#-1: Vikings (Re-Entry!). So far, so good. In fact, is it possible this is the most impressive Week 1 victory in recent years? Yes, it's the Bastard Cleveland-By-Way-Of-Los Angeles Rams, they lost their starting Quarterback before the season began and lost the backup at halftime, but 1) it was on the road, 2) it ostensibly has a fearsome defense (and yes, it didn't come out that way), and 3) this is the ViQueens -- did you really think they'd be able to dominate a hurt, demoralized team?
This win is what good teams do to bad teams -- take them out, utterly and firmly. There was a professionalism in the way the Vikes handled St. Louis that I hadn't really seen since they went on that four-game run to reach the last playoffs they've been in. Could it be the coaching? Hope so -- Mike Zimmer has inspired these guys and made them guys accountable.
Moreover, the offense has found a creative streak. All the hype surrounding Cordarrelle Patterson was backed up by that quicksilver end-around for a touchdown. It's possible, very possible, that the offense will now revolve around him and not Adrian Peterson. Norv Turner may have had a sketchy track record as a Head Coach, but the Peter Principle may prove that being an Offensive Coodinator is where he excels.
This Sunday they play at TCF Bank Stadium for a two-year bit while Metrodome v.2.0. is being built. They play the New England Patriots, which suddenly looks extremely vulnerable after getting infiltrated repeatedly in their loss at Miami. The defense had a very good game in Week 1, and they could repeat that feat against a franchise held up by many as the best in the National Football League.
#-2: Gopher football (Last Week: -2). They are undefeated for the year -- and this time, they actually beat an opponent in the same class as them. Well, maybe not exactly; Middle Tennessee St. is in the "Group of Five" perjorative that separates them from Minnesota, a member of the "Power Five." (I tried using the term "BcS Five," but I think everybody else wants to retire the letters "BcS" forever more.) But at least they are in top-flight college football, at least technically. What isn't good is that the Goofs squandered a 28-0 halftime lead by surrendering 17 points in the third quarter, and they had to survive the Blue Raiders, 35-24. They almost wasted David Cobb's 220 yards and two TDs on a loss. They also almost lost starting QB Mitch Leidner on a roll-up injury, but it looks like he'll be ready for the next game ... which will be at TCU, a team from the "BcS Five" this Saturday afternoon. I've got a feeling they won't be undefeated after this game.
#-3: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -4). There is something seriously, seriously wrong with this team. Sure, they won all three games of the Yale Tournament over the weekend. But the teams they beat include the Bulldogs and Albany. And the other "marquee" name in the tourney, Boston College, they had to go the distance to beat. Worse than that, they dropped the first two sets in the match. Worst of all, they lost the first set, get this, 25-12. For that reason alone they actually dropped a spot in the AVCA Top 25 poll from 18 to 19. Gophers teams of old would destroy the competition and not drop a set. What the fuck is going on?
They come home to host their annual Diet Coke Classic. Like the Yale Tournament it includes two tomato cans (Tulsa and Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and a reputable program in Iowa St. If they're not careful, they're going to lose that game to the Cyclones. Hell, I'll just say it now: They will lose to the Clones. And the first real serious questions of the direction of this program will be raised.
#-4: Twins (Last Week: -3). Yeah, this club finds new lows. It's a 2-4 week, but those four losses all came at home over the weekend to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angels of Los Angels of Anaheim Angels Of ..., where they were close the first few games and even had leads but finally laid down with a 14-4 defeat on Sunday. (A couple sports dignitaries noted that on Sunday, the Vikings did not surrender a touchdown while the Twinks gave up two.) They did win in a blowout over Chicago (which was the last game of the series and thus averted a sweep, natch) and they held on to win a close on in Cleveland, but there is no way this squad is even in the same, well, ballpark as the best teams in Major League Baseball. This week: They finish their three-game set in Cleveland, spend the weekend against the White Sox in Comiskey, then come home to start a three-game series against Detroit on Monday.
#-5: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -1). Yes, it's the first weekend of September, but it's possible (there goes me overusing that word again) the U. vagina ballers played themselves out of the NCAA Tournament after getting swept in SEC country over the weekend. On Friday they choked on a 2-0 lead on back-to-back tallies by Ole Miss' Olivia Harrison three minutes apart, then lost the game in the 107th by, who else, Olivia Harrison. If a player turns a hat trick on you, it's not good.
They lost blowout instead of choke style Sunday afternoon, 3-1 to Auburn. Those results meant that the writer Chris Henderson of women's soccer blog All White Kit threw the U. out of his project tournament field. Can they turn it around as they start Big Ten play on the road against Michigan and Michigan St.?
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