#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1). The regular season isn't over yet, and I don't know if any lead is safe when it comes to a Twin Cities sports team. But still, having a 5-1 screening week, while your main competitor, Cleveland, kept pace by sweeping host Detroit but then getting swept by host Tampa, thus opening up a 5 1/2-Game lead in the American League Central, is cause for some celebration. Moreover, in the only loss of the week, which came on Saturday in Detroit (the Twins swept the White Sox in Chicago earlier in the week), the club set the record for my Home Runs by a team in a season. The person to do it: Mitch Garver, in the top of the Ninth Inning. The Twins broke the record set by the New York Yankees all the way back in 2018. And people suspect that up to three other clubs will also surpass that mark by the time this year is over. Yeah, HRs are no longer special.
The back half of the season is a gift because the Twins play so many contest against the three non-competitive teams in the A. L. Central. This week will provide more formidable obstacles. Tonight/Tuesday night they visit Boston for three. Then over the weekend they come home to host, you guessed it, Cleveland.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -4). So I was going to the Brew Hall at Allianz Field because there was going to be a watch party for the U. S. Open Cup Final on Tuesday between our Loons and host Atlanta United, but there was no seat open, so I decided to walk on down to the Black Hart, which vows to always show a soccer match whenever there is one on the bar's cable or satellite system. Of course they were going to show a match as important as the Open Cup Final -- and many people had the same idea, as it was almost as packed there as it was about half a mile away. Still, it would have been nice to have sound for the whole game, not just the Second Half. There are kinks to still be worked out there; for example, they could use TVs that synced up together. And they could use better TVs.
Anyway, the 2-1 loss to the Five Stripes is further evidence that our most-hated rival is ATLUTD. I won't call it a rivalry, though. We don't have anybody else, at least for now. (Chicago? Colorado? Kansas City is being shoved down our throats, but nah.) What we do have is a team that was birthed into MLS at the same time, at which point the resources, and therefore outlook, of both teams shot in very different directions. MNUFC has struggled, only finding its footing this year because of pre-determined spending limits; Arthur Blank decided to leave no expense expensed and has consistently fielded a great, Yankees-like team, which resulted in the MLS Cup last year. Beyond that, remember that United FC's first-ever top-flight home Game resulted in a 6-1 beatdown by them, and you can see a path of ass-kicking that should be remembered the next time(s) the XI sees them. As Dan Le Batard once said, a hammer and a nail don't have a rivalry. But this is what we've got.
Since Adrian Heath apparently went all-in on winning Tuesday night's Game, it felt as though the cupboard would be totally bare when the squad returned to MLS play Sunday night against the Los Angeles Football Club. A road game against the best team in the league by a mile, who hasn't lost at home yet, five nights after getting exhausted losing a nail-biter in the most important Game in the franchise's history? I was praying they wouldn't get laughed out of Banc Of California Stadium. But they weren't. Mason Toye saw to that, scoring from an acute angle and then chipping in a howitzer from deep in the First Half, and the defense parked the bus in the Second Half, contributing to a 2-0 and three Points no one thought they were going to get. The race in the Western Conference is going to be a wild one; essentially stealing Points, and getting them to third place for the moment, is a skin that will help them ensure a playoff spot, if not a playoff game at home.
The team hosts a friendly against Liga MX's Pachuca Saturday. (Bought a ticket not realizing I have a college football game to organize later that night; I'll skip out after Halftime.) But everybody's on an international break, so no entry for next week.
#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -2). They've looked this good before, only to face tougher opponents on the road and lose resoundingly. And it should be noted that they've won their last four Games while playing all of them in Target Center. Nevertheless, the Lynx did beat Chicago and Indiana, both by eight-Point margins. And they now sit in sixth place overall, thereby granting them a home playoff Game in the First Round (presuming the WNBA still has the bowling "stepladder" playoff format they introduced not too long ago). This is a completely different team, so the realistic question is how good this club can be with its new composition.
Sunday's victory over the Fever was the Lynx's last at Target. They finish the regular season at Phoenix and Los Angeles -- which, if form holds, means they'll finish the year on a two-Game losing streak.
#-4: Gopher volleyball (Re-Entry!). Look, I'm gonna tell y'all right now: I will not be rational when it comes to evaluating this program's screening weeks, at least for the time being. I have rooted for this team ever seen I came back from college, and while they have knocked on the door, they have never won an NCAA championship. Last year was their chance; they were the overall #2 seed in the field, and the Final Four was being held at Target Center. But they didn't win. They didn't even reach the title game. They didn't even make it to the Final Four. In fact, they didn't even reach the Regional Final held at Maturi Pavilion. They crashed out of the Sweet Sixteen -- and in four sets at that! I was pissed off then and I am just as pissed off now, so no, I will give no quarter to these players … well, until they win it all, or until I no longer am furious.
But that is not this week. And by the way, this team opened the season with two neutral site Games as part of the B1G/ACC Challenge. They swept North Carolina, but then got swept by Florida St. Now how in the fuck are you the preseason #3 ranked team in the polls and not only lose but get swept?! How fucking unacceptable.
This week they play a pair of Games. They are at Texas Wednesday. They then host Florida Saturday night.
