I'm going to do this week's WMNSS real quick because I have to wake up at 5:30 and I can't do this at the game because people will look at me funny and Amazon said the Rescue Tape is late and I am pissed as fuck about that.
#-1: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: 0). I did not notice on their schedule that their game against Cal Poly Wednesday was an afternoon matinee designed as a field trip for gradeschoolers. I remember as a kid we went to a Twins game. Kansas City throttled the Twinks for, like ten runs in the top of the first and we all lost interest immediately. Well, the opposite happened for this club: They destroyed the Mustangs, 112-68, and since I heard the part of the game online where the Golden Gophers started pulling away, dare I say that it wasn't even that close. They finish up their non-con Friday (afternoon, again) at home versus Cal-Riverside.
#-2: Vikings (Last Week: Positive Numbers). I know that their winning streak ended at eight games Sunday after losing at Carolina. But hear me out. First of all, I'm not really putting too much thought into this survey. Second of all, they are still in command of the NFC North, and if they win today (Sunday) vs. a Cincinnati Bengals squad in contention for the playoffs in name only, they clinch the division, a playoff spot, and at least one home game. Third of all, even though they relinquished the overall #1 seed in the NFC back to Philadelphia, they are still #2, so they remain in line for a bye. And finally, the Eagles won last week, but Carson Wentz tore his ACL and he's done for the year. He was the main reason the Iggles turned into a juggernaut, and now with Nick Foles having to pilot that squad, chances are good that the Vikes reclaim the top spot and thus home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Oh, and I think a loss is good for them. Famous last words, huh?
#-3: Gopher wrestling (Re-Entry!). Crushed Fresno St. at Maturi Sunday, 38-7. Giving them plaudits now since I doubt they'll be this high in the WMNSS again this year. No Chattanooga for New Year's this year; they will instead be in Ft. Lauderdale just before 2017 ends for this thing called South Beach Duals.
#-4: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -Infinity). Offseason good news and bad news. The good news is that Opposite Hitter Stephanie Samedy was named First-Team All-American. (Even better, she's only a Freshman.) The bad news actually comes from my alma mater. Mick Haley, who eliminated Minnesota this year, was let go. Don't know how a Head Coach could have his contract cancelled after an Elite Eight appearance. In fact, many speculate that he was fired, and if that's the case, a lot of people are angry at Athletic Director Lynn Swann for pushing Haley out the door.
What has this got to do with the U.? Like Minnesota, my alma mater is a great and well-funded program. Let the speculation that HC Hugh McCutcheon will take his talents to South Central. Watch this space.
#-5: Wild (Last Week: -3). They actually went 3-1 this week. But it was so laborious -- they beat the Sharks in San Jose in Overtime and had to outlast Calgary in a Shootout at home before blanking Toronto in regulation 2-0 -- that it seems like they were under for the screening week. Oh, and they lost to a flailing Edmonton club at home last (Saturday) night, too. This week comprises a road trip where they play every other day: Chicago, Ottawa, Florida and Tampa Bay.
#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -1). These games were all at home and every other day, just like what the Mild will see this week. Beat Dallas and Sacramento, but lost to Philadelphia and Phoenix. And by the way the Woofie Dogs blew a lead and succumbed to the 76ers in Overtime and seeing how they choked on a 15-point lead (their largest blown loss yet this year) last/Saturday night on their way to a defeat by the Suns, and I am now totally convinced that Tom Thibodeau is not a savior but is in fact the obstacle to this franchise's long-term success. I might cover this topic more in-depth next week, but the fact that he overly relies on his starters shows in tired legs in the Fourth Quarter, which leads to, well, blown leads such as the two losses this week. Moreover, all this run is going to do long-term damage to the team, and in particular Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Thibs's hard-driving style is going to shorten careers; see the premature demises of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah when Thibodeau was coaching the Chicago Bulls to see a stark example. And that is unacceptable in a marathon like the NBA season.
They finish a five-game homestand vs. Portland Monday before visiting Denver and the Suns, again.
#-7: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -4). OK, so these guys are at the bottom of the survey even though they won their only game of the screening week. But you have to consider that they were heavy favorites Monday against Drake at Williams, and yet struggled mightily before somehow nipping the Bulldogs in the bud, 68-67. No question this feels like a loss, similar to the two actual defeats these Goofers suffered before playing Monday. And seeing how they almost lost at home to an inferior moment shows that there still is something very, very wrong with a squad that was flying so high not too long ago.
Finals apparently are over for these players, for they play two games at the Barn this week: Oral Roberts Thursday, Florida Atlantic Saturday.
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