Positive Numbers: Gopher softball (Last Week: Positive Numbers). You know, I can't believe it. Facing a tough Southern school that doesn't give a damn about academics as a Big Ten school does, I was mighty afraid that LSU would march into Cowles Stadium and, in a close matchup between the overall #7 and #10 seeds, take the Super Regional over the weekend. That's why, even though I was very disappointed, I wasn't too crestfallen about trying to buy a ticket to either Saturday's or Sunday's contests and seeing that they have all sold out.
But shoot, I now regret not fighting harder to get a ticket. Because the Minnesota Golden Gophers swept the LSU Tigers Friday and Saturday, by respective scores of 5-3 and 3-0. Thank Buddha for Amber Fiser, who started both Games and went the distance in both Games, giving up only two Earned Runs, striking out 11 and throwing 238 pitches. (Thank Buddha that softball pitches are underhand and align along the evolutionary lines of humans, Christ.) I should also note the heroics of Shortstop Allie Arneson, who was responsible for the Game-winning Runs in both matches. In Friday's Game 1, Areneson broke the 3-all tie in the Bottom of the Fourth by singling to Right; in Saturday's Game 2, she broke the seal on the contest at the Top of the Fifth (for Game 2's, the teams in a pitching sport switch, so even though Minnesota was hosting, the Gophers were the visiting ballclub) by homering to Left.
The U. hosted a sendoff for the team this morning, about 90 minutes ago. Shoot, forgot that. So they are in transit to Oklahoma City, Okla., right now -- the forever home of the Women's College World Series, which Minnesota is going to for the first time in school history. They are the overall #7 Seed, but they draw the overall #2, UCLA, for its first Game Thursday afternoon. Seven of the eight top Seeds advanced to OKC (the only outlier: #4 Seed and defending champion Florida St., who got upset by overall #13 Oklahoma St.), so they are the decided underdogs here. By seed, they should lose to the Bruins and then get eliminated by Arizona. If so, OK. If they win a Game, or somehow even more, heck, that's just icing on the cake. But look at what Minnesota has done this season. Was anyone confident that they would get this far? I sure didn't. So whatever happens, this has already been The Best Year In Minnesota Softball History. And that is already more than enough.
#0: Twins (Last Week: 0). I must be honest; I was going to flip the Twins and the Lynx after hearing that they lost last night to The Bastard Seattle Pilots, ending their winning streak at six Games. Maybe it's the fatalist/Twin Cities fan in me, or maybe the Twinks truly have not earned complete faith in them despite their torrid start. But after calming down, I realized that this team has never come out as hot to start a year in my lifetime (or at least as far as I can remember), did have a six-Game winning streak, swept the Angels in Anaheim and then the White Sox at Target Field, lead the American League Central Division by ten Games and, as of the setting of the Sun Monday, sport The Best Record In Major League Baseball. So maybe the sky isn't falling. Yet.
They finish off with Milwaukee at home tonight. They then face another quality opponent, Tampa, on the road for four Games over the weekend.
#-1: Lynx (Re-Entry!). The Lynx have won the Women's National Basketball Association the past four odd years: 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. Don't expect them to do that in 2019. This club is too much in transition to do that. Lindsay Whalen, who may have mentally checked out in her last year last year, is fully retired. Maya Moore is taking the year off -- to pursue her ministerial career, according to her, but to try and get out of a de facto reserve clause, according to me. Rebekkah Brunson's return to action is up in the air because she's still suffering from a concussion. And it was ruled out close to Saturday's season-opener at home against the Chicago Sky that Seimone Augustus and new acquisition Karima Christmas-Kelly would be out because of knee injuries.
No matter. Because the Lynx have two Rookies who seemed to have stepped in and contributed immediately. First-Round pick Napheesa Collier scored 27 Points, the most by a Rook in her WNBA debut since Candace Parker poured in 34 for the Los Angeles Sparks. She also had six Rebounds, three Blocks and two Steals. Meanwhile, Second-Round pick Jessica Shepard hauled down 13 boards and had six dimes, both game bests. I have no idea with the Sky is supposed to be a good team, but I don't know if the Lynx are either, and yet Minnesota won going away, 89-71.
This may be the most wide-open WNBA season ever. There are so many star players that are out due to injury, for the season or at least a huge chunk of it. But this article from Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight says that, partly due to the fact that there still are only a dozen teams in the WNBA, there is such a paucity of available spots that these injuries have opened up jobs for players who are good enough to be playing in the WNBA anyway. Therefore, it's not totally out of the realm of possibility that the Lynx could win it all -- highly unlikely, but not totally out of the realm.
Wednesday they host the defending champs, the Seattle Storm. Saturday night they go out to Dallas.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -1). This really has been a fantastic stretch for local sports. The Twin Cities has gone undefeated the past two Saturdays, going 4-0 on the 18th and 5-0 -- probably the most local teams who have won on one day without any team losing -- on the 25th. Stands to reason, then, that so many teams on the WMNSS would be good, and so ranking them will be a chore because some of them will get pushed down even though they had great screening weeks.
