The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Vikings (Last Week: -6).  Well, after all the Strum  und Drang about how they could slip all the way to the four-seed and have to host a dangerous Dallas or Green Bay team, they wound up back where we thought they would be: at #2 in the NFC playoff seeding and receiving a first-round bye.  They were playing the Giants, a team that had nothing to play for, and they showed it.  Still, I'm pleased that the team turned them out, 44-7.  It was running up the score, but it was important to demonstrate to themselves that they can dominate if they want to, something that fans haven't seen in weeks.

So they finished their end-of-season gauntlet at 2-3, losing all their road games.  At least the only road game they could have is against New Orleans, which plays in a dome and is playing horribly as of late.  But one gets the feeling that they could be a one-and-done team.  The NFC is wide open, and their opponent, Dallas, Arizona or Green Bay, are playing as well or better than the Vikings right now.  Also, who knows if having a week off is a good thing or a bad thing for a team that hasn't been firing on all cylinders as of late?

Oh well; those are worries for next week.  What could derail the team's good humor this week besides some off-the-field arrest, like the coach's son getting popped for a DUI?  Oh wait . ...

#-2: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -4).  The Gopher ladies went 2-0 this week -- both at home, both after trailing at halftime.  The defense at least is doing its part to bring the team back into games (even though if they're even in the same ballpark talent-wise as the Final Four team they would be blowing the likes of Iowa and Northwestern out of the water).  But what will happen on the road against Illinois Sunday afternoon?  At least they get another shot against Purdue at the Barn Thursday.  (How come they're playing the Boilermakers twice in a span of 16 days?)

#-3: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -1).  Well, leaving the cocoon of Williams exposed the team as they lost at fourth-ranked Purdue by 19 on Tuesday.  However, I do like that they went on the road and beat Iowa by eight New Year's Post.  Note: the lowest number of points they've scored when winning this year is 75; the highest number of points they've scored when losing this year is 65.  That's a pretty big spread.  This week: vs. Ohio St. Saturday, at Michigan St. Wednesday (good luck).

#-4: Wrestling (Last Week: -5).  They had a chance to upset second-ranked Iowa St Sunday.  With three matches to go the Gophs held a tight one-point lead on the Cyclones, but they won two of the last three and squeaked by for a 19-16 win.  At least they didn't slip from their #6 ranking in the NWCA Poll.  They are now in National Duals, which is essentially an in-season 16-team wrestling version of March Madness.  Look at the bracket -- awesome, isn't it?  They face Missouri, which is #17 in the NWCA.  However, they're seeded fifth and might face fourth-seeded Central Michigan Saturday afternoon.  They might be putting in only a half-day's work in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

#-5: Wild (Last Week: -2).  They're skidding again, losing three of four the past eight days, two of three at home.  And the losses were big; the closest was two goals, New Year's Post, against the New Jersey Devils and the team's former coach, Jacques Lemaire.  Fortunately, they broke their four-game losing streak Wednesday with a 4-1 ass-kicking of Calgary at the X, ending the Flames' winning streak at five games.  Saw most of the game on TV; Mikko Koivu kicks ass, and Eric Belanger can play.  They just have to keep their mental focus.  They have three in a row at home, but it's a tough trio -- Chicago, Pittsburgh (although they haven't been playing well lately), and Vancouver -- before finishing the week at St. Louis.

#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3).  They are winless for the decade, losing by 12, 11, and 6 points.  This could be a time (middle of a long regular season, when contenders shift down a couple years because they're just plain bored) to prove to themselves and to the league that they have talent.  Well, they're not starting out 2010 on the right foot; any momentum they had seems to be gone.  Four for the week: home to Indiana tonight (very winnable) before going to Chicago, Denver and Houston.

#-7: Gopher football (Re-Entry!).  Not like anybody gives a shit, but they lost in the Insight Bowl to Iowa St. (damn you Cyclones, why do you lord it over us Gophers in all athletics?!) New Year's Eve by a point.  MarQueis Gray was driving the team down the field but muffed a snap.  The Cyclones recovered, and that was it.

So the team ends up at 6-7, another mediocre finish.  Tim Brewster's schitck has finally worn thin.  He kicked Running Back Kevin Whaley off the team for getting into a fight after the game.  And he was given a contract extension even though he openly sassed his boss, Athletic Director Joel Maturi.  Put aside the fact that the Pollyannas thought bringing the team back on-campus would bring in more elite recruits.  The saga of TCF Bank Stadium has already chewed up one coach, and if Brewster somehow doesn't get his act together next year (and I think he only gets one more year), it'll chew up a second.