By the time you read this, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be well down the road in the best-of-seven games Western Conference Finals against Dallas.
I’m writing this about 10 hours before the start of Game 1. Here are a few of my thoughts on the playoff run to this point.
“Bring Ya A**” is a fantastic slogan for anyone and everyone to use when it comes to visiting Minnesota. Simple and direct, perhaps attention-grabbing as a way to get more people to sit up and take notice of what we have to offer the rest of the nation. Great food, places to explore, and perhaps two championship parades in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Who knows with the Wovles and PWHL Minnesota making their respective pushes going into Memorial Day weekend?
Just as championship season is here for the pros, spring high school sports are turning their collective attention to section and state tourney runs.
Softball section tournaments were delayed at least one day thanks to storms while track, golf, lacrosse and baseball all began their tourneys by the time the last free edition of the Sun Current reaches your mailbox or newsstand (you can still get a great deal on a subscription until June 1 at current.mnsun.com).
This might be a good time to remind you, the reader, of our collective thanks for continuing to support our newsgathering effort through the Sun Current, Sun Post and Sun Sailor, our collectively known Sun Newspapers group which is owned by Adams Publishing Group.
No doubt it is increasingly difficult to produce our newspapers each week but the support (not just financial) I see daily through Richfield, Bloomington, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Wayzata and beyond speaks to our connection to the communities we serve.
Parks and rec
Something I wanted to write about for some time now is the yin and yang of the park system we have in place in Bloomington.
On one hand, we are blessed to have some great natural areas to enjoy in many ways, with friends and family, pets or just by ourselves. I found a renewed interest in disc golf and Moir Park scratches that itch to get in a quick nine-hole a couple of times a week. The park is well-used from my weekday vantage point with a solid mix of people using the trails, playground, picnic area and all it has to offer. I look forward to continuing to take walks along Nine Mile Creek with our family as much as possible.
After checking out the new mountain bike park at Taft Park in Richfield since last fall, I’m excited to see what happens at Trettbaugh Park in Bloomington where a similar park is taking the place of a warming house and ice skating rinks.
The footprint seems exceptionally small but the renderings I’ve seen look like the park has more than enough room to offer a little bit of something for all ages to enjoy. A tip of the hat to Stephanie Johnson with the Bloomington Off-Road Cycling Alliance and the other community members who put in a lot of time and effort to bring this project to life.
Venue use
As much as city staff work to maintain the natural beauty at our parks and playfields, Mother Nature has the last say when it comes to field conditions with so many of our youth sports programs using the parks throughout the city.
The public parks are integral to the program’s existence. Head over to Brookside Park this time of year and I would bet it is busier than the Mall of America between 4-9 p.m. seven days a week with all of the soccer, lacrosse and ultimate frisbee action.
The conundrum is when associations and their members pay a nominal field use fee as part of our registration with the presumed intent to maintain and improve conditions. The issue I see is when the city closes a field due to conditions but a drive past the field quite often sees pickup games going on (soccer, rugby, cricket and more) despite the wet fields.
Is the intent to keep kids from injury or to protect the grass from damage that comes from cleats tearing up the grass in a downpour?
These groups are not paying a field use or reservation fee, presumably, since it is a public park and anyone has the right to the park, within reason.
I’ve enjoyed a pickup game of soccer or touch football over the years but the level of stress the fields are under leads me to believe there has to be a reasonable answer. Also, the parking lot next to the tennis courts and playground could use a restriping at a minimum or maybe another way to fit more vehicles in the available parking spots.
The renovations at Kent Hrbek Fields look to be moving along nicely. The new infield dirt and turf look great and no doubt will offer a safer way to play baseball. Couple that with the recently renovated dugouts and the baseball complex is among the best in the area.
It seems disappointing to say the least that the groundwork wasn’t expedited with such a mild winter to lessen the disruption to the crowded baseball schedule.
After starting last fall, the complex sat dormant during the typically freezing winter months but with such a mild winter, it seems like the project could have been rescheduled. Although, those who did the planning and work might have had other projects already underway.
Either way, I’ve seen more widespread use of the typically underutilized baseball fields this spring. I’m glad the associations found workable alternatives instead of shutting down for the spring or heading outside of the city.
Coming a couple of years on the heels of the construction of a new building in the center of the Dred Scott Playfields pinwheel, softball and baseball programs should continue to be strong in Bloomington.
The new building includes concessions, field maintenance operations and an abundance of restrooms. More recently, the new fences in place continue the renovation plan which should include upgrades to Tony Oliva Field on the south side of the sprawling complex.
A year after the longtime Bloomington resident was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Bloomington should have a better way to honor Oliva and his legacy in our community.
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