How long does it take for a team that rolls over and allows itself to be outscored by 41 points to recover from the humiliation?

Minnesota's sports fans have yet to find the answer in the case of the Vikings, a team beaten 41-0 by the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 14, 2001, before it backstabbed its way through the season that followed.

The answer also remains undiscovered for the Timberwolves, a team that was perhaps the best story in the NBA for 2 1/2 months, and then started to show some shabbiness. The shabbiness turned to astounding ineptitude last Tuesday, when the Wolves were outscored 45-4 during a 10-minute stretch of a 114-81 loss to lowly Cleveland.

The word "chemistry" gets tossed about too frequently by coaches and sportswriters, but a strong working relationship among the athletes does come in handy during the grind of an 82-game NBA schedule.