Positive Numbers: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: Positive Numbers). Oh my word, this is impressive! The fifth-ranked Golden Gophers went into third-ranked Nebraska -- with the exception of possibly H'awaii, the most loved and supported volleyball program in the country -- and not only beat the Cornhuskers, not only beat them in only four Sets, but -- and I think this is very telling as to the tone of the match -- humiliated the host team in Set 3, 25-14. 25-14! My God, this club is scary good. But ... are they too good too early? Are they peaking too soon?
They start a four-game homestand over the next two weekends. They host the two Illinois schools this weekend. I was going to see Illinois, a top-10 team, Friday, but I've been invited to a party, and I need to see her and do some stuff.
#0: Whitecaps (BRAND NEW!!!). Ladies and gentlemen, we have a brand new team in the Twin Cities that we will be covering from now on. The National Women's Hockey League expansion club, the formerly independent Minnesota Whitecaps, began their new life as a pro team with a two-game sweep of the defending Isobel Cup Champion Metropolitan Riveters!
I was planning on being in St. Louis this weekend, but since my folks took their trip, I had to stay home. But then I remembered that the Whitecaps were bought by the NWHL and named as an expansion squad in May, and then the season was released where their first-ever games were going to be at home (the TRIA Rink, the practice rink for the Wild) this weekend, and I thought, "Sweet! There's a reason from the universe I should stay home this weekend!" And this past weekend I saw that, um, the team sold out both games, which, frankly, surprised me. But hey, the NWHL is not professional when it comes to paying its players; they're relying on side hustles, like merchandise sales, so it heartens me that there are so many Minnesotans who are willing to pay good money to see this fledgling squad.
So I didn't get to see them live. But I went to St. Paul to see them on TV, except that, unlike what the team said in its e-mail, I couldn't see the stream at the Rival House because the Vikings were playing. OK. Hey, the club won by scores of 4-0 and 3-1, so a good start, or at least I heard. And congratulations to native Minnesota Hannah Brandt, who pocketed a Goal in each game against the Rivs and was named NWHL Player Of The Week! The 'Caps (in first place!) will visit, uh, Metropolitan two weekends from now.
#-1: Vikings (Last Week: -3). I wish I had more time to talk about the Vikes, but it's getting into the afternoon and I'm tired. But kudos to them! I really thought they were going to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles by 20. And then they turned the ball over in the Fourth up by only six and I turned the game off because I thought, Well, there's that. But the Defense, so maligned since the start of the year, bowed up and induced a three-and-out. (Didn't hurt that the Iggles got called for Illegal Formation and Intentional Grounding penalties in that "drive," two of eight total. It makes it easier to win games when the other team keeps committing shooting itself in the foot.) And then Dan Bailey, who missed two Field Goals in the game, booted a 52-yard Field Goal in the ensuing drive for the winning points in a 23-21 win. They should have won by more; when Linval Joseph runs 64 Yards for a Touchdown off a Fumble that popped into the air and landed in his hands, Minnesota should have won going away. But hey, at least they stopped the bleeding.
Sunday they host Arizona in a game I'll be working. Like Buffalo, the Cardinals are a young team led by a rookie Quarterback. Can the Vikings relax? Oh, I don't think so.
#-2: Gopher men's hockey (Re-Entry!). There was a little controversy in the off-season about the NCAA mandated a standard for Overtime, but after a lot of outcry, they backed off. Leagues are now allowed to make up their own rules if a game is tied after regulation. I had no idea that the Gophers and Minnesota-Duluth decided that for their two-game home-and-home series this past weekend, once a five-minute five-on-five came and went with no Goals, they would just stop. That's old school. And that allowed the U. to leave AMSOIL Saturday with just a draw. And then last (Sunday) night they blitzed the Bulldogs -- the top-ranked Bulldogs -- 7-4 at 3M. That's great, even though #1 ranked teams in men's hockey lose all the time.
The squad has exhibitions the next two weeks. Phew! One fewer team to cover.
#-3: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: 0). In a two-game series against Minnesota-Duluth (did the two hockey teams share a plane there and back?), they beat the Bulldogs Friday, 5-2, then lost in a Shootout Saturday, 3-2. Yeah.
A home-and-home versus St. Cloud St. this weekend.
