21 days ago, we started out on a journey to find the man, woman, or creature who would end the Minnesota Timberwolves streak of 21 years of  bad luck.  Today, that journey is over.  A winner has been named.  A champion has been crowned. And tomorrow evening, that winner will walk into the NBA Entertainment Headquarters in Seacaucus, NJ and lead our people to the promised land.

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And now, with 55% of the final vote, your winner and TWB NBA Draft Lottery Mascot...

If you would have asked me two weeks ago what the odds of Lebron re-signing with Cavs are, I'd have said 80% or somewhere around there. I couldn't realistically see Lebron leaving his hometown team to make his legacy playing for someone else. It just didn't seem right, but with the way the Celtics thrashed the Cavs in the playoffs, I'm not so sure. Lebron's "supporting cast" has clearly been exposed to the point where it's obvious that he isn't winning a title with this ragtag bunch anytime soon. In Danny Ferry's five year tenure as GM of the Cavs, he's made shortsighted moves one after the other, picking up over the hill players and guys that didn't help their previous teams win games. I just find it baffling that you have a player that good, who should be ridiculously easy to build around considering the Cavs haven't had any bad contracts except the ones that Ferry has traded for, and they have nothing to show for it. Lebron has never played with someone that is even remotely close to being the 2nd best player on a championship team. Or even 3rd best player on a championship team. That is a massive failure. Two league sources have told SI.com that head coach Mike "A Random Fan From The Crowd Could Do A Better Job Coaching Than I Can" Brown is going to be fired and Ferry deserves to go with him. I think both of them need to be fired before Lebron even considers re-signing with the Cavs. With all this said, I'm going to take a quick look at some of the usual suspects as Lebron destinations and some other Lebron related news. This will probably be the last time I talk about the Lebron Saga unless something big happens, because there is going to be endless amounts of baseless speculation over the next two months as to where he will play next year.

Cleveland

KG's Advice to Lebron: Loyalty is Overrated

Garnett advised James to put loyalty to the Cavaliers aside and do what's best for himself and his family.

It's tough to argue with KG on this one. He was loyal to a fault and all it ever got him was a bunch of subpar teams that wasted much of his prime. If he'd have left the wolves instead of signing that contract, maybe he'd have 2 or 3 rings right now instead of just the one he got with the Celtics. As I previously mentioned, I think both Ferry and Brown need to be fired before Lebron should even consider re-signing with the Cavs. They also need to convince Lebron that they have some genius plan on how to get younger and more talented players on the roster. It's definitely not going to be easy considering that they don't have much to trade outside of Anderson Varejao and JJ Hickson, and those guys aren't going to net you a real difference maker. I honestly have no clue how the Cavs are going to get better. Also, I feel dirty for linking to this, but there is a (totally unsubstantiated) rumor floating around the internet that Delonte West is sleeping with Lebron's mom. As the story goes, Lebron found out about it before Game 4 against the Celtics and that's why he played so poorly since then. Again, there is no reason to believe this is true, but if it is, that's a totally legit reason to play like crap because this is some f****d up shit.

Lebron Lottery Odds: 40%

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For fun, here's how we at TWB answered the question:

College Wolf:

Celtics vs. Suns - As much as I loooooooooooove LeBron and would thoroughly enjoy seeing him in the Finals, I just can't pick the Cavs here.  The problem is that the Cavs are boring to watch (besides LeBron), and the rest of his team sucks.  (Never mind it's the best team he's ever had.  Egads.)  The Celtics are back.  They are rejunivated.  They turn it on for the playoffs.  Whatever you want to say.  I dunno about ya'll, but Rondo is one of the most exciting players in the league to watch play.  I love that kid (good thing the Wolves didn't get him in the KG trade.  Double Face Palm.)  It's great to see KG and the Celtics playing well again, which might be the final time the trio formerly known as "The Big Three" makes a deep playoff run.  I also like Dwight Howard a lot, but ehhh... who wants to see the Magic in the Finals again?

In the West, I hate the Lakers.  Literally.  I hate their entire team except Artest (stud), MBENGA (how can you hate him?), and A-Mo (he = unintentional comedy.) I can't stand everyone else.  I don't think I need to even go on about Kobe.  Anyways, it would be great to see them lose the Finals to the Celtics (again.)  However, the only thing better would be to see them lose in the conference finals to the Suns (of ALL the teams...)  So, I don't particularly want the Suns to make the Finals, but I certainly don't want the Lakers to make it.  Plus, the fallout from losing to the Suns in the WCF would be epic and hilarious.  I hope it happens.  Who doesn't love a good train-wreck?* 

* (Please see photo below.)

The Power Ball is a fascinating phenomenon. A $1 investment that could spell a dramatic change in your life. Well worth it, right? Once the pot hits $250 million dollars, I'll admit to picking up a ticket for the hell of it every now and again. Why not? With the ticket in hand, I sometimes find myself going into a 60-second trance where I ponder what I would do with $250 million. Buy a gigantic house? Start a scholarship fund? Buy a collection of Ernest DVD's? Heck, make a few good investments and eventually buy the Wolves and relocate them to Bora Bora and sign the native women as free agents just for my own amusement? Why not? What is unusual about this brief 60-second daydream is after about second 40 I start to truly believe I have the money, if only for a brief moment. Then I snap back into reality, and obviously don't even win my $1 investment back since, well, the odds are about 1 in 1 billion. I should have known. We should have known. Can I have my money back, or swap it out for one of those new Mountain Dew flavors or something?

