#-1: Vikings (Re-Entry!). I don't know what to expect from this club this year. Looking around at sabrematrician sites, the consensus is eight or nine Wins but, because of regression from the Packers and Bears, they are prime contenders of winning the National Football Conference North and getting back to the playoffs. Kirk Cousins and the reconstituted Offensive Line are the biggest questions marks going into the season.
Well, we're now one game into said season, and even though the former issue has not been solved, I feel encouraged by the latter. They hosted and housed Atlanta 28-12 on Sunday. All three Falcons Turnovers ended in Touchdowns, and a Blocked Punt in the First Quarter opened scoring with a Cousins-to-Adam Thielen TD. So the defense (and special teams) were sensational, and as a result, Cousins didn't have to be: He attempted only ten passes and completed only eight of them for a total of 98 Yards. Now, he did get sacked twice. And come to think of it, the defense was called for three neutral-zone infraction Penalties, each of which resulted in a Falcons First Down. And, yeah, they were shutting out Atlanta until the back half of the Fourth Quarter. But I did not believe the Vikes were going to win, and I certainly don't believe they would romp like they did. Now, can they keep it up Sunday afternoon as they face the Packers in Lambeau?
#-2: Gopher football (Re-Entry!). First of all, I should clarify myself. Two weeks ago I teased that the University of Minnesota football team would be on the following week's survey, which was last week. Well, I forgot that the club's season-opening opponent is South Dakota St., who is good but is a second-division school. I don't count games against second-division schools.
So this week, in game two, is the first appearance of the Gopher footballers on the WMNSS this year. And it was a fucking wild one. Fulfilling the back end of a home-and-home series vs. Fresno St., the visiting Gophs tied up the contest with 46 Second left on a 20-Yard pass from Tanner Morgan to Chris Autman-Bell. The U. got the ball first in college football's continually-contrived overtime procedure but eked out only a Field Goal. These guys should not be losing to Fresno St., even on the road, so I thought they were bound to yield a Touchdown and the game. But they didn't, even though the ending to this Game had a twist a movie would love.
Seriously, look at this. This looks like a TD, right?
But look at Antoine Winfield, Jr., flying in from fuckin' nowhere to grab the ball and seal the win! And ironically enough, he did the same thing in this matchup last year at TCF Bank Stadium -- an Interception to win the game for the Gophers. For his efforts, Winfield was named Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Week.
So these guys are on the survey until the end. Next up is a home date Saturday afternoon against Georgia Southern who is a top-flight football team. I checked.
#-3: Twins (Last Week: -1). Hey, can I say something that needs to be said? A few weeks ago, in conjunction with Major League Baseball announcing the 2020 schedule for all 30 teams, the Twins website got rid of the monthly look of their 2019 schedule, replacing it with a list format. I hate that because I have to now scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to see last week's results. Also in its place the "Schedule" tab has more options, none of which I need: "Broadcast," "Sortable," "Printable" and "Downloadable." I don't need any of those fucking things! I need the old monthly format back, with the big logos and colors denoting home and away games! The fuck is this shit?
Anyway, a 3-3 screening week. Taking two-of-three in Boston (the final game of that series ending with Eddie Rosario gunning down Rafael Devers at the plate to seal the 2-1 win), but following that up by losing two-of-three at home to Cleveland. I thought that would happen. Honest! I just think that The Tribe is playing better baseball right now. So thank Buddha, God and all the other deities above that the Twinks hold, as of press time, a five-Game lead on Cleveland.
But don't relax just yet. The schedule appears to be the only reason they lead the division, and might win it. But look at what comes up this week: Three at home vs. The Bastard Montreal Expos, who currently sit as NLWC1. They then go to Cleveland for three Games before coming right back home to host the Chicago White Sox starting on Monday. Meanwhile, Cleveland started a three-Game series in Anaheim last/Monday night and defeated the Angels, 6-2. They have a travel day Thursday so they can fly back home at prepare for the Twins, and then have Monday off. In conclusion: This race is not over, not just yet.
#-4: Lynx (Last Week: -3). OK, so the Jynx didn't lose their final two Games on the road and fall to eighth in the WNBA like I speculated last week. They crushed the Mercury in Phoenix Friday by 14, pushing them down to that eighth and final spot. But the Lynx lost the season finale in Los Angeles to the Sparks, 77-68, ending their winning streak at five.
So Minnesota enters the playoffs as the seventh-seed, and thus play sixth-seeded (and defending champ) Seattle in Seattle Wednesday. Remember that the WNBA has a stepladder/bowling set-up, where the teams seeded fifth through eighth play one game, then the winners play either the third- or fourth-seeds for just one game (that'll be on Sunday). Semfinals and Finals are all best-three-out-of-five, but frankly, we don't need to worry about this team getting that far because they're losing to the Storm on Wednesday.
#-5: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -4). Don't know what to make of this team yet. Got swept at Top 10-ranked Texas Wednesday; swept Top 10-ranked Florida at home Saturday. Their 1-1 screening kept the Goofers at #8 on the AVCA Top 25. The club is using as main Setter Kylie Miller, a Californian and Senior who transferred in the offseason after three seasons at UCLA. The B1G named her as Setter Of The Week.
Upcoming: The Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, being held this weekend at Penn St. They'll face Oregon and defending champion (and current #1) Stanford.
#-6: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -5). The local team that has stumbled the most, and worst, is the college soccer club. They had the home opener Thursday, but lost to Marquette, 1-0. Then on Sunday they travelled to Virginia, which is ranked in the top five of the two polls I just checked. I appreciate the ambition, but they lost 2-0. So these young women are on a three-Game losing streak and still are winless on the season. Their bona fides in getting an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament is just about gone.The team's fourth and final week of non-conference play features home Matches vs. N. C. St. (Thursday) and South Dakota St. (Sunday).
