The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

Positive Numbers: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -5).  You know, this is impressive.  Not only did the fourth-ranked Gophers win both tilts over Michigan, they completely shut them out, too -- 6-0 Friday, 2-0 Saturday.  Did I mention the Wolverines were ranked sixth?  Yes, this was at home.  But you would think two teams this good and evenly matched would be competitive, if not end up in a split.  But a combined 8-0 -- and, by the way, despite the Wolverines thugging it up early in Saturday's Match to make up for the emasculation they suffered through the previous night?  That deserves a place atop the WMNSS and a place above negative numbers.

They're going through the back half of an unheard-of (at least for hockey) eight-Game homestand that will straddle two Years.  They will finish up play for the calendar Year this weekend with two versus Michigan St.

#0: Vikings (Last Week: -1).  These guys did something they hadn't done since early victories over Houston and San Francisco: Winning handily.  Now, like more recent Wins they were still in a dogfight vs. Kirk Cousins and The Atlanta Falcons yesterday/Sunday afternoon.  After scoring to take the lead late in the Third Quarter, the Defense allowed Cousins & Co. to march right back down the field, score a Touchdown via a Run from Bijan Robinson, and convert a Two-Point Conversion to tie up the Game at 21.  But the Vikings marched back down the field against, scored a tuddy, recovered the ensuing muffed Kickoff Return by Ray Ray McCloud, scored another TD, and they were off and running in doubling up Atlanta, 42-21.  Those TDs I described were passes from San Darnold to Jordan Addison.  Addison scored thrice.  Justin Jefferson scored twice (his first Touchdowns in some time).  And Darnold threw a career-high five TDs.  It's the first time a Vikes Quarterback threw that many Touchdowns and for more than 300 Yards in a Game since Daunte Culpepper did in in the 2004 season.  After a shaky middle portion of the season, Darnold has thrown 11 TD Passes without throwing an Interception in his last four Games.  (Meanwhile, Cousins threw two INTs in the Game, giving him eight picks against no Touchdown Passes in his past four Games.)

I have no idea if they're going to catch Detroit, but while the Lions host Buffalo Sunday, the Vikings get Chicago at U. S. Bank Stadium.  The Bears gained four Yards total in the First Half of their dreadful defeat in San Francisco yesterday/Sunday.  So either the Bears are going to be fired up, or the entire club has checked out.

#-1: Wild (Last Week: 0).  After outlasting Vancouver in Overtime at the X on Tuesday and crushing the Ducks in Anaheim Friday, they simply ran out of gas and got dominated in Los Angeles over a rapidly-improving Kings squad Saturday, 4-1.  No matter; the Wild are tied with Winnipeg and Washington for most Points in the NHL.  Seemingly nothing is slowing down the Wild, who are putatively 18-9 and enjoying a career season from Kirill Kaprizov and a bounce-back Year from Filip Gustavsson.

Busy Week this screening Week: They travel to Salt Lake City to face, for the first time, The Bastard Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes tomorrow/Tuesday night.  That completes their three-Game roadtrip; they they come back to St. Paul to start a five-Game homestand with Matches against Edmonton Thursday, Philadelphia Saturday afternoon, and (Las) Vegas Sunday evening.

#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Re-Entry!).  Swept St. Thomas, both contests at Mendota Heights (which is the Tommies' home rink), over the weekend, 5-0 and 6-2.  Would've felt better if they had shut them completely out.  Welp, the good news (and maybe this is just for me) is that they're done for 2024.  They actually play Bemidji St. New Year's Night in, of all places, Lakeville.  Does this have anything to do with the U. S. Hockey Hall Of Fame?

#-3: Timberwolves (Last Week: -6).  Well, they had a 3-1 screening Week, capped off by a frustrating eight-Point Loss in the second of a two-Game series at Golden State.  And yet they're still treading water at 12-11, clinging to a Play-In spot in the West.  They're still not jelling.

I just noticed that they're about to finish up playing seven consecutive Games against teams based in California.  That seventh and final Game is against The Bastard Minneapolis Lakers, whom they face after a five-Day layoff after that Loss to The Bastard Philadelphia Warriors last/Sunday night.  Oh, by the way, I got a ticket to see this Game.  When I blog posted about making the tough decision not to see LeBron James and his club last Monday, I thought that was the last Game they would be playing at Target Center.  I didn't look ahead and see that The Team That Was Stolen From Us v.1.0. would be back in the Twin Cities no only this season, but 11 Days since they were last here.  Not only will I get to see him (hopefully), I'll get to see him for free!  Oh, and in this easygoing Week, they visit San Antonio on Sunday.

#-4: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -2).  I thought this team was going to use their WNIT Championship appearance last season as a springboard to make it into the tournament that actually counts this season.  And they started off 10-0 with some Wins over schools you might have heard of in football (Oregon St., SMU, Houston), even though they began the screening Week more than doubling up North Florida at Williams Arena on Tuesday, 90-44.

But shit, man, they got a huge wake-up call once they started conference play against fellow BcS schools.  They went to Nebraska yesterday/Sunday afternoon and got pummeled by the Cornhuskers, 84-65.  Depending on the poll they've either made it to the back end or are on the cusp, but geez, losing by 19??  This single Loss makes me worry about the direction of the program.  I mean it.  But hey, at least they go back to non-con play and get to host Jackson St. Wednesday.  Also, they're still in better shape than ...

#-5: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -7). ... the Gopher men, who have suffered defeats to Wake Forest, Wichita St. and, egads, North Texas, and began B1G play Wednesday getting destroyed by a non-descript Michigan St. squad by 18 Points.  The season's just started, but damn, I would like to see some improvement, and soon, or else this could get real ugly.  And it could get ugly as soon as tonight/Monday night, when they have to travel to Indiana.

#-Infinity: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -3).  You know, it wasn't too long ago that this program reaching the Sweet Sixteen was automatic.  You could say they were even entitled to make it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.  Not anymore.  The rise of the Atlantic Coast Conference as a fucking power in women's volleyball is a factor you can't discount (Pittsburgh and Louisville are 1-Seeds this Year, and I can never association them with women's volleyball).  But Keegan Cook hasn't kept this team in the upper echelon of the sport the way Mike Hebert or even Hugh McCutcheon has.

Sure, they beat Western Kentucky Thursday in the First Round, but the Hilltoppers were unseeded and the Goofers were the 6-Seed, so it was an expected result.  Also, they dropped a Set, which should have been seen as an omen, because they in turn were eliminated in four Sets in the Second Round Friday by pod host and 3-Seed Kentucky (which, by the way, is not a traditional power but has won an NCAA championship in women's volleyball, something Minnesota still has not done).  And I think we all just collectively shrugged, like it's no big deal.  But it should be a big fucking deal.  I don't think Minnesota v-ball fans had been honest about how they were a cut below the Nebraskas and Texases of the world, but now they're a cut below that.  I don't know where they hell they're going now, and it's both infuriating and pretty sad.