#-2: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3). Well, looky here! They went 3-1 this screening Week. Sure, that Loss was an inexplicable 17-Point Loss at Detroit, which completed the Pistons' season sweep of the Woofie Dogs. And Rudy Gobert was quoted as saying after the Game that after the First Quarter, when they were up by three on Detroit, that they played harder, and they had to figure out why they weren't playing harder. Kind of a dumb thing to opine about, but since then, they outdistanced Phoenix by five and defeated Cleveland (with former Wolves Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio). Those home triumphs, along with an eight-Point road Win Sunday in Houston, has, somehow and someway, gotten the Timberwolves into a three-way tie for sixth place in the Western Conference. And OK, they're only a Game up on Portland for 11th place. But for the longest time they were stubbornly on the outside looking in, and look at them now, look at them now.
What's driving this surge is the Timberwolves' bench. The role players, such as Naz Reid, Jaylen Nowell, Austin Rivers and, very lately, Luka Garza of all people, has been buoying and, in some cases, stepping in for The Big Four. Gobert? He started the Cavaliers Game last/Saturday night but played only 13 Minutes. And D'Angelo Russell played only 21. But seven others logged at least 20 Minutes (paced by Anthony Edwards's 35) and they beat the Cavs, 110-102. If the starters aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing, but somehow the reserves are playing well as a team, you damn right Chris Finch should play them more. I saw a quote from him on Twitter after the Cleveland Win that, and I'm paraphrasing, the T-Wolves can beat anyone and lose to anyone on any given day, and that scares any Head Coach. He's right.
Another four-tilt Week: An MLK matinee at home versus Utah, then a quick trip Wednesday out to Western-leading Denver, then home to face Toronto and Houston.
#-3: Whitecaps (Last Week: -2). The Premier Hockey Federation is getting no publicity; more of it, frankly, is focused on the rift from the sport's best players boycotting the league. But if you're a fan of local women's professional hockey, start paying attention to the Whitecaps. They started out the season losing four in a row, but they have reeled off three straight after completed a series sweep at Buffalo and kicking off a two-Match set at, uh, Metropolitan by beating the Riveters, 3-2.
Caveat: The Beauts and the Riveters are The Two Worst Teams In The PHF. But that's not the Whitecaps' problem. For fans, focus on the fact that Minnesota is firmly ensconced in third place and is closer to the top two teams of Buffalo and Toronto than the other four. One more against the Rivs before they're done until after Groundhog Day.
#-4: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -5). They're not this low because they had a bad Week. It's just that everybody above them, in my opinion, had a better one. Meanwhile, these guys were taken to Overtime by St. Cloud St. before beating them, 2-1, to get a split of their home-and-home, then lost in a Shootout at Notre Dame Friday before crushing the Fighting Irish last/Saturday night, 3-0. I've seen highlights of this team, and I can't remember a club that had this much individual scoring talent. They had somewhat rough-and-tumble Week, but they're still in it to win it, I believe. A pair at home against Michigan this weekend.
#-5: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -9). Look, these guys are probably not going to get higher up in any WMNSS than they are now, as low as this is. Yes, they did win their only Game of the Week, 70-67 Thursday at Ohio St. But most people agree that the Buckeyes got hosed late in that one: With the scored tied at 67, the U.'s Ta'lon Cooper drove for a lay-up which was blocked by Ohio St.'s Bruce Thornton. Thornton was called for a foul even though, as seen on instant replay, it was a perfectly clean block. Cooper made 1-of-2, the Buckeyes couldn't inbound the pass, Minnesota was fouled again and Dawson Garcia (possibly this team's MVP) made both Free Throws for the final scoring margin. You get your Wins where you can, but at the very least, this Game should've gone to Overtime.
They are home this screening Week for Games vs. Illinois and Purdue. They have a faint chance against the Illini, but don't be surprised if Thursday is the last time these Goofs win a Match in the B1G.
#-6: Vikings (Last Week: -7). So they blasted the Bears in Chicago in last Sunday's regular season finale, 29-13. Who knew that Nathan Peterman was still in the league? Anyway, it was only the squad's second Win by more than one score, the other being, somewhat coincidentally, the first Game of the regular season, at home over Green Bay.
But really, all that matters is this/Sunday afternoon's Wild Card contest vs. the New York Giants at home. There are a lot of people -- not a majority, I don't think, but a lot of people -- that predict an upset. They've been making great escapes all season; their 11 victories by one score is an NFL record. Do they escape again? Do they make this easy ... somehow? Or do they succumb to a Giants team that almost got their goat Christmas Eve?
#-7: Wild (Last Week: -4). Got blanked at home by St. Louis and then lost at Madison Square Garden to the New York Rangers in a Shootout after they were up 2-0 in the First Period. That extended their losing streak to three Games, but they since have broken that with victories in Long Island over the New York Islanders and at home to The Bastard Winnipeg Jets. What may be more important is that they have opened up a seven-Point lead on the injury-riddled defending Stanley Cup Champions, The Bastard Quebec Nordiques, for third place in the Central Division.
This Week is the start of a four-Game roadtrip through the Southeastern(-ish) part of the U. S. -- Washington, D. C. Tuesday, Carolina (Raleigh) Thursday, Florida (actually Sunrise, Fla.) Saturday.
#-8: Gopher wrestling (Last Week: -6). So maybe Oklahoma St. isn't the big bad I thought they always were. But the shine of that upset win in Stillwater is dulling big-time. They lost their second consecutive conference Dual Friday at Nebraska, and by a score of 21-9. The Gopher grapplers won only three of the ten Matches. Three of the defeats were to Cornhuskers seeded below them; two of them were to unseeded Nebraska wrestlers when the U. wrestler was ranked. What the fuck, guys?
As busy a Week a college wrestling program gets: Home to Michigan St. tonight/Sunday night, at Indiana Friday.
#-9: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -8). This godawful team is on a four-Game losing streak after a close Losses at Wisconsin Sunday and at home to Rutgers Thursday. The Common Man was watching Thursday's defeat, and as he retold his observations on his "progrum" Friday, it felt as though Minnesota was turning the ball over every other possession. That has seemed to be a bugaboo all season long, and yet the Scarlet Knights matched the Goofs in TOs. And they still lost.
And now they face a busy screening Week: Illinois at The Barn this/Sunday afternoon (the Game will end as the Vikings are going through the First Quarter -- this is bad scheduling, yo), at Penn St. Wednesday, at Purdue Saturday.
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