#0: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -2). In a pretty good week for Twin Cities (where, once again, the U. sports squads lap the pro sports teams), I have to give the top spot to the second-ranked Gopher grapplers. In fact, I'll bump them up a spot for their lone game of the week, a thrilling road victory over the fourth-ranked Oklahoma St. Cowboys Sunday.
My first-ever Gopher wrestling match was the first of these home-and-home duals last year, when the two teams played at the Sports Pavilion and the U. got their asses handed to them. It must seem sweet to avenge the loss, and to do it against a team that, although ranked lower, had home-mat advantage.
And Okie St. was about to run away from this match like they did last year's as well. After splitting decisions the first four matches, the Cowboys strung three in a row to take a 15-6 lead. But Kevin Steinhaus was able to decision majorly opponent Jordan Rogers 14-5 at 184 pounds, getting Minnesota to a 15-10, not a 15-9. result. That extra fourth point will turn out to be important. After Scott Schiller whipped Blake Rosholt 8-2 at 197, Heavyweight Anthony Nelson outpointed OSU's Austin Marsden 2-0 to complete the comeback and win 16-15. OK, so maybe the comeback isn't so far-fetched; after all, both Schiller and Nelson are ranked #1 in their weight classes. But they needed every single result to pull out the win, and they did. So because they avenged last year's loss by defeating a very good team on the road in come-from-behind fashion, I'm giving them 0.
They are off until the sport's annual New Year's Day event, the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn.
#-1: Gopher men's basketball (Re-Entry!). Oh, the luxury of being a BcS school: You get to load your non-conference schedule with home games. This past week began the first two games of a six-game homestand. And it proved to be the perfect antidote for their rough trip to the Maui Invitational. They coasted to a relatively easy 71-61 over Florida St., doing their part for the Big Ten in its annual challenge with the ACC. They then followed that up with an even easier 80-65 victory over New Orleans, a program that not too long ago was contemplating busting down all their sports to a lower division. I don't know if these two wins are an accurate barometer of how good Richard Pitino's team is. Those two losses in Maui probably exposed this team as one still transitioning to their new head coach. But hey, those are two victories. They host South Dakota St. tonight.
#-2: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -1). Was able to see the first- and second-round wins at the Pav last weekend. They had little trouble dispatching Radford; the Highlanders' last stand was in the second set, when they managed to tie the Gophers up to 11 before the U. won the set 25-19. They were spent for the third, where they were held to eight points as they lost the match. By the way, my heart goes out to Jesse Miedema, Right Side and Radford's only senior. After the loss I saw her using the front of her jersey to wipe away the tears from her face. I'm glad Minnesota advanced, but I had not realized until seeing Miedema crying that I had just witnessed the end of an important chapter in a player's life, as well as probably the end of her playing career.
I was able to catch the first match of Friday's doubleheader, where Colorado dropped the first set but came back to defeat Iowa St. in four. Another single guy watching up in the rafters with me noted that neither the Buffaloes nor the Cyclones were playing very good. Colorado pulled out the win because of their frontline; I thought that they couldn't dig worth a damn but they sure as hell could block. Didn't think the U. had much of an issue that next day.
Well, touch me in the morning and then just walk away -- the Buffaloes took the Gophers to the edge and then some. Minnesota took the first two sets and looked like they were going to coast to the Sweet 16. But ... and I wish my level of expertise in volleyball matched my interest, but Colorado Head Coach Liz Kritza made an adjustment, and all of a sudden the Buffaloes were making huge runs against the U. Before I knew it, Colorado took the third set, and handily, 25-17. Appeared as if the Gophers woke up to this sudden plot twist later, as they dropped the fourth set, 25-21. By the fifth and deciding set, however, they did what they did not do the previous two sets -- get off to a good start. The club ripped off three in a row to break a 3-3 tie in the fifth and win, relatively easily, 15-9.
