#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -3). For all of these teams, things are not staying at a steady and good level. Moreover, for the rest of the teams in this week's survey, the ground is shifting beneath their feet. But at this moment in time, only the Lynx can feel good about where they are at and, more importantly in my mind, they can feel good about their future.
It took Phoenix losing to Seattle on 9/11, but with that backdoor, Minnesota sewed up the fourth seed and a single bye in the WNBA Playoffs. It may not matter a whole lot; they played Saturday (a win over Indiana, two days after getting shellacked by Las Vegas), avoided playing in the postseason opening round last/Tuesday night, and they play Thursday vs. the Mercury, so it may not be much of a rest. However, Chantel Jennings, WNBA writer for The Athletic, thought the Lynx were going to be the second-worst team in the league. And now here they are, officially in the playoffs for the tenth straight year.
And their core looks real good. Napheesa Collier is the next leader of this team. She already has a wingwoman in Crystal Dangerfield, likely the WNBA Rookie Of The Year. Damiris Dantas has been a capable role player on the block, and both Odyssey Sims and Rachel Banham (she's One Of Us!) are rotating onto the court with increasing minutes and confidence. With the possible exception of Sims (and it's not as if she's ancient), things are looking up for this franchise regardless of when the Lynx exit the postseason. Kudos, then, to Cheryl Reeve; she got the General Manager award last year, and now she's coached up this team to the point where she should get Coach Of The Year.
Now, for this postseason, I think some, but not necessarily a lot, of the squad's chances to go far and spring an upset depends on the health of Sylvia Fowles. She has been out for more than a month due to a strained calf, but if she's resting it, now's the time to get up from that rest. She can be a difference-maker down low, cleaning up everything within three feet of the basket and allowing the others (especially Dantas) to stretch the defense. But I wonder if it's actually a good thing if Big Syl comes back on Thursday. It is not as if Minnesota has been a world-beater the past month-plus; there is a strict hierarchy in the WNBA this year with the Aces and the Storm towering over everyone else. But could chemistry in fact be harmed if Fowles now comes back in to play? Chemistry is hard to find again, and you won't have time to do so in a one-Game eliminator.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -1). I had thought about putting the Twins on top of this week's WMNSS by dint of their very important three-Game sweep of Cleveland over the weekend. They may not have been listing, but there was growing probability the club would finish third in the A. L. Central and thus face either Oakland or Tampa in the Wild Card round. I think sweeping the Tribe effectively puts that fear to bed. In particular, Minnesota's 3-1 win on Friday was an extremely important one. Shane Bieber, probable American League Cy Young winner, got outdueled by Kenta Maeda in that matchup. Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers hit Home Runs off Bieber and the bullpen was able to hold off Cleveland in the final two innings. (It was Bieber's first loss of the season, and the three Runs allowed were the most he had allowed up to that point.) It almost feels like two wins.
However, my renewed enthusiasm for this team has now been tempered since they have been similarly humbled so far by the Chicago White Sox, dropping 3-1 and 6-2 decisions. The Bomba Squad has not come roaring back to life yet, but in both losses they were rendered punchless, leaving numerous runners on base. Meanwhile, the bullpen continues to look shattered; Taylor Rogers, the club's putative closer, gave up the deciding runs in Monday's defeat.
They have two more in Comiskey, tonight/Wednesday night and tomorrow/Thursday morning, but right now they're three Games behind the Pale Hose, and if they get swept, the Twins' main focus will then have to turn to holding on to the fourth seed and getting home-field advantage for their Wild Card Series which, it was announced this week by Major League Baseball, will be played entirely at the ballparks of the four higher seeds.
After playing the White Sox they stay in town over the weekend to face the Cubs. On Tuesday they will play the first of a pair of home games versus Detroit.
#-3: United FC (Last Week: -2). Upon further reflection, maybe things aren't so dire for the Loons. On Wednesday they outlasted FC Dallas, 3-2, at Allianz. That put United FC on top of the Western Conference, ever so briefly. Unfortunately, Romain Metanire got Red-Carded late in the match and thus was not available for Sunday's roadie against Sporting Kansas City. With him being unavailable and a half-dozen others injured (including Ozzie Alonso and Ike Opara, who's still out for some unknown reason), Adrian Heath decided to trot out a 5-4-1. And it almost worked, until SKC's Johnny Russell broke through in the 80th Minute to give Kansas City the 1-0 victory. They had a glorious chance to keep pace with SKC, but right now they are still in third place behind them and Seattle. It could be worse.
Friday, MLS announced the next "phase" of regular season Games for their teams that will take the league through to the end of this month. It begins for MNUFC with a date with the Dynamo, again, in Houston, again, on Saturday. The last time these two teams met was September 2, when the Loons got blanked, 3-0, the Match-winner being supplied by ex-Loon Darwin Quintero.
#-4: Vikings (Re-Entry!). This year may be the most tumultuous, and possibly the most disappointing, in the Mike Zimmer Era. After turning over most of the Cornerbacks, Zimmer's forte, the young and green replacements got absolutely torched by Aaron Rogers in Sunday's season-opener. The 43-34 score (the most Points Mike Zimmer has ever surrendered in his time leading The Purple, by the way) is misleading. Green Bay led after three Quarters, 29-10, and Kirk Cousins & Co. were allowed to score three Touchdowns in the Fourth (although, funny enough, they went for two after each of those three TDs and converted). When the Packers actually played, Minnesota got blasted on both sides of the ball. Cousins continues to malfunction and be completely unable to improvise on the fly, and the Offensive Line continues to be mediocre. But three statistics stand out to me the most: The Vikings didn't sack Rogers even once, big new acquisition Yannick didn't register even a Tackle; and Adam Thielen did have one Tackle.
I think most people didn't believe the Vikings were bound for the Super Bowl this year. But even though this is only one season, that team looked fucking lost. And with so many question marks coming into the season that continue to go begging after Week 1, I think there is serious danger that the season will go south in a hurry. They are on the road Sunday at Indianapolis, and no one should believe the Vikes will come out of there with a win. If they start 0-2, do you really believe this team, as it's currently constituted, will be able to turn it around?
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