#-5: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3). And as much as I want to excoriate the volleyballers, I cannot ignore the fact that the college soccer team has yet to win yet this year. This past week they were in a tournament in Oxford, Miss., and they tied Arkansas at 1 Thursday but lost 3-2 to host Ole Miss on a Golden Goal in the 109th Minute. Is it possible that this team is just not good? On Thursday they finally open up the home portion of their regular season versus Marquette, but Sunday they boomerang back out on the road to visit Virginia.
The back half of the season is a gift because the Twins play so many contest against the three non-competitive teams in the A. L. Central. This week will provide more formidable obstacles. Tonight/Tuesday night they visit Boston for three. Then over the weekend they come home to host, you guessed it, Cleveland.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -4). So I was going to the Brew Hall at Allianz Field because there was going to be a watch party for the U. S. Open Cup Final on Tuesday between our Loons and host Atlanta United, but there was no seat open, so I decided to walk on down to the Black Hart, which vows to always show a soccer match whenever there is one on the bar's cable or satellite system. Of course they were going to show a match as important as the Open Cup Final -- and many people had the same idea, as it was almost as packed there as it was about half a mile away. Still, it would have been nice to have sound for the whole game, not just the Second Half. There are kinks to still be worked out there; for example, they could use TVs that synced up together. And they could use better TVs.
Anyway, the 2-1 loss to the Five Stripes is further evidence that our most-hated rival is ATLUTD. I won't call it a rivalry, though. We don't have anybody else, at least for now. (Chicago? Colorado? Kansas City is being shoved down our throats, but nah.) What we do have is a team that was birthed into MLS at the same time, at which point the resources, and therefore outlook, of both teams shot in very different directions. MNUFC has struggled, only finding its footing this year because of pre-determined spending limits; Arthur Blank decided to leave no expense expensed and has consistently fielded a great, Yankees-like team, which resulted in the MLS Cup last year. Beyond that, remember that United FC's first-ever top-flight home Game resulted in a 6-1 beatdown by them, and you can see a path of ass-kicking that should be remembered the next time(s) the XI sees them. As Dan Le Batard once said, a hammer and a nail don't have a rivalry. But this is what we've got.
Since Adrian Heath apparently went all-in on winning Tuesday night's Game, it felt as though the cupboard would be totally bare when the squad returned to MLS play Sunday night against the Los Angeles Football Club. A road game against the best team in the league by a mile, who hasn't lost at home yet, five nights after getting exhausted losing a nail-biter in the most important Game in the franchise's history? I was praying they wouldn't get laughed out of Banc Of California Stadium. But they weren't. Mason Toye saw to that, scoring from an acute angle and then chipping in a howitzer from deep in the First Half, and the defense parked the bus in the Second Half, contributing to a 2-0 and three Points no one thought they were going to get. The race in the Western Conference is going to be a wild one; essentially stealing Points, and getting them to third place for the moment, is a skin that will help them ensure a playoff spot, if not a playoff game at home.
The team hosts a friendly against Liga MX's Pachuca Saturday. (Bought a ticket not realizing I have a college football game to organize later that night; I'll skip out after Halftime.) But everybody's on an international break, so no entry for next week.
#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -2). They've looked this good before, only to face tougher opponents on the road and lose resoundingly. And it should be noted that they've won their last four Games while playing all of them in Target Center. Nevertheless, the Lynx did beat Chicago and Indiana, both by eight-Point margins. And they now sit in sixth place overall, thereby granting them a home playoff Game in the First Round (presuming the WNBA still has the bowling "stepladder" playoff format they introduced not too long ago). This is a completely different team, so the realistic question is how good this club can be with its new composition.
Sunday's victory over the Fever was the Lynx's last at Target. They finish the regular season at Phoenix and Los Angeles -- which, if form holds, means they'll finish the year on a two-Game losing streak.
#-4: Gopher volleyball (Re-Entry!). Look, I'm gonna tell y'all right now: I will not be rational when it comes to evaluating this program's screening weeks, at least for the time being. I have rooted for this team ever seen I came back from college, and while they have knocked on the door, they have never won an NCAA championship. Last year was their chance; they were the overall #2 seed in the field, and the Final Four was being held at Target Center. But they didn't win. They didn't even reach the title game. They didn't even make it to the Final Four. In fact, they didn't even reach the Regional Final held at Maturi Pavilion. They crashed out of the Sweet Sixteen -- and in four sets at that! I was pissed off then and I am just as pissed off now, so no, I will give no quarter to these players … well, until they win it all, or until I no longer am furious.
But that is not this week. And by the way, this team opened the season with two neutral site Games as part of the B1G/ACC Challenge. They swept North Carolina, but then got swept by Florida St. Now how in the fuck are you the preseason #3 ranked team in the polls and not only lose but get swept?! How fucking unacceptable.
This week they play a pair of Games. They are at Texas Wednesday. They then host Florida Saturday night.
#-5: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3). And as much as I want to excoriate the volleyballers, I cannot ignore the fact that the college soccer team has yet to win yet this year. This past week they were in a tournament in Oxford, Miss., and they tied Arkansas at 1 Thursday but lost 3-2 to host Ole Miss on a Golden Goal in the 109th Minute. Is it possible that this team is just not good? On Thursday they finally open up the home portion of their regular season versus Marquette, but Sunday they boomerang back out on the road to visit Virginia.
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