#-1: Timberwolves (Re-Entry!). All three local teams playing right now had sorry-ass screening Weeks, so partly out of spite and partly because I really can't see any one of them getting the top spot in this Week's WMNSS, I'm going to put the Timberwolves in the top spot just because of their picks from the NBA Draft that happened on Thursday. Mind you, they didn't do much in the draft. They only picked in the Second Round, and twice, and they had to trade two Second-Round picks to San Antonio to draft the earlier of those picks, Power Forward Leonard Miller out of the G League (or, as I like to say, the "Gleague"), at #33. They then took at the pick they had going into Thursday, #53, UCLA Guard Jaylen Clark, who tore his Achilles tendon late in the regular season and probably won't play till the calendar flips.
Two projects, both known for their defensive prowess but have to work on their shooting, now are with the Woofie Dogs. God knows how or even if they fit in with a squad that's capped and have looming salary questions to deal with the next couple years. And yet ESPN, the Sporting News and USA Today gave the organization a B for their haul. I don't even know if they'll make the club ever, but compared to the other three, this is enough for the Timberwolves to be top.
#-2: Lynx (Last Week: -1). Sandwiched a third Win over Los Angeles (and by the way, I was wrong about the number of times these two clubs teams will meet. There will be a fourth matchup later on in the season) with blowout Losses at Las Vegas and home to Connecticut. I am placing the Jynx above the other two because they are projected to be out of the playoff field and so get a chance to play and win next Year's Draft Lottery, which should be the point of this season.
I guess I should talk about Friday's victory over the Sparks, which I was able to watch on ION/Channel 41. First of all, with the Bally Sports Regional Sports Network teetering on bankruptcy, I am glad to see sports being televised on free TV again. And it makes sense; why cut off viewers who can't afford to pay cable? But about the Game ... well, it was a back-and-forth affair, and in the end, Minnesota managed to make fewer mistakes than L. A. Still, the same damn things that have sunk Lynx clubs in the past continued in this Game: The propensity to turn the ball over, the inability to close out on wide open Three-Point Attempts, the urge to jack up shots early in the Shot Clock just because they feel they have "momentum." Napheesa Collier can't clean up all her teammates' shit.
They host Seattle, another once-proud franchise who've fallen on black days, Tuesday, and my friend has a free ticket for me to use. This is a home-and-home; the return date is Thursday. They then play at Phoenix Saturday.
#-3: Twins (Last Week: -2). They still lead the A. L. Central, but it's now only by a Game (over Cleveland), and they've fallen back to exactly .500, courtesy of a 3-4 screening Week. They started off losing three in a row (including Sunday's defeat to Detroit, giving them a third victory in a four-Game set at Target Field), then won three in a row (salvaging a four-Game series split versus Boston, also at home). Pablo Lopez continues to make the organization look like suckers for giving him a long-term deal after his hot April. Jorge Lopez is away from the team dealing with mental issues. And Byron Buxton aggravated his back during last/Saturday night's defeat in Detroit. Great.
Oh, by the way, Luiz Arraez is batting over .400.
Rubber match at Comerica, then three at model franchise Atlanta starting tomorrow/Monday before a trio at Baltimore beginning Friday. This is one of the squad's longest roadtrips of the Year.
#-4: United FC (Re-Entry!). Only one Match, and it was a 2-all Draw at Salt Lake City, but I saw the Match (on my phone, through Apple TV+), and I saw them blow a 2-0 lead. Emanuel Reynoso started for the first time all season, and he assisted on the first Goal and scored on the second. Maybe the Offense isn't the issue anymore. The Defense, however ... goddamn, they failed again, giving up tallies eleven Minutes apart, the last of which coming in the 98th Minute. The Defense has been leaky all season, and this is the umpteenth time they have not only coughed up Goals but leads at the death.
Watching the fucking tying Goal made me wonder why in the hell I continue to have season tickets. I have felt that way on and off ever since I made that initial deposit seven Years ago, but I feel it deeply now. I mean, what's the point?
They still would have been out of the playoff picture either way, but losing two Points keeps them twelfth in the Western Conference. They were not this far down the standings in previous seasons when they made the postseason. These guys are in fucking trouble.
For the first time in 3 1/2 Weeks, they'll be playing a Match at home on Wednesday, a Friendly against 2. Bundesliga Side FC Kaiserslautern. Maybe they'll win this one. Maybe then I'll buy a jersey, if they're selling opponent kits at the store! Then on Saturday they host Portland.
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