#-1: Swarm (Last Week: -3). This week's survey was a tough one ... well, after you separated the three big pro teams in the area from the two who played well this screening week. In the end, even though the Swarm only won one game, that win did put them in the playoffs. Now, it's the fourth straight year they made it into the postseason, and seventh of nine, and this is a league where all but one team makes the playoffs. Plus, the team has done little in the playoffs, so what's to say that this season will end differently? But making the postseason, after knowing that the Timberwolves won't and the Twins probably won't and the Wild will give Twin Cities fans a heart attack as they keep fighting to reach the playoffs, is something not to be taken lightly around these success-starved parts.
It's heartening to know that not only did they beat Colorado Saturday in Colorado, but they crushed them by a score of 17-12. They raced out to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter and a 9-2 lead at halftime, and they fought the Mammoth, who are still in the hunt for one of two remaining available playoff spots, just about a tie in the second half to win.
Looking at the National Lacrosse League playoff scenarios going into the final week of the regular season, it looks like the Swarm are locked into the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Their final game comes at the Xcel Energy Center this Saturday against Colorado. You want something to look forward to if you're going to the game, like I'm planning to? Minnesota can eliminate the Mammoth from the playoffs if they complete the home-and-home sweep. (The other two teams fighting for playoff spots, Rochester and Buffalo, play each other at Buffalo in a game that will start a half-hour before the Swarm and Mammoth drop the ball. If Colorado wins, they're in, and the other playoff spot goes to the winner of the Knighthawks-Bandits game.) Although it would be nice if, after suffering a season-ending injury to captain Andrew Suitor, the Swarm can reach 8-8 on the season.
#-2: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -2). See, I kind of feel bad for dropping the Gopher baseball team to second in the WMNSS. They not only swept Northwestern in Evanston, not only did they do so by a combined score of 17-6, but the Sunday 7-1 victory gave legendary Manager John Anderson his 500th Big Ten win in his career. Congratulations to him for a long and distinguished career. Plus they're 22-13 overall and a sterling 7-2 in-conference. It's just that I can't get too high on these guys when 1) the NCAA Tournament is still more than a month away, 2) they in no way sewed up a playoff spot like the Swarm, and 3) they were not forecast to be a force in the B1G and so I'm kind of waiting for the worm to turn.
Again, I feel bad; today (Tuesday) they are scheduled to play Augsburg before embarking on a three-game series against Michigan St., all of them at home. They could lose all four games and they won't even sniff the top spot in the survey because an indoor lacrosse team made the playoffs.
#-3: Wild (Last Week: -4). I don't want to be a doomsayer because as it stands right now the Wild would be the sixth seed for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But they are barely treading water after a 1-3 week. What is particularly embarrassing is that they had a three-game homestand this screening week and they lost all three games. I saw the shootout loss Saturday to Columbus. The BJ's goalie, Igor Bobrovsky (sp.?), was fucking standing on his fucking head, but it didn't help that the two shootout goals the Mild made were easily stopped while the two BJ shootout tries easily went past Nicklas Backstrom.
But at least they scored. Until that defeat at home to Columbus, the team had been shut out in three of the previous four games. The only player scoring with some regularity, in fact the best Wild player right now, is the new acquisition, ex-Buffalo Saber Jason Pominville. Now I understand why General Manager Chuck Fletcher traded for him. He scored two goals in last (Monday) night's 4-3 win in Calgary. Head Coach Mike Yeo is sticking Pominville in the top line with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise, and I know you need a top line that can carry your team's scoring. But I wish that Pominville could be dropped to the second line so one of the new kids could learn how to skate with Koivu and Parise. It feels better to see the scoring distributed more evenly ... assuming that the team can score consistently.
The bad news is Dany Heatley is done for the year after having shoulder surgery. This would be the perfect time for one of several of the organization's vaunted young kids to step and show he belongs in the National Hockey League. Moreover, the end of the regular season is very favorable to the team's chances of staying on the right side of the playoff chase. They complete their road trip with games against Edmonton today (Tuesday) and San Jose Thursday, then they have their final homestand of the regular season starting with The Bastard Atlanta Flames Sunday.
#-4: Timberwolves (Last Week: 0). Both the Woofie Dogs and the Twinks had 1-4 weeks. I put the Wolves here because they're going to be a -Infinity next week, so I might as well spare them the bottom spot this week.
Their only win this screening week was Saturday's 105-93 win over driftless Phoenix. That was the 20th win of the season for the Timberwolves at Target Center, their most since the 2006-7 season. More importantly, that was win No. 30 on the season, the most victories they've had since they traded away Kevin Garnett lo those many years ago.
Unfortunately they couldn't go above .500 at The Bullseye this year after last (Monday) night's noncompetitive 96-80 loss to The Bastard New Orleans Jazz finished their home record at 20-21. Since they're currently sitting at 30-51, that means they are 10-30 on the road, the last three of those losses coming earlier in the week to Golden State, the Clippers and said Jazz.
Nikola Pekovic probably won't play the rest of the season -- which consists of just one more game -- because of a nagging left calf contusion. That means the bulk of the scoring and leadership has come from Ricky Rubio, who, unlike Pekovic, who won't be able to finish the season, wasn't able to start the season. But he has been great and at times terrific. Now we need to find out if Derrick Williams, who has been getting plenty of run, gets an increased role or even a starting job with the Woofs next year after seeing his production improve.
The last game of the regular season comes tomorrow (Wednesday) in San Antonio.
#-5: Twins (Last Week: -1). If you haven't eliminated the Twinks from postseason consideration before the season started, this week should do the trick. A 1-4 spell capped off with back-to-back series sweeps at the hands of host Kansas City (although the first of the three-game series started Monday and thus before the WMNSS's parameters began) and the visiting New York Mets (although Sunday's finale was rained out and should [?] be rescheduled soon) was downright shameful. Joe Mauer still hasn't hit well, although he had a good outing in last (Monday) night's 8-2 Jackie Robinson Day victory over the Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of. ... And Aaron Hicks, after tearing the cover off the ball during Spring Training, is still trying to reach the Mendoza Line. He has started out batting
.047 on the year, and his 20 strikeouts ties Brett Jackson for most in a rookie's first ten games in the big leagues. Is there a chance he will be sent down to AAA Rochester to save his psyche?
This week: Finishing up hosting the Angels, a travel day, playing three in Chicago against the White Sox, then coming back to Tareget Field to start one of those weirdo two-game series against Miami.
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