Welch Village & Wolves
Todd Swank's Diary Entry for March 20, 2022
The weather is finally starting to warm up in Minnesota so we figured it was time to get in some skiing before it was done for the season. We went to Welch Village in Welch, Minnesota.
We're always trying to find new things to do together, but we hadn't been skiing for awhile. We were all a little nervous to see if we still remembered how to do it.
We basically had the place to ourselves so we were able to spread out and take our time acclimating to the experience. We made it through the day without any major wipe-outs so mission accomplished.
We considered all riding on the same chairlift a couple of times, but the family didn't trust that I wouldn't accidentally push one of them off during the launch. So we rode separate.
We were able to get in a pretty full day of runs and had a great time doing it. Next year we might go earlier in the season so we can do it again if we have as much fun as we did this time.
On Saturday, we headed to Target Center in Minneapolis to watch our favorite NBA team.
It was Luke's turn to join me for a game. We were very happy to have the chance to watch some live basketball even if I did wear the wrong shirt for the occasion.
The team handed out some light-up "Thunder Sticks" to everyone in the arena which was pretty cool to see during the National Anthem. The novelty wore pretty thin shortly after that.
We were impressed with Crunch climbing the tall ladder to rally the crowd. At first we didn't think it was that big of a deal, but then we remembered that he's not a real wolf. Somebody did that task while wearing a large mask on his head!
We were excited to have the chance to watch the home team take on the Milwaukee Bucks. Apparently Anthony Edwards was also very excited to see them on the court. It's also possible he was just tucking in his shirt and I snapped this photo during an awkward moment.
We were really bummed out when it was announced that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was going to miss the game due to "Knee Soreness". I'm guessing it was more like he was scared to face the Timberwolves who had won 9 of their previous 10 games heading into this one.
The game started pretty physical. Karl Anthony-Towns is a total stud, but he shows an awful lot of emotion on his face every time he gets bumped. I suppose if I had monsters like Brook Lopez smashing into me every play I probably wouldn't do a lot of smiling either.
Patrick Beverly has been a very popular addition to the Wolves squad this year. He brings a lot of fire to the game. Which ended before the 2nd quarter even started after he inserted himself into a skirmish with Serge Ibaka and gave him a big shove. He was ejected from the game after that one. We didn't have any more skirmishes after that.
The home team did not disappoint. They were led by the Big Kat who had 25 points along with 11 rebounds. Not bad for a guy who was listed as questionable before the game with knee soreness of his own. We saw him wince in pain several times when landing on it, but he didn't miss a beat while helping the team win another one.
Anthony Edwards contributed 25 points on his own and brought his usual electricity to the game. He even had a breakaway windmill slam dunk at one point in the game which had the crowd on it's feet roaring their approval.
The half-time show featured the Sandou Russian Trio who wowed the crowd with high-flying acrobatics without the safety of a net. The group has performed at Target Center before and I found it interesting that they were introduced this time as "The Sandou Trio". Guessing it's probably not a good time to announce the Russian part these days.
There's talk about head coach, Chris Finch, being a candidate for the NBA Coach of the Year. Considering the team hasn't been this exciting since the prime days of Kevin Garnett and look to be headed to the playoffs for only the second time since 2004, he's got my vote!
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