Sports world full of surprises

To quote the old colloquialism, "Always expect the unexpected." \nEvery story is made more interesting by the most unexpected development. (This is why "The Usual Suspects" is a better movie than "Killer Klowns from Outer Space.") As the past week has shown us, much of what makes the world of sports --from baseball to hockey to basketball to marathons -- so interesting is the unexpected developments it might bring. \nThe following examples demonstrate this principle:\n• The Minnesota Twins are leading the AL Central. At press time, the Twinkies had a 9-3 mark, which is good for first place by 3 1/2 games. All of this is with a total team payroll of $24 million, which is -- get your calculators out -- a lot lower than the Yankees payroll of $100 million. \nSo how are the Metrodome-dwelling Twins pulling it off? The man of the hour has been first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. Last year, Mientkiewicz gained some notoriety with his heroics in the Olympics. So far this year, he has brought that talent with him to the big leagues. Mientkiewicz is batting .368, and has a .711 slugging percentage in addition to 12 RBIs and three home runs. In 129 career games before this year, he had two home runs.\n• The disappointing Oakland Athletics. The A's were expected to defend their AL West Division title and maybe contend for the pennant. Instead, they're 3-10 and floundering in last place. Their team pitching, with an ERA of 5.71, is 12th in the AL.\n• Pedro who? The Boston Red Sox have finally developed a pitching staff around Pedro Martinez out of arms that were previously believed to be dead. Hideo Nomo contributed with a no-hitter against Baltimore, and starters Frank Castillo and Paxton Crawford have ERAs at 3.00 or lower. And hairy closer Rod Beck has not allowed a run in seven appearances.\n• Your top five National League ERA leaders: Greg Maddux, 0.00; Kevin Brown, 0.69; Kevin Tapani, 0.69; Chris Reitisma, 1.40, and Julian Tavarez, 1.47. Yes, those are two Chicago Cubs (Tapani and Tavarez) on the list. Even more amazing, depending on your point of view, is the fact that Tavarez and Cincinnati's Reitisma are both rookies.\n• The Toronto Maple Leafs' \nutter domination of the Ottawa Senators. During the regular season, the Senators won all five games between the two rivals of Ontario. Now that they are facing off in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Sens are on the brink of extinction, trailing the best-of-seven series 3-0. If searching for reason, Ottawa need not look any further than the play of Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph, who has surrendered two goals in the first three games of the series. Last year, Cujo was equally successful in shutting down the high-octane Ottawa offense in their first-round matchup.\n• Johan Hedberg, the Penguins' rookie goalie, has saved 77 of the 79 shots he has faced in three games against the Washington Capitals. In Game 3, he recorded his first career shutout in his 12th career game. That's right, Hedberg played in a whopping nine regular season games for the Pens after being called up from the Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League near the end of the season.\n• The NBA rule changes. The NBA knew it needed to do something to invigorate lagging fan interest, and that the answer would not involve giving free chalupas to all fans who attend games, or even interactive owners that can run on the court and harass officials. Instead, it has changed the rules, adding nuances such as zone defense and only allowing eight seconds for the ball to cross the half-court line. Only time will tell if these rules add to the excitement or make matters worse.\n• A South Korean runner wins the Boston Marathon. Lee Bong-ju became the first non-Kenyan runner to win the Beantown race in 10 years. Bong-ju also was the first Korean victor since 1950, when the nation was mired in civil war.\nAs the past week has shown, the world of sports can be taken by surprise by unexpected events. Hopefully, the week ahead will have much of the same in store.