I don't even know which team members are in the ASG. I know that Bruce Boudreau is coaching a team. Is Ryan Suter in Los Angeles too? Don't know, doesn't really matter.
The team better be careful; out of the break they have a four-game road trip through Western Canada. This week they'll go to finally-good Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
#0: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3). Hmmm, another week where the pro teams are outplaying the college ones? A 3-1 screening week. Sure, they should have beaten Indiana at home Thursday. But in a week where their opponents were imminently beatable, they squeaked by Denver at home (by three points) and the Suns in Phoenix (by one, comeback-style), and crushed Brooklyn, the worst team in the National Basketball Association, at Target by 20. It could be the lull of the middle of the long regular season or the level of competition, but maybe, just maybe, this young but talented team has finally turned the corner.
They have another action-packed week. Home to Orlando (where potential trade candidate Nicola Vujecic is playing), at Cleveland, then at Detroit followed by home vs. Memphis on back-to-back dates.
#-1: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -4). The big news for this club isn't their 28-9 dismantling at Indiana, although a win's better than a loss. As a result of some behind-the-scenes deliberation, former U. great Brandon Eggum had his interim tag ripped off of him and becomes the eighth Head Coach in the U.'s history. I really don't know what convinced Athletic Director Mark Coyle of this decision. Was it their 34-3 pounding at the hands of Oklahoma St. at the Sports Pavilion, or was it the 33-6 shit-kicking they took at the hands of Penn St., also at the Pav, or was it them losing 21-11 to also-ran Nebraska, also at the Pav? (sigh)
From now till the end of the season, they only play on Sunday. This afternoon they are at Purdue.
#-2: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -2). I attended the final day of the North Star College Cup, which was the final, final day of the North Star College Cup. In news that blindsided me on website College Hockey News during the week, it was decided that this year would be its last-ever iteration and that they were pulling the plug.
Those in charge of this tournament, which invited four of the five top-flight college hockey programs in Minnesota to play at the Xcel Energy Center over two days, were candid for their reasons to putting down the NSCC. There wasn't enough fan interest to sustain the tourney, especially when it comes at a time in the schedule when they could use a weekend to schedule a conference opponent, especially one at their respective rinks.
I got to the consolation game between the U. and Bemidji St. midway through the First Period (I was just too tired from exercising to immediately go), and the crowd was, at most, half-full. That confirms the lack of fan appeal that went into the decision to euthanize this tournament. I think officials dreamed that the NSCC would turn into Minnesota's version of the Beanpot, where four Boston-area teams play over the first and second Monday in February in their own local tournament. I know that is immensely popular, and they wanted to replicate that here. After all, this is the self-described State Of Hockey. However, with the Beanpot you are talking about four schools from the same city. For the North Star College Cup, you have to draw crowds from Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato and Bemidji (at least theoretically; maybe the NSCC was banking on alumni from the four outstate schools living in the Twin Cities to fill up the X). Also, the Beanpot began way back in 1952, so it's had half a century to build up a tradition.
And yet, I am sad. This is perfect as a concept. And while I understand this is a business decision, maybe with 50 years of doing this annually, maybe the NSCC would become a big deal. This feels like too good of an idea to just let die. Maybe they need to reschedule it for the workweek, or maybe earlier in the season. In the meantime, maybe the five schools can all agree on keeping this trophy a thing. One idea: Starting next year, the team holding the trophy must put it up in every single game they play against a fellow Minnesota school, regular and postseason. Winner gets the trophy. So if, say, Minnesota-Duluth (which beat St. Cloud St. in Overtime last night to win the "final" NSCC) schedules a series vs. MSU-Mankato (the only one of the five programs not to win the Cup over the series four-year lifespan), and the Mavericks win the first game, they get the North Star College Cup. Then, in the next game, if the Bulldogs win, they get right back. Rinse and repeat, presumably forever. Hey, it's better than this thing being stored in the UMD storage room forever.
Oh yeah, the Gophers ... for their semifinal against second-ranked UMD Friday, Brent Gates, Jr. scored on the Power Play five minutes in ... then the Goofers gave up three goals before losing 3-2. They came back the next night (last night) to blank Bemidji St. (whom I'm surprised is ranked) 4-0. For the record, Minnesota won the first NSCC in 2014, the Beavers won it the next year, and the Huskies won it last year. The U. lost a huge chance to get a leg up on the PairWise, but beating a ranked team below them isn't bad.
Apparently January must be for conference play only (although with the crowds I've seen lately, the Gopher faithful ain't so hot on the Big Ten conference either), and next week they'll be back in the warm and safe space of the B1G. It's a big one -- they host the team that's ahead of them in the standings ... Penn St.?!?!?! The Nittany Lions are now the class of the league? They're ranked fourth in the nation. Hell, last week USCHO ranked them first in the nation!!!
#-3: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -5). In case anyone is paying attention, I think it's about time we buried the Minnesota women's b-ball program. A 12-point defeat to then-#15 Ohio St. Thursday in The Barn now puts them 2-6 in the conference and 11-10 overall. We have to start looking at Marlene Stollings's acumen to recruit, because after Carlie Wagner (who poured in 34 against the Buckeyes but, if I recall correctly, was recruited by predecessor Pam Borton), they have no players. Period. No WNIT, not even the WBI, nuthin'.
Monday comes the annual Pink Game at Williams; in attendance is Stollings's mother, who has beaten cancer. They will
#-4: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -6). As their vagina-filled sistren fall out of postseason consideration entirely, the male basketball team is free-falling through projections for the only postseason tournament that counts. Their losing streak is now at five after gut-check defeats at Ohio St. and home to Maryland. They had leads in both and couldn't finish; even though they have frontcourt size and length, their inability to pull through may be a combination of youth and coaching. So now, Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com has the Gophers as an 8-seed ... and slipping.
They only saving grace is that they have a week off. Unfortunately, their next game, Saturday, will be at Illinois, another game they could certainly lose.
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