2005-06 Mad Dog Diary Week 6

Lakers, Scramento, Staples Center, Los Angeles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Special Assistant Coach, NBA

Currently we’re on a four-game road trip and we just beat Sacramento, after defeating my old team the Lakers on Friday night. When we pulled up to Staples Center in Los Angeles, the team bus was directed down into “The Tunnel”, which is another word for the ultra-private, underground parking garage. Yes, in keeping with … Read more

2005-06 Mad Dog Diary Week 5

Cleveland, Minneapolis, Rashad McCants, Eddie Griffin, Troy Hudson, Trenton Hassell, Wally Szczerbiak, NBA

We just beat Cleveland by a few points and it’s midnight and we’re flying back to Minneapolis on our charter plane. I normally sit a few seats behind K.G., so I can hear him laughing a little bit with Rashad McCants and Eddie Griffin about some of the things that the other team was saying … Read more

2005-06 Mad Dog Diary Week 3

Fred Hoiberg, Heart Surgery, Timberwolves, Glen Taylor, Coach, NBA

One of the topic suggestions that I got from a reader this week was to write a little bit about Fred Hoiberg and his new/old role with the team. Obviously, Fred’s heart surgery this summer took everyone by surprise. It shakes you a little when you see a guy in great physical condition in the … Read more

Mad Dog Diary #10

NCAA Tournament, Mississippi State, Minnesota, March Madness, NBA,Coach Mike Montgomery, Shaquille O'Neal, Dallas Game, Dirk Nowitzki, Target Center

This last week was a tough one for me. The Stanford Cardinal, my alma mater, was bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the first round by Mississippi State. However, our women’s hoops team is still alive and is led by a Minnesota native, guard Susan King Borchardt. Susan attended Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, … Read more

Mad Dog Diary #7

Timberwolves, Mini Practice, NBA, Ervin Johnson, Fred Hoiberg, KG, Shaquille O'Neal, Perfect Shots

On a game day, everyone on the Timberwolves prepares in a different way. The team itself puts us through the same routine every time, however. We have a shootaround – a mini-practice – the morning of the game. There, our coaches and scouts tell us what the other team runs and the hand signals and … Read more

Mad Dog Diary #5

NBA, Business, Flip Saunders, Basketball, NBA Head Coach, Phil Jackson, National Basketball Players Association

If there’s one phrase about the NBA I never liked it’s this one: “It’s a business.” Unfortunately as players and coaches we know the phrase is true. We know that we can get traded, released or let go. This week the organization made a business move and relieved Flip Saunders of his coaching duties. I … Read more

Mad Dog Diary #4

Timberwolves basketball clinic, Minneapolis, NBA, Timberwolves

On Thursday my hand doctor decided it was time to pull the pins out of my wrist. I have to describe the process to you, so skip this paragraph if you are squeamish. They took a pair of sterilized pliers and grabbed the end of the metal (which was sticking out of my wrist) and … Read more

Mad Dog Diary #3

My 29th Birthday, Injury, Ndudi Ebi, NBA, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Utah, Kevin McHale, Sacramento

Sometimes if the team makes a one-day trip, the players on the Injured List stay at home. So right now, I’m at my house recovering from our practice while the rest of the team is on a flight to Milwaukee. Even though I don’t practice in the conventional sense, they still work me very hard. … Read more

Mad Dog Diary #1

Minnesota, Timberwolves, NBA Players, NBA, Samuel Dalembert, Thomas McKinney, Eddie Griffin, Trenton Hassell, John Thomas

I’m very excited to share with Timberwolves fans in Greater Minnesota and the Upper Midwest a glimpse into what life is like for an NBA player on a weekly basis. I want to show people the rigors of the NBA, the ups and the downs and all that comes in between. Hopefully this weekly diary … Read more