#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1). I did not know that the WMNSS from two weeks ago would be the last WMNSS with only one team. Gone are the Sundays where I can take a look at the Twins' schedule, automatically type a "#-1," write some shit about how bad the club is, and be done with it in ten minutes. And if the Lynx don't win the WNBA title this year, those blissfully short blog entries will be gone for some time.
The Twinks, however, should be glad those dog days are over. Because it gives them at least a 50/50 chance of not being the worst team on the survey. They are this week, but barely. They finish the week 1-5. Only a 9-3 cubing at home to Detroit Monday prevented a completely winless screening week and, more importantly, the ass end of the WMNSS. They are, however, the ass end of the American League.
Late Saturday night I heard that the Houston Astros, the team with the worst record in Major League Baseball, fired manager Brad Mills. The Twinks have lost eight of their last nine and, if not already, are officially buried. If Minnesota, who has a record of 50-69 as of end of day Saturday, was any other team, Ron Gardenhire would be fired after Sunday's game. This is not his fault; ex-General Manager Bill Smith did an absolutely atrocious job stocking the farm system with good prospects, and it's coming home to roost with this shitty collection of "talent." But it's convention for the leader of the team on the field to take the fall for his team's poor performance. That not only is there no talk of Gardenhire being fired but the notion that the Pohlads would even consider shitcanning him is nonexistent is ... remarkable.
Twins try to avoid the sweep in Seattle Sunday afternoon. The organization will then finish their three-series, A.L. West road trip with visits to Oakland and Texas.
#-2: Gopher soccer (Re-Entry!). You probably didn't know it, but Friday essentially begins the college sports season. I was not aware that the first sport to begin is women's soccer. Call it First Kick, college version. The NCAA should capitalize on this in some way, especially in the wake of the U.S. Women's National Team winning the gold medal in the Olympics last week.
Oh, too bad the Goofs lost. And they lost in awful fashion. I was at the game at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium (which is now abbreviated to just ELR Stadium in a lot of places -- when did this start, and who made that decision?) Friday night when the squad opened their season against 4th-ranked Florida St. They went to the pitch with a brand-new Head Coach, Stefanie Golan, hired from Army. Previous coach Mikki Denney Wright left so she could "devote more time to her family." Maybe that's true. Or maybe she was pushed aside. I don't know why; she led the 2009 (?) team to the Sweet Sixteen, the furthest they've gone in the NCAA Tournament (I think), and if you're not a traditional power, you give someone who did that more time. Whatever the case, Golan probably was hired because she has fielded some very good Golden Knight defenses, and Minnesota could have used some better D.
They certainly could have used some better D on Friday. Amazingly, the U. had a lead early in the game -- in fact a 2-0 lead after goals in the fifth and sixth minutes. They just needed to hold on and they would've beaten a top-5 team for the first time in program history. But the Seminoles fought back and won the game off a corner kick late in regulation. What a way to lose. Oh well, they're not predicted to go anywhere anyway.
I will be attending their second straight non-conference game this (Sunday) afternoon against South Carolina, a team ranked 24th in the first NSCAA poll of the year. When's the next time you're going to see women's soccer teams from the ACC and SEC coming up to Minnesota? They will then travel to Southern California for the weekend for two, starting with the University of San Diego on Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment