This week, instead of focusing on just one topic, I’ve decided to venture out and cover many topics. Granted, this means I won’t have as much knowledge as I do in most articles.

(Imaginary Reader, “When has Ratke ever had knowledge?”)

No comment.

This week I’ve decided to take suggestions via Facebook and Twitter for the topics for this article.

What? The Wild made the list? Are you effin’ kidding me? Do these people know that I know nothing about the sport of hockey? This could be a horrible article…

(Imaginary Reader #2, “Aren’t they all horrible articles?)

First topic from Jake Kifer, Foley, MN – The Return of Randy Moss

I think Randy Moss is the most talented player to ever play wide receiver. That isn’t a compliment. It’s an insult, because he wasn’t the best to ever play.

I think that Cris Carter nailed it on ESPN. Does Randy Moss still have the talent? Absolutely. But the guy has way too much “quit” in him.  Remember two seasons ago against the Jets when there was a defensive pass interference called? Remember how Moss could have caught that ball had he just put his hands out? Remember how I bought his jersey, bet on us to win the NFC North and drank in celebration for a week after his return?

Yeah, that didn’t end well.

The only team Moss fits in with is a team with an asshole head coach who wears stupid hoodie sweatshirt cutoffs. Wait, you’re telling me he’s already ruined things with Bill Bellicheck? Well, it’s been a fun career, Randy.

Verdict: With receivers like Dwayne Bowe, Vincent Jackson, Reggie Wayne and Braylon Edwards being free agents, who would take a chance on Moss, a guy who has a bigger ego than Kanye West? Not worth the risk. Happy re-retirement, Randy.

Second Topic from Zach Dunlop, St. Cloud, MN - Who do you like in the Elite Eight?

First off, it’s way too early to be talking about March Madness. In fact, a day before the bracket is released is too early. “But Kyle, it’s less than a month away.”

Yes, I know. But we don’t know what teams will be streaking, what the seeds will be, where teams will be playing and whether or not Coach K has had a non-aging clone coach his team for the last 10 seasons.

Speaking of which, this reminds me to take 25 percent of every paycheck to pay for my brackets. Yes, mom, this means I’ll need help with rent for April…

Regardless, here are my predictions in no order: 1.) Kentucky (too young to advance any further, though.) 2.) Duke (Because they always go far when they shouldn’t. They should have last year, not this year. College basketball doesn’t make sense.) 3.) Michigan State (Just because.) 4.) UNC (Most talented team since Felton, May, Williams and McCants.) 5.) Florida (Billy the Kid) 6.) Gonzaga (Because I always pick them. Then they lose in the first round…) 7.) Vanderbilt (Because I bet on them at 3 a.m. on a Saturday to win it all. I may have been drinking.) 8.) Random Team We’ve Never Heard Of.

Verdict: Final Four: UNC, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Random Team. Championship: UNC vs. Vanderbilt. Champion= UNC.

Third Topic from @Ebrostradamus – Jeremy Lin

Will this Jeremy Lin success/media hype ever end? Yes, it will. What’s that? The Knicks are trying to ruin their team by signing J.R. Smith? Sorry, Jeremy.

But on a serious note: Linn has had a great run and really has come out of nowhere. He’s put up most of his good games without Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, two of New York’s top scorers. And ESPN, let’s stop comparing Lin to Tim Tebow. 1.) Lin is actually a good basketball player. Tebow is a bad quarterback. 2.) Lin was not a first round pick, Tebow was. 3.) Did I mention Lin is actually talented and is a big part of his team winning? His team isn’t winning because of a really good defense…

Verdict: Lin will average 18 points, 7 assists the rest of the season. The Knicks will make it to the playoffs and will lose to the Heat in a seven game series. The Knicks will lose Game 7 after Lin has 12 turnovers. The Knicks question whether or not they truly have their point guard. Let Linsanity being, again!

Fourth Topic from @BigDollarHollar – Chances the Wild Make the Playoffs?

Since getting off to a hot start, the Wild have flat-out sucked during the past two months. Did I mention I don’t know much about hockey?

From working at KFAN, here’s what I’ve gathered: Injuries have killed us. The hot start was a fluke and set up false hope. We don’t have a goalie that we feel comfortable with in a shootout. Danny Heatley should be doing more. And I bet $10 to win $600 back in November that the Wild would win it all.

Yeah, about that.

