#-1: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -3). They bounced back from snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by sweeping the Diet Coke Classic. The Gophers extracted a small amount of revenge on the Iowa St. team that came into the Pavillion and upset them in the second round of the ... wait, wait, wait, that's the NCAA tournament, this is a non-conference tournament. They're not the same, the Cyclones still have the better of them. For this they rise back into the Top 10 of the AVCA poll. Congratulations to Tabitha Love on being named Big 10 Co-Freshman Of The Week. They test themselves again this weekend for the Tampa Twice Tournament. On Friday they face third-ranked Washington. Too bad they don't also play co-Top 10er Florida, which is also in the tourney.
#-2: Gopher football (Brand New!). I was afraid they would lose to Syracuse. It'd serve the Gophers right to lose in overtime to Greg Paulus, a converted Duke point guard who transferred just so he could play on the gridiron. Thankfully he choked like his Blue Devil teams did, throwing an interception precisely when he should've thrown it away. That doesn't mean the Gophs played well; hardly, as on Saturday night they christen the brand new TCF Bank Stadium by hosting the United States Air Force Academy, the high-flying top guns who ran down the throats of Nicholls State by a score of 72-0 last week.
#-3: Gopher soccer (Brand New!). I am so sorry; I totally forgot that the soccer team started their season two weeks ago, just like the volleyball team! To catch up: They are now ranked #23 in the NSCAA poll and start off the year 3-1-1. Unfortunately, the loss was to 16th-ranked Georgia when the Gophs were ranked 17th. And just like the volleyball team, one of its players has been given Big 10 Co-Freshman Of The Week honors: G Cat Parkhill, who has not allowed a goal in the last 200 minutes of game time. Can she continue that as her team takes a road trip to Milwaukee to play the top-flight schools in Brew City, UW-Milwaukee and Marquette?
#-4: Lynx (Last Week: -5). A pair of fourth-quarter rallies at Target Center gave them necessary W's over Seattle (who played without superstar Lauren Jackson) and Detroit. For all their trouble, they are now tied with San Antonio for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with both teams having two games left to play. What sucks for the Lynx is that they lose the tiebreaker to San Antone, so they have to finish with one more win than the Silver Stars do. Who do they Lynx play the final weekend of the regular season? Los Angeles on Friday and Sacramento on Sunday, both on the road. Who do the Silver Stars play? Sacramento on the road tonight, then Seattle at home Saturday. Hope you've arranged your flights to your overseas teams, ladies.
#-5: Twins (Last Week: -1). It's over. A 3-4 week capped off by Scott Baker losing for the first time in more than two months keeps them within the ballpark of the division-leading Tigers -- if that ballpark was really, really big. There is nothing that says that this team will put everything together, nor is there any sign that Detroit will fall apart. Who has fallen apart is Justin Morneau, whose slump I didn't notice because I was caught up in all the Favre drama. As is the rest of Minnesota. We've stopped giving a shit guys, and we won't care until you play your last game at the Metrodome. But they do play there the next 10 games; this weekend they host Oakland for a trio, then starting Monday they host Cleveland for a trio.
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