For a person who has spent most of his life in rural parts of the state, I’ve been fortunate when it comes to rubbing elbows with Minnesota sports figures.My first encounter with a professional athlete came in the early 1970s when a businessman from my hometown used his connections to hook up five of us (a good friend of mine and three others) with free tickets to a Twins-Royals game.This connected man was best known for owning the local sporting goods store back home, but I held him in high regard for a different reason. As a teenager in the neighboring town of Rothsay, Dave Carlsrud shared many stories with me about being the boyhood catcher of Minnesota Twins’ starting pitcher Dave Goltz.I can’t remember much about the game Carlsrud brought us to, but the highlight of the trip came after the contest. With our connection leading the way, we found ourselves in lower levels of Metropolitan Stadium, waiting outside of the doors to the Twins clubhouse.While we waited outside the clubhouse, I got to meet then Twins’ owner Calvin Griffith and caught a glimpse of Rod Carew as he emerged from the clubhouse doors. Then, when Goltz joined our fivesome after his post-game shower, a wide-eyed boy got to shake the hand and converse with a man who would become a 20-game winner one season.My other brushes with fame were less personable experiences.When covering Ellsworth’s appearance at the state basketball tournament in 2002, I ran into Trent Tucker (a former Minnesota Gopher and future first-round draft choice of the New York Knicks) in the media hospitality room. After chatting with Tucker for five minutes, I persuaded him to pose for a picture with me that I still have, but it’s yet to be framed.Prior to that experience, a friend and I purchased the opportunity to watch a championship fight on a big screen television in a Fargo hotel in the early 1980s. Part of the package included mingling with Minnesota Vikings players Tommy Kramer and Ricky Young while gulping down chicken wings in a hospitality room prior to the fight.Since I didn’t care for Kramer (my nickname for Two-Minute Tommy was Tammy Kramer), I spent my time chatting with former Viking Bob Lurtsema. I can’t remember what I said, but I remember blowing Bench-Warmer Bob’s mind with an off-handed comment about something before scaring him away for the rest of the night.As much as I treasure the memories of meeting those sports figures, they pale in comparison with those of a family here in Luverne.Instead of eating chicken wings with Bench-Warmer Bob, Curt Jr. and Sandy Maxwell and Austin Maxwell recently ate a Thanksgiving dinner served by players and coaching staff members of the Minnesota Timberwolves.To honor families serving in the military, Quest and the Timberwolves staged an event named Operation Minnesota Heroes Month. The event featured an opportunity for families to have dinner in Target Center if they were lucky enough to win a chance through a lottery.Sandy Maxwell decided to throw her hat into the ring and enter the lottery. Her daughter, Erin Lammert, is a member of the National Guard, and currently is training in Mississippi for a soon-to-come tour of duty in Iraq.The Maxwells bucked the odds to become three of more than 300 people from throughout the state to receive an invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner served by the Timberwolves. They accepted the offer and broke bread in the Target Center Nov. 20.After being welcomed by the NBA team’s cheerleading squad as they entered the building, the Maxwells listened to speeches delivered by KFAN Radio’s Tim Allen and Timberwolves player Mark Madsen, among others.Although the speeches were interesting, it was the dinner — and hosts — the Maxwells will never forget.As the local family went through the line to receive their food, they found themselves on the receiving end of green beans served by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, gravy served by head coach Dwayne Casey and coleslaw coming off a spoon held by Kevin Garnett.Curt Jr. said Coach Casey was a little stingy with the gravy, but he did enjoy his chat with Minnesota’s new leader and with the players who were on hand for the event."It was a pretty neat deal," Curt Jr. said."They said we could bring our cameras but to leave our pens (for autographs) at home. All of the players were approachable. If anyone wanted to talk to them, they took the time to do it."After talking with Curt Jr. and Sandy about their experience in the Target Center, it was apparent they had a pretty good time.One thing is for sure, they had a lot more fun meeting and eating with the Timberwolves than I did trying to avoid Tommy Kramer inside a hotel in Fargo.