Well, we're now one game into said season, and even though the former issue has not been solved, I feel encouraged by the latter. They hosted and housed Atlanta 28-12 on Sunday. All three Falcons Turnovers ended in Touchdowns, and a Blocked Punt in the First Quarter opened scoring with a Cousins-to-Adam Thielen TD. So the defense (and special teams) were sensational, and as a result, Cousins didn't have to be: He attempted only ten passes and completed only eight of them for a total of 98 Yards. Now, he did get sacked twice. And come to think of it, the defense was called for three neutral-zone infraction Penalties, each of which resulted in a Falcons First Down. And, yeah, they were shutting out Atlanta until the back half of the Fourth Quarter. But I did not believe the Vikes were going to win, and I certainly don't believe they would romp like they did. Now, can they keep it up Sunday afternoon as they face the Packers in Lambeau?
#-2: Gopher football (Re-Entry!). First of all, I should clarify myself. Two weeks ago I teased that the University of Minnesota football team would be on the following week's survey, which was last week. Well, I forgot that the club's season-opening opponent is South Dakota St., who is good but is a second-division school. I don't count games against second-division schools.
So this week, in game two, is the first appearance of the Gopher footballers on the WMNSS this year. And it was a fucking wild one. Fulfilling the back end of a home-and-home series vs. Fresno St., the visiting Gophs tied up the contest with 46 Second left on a 20-Yard pass from Tanner Morgan to Chris Autman-Bell. The U. got the ball first in college football's continually-contrived overtime procedure but eked out only a Field Goal. These guys should not be losing to Fresno St., even on the road, so I thought they were bound to yield a Touchdown and the game. But they didn't, even though the ending to this Game had a twist a movie would love.
Seriously, look at this. This looks like a TD, right?
But look at Antoine Winfield, Jr., flying in from fuckin' nowhere to grab the ball and seal the win! And ironically enough, he did the same thing in this matchup last year at TCF Bank Stadium -- an Interception to win the game for the Gophers. For his efforts, Winfield was named Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Week.
So these guys are on the survey until the end. Next up is a home date Saturday afternoon against Georgia Southern who is a top-flight football team. I checked.
#-3: Twins (Last Week: -1). Hey, can I say something that needs to be said? A few weeks ago, in conjunction with Major League Baseball announcing the 2020 schedule for all 30 teams, the Twins website got rid of the monthly look of their 2019 schedule, replacing it with a list format. I hate that because I have to now scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to see last week's results. Also in its place the "Schedule" tab has more options, none of which I need: "Broadcast," "Sortable," "Printable" and "Downloadable." I don't need any of those fucking things! I need the old monthly format back, with the big logos and colors denoting home and away games! The fuck is this shit?
Anyway, a 3-3 screening week. Taking two-of-three in Boston (the final game of that series ending with Eddie Rosario gunning down Rafael Devers at the plate to seal the 2-1 win), but following that up by losing two-of-three at home to Cleveland. I thought that would happen. Honest! I just think that The Tribe is playing better baseball right now. So thank Buddha, God and all the other deities above that the Twinks hold, as of press time, a five-Game lead on Cleveland.
But don't relax just yet. The schedule appears to be the only reason they lead the division, and might win it. But look at what comes up this week: Three at home vs. The Bastard Montreal Expos, who currently sit as NLWC1. They then go to Cleveland for three Games before coming right back home to host the Chicago White Sox starting on Monday. Meanwhile, Cleveland started a three-Game series in Anaheim last/Monday night and defeated the Angels, 6-2. They have a travel day Thursday so they can fly back home at prepare for the Twins, and then have Monday off. In conclusion: This race is not over, not just yet.
#-4: Lynx (Last Week: -3). OK, so the Jynx didn't lose their final two Games on the road and fall to eighth in the WNBA like I speculated last week. They crushed the Mercury in Phoenix Friday by 14, pushing them down to that eighth and final spot. But the Lynx lost the season finale in Los Angeles to the Sparks, 77-68, ending their winning streak at five.
So Minnesota enters the playoffs as the seventh-seed, and thus play sixth-seeded (and defending champ) Seattle in Seattle Wednesday. Remember that the WNBA has a stepladder/bowling set-up, where the teams seeded fifth through eighth play one game, then the winners play either the third- or fourth-seeds for just one game (that'll be on Sunday). Semfinals and Finals are all best-three-out-of-five, but frankly, we don't need to worry about this team getting that far because they're losing to the Storm on Wednesday.
#-5: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -4). Don't know what to make of this team yet. Got swept at Top 10-ranked Texas Wednesday; swept Top 10-ranked Florida at home Saturday. Their 1-1 screening kept the Goofers at #8 on the AVCA Top 25. The club is using as main Setter Kylie Miller, a Californian and Senior who transferred in the offseason after three seasons at UCLA. The B1G named her as Setter Of The Week.
Upcoming: The Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge, being held this weekend at Penn St. They'll face Oregon and defending champion (and current #1) Stanford.
#-6: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -5). The local team that has stumbled the most, and worst, is the college soccer club. They had the home opener Thursday, but lost to Marquette, 1-0. Then on Sunday they travelled to Virginia, which is ranked in the top five of the two polls I just checked. I appreciate the ambition, but they lost 2-0. So these young women are on a three-Game losing streak and still are winless on the season. Their bona fides in getting an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament is just about gone.The team's fourth and final week of non-conference play features home Matches vs. N. C. St. (Thursday) and South Dakota St. (Sunday).
No comments:
Post a Comment