The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

Note: This is the final Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey of the Year.  With the coming of a New Year, I adjust the release of the WMNSS to encompass the rest of the previous Year (which, for 2024, is December 30 and 31) and the first seven calendar Days of the current Year, then publish it on the Day of the Week January 8 falls on, which, for 2025, is Wednesdays.  I hope I will have the time to do these on a weeknight.

#0: Vikings (Last Week: 0).  They hype over this club, despite racking up Win after Win so far in 2024, is reaching its peak right now, I think.  It helps tremendously that they have shown they can beat good teams, and what happened Sunday can be proof that maybe, just maybe, this Vikings squad is different.

As has been their wont this season, they raced out against Green Bay to a 17-Point lead.  The Vikes allowed the Packers to come back -- after all, that's what happens when Sam Darnold throws an inauspicious Interception that gives momentum to a good team, which is what Green Bay really is.  But credit Kevin O'Connell for both racing his men out to a big lead and then, when it mattered the most, scheming up plays to get First Downs to finally run out the clock.  He called two play fake/bootlegs, the second of which got Cam Akers open, and Darnold had just enough on the ball for Akers to come back to the ball and grab it for the final First Down they needed to salt away a two-Point victory.

And so it all comes down to this: The Vikings, riding a nine-Game winning streak, goes into Detroit to play the Lions for Game 272, aka The Final Game Of The 2024 NFL Season.  Winner takes the NFC North, the #1 Seed in the conference, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.  Loser settles for the #5 Seed and will most likely play on the road through the postseason.

The fanbase, and dare I say the state, is hyped for this one.  We're shoving our pessimism to the side for once.  The Vikings are good, real good.  And the Lions, as good as they are, are a bang-up team.  The oddsmakers before the Year began set the Over/Under for Vikes Wins at 6.5.  This has been an incredible season -- and by God, it might not yet be over.

#-1: Wild (Last Week: -4).  Started off on the wrong foot, getting blitzed at Winnipeg on Saturday, 5-0, extending their losing streak to three.  They promptly ended that on Monday, however, nipping Chicago at the X, 4-3.  They then came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat The Bastard North Stars in Dallas Friday in Overtime, 3-2, before coming home last/Sunday night and losing to Ottawa, 3-1.

A 2-2 screening Week doesn't usually mean placing second in the WMNSS.  But considering the caliber of opponents the two college teams played, the state the Timberwolves are still in, and relying on my general rule that a Win (and a Loss, for that matter) over The Team That Was Stolen From Us weighs more than any other Game, I'm going to put them here.  No, they're five Points off the NHL's best teams (the aforementioned Bastard Thrashers and Team Privilege, The [Las] Vegas Golden Knights), and they're still a majorly hurting unit.  But they got through this Week OK.

Host Nashville, start 2025 at Washington and Carolina, then host a resurgent St. Louis outfit at home on Tuesday.

#-2: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -1).  Saturday afternoon's 90-54 rout of Penn St. is a good way to wash away the bad taste of their conference schedule-opening humiliation at Nebraska back on the 8th.  But there will be steps up in competition, specifically a visit to Wisconsin New Year's Eve afternoon and home tilt vs. Illinois Sunday.  Let's see how good this club really is.

#-3: Timberwolves (Last Week: -3).  OK, so hear me out.  They are currently riding a three-Game winning streak with victories at Dallas (on Christmas Day), at Houston (by one) and over San Antonio (by two) at home.  Chris Finch is starting to play around with lineup combinations, and he may be hitting on some that involve benching Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle at times.  He may be onto something, if this current winning streak is any indication.  Still, the Wolves began the screening Week losing by 13 in Atlanta, and they are still in a Play-In spot (eighth) as of press time.  So overall, maybe I overreacted a tad last Week, but they certainly aren't the juggernaut they were last season.  Also, Anthony Edwards is popping off a lot for someone who needs to take the leader/face of the franchise mantle now that KAT is gone.

Extremely busy Week (with the WMNSS adjustment) that, strangely, encompasses the last of seven straight Matches where they alternate between playing on the road and home.  They're at The Bastard Seattle SuperSonics New Year's Eve Night, then host Boston, then visit Detroit, and then host The Bastard Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers and go to The Bastard Charlotte Hornets on a back-to-back.

#-4: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -2).  Finished their non-con crushing Morgan St. at The Barn, 90-68.  Great that they can do that, but through two contests versus Big Ten foes they have not looked like they stand a chance.  They now are in B1G play for the rest of the Year, and finishing up a four-Game homestand, this Week versus Purdue and Ohio St.  Let me say that I am, uh, not optimistic they can stay on the floor with other squad.