#0: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -7). I have this intense need to finish this before the Gopher men's b-ball team faces off against Michigan tonight, and that game starts at 6, and I will probably be watching Ralph Breaks The Internet by the time that game tips off, so I am going to make this as short, I'm afraid.
And that means I am going to give short shrift to the Gopher grapplers. I don't think they're winning an NCAA team title this year (or any year, come to think of it). Yet I don't remember any time in the post-J Robinson Era where this program has gone on the road and beat a pair of ranked teams. But these guys did do that, and without much angst, beating Illinois 26-15 Friday and Northwestern 29-12 Sunday. (In the victory over the Wildcats, the Dual started with Minnesota forfeiting the 125 match ... and they still beat them by 17.) And while they did get blitzed by both Oklahoma St. and Iowa this year, those remain the only two losses so far in Brandon Eggum's year. Oh yeah, and Gable Steveson continues to beat the #1 Heavyweight in top-flight wrestling.
One Dual this week -- Wisconsin, the last of three roadies, Friday.
#-1: Whitecaps (Last Week: -4). In a screening week where most of the local teams suffered at least one setback, it was difficult to find pristine performances. But here come the Whitecaps, going back atop the NWHL standings after sweeping the Connecticut Whale at TRIA and how: 2-0 Saturday, 9-0 Sunday.
And they might be on top of the standings for a long time. The 'Caps currently hold a four-Point lead. Moreover, they don't resume play until -- and this is fucking weird, man -- March 2 & 3. Yeah, the NWHL season is such that they are taking the next six weeks or so, including the entire month of February, off. Let's hope the season of sellouts at home prompts the league to either schedule more games or demand from the facilities more preferential dates so they can tighten it up. Geez.
#-2: Wild (Last Week: -6). No team locally has had as up-and-down a season as the Wild. Just as I was about to write them off, indicated by the trade of Nino Niederreiter to The Bastard Hartford Whalers (and I shouldn't forget that Gopher Justin Kloos was also traded to Anaheim), these guys win three-of-four this screening week to, miraculously, go from out of the playoff picture, over Wild Card Limbo, and into third place in the Central Division. Thursday's strange 3-0 ass-kicking by the faltering Ducks at the X (which happened just after the Kloos trade) is strange as fuck and another reason why so many fans don't believe in this team. And yet they outlast L.A. in a Shootout, outlast Columbus in regulation, and eke out a tight 4-2 victory in Vegas on MLK (game-winning Goal provided by Charlie Coyle, whom many writers believe will be the next player traded). Weeks like this give me hope, but how long will it last?
Tomorrow/Wednesday they travel to Colorado for the final game before the All-Star Break, where Goaltender Devan Dubnyk will, again, be the sole representative for the Mild.
#-3: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2). As titanic a match-up in top-flight women's college hockey happened at Ridder over the weekend. Minnesota, ranked second in the polls, hosted Wisconsin, ranked first in the polls, for a two-game series. And ... they split, with the Badgers winning 2-1 Friday and the U. winning 3-1 Saturday. So nothing changes up top, but girl, it would have been sweet with the squad were able to take both games. (For the record, they split their two-game series in Madison just before Halloween.) Congrats go to Junior Patti Marshall for being named WCHA Defenseman Of The Week.
The Gophers' final test of the year comes this weekend, when they travel to a resurgent Ohio St. program, ranked seventh in the polls, for a pair of matches.
#-4: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -5). Unfortunately, this team isn't particularly putting it together right now. In fact, it seems as though it'll be a struggle all season. Current projections that they'll somehow avoid the play-in games appear to be tenuous, if this week is an indication of how this team will live or die. They get castrated Wednesday in Illinois, 95-68, in what may be the worst game this team has played this millennium. They struggled Saturday at home against Penn St., a team that was winless in Big Ten play, needing a Free Throw from Dupree McBrayer (after he missed his first FT) and a near-buzzer-beating miss by the Nittany Lions' Lamar Stevens, to win, 65-64. Jordan Murphy scored 19 and pulled down 21 Rebounds, becoming the leader in boards in men's top-flight college basketball, and they still almost lost to Penn St. at home. Not a good sign.
If they win at Michigan (who are coming off their first loss of the season, to Wisconsin) tonight it'll be a damn miracle. They then host Iowa Sunday afternoon.
#-5: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -8). OK, it's clear now that we were totally spoiled by this club's 12-0 record to start the season, because Lindsay Whalen's coaching naievete is now showing through. Leading by eight Sunday evening at Nebraska, the Golden Goofers were outscored in the Fourth Quarter 25-11 to choke away a 63-57 decision. This stands alongside the Illinois collapse as a stark reminder that the non-conference season is a very different beast from the conference season, and that Whalen has to learn how to adjust in-game.
The other lesson gleaned this screening week about this squad is that they can beat Wisconsin. They crushed the Badgers, in fact, 78-50 on Thursday, and on the road, too! Looks as though they are world-beaters against Wisky but chumps to everyone else in the B1G. Will that adage hold up in home contests vs. Purdue Thursday and Ohio St. Monday?