Verdict: No playoffs for the Wild this season. But hey, let’s not be negative. We’ve got a young squad and things will look a lot better next season with Zach Parise…

Well, we are closing in on 1,000 words. According to Joe Nelson, this article is getting too long. Next week’s topics will include SI’s Swimsuit Issue, possible trades for Wes Johnson and how conference realignment will affect college basketball.

As always, thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend.

Kyle is an intern at KFAN. He really needs a haircut. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @Kyle_Ratke or email him at Kyle.Ratke@mnsu.edu.

Name the last dominant center the Minnesota Timberwolves have had. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Still waiting…

Waiting...

No, Rasho Nesterovich doesn’t count….

Okay, time’s up. What? You’ve got nobody? We’ve had a franchise for more than 21 years and the Wolves have never had an above-average center? This is crazy talk, crazy talk I tell you! What the hell is going on here?

Well, maybe the Wolves have the answer. Since Darko Milicic’s been hurt, here are Nikola Pekovic’s (Yeah, the same guy that Kevin McHale drafted in the second round, had to wait two seasons to get to the NBA and kind of looks like a Russian mafia member that will kill you if you don’t pay your rent on time) numbers:

Feb. 1 vs. Indiana= 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5-11 shooting

Feb. 3 vs. New Jersey= 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11-14 shooting

Feb. 4 vs. Houston= 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4-7 shooting

Feb. 7 vs. Sacramento= 23 points, 10 rebounds, 9-12 shooting

Feb. 8 vs. Memphis= 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5-8 shooting

To be fair, the last two games were without Kevin Love, so we’ll take away three points and two rebounds from each performance. Still way better than Darko, right?

Pekovic will never be confused with a Shaquille O’Neal or Dwight Howard, but in a league where Brendan Haywood gets a $35 million contract, Pekovic is putting up some pretty damn good numbers. Kind of scary numbers considering the fact that his contract is up at the end of the 2013 season. What if he keeps putting up these numbers? What if he develops a jump shot? What if he threatens to kill David Kahn if he doesn’t get $40 million guaranteed? AHHHHHHHHHH!

Here are a few questions facing our favorite Pek…

Is Pek our answer at center? Probably not, for the long-term anyways.  

He’s an aggressive guy. Does he lack defense at times? Sure, but it’s not because he doesn’t try, it’s because he’s slow and kind of uncoordinated. That is good to see. He’ll shut down most centers outside of Andrew Bynum and Howard.

He has decent post moves. Great post moves? No. He said himself on KFAN last week that his best move is his “right hook.” That’s a response a high school kid should have, not an NBA center that’s averaged a double-double during the last two weeks. This scares me.

So, at the worst, he’s a serviceable center who will kill any point guard who tries to drive in. Think Bynum vs. J.J. Barrea in last season’s playoffs. Except Yugoslavian style (I don’t know exactly what kind of style that is.)

That sounds kind of cool. Or the exact opposite of Darko Milicic. Is he a poor man’s Kendrick Perkins or a rich man’s Kendrick Perkins? That will be interesting to see. My guess right now is a rich man’s, being that Perkins, well, can’t score at all. And the Celtics gave him up for Jeff Green, who at the time was a top-15 small forward? Mmmm. Interesting.

What can’t he do?

His aggressiveness and Serbian Suave hurts him a little bit. He’s a liability with stupid fouls.

“No, Pek, you can’t close line him because he said your mother’s hot…”

“No, Pek, you can’t step on him because he touched your lower back…”

“No, Pek, you can’t punch Michael Beasley in the face… Well, actually you can. Please do.”

While the “3-in-the-key” (a violation that does not exist in Europe) violation benefits Spaniard Ricky Rubio, opening up the court, it hurts Pek. Every time Pek is called for it, he looks around like he doesn’t know what the hell is going on.

“What do you mean I can’t just stand here and stare down the child sitting in the front row?”

If you had to drink every time Pek committed a stupid foul, had a 3-second violation or looked at Beasley with a thought of hurting him badly, you might polish off a bottle of UV Blue. For Beasley’s best interest, we need to trade him now. Give me a second round pick! Give me Rudy Fernandez! Give me a ball rack!

Also, are we sure Pek knows that a jump shot is part of the NBA game? Has anyone seen him attempt a jump shot? Do we know if he can? Does he only have a right hook? What’s going on here?!

So, over the last two weeks, the Serbian Serial Killer has looked like an All-Star center. Will this continue? Probably not. Will we be required to offer him a max-contract for him to stay after 2013? Doubtful. In a league where guys like Emeka Okafor, DeMarcus Cousins and Tyson Chandler are considered above-average, can Pekovic continue to make a major impact?

