#-1: Gopher volleyball (NEW SEASON!). Starting off on the right foot, taking both of their Matches in the season-opening Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge at Maturi Pavilion this weekend. Somewhat surprisingly, the Gophers had a tougher time with unraked TCU Friday, which took the First Set before the U. took the last three, than with 15th-ranked Baylor last/Saturday night, which was a 20-21-11 sweep.
There was an extensive preview of the season by the Star Tribune earlier last Week, even though I did not either read the article or listen to the accompanying podcast. In either one of those sources of information (or both, who knows), the team talks about the trauma of last season. Is that trauma just the announcement of Hugh McCutcheon stepping down as Head Coach? Because even though his resignation was a bombshell, I would think there would be more than that for last season to qualify as "trauma." Regardless, early word from fanatics in the chatroom is that the sky's the limit with this squad. Hope so; I am waiting for this program to finally fucking win a championship.
They host Texas Tuesday. They started the season ranked #1, but lost in four Sets in their first Game of the Year to, of all programs, Long Beach St. Friday night. Maybe they'll be playing with a vengeance to make up for that embarrassment. Would love to go, but I have a feeling they'll be sold out.
That middling screening Week cost them the top spot in this Week's WMNSS, but the reason they're second is that their postseason prospects get better and better. While the Twins have been so-so lately, second-place Cleveland has dropped like a rock, going 3-7 in their last ten. Therefore, Minnesota has a six-Game lead on the Guardians for the Division, as large a lead the Twins have enjoyed all Year. Who cares if Griffin Jax came in to start the Ninth in last/Saturday night's contest and give up four Earned Runs? (I care, but it doesn't seem likely that piss-poor performance is going to cost the ballclub a postseason birth.)
One more vs. Texas, then the Guardians come to town for three beginning tomorrow/Monday. They then go to Dallas for a trio starting on Friday.
#-3: United FC (Re-Entry!). Read an article in The Athletic about how the Loons' Offense is firing on all cylinders now that Emanuel Reynoso has returned to the squad. The rejoinder to that is that they resumed league play still out of a playoff spot. And even though they went to the Mets' Stadium and beat NYCFC last Sunday night 2-0 (and by the way, it's so weird to see a soccer Pitch implanted on a baseball diamond. I think it stretched between both foul territories. Shades of the old Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, when the Oakland Raiders would march across the gridiron and you would see the infield diamond once they got to one of the Red Zones), they still, right now, are out of a playoff spot. Reynoso makes a difference, but not enough to overcome this Side's propensity to blew leads all season. The Defense remains an overlooked liability.
And yet there are opportunities to climb the Western Conference standings because it will be as busy a screening Week as a soccer club can have. This/Sunday afternoon they host tormentor Seattle. Wednesday they host Colorado. Saturday they visit San Jose.
#-4: Lynx (Last Week: -2). Lost at home to downtrodden Seattle Sunday by 14, then took both ends of a home-and-home midweek versus The Bastard Detroit Shock (the first meeting, at Target Center Tuesday, was marred by an injury late in the Game to Dallas's Satou Sabally, who called us out because three Lynx fans heckled her and then got thrown out; by the way, the Lynx enjoyed a late lead and were about to give the Game away courtesy of a five-Point trip that happened shortly after the Sabally injury), then got throttled at home last/Saturday night by New York by 35. And yet they continue to rise up the standings -- 5th overall as of press time even though they are 17-18 (when Las Vegas is 30-5 and the Liberty is 27-7, where a .500 record will land you gets real skewed). I've gotten in fact a little encouraged by their play, but no, they would have been better of tanking.
The Lynx are going to sew up a playoff spot soon. There are only five Games left in the regular season, so they just might fall backwards into one. This Week: At Washington Tuesday, home to Atlanta Friday.
#-5: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3). Still going through their non-conference schedule filled mostly with tomato cans. But after crushing New Hampshire at Robbie last Sunday, 4-0, they go to Brew City and lose, 1-0, to Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday. Really?
Wouldn't you know it, they are in the middle of a stretch where they play five-of-six Matches on the road. This is their non-con sched, by the way. They stay in Milwaukee to play against Marquette this/Sunday afternoon. The XI then play at Georgia Thursday.
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