#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -2). You know, I can't believe that they could be undefeated after the first three games of the season, especially after having their coach walk out on them four days before they were to start the season, doubly especially knowing that the third game would be against the Los Angeles Farmers Insurance (more on that later), but guess what? Our WNBA team is 3-0! The second game, a 96-74 biblical ass-kicking at Indiana, has been singled out for its, um, singularity. Six team records were set in that game; the best, in my opinion, is highest field-goal shooting in a quarter, where they missed only one of 14 shots in the first. So far, new Coach Jennifer Gillom is turning this squad into the distaff version of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns of a couple years back; they lead the league in total points, FG%, FT%, and steals. That's not totally surprising since Gillom lives in Phoenix. I wish I could be more excited, but last year the Lynx won their first five games of the season and proceeded to miss the playoffs. We'll see if this whiplash brand of basketball yields wins late in the season. They have three on tap this week: vs. Seattle, then at Sacramento and Phoenix, the latter of which is 2-0.
(Aside: My take on Los Angeles and, before them, Phoenix putting corporate logos on their jerseys. ... I understand that this league needs to make money any way they can. But it doesn't matter to me that international soccer clubs have historically done it, I think it's weird and downright disgusting. Why can't a team name be held as sacred, or at least sacred enough that it is and will always be the most prominent image on a jersey? Selling that in favor of a company is a new and shocking plunge into sports whoredom in this country, and I don't like it. Dealing with corporate names on stadiums and arenas is sickening enough; this is another instance of marketing creep that forces me to see the WNBA less like a game and more like a business. The Lynx have been terrible, but (besides the fact the Timberwolves have been just as bad) they are rightly seen as a low-cost option for families who want to see a sporting event. They get bombarded by enough advertising as they walk into the arena and look at and around the court; do they have to see it brandished on their favorite players, too? And do you really want the kids to believe that the Phoenix LifeLock is playing the Los Angeles Farmers Insurance? What about the children?!?!)
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -1). 3-3 for the week, not including this afternoon's game. Those three losses were consecutive, and they scored a combined six runs in those contests. And the back-to-back wins against Oakland were there were first on the road for the first time since last April at Cleveland. So this month, where the schedule should turn much more favorably for them, isn't starting off so well. There are other reasons to see the glass as half-empty. Jose Mijares remains the team's most dependable middle reliever. Denard Span is having dizzy spells. Plus, they still can't shake the worst record away from home in MLB. And this road trip isn't ending till the weekend, when they play at Wrigley, then host Pittsburgh for three.
(By the way, I'm intrigued by the Twins' first-round pick, Mizzou righty Kyle Gibson. So what if he has a stress fracture in his forearm? Give him some rest, and then he should be as good as he's ever going to get. Why were other teams so wary of him? He sounds like he would've been a top-10 selection if not for his injury. So what? It's not like this guy's Stephen Strasburg and he's going to play in the majors in time for a playoff push later this season. A solid pick.)
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