The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher softball (Re-Entry!).  This has been a very good week overall for local sports, and the resurgence of several University of Minnesota teams, many of which had perfect screening weeks, is a throwback to what I usually see during this time of year.  So picking a top team this WMNSS was a chore, and eventually I settled on relying on record.  The softball team's perfect 5-0 start to begin the season at the UNLV SportCo Kickoff Classic, where they beat five different teams, is undeniable.  Better yet was the last game, yesterday/Sunday afternoon vs. Creighton, where they were trailing 3-1 heading into the final inning and scored six Runs off the Bluejays to win it.

But nevertheless this is a program in transition.  They are one year removed from both their historic and maybe their strangest season.  That team notched a program high in wins and finished the regular season ranked #1 in the country.  And yet they were neither given a national seed nor awarded hosting duties for the Regional.  Instead they were deemed only the 17th-best team in the nation, forced to play at Alabama, and then promptly lost a pair of 1-0 heartbreakers to the host Crimson Tide, the first of which came in Nine Innings.  After the season, Head Coach Jessica Allister left for her alma mater, Stanford, and Athletic Director Mark Coyle went outside the system to grab Jamie Trachsel from Iowa St.  Oh, and you lose Sara Groenewegen, probably The Best Player In Gophers Softball History, too.

So what to make of all this?  It's a hell of a start, sure.  But you've got a club that will be hard-pressed to reach the heights of a year ago, and will do it under a new regime.  And this may just be me, but when you can't justify national outrage of being snubbed and in fact prove the NCAA Selection Committee correct, you bear a cross that you damn well better get yourself down from this season.  You've got Groenewegen's replacement as star on the team, Catcher Kendyl Lindaman, but you're still going to replace a lot.

The B1G/ACC Challenge apparently isn't just for basketball; it's for softball, too.  This weekend they travel to Tallahassee to play a pair of alternating games against the host Seminoles and Notre Dame.

#-2: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -4).  I'll expound on this if they actually reach the NCAA Tournament, but could this year be Marlene Stollings's best coaching job in Dinkytown?  They outlasted a mediocre Purdue squad in West Lafayette Thursday, and then in the Cancer Game yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, they destroyed Penn St. by 33.  They have won five of their last six, and that rise has put the U., at least according to Charlie Creme, on the precipice of The Big Dance as The Penultimate Team Out. 

The opportunity/challenge comes this screening week.  The rout of the Nittany Lions starts a four-game homestand, their last four games at The Barn this year.  But the two games this week are against two teams Creme easily has in the field of 64: Michigan Wednesday, Maryland Sunday.  The Gophers' momentum easily could stop this week.  Or, they could propel themselves off the bubble and into the tournament this time next week.

#-3: Gopher men's hockey (Re-Entry!).  I still wonder if the men's hockey team should be second-best in the survey; it's that close.  I gave the nod to the women's b-ball team because their week continues their upward momentum.  The male icers going into Madison and sweeping Wisconsin by a combined score of 11-3 (saw a part of Saturday's 7-1 thrasing -- sweet) feels as though they are still treading water.  (Also, going into this season, I would have expected the Gophs to beat Bucky Badger twice on the road.)  Proof of that is in the PairWise, where they stay in a tie for ninth place despite the pair of road wins.  So I think it's fair to say this club has some work to do to stay on the good side of the bubble.

They should be able to move the PairWise needle, however, this week: They host Ohio St., ranked sixth in the PairWise, for two.

#-4: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -5).  Swept the easternmost schools in the B1G this week, halting their losing streak at four.  But hey, wrestling has always been more of a Midwest/Great Plains sport; Easterners aren't really into grapplin'.  Besides, although they outdistanced Rutgers Friday, 20-12, they had to hold on for dear life Sunday to defeat Maryland, 26-22.  Not too long ago where the U. would've used both teams as mops.

Now this is weird.  The squad is done with conference schedule.  And yet they are not finished with their regular season schedule.  Friday they travel to Lawrenceville, N.J. to have a dual meet with, of all teams, Rider.  Rider?  At the end of the season?  Is this some deal between ADs?  A make-good of some sort?  Some need for teams to pad their schedules?

#-5: Wild (Last Week: -1).  Became so fixated on the Mild's 3-0 collapse to putrid Phoenix Thursday that I overlooked that this club crushed the Blues in St. Louis Tuesday.  Then they followed that up with a convincing 3-0 victory at the X over Chicago Saturday.  So for now they retain the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference, albeit a point ahead of L.A. and Anaheim and two points ahead of Colorado.  What they should do -- what they need to do -- is get on a roll because they are in the midst of a five-game homestand.  It finishes up this week: Rangers tomorrow (Tuesday), Washington Thursday, said Ducks Saturday.

#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -2).  The team's Jekyll-and-Hyde routine continues.  They lose at Cleveland to the Cavs (pre-teardown) because of LeBron James's revelatory final 30 seconds, then choke away a late lead in Chicago.  But Target Center?  Well, it wasn't easy vs. The Most Dysfunctional Team In The NBA, but the Woofie Dogs outlasted Sacramento last (Sunday) night, 111-106, making it 13 in a row at home.  And yes, they remain on track for a playoff spot.

The home streak will be tested, however; Houston comes to town Tuesday.  The Team That Was Stolen From Us v.1.0 visits Thursday.  Then there's a tough back-to-back: At the Rockets Friday, back home to face the Bulls Saturday.

#-7: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -6).  OK.  I understand that losing Amir Coffey to injury and Reggie Lynch to school-mandated suspension can hurt a team and ruin plans.  But the best Head Coaches figure out a way to make do with what he has.  Guys who get million-dollar contracts from their universities should figure out a way to make do.  Chris Holtmann became HC of Ohio St. in the summer and has his Buckeyes at 13-1 in-conference and atop the Big Ten.  Meanwhile, the Goofers, ranked 15th in both polls before the season began, now sit at 14-13 overall and 3-11 in the B1G after losses at home to Nebraska and on the road to Indiana (another retooling team, the Hoosiers crushed the U. by 24) have extended their current losing streak to seven games.  Yes, Richard Pitino has had circumstances thrust upon him.  But better coaches -- competent coaches -- don't tailspin this badly.  It's only right that he's on the hot seat right now; next year, Pitino is playing for his job.

Tuesday they host Michigan St., ranked second in this week's AP poll.  This has been the craziest season in college basketball in my lifetime.  There literally is no favorite, and it looks as though any team can win it all this year.  But I sure as hell know the Golden Goofers are going to lost to the Spartans at The Barn.  I'll go out on a limb and say that.