The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -2).  In a survey where all entrants lost at least once, I have to give it to the U. volleyballers because 1) they won twice to their one loss and 2) one of those victories was over a ranked Purdue team, in four sets, albeit at home.  I went to their other win, a Wednesday sweep at the Sports Pavilion over Wisconsin, even though they had a hell of a hard time putting away a squad that they are superior to on paper in every category.

But the loss should be the thing you fixate on.  It was a four-set defeat in Nebraska.  The Goofs won the first set over the Huskers at 18, but then Nebraska asserted itself like the third-ranked team in the nation.  In volleyball, the score can basically tell you how good the teams are playing against each other.  Do you know the phrase, "The score isn't indicative of how close/much of a blowout the game was?"  No, not in volleyball.  The second set the U. lost 27-25 -- extra points.  The third they dropped 25-23 -- played hard, but they couldn't push the Lady Huskers into extras.  Finally they lost the fourth set, 25-16.  I call this the "finishing kick" of a team that will lose a volleyball match in the end.  It looked like the squad just threw all their energy into those three sets, and they were pooped by the time they were facing the end of the game.

Luckily they got that loss out of the way.  They are 17-4 overall (8-2 in conference play), so their NCAA tournament berth is assured.  They host Northwestern Friday.

#-2: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -1).  Ah, Michigan Tech.  What a nice way to ease into the beginning of this program's final season in the WCHA ... wait, what do you say?  THEY LOST TO MICHIGAN TECH?!?!?!  Goddamn, they lost their first conference game Friday in Houghton, Mich., 5-3.  How? At least they righted that ship, beating the Huskies the next night (last night), 3-2.  That gave Head Coach Don Lucia his 600th victory in his career.  Congratulations to him.

Should this club be worried.  Well, they have more than a week to worry about it.  The only game they're playing is an exhibition Friday against The United States Under-18 team.  They return to real play next week.

#-3: Vikings (Last Week: 0).  I had a bad feeling they were going to lost to Washington, and that Robert Griffin III, the man they could have drafted last year if they had the smarts to lose a game that they won last year, namely the one against Washington, was going to make them pay.  That 70+ run by RGIII that salted the game away reminded me of that miracle run by Steve Young against the Vikes lo those many years ago:
What the fuck is the deal with the ViQueens giving up long, memorable runs by Quarterbacks?  It's become our thing for some goddamn reason.

I was upset after I learned they lost last week, but now I'm not, surprisingly.  Last week New England lost in Seattle, and San Diego choked on a huge lead and lost to Denver on a vintage second-half performance by Peyton Manning.  This is the NFL; your team will look brilliant one week and look downright stupid the next.  Let's not make too many judgments based only one game.

That being said, this week's (today's) game against The Bastard Chicago Cardinals at the Dome could push the Vikes down to 4-3.  They have a great defense, and like Minnesota, they have a pop-gun offense.

#-4: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3).  This club began the road trip that ends their regular season with a 2-0 loss in Indiana.  They had 16 shots to the Hoosiers's 6, but they couldn't finish, goddammit.  I don't really  have anything else to say besides the regular season, the B1G season, and probably the season period ends for Minnesota at Purdue today (Sunday) afternoon and Nebraska late Friday afternoon.

#-5: Gopher football (Last Week: -4).  A 38-13 shit-kicking by Wisconsin keeps Paul Bunyan's Axe in Mad Town and extends their losing streak to three in a row.  And it didn't really have to be this way.

Like the Twins, the ones who touch the ball the most, the Quarterbacks, have become the team's biggest liability.  MarQueis Gray is still nursing his injury, and Head Coach has lost all faith that he can thrown the ball like any normal human being.  Meanwhile, Max Shortell has been ineffective whenever he wasn't hurt.

Ask yourself, Is that a good enough reason to burn the redshirt of a guy you were determined to stash for next year, when you are already seven games into your season?  That is what Jerry Kill decided to do Friday night when he put in freshman and Mankato West graduate Philip Nelson as the starting QB for the loss to the Badgers Saturday.  He played well, but so what?

Shortell was stashed on the bench.  Meanwhile, Gray was able to play, but now he has been relegated to playing Wide Receiver, for crissake.  And they still lost.

So I understand Kill is desperate for wins, or at least live bodies that won't get hurt under center.  But if he thinks the season is lost, why not just punt the year and send out either Gray or Shortell for the rest of the season?  First of all, the goal is getting to six wins and shelling out a bunch of athletic department money for a shitty deal to play in a shitty bowl.  You are only two wins away from that.  Are you so desperate that you will give up a year of Nelson's eligibility just to reach six wins?  Second of all, remember, the Goofs lost, so Kill might not be able to find the fix no matter what he does.  Finally, if this goal of reaching a bowl is no longer tenable, just piss away the rest of the year.  Use Gray and his shitty delivery.  Haul out Shortell and his inaccurate gun and glass body.  (And isn't Shortell a freshman too?  Very early to move on if he is, isn't it?)  Just promise Gopher Nation that 2013 will be brighter with Nelson at the helm.

At the very least now, Nelson has to start every game the rest of the year.  If he doesn't, why the fuck do you burn his redshirt just so you rest him?  And seeing Gray hung out to dry as a wideout is a tacit admission that he wasn't developing into a QB of any repute -- a la Robert Griffin III.  At any rate, the future is now -- but what price future?  (I think that makes sense.)

Looking at the rest of the sched, there are only two good opportunities to reach the six-win promised land.  One of those is next Saturday's game -- home to Purdue.