I still don't know what the hell happened. Things were on track, and then they weren't, and they weren't able to adjust until just in the nick of time. That doesn't bode well for this weekend. They travel to Lexington, Ky. to face 7-seed Stanford (Minnesota's the 10-seed) Friday. Win that somehow and then they get to match up, once again, with their nemesis, 2-seed Penn St., Saturday.
#-3: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -5). With the folks gone I had the freedom to leave whenever I wanted Thursday evening to take in the lady U. b-ball's version of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, where they faced Miami. It was cold and I was kind of spooked by the recent spate of robberies and assaults around campus, so I thought about paying for parking closer to Williams Arena. But when I got there all I saw was that event parking was $10. Ten bucks?! No fucking way, not even in this cold weather. Shit, I get in free, so I'm not going to spend more money this night parking then I'll spend on food and drink inside.
And so my adventure began. I had always thought that I need to find other free parking places besides where campus housing is, across 35W, especially if I want to go to games that are even further from where I usually park. The university itself is a good 15 minutes' walk, and the sports complexes at the U. are on the other side of that. So I found a lonely street close to University. The only sign said there was one-hour parking from 8 until 6. Good thing the game started at 8. Good thing also it was ass-freezing outside -- and, to be honest, that this was a women's basketball game, for there was only one other car on this street. I was afraid my car would get towed because a snow emergency was in effect at the time. I would have felt better if there were more cars to indicate it was safe to park there, to be honest. But the snow this side of the sidewalk looked plowed, plus my parsimony won out; I parked my parents' minivan behind this car, prayed, and started the long walk to The Barn.
I faced a crossroads when I hit the business end of TCF Bank Stadium. I took the right side around the stadium, thinking I would hit Williams before I got halfway around Das Bank. But I didn't. Shit, I should've went around the left. I need to know this area a little better. If I did, I would have gotten to the game in time. Once I stepped inside the lobby and my glasses fogged up, they were less than a minute into the game. Thing is, however, that I got there at 8 on the dot. I didn't like that I took the long way to the game, but I also thought that since this game was being broadcast on Big Ten Network, the game would not start at straight-up 8. You know, the broadcast team would have an introduction, they would take a commercial break, and they'd start the game at, you know, 8 after or something. But no, they didn't here. Funny.
Wow, this is taking really long to write this.
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They were destroying the Hurricanes, leading at the half 42-23. But, like Colorado in women's volleyball, Miami Head Coach Katie Meier made adjustments. What followed was, I think, the worst four minutes I've seen the University of Minnesota women's basketball team ever play -- and with the fallow seasons they've had recently, that's saying something. Beyond pressing, I still have no idea how the Goofers choked on the massive lead they had, but the 'Canes started the second half on a 13-0 run. It was around that time that Rachel Banham, who had to be helped off the court late in the first half, which is when my stomach got stuck in my throat, picked up her third foul. And then, with eight minutes gone in the half, Center Amanda Zuhui B. (named B-1-G Player and Freshman Of The Week) fouled out. This was the perfect recipe of an all-time collapse. Yet somehow, Miami never got closer than six points. The scant Williams Arena crowd was on pins and needles for the rest of the game, but somehow Minnesota outlasted the Hurricanes 74-67.
That injury that necessitated Banham getting carried out of the 'Cane game was a bone bruise in her right knee. In an abundance of caution, Head Coach Pam Borton benched her for the next game, at home against North Dakota. And her absence made it abundantly clear that without Banham, Minnesota ain't shit. Guard Shayne Mullaney drove for the game-winning basket with four seconds left as the Goofs survived the North Dakota Still Unnameds by a score of, get this, 46-44. Oh yeah, and this time they were the ones trailing at the half in a big way, 31-18. Oy vey.
Borton needs Banham to rest. Good thing the schedule affords precisely that. The U. is off till the 20th, where they host the Subway Classic, a three-team round robin with UCLA (Friday) and Auburn (Sunday; Saturday the Bruins and Tigers face each other).
