#0: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -4). Overall this was a down week for Twin Cities sports. Yet, despite the fact that they had to go to overtime and, well, I'm still pretty pissed off they got upset in last year's title game to Clarkson -- fucking Clarkson! -- after a little bit of self-argument between them and the team below them I have concluded with very little doubt that the University of Minnesota lady icers deserved the top spot for what they did: Go on the road as the #2 team in the nation to face the #1 team in the nation (and hated rival) Wisconsin and get the sweep.
More impressive was that they beat the Badgers both ways. They suffocated the life out of the supposed best team in the land on Friday 4-1 as Plymouth's own Dani Cameranesi broke a 1-all tie with a hat trick. Then with 88 seconds left in regulation, Coon Rapids' own Rachel Bona tied the game on the power play to tie Saturday's game. And with exactly a minute remaining in OT, Chanhassen's own Rachel Ramsey gave the Gophers the win. So of course the U. has retaken the top spot in the poll. And Cameranesi (WCHA Offensive Player Of The Week) and Goalie Amanda Leveille (WCHA Co-Defensive Player Of The Week) were lauded for their efforts.
The squad's next two series are at home. North Dakota comes in Friday and Saturday.
#-1: Gopher football (Last Week: 0). I don't know if Jerry Kill is going to turn this program into a Big Ten power along the likes of Ohio St. and Michigan St. But in the past two years Kill has made a serious case that the U. would be the best of the rest. That may not be a whole lot, but for my entire life they lined the shit bottom of the B1G barrel. They would have folded under the pressure of a bad team (Purdue) pushing back at home for the Homecoming game if this was as recently as three years ago.
But at least there is gumption, if not necessarily talent, with this team. And despite some offensive missteps and penalties in the first half, which led to them going into the tunnel trailing the Boilermakers at halftime, they were able to right the ship and play with some competence in the second half. Then in the fourth quarter they grinded out the victory. First, Kicker Ryan Santoso kicked a 52-yard field goals to finally give the Gophers the lead five minutes into the fourth quarter. It was the longest Minnesota FG since Rhys Lloyd gunned one from 54 in the 2003 season. Then, with 2 1/2 minutes left in the game, Cedric Thompson salted the game away with the second of his two interceptions off Purdue QB Austin Appleby. For their efforts, the U. won a game for the first time after trailing at the half in the Kill Era. And both Santoso and Thompson were lauded by the Big Ten, as, respectively, Special Teams and Defensive Players Of The Week.
They now face what may be considered the last of the easy part of their schedule. They travel to Illinois and face the Fighting Illini in the early game. I wonder if they can overcome their slow start. If they play the first half like they did against the Boilermakers, it may be virtually impossible to come back to win a road game, even against one as weak (and with an embattled Head Coach) as Illinois.
#-2: Wild (Last Week: Positive Numbers). After sweeping the season-opening home-and-home series against The Bastard Quebec Nordiques, Head Coach Mike Yeo was asked how good he feels about his team. "Don't ask me after two games. Ask me after four games," Yeo replied, referring to the Mild's trip to SoCal to face Anaheim and the defending champion Los Angeles Kings.
Yeo had a fantastic point, because the Wild ain't gonna go through the season undefeated. They dropped a pair of 2-1 decisions. Not the most shameful outcome, but it again proves that the Western Conference ain't nuttin' to fuck with. After yet another lengthy beginning-of-the-week break (the loss to the Kings came Sunday afternoon), they kickstart a four-game screening week Thursday when they host The Bastard Winnipeg Jets. They follow that with a game at the X against Tampa Bay before they have a quick two-game road trip against another pair of really good teams: Stanley Cup Final runner-up the New York Rangers and Boston.
#-3: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -1). Yeah, any hopes that the U. would get back to the NCAA Tournament were quashed in a span of 8 1/2 minutes early in the second half. The game-winner apparently was an Olimpico by 15th-ranked Wisconsin's Rose Lavelle. Then Cara Walls poured in her tenth and 11th goals of the season to embarrass the Gophers at Robbie Stadium. The Gophs are above .500 -- 5-4-1 in-conference, 8-7-1 overall -- but that won't cut it.
The sad part about being the first sport in the college sports season is that it's the first to end its season. And for some reason the end of the soccer season seems to come on suddenly. They play their last two home matches this weekend, both against the new members of the B1G: Maryland Friday night (I plan on going), Rutgers Sunday afternoon.
#-4: Vikings (Last Week: -5). Did you hear that there was tension and dissension in the Chicago Bears lockerroom Sunday afternoon after they were upset at home to the Miami Dolphins? Honestly, I was thinking that infighting would happen with the Vikes. So what if they're not as good of a team as Chicago? The way they melted down and lost at Buffalo should result in some finger-pointing.
First of all, how do you allow the Bills (with Quarterback Kyle Orton, once named The Best Backup QB In The NFL) to convert two double-digit downs? And second of all, how could Norv Turner not find a way to get that offense to move the fucking ball so they could score more points? It is obvious that the ViQueens still don't have much talent. But there had to be a plan so that they could keep a lead and preserve a win on the road against a bad team. There may not be any expectations for this club, but I really believe that losing the game in the last second is a neck-breaker, and the players are now done for the season. At Tampa Bay Sunday.
#-Infinity: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -3). Wow. Now this is absolutely fucking humiliating. I never thought that the University of Minnesota volleyball program could stoop to such lows. But after three straight losses, they likely have been thrown out of the AVCA Top 25. This is the worst Minnesota volleyball team I have ever seen.
First of all, the Goofs got swept -- swept! -- in a home-and-home series by Wisconsin, the same Wisconsin squad that changed coaches before last year and saw the new Head Coach take the Badgers to the NCAA title game. What has Hugh McCutcheon done? And was the last time the U. lost 3-zilch to their hated rivals home and away?
Tonight, though, was beyond frustrating, and inexcusable. They were at home tonight against Nebraska and, somehow, won the first sets. But they choked on it, absolutely chocked, and the Cornhuskers have just won to win the game, three sets to two. Yes, this is Nebraska. But how in the fuck does a program as elite as Minnesota piss away a 2-0 lead? I can't ... I can't even. ...
Host Iowa Saturday night, where they'll probably lose, too.
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