Absolutely. There aren’t very many talented centers in the NBA and if Pekovic continues his play (no matter how ugly and scary it is), he might just be able to find a permanent spot in this start lineup.

You can follow Kyle on Twitter @Kyle_Ratke or email him at Kyle.Ratke@mnsu.edu

By Kyle "Don't Call Me Brad" Ratke

Last week, the Minnesota Timberwolves signed Kevin Love to a four-year, $60 million contract extension. If you’re a T-Pups fan, this is big news. Since the departure of Kevin Garnett, Wolves fans have had to watch players like Ryan Gomes, Damien Wilkins, Ramon Session and Craig Smith lead the way for the Pups. Hold on while I go get a trash can to puke in.

Then we witnessed David Kahn draft three point guards in the 2009 NBA Draft, including Jonny Flynn because, “he’s a good kid.”

Side-note: I like to think I’m a good kid. I’m a really bad basketball player. Do you see where I’m going with this? Good.

Now that we have our new Kevin, let’s discuss whether or not it was a smart move.

 The Franchise Player vs. the “Sh.., What Would We Do Without This Guy” player:

Would Kevin Love be a franchise player for Miami, Los Angeles (both), the Knicks or Mavericks? Probably not. But he’d still be a very good player on those teams. We know this.

Does this mean that he doesn’t deserve the same amout of money as guys like LeBron James or Kobe Bryant?

Not exactly.

For Minnesota, he’s our elite guy. We don’t have and won’t have the opportunity to sign a LeBron James. We live in Minnesota. It’s cold, snowy and everyone thinks we talk like “oh, donchya know.” That’s not a very sexy place to be. When we draft talented players (Will Avery, anyone?), we must keep them and throw all the money we can at them to make this happen.

Love is a double-double machine, has a not-so-secret crush on Ricky Rubio and lost 30 pounds in the offseason to prepare for this season. I kind of like this dude. Is Love worth the same to his team as James, Bryant or Wade? Yes and no. To say that Love deserves the same amount of money as James is ludicrous. But the Wolves have successfully answered the question facing them.

Can we really afford to lose this guy? The answer is no. If the Wolves lose Love, they are set back five seasons, forced to resign Michael Beasley (get that trash can back here!), and Rubio leaves when his contracts up. This wouldn’t end well.

The Hawks went through the same thing with Joe Johnson (and effed up). The Grizzlies with Rudy Gay. These guys aren’t your NBA superstars, but their teams couldn’t afford (or thought they couldn’t) to let them go.

By the way, if the Wolves make the playoffs, how doesn’t Love get some serious consideration for MVP? If he keeps playing like this (which he will), he’s a top-10 player, which makes him a borderline elite guy. The only guys you take over him are James, Bryant, Wade, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul, right?

Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love playing together… Why would they leave Minny?

(Did I just call my own state Minny? What the hell is happening to me?)

Love’s new deal expires four years from now. Rubio’s rookie contract ends four years from now. Let’s say the Wolves miss the playoffs this season, but make the playoffs for the three after that. Rubio and Love clearly have chemistry, and with the West slowly depleting (Lakers, Mavericks and Spurs), teams like the Clippers and Wolves are on the rise.

As Vince Vaughn says in Old School, “Did you have a good time? … Don’t you want these good times to keep rolling?”

Love and Rubio resign with the Wolves to A.) make a run at an NBA title  B.) stay good friends C.) make it a lot easier for both to put up great numbers. Love nailing a deep-3 from Rubio. And Rubio getting an easy assist? It’s too easy.

It benefits both players to stay here. It also benefits me.

Was it a mistake not giving him a five-year deal?

NO!!!! For all of the experts that say that the Wolves messed this up, quit your job.

Here’s why the four-year deal makes sense:

1.)   If Love plays well, he’ll earn himself a max-contract, and inevetiably more money in four years. With only one max contract available to give, why give it to a guy that will be here for four years no matter what? Unless you’re forced to give him a five, stay with the four. Which leads to…

2.)   Love should be happy that he didn’t get the max-contract. This means that the Wolves can go out and get a shooter, say Eric Gordon, and lure him in with a five year deal instead of only being able to give the four year deal.

3.)   Rubio and Love’s contracts are up in four years. If the two want to play together for their career, they’ll almost have to stay in Minnesota. It would be nearly impossible for them to sign on the same team elsewhere during the same offseason.

Well, that’s my rant today. As always, thanks for reading. Enjoy your week.