Their only win The New Jersey Nets of course

His UZR at shortstop was 5.3, which is very, very respectable. He also had a 3.3 UZR at third, which was better than Michael Young and David Wright.The 11-time Gold Glove winner will be entering his 22nd season in the major leagues. If the Minnesota Timberwolves aren't publicly saying it, they are mumbling it privately. The Wolves come into tonight with a less than awe-inspiring 1-12 record.Their only win The New Jersey Nets, of course.Thank God for the Nets!The Nets are the talk of the NBA for all the wrong reasons. That leaves the Wolves to fly under the radar; bad, but no one really notices.Again, Thank God for the New Jersey Nets!!The Clippers come into tonight's game afterenjoying a weekend off.

On Friday they soundly defeated the Nuggets in a game that might serve as a turning point for the season.Will the same team that played so selflessly show up tonight Will the bench produce at the same level Will Baron Davis remind us of his All-Star pedigree againI'm counting on all of the above.Good teams take advantage of opportunities, whether that be a bad pass from the opponent or a 1-12 team on your schedule. The Wolves represent an opportunity and the Clippers must capitalize.In addition to the possibility of putting together their second two game win streak of the season, the Wolves also give Clipper fans something to talk about. Their weekend was spent less on fundamentals and more on suspensions, Iran and Fox.So, whats the Clipper Crystal Ball sayThe CCB, fresh off picking the upset win over the Nuggets, is siding with the home team tonight.The Clippers are rested, at home, and energized by news that Eric Gordon's return is on the horizon. Led by Davis and Chris Kaman they will trounce the Wolves 103 to 98, and the game will not be as close as the final score indicates.The loss will be the 13th in a row for the Wolves. That would tie them with the aforementioned Nets for most losses in a row this year, so far.Maybe instead of saying, "Thank God for the Nets," it should be "Thank God for theTimberwolves!". Jan 8 (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama offered up afew more clues on Thursday about what sorts of programs hewould like to see in a record-large economic stimulus package.

Bonds In a speech in Fairfax, Virginia, Obama said he intended toinvest in energy, education, health care and infrastructure. Hedid not put a price tag on the stimulus plan, but his economicteam has been eyeing a package in the $675 billion to $775billion range, and it could move higher. It will probably take until early February for Congress tohammer out the details, but economists already are weighing inon what types of spending generate the biggest economicreturns. Here are some of their ideas on proposals that are likelyto be part of the stimulus package. TAX CUTS: Obama campaigned on promises for a middle-class tax cut,and said on Thursday that 95 percent of working families wouldreceive a $1,000 tax break. saving raterise from its current low level of 1.2 percent, a sudden jumpin savings would deepen the recession. Many economists are pushing for targeted benefits such asfood stamps or extending unemployment benefits.

Mark Zandi,chief economist at Moody's Economy , estimates that everydollar dedicated to increasing food stamps puts $1.73 into theeconomy. Increasing jobless insurance benefits typically gets areturn of $1.64 per dollar.(here) Obama also is expected to support tax cuts for businesses,which would raise corporate profits and may help the stockmarket. Obama acknowledged such concerns in his speech, urgingCongress to "put the urgent needs of our nation above our ownnarrow interests." Zandi estimates that infrastructure spending returns $1.59for every dollar spent. In congressional testimony last year, Zandi said tax cutsdelivered the least bang for the buck, with a dollar's worth oftemporary nonrefundable rebates worth $1.02 with a one-yearlag. Permanent tax cuts yielded less than 50 cents ofadditional spending. AID TO STATE GOVERNMENTS State budgets have taken a huge hit from falling propertyand sales tax revenues, and governors have urged Obama to help.According to Zandi's estimates, the return on that investmentis $1.36 per dollar spent. Adam Posen, an economist with the Peterson Institute forInternational Economics, said helping states bridge budget gapswould help keep teachers and police officers on the job.(here) The more people stay in their jobs, the more they are ableto pay mortgages, auto loans and credit card bills, and themore likely they are to continue spending.