#-4: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -2). Beat the Boilermakers in Purdue Friday, 2-1, but then lost in Indiana yesterday (Sunday) morning, 3-2. I don't know how damaging that loss to the Hoosiers hurts the side's chances. They host Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
#-5: Twins (Last Week: -Infinity). They're back in the survey a week after their season ended because Paul Molitor has been fired as Manager. I can't totally fault Derek Falvey and Thad Levin for making the move; after all, you are what your record says you are. But there are nakedly obvious facts that make this move all the more craven. Simply put (and totally understandable), when new front office people come in, they usually want their guy in the dugout. "Falvein" did not hire Molitor. The cynical thinking is that they wanted to usher out the Hall Of Famer (who is, BTW, One Of Us) as soon as last year, their first year at the helm. But, lo and behold, Molitor spurred the team into the American League Play-In Game. They gave Mollie a three-year extension after what appears to be a miracle. How could you not? But they just waited until a bad year, this year, before finally doing what they wanted to do all along.
Cynical? Yes. Understandable? Yes. But the mixed feelings don't change the fact that they are still at the tiller of a team whose young players have yet to pan out. (I mean for God's sake, Miguel Sano has been arrested for running over a cop in the Dominican Republic!) Yes, the players on the big league squad aren't their guys. But, well, they have a chance to install a Manager who's a slave to advanced numbers now, so let's see if they can uncover diamonds in the rough ... or find superstar players, the best way to get win championships.
#-6: Wild (Re-Entry!). Is there any buzz surrounding this team? They switched General Managers during the off-season, and I'm not sure if people remember that. It's almost comical that the professional men's hockey team in the State Of Hockey just began maybe their most anonymous season in its lifetime.
There is hardly anyone new -- and no, Matt Read does not count. That's a result of the tactics of the fired GM, Chuck Fletcher. He identified early players he thought had promise, signed them up to long-term deals in order to give the organization cost certainty, and hope that they blossom into the superstars (or role players) thought he would be. I don't mind that strategy at all. It's a good one. it's just that the players Fletcher gave these contracts to (Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Jonas Brodin) didn't fulfill the promise the team needed them to. Oh, and the franchise is also hamstrung by the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, both of whom are increasingly fragile.
Again, it's a prudent strategy. But when it doesn't work, you are stuck with a bunch of contracts featuring good-but-not-great players whose plateaued talents will be around the Mild for a long, long time. Sure, people point to Jason Zucker potentially being a superstar, and Eric Staal doing his Cocoon thing, and Matt Dumba being a burgeoning two-way threat. But that's it. Three breakout candidates and, alas, a bunch of dead weight.
New GM Tom Fenton has a lot of problems he'll have to face in the future. He can't do much about anything right now except evaluate. Which is a good thing, at least for him, because there isn't a whole lot he can do in this first (mulligan) year.
That being said, I foresee the floor opening up under this squad. And if a blowout loss in Colorado followed up by a game where they were holding onto a 1-0 lead at home to Vegas before finally conceding a Goal and losing the Shootout is any indication, this will be a long season. In fact, I will predict that Bruce Boudreau will be fired in January as the Mild will accrue one of the five-worst records in the NHL. Book it.
This week: Home to Chicago Thursday and The Bastard Hartford Whalers (who are now shamelessly appropriating the Whalers' "Brass Bonanza" theme song -- IT'S NOT YOUR FUCKING SONG, ASSHOLES!!!) Saturday.
#-7: Gopher football (Re-Entry!). OK, this is not encouraging. Saturday they failed to win Floyd Of Rosedale, again, at Das Bank 1.0 in a largely non-competitive 48-31 loss to Iowa. This is the second year of P. J. Fleck's tenure at the U. after turning Western Michigan into a juggernaut. I'm not expecting a title, but I really am hoping that he springs a surprise some time this year. Will it be at Ohio St. Saturday? (Probably not.)
#-8: United FC (Last Week: -1). They've been out of playoff contention, oh, since the summer. But their playoff hopes were officially snuffed Saturday in an embarrassing 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. I have seen frozen snapshots of Manager Adrian Heath and CEO Chris Wright staring into the distance while the Loons were getting the shit kicked out of them. Owner Bill McGuire said that Heath receives a "passing grade." Come on, after that performance, hasn't that changed? Hasn't that shown that Heath is what many fans now think of him as -- a guy so stuck in his intransigent ways that he'll sooner put in his own son, Harrison, after the result was a foregone conclusion and yet won't put in the youngster Wyatt Omsberg into the Backline? Geez Fucking Christ, it's becoming increasingly obvious McGuire and Wright have to clean house -- Heath as well as Manny Lagos.
This Saturday they are home to Colorado. I have missed too many Saturdays at work, so I am trying to sell this ticket. Fuck, they might lose anyway, so staying away might be a good thing.
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