The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#0: Lynx (Last Week: -2).  Now, this is something new.  No, not the team playing well together as a whole.  That's to be expected this season, especially after going on the road and beating both an Indiana club that, frankly, scares me Friday by 11 Points and then a Washington squad after being down at Halftime yesterday/Sunday afternoon.  Add that to The Connecticut Sun starting to flounder a tad, and the Lynx are now in second place in The Dub by a Game over the Sun.  That is the accomplishment I need to put this team above negative numbers.  And my goodness, I can believe that this team has what it takes to win it all.

One more Game on the road, tomorrow/Monday night against an Atlanta Dream team fighting for the final playoff spot.  They then host Chicago (the team currently holding down the final playoff spot) Friday the 13th before playing at New York in a battle of 1 vs. 2 Sunday afternoon.

#-1: Vikings (NEW SEASON!!).  I think we need to pump the brakes on yesterday/Sunday afternoon's season-opening Win over The New York Giants at the Meadowlands.  It was 28-6, the home crowd was lustily booing its team early and often, and even though I fell asleep in the Second Half, I trust that, even though this is a Minnesota squad, there was very little doubt the Giants were going to mount a comeback.  (By the way, what a different team from the one that upset the Vikes two Years ago here.  It may be some measure of gratifying payback, and yet I still wonder how in the hell Daniel Jones beat our club.)  But while I am convinced that Kevin O'Connell can scheme any play for positive yardage regardless of opposing personnel and situation, Sam Darnold was only 19-for-24 for 208 Yards, two Touchdowns and one Interception.  He didn't need to do much to outscore the popgun Offense of the G-Men which allowed five Sacks and gained only 240 Yards total.  But how is Darnold & Co. going to fare against a good team, San Francisco, at home next Week?

#-2: Gopher soccer (Last Week: 0).  They finally have a blemish on their schedule, a 1-all Tie at home versus Brown yesterday/Sunday afternoon.  That broke a five-Match winning streak to begin the season that was capped off Thursday with a 3-0 Clean Sheet of Army at Robbie Stadium -- a Game where, for the fifth Match in a row, a Golden Gopher scored more than one Goal.  And that person, like she has done twice already on the Year, was Khyah Harper, who braced with Goals in the 9th and 64th Minutes.

They begin conference play at Illinois Thursday, then finish out non-conference play with a home Match vs. North Dakota St. Sunday afternoon.

#-3: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -4).  Unfortunate screening Week for this group.  I was still in Las Vegas Monday/Labor Day and took the bus north to downtown Las Vegas to make up for screwing this casino there (I might blog post about it).  I was sauntering through a couple casinos on my way to eat at Steak 'n' Shake where I caught the Minnesota women's volleyball team playing top-ranked Texas to conclude the Intersport Volleyball Showcase.  I thought my eyes deceived when, not only did I see that the Match was in the fifth Set, but the Gophers had a huge lead on the Longhorns, too.  And wouldn't you know, they were able to close out and upset Texas, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 13-25, 15-7!!!  It was the first time Minnesota has beating the top-ranked team in the nation since Stanford in 2019, and I was hoping that might be the Win that will jumpstart the program.

And then this club went down to Waco and dropped both of their Games in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.  Sure, both Losses went the distance, but they should have beaten Baylor, ranked 23rd, and unranked TCU.  (Aside: Like with the Intersport Volleyball Showcase, the U. switched partners with Wisconsin.  I just find it interesting that both schools participated in two tournaments while not playing each other either weekend.)  These defeats completely squander what they achieved Labor Night, and I once again wonder if this program is improving at all.

They are at home this Week: Tuesday against St. Thomas, and then the Diet Coke Classic comes, where they play -- geez, this is a step down -- Long Island University Thursday and Auburn Friday.  (Another aside: I see that the Sharks and the Tigers play each other early Saturday afternoon.  Now, since the DCC has shrunk to only three teams, I believe the Goofs played one team the first Day and the other team the last Day.  That, I believe, allows one of the participating schools to leave a Day early and the other to get to town a Day late.  That means that both visitors need to stay only two Days in Minneapolis, and that should save on hotel and transportation, no?  So why does LIU have to stay three Days instead of play Auburn Friday?  Is it because the university doesn't want to deal with a second big crowd since the football team hosts Nevada later Saturday afternoon?  And another aside: I know that the Gopher football team played on Saturday.  But that was second-division Rhode Island.  They're supposed to beat teams like that.  So no, I will not sully the WMNSS by regarding a Win over that type of school as legitimate.  Thank you.)

#-4: Twins (Last Week: -3).  I may have made pronouncements earlier this Year about this tilt or that series being The Moment things either all came together or all fell apart.  Well, this weekend's sweep in Kansas City at the hands of the Royals might have sealed the Twinks' fate as yet another one-and-done.  Maybe.  They were shut out twice and scored only two Runs in the other contest, the one on Saturday (in a national Game) where they were leading 2-0 but where Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, their two best relievers right now, pissed down their legs for four Runs in the bottom of the Eighth Inning.  Bailey Ober was cruising, fanning seven and allowing only one Hit, but Rocco Baldelli opted to lift him in favor of a Bullpen, specifically a Duran who has not been lights out the past few Weeks.

It is fair to say that there is no chance now, with about three Weeks left in the season, that the Twinks will catch Cleveland for the Division.  I think it's also fair to say, with how the Royals have rounded into form, that they have left Minnesota in the dust after stalking them all season.  The Twinks are now in third place by 2 1/2 Games.  And even though they hold a healthy 3 1/2-Game lead for ALWC3 (ahead of both Seattle and, don't look now, Detroit), they have played some shit-ass ball the last three Weeks.  Carlos Correa is nowhere to be seen, Byron Buxton is hurt again, and Royce Lewis has been removed from the lineup.  We are praying that they'll even make the postseason now.

Maybe a homestand against two outfits below .500 will cure what ails them, even though, with fall here and the Vikings back and the Twinks frittering away whatever goodwill they garnered from last Year's postseason run, I don't know if there's going to be much of a crowd.  (Don't have exact splits, but this season's Twinks club has been excellent against teams it's supposed to beat but awful against teams that should reach the playoffs.  That doesn't bode well for their chances of making noise in the postseason ... if they can get there.)  Three versus The Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of ... starting tonight/Monday night, then three vs. Cincinnati beginning Friday.