneapolis band called The Replacements. Apparently he’s now an artist that fetches up to $30,000 for his work. He also likes going to baseball games and eating baked potatoes.)

This pretty much sums up the series for Minnesota

So, a 4-1 New York win tonight finishes off the Twins and sets up a Yankees-Angels ALCS, which gets underway later this week at Yankee Stadium. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how much you enjoy sick humour), coverage switches over to FOX, so we won’t be treated to Chip Caray using the term “fisted” to describe any contact made on a pitch on the inner half. Thanks for the laughs, Chip.

Back to the Yankees-Twins, though: How bad was Minnesota in this series? Is it possible they were still drunk from Tuesday night’s celebration, or are they just the most inept team in the history of baseball? Tonight Nick Punto held the torch, making a brutal baserunning error in the eighth to cost the Twins the potential game-tying run. Not that it really mattered, since four Minnesota pitchers — including Joe “Mr. October” Nathan — couldn’t escape the top of the ninth without coughing up another two runs.

To New York’s credit, they played clean, error-free baseball all series. Alex Rodriguez’s decision to set all the calendars in his house to April was enough to fool his smart self — he came through with another huge hit tonight, homering off Carl Pavano to tie the game at one in the seventh. Noted steroid user Andrew Pettitte was masterful as well, giving up three hits and one run in six-plus innings — a feat made all-the-more impressive considering it was his first career playoff start on artificial turf, as the always-alert Caray pointed out.

Anyway, make it three sweeps in four first round series, with Colorado and Philadelphia the only set to go past the minimum. Game 3 of that series is in progress, with the Rockies holding a 2-1 lead in the third.

The Tigers started one hour earlier, hosting the White Sox. They had already run up a 3-0 lead before what could be the last first pitch at the Metrodome. The final game of the season, and it was going to count.

The Twins and Tigers began the day tied, so a loss by either team could mean the end. The Twins had to win to be sure to stay alive, but it would be their fourth in a row, a streak they’d achieved only a few times this season. The Tigers had to win to save their season and, it sometimes felt, their city. All a win would require is ending a three-game losing streak—pretty likely in the normal baseball scheme of things.

One team’s season might come to an end, but if both won or both lost, the season would trickle on to a tiebreaker. The Twins faced the same trial last year, and lost a 1-0 game in Chicago. The tense, magnificent pitching from both sides was marred only by a solo homer from Jim Thome. It sailed off into the black night and the season ended for Minnesota.

Thanks to winning the season series against the Tigers, the Twins would get to host any tiebreaker this year. So the Metrodome itself was on the brink of a reprieve.

Whenever the last out is made in 2009, the plastic-wrapped Dome will come to its baseball end, ready at last to be converted to fulltime football use. Ready, in fact, to admit that it was never suited for anything but football. The purple and gold Vikings trim would be rolled out tomorrow in any case, for the Monday night game when the Packers would pay a call on their old pal, Brett Favre in his new horned helmet.

For this afternoon, the additional upper deck right field seats are opened up and 51,000 baseball fans packed the puffy dome to scream their team to victory. But they also watched the scoreboard, and saw the Tigers beating up the White Sox.

The Twins wasted no time demonstrating they were still carrying the momentum of the last three weeks into this game. Climbing from 7 games behind around Labor Day, the Twins weren’t making an academic little comeback. They were still at it.

Against Luke Hochevar of the Royals, Denard Span drew a walk, yet another testament to his ideal leadoff hitter skills. He stole second, then Hochevar collected a groundball out from Orlando Cabrera.

Joe Mauer comes to the plate, still the picture of contentment and handy hitting prowess. One can’t peer into any hitter’s brain, but I’ve never seen the slightest sign that Mauer felt too tense to do his best at the plate. Through a small hitting slump this season, he never seemed to press, and he let go gracefully of the early season’s power surge, settling back into deft singles hitting. His average has fallen from its lofty .400 peak, but it’s settled firmly into the .365 zone, good enough on this final day the season to define him as the AL batting champ. Mauer is calm.

Hochevar is not. He walks Mauer even as the chants of “MVP” throb through the tank-like air of the Metrodome.

Two on, one out, Tigers up 3-0 in the fifth inning of their game. Jason Kubel, who bats in Justin Morneau’s spot and plays in Michael Cuddyer’s rightfield position, comes to bat without any “MVP” cheering, but the fans don’t forget that Kubel has done a lot more than fill in this season. He’s the power threat that keeps pitchers honest. And who surprises them when they concentrate too much on Mauer or Morneau.

Kubel uncorks a huge homer to right field, high in the upper deck. Quick as that, in the first inning, the Twins have duplicated the Tigers’ score and lead 3-0. Late in the inning, Delmon Young would do Detroit one better with a solo homer to make it a 4-0 lead.

The game began to feel just a little lighter, a little more effortless. Carl Pavano pitched well, with a higher than usual number of strikeouts thrown in. The Twins hitters visibly relaxed, and then added to their lead.

