Saying that: Did they have to lose at home? I know it was to the team that retains its #4 ranking, and the Golden Gophers are still #1 in the USCHO.com poll. But I can't help but be ... ashamed that they lost The Streak at Ridder. Do it at North Dakota, or Wisconsin, or Cornell; losing on the road to a good team determined to be the ones to end The Streak is totally understandable. To see that die at home ... well, I know Gopher faithful stood up to applaud its end, but I would rather not do that. To me this is ... hate to say it, but it's very disappointing.)
Positive Numbers: Wild (Last Week: -4). It does help that all of them were at home. They were all one-goal affairs, and they did have to beat Toronto in a shootout. Nevertheless, the Minnesota North Stars v.2.0 went 3-0 to reach 30 points only 21 games into the season. They'll need to keep up: They would lead the Eastern Conference but is only fifth in the West (though in second place behind Chicago).
The big revelation this week is the sterling play of backup Goaltender Josh Harding, who substituted for Nicklas Backstrom after he got plowed over in the Maple Leafs game. Harding stopped 64 shots over the three games (including the two in the shootout win over Toronto) and earned the National Hockey League's Third Star for the week. This only fuels more speculation that the Wild might be able to part ways with Backstrom (and give itself a little salary cap relief in the process).
As the past screening week contained an entire homestand, the next screening week comprises the squad's roadtrip: Montreal tonight (Tuesday), Ottawa Wednesday, Winnipeg (who they beat 2-1 in front of a sizable pro-Jet crowd -- and remember, at the X) Saturday, and St. Louis Monday.
#0: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -1). I missed the deadline last week, so I had to take in the win over Montana then because I failed to finish last week's WMNSS before that game was over. I'll be able to get back on track this week, which contains only one win, over Richmond. But that it was a road game, against a not-too bad mid-major program, and they beat them by 15, makes me think that this is a statement that this team will not need to bottom out as they begin a new coaching regime under Richard Pitino. While they lost a sizable amount of minutes and talent, namely Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams, the veterans on this team, notably Andre and Austin Hollins, are responding to Pitino's up-tempo, fast-break style. If this keeps up, this might prove to be a case where a coaching change was the only thing that was needed. Maybe Tubby Smith was able to recruit great players, but it was Pitino who in fact was able to bring out the best in them. We'll see how this team fares in home games versus Coastal Carolina tonight and Wofford Thursday before they head off to the Maui Invitational and face quarterfinal opponent Syracuse Monday.
#-1: Gopher men's hockey (Three Weeks Ago: -1). Oh, shit, you've got to be kidding me. I forgot to put them in last week's survey even though they played, and in two very important games in Notre Dame, the first of which counts as the team's first official loss of the season. (I count their October 25 game at home against Boston College, which goes down as a 3-all tie, as a loss because it was "decided" in a shootout.) I totally missed that Fighting Irish series because it kind of got lost in the shuffle amid all the other teams in the WMNSS I have to account for this time of year. That oversight was compounded, however, because the week prior to that was their bye week. I shouldn't have put them in two weeks ago, but this is a case where not seeing them in that survey led me to leave them out again. So it's been three long damn weeks since they were here.
I can't turn back time, so I can only account for all the games they played since they were last in. So that's the win and loss to Notre Dame plus their combined 7-1 sweep of in-state little runt Minnesota State-Mankato. 3-1 isn't bad. In fact, it's good enough for the team to retain its #1 ranking in the USCHO.com Top 20, alongside the Gopher women. That meant I had enough justification to keep them at the same rank they were the last time they were on the WMNSS. Sure, that also meant I had to artificially inflate the rank of the Gopher men's basketball team, and thus the Wild above them. But it's only right.
They are in the middle pair of a six-game homestand this weekend, when they face former conference rival (and less in-state little runt compared to MSU-Mankato) Minnesota-Duluth Friday and Sunday.
#-2: Timberwolves (Last Week: -5). This week they held home court in beating imploding Cleveland (this is an interesting case, the Cavaliers) and tanking Boston. Those wins buttress a 117-113 loss in Denver. That defeat was on the road, and even though the Nuggets are a backsliding team, they almost won and they played at high altitude, so I'm not too worried. In fact, three of their four losses so far this season were by four points or less. That has to be a testament to their competitiveness. Also, no big injuries so far. Fingers crossed.
