Beyond the fact they got in affirmatively (that is they got in on their own), I was impressed by a few other things. I think this is the first blowout, the first time the Swarm have won comfortably, I have witnessed. And this also is the first time I've seen outsized brawn coming from this team. It was surprising to see the Stealth trainer come out onto the field to tend to not one, not two, but three Stealth players. (The Swarm trainer came out to help up two of her guys as well.) Finally, congratulations to Ryan Benesch, who scored the 100th goal of his career -- all with the Swarm. Such a long history ensures he'll be inshrined in the Swarm Hall of Fame ... if the franchise lives long enough to have one.
The two teams ahead of the team are way ahead, so the key now is to get and stay healthy. Their next game is against Philadelphia next Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center.
#-1: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -2). This is so not good. They lost their final game in Ohio St. and thus were just swept. Then then went to South Dakota St. and lost to them as well. They have come home to win a pair of 2-1 games over Northwestern (Saturday's game via comeback; they went into the bottom of the ninth down to the Wildcats 1-0), but the 0-fer still looms: They are officially 0-4 in authentic road games. How in the hell can they call themselves a decent team if they can't win a game on the road? After they finish their series against Northwestern, they host Nebraska-Omaha at the Metrodome Tuesday and Wednesday, but then play at Michigan St. over the weekend.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -3). At least they won a game, so the once-imaginable nightmare that they could go 0-162 can no longer happen. However, they only went 2-4 this screening week. Weird fact: Reliever Jeff Gray won both games, and he did so throwing only three pitches.
This below-average week was capped by Saturday afternoon's loss to Texas, which I worked in-person. It probably encapsulates everything I am afraid the Twinks probably are: A squad with a mediocre starting rotation with little offensive pop, especially with runners in scoring position. Twice the club had the bases loaded and failed to bring a single run in. Also, there was Ryan Doumit getting gunned down at home after Rangers Catcher Mike Napoli was able to retrieve his wild pitch and throw to Pitcher Yu Darvish, who beat Doumit to home plate. They had their chances to win, but seeing them lose the close ones is a sad song I've heard too many times before.
Any week would be a challenging one for this bad team. But this one will probably be one of the worst. After finishing up this afternoon against Texas (for Jackie Robinson Day; Sunday marks 65 years since he broke the color barrier and made an appearance for the Brooklyn Dodgers), they travel to the Bronx for their annual one (and early) series at the Yankees, then they'll go down to Tampa to face the Bay Rays.
#-3: Timberwolves (Last Week: -4). As I've said before, I'm not saying they should have won the NBA championship this year. Any sense of improvement should be considered a good sign for the future of the Woofie Dogs. Still, the way they've been playing reminds me of the squads of recent vintage, and that sucks.
Thursday's loss at Target Center to the Los Angeles Clippers was the final nail in the coffin: They were officially eliminated from this year's playoffs with that defeat. It was only the third of their four losses for the week, balanced against exactly zero wins. And they are now in the middle of a nine-game losing streak. It's like Mark Madsen is still with the club.
And the injury bug, one of the reasons for the Timberwolves' recent collapse, continues to strike this team. Kevin Love is next, elbowed in the head by Denver's Javale McGee on Wednesday. He had concussion-like symptoms, and since they can't make the playoffs anymore, you might as well shut down Love for the rest of the year.
Luckily the end of the regular season is very, very near. Three games this week: at Indiana and home to Memphis in a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back, then at Detroit Thursday.
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