The Seattle Seahawks have had a hard time finding the right tight end to fit Mike Holmgren's West Coast offense.

John Carlson may be their long-awaited answer.

Carlson, taken with the seventh pick of the second round during Saturday's NFL Draft, was considered by many analysts as the best all-around tight end.

That will come in handy in Seattle, where its best all-around tight end is Jeb Putzier, who has 96 career catches in six seasons with Denver and Houston.

Will Heller, a five-year veteran journey man, has just 32 catches in 58 games and is more well known for his blocking.

The better team (Colorado) – and by far the better goaltender (Jose Theodore) – won the Colorado/Minnesota Wild playoff series.

Minnesota never scored more than two goals in regulation in any of the six games. That type of offensive output won't get it done, unless you're defense and goaltending are elite.

Now the Wild has some interesting things to decide in the offseason.

Is coach Jacques Lemaire coming back?

Do you extend Marian Gaborik's contract? Or trade him?

Do you keep wingers Pavol Demitra or Brian Rolston?

I don't know if it was a slow radar gun or the sub-30 wind chill, but it looked like Minnesota Twins lefthander Francisco Liriano didn't have his usual stuff April 13 in Kansas City.

With fastballs in the 89 to 93 mph range his slider at about 79 to 82, Liriano's pitches didn't have the same pop as they did when he dominated in 2006.

It could be that he just isn't all the way back from Tommy John surgery, too.

Hopefully we see some improvement when he goes against Clevelend tonight.

The Kansas City Chiefs appear willing to deal all-pro defensive end Jared Allen prior to the NFL Draft and the Minnesota Vikings are rumored to be interested in making a trade.

Allen, who has averaged 58 tackles, 11 sacks and four forced fumbles in his first three seasons, would give Minnesota the edge pass rusher they've lacked since the days of Chris Doleman.

Allen was suspended for the first two games of last season for a pair of DUI arrests, so he would come with some baggage.

Like I predicted, Game Four of the series between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche was decided in regulation.

Unfortunately for the Wild, it was Colorado that was sharp from the start, earning a 5-1 win Tuesday night.

The series, now tied at 2-2, returns to Minnesota for Game 5 Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Hopefully the Wild can get off to a better start and stay out of the penalty box – a place Minnesota skaters spent 111 minutes during Tuesday's loss.

The Twins weren't much better Tuesday night, blowing a 4-1 lead during their 6-4 loss in Detroit.

While the Minnesota Twins were blowing a 9-4 lead in the late innings last night in Detroit, the Minnesota Wild continued its strong play in the Stanley Cup playoffs, downing the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in overtime.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard netted the game winner, giving the Wild a 2-1 series lead.

All three games of the series have been amazing 3-2 overtime wins, with Colorado winning the opener and Minnesota taking the next two.

Minnesota still hasn't scored a goal in the first two periods of any game this series, yet they seem to have plenty left in the tank late in the game.

Sorry for not checking in for a while.

A lot has changed in the sports landscape in the last two months. While it's a transition period in the high school season, college and pro sports are going full throttle, so I'll try to touch on a couple things today.

•I've got to start with the Minnesota Wild, who won their first Northwest Division championship.

That title helped Minnesota get home-ice advantage in their first-round playoff series with Colorado.

Even though the Wild lost 4-3 in a shootout Sunday in Colorado, I like their chances in the best of seven series.

Wow.

I'm still shocked Eli Manning did what he did in the fourth quarter to win that game for the Giants.

Manning went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl and was the better player on the better team.

I gave New York little chance to win, but I'm happy to see the Giants keep the Patriots from perfection.

We can't have them winning every Super Bowl.

I'd like to believe the New York Giants could spoil the New England Patriots perfect season, but that's just wishful thinking.

Even though the Patriots are led by the NFL's posterboy, Tom Brady, they have become the most polarizing franchise in the league.

A recent run of success that includes three Super Bowl titles in six seasons makes the Patriots the most revered sports team in the northeast.

Winning a fourth title would put them among the greatest franchises in NFL history, joining Pittsburgh, Dallas and San Francisco as the only teams to win four or more championships.

When the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Kevin Garnett this summer, expectations for the club plummeted like President Bush's approval rating.

With a re-shaped roster full of young and unproven talent, making the playoffs in the rough-and-tough Western Conference wasn't really a goal.

Watching them take three months to win six games – including Monday's win at Golden State that snapped a 16-game road losing streak – wasn't expected either.