#0: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -2). I am really starting to notice the Gopher XI. They went into Brew City and took both Matches there, 3-2 over Wisconsin-Milwaukee Thursday, then 2-1 over Marquette yesterday/Sunday afternoon. They are now 4-0-0 to start the Year, and I don't know the last time the program could say that. Moreover, in all four Games, one of the players has scored more than one Goal. Versus the Panthers, Khyah Harper scored a Hat Trick for the second contest in a row, and vs. the Golden Eagles, Grad Student and Midfielder/Forward Sophia Romine braced in the Second Half for the come-from-behind victory. I don't know how the U.'s tournament prospects looked before the season started, but they have to be much improved now. That's why I'm putting these side above Positive Numbers this screening Week.
Whoa. I just noticed that at least for the start of their season, the Gophers are on a strict Thursday-Sunday schedule. That includes this Week, where they finish non-conference play with home tilts against Army (Thursday) and Brown (Sunday).
#-1:United FC (Last Week: -4). Sometimes it's funny how one Match can change the perception around a team. Such might be the case with the Loons. After a hot start, the XI has exhibited too much toothless Offense and has been a sieve on Defense. But on Saturday night they went to San Jose, by far The Worst Team In Major League Soccer, and came from behind to win, 2-1, behind Bongokuhle Hlongwane's Brace. Yes, everybody's beating the Earthquakes these days, but the Loons really needed it because that victory lifted them back into playoff position, albeit ninth and in the Play-In Game. Kind of funny that of all the reinforcements that arrived during the Transfer Window, it's one of the veterans that came through.
On International Break (?) into next Week.
The Lynx were going for a perfect August. As such, they are 7-1 after the Olympic break ... tying Indiana for best record from that point. They are at the Fever -- a team you do not want to meet right now -- Friday, then visit Washington Sunday afternoon.
#-3: Twins (Last Week: -3). They are still bearing straight towards a playoff spot despite having a lousy Week and a very lousy run of form. They began it getting swept by Atlanta -- and remember, they are at home. That was the third consecutive series they lost, a streak they were able to snap by winning two-of-three at home over Toronto (although the Loss, on Saturday, was embarrassing; 15-0 where former Twin Jose Berrios continues to pitch his best against the team he wanted to get the hell away from).
And yet they are still around 3 1/2 Games behind Cleveland in the Division, even though that lead has been so inert for so long I am beginning to doubt Minnesota can chase down the Guardians. Also, they are by all means tied with Kansas City for ALWC2. But Boston remains 4 1/2 Games back, so barring a collapse, the American League Wild Card race isn't much of a race.
This Week: They begin a four-Game set in Tampa against the Bay Rays starting tonight/Labor Night. Then, it's a big one: They have a weekend trio at the Royals.
#-4: Gopher volleyball (NEW SEASON!!). It gives me no joy to declare Minnesota a program a cut below the elite when it comes to women's college volleyball. But it's true, and that distinction manifests itself in this weekend's season-opening Intersport Volleyball Showcase, being held in downtown Milwaukee. The Gophs and fellow Big Ten school (and host, obviously) Wisconsin are playing both Texas and Stanford. Texas is the pre-season #1-ranked school; the Badgers are third and the Cardinal are fifth. The Goofers, meanwhile, are ranked 18th. Moreover, and most damning of all, Fox is making a big push to televise the sport, and the Texas-Wisconsin Match (won by the Longhorns in four Sets) was broadcast yesterday/Sunday afternoon on big/over-the-air Fox. (In fact, it pre-empted the Major League Soccer Match; that Game, between St. Louis City and the Los Angeles Galaxy, began on FS2 and went over to Channel 9 about a dozen Minutes in so Fox could not only show the entire Match but, if I recall correctly, have a quick wrap-up after the Game as well.) The Gophers played Stanford after that first Match, but that was on FS1. The tournament concludes today/Labor Day; I think Wisconsin plays The Farm first, and I think that is also on Fox/Channel 9. The U. plays after, again ... and that matchup against Texas is on FS1, again.
I think it's an indication on how Fox views the Gooofers. And unfortunately, try as they might, the squad didn't do enough to change that perception, blowing a 2-1 lead and losing to the Cardinal in five, even though they lost Set 5, 15-13. By the way, I'm not worried about the four new schools from the Pac-12 coming in to the B1G; that conference long ceded women's volleyball supremacy to the Big Ten about a Decade ago. I just don't like the fact that some programs in the conference -- Wisconsin, Nebraska, maybe Penn St. -- and some across the country (I'm looking at the SEC in particular) are stepping up investment and interest at a time when the collective American sports hive mind is taking a look at the sport with fresh eyes. Now is the time to strike, but it looks as though Head Coach Keegan Cook, in his second year, has been caught flat-footed. Is the opportunity lost?
After probably getting their brains beat in by the Longhorns (I think they closed out Wisconsin by holding the Badgers to only 11 Points in Set 4), they travel down to Waco, Texas, where there's a tournament apparently with no name nor sponsor. They face a pair of Big 12 schools: Host Baylor Friday, TCU Saturday.
#-5: Gopher football (NEW SEASON!!). Bummer and a damn shame. I was working this Game, and oftentimes it looked like the same old staid, tired Offense that couldn't score. And yet it was an eminently winnable Match Thursday night (delayed an hour by storms that, frankly, came through quickly enough that they could have started it at 7:30 and not 8) against a North Carolina club that had to reload (or rebuild) after losing Drake Maye to the NFL. It may be more because the Tar Heels looked lost and out-of-sync, but the Gophers were able to take a 14-7 Halftime lead on Touchdown Runs by Marcus Major and Quarterback Max Brosmer. But Carolina found themselves and chipped away, and Noah Burnette's third successful Field Goal was the first of three lead changes in the Fourth Quarter.
When Burnette kicked his fourth FG make (he was a perfect 4-for-4), the U. got the ball back with less than two Minutes remaining. Brosmer then put together a drive that was competent and gutsy, two adjectives in short supply earlier in the contest. He got them in Field Goal range, but Dragan Kesich kicked the football wide right from 47 Yards at the buzzer to send the U. to defeat by a score of 19-17. By the way, that was Kesich's second miss of the tilt.
I encourage P. J. Fleck and the football program to schedule Games like this against fellow BcS conference schools. Now, you just have to win them, and too many times, he simply hasn't. But second-division Rhode Island should be more his and his squad; that Game is early Saturday afternoon.
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