The Loons take it in the shorts this time around. Saturday, with the Sun fulling shining on a weekend evening as The Unofficial Start To Summer began, an Own Goal by the Dynamo's Boniek Garcia (a deflection from a Cross by Romain Metanire, fast becoming a revelation for the club and the league) was the difference in MNUFC's 1-0 win over Houston. So say that this squad shouldn't be too happy about the way they're playing, that they have offensive chemistry issues that they need to work on. I don't disagree. But one hallmark of a playoff club is being able to take Points, let alone three, from teams despite not playing at your best. As of press time United FC is in fifth place in the West -- playoff position. With more home tilts left to come, I'll take it.
Meanwhile, United remain undefeated at home ... well, in Games that count. On Wednesday, Allianz Field hosted its first-ever international Friendly, versus Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin. And they lost to that side, 1-0, on a rebound Goal by Defenseman Peter Pekarik in the 43rd. Again, it's just an exhibition. It's for teams to start players who don't usually start to see how good they can be. A prime, shining example where you need to watch this space: Hassani Dotson made his first start in this Friendly, did real work, then got the nod to start against the Dynamo. He's going places. Neverthless, for the Survey's purposes, I need to use a fine-tooth comb to rank teams having good weeks, and so because they still "lost," I'm busting the Loons down here.
A two-Match week this week, both against Eastern squads that would also be in the playoffs if the year were to end -- at Atlanta Wednesday, hosting Philadelphia Sunday afternoon for the annual Pride Match.
#-Infinity: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -2). Well, they made a run. In the Big Ten Baseball Tournament in Omaha, Neb., they started off on the wrong foot, getting drubbed by Nebraska, 8-2, Wednesday. (Not that much of an embarrassment; all four of the high seeds lost Wednesday.) But the Fourth-seeded Gophs scratched and clawed the next four days, tossing squads that were above them on the ladder that was dangling over the cliff off before them -- regular season champ Indiana Thursday (by a score of 9-4), Iowa Friday (a 3-0 shutout). They then pipped Ohio St. Saturday, holding on for a 9-6 victory and forcing a rematch with the Buckeyes that was scheduled for Saturday evening but got postponed to Sunday early afternoon. And that, alas, was where the magic ended. The Gophers got down in a 8-1 hole and tried storming back, but the comeback fell short, 8-6, and their tournament run, and season, ended. (The Buckeyes would go on to beat Nebraska in the final; as the Seventh-seed, they stole the NCAA tourney bid that the U. needed.)
Hey, they won a Regional and got to a Super Regional last year. This year, they don't. (shrug) But hey, Catcher Eli Wilson most likely will be back to try and repeat as All-B1G First Team.
But shoot, I now regret not fighting harder to get a ticket. Because the Minnesota Golden Gophers swept the LSU Tigers Friday and Saturday, by respective scores of 5-3 and 3-0. Thank Buddha for Amber Fiser, who started both Games and went the distance in both Games, giving up only two Earned Runs, striking out 11 and throwing 238 pitches. (Thank Buddha that softball pitches are underhand and align along the evolutionary lines of humans, Christ.) I should also note the heroics of Shortstop Allie Arneson, who was responsible for the Game-winning Runs in both matches. In Friday's Game 1, Areneson broke the 3-all tie in the Bottom of the Fourth by singling to Right; in Saturday's Game 2, she broke the seal on the contest at the Top of the Fifth (for Game 2's, the teams in a pitching sport switch, so even though Minnesota was hosting, the Gophers were the visiting ballclub) by homering to Left.
The U. hosted a sendoff for the team this morning, about 90 minutes ago. Shoot, forgot that. So they are in transit to Oklahoma City, Okla., right now -- the forever home of the Women's College World Series, which Minnesota is going to for the first time in school history. They are the overall #7 Seed, but they draw the overall #2, UCLA, for its first Game Thursday afternoon. Seven of the eight top Seeds advanced to OKC (the only outlier: #4 Seed and defending champion Florida St., who got upset by overall #13 Oklahoma St.), so they are the decided underdogs here. By seed, they should lose to the Bruins and then get eliminated by Arizona. If so, OK. If they win a Game, or somehow even more, heck, that's just icing on the cake. But look at what Minnesota has done this season. Was anyone confident that they would get this far? I sure didn't. So whatever happens, this has already been The Best Year In Minnesota Softball History. And that is already more than enough.
#0: Twins (Last Week: 0). I must be honest; I was going to flip the Twins and the Lynx after hearing that they lost last night to The Bastard Seattle Pilots, ending their winning streak at six Games. Maybe it's the fatalist/Twin Cities fan in me, or maybe the Twinks truly have not earned complete faith in them despite their torrid start. But after calming down, I realized that this team has never come out as hot to start a year in my lifetime (or at least as far as I can remember), did have a six-Game winning streak, swept the Angels in Anaheim and then the White Sox at Target Field, lead the American League Central Division by ten Games and, as of the setting of the Sun Monday, sport The Best Record In Major League Baseball. So maybe the sky isn't falling. Yet.
