Christmas arrives with Timberwolves, Twins, Wild and Vikings on the nice list

There are few complaints to be made over the effort that has been put forward by Minnesota's four representatives in the major men's professional leagues this year, which is not something that can be claimed regularly when Christmas arrives.

Here's the Yuletide cheer — Big Four, men's division — in order of pleasantness of the surprise (mine, maybe not yours):

My slogan for our NBA franchise for numerous years has been this: "Even when the Timberwolves do the right thing, it's the wrong thing."

Example: Tom Thibodeau is the No. 1 coaching free agent and gets hired by owner Glen Taylor in 2016 to bring the Wolves out of the abyss. He watches for a season, then makes a trade for Jimmy Butler.

Local NBA fans, battered and declining in numbers, celebrate wildly. The Wolves win 46 games, and it would've been more without Butler missing with injuries. When Jimmy plays, he's fierce and outstanding.

Then, Butler doesn't get the contract he wants that summer, goes nuts, makes himself impossible to keep around and gets traded, which sets up his man Thibodeau to be fired.

Soon, the Wolves are bad enough to add Anthony Edwards as the No. 1 overall draft choice in 2020. And there's something about the kid.

The Timberwolves reach the 2022 playoffs and lose in six fierce games to Memphis. A month later, Tim Connelly is signed to a huge deal to leave Denver and join the Timberwolves as president of basketball operations.

In August, Connelly gives up a huge package of draft choices, along with several players, to acquire 30-year-old center Rudy Gobert from Utah. Rudy's not moving too well and doesn't have much chance to figure it out with the other 7-footer, Karl-Anthony Towns, who is injured for much of the season.

The Wolves go out in five games to eventual champ Denver. Which brings us to a guest hit for me on a radio station as this NBA season was getting started.

My tortured quip on the Wolves:

"When I'm on my deathbed, I'll have two big questions. One, is there anything out there beyond this mortal coil? And two, why did the Wolves make the Gobert trade?"

We have the answer to No. 2. Tim Connelly knew what he was doing. His critics have been humbled, happily.

There is consternation among current fans with the Twins' decision to reduce the payroll from a record $153 million in 2023 to the range of $125-$130 million for next season. This is the business reaction to losing the $55 million guarantee in regional TV money from Bally Sports Network.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers risk more than $1 billion on a pair of Japanese stars, and even the Kansas City Royals make some signings after losing 106 games, this is being framed as a Twins betrayal by those figuring a baseball team shouldn't be run as a business.

The fact is, the collapse of cable and the regional TV market has a greater impact on baseball than any sport.

Yes, starter Sonny Gray is a big loss for the Twins. Another major challenge could be duplicating the good health of the preferred pitching staff that the Twins benefitted from in 2023.

Good news: The humiliating streak of 18 straight postseason losses dating to 2004 came to an end with three wins — three! — in October, and the Twins lineup will be better in 2024.

That will make 'em still a reasonable choice to win the kindly AL Central.

This season started off as though the box-office champions of St. Paul had a chance to put their worst team on the ice since that 166 goals-scored mess in 2011-12, a powerhouse with seven regulation wins in the final 52 games.

This Wild version had five wins in 19 games when it returned from two losses in Sweden in late November. The goalies couldn't stop a volleyball. Star forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy were meek.

Hockey boss Bill Guerin fired coach Dean Evason and replaced him with John Hynes on Nov. 27.

Only in hockey, where you're playing to three or four and effort counts hugely, can such a change work right now. The Wild had won nine of 12 going into Saturday's game with Boston.

Boldy started scoring immediately for Hynes, and Kaprizov has now joined the party. The pucks have been stopped, mainly by Filip Gustavsson.

Amazing, but true. The season and the sellouts have been saved.

The Purple started 1-4 and then lost all-world receiver Justin Jefferson for seven weeks. They lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles in Game 8. Josh Dobbs came in as a savior and became a third-stringer.

And, somehow, with a victory on Sunday vs. Detroit, the Vikings become a likely playoff team — and this time with a defense not apt to turn a mediocre quarterback into a superstar, as was the case with the 13-4 Vikings last January.

That's it, Big Four fans. Overall, our fellas have given you their best effort.

So, have yourself a fairly merry Christmas.