Positive Numbers: United FC (NEW SEASON!!!). When I complained in my blog post that I couldn't figure where to go and what to do Saturday, I forgot a fourth option beyond staying home, going to watch the girls' high school hockey tournament finals in St. Paul, or (what I decided to do) going to the Cold War Kids concert in Minneapolis. Because I thought it was a waste to go to either downtown two times over the weekend, I could have (sort of) split the difference and the cities and gone to the Black Hart in Midway to watch MNUFC's season opener at Austin. I decided against that, however, mostly because I was sure they would lose, and I don't want to be witness to that. After all, the side's not only led by an interim Head Coach but their second interim HC, Cameron Knowles. Also, neither Emanuel Reynoso nor Bongokuhle Hlongwane made the trip to The Live Music Capital Of The Country.
The odds were stacked against them ... and yet they came out of Austin with a 2-1 victory. Moreover, by all accounts, they looked really good in the Match, especially in the First Half. They looked different, too, and I think many of us supporters really just wanted a change after the end of The Adrian Heath Era came crashing down with repeated blown leads and without a playoff berth. They came out in a 4-3-3 instead of a 4-2-3-1 that seemed etched in that rock all the Loons players touch as they come out of the tunnel at Allianz Field. Moreover, Knowles used his Substitutions -- all of five of them, in fact! Finally, he relied on his young talent, bringing in new guys Alejandro Bran, Tani Oluwaseyi, Loic Mesanvi and Caden Clark (who is a native of Medina, Minn., and came up through the now-shuttered Minnesota Thunder Academy before being traded away to the New York Red Bulls in 2020). Clark paid dividends, being the prime instigator in the Game-winning Goal in the 92nd Minute, scored by Bran.
It became apparent in the past few seasons that Heath had his favorites and preferred to play them for as long as possible in Matches. In that way, he is like another Head Coach who patrolled the sidelines in Minnesota: Tom Thibodeau of the Timberwolves. But the time has come for a youth movement. And yet there is a possibility that United FC aren't that far off -- that the talent is there, it just needed more athleticism which only comes from playing unproven youngsters. That bore fruit Saturday night. It's only one Match, but maybe a shake-up in Manager and in the front office was exactly what MNUFC needs. That, plus the fact that I'm an ebullient (for now) season-ticketholder, compels me to not only put them first in the survey but put them above negative numbers.
The home opener is Saturday afternoon, believe it or not. And it's against defending MLS Cup Champion The Columbus Crew, for which Christian Ramirez, local legend, is still playing. Man, it's going to be emotional. I plan on wearing my Superman (that's Ramirez's nickname around these parts) scarf when I go.
They are still in first place in the West, though they are tied with The Bastard Seattle SuperSonics (and Boston is blowing both of them away for best in The Association). They've got a busy screening Week, but at least they are continuing their seven-Game homestand vs. San Antonio, Memphis, Sacramento and the Clippers. I'll be at Wednesday's contest versus The Bastard Vancouver Grizzlies.
#-1: Wild (Last Week: -4). A 3-1 Week is pretty good, right? The Presidents' Day matinee at home against Vancouver was fucked up. I was working and moseyed over to the Game (I was able to listen to it on KFAN's streamer, which I thought was illegal). I made a point to go back to Sirius XM for the rest of my workday after seeing them down to the Canucks in the Second Period, 5-1. And then I check the score on SXM and, late in the Game, they're up 10-7, the score by which they eventually won. They scored five Goals between the end of the Second and start of the Third Period, four of them on the Power Play. And Vancouver is The Best Team In The National Hockey League!
Next came a doubling-up in Winnipeg, but they beat Edmonton and Seattle on the road. That should account for something ... but they are, as of press time four Points behind for the final playoff spot in the West, currently occupied by Nashville. They have no one between them and the Predators for now, although St. Louis is tied with the Wild with 62 Points. But it shows how massive a hole the squad dug themselves that a 3-1 screening Week isn't enough to get them into postseason position.
Busy Week for these guys, too -- home to The Bastard Hartford Whalers, at said Predators Thursday, then a back-to-back over the weekend where they are in St. Louis (another very important tilt) and then come home to face San Jose.
#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -7). Swept Minnesota-Duluth at home over the weekend -- kinda. The Bulldogs managed to take the Goofs past regulation Friday, but the U. grabbed the extra Point in the Shootout. Minnesota won Saturday afternoon, 4-2. They're fifth in the PairWise ... and in no position to be even mentioned as a title contender.
The regular season is over and they finish third in the WCHA. They thus draw sixth-seeded Minnesota State-Mankato for a best two-out-of-three series at Ridder Arena this weekend.
#-3: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -5). Beat Ohio St. by nine at The Barn Thursday, but got crushed at Nebraska -- excuse me; tournament-bound Nebraska -- by 18 yesterday/Sunday evening. Maybe we need to slow our postseason roll a bit, although they are only three short of the magical 20-Win threshold. This Week: At Illinois Wednesday, home to Penn St. Saturday.
#-4: Gopher softball (Last Week: -2). Well, at least all the Games they were scheduled to play got played this weekend. Unfortunately, maybe they should have wished for cancellations, becaue they went 1-4 at the UNT Invitational. They won only their Sunday nightcap (or "morningcap"; it got played at 9 this/Sunday morning) against New Mexico, 10-1. The only upside, if you want to really look for it, is that they lost the other four Games by a total of five Runs.
Nevertheless, they sport a 5-7 record as they head to Charlotte for The Queen City Classic. They're scheduled for five showdowns: One with host Charlotte and Fordham, one against the best team in this tournament, ranked Kentucky, and two with North Carolina-Wilmington.
#-5: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -1). Uh-oh. Completely winless Week -- a Loss Monday to seventh-ranked Oregon St., 6-1 (the Gophs lost both Games to the Beavers), then a two-Game sweep courtesy of Northeastern (!!) at the Twins Spring Training Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
These people are going to be tooling around the Pacific Northwest for a while, even though they aren't playing in any official tournaments. This weekend they play one Game vs. Pacific and then two versus Sacramento St. All three Matches will be played in Sacramento.
#-6: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -6). I remember in college reading a play called Mud. It is a love triangle set in a poor part of the country. Mae is caught between Lloyd, her cruel de facto husband who falls ill and mentally challenged. Mae enlists the help of erudite neighbor Henry, and Lloyd begins to suspect they're catting around. Well, the twist in the play is that as Lloyd takes the medicine that heals him, Henry gets into an accident that incapacitates him. In essence, the roles Lloyd and Henry embody switch places.
And that's basically what has happened to the University of Minnesota basketball programs this season. No one had any hopes for the men. Most people thought Ben Johnson would be fired by the end of it. But (ass-kicking by Nebraska last/Sunday night aside), the club has been a resilient and even good one, surprising teams and fans along the way. Meanwhile, people thought a new Head Coach was the key to unlock the potential of the women, and they started the season playing really good basketball. But then Mara Braun got hurt and is likely out for the season, and their play has gone completely into the shitter, and evidenced by double-digit Losses this screening Week at home to Wisconsin and at Nebraska. This team, at 15-12, has gotten so bad so quickly that everyone involved with the program has to be questioned. I'm serious; they've gone to shit.
This putrid regular season will be over after this Week, when they host Caitlin Clark and Iowa Wednesday (good luck) and finish the Year at Penn St. Sunday afternoon. Will they even get one bye for The Big Ten Tournament, which is the following Week and will be played at Target Center?
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