NFL back on...is Cold Omaha back too?

We might be back. It has been a long time since we blogged in this space. For the thousands of (thousands sounds like more than 75) people who check this site three to four times a week, we might reward you with a few posts here and there with some consistency again.

The NFL is back. Ray Edwards and Sid Rice are going to leave us. Chris Ponder is going to be our quarterback. The Twins have to sweep a series against the Rangers to stay in the AL Central race.

The NFL is back. Good times.

Kill not blowing smoke - it's a start.

Jerry Kill is the new head football coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Yesterday was national signing day and for the first time in ten years, the Gophers didn't have their best recruiting class in the history of the institution. And that's a good thing.

Let me explain. For the most part, college coaches go out of their way to talk up a recruiting class and to sell a bill of goods that just isn't there. Kill admitted yesterday that he has no idea how good this class is - and he won't know for two years. How refreshing is that?

The previous coach and even Glen Mason bragged about recruiting classes all the time. Kill is going to let the process play out and not give an over-the-top opinion when it isn't warranted. Say what you will about him not being a big name and not having the big-time experience on his resume. Yesterday was a great first step toward managing expectations and showing us what his personality will be when it comes to over-hyping his squad. Sound great to me.

Matt Capps is worth every penny. Or not.

The Twins didn't have much choice - they had to give Matt Capps a one-year-deal because he's basically the only sure thing they have in the bullpen right now and even though it will cost them $7 million - it had to be done.

But wow...it sure seems like a lot of money for a guy who has no "out" pitch, doesn't get many clean saves, and made "pitching to contact" a household phrase last summer.

The Twins payroll will be pushing $115 million this year and you can't argue with the team spending that kind of money. Some will argue that they didn't spend the money all that wisely, but we have two words for you: Jim Thome.

Just be happy he is back here in a Twins uniform. Will anyone be surprised if Justin Morneau isn't ready to start the season? I will be shocked if he's ready to go by May. So having Thome's bat in the lineup will be huge for the club.

As for the relievers - the Twins always find a way to patch up a leaky bullpen from within. I have faith. It might be blind faith, but I have faith. Is there really much choice at this point? The windchill will be -20 tonight...let me have blind faith in my favorite baseball team. If the cold isn't bad enough, the Packers and Bears are playing for a chance to go to the freaking Super Bowl -- I think I have the right to be optimistic during this difficult time.

Jim Thome better stay with the Twins

The Vikings concluded their season a few weeks ago and to be honest, we are kind of happy about that. We have no idea why we can write about the Twins three days a week during the summer, but we can't seem to put together anything Vikings related on a consistent basis.

It might be because we care too much about the Vikings. When they don't play well or have a season of misfortune like they did this year, we just crawl into a shell and hope things get better. Writing about the pain sometimes makes it worse. Sure, we probably love the Twins just as much, maybe more -- but it is easier to write about their bad times since they always have another game or another series coming up within the next 48 hours. The Vikings make us sit and wait. The Twins can keep us going and keep us optimistic even if we shouldn't be that way.

So the Vikings are done -- let's set our gaze forward to the Twins season. Jim Thome could end up signing with the Rangers. Talk about wanting to make us pull up the covers and shut the world out.

We need Jim Thome on this team. He has to come back. Justin Morneau might not be back healthy from a concussion. Mike Cuddyer can be trusted to play first base, but we need Thome and his bat in the lineup. We hope Bill Smith wakes up and gets this done. It might take $5 million a year for two years. It might take $7 million for one year.

Just do it already. Don't make us wait.