Rudy Gobert notes improvements in Timberwolves’ organization in recent years

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Timberwolves players don’t seem impacted in any way, shape or form by the current tussle for majority ownership of the team between Glen Taylor and the tandem of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez.

At this point in the season, as they battle for the No. 1 seed, it affects their day-to-day operations very little.

“I don’t even know what’s going on, for real,” Wolves wing Jaden McDaniels told reporters Friday after the team’s win over Denver. “I’m just going to keep that on that side and let them handle their own business.”

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an impact on the team’s performance as a whole over the long haul, as Rudy Gobert laid out to reporters Friday in Denver.

“We want ownership to always do whatever it takes to put the players in the best situation to be successful. I feel like since I’ve got here, things have gotten a lot better and really, from what I’ve heard, from what I’ve seen, changed a lot of things to allow us to be as successful as we can and those things come a long way, especially when, like, you see (Friday), we won a game to go ahead for the first seed. Details really matter,” Gobert said. “I really appreciate the ownership group to do whatever it takes to help us win, and make sure all we have to do is focus on basketball.”

Gobert saying that he’s heard things have improved since he arrived is notable, since he was traded to Minnesota just 14 months after Lore and Rodriguez agreed to buy the team. And while Taylor continues to foot the financial bills on improvements and has the final rubber stamp on any decisions, Lore and Rodriguez have had influence on decisions.

What are the improvements made in recent years?

“A lot of things, whether it’s nutrition, recovery, facility, family room, I mean how our family is being treated. A lot of things,” Gobert said. “This organization is becoming really a top-notch organization and I think it’s come a long way.”

TAYLOR ON SITE

Timberwolves’ current majority owner, Taylor, and his wife, Becky, were in their traditional courtside seats for Sunday’s bout with the Bulls amid the dispute with current minority owners Lore and Rodriguez about Taylor’s sudden cancellation of majority ownership.

Coach Chris Finch gave both Taylor and his wife hugs prior to the game.

Lore and Rodriguez were not in their usual courtside seats for the contest.

PAYING HOMAGE

Karl-Anthony Towns — who’s still recovering from his torn meniscus — was on the Minnesota’s bench Sunday, sporting none other than a Timberwolves’ No. 9 Ricky Rubio jersey.

The former star Wolves guard retired from NBA play in the offseason.

Twins switch up day game preparations in hopes of better results

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s not uncommon to look out in the hours before a game and see Twins’ players on the field manning their positions and taking grounders. It is uncommon to see it before an early afternoon game.

But that’s exactly what the Twins were doing a couple hours before Sunday’s game.

Minnesota was under .500 (34-35) in day games last year, far from their 53-40 record in night games. With a schedule heavy in day games to begin the season, the Twins are switching things up in an attempt to improve their daytime performance.

“Just waking ourselves up a little bit, getting outside, stretching as a team, playing catch, that’s a hell of a lot more than we’ve ever done before,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think the norm in our game is, obviously, for these day games, to take it easy, show up a little later, get going just before the game. We have a unique challenge in front of us because we play so many day games and we can’t just treat these games as a show-and-go type of situation.”

In its 69 day games last year, Minnesota hit .232 with a .314 on-base percentage and .390 slugging percentage (.704 OPS). Those numbers were up across the board at nighttime, when the Twins hit .252/.334/.455 with a .789 OPS as a team.

Minnesota’s 69 day games were fifth in the league last year. It’s scheduled for 66 daytime contests this year, starting with eight straight to begin the season. In March and April, the Twins will play 17 of them. While they might not do an extended pregame before every day game later in the season, it’s certainly an emphasis right now.

“We’re going to try to get outside as much as possible,” Baldelli said. “I think we’re going to be better if we are up and moving around. It’s not that difficult to get dressed and to just walk outside, stretch and play catch. A lot of our guys will probably just go out there, get loose, take some groundballs maybe, shag a little bit and come in.”

That’s what the Twins did on Sunday.

While they didn’t take batting practice on the field, players were out and moving around and Baldelli was preaching the effects of getting natural light in the morning, something which players wouldn’t have gotten much of with their past routines.

“We haven’t played great in day games,” Baldelli said, before the Twins were beat by the Royals 11-0 in a Sunday day game. “We’ve played a lot of really good baseball here. Less of that baseball has been played during day games, relatively speaking, so we’re trying to make an adjustment that we think has a chance to help us.”

Kepler still out

Max Kepler has not returned to the field since fouling a ball off his knee on Thursday, and while the Twins aren’t concerned longer term about his health, Baldelli said the right fielder was still was unable to run.

The hope, the manager said, is that after a day off on Monday, Kepler will be able to return to the field when the Twins face the Brewers on Tuesday.

“If he’s not able to play in Milwaukee, we’re going to have to talk about an IL stint of some kind. There’s just no way around that,” Baldelli said. “We’re not going to wait for six, seven, eight days when we could get another player here who can play and help us. I think he’s going to be OK. I hope he’s going to be improved.”

Briefly

The Twins have lined up Louie Varland and Chris Paddack to face the Brewers this upcoming week. That would mean ace Pablo López is lined up for the home opener at Target Field on Thursday.

Bailey Ober rocked as Twins fall in series finale to Royals

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — By the time the early innings had come to an end, the only real intrigue left in Sunday’s game was whether or not Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. would hit for the cycle.

The score of the game, after all, had gotten out of hand almost immediately, thanks in large part to an uncharacteristic outing from Twins starter Bailey Ober. The Royals chased Ober from the game in just the second inning in an 11-0 win over the Twins in the series finale at Kauffman Stadium.

Ober gave up a career-high eight runs on Sunday, getting just four outs before manager Rocco Baldelli emerged from the dugout to take the ball from his starter. At that point, Ober had already given up three home runs, tying a career high.

His 1 1/3-inning outing pressed the bullpen into action early, with Kody Funderburk covering 1 1/3 innings, Daniel Duarte and Cole Sands each throwing two frames and Jay Jackson pitching the eighth.

The Royals first runs of the game, which came on a Salvador Perez three-run shot, set the tone early and provided more than enough run support on a day where the Twins couldn’t muster much of anything against Kansas City starter Brady Singer.

The Twins finished with just three hits against Singer in his seven innings pitched. He fanned 10 in the Royals’ win after Minnesota won the first two games of the opening series.

Witt Jr. did not hit for the cycle, despite being 3/4 of the way there just three innings into the game. The young superstar fell a double shy, striking out in his final two at-bats of the day after spending a weekend demolishing Twins pitching.

Woman arrested after gunshot leads to standoff at Burnsville home, police say

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Reports of gunshot at a Burnsville residence Saturday night led to an eight-hour standoff, a shelter-in-place order and the evacuation of nearby homes, police said.

The standoff ended with one arrest and minor injuries to two police officers, according to a press release from the Burnsville police department.

At about 8:30 p.m., officers responded to reports of a gunshot near the 15800 block of Buck Hill Road. After determining that the woman who allegedly fired the gun was still inside the home, a shelter-in-place order was issued and a few nearby homes were evacuated.

Officers spent the night attempting to contact and negotiate with the woman.

At about 4:30 a.m., a K9 officer was used to take the woman into custody. She was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Two officers who received minor injuries were also taken to the hospital for medical attention.

Authorities say there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Law enforcement agencies from Bloomington, Lakeville, Eagan, Apple Valley, Plymouth and Savage responded to help, as well as Dakota County, Hennepin County and Tri-City tactical team.

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