Busy week with five games: at Washington and home to the Clippers back-to-back; hosting Brooklyn and visiting Houston back-to-back; then they go to Indiana.
#-3: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -2). You see, we're probably going to go through this .500, good at home/bad on the road thing fucking again. They follow up a 25-point clobbering of Charlotte at Williams Arena with a non-competitive-seeming 63-52 loss at Creighton, its first of the year. The story's gotten old, and I have no afterword for it.
As most big schools do, this program has loaded up its non-con schedule with home games. They have the first two of a three-game homestand this week: Tomorrow (Wednesday) in an intriguing matchup against Kansas, then Sunday afternoon vs. Navy.
#-4: Vikings (Last Week: -3). I caught some of the first half of the game at the MOA Hooters. Once that asshole Percy Harvin returned that kickoff to midfield and Seattle was able to punch it into the endzone just before halftime to make it a ten-point game, I figured I could go to my car and not hear about the rest of the game. Turns out I was right, although by the score they let things get away from them in the second half.
Before that bad omen before the end of the half the ViQueens, and Christian Ponder, seemed to be holding their own against the Seahawks. I thought there was a decent chance they could at least cover the spread. But, apparently, Ponder threw back-to-back picks that he quickly was given total blame for, and Seattle ran up 41 points for the game. And now Ponder, apparently, has put the nail in his own coffin, if he was given a nail gun before the cover closed on him.
Not to say that I believe he's going to be a Hall of Fame Quarterback, or even if he's the answer to the Vikes' woes. But the hating on Ponder is overblown. First of all, this is Seattle, and the club was playing in Seattle. They're a good team; more of a fact that Ponder sucks as QB is the fact that Seattle is miles better talent-wise than Minnesota. A pounding should not be a surprise. To me, people are acting like Ponder was supposed to win them the game; in reality it sounds like all facets of the team (though the offensive line was absolute shit the whole game) are to blame. Moreover, Head Coach Leslie Frazier benched Ponder for Matt Cassel, and he promptly threw an interception. I guess he could throw the keys to Josh Freeman again, but if the gossip is to be believed, the coaching staff is so unimpressed of how he's practicing that they know he'll just do a repeat flop of his New York Giants performance.
Meanwhile, don't believe next Sunday's game in Green Bay is a foregone conclusion. They are a carcass of what they once were since Aaron Rodgers got injured. They lost to the Giants -- sure, they're different from the winless team that busted their slump against the ViQueens, but no one's saying Big Blue is an elite team. I really think that a mobile QB that can improvise while scrambling could give the Packers a lot of problems. Freeman can't be that guy because his throws sail into the upper deck, and Cassel is a fucking statue back there. Like it or not, Ponder could be a weapon in this game. On the other hand, while Scott Tolzien has been throwing for a very good amount of yards since he stepped in a week ago for Rodgers's back-up, Seneca Wallace, he has been very susceptible to throwing picks. This might be a game where the much-maligned defense rises up and gets an interception or two. Unfortunately, if I correctly read between the lines from Frazier's Monday afternoon press conference, Ponder can't be used because they've thrown him under the bus. They might rue that overreaction.
#-5: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -8). Swept Ohio St. at home; was swept by Penn St. at home. A maddening concretizing (I know that's not a word, just bear with me) -- of where this program is and has been for years now. Volleyball aficionados probably know that the University of Minnesota can be penned into getting to the Sweet Sixteen every NCAA Tournament. Conversely, they also know that there's no chance in hell they'd win the championship. They are seemingly permanently very good and never excellent. Penn St. is excellent. Nebraska, despite some hiccups, is excellent, Minnesota will always show up, get third or fourth place in the Big Ten, win with relative ease in the first two rounds of the tourney, then lose. These results scream where this squad's place is. And it's getting to be stultifying. They travel to the Michigan schools this weekend.
#-Infinity: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -6). Welp, they get bounced in the first round at Texas Tech, 3-nil. Jessica Fuston scored the game-winner; Janine Beckie score the insurance and putaway goals. Not a crime to go one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament; after all, 32 teams had to do it, among them national seeds Marquette, Central Florida and Denver. What is disturbing, however, is that this club finished their season with three straight blowout losses: 3-1 to Illinois in the regular season finale; 4-1 to Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten Conference tournament; and now to the Red Raiders. Did the team just run out of gas? Or did dissension within the ranks finally boil over at the worst possible time? Guess we'll see next year. I'll be there; the program ain't too shabby and I like the atmosphere of Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, even though the public address announcer is kind of annoying, and I hate how he plays "Sweet Caroline" every fucking halftime.
