Apologies. I posted this thinking it was past midnight and therefore Wednesday. It said so on the clock on my laptop. But then I looked at the time on both my phone and watch and it was an hour earlier. The clock on the public station weather channel (TPT NOW 2.5) was the tie-breaker, so to speak: It was before midnight. And this Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey cannot come out on days other than Wednesdays.
So, apparently new Blogger has a feature where you can "revert" a previously published blog post back to draft mode. Not bad. I did that in order to add this prelude. And now, since it's midnight and I've been drinking over election results (I just downed half a crowler of beer and will take a swig of whiskey before I hit the hay), I'm going to re-publish this back out into the cruel, racist, indifferent world:
#-1: Vikings (Re-Entry!). Sure, the Vikings are 2-5, so the season might already be over regardless. Still, no one saw this coming: A 28-22 upset of the Packers in Green Bay. And that's why they play the Games.
Football is a team sport, but the scoring in this Game came down to two guys -- Davante Adams (three Touchdowns) for Green Bay and Dalvin Cook (four, three on the ground) for the Vikes. It would seem that for a good team to win, it would not allow just one person to score its opponent's TDs. Well, the explanation for Adams going off might be that they still aren't a good team. And for the Pack ... don't know. But I must say that Mike Zimmer and Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak called a perfect Game plan and the players executed: Let Dalvin Cook. And as much as the Vikes' record speaks for itself, how come the Packers couldn't stop the Vikings from running, running, and running some more? And in the meantime, Green Bay killed itself with penalties -- 85 Yards' worth compared to 36 for Minnesota. Add that in and, somehow, these two teams end the 2020 rivalry (very early for a rivalry as entrenched as Minnesota-Green Bay) split with both squads winning at home.
And not to hold dreams of getting to the Super Bowl or anything, but experts said the earliest part of the Vikings' schedule was the hardest. Detroit comes here Sunday, and then look at the sched: At Chicago (probably the worst Game of this stretch), then home to Dallas, Carolina and Jacksonville. So, they could be 6-6, maybe even 7-5, after this? And hey, there is now a seventh team that makes the playoffs for both conferences! (Debbie Downer: If they actually held on to win vs. Tennessee and Seattle, they would be 9-3 three-quarters through the season. And shouts to Tank For Trevor would be non-existent.)
Like I said, I guess that's why they play the Games.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -1). OK, let's start with the good news. First, on Wednesday, the Loons beat Colorado, 2-1, on an Own Goal in the 88th Minute by Lalas Abubakar. Soccer really blows this way, but like a never-Trumper Republican who doesn't exercise his or her right to vote, you'll take the results.
Then on Friday, Major League Soccer, faced with the certainty that not all clubs in the league would play an equal number of Matches before the end of the season on November 8, decided that playoff spots would be decided by Points Per Game. With that and some calculations ... carry the one ... ah, yes -- Minnesota United FC has made the playoffs! Ain't it great to get into the postseason and you didn't have to do anything?
And now the bad news. Later on Friday, it was announced that their Match at Sporting Kansas City was cancelled because two players on the Loons club tested positive for COVID-19. It may be a blessing disguise, since Minnesota has never fared well in K. C. and it just so happens that match was the last road Game in their season. Usually, whenever a team clinches a playoff spot, I give that team the top spot on the WMNSS. But I had to knock them down because of a third cancellation (one in which was rescheduled, I think) in the resumption of this season. It's not fair to the other ballclub or to fans to have a Match people were looking forward to suddenly taken out from under them because of the 'Rona. Furthermore, I feel a tinge of provincial shame. Neither the Lynx nor Wild tested positive for COVID while they were in their bubbles, and as far as I know, the Twins had zero positive cases when they playing at Target Field. (OK, the Vikings have a couple players test positive, but the NFL somehow deemed them isolated incidents, so no Games were rescheduled or cancelled.) Hell, MNUFC didn't have any cases while they were in its bubble. It's disruptive and very disappointing that, frankly, these two guys got a bit careless and contracted something so communicable, Games had to be cancelled. No other Minnesota team has done that. There have been many teams where coronavirus has run rampant (the Orlando Pride, FC Dallas and Nashville SC had it so bad they had to leave the bubble; also think about the St. Louis Cardinals, the Miami Marlins and the Tennessee Titans); I was just hoping that a Minnesota team would be common-sensical and not screw up like that.
There are two Games left in the regular season: Tonight at home to the Chicago Fire (assuming no other positives) and home Sunday to FC Dallas. Can they maintain at least fourth in the West and a home Game for the first round?
#-3: Gopher football (Last Week: -2). OK, the bloom is totally off the rose now, and the boat is sinking. In a track meet disguised as a football Game, the heavy (home) underdog Maryland Terrapins raced out to a 21-7 after one Quarter. The U. then ripped off 31 consecutive Points in the Second and Third Quarters, only to be outscored 17-0 by the Terps in the Fourth. That sent the Game into Overtime tied at 38. In OT, Maryland scored a 2-Yard rushing TD by Taulia Tagovailoa, little brother of Alabama Crimson Tide God Tua. They hit the PAT. The Goofers responded with a 2-Yard rushing TD of their own by Seth Green.
Do you think they hit the PAT?
And they lose to go to 0-2. Faint hopes of a good season are flatlining, hard. And it's obvious that their Defense can't stop shit. So, what to do?Minnesota misses the extra point to force double OT 😳
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 31, 2020
TERPS WIN 45-44! pic.twitter.com/p3yy3asURp
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