Saturday, February 5, 2022

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

Positive Numbers: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2).  OK, after this screening Week, I am now thinking the Golden Gopher women's hockey program has a chance to win the NCAA championship this Year.

They finished their most daunting gauntlet in several Years last Saturday, beating Ohio St. (then ranked either second or third depending on the poll) in Columbus in regulation, 5-3.  That means that in the team's last four Games, two at the Buckeyes and the previous weekend at home vs. then #-1 Wisconsin, they have won thrice and lost in Overtime.  That's ten (I think) out of a possible twelve Points taken.  More importantly, those results have surged the U. into first place in the WCHA, first place in the poll(s), and first place in the all-important PairWise.  And they've done this all, by the way, without Grace Zumwinkle or Abbey Murphy, neither of whom have been with the club all Year as they are now in Beijing as part of the United States Olympic Women's Hockey Team.

Now till the end of the regular season it's a matter of not slipping up and putting doubts in (at least) my mind that they're susceptible to another letdown.  So far so good last/Friday night, as they immolated Bemidji St. at Ridder, 7-0.  They'll probably beat them again this/Saturday afternoon, then begin a home-and-home with St. Cloud St. with a Friday afternoon tilt in The Cloud.

#0: Timberwolves (Last Week: -4).  I was not aware that there was a difficult part of the schedule, and that this difficult part had just concluded this Week.  And with home Wins over Utah and Denver, they are still sitting pretty in seventh place in the Western Conference -- still a part of the Play-In, but most likely in the Playoffs for real.  And now they are facing what's deemed the easier, if not easiest, part of the schedule, which they began with a 128-117 thumping of the Pistons in Detroit Thursday.

It is odd to see them stumble into a good team because it's been a while since that happened.  Even then, that good squad came, in my opinion, as a result of the trade for Jimmy Butler; since he pitched a fit and got himself traded, the Wolves were back to being a group of purposeless nomads.  But the overhaul of the roster in recent Years have finally born fruit in a group of defenders and role players who have found a home here in Minnesota.

And it seems as though it's a team that likes each other, another factor that I don't existed in past iterations, even though not winning always is the reason.  For all his lackluster defensive tendencies (which have improved as the Timberwolves went through its gauntlet with a good record), Karl-Anthony Towns remains an offensive force, and when he was picked as an All-Star reserve (the third time he is an All-Star), he was showered by his teammates in the locker room:

Also, if I haven't made it official yet, I was wrong about Anthony Edwards.  I saw him then as an offensive show pony for a Georgia squad that did nothing, and I thought he was going to be KAT 2.0.  Instead, his offensive energy, focus and fire has been something this club has needed for a long time, and his offensive stats have made him a mostly reliable option when KAT and D'Angelo Russell aren't on.  And I have to say, he's funny as hell.  After beating Detroit Thursday, he delayed his press conference because he was ordering McDonald's:

Ant got the value meal: "Yeah, cheap dude, man," he said, "I'm waiting until my other contract hits."

This is as fun a team as we've seen from this franchise.  And that's why I'm glad I got a ticket (as expensive as it is) to see the Pistons' return date tomorrow/Sunday afternoon at Target Center.  They then have a home-and-home on back-to-back days versus ... Sacramento; shit, this schedule for the Wolves fucking sucks.  And then they have a road date in Chicago.

#-1: Wild (Last Week: -1).  After victories this Week over the Islanders at Belmont Park and the Blackhawks in Chicago (a tilt they won 5-0 where they chased Marc-Andre Fleury), they have won their last six.  Since the loss to St. Louis in the Winter Classic on New Year's Day, they have scored Points in ten contests and have only lost to The Bastard Quebec Nordiques in Denver in a Shootout on January 17.

That recent run of form has not stopped Anson Carter, former NHL Wing and now studio analyst for TNT, to label the Wild as frauds after the Blackhawks Win.  Many people have pointed out the team's depth for their success, to which Carter cited as a counterpoint to that assertion ... the Winter Classic, where the club was down three guys and got blitzed.  That got a rebuke from Wild beat reporter for The Athletic Michael Russo.  While that Winter Classic still sticks in my craw -- I stayed out in windchills in the -20's and saw that bullshit beatdown -- I'm going to trust the beat reporter over the national studio analyst, OK?  Also, Wins don't lie.

I put them down at -1 for a couple reasons.  First, the Gopher women's hockey team is now first in the nation in everything and the Timberwolves look in prime position to organically secure a playoff spot, so from how I see things now, I think both squads have accomplished more.  Also, while it's good to have Games in hand, I still see the Wild as needing to face their gauntlet, namely a February stretch where they have to make up all those Games they lost from earlier this season because of COVID-19 protocols, and they'll have to make those Games up quickly.  The team's third in the Central Division right now, but a stumble could still have them fighting for a playoff spot.

First, though, is the All-Star Break, of which Kirill Kaprizov and Cam Talbot will not enjoy because they're in Las Vegas participating in the All-Star Game.  Break's over on Tuesday when they face The Bastard Atlanta Thrashers in Winnipeg.

