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For Minnesota sports fans, Friday is Fried Day, the end of a week of late nights and eye-straining, sleep-depriving, gut-wrenching, stomach-upsetting performances.
Friday night, the first-place Twins and their top-shelf rotation will return from the East Coast to play the Washington Nationals at 7:10 at Target Field.
Steps away, the Timberwolves will take a two-games-to-none deficit into Game 3 of their playoff series against top-seeded Denver, at 8:30 at Target Center.
A few miles to the east, the Wild will play their own Game 3 at the same time against Dallas at Xcel Energy Center.
Not far from Target Center, the run of "Hamilton" at the Orpheum Theatre will resume, as the words written by the cousin of Twins third baseman Jose Miranda will ring true:
The Wolves and Wild, in particular, don't want to throw away their shot.
Friday is a reminder of what an incredible sports smorgasbord the Twin Cities provides, and that, for some teams, making the playoffs can feel more like a punishment than a reward.
At Target Center
8:30 p.m. vs. Denver, BSNX/ESPN, Tickets
Take the Timberwolves. They're an eighth seed that needed two play-in games to earn the right to face top-seeded Denver.
No one should be surprised that a No. 1 seed took a 2-0 lead at home against a No. 8 seed.
What has been painful to watch is a supposedly healthy Karl-Anthony Towns failing and flailing in a series he should have a chance to dominate.
The Nuggets have one quality post player: the great Nikola Jokic. The Wolves play two quality posts: Towns and Rudy Gobert. The Wolves have failed to capitalize on their size advantage, largely because Towns has made just eight of his 27 shots despite favorable defensive matchups.
When they entered the NBA together, Towns was the rookie of the year. Jokic has developed into an MVP and Hall of Famer. Towns spent this week reminding the nation that he is not to be trusted.
He hasn't merely missed shots. He has failed to score on smaller defenders and looked unwilling or unable to lead within the flow of what can be an excellent offense.
Some of the traditional criticisms about Towns have ignored the flaws of the organization and talent around him. This week, he has no excuses.
At Xcel Energy Center
8:30 p.m. vs. Dallas, BSN/TBS, Tickets
Down Interstate 94, the Wild return home having done Job 1 in Dallas — win one game, with the next two at the X.
After goaltender Filip Gustavsson allowed zero even-strength goals in winning the longest game in franchise history on Monday (and early Tuesday), Wild coach Dean Evason started Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 2.
The Flower wilted under a relentless attack by the Stars.
Maybe Gustavsson would have given the Wild a better chance, but they did not play well enough to win regardless of how their goalie performed.
Games 3 at The X will provide an almost-annual reminder of how different playoff hockey is from what we see in the regular season. Unlike the Wolves, there is little doubt the Wild will at least offer a representative effort.
At Target Field
7 p.m. vs. Washington, FOX9+, Tickets
At one point this young season, the Twins' lineup was without its projected starting right fielder (Max Kepler), center fielder (Byron Buxton), left fielder (Joey Gallo), top two first basemen (Alex Kirilloff and Gallo), second baseman (Jorge Polanco) and top two shortstops (Carlos Correa and Kyle Farmer).
They are in first place despite the Yankees' obvious cheating and all of those injuries because their starting pitching — five pitchers acquired via trade — has given them baseball's best rotation.
By mid-April, they had seen enough of Pablo López to sign him to the largest pitching contract in franchise history.
They have found their ace. They have traded for seven standouts to lead their staff: López, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, Kenta Maeda, Jhoan Duran and Jorge López. They have survived an early-season spate of injuries to their position players. They are in first place.
The Wild and Wolves will command center stage on Friday. The Twins will face similar pressure and scrutiny six months from now, when they bring the playoffs back to Target Field.