This Power Ball Phenomenon is very applicable to Wolves fans. For the past several years, we have clung onto to some odd hope that we would actually win the draft lottery, often times believing it for weeks on end. Then, we act shocked when we move back 3 spots and our world comes crumbling down. It happened even when we were 6th or 7th to last. This year is no different. It doesn't matter how many years in a row we lose, the odds of picking 3-5 are always much higher than picking 1-2. It's a sad and simple reality. The odds are so unfavorable that the Twolves Blog staff collectively ran Chad Ford's ESPN Draft Lottery simulator a total of 1000 times (not a typo, we seriously did it, apparently so we could see gasp in disbelief if our output was as high as 1% off in any area). We did it last year too, but a bit differently this time around. We will get into the results below the fold, as well as a look at some draft day history. CLICK READ MORE TO CONTINUE.

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Well, the 1st two rounds of the Mascot Challenge are in the books, and it's time for the Sweet 16. We've seen some fierce battles in the competition so far and some real cinderella stories as well. I'm done trying to predict who will move on, because this tournament just keeps getting crazier. The Sweet 16  round features some great battles, make sure to vote for your favorite candidates. Our TWB draft lottery mascot representative could mean the difference between ending up with John Wall or Evan Turner as opposed to DeMarcus Cousins!

2nd round results can be found HERE

The Random Region

Wolverine vs. Fat Spiderman

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Wolverine continued his dominant run in the 2nd round by downing that crazy looking pig monster. I have no idea how Fat Spiderman beat the awesome and sexy Japanese Softball Team. Did Fat Spiderman come to every one of your guys' houses and threaten to kill your goldfish unless you voted for him or what? This is a real mystery to me. I  guess the moral of the story is to never underestimate superheroes, even if they clearly need to go on Weight Watchers. They've both made it this far, but only one can advance. Spidey has made it this far, probably by grossing out the competition by flashing his manboobs, but he's going to need to step his game up to take down Wolverine. Wolverine is one mean SOB that probably enjoys slicing up the good guys just as much as the bad guys and isn't going to pity Spidey just because he gained some weight.

Joakim Noah's Dance Moves vs. Baked Man KG Fan

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JoNo's Dance Moves are a real darkhorse in this tournament. He just keeps on dancing his way to the next round, getting past the KFC Double Down Sandwich and the Kool-Aid Man in a triple threat matchup in Round 2. That's no small feat. Is there anyone in the world who doesn't love Kool-Aid? I just had a Double Down the other day, and it's even tastier than it looks. With that said, this matchup will be even tougher, going up against TWB's own Baked Man KG Fan. Baked Man has been a force so far in this tourney. This isn't even taking into consideration that Baked Man most likely hasn't been voting for himself, because he's probably stoned somewhere and has no idea he's even been nominated into this tourney. Or maybe he toked up one of his ninja blunts and has been lurking on this tournament the whole time and stuffing the ballot boxes in his favor? Or maybe he's been accidentally voting against himself because he can't think clearly? We'll probably never know the answers to these questions. Wherever you are Baked Man, keep doing what you do and light one of for your homies at TWB.

Please Click "Read More" to see vote for the rest of the Sweet 16 matchups...

After a bruising series of first-round battles, our remaining 32 contestants (plus four party-crashers) took aim at one of the coveted final 16 spots in the Mascot Challenge.  What ensued was one of the most entertaining set of posts that this blog has ever seen.  After two days of voting and anticipation, the results are finally in!  Click "Read More" below to reveal the Sweet 16!

A new and fantastic website has just hit the interwebs called Stadium Journey. The purpose of the site? Paul had this to say: "We post reviews of pro and college sports venues, and our goal is to create a community of members who share information about what makes specific venues special, and that newbies to that venue can use as a resource to make the most out of their experience."

Needless to say, a review of our Target Center is up. Check out the write-up entitled "In The Target (Center) of It All," by clicking here. Be sure to log on and share your ratings, recommendations and experiences! Those of us fortunate to live close by Target Center know very well of some of the winter-time antics that go on in that building.

Excerpt from the write-up:

Twenty years ago, the Target Center opened its doors and provided fans with a great downtown facility to watch professional basketball. After playing its inaugural season down the road at the Metrodome, the Timberwolves played the 1990-91 season at the Target Center, posting a 29-53 record.

There have been eight playoff appearances and one division title in the franchise’s existence, but frankly the Target Center has been less about the quality of the team on the floor, and more about the location. Now, more than ever, with the opening of the Twins’ Target Field, the Timberwolves are located in the middle of a great downtown, with everything one would need to have for an enjoyable evening. Now, the only thing that’s missing is some winning basketball. A minor detail.

(Click to view larger image)

Round 1 of the TWB NBA Draft Lottery Mascot Challenge was a CWeat-tastic success! We now up the stakes as last week's winners face off against each other for a shot at the Sweet 16. There will be humor, surprises, and fights to the death! What are you waiting for? Let's vote!

Round 2, Part 1 can be found HERE.

TV/Movie Region

MacGyver vs. Pinky & The Brain vs. Dwight Schrute

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Well looky what we've got here... another Triple Threat Match!  The minute Dwight Schrute heard about this battle for world domination, he contacted us and forced his way into the brackets.  And really, how could we not oblige him?  Have you ever talked to that man on the phone before?  He's convincing. Hell, I even bought 25 reams of paper.  Don't underestimate the always diabolical Pinky and The Brain either.  You never know that they've concocted for advancement to the Sweet 16.  Looks like MacGyver is the world's only hope here...

To view the rest of the bracket and vote, please click "Read More!"