Positive Numbers: Wild (Last Week: -4). It does help that all of them were at home. They were all one-goal affairs, and they did have to beat Toronto in a shootout. Nevertheless, the Minnesota North Stars v.2.0 went 3-0 to reach 30 points only 21 games into the season. They'll need to keep up: They would lead the Eastern Conference but is only fifth in the West (though in second place behind Chicago).
The big revelation this week is the sterling play of backup Goaltender Josh Harding, who substituted for Nicklas Backstrom after he got plowed over in the Maple Leafs game. Harding stopped 64 shots over the three games (including the two in the shootout win over Toronto) and earned the National Hockey League's Third Star for the week. This only fuels more speculation that the Wild might be able to part ways with Backstrom (and give itself a little salary cap relief in the process).
As the past screening week contained an entire homestand, the next screening week comprises the squad's roadtrip: Montreal tonight (Tuesday), Ottawa Wednesday, Winnipeg (who they beat 2-1 in front of a sizable pro-Jet crowd -- and remember, at the X) Saturday, and St. Louis Monday.
#0: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -1). I missed the deadline last week, so I had to take in the win over Montana then because I failed to finish last week's WMNSS before that game was over. I'll be able to get back on track this week, which contains only one win, over Richmond. But that it was a road game, against a not-too bad mid-major program, and they beat them by 15, makes me think that this is a statement that this team will not need to bottom out as they begin a new coaching regime under Richard Pitino. While they lost a sizable amount of minutes and talent, namely Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams, the veterans on this team, notably Andre and Austin Hollins, are responding to Pitino's up-tempo, fast-break style. If this keeps up, this might prove to be a case where a coaching change was the only thing that was needed. Maybe Tubby Smith was able to recruit great players, but it was Pitino who in fact was able to bring out the best in them. We'll see how this team fares in home games versus Coastal Carolina tonight and Wofford Thursday before they head off to the Maui Invitational and face quarterfinal opponent Syracuse Monday.
#-1: Gopher men's hockey (Three Weeks Ago: -1). Oh, shit, you've got to be kidding me. I forgot to put them in last week's survey even though they played, and in two very important games in Notre Dame, the first of which counts as the team's first official loss of the season. (I count their October 25 game at home against Boston College, which goes down as a 3-all tie, as a loss because it was "decided" in a shootout.) I totally missed that Fighting Irish series because it kind of got lost in the shuffle amid all the other teams in the WMNSS I have to account for this time of year. That oversight was compounded, however, because the week prior to that was their bye week. I shouldn't have put them in two weeks ago, but this is a case where not seeing them in that survey led me to leave them out again. So it's been three long damn weeks since they were here.
I can't turn back time, so I can only account for all the games they played since they were last in. So that's the win and loss to Notre Dame plus their combined 7-1 sweep of in-state little runt Minnesota State-Mankato. 3-1 isn't bad. In fact, it's good enough for the team to retain its #1 ranking in the USCHO.com Top 20, alongside the Gopher women. That meant I had enough justification to keep them at the same rank they were the last time they were on the WMNSS. Sure, that also meant I had to artificially inflate the rank of the Gopher men's basketball team, and thus the Wild above them. But it's only right.
They are in the middle pair of a six-game homestand this weekend, when they face former conference rival (and less in-state little runt compared to MSU-Mankato) Minnesota-Duluth Friday and Sunday.
#-2: Timberwolves (Last Week: -5). This week they held home court in beating imploding Cleveland (this is an interesting case, the Cavaliers) and tanking Boston. Those wins buttress a 117-113 loss in Denver. That defeat was on the road, and even though the Nuggets are a backsliding team, they almost won and they played at high altitude, so I'm not too worried. In fact, three of their four losses so far this season were by four points or less. That has to be a testament to their competitiveness. Also, no big injuries so far. Fingers crossed.
Busy week with five games: at Washington and home to the Clippers back-to-back; hosting Brooklyn and visiting Houston back-to-back; then they go to Indiana.
