Yes folks, it’s time to start a new feature here on RandBall, your leader in blog innovations since, well, at least today. We bring you a new occasional series called “Barstool Debates.” We’ll pick a topic, present some reasoning, and possibly even our choice; you then banter it back and forth as if you were seated — yes, this is the fun part — on a barstool and henceforth having this casual conversation with another slightly buzzed patron. Sound simple enough. We thought about all sorts of negative ways to start things off (for example, as Mr. Shelman points out, Johan Santana still pitches for the Twins in MLB2K8). Instead, though, we’re going to attempt to see the glass half full with this question:

Which of the four major local pro sports teams has the best chance of winning a championship in the next five years?

Do you go with the Wild, who have immediate prospects of at least making the playoffs?

Do you like the Vikings, who have a star running back and a division that just got weaker, at least in theory, with the “retirement” of Brett Favre?

Do you like the Twins, with a new ballpark slated to open and a young stable of hitters who could form a solid nucleus for years to come?

Do you like the Wolves, who despite a terrible record this year have some intriguing pieces and several draft picks on the way (though perhaps a worse shot at No. 1 overall coming up now that Dwyane Wade is out for the season)?

You can strike us down right here, but we’d say the Vikings for two main reasons: Adrian Peterson and NFL parity.

Have at it. Remember: You don’t actually have to be on a barstool to participate, but it doesn’t hurt (and what with the wireless internets and all, you could make it happen).

Fasola-link! Traffic jam.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 8:24 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.