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Brewers general manager Doug Melvin told reporters today that he hopes to see burly first basemen Prince Fielder take more walks this coming season.

"We would obviously like Prince to raise his on-base percentage, but more than that we really just feel he could use the cardiovascular exercise," said Melvin. "I mean look at him. Christ. He's a young man."

Fielder led the majors in home runs in 2007 with 50, but has struggled with his weight since getting called up to the big leagues at age 21. He's presently listed at 5'10", 270 pounds, but is assumed to weigh considerably more. With the Brewers expected to contend in the NL Central, they need a big season from the two-time All-Star.

"With the way our offense relies on Prince, we need him to work the count and get on base," said Melvin. "He's at a really elevated risk for heart attack or stroke otherwise. I imagine he's already diabetic."

Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love set a new NBA record for consecutive double-doubles with 51 on Monday night. But Love, who had 23 points and 17 rebounds in the loss to Dallas, was characteristically humble about the achievement.

"My streak could have been broken countless times if it wasn't for my teammates," said Love. "They repeatedly stepped up with just horrific shooting, enabling me to grab offensive rebound after offensive rebound. I really owe all of my success to them sucking."

Minnesota, who at 15-50 has the second-worst record in the NBA, is also third-worst in the NBA in field goal shooting percentage at .438.

"Usually, at 6-foot-10, I'm one of the tallest guys on the court," said Love. "So all I have to do is stand there with my arms up and wait for a brick to carom in my direction. I get 8 or 9 boards a night that way."

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced today that the Blue Devils will skip the ACC Tournament in order to spend time making a trick shot video the program hopes will get a lot of views on YouTube.

"You have to be able to adapt in the game of basketball," said Krzyzewski. "And things have changed. Winning isn't what it's all about anymore. Today it's more about getting a lot of views and likes on YouTube. I'm not going to stand in the way of these kids' dreams. I mean, Nolan Smith can make a shot from half court through his legs. The world needs to see it."

Krzyzewski said his team's struggles down the stretch — losing two of its last three — is due to a change in practice habits.

"For the past month we've been spending most of our practice time working on our trick shots," said the coach. "I think it's impressive we've won any games at all. But not as impressive as Kyrie Irving's underhanded bank shot from the scorer's table."

That admission explains why several of Duke's late-game possessions in a loss to North Carolina on Saturday included half-court shots by blind-folded players.