#-3: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -2). You see, we're probably going to go through this .500, good at home/bad on the road thing fucking again. They follow up a 25-point clobbering of Charlotte at Williams Arena with a non-competitive-seeming 63-52 loss at Creighton, its first of the year. The story's gotten old, and I have no afterword for it.
As most big schools do, this program has loaded up its non-con schedule with home games. They have the first two of a three-game homestand this week: Tomorrow (Wednesday) in an intriguing matchup against Kansas, then Sunday afternoon vs. Navy.
#-4: Vikings (Last Week: -3). I caught some of the first half of the game at the MOA Hooters. Once that asshole Percy Harvin returned that kickoff to midfield and Seattle was able to punch it into the endzone just before halftime to make it a ten-point game, I figured I could go to my car and not hear about the rest of the game. Turns out I was right, although by the score they let things get away from them in the second half.
Before that bad omen before the end of the half the ViQueens, and Christian Ponder, seemed to be holding their own against the Seahawks. I thought there was a decent chance they could at least cover the spread. But, apparently, Ponder threw back-to-back picks that he quickly was given total blame for, and Seattle ran up 41 points for the game. And now Ponder, apparently, has put the nail in his own coffin, if he was given a nail gun before the cover closed on him.
Not to say that I believe he's going to be a Hall of Fame Quarterback, or even if he's the answer to the Vikes' woes. But the hating on Ponder is overblown. First of all, this is Seattle, and the club was playing in Seattle. They're a good team; more of a fact that Ponder sucks as QB is the fact that Seattle is miles better talent-wise than Minnesota. A pounding should not be a surprise. To me, people are acting like Ponder was supposed to win them the game; in reality it sounds like all facets of the team (though the offensive line was absolute shit the whole game) are to blame. Moreover, Head Coach Leslie Frazier benched Ponder for Matt Cassel, and he promptly threw an interception. I guess he could throw the keys to Josh Freeman again, but if the gossip is to be believed, the coaching staff is so unimpressed of how he's practicing that they know he'll just do a repeat flop of his New York Giants performance.
Meanwhile, don't believe next Sunday's game in Green Bay is a foregone conclusion. They are a carcass of what they once were since Aaron Rodgers got injured. They lost to the Giants -- sure, they're different from the winless team that busted their slump against the ViQueens, but no one's saying Big Blue is an elite team. I really think that a mobile QB that can improvise while scrambling could give the Packers a lot of problems. Freeman can't be that guy because his throws sail into the upper deck, and Cassel is a fucking statue back there. Like it or not, Ponder could be a weapon in this game. On the other hand, while Scott Tolzien has been throwing for a very good amount of yards since he stepped in a week ago for Rodgers's back-up, Seneca Wallace, he has been very susceptible to throwing picks. This might be a game where the much-maligned defense rises up and gets an interception or two. Unfortunately, if I correctly read between the lines from Frazier's Monday afternoon press conference, Ponder can't be used because they've thrown him under the bus. They might rue that overreaction.
#-5: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -8). Swept Ohio St. at home; was swept by Penn St. at home. A maddening concretizing (I know that's not a word, just bear with me) -- of where this program is and has been for years now. Volleyball aficionados probably know that the University of Minnesota can be penned into getting to the Sweet Sixteen every NCAA Tournament. Conversely, they also know that there's no chance in hell they'd win the championship. They are seemingly permanently very good and never excellent. Penn St. is excellent. Nebraska, despite some hiccups, is excellent, Minnesota will always show up, get third or fourth place in the Big Ten, win with relative ease in the first two rounds of the tourney, then lose. These results scream where this squad's place is. And it's getting to be stultifying. They travel to the Michigan schools this weekend.
#-Infinity: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -6). Welp, they get bounced in the first round at Texas Tech, 3-nil. Jessica Fuston scored the game-winner; Janine Beckie score the insurance and putaway goals. Not a crime to go one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament; after all, 32 teams had to do it, among them national seeds Marquette, Central Florida and Denver. What is disturbing, however, is that this club finished their season with three straight blowout losses: 3-1 to Illinois in the regular season finale; 4-1 to Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten Conference tournament; and now to the Red Raiders. Did the team just run out of gas? Or did dissension within the ranks finally boil over at the worst possible time? Guess we'll see next year. I'll be there; the program ain't too shabby and I like the atmosphere of Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, even though the public address announcer is kind of annoying, and I hate how he plays "Sweet Caroline" every fucking halftime.
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