They finish off with Milwaukee at home tonight. They then face another quality opponent, Tampa, on the road for four Games over the weekend.
#-1: Lynx (Re-Entry!). The Lynx have won the Women's National Basketball Association the past four odd years: 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. Don't expect them to do that in 2019. This club is too much in transition to do that. Lindsay Whalen, who may have mentally checked out in her last year last year, is fully retired. Maya Moore is taking the year off -- to pursue her ministerial career, according to her, but to try and get out of a de facto reserve clause, according to me. Rebekkah Brunson's return to action is up in the air because she's still suffering from a concussion. And it was ruled out close to Saturday's season-opener at home against the Chicago Sky that Seimone Augustus and new acquisition Karima Christmas-Kelly would be out because of knee injuries.
No matter. Because the Lynx have two Rookies who seemed to have stepped in and contributed immediately. First-Round pick Napheesa Collier scored 27 Points, the most by a Rook in her WNBA debut since Candace Parker poured in 34 for the Los Angeles Sparks. She also had six Rebounds, three Blocks and two Steals. Meanwhile, Second-Round pick Jessica Shepard hauled down 13 boards and had six dimes, both game bests. I have no idea with the Sky is supposed to be a good team, but I don't know if the Lynx are either, and yet Minnesota won going away, 89-71.
This may be the most wide-open WNBA season ever. There are so many star players that are out due to injury, for the season or at least a huge chunk of it. But this article from Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight says that, partly due to the fact that there still are only a dozen teams in the WNBA, there is such a paucity of available spots that these injuries have opened up jobs for players who are good enough to be playing in the WNBA anyway. Therefore, it's not totally out of the realm of possibility that the Lynx could win it all -- highly unlikely, but not totally out of the realm.
Wednesday they host the defending champs, the Seattle Storm. Saturday night they go out to Dallas.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -1). This really has been a fantastic stretch for local sports. The Twin Cities has gone undefeated the past two Saturdays, going 4-0 on the 18th and 5-0 -- probably the most local teams who have won on one day without any team losing -- on the 25th. Stands to reason, then, that so many teams on the WMNSS would be good, and so ranking them will be a chore because some of them will get pushed down even though they had great screening weeks.
The Loons take it in the shorts this time around. Saturday, with the Sun fulling shining on a weekend evening as The Unofficial Start To Summer began, an Own Goal by the Dynamo's Boniek Garcia (a deflection from a Cross by Romain Metanire, fast becoming a revelation for the club and the league) was the difference in MNUFC's 1-0 win over Houston. So say that this squad shouldn't be too happy about the way they're playing, that they have offensive chemistry issues that they need to work on. I don't disagree. But one hallmark of a playoff club is being able to take Points, let alone three, from teams despite not playing at your best. As of press time United FC is in fifth place in the West -- playoff position. With more home tilts left to come, I'll take it.
Meanwhile, United remain undefeated at home ... well, in Games that count. On Wednesday, Allianz Field hosted its first-ever international Friendly, versus Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin. And they lost to that side, 1-0, on a rebound Goal by Defenseman Peter Pekarik in the 43rd. Again, it's just an exhibition. It's for teams to start players who don't usually start to see how good they can be. A prime, shining example where you need to watch this space: Hassani Dotson made his first start in this Friendly, did real work, then got the nod to start against the Dynamo. He's going places. Neverthless, for the Survey's purposes, I need to use a fine-tooth comb to rank teams having good weeks, and so because they still "lost," I'm busting the Loons down here.
A two-Match week this week, both against Eastern squads that would also be in the playoffs if the year were to end -- at Atlanta Wednesday, hosting Philadelphia Sunday afternoon for the annual Pride Match.
#-Infinity: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -2). Well, they made a run. In the Big Ten Baseball Tournament in Omaha, Neb., they started off on the wrong foot, getting drubbed by Nebraska, 8-2, Wednesday. (Not that much of an embarrassment; all four of the high seeds lost Wednesday.) But the Fourth-seeded Gophs scratched and clawed the next four days, tossing squads that were above them on the ladder that was dangling over the cliff off before them -- regular season champ Indiana Thursday (by a score of 9-4), Iowa Friday (a 3-0 shutout). They then pipped Ohio St. Saturday, holding on for a 9-6 victory and forcing a rematch with the Buckeyes that was scheduled for Saturday evening but got postponed to Sunday early afternoon. And that, alas, was where the magic ended. The Gophers got down in a 8-1 hole and tried storming back, but the comeback fell short, 8-6, and their tournament run, and season, ended. (The Buckeyes would go on to beat Nebraska in the final; as the Seventh-seed, they stole the NCAA tourney bid that the U. needed.)
Hey, they won a Regional and got to a Super Regional last year. This year, they don't. (shrug) But hey, Catcher Eli Wilson most likely will be back to try and repeat as All-B1G First Team.
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