No matter for the women, who continue to roll in
These women play the final game of the non-conference portion of their schedule Saturday afternoon when they host Rhode Island.
#-2: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -1). The men's team at the U. was in a similar position: Bodybag game against a no-name opponent and winning. But Tuesday's 80-71 win was a lot more perilous than the women's team, and that's why the men fall in line behind the women once again. This was only a two-possession game with about four Minutes left in the game before the team pulled away ... or "pulled away."
Team hosts North Carolina A&T Friday.
#-3: Wild (Last Week: -6). Consecutive blowout victories over Montreal and Florida was followed by a 2-1 defeat to The Bastard Atlanta Flames, all of them at the X. The big controversy settles now on the somewhat-hurt Mikko Koivu. His "lower body injury" (ACL tear? His dick broke just like mine?) allowed the underachieving, about-to-be-traded Charlie Coyle to be moved up to Center alongside Nino Niederreiter and Zach Parise ... and they have been dynamite. But with Koivu back (don't know if he is now or will be soon), Koivu might be slipping back into that line alongside Neener-Neener and Zach -- but their line hasn't been that potent, so why? Because he's Mikko Koivu, and he's The Captain, and you never disrespect The Captain by shunting him to a line he's not familiar with just because there's a hot line.
These guys are tied for ninth in the West. (shrug)
The team finishes their homestand vs. San Jose Tuesday. They visit Pittsburgh Thursday, but come back home to face The Team That Was Stolen From Us Saturday. This is a second straight week where the Wild play Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
#-4: Vikings (Re-Entry!). A split ... bridging the firing of Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo after the loss in Seattle Monday. I really didn't think Mike Zimmer would do such a thing; he seems like such a ... steady-as-she-goes type of guy, you know? But he had been openly bitching to Flip about running the ball more, and after not doing that enough (at least according to Zim) against the Seahawks, again, Flip pissed Zim off, and it probably wasn't the first time. So Zim pushed Flip out and elevated Kevin Stefanski, longtime Vikings coach who was the Quarterbacks Coach, to OC -- with precise orders to run the ball more.
That they did yesterday/Sunday. For the first time all year, they ran the ball more than they passed it. And 130+ yards from Dalvin Cook, Touchdowns for Cook and Latavius Murray, 101 Yards rushing (and 101 Yards passing) in the First Quarter (it's the first time this year a team has racked up 200 Yards in the First Quarter), and nine Sacks from the defense quelled a short-lived Miami Dolphins uprising in the Third Quarter were the main ingredients in a 41-17 win.
The Vikes continue to hold onto the sixth and final spot in the NFC. But frankly, that may be because the bottom of the NFC playoff race is the thinnest and weakest I have ever seen. Before Sunday's results, the teams behind Minnesota were losing. Now, Washington and Philadelphia righted themselves by winning yesterday (and Carolina might also keep their playoff hopes alive with a victory over New Orleans tonight/Monday night), but they remain behind a Vikings squad that had just lost to both New England and Seattle.
And don't put Kevin Stefanski in the NFL Coordinator Hall Of fame yet. The Offense petered out after the First Quarter. That allowed Miami to come back from a 21-0 First Quarter to make it a 21-17 game in the Third. That's when the D stepped up to help out the O while the O had to retool things. That may be the type of readjusting that is necessary for great teams to continue to win in the NFL. But let's see if this formula works next week, on the road vs. Detroit. And then let's see if this strategy works against a good team two weeks from now, at home against a Chicago club that may or may not have incentive to try hard, admittedly.
In other words, maybe things haven't changed all that much yet.
#-5: Timberwolves (Last Week: -4). Well, this isn't good. Defeats out west this screening week to Golden State, Sacramento and Phoenix put the Woofie Dogs on a current four-game losing streak. Saturday's 107-99 defeat vs.. the Suns is the worst, in no small part due to Phoenix being the worst squad in the Western Conference by a country mile. But the Woofie Dogs were horrible from the field, and so the Suns had enough to hold them off. BTW, the Woofs are now ahead of only Phoenix in the Western Conference.
If Jimmy Butler were still with the team, there would be dissension all over that lockerroom.
Very busy next week. They'll attempt to turn around their fortunes with home games against Sacramento and Detroit. They then embark back on the road for contests in San Antonio and Oklahoma City.
#-6: United FC (Re-Entry!). I should have put this side on the survey sooner because the news I think is important to note for the WMNSS broke three weeks ago. That was around the time each Major League Soccer franchise had to either shit or get off the pot in regards to their players. And sure enough, coming from a management team who turned their back on the players and stated somewhat pissily that only a handful of players deserved a job even in the league, let alone with the Loons, they cut ties with 14 players.
Jerome Thiesson is one departure that hurts. He seemed a like an affable guy, he provided serviceable-to-very good defense in the Backline, and I'll never forget him flapping his arms like, supposedly, a loon when he scored the Goal I saw him score in-person. But again, the front office was looking for reasons to cut people. Plus, Thiesson's injury-riddled year is, on the whole, a good excuse to let a player go.
But I'm much more torn over the decision to cut bait on Ibson. Normally, when a 35-year-old player is let go by a team, everyone understand that that player had to be moved aside to make way for a younger, probably cheaper, and possibly better replacement. And God knows his decision-making needs a lot of work. But he was a holdover from the NASL days. Not only am I getting sentimental over those who graduated with the organization, I am cynical enough to believe that Adrian Heath and Manny Lagos never thought that Ibson was MLS material, and only kept him around because Bill McGuire wasn't going to devote more money into finding other players until Allianz Field was making money for him. That feeds into my belief that these two will never give NASLers a fair shake of making it to The Show. I just wish there was a better end for a man who was loyal to a club, through thick and thin. Buddhaspeed, Ibson.
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