In the third, Cabrera rapped an infield single and Hochevar sized up Mauer again. Hochevar wouldn’t risk much against the cool batting champion-to-be, and walked him. Up comes Kubel in the same two-men-on hitting situation.

And, improbably, has the same result. This homer only clears the wall in left by one row, as the giddy, goofy fans make sloppy efforts to clutch the ball. The Twins have gained ground on the Tigers, leading 6-0 while Detroit carries a 5-0 advantage.

Young doesn’t cap off Kubel’s accomplishment this inning, but he does manage a duplicate solo homer in the fifth to take the Twins to 8-1 after a Royals run in the fourth.

Hitched to this glorious lead, the Twins and fans begin to glimpse a magnificent possibility. In the eighth inning in Detroit, the White Sox stage a revolt and bring the score to 5-3. Only two runs back. The Twins look invulnerable against the Royals now, and the Tigers might just dissolve on this last day.

Both dreams are blown to dust. The Tigers keep their lead and end the day winners behind a masterful game from Justin Verlander, a gorgeous stabbing catch from Curtis Granderson, and homers from Ryan Raburn and Magglio Ordonez.

What’s worse, the Royals are not content to gift wrap the tie for the Twins. They finally get to Pavano in the sixth, scoring three runs on some crisp hits, including one solo homer from Alex Gordon. Bobby Keppel comes in to get the last out, but it eludes him. He leaves men on the corners for Ron Mahay, who defeats the purpose of his lefty matchup against Mitch Maier by plunking him to load the bases.

Let’s review. The Tigers have won. The tying run in this game is now at the plate. The Royals best hitter, Billy Butler, is due up. There’s no more season left if this game slips through our fingers.

Jon Rauch, the giant reliever with the tattoo on the right side of his neck, brings his 6-11” presence to the mound. One mission, one batter. There are many possible outcomes here, but only one sure defensive approach: a strikeout.

Rauch burns a fastball in for a strike that Butler watches. He throws a ball that fails tantalize. Now Butler wants to get into a hitting rhythm, so he fouls off the next pitch. The advantage sweeps to Rauch with a 1-2 count. He capitalizes, and strikes out Butler swinging.

The mood in the Metrodome loosens up again. There’s even a little more scoring to do, and the Twins finish the afternoon with a 13-4 win that’s so emphatic it seems to need more than scoreboard lights to announce it.

There is still the matter of the Tigers. The Twins have preserved the tie, not broken it. In fact, they have never more than shared first place in the division all season.

But the afternoon ends with a farewell ceremony for the Metrodome, featuring players from the 28 years of teams that have suffered and rejoiced under the grimy Teflon roof. The dumb dome is not going to be missed as architecture, or as beautiful baseball history, but there have been some wondrous plays and players here.

I watch the parade of them, in fresh Twins jerseys pulled on over bellies large or trim. Kent Hrbek, Brad Radke, Ron Coomer, Juan Berenguer, Danny Gladden, Jack Morris, Bert Blyleven, Gary Gaetti, and on they come. The current team is part of the ceremony too, and the field is filled with players of all eras

No matter how rock hard the turf, or gray the ceiling, or baggy plastic the right field fence, the Dome has been a place where the sheer sonic volume of the fans has tried to inspire each player’s best efforts. It’s sometimes a crude communication, but there is some soul in all this Teflon, and it comes from the people who have populated the place, on both sides of the fences.

In Tuesday’s tiebreaker, the blue plastic plays host once more.

Tex wins it

Unbelievable. Major League Baseball goes the extra step to provide left and right field umpires for playoff games, and then one goes and makes the most blatant blown call in the history of the game, in extra innings too. In case you missed it, Phil Cuzzi botched a Joe Mauer double to start the top of the 11th in tonight’s Minnesota-New York game, costing the Twins a run before Mark Texeira ended it in the bottom with a homer. Mauer’s slicing fly ball glanced off Melky Cabrera’s glove and landed at least three feet fair, all with Cuzzi standing about 10 feet away. Nice call, pretty boy.

Anyway, excuses excuses. The Twins still managed to load the bases with none out in the inning before a pair of washouts — Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez — wasted at-bats with first pitch infield outs. David Robertson was then able to get Brendan Harris to fly out and end the inning to set up Texeira’s blast.

Prior to Tex’s heroics, Alex Rodriguez did his part to suggest he’s finally getting the hang of this playoff thing. A-Rod singled home the Yankees’ first run in the sixth and hit a two-run homer off Joe Nathan in the ninth to send the game to extras. New York also had a chance to put it away in the 10th, but Brett Gardner was caught way off third and doubled up on Johnny Damon’s one-out liner to short.

Anyway, a mind-blowing loss for any Yankee hater such as myself. The win gives them a 2-0 series lead heading back to the Metrodome, where Little Andrew Pettitte (14-8, 4.16) and former Yankee legend Carl “Buttocks” Pavano (14-12, 5.10) hook up Sunday.