The local sports teams have been doing some very un-Minnesotan things lately. That is to say, instead of being satisfied with being passively average or above-average, they are starting to swing for the fences. In roughly the past year: the Gophers men’s basketball team hired Tubby Smith, the Twins traded for Delmon Young and now, of course, the Vikings have landed pass-rushing stud Jared Allen in exchange for a No. 1 pick and two No. 3s. That’s a steep price, one sure to spark debate. It’s also a move that signifies a “let’s win this thing” attitude because, let’s face it, that front four is going to be something else. It feels good to swing for the fences, doesn’t it? There hasn’t been enough of that here in the last, oh, 25 years (also known as about as far back as our memory allows us to go). Sure, the Twins kept some of their own free agents (Kirby Puckett, Justin Morneau), and sure the Vikings have landed some huge players who had some risks in the draft (Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson), but those aren’t in the same category as moves such as Tubby, Delmon and Jared Allen, which went so much against the grain of what we’ve come to expect from not just the specific teams that pulled them off but Minnesota sports as a whole. Outside of Steve Hutchinson, name one bona fide superstar brought in as a free agent in the past couple of decades by any Minnesota team. It’s hard, isn’t it? Name one blockbuster trade (since the trade for the running back about 20 years ago of which we do not speak, a repeat of which we would not condone even for the best player in football) that was a do-or-die move. We sure can’t. The Allen move is particularly significant because, in a reversal of a more recent trend, Minnesota is getting the star instead of giving up the star (or need you be reminded of Kevin Garnett, Johan Santana, Randy Moss and others). Maybe Minnesota teams are finally shedding their collective image and waking up to the reality that risk can lead to reward — and even if it doesn’t, it’s pretty fun trying.

What else? The Twins are back to 10-10 thanks to Jason Kubel and Craig Monroe. If Monroe keeps hitting, the Twins are going to have some nightly quandaries once Michael Cuddyer comes back. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a suddenly struggling Go-Go get occasional nights off. … San Jose and Philly claimed the NHL’s Game 7s last night, denying us another round of Ovechkin and Iginla. That’s not so good. … Shaun Alexander: cut. … The Cubs are hanging out with Marissa Miller. … Erin Andrews talks about what she likes in a man (from jama).

Fasola-link! Rowing in OKC. We actually wrote about this same thing (sort of) for the WWL a while back.

Later: Your four-headed COW entries (minus AZGG, unless she gets her act together soon).

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