Gardenhire will be a favorite to win the American League Manager of the Year award.  His reaction?  “I don’t give a flying flip about (that) because that’s a coaching staffing of the year (award) as far as I am concerned and a team of the year,” he said.  He also said there is “no doubt” his staff is the most deserving in the league for recognition. 

While the manager of the year, most valuable player and Cy Young awards will require votes, Joe Mauer won the American League batting title with a .347 average becoming the first catcher ever to accomplish that in the American League.  He also is the first catcher ever to lead the major leagues in hitting, finishing ahead of Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates who hit .344. 

Morneau finished second in the league in RBI with 130 while batting .321 with 34 home runs.  He will gather a lot of support for the league MVP award. 

Gardenhire said last week the impressive seasons of Mauer, 23, and Morneau, 25, fit their profiles of hitting success in the minors but he admitted their accomplishments so early in their major league careers is “pretty amazing.”  The performances of the two hitters in their second full seasons demonstrate continued improvement, he added. 

Pitcher Johan Santana, 27, is likely to win his second Cy Young award in three seasons after finishing with a 19-6 record and 2.77 ERA. Santana is expected to pitch twice for the Twins in the opening playoff series if five games are played between Minnesota and the Oakland Athletics, winners of the American League West Division.

Timberwolves guard-forward Marko Jaric finished last season averaging 7.8 points and 3.9 assists per game, down from his career high numbers of 9.9 and 6.1 in 2004-05 with the Los Angeles Clippers.  After starting the first 46 game games, his minutes became more limited and he shot just 39 percent from the field.  At times he played like a player low on energy. 

This off-season Jaric, who at 6-7 gives the Wolves a versatile player at point guard, off-guard or small forward, didn’t play national basketball for Serbia-Montenegro.  What he did was spend almost three months every day working with one of the hot names among personal trainers in the NBA, Todd Troxel.  Earlier in the off-season Troxel had been in China working with star center Yao Ming of the Chinese national team and the NBA’s Houston Rockets. 

With Troxel’s input, Jaric focused on various aspects of his game including ball handling, shooting, becoming stronger and more effective in drawing contact.  “It helped me a lot. …Working out with him gave me self confidence,” Jaric said. 

He indicated Troxel was a steady influence, detail oriented and ready to spot mistakes.  Troxel has also tutored former Gopher Joel Pryzbilla, now with the Portland Trailblazers. 

Jaric said he didn’t know what position he will play for the Wolves. “I know this team is going to use me in the right way,” he said. “They will use me (and) that’s the most important thing for me. I am going to find my way and then we will see during the season which will be my major spot (position).”

Vikings coach Brad Childress talking about cornerback Antoine Winfield:  “With his physical stature, first of all, I don’t know anybody that hits harder than that guy pound-for-pound.  I mean we’re talking about coming up and taking on offensive linemen, sticking a knife in a sweep, hitting the screen. …Deep thinker. He’s with the program. …” 

Special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro said whether Troy Williamson returns kickoffs depends on Williamson’s physical condition and input from Childress. 

The Twins finished the season at 96-66 after a record of 83-79 last season.  The home and road records were 54-27 and 42-39, compared with 45-36 and 38-43 in 2005. 

Talking about his unusual facial expressions when pitching, Twins reliever Pat Neshek said he first became aware of them while viewing video tape in the minor leagues:  “I never even noticed that until I watched the videos every night and reviewed what I did the night before…it’s pretty funny.”  He added, “I don’t think it intimidates anybody. It just looks funny.”

Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said opposing pitchers and hitters make adjustments to one another in a playoff series, but hitters gain more advantage as a series progresses.  

It was 50 years ago this October the Gophers enjoyed one of their few wins against Michigan, defeating the Wolverines 20-7 in Ann Arbor.  The Gophers rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit to score 20 second half points behind quarterback Bobby Cox.  The game helped the Gophers to a 6-1-2 season, a near Rose Bowl invitation and national publicity for Cox.  The next season Cox became the only Gopher football player ever to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.