Positive Numbers: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: Positive Numbers). I actually got into Maturi Pavilion for the Illinois match on Friday. And I was also surprised when I saw that, even though it was packed (as it usually is), I don't think it was a complete sellout. Not sure why; Illinois may not be a brand name like Penn St. or Stanford, but they are ranked seventh in the AVCA Top 25.
Well, were. Because the third-ranked Gophers defeated them in straight sets, 22-19-20. Seeing them in person, this may be Hugh McCutcheon's best team in his tenure here. Many of the players' kill attempts are powerful, and you cannot win unless you have hitters who can hit. Samantha Seliger-Swenson remains a steady Setter, and it's be awesome if she can finish out her career with an NCAA title at Target Center this December.
Most of all, I have high hopes for this team for two things I saw during the game: Their digging ability, particularly covering for the blockers on a dinks over the block; and their ability to score while scrambling. Both of these are the final ingredients to what I think makes a championship squad. The latter in particular is important to refine. It'd be awesome to stay in-system. But there are too many teams that will be able to force you out-of-system. What then? Are you able to just grind out points when things aren't going your way perfectly? If the U. can continue to muster points by just out-working the competition -- man, they could finally win it all. I mean it. Let's just hope, again, that they don't peak too early.
Oh, they also swept Northwestern Saturday, giving them a nine-game winning streak and keeping Minnesota undefeated in conference play. They finish up their four-game homestand this week. Iowa comes calling Friday, and then big/bad Nebraska visits Saturday.
#0: Vikings (Last Week: -1). A second straight home game vs. an on-paper lightweight opponent starting a rookie at Quarterback. Remember what happened against Buffalo?
I was totally believing it would happen again. But credit to the Vikes, who apparently used that humiliation to the Bills to stay far ahead of The Bastard Chicago-By-Way-Of-St. Louis Cardinals, 27-17. There was a lull in the Second Half, but the Vikings remained efficient and never bogged down. More importantly, they concentrated on generating a running game, and how: Latavius Murray ran for a career high 155 Yards, and ... is this right? His Touchdown is the first rushing TD the Vikings have scored all year?? If it's true, that's very odd.
With Chicago losing in Overtime to Miami, it appears as though the Vikes are in the division race. But they can't miss a beat with next week's game, at the Jets.
#-1: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -3). In the world of women's hockey, which we Minnesotans passionately enjoy but is still a sport that remains hyperlocal and very unbalanced, the GGs swept St. Cloud St. in a weekend home-and-home by 6-2 and 4-1 scores. Wish I had more to say about this club, but I do not.
This upcoming weekend they host Ohio St. in a two-game series. I've never seen the Buckeye women's hockey team, so maybe I'll attend the Friday matchup.
#-2: Wild (Last Week: -6). Won in OT Thursday against a now-mortal Chicago franchise, lost in OT Saturday to The Bastard Hartford Whalers. The problem now is that they get off to fast starts but bog down for the final 40 Minutes. That's all I got.
This screening week is a busy one, with a pair of dumb back-to-backs: At Nashville/home to Arizona tonight and tomorrow night; then at The Team That Was Stolen from us/home to Tampa Bay Friday-Saturday. Besides The Bastard Winnipeg Jets, this appears to be a very tough week for the Mild.
#-3: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -4). Any chance the Golden Gopher XI would be selected for the NCAA Tournament may have already been snuffed before this week, but dropping a 3-2 decision Saturday to ranked Wisconsin at Robbie (courtesy of a glory run by the Badgers' Lauren Rice over two-thirds of the pitch with 38 seconds to go) probably means the only way these women participate in the postseason is to win the B1G Tournament.
So says WoSo maven Chris Henderson, who has continued to believe that the Golden Gophers are out of it. In fact, ever since he started his Bubble Watch, none of his projections have put Minnesota in the field of 64 -- and, in fact, their tourney chances have gotten worse. Henderson hints that last week's loss to Indiana (also by a 3-2 score) was pretty much the dagger. Now any hope hangs in the conference tourney ... and with a 4-4-1 record and a tie with Iowa for seventh, even that playoff spot is far from secured. So, obviously, finishing the regular season this week strong is the only way to keep its season alive. Their last home game is Thursday against ... the Hawkeyes, in a match I look forward to going to. They then finish the year, probably, at Penn St. Sunday afternoon.
#-4: Gopher football (Last Week: -7). Moral victories don't mean shit, but still, let's give the Goofer footballers the privilege of not being dead last this week. I listened to most of the first half of Saturday's contest in Ohio St., and believe it or not, they stood mostly toe-to-toe with the then-third-ranked team in the country. They moved the ball fairly well, and even at will many times in the First Half to the point where they actually led twice! Meanwhile, the Defense, while cracking many times, were able to stop an unfocused and sputtering Buckeyes club at point until the Fourth Quarter, before they finally relented, 30-14.
So these guys are on a three-game losing streak and they remain winless in the Big Ten. Eh, at least they still theoretically could play in a bowl game. The good news is they are hitting the sweet spot of their schedule. The next five games are winnable, starting with a Saturday afternoon visit to Nebraska, a still-proud program that is 0-6 for the season for the first time in school history. If P.J. Fleck & Co. can't beat these Cornhuskers. ...
#-5: United FC (Last Week: -8). I am a Loons season-ticketholder. I thought about going to Saturday's match versus Colorado. But the 1 p.m. start time meant that I would have to cut out of work early. I have already begged out of a few Saturdays already, which really isn't good when I'm still very new to the job, and I have to leave work this Saturday for a volunteering thing. So I thought that I should just skip this match and sell the ticket, which I did for a measly nine bucks.
Nevertheless, after hearing the 2-0 debacle/abortion on the radio, I'm so damn glad I didn't have to witness that garbage. Saying that, when you are out of the playoff picture and your foe is also, why not just start your youngsters and see what they can do? So if that's the case, why in the hell did Adrian Heath keep Wyatt Omsberg on the bench?
The Rapids won, by the way, 2-0. MNUFC actually scored twice, but both Goals were overturned after lengthy use of VAR. After the second Rapids Goal, coming in the 97th Minute, one of its Defenders, some dumbfuck named Tommy Smith, taunted the Loons' bench, prompting a melee of frustration between two shitty teams. You should point out that Harrison Heath is on the team due to nepotism, but you have to say this for him: He knows how to squirt a water bottle. But, in all seriousness, him sticking up for his teammates may be the most important thing he does while he's on this club.
By the way, United FC have been swept by both Colorado and San Jose, the two worst teams in the Western Conference. If Minnesota had won all four matches and got all 12 Points, they'd be in sixth-place in the West instead of ninth.
The final home game of the season, and the side's last-ever game at TCF Bank Stadium, occurs late Sunday afternoon as it hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy. There is a huge promotion where the organization is opening up the upper bowl in an attempt to reach 50,000 spectators and thus break the record for largest crowd ever to attend a soccer match in Minnesota. Seems as though they've already reached that goal in tickets sold. But it'll be funny if all 50k scream for Heath's head throughout the match as Zlatan Ibrahimovich scores a natural Hat Trick against our boys.
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