#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3). Went to the game versus San Antonio Friday night. It was a back-and-forth affair, but LaMarcus Aldridge came alive in the Fourth to help the Spurs to a three-Point lead with one final possession for the Woofs. The half-court inbounds pass came to, of all people, Derrick Rose, but he doesn't have a three-point shot, at least not anymore. That sentiment was in the back of my mind when he took the inbounds -- "Oh, the Wolves are gonna lose." And he jacked up a midrange two-pointer anyway, plus it didn't go in, and my alumni event, already a turd when it came to attendance, became just about a complete disaster.
Add to this embarrassing week, in my opinion, their only win this week, over a Phoenix Suns squad that was in the second of a back-to-back, was completing the last of a four-game road trip, and is the worst team in the Western Conference. And for much of the game Sunday, the Suns were in control. It took a last-second shot to pull out the win, and for that, you go to ... Derrick Rose:
Virtually the exact same situation, and virtually the same distance to the basket to his no-hope shot against San Antone, but this time he hits, and this time the score was tied, and so the Wolves win. Except that no self-respecting club that has enough talent to make it to the postseason should have to grind so hard against a club as sorry as Phoenix, so this should be treated as a loss. So if you add to these two games the 42-Point beatdown this team suffered at the hands of Jimmy Butler and the Philadelphia 76ers, and it's as if the Wolves had an 0-3 screening week.
(By the way, All-Star Game voting ended at midnight, and Rose was on track to start for the Western Conference. What an out-of-nowhere 50-Point game can do for your redemption narrative.)
They are busy this week. The club has four games, the first three of which are on the road. Tonight/Tuesday night they complete the home-and-home against the Suns (Phoenix is going to kill 'em by 20), followed by a Lakers-Jazz back-to-back. They then complete a home-and-home with Utah by hosting the Jazz Sunday.
#-7: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -1). A massive sweep at Notre Dame is just about undone by getting swept at Michigan St. this past weekend. Like the Gophers, the Spartans are under .500 overall, so getting at least a split wasn't too much to ask (although a sweep would be ideal). Instead, a pair of 5-3 defeats drops these Goofers back down to 24th in the PairWise.
This week they host Wisconsin for a two-game series. On Saturday they will honor the 1979 championship squad, considered by some to be the best Minnesota men's hockey team ever. To celebrate, they are rolling back prices on concession items -- think two dollars for hot dogs. Scalpers might take advantage of those rollbacks by asking for more money for tickets, of which this game has hot ones. Still, I might try to go.
And that means I am going to give short shrift to the Gopher grapplers. I don't think they're winning an NCAA team title this year (or any year, come to think of it). Yet I don't remember any time in the post-J Robinson Era where this program has gone on the road and beat a pair of ranked teams. But these guys did do that, and without much angst, beating Illinois 26-15 Friday and Northwestern 29-12 Sunday. (In the victory over the Wildcats, the Dual started with Minnesota forfeiting the 125 match ... and they still beat them by 17.) And while they did get blitzed by both Oklahoma St. and Iowa this year, those remain the only two losses so far in Brandon Eggum's year. Oh yeah, and Gable Steveson continues to beat the #1 Heavyweight in top-flight wrestling.
One Dual this week -- Wisconsin, the last of three roadies, Friday.
#-1: Whitecaps (Last Week: -4). In a screening week where most of the local teams suffered at least one setback, it was difficult to find pristine performances. But here come the Whitecaps, going back atop the NWHL standings after sweeping the Connecticut Whale at TRIA and how: 2-0 Saturday, 9-0 Sunday.
And they might be on top of the standings for a long time. The 'Caps currently hold a four-Point lead. Moreover, they don't resume play until -- and this is fucking weird, man -- March 2 & 3. Yeah, the NWHL season is such that they are taking the next six weeks or so, including the entire month of February, off. Let's hope the season of sellouts at home prompts the league to either schedule more games or demand from the facilities more preferential dates so they can tighten it up. Geez.
#-2: Wild (Last Week: -6). No team locally has had as up-and-down a season as the Wild. Just as I was about to write them off, indicated by the trade of Nino Niederreiter to The Bastard Hartford Whalers (and I shouldn't forget that Gopher Justin Kloos was also traded to Anaheim), these guys win three-of-four this screening week to, miraculously, go from out of the playoff picture, over Wild Card Limbo, and into third place in the Central Division. Thursday's strange 3-0 ass-kicking by the faltering Ducks at the X (which happened just after the Kloos trade) is strange as fuck and another reason why so many fans don't believe in this team. And yet they outlast L.A. in a Shootout, outlast Columbus in regulation, and eke out a tight 4-2 victory in Vegas on MLK (game-winning Goal provided by Charlie Coyle, whom many writers believe will be the next player traded). Weeks like this give me hope, but how long will it last?