#-2: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -5).  Down 12-6 last/Friday night at Illinois, the U. won the last four Matches, beginning with a Major Decision by Bailee O'Reilly and ending with a Pin by Gable Steveson, to crush the Illini, 22-12.  That's the kind of come-from-behind victory I haven't seen from these guys in some time.  They finish the regular season this Week at Purdue Sunday afternoon and versus Ohio St. at Maturi Friday night.

#-3: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -3).  Lost last Saturday at Notre Dame in Overtime, 3-2, then came back from a 2-0 deficit after the First Period to defeat Michigan St. at Mariucci Arena last/Friday night, 4-2.  They currently sit tenth in the PairWise.  They seem to hover around that mark, and the closer we get to the end of the regular season, the more likely they'll get into the NCAA Tournament if they continue to hover around that mark.  They finish up this/Saturday evening, then begin a two-Game series at Ohio St., which leads the Big Ten standings, Friday evening.

#-4: Vikings (Re-Entry!).  First of all, I think hiring Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as the new General Manager is a great idea.  He and Ryan Poles were the two finalists for the post, and once Poles pulled his name to become the new GM of the Chicago Bears, well, the Vikes found their guy, I guess.

But at least in terms of what he brings to the table, the man everybody's going to call KAM is a somewhat unorthodox, and thus perhaps better, choice than Poles.  He and predecessor Rick Spielman came up through the scouting department, and as this Ringer article points out, Super Bowl-winning teams often have GMs that came up through football operations.  (Moreover, this piece suggests going way outside the box, eschewing hiring from NFL teams and instead from data analytics firms.)  KAM is an analytics guy, but I hope he has knowledge of putting a roster together from a financial standpoint, because I think that is where the Minnesota Vikings can find an edge.

Now to the Head Coach search.  They had, well, three finalists, the also-rans being Raheem Morris and Patrick Graham.  (They're both Defensive Coordinators, something the Vikes don't need right now.  They're also Black, which is something the league definitely needs right now.)  But there was one unicorn they wanted to meet: Jim Harbaugh, currently coaching at Michigan.  Once the talk about him coming to Eagan to interview was confirmed, I thought it was a done deal.  (Harbaugh thought so too; reports had him saying goodbye to everyone in Ann Arbor, telling them that he was going to take the job.  I wasn't all too keen on the deal.  I think he could turn this team around and maybe, maybe win a Super Bowl.  I was more certain that he'll wear out his welcome and leave within four Years.

But, according to all reports surrounding his interview Wednesday, the assumption from Harbaugh that he was going to get the job was not the idea the Vikings had.  Far from it; top brass insisted to reporters that Harbaugh was coming in to interview, not to be shown the place and coronated Head Coach with a press conference to be held Thursday morning.  And in the back half of a nine-hour (!!!) interview/meeting, shit went sideways.  Wednesday night, Harbaugh was going back to Ann Arbor, saying Michigan is the place he wants to retire and die and all that.  Reaction definitely was mixed.  Some people are saying "Same ole Vikings," while others, including me, are wiping their brows and thinking that organization dodged a bullet.

So as Harbaugh was leaving Minnesota, reports are that immediately went to their Plan ... B?  A?  A2? and offered the job to Rams Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell.  He probably has already said yes, but NFL rules dictate he cannot officially accept the job until after the Super Bowl.  So he's the guy.  And he's young and he's personable and he is much more collaborative and much less dictatorial, which is the exact opposite, seemingly, of Mike Zimmer.  When you're changing HCs, you totally want a philosophical difference.  And yet I have my doubts because, well, he's young.  Also, he's not the primary play-caller on the Rams -- Head Coach Sean McVay is.  Now, McVay didn't call plays before he was hired as HC from Washington; the Head Coach there, Jay Gruden, was, and look at where McVay is heading into next Sunday.  Then again, Brad Childress didn't call plays before he was hired as HC from Philadelphia; the Head Coach there, Andy Reid, was, and look at where Chilly and the Vikes are now.  So ... ?  Actually, I'll have much more to say about O'Connell when I do my Super-Specific Super Bowl LVI Predictions next Sunday.

#-5: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -7).  Outlasted Wisconsin at Williams Sunday afternoon, 57-55.  But at fifth- or sixth-ranked Indiana Thursday, the U. didn't score in the last 4:42 of the Game and allowed the Hoosiers a Game-ending 14-0 run to go from a four-Point lead to an 80-70 Loss.  But Lindsay Whalen will get to keep this job as long as she wants it, I guess.

Busy screening Week: Hosting Michigan St. tomorrow/Sunday afternoon, at Iowa Wednesday, then at home vs. Northwestern Friday afternoon which was rescheduled from New Year's Eve because the Wildcats were pinched for COVID.

#-6: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -6).  Defeats to Wisconsin and Purdue have extended their losing streak to three.  They're now 2-8 in-conference.  And it probably won't get any better for these young men because this Week they travel to Iowa (who will be without Head Coach Fran McCaffery because he's got the 'Rona) and Nebraska.
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