The Wild lost Tuesday in Calgary. And this morning, there was a common glow in the Eastern sky: the sun. We’re here to ask the question: If some teams are just inevitably doomed in certain locations (the Wild is now 3-14-4 all-time in Calgary), just what percentage of sports is mental? Now, obviously physical skills to play at a particular level are a given. Guys wouldn’t be pros if they didn’t possess world-class talent or some other sort of intangible. But when a fairly good team plays 21 games against another team at its relative skill level and only wins three times, you have the classic case of a mental block. These mental blocks are inevitable, but the best teams and best athletes move past them much more quickly — a game or two? — than the rest. The questions before you are these: When does a losing trend become a mental block, and how does a team get out of that rut? Amateur RandBall psychologists, have at it!

*Sometimes, however, losing is the product of questionable offseason coaching moves — even though a nice win over Tennessee last night gives the new guy at least one more quality victory than Tubby. (Photoshopped image courtesy of The Wizard of Odds, who found it at Losers With Socks.

*Larry Brown says the Knicks were spying on him while he was coaching the team. Seriously, can this organization get any more dysfunctional?

*And, finally, the Fasola-link. This is a great day to be alive folks. It’s even better if you enjoy pie. That’s right: It’s National Pie Day. (There’s a Pie Council? Discuss.)

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