Tomorrow/Wednesday they travel to Colorado for the final game before the All-Star Break, where Goaltender Devan Dubnyk will, again, be the sole representative for the Mild.
#-3: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2). As titanic a match-up in top-flight women's college hockey happened at Ridder over the weekend. Minnesota, ranked second in the polls, hosted Wisconsin, ranked first in the polls, for a two-game series. And ... they split, with the Badgers winning 2-1 Friday and the U. winning 3-1 Saturday. So nothing changes up top, but girl, it would have been sweet with the squad were able to take both games. (For the record, they split their two-game series in Madison just before Halloween.) Congrats go to Junior Patti Marshall for being named WCHA Defenseman Of The Week.
The Gophers' final test of the year comes this weekend, when they travel to a resurgent Ohio St. program, ranked seventh in the polls, for a pair of matches.
#-4: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -5). Unfortunately, this team isn't particularly putting it together right now. In fact, it seems as though it'll be a struggle all season. Current projections that they'll somehow avoid the play-in games appear to be tenuous, if this week is an indication of how this team will live or die. They get castrated Wednesday in Illinois, 95-68, in what may be the worst game this team has played this millennium. They struggled Saturday at home against Penn St., a team that was winless in Big Ten play, needing a Free Throw from Dupree McBrayer (after he missed his first FT) and a near-buzzer-beating miss by the Nittany Lions' Lamar Stevens, to win, 65-64. Jordan Murphy scored 19 and pulled down 21 Rebounds, becoming the leader in boards in men's top-flight college basketball, and they still almost lost to Penn St. at home. Not a good sign.
If they win at Michigan (who are coming off their first loss of the season, to Wisconsin) tonight it'll be a damn miracle. They then host Iowa Sunday afternoon.
#-5: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -8). OK, it's clear now that we were totally spoiled by this club's 12-0 record to start the season, because Lindsay Whalen's coaching naievete is now showing through. Leading by eight Sunday evening at Nebraska, the Golden Goofers were outscored in the Fourth Quarter 25-11 to choke away a 63-57 decision. This stands alongside the Illinois collapse as a stark reminder that the non-conference season is a very different beast from the conference season, and that Whalen has to learn how to adjust in-game.
The other lesson gleaned this screening week about this squad is that they can beat Wisconsin. They crushed the Badgers, in fact, 78-50 on Thursday, and on the road, too! Looks as though they are world-beaters against Wisky but chumps to everyone else in the B1G. Will that adage hold up in home contests vs. Purdue Thursday and Ohio St. Monday?
#-6: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3). Went to the game versus San Antonio Friday night. It was a back-and-forth affair, but LaMarcus Aldridge came alive in the Fourth to help the Spurs to a three-Point lead with one final possession for the Woofs. The half-court inbounds pass came to, of all people, Derrick Rose, but he doesn't have a three-point shot, at least not anymore. That sentiment was in the back of my mind when he took the inbounds -- "Oh, the Wolves are gonna lose." And he jacked up a midrange two-pointer anyway, plus it didn't go in, and my alumni event, already a turd when it came to attendance, became just about a complete disaster.
Add to this embarrassing week, in my opinion, their only win this week, over a Phoenix Suns squad that was in the second of a back-to-back, was completing the last of a four-game road trip, and is the worst team in the Western Conference. And for much of the game Sunday, the Suns were in control. It took a last-second shot to pull out the win, and for that, you go to ... Derrick Rose:
Virtually the exact same situation, and virtually the same distance to the basket to his no-hope shot against San Antone, but this time he hits, and this time the score was tied, and so the Wolves win. Except that no self-respecting club that has enough talent to make it to the postseason should have to grind so hard against a club as sorry as Phoenix, so this should be treated as a loss. So if you add to these two games the 42-Point beatdown this team suffered at the hands of Jimmy Butler and the Philadelphia 76ers, and it's as if the Wolves had an 0-3 screening week.
(By the way, All-Star Game voting ended at midnight, and Rose was on track to start for the Western Conference. What an out-of-nowhere 50-Point game can do for your redemption narrative.)
They are busy this week. The club has four games, the first three of which are on the road. Tonight/Tuesday night they complete the home-and-home against the Suns (Phoenix is going to kill 'em by 20), followed by a Lakers-Jazz back-to-back. They then complete a home-and-home with Utah by hosting the Jazz Sunday.
#-7: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -1). A massive sweep at Notre Dame is just about undone by getting swept at Michigan St. this past weekend. Like the Gophers, the Spartans are under .500 overall, so getting at least a split wasn't too much to ask (although a sweep would be ideal). Instead, a pair of 5-3 defeats drops these Goofers back down to 24th in the PairWise.
This week they host Wisconsin for a two-game series. On Saturday they will honor the 1979 championship squad, considered by some to be the best Minnesota men's hockey team ever. To celebrate, they are rolling back prices on concession items -- think two dollars for hot dogs. Scalpers might take advantage of those rollbacks by asking for more money for tickets, of which this game has hot ones. Still, I might try to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment