(First of all, I have to note that last week's Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey sported eight teams. This week's only has five. God I love that. I don't have to slave over this entry for hours. It's like the summer, where all I have to write about are the Twins. I'll have to enjoy this one-week respite, however, because next week's WMNSS will be larger than five.)
#-1: Vikings (Last Week: -7). Finally I have an excuse to put this excuse of a professional football team on top of the WMNSS. Have they been on top ever this year? Seeing as they would have had only three other chances, I'm going to say no.
They get the top spot because this is the ViQueens' first win of the season where they didn't have to hold their breath through the end of the game. Moreover, this easy-breezy 48-30 win came against the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that had the longest active winning streak in the National Football League (the Vikes broke their five-game winning streak) and is in the middle of a war of attrition with the Dallas Cowboys to win the National Football Conference East Division and what will definitely be that division's only playoff berth. The Iggles are a pretty good team (though not the offensive juggernaut some people speculated because of rookie Head Coach Chip Kelly, who pioneered the read option at Oregon), and many people rightly thought they would win.
But then again this is the NFL, and although I wouldn't have bet any money on it, I really thought the Purple had more than a fighting chance to win, if only just because. Turns out they were the offensive juggernaut, led with a more than professional performance by, of all people, Matt Cassel. Which raises a dilemma: Would you put in a journeyman Quarterback whose prime years are behind him as the starter for a team that is still in need of a serious overhaul in personnel?
One other thing: Matt Asiata did something Adrian Peterson has never done: Score three touchdowns in a game. Good to see for a third-stringer filling in after Peterson and Toby Gerhardt had to sit out the game due to injuries. I am surprised, however, that no broadcast I heard mentioned that almost two months ago Asiata lost his father, who was killed when the coach bus he was driving rammed into the back of a construction vehicle. I hope his father is proud of him.
Meanwhile, I am kind of bummed I didn't pick him up to replace Peterson in my lineup. I had no thought he would be able to score three TDs. As I write this I am about to lose my fantasy league semifinal. I came into Monday a little more than three points behind. My opponent and I have one Detroit Lion playing in the Monday night game -- he has Calvin Johnson, I have Joique Bell. I could have sewn up a spot in our title game if I just picked up Asiata. Damn.
The only downside to winning is that the Vikings fell in the draft order from fourth to eighth. They might have played themselves out of being to select one of the best QBs in the draft. Then again, they might already have the QB that they need. Their penultimate game is this Sunday afternoon at Cincinnati.
#-2: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -1). Pasted cupcake South Dakota St. (well, they are a cupcake now that Nate Wolters has graduated) at Williams Arena last Tuesday 75-59. Not as impressive as the Vikings beating the Eagles, that's for sure. Austin Hollins crossed 1,000 points in that victory and was named Big Ten Conference Player Of The Week. That's all I've got. They cross the middle of their seven-game homestand Friday against Nebraska-Omaha.
#-3: Timberwolves (Last Week: -6). Hmmm ... I thought a couple weeks ago that they hit a rut. But they haven't gotten out of that rut since, and now I'm scared that this team trading wins and losses just about in equal measure is its true nature. They had a busy week, going 3-2. Four of those games were on the road, winning at Detroit and, more impressively, Memphis, but losing in San Antonio and, on Monday night, Boston. (The Woofie Dogs' only home game was a 106-99 win over Philadelphia.)
This team was once riding home in the Western Conference. But now, if the season ended today, they would be as out of the postseason as they have been the past decade. Thing is, the conferences are so unbalanced that the Woofs would not only be in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but be ranked fourth. This week they host Portland before doing yet another two-game stand at Staples against the Lakers and Clippers.
#-4: Wild (Last Week: -5). Odd how both winter leagues, the NBA and the NHL, are dominated by the Western Conference -- tilted as a fat kid and a toddler on a see-saw. Like the Timberwolves, if the Mild were in the Eastern Conference, they would be tied for third. Alas, they are not, and therefore stand with the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, by virtue of a 1-2 screening week -- and they had to rally to tie and eventually beat Colorado in a shootout Saturday lest they go winless for the week. They had a tough trio to play on the road, and while they only lost 2-1 in Anaheim, losing 3-1 to San Jose in a game where they weren't even that competitive is worrisome. Maybe Mikael Granlund coming back from injury will help things. This week they start with a single home game (against Vancouver tonight [Tuesday night]) that is sandwiched by a pair of three-game road trips. The "heel" of this sandwich finishes out the rest of the week, and is out east: Pittsburgh, the Rangers, and Philadelphia.
#-Infinity: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -2). As I continue to say, there is no other school I can think of where being a consistent Sweet 16 team is virtually assured while knowing that there is absolutely no chance it can ever win a championship. So it goes for the moderately successful and popular Minnesota volleyball program. That five-set struggle against Colorado was an omen; they were swept in Friday's regional semifinal against Stanford, even though the sets were close, 26-23-22. With that they say goodbye to Alexandra Palmer, Ashley Wittman and Tori Dixon, three players who led this team to ... another Sweet 16. I don't mean to demean them; without this trio of very good athletes the U. would not be where they are right now, which is the envy of a lot of colleges without good volleyball programs. Still, if this is the best these ladies can do, maybe Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon's slow turnover to recruits outside of the state of Minnesota may be something to tolerate, if not embrace. I want to fucking see this team win an NCAA title some goddamn day before I die, is what I'm saying.
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