Oh, by the way, my car was still there when I went back to it.
#-4: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: 0). OK, I don't know if the WCHA did it this way last year, but I guess the Big Ten tabulates standings with both records and points. Officially, the Gophers went to Michigan St. and notched a win and a tie. But there is a shootout at the end of overtime because the winner of that gets awarded a point, and I think it's points that ultimately count in the standings. If that's the case, the Spartans got the extra point because they won that shootout that Friday. So, in my mind, the U. lost that game. I really don't get that. Either make them play until a goal's scored, or leave the game a tie and award a point to both sides. Don't half-ass this.
Yeah for me! I don't have to write about this team for a month! Not that I'm saying I don't like this team, I really do. But if you've read this far, you have to understand how long it's taking me to type all this out. Frankly, right now I will take any screening week where I need to cover fewer teams. And this squad doesn't play until the Mariucci Classic just after the New Year.
#-5: Wild (Last Week: -7). Getting into a meatier part of their schedule, the team had a 2-1 week. They came back from a 3-2 deficit late in the game to notch two goals in a thrilling 4-3 at Xcel over hated Chicago Thursday. But it's a sign that this team still has a ways to go from being a Stanley Cup contender when they have to turn around to play on the road the next day and get thumped by a not very good Columbus club 4-0. They at least came back to beat a pretty good San Jose team 3-1 Sunday -- at home, of course. They are tied for fifth in the Western Conference. If the Mild were in the East, they'd be tied for third.
Unfortunately for this team this week will entirely be played on the road, and all against very good teams they're fighting with in the West: Anaheim Wednesday, San Jose Thursday, Colorado Saturday.
#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -6). Well, looky here -- the Woofie Dogs are back under .500. I thought things would be different this year. Guess not. Then again, this year is already much different than any other year in one small respect: They've never had to cancel a game because of a blown generator.
Wednesday's special "home" game against San Antonio in Mexico city was not just postponed but cancelled because a few hours before the game was supposed to begin, smoke enveloped the arena floor. Everybody was ordered to evacuate. And the NBA just decided to not play. Now, there are many things that raise conspiracy theories. First of all the Wolves played next on Saturday, so they had time to squeeze in this game. Also, this arena was, at most, three years old. Finally, this is part of the Association's international push. Why pull the plug so quickly if you took such extraordinary steps to set up something so special? You would bend over backwards to get this game in, you know?
That game Saturday, by the way, was home to World Champion Miami. They were playing without Kevin Love, who was attending the funeral of his grandmother (my condolences), so they obviously got the shit kicked out of them, 103-82. They were such gracious hosts, in fact, that they were running a promotion where, for a not-so-small fee, you got the chance to high-five the Miami Heat as they ran out onto the court. What the hell? Promote the other team for some fucking reason, even if it is LeBron James and Dwyane Wade? This reminds me of the 90's L.A. Clippers.
They're beating Detroit right now. Need to get this done before that game's over. Tomorrow they host Philadelphia. They then embark on a three-game road trip, starting with San Antonio Friday, Memphis Sunday and Boston Monday.
#-7: Vikings (Last Week: -4). I had Sunday off. Woke up at 10, decided to dink around and eat leftovers in the fridge. I got done eating by the time the Vikings game began at high noon. I wanted to see it, then I remembered that this team blows, so why would I want to stay up for yet another disaster? So I decided to crawl into bed and watch the game lying down; if I fall asleep, I fall asleep.
And I did, from about 12:30 to 3:30. Missed the end of the game -- well, most of the game, actually. And seeing that they lost yet another game by yielding a touchdown in the final seconds, I count myself blessed. Then again, I missed an NFL-record six lead changes in the fourth quarter and what probably is an NFL-record five touchdowns scored in the last 2:05. That's fucking nuts, and might be something I would stay up for, if my team wound up on the winning side. Which they didn't.
Home to Philadelphia this Sunday.
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