#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -2). So, the inevitable has become the official -- with their shellackings at Connecticut and home to Paige Bueckers and The Bastard Detroit (by way of Tulsa) Shock (and BTW, if you get around to see social media of Bueckers and her team at The Minnesota State Fair, do yourselves a favor and look through it all), the Lynx have sewn up The Best Record In The League and will have home-court advantage throughout the WNBA Playoffs.
Unfortunately, this past screening Week also includes a Loss to Seattle, a club fighting for a playoff spot. Worse yet, Minnesota lost at Target Center. Worst of all, they got blown out in the Second Half, usually a strong point, getting outscored 60-33 on their way to a 93-79 defeat. Yes, they're 32-8. But I have seen enough setbacks that make me seriously think they won't win the title. They might not make it to the WNBA Finals because, well, sometimes they just don't show up. That could be fatal, ironically, over the short series in the Quarterfinals (which are best-of-three) and Semifinals (which are best-of-five). I still am not sure that they have it all.
And don't look now, but The Bastard Utah Starzz/San Antonio Silver Stars are in second place and have won a dozen in a row. They host Minnesota Thursday. They finish the road portion of their schedule this week with trips to Golden State and Indiana after visiting Vegas.
#-2: United FC (Last Week: -1). I don't know if this was a principle I relied on in the past, but the two top teams this Week clinched something. For the Loons it's a spot in the postseason by virtue of their 1-all Draw at home to Portland. Ironically, MNUFC scored both Goals. Nicolas Romero inadvertently failed to clear a centering pass lumbering across the face of goal in the 79th. But then Robin Lod was able to corral a deft deep ball from Will Trapp, settle it once, and knock it into the net to tie it up despite being hassled by a defender:
Sorry, I don't know what that weird music's all about, but this was the only highlight of the Goal I could see on YouTube.
A note on that play: It features to Loons whom I had been real down on. For about a season and a half, Lod was playing like a dud. But then he scored in that U. S. Open Cup Final (which United FC lost to Atlanta), and really, he's been indispensable ever since, quietly and dutifully playing in any role he has been asked to play. Meanwhile, I've thought Trapp has played too ploddingly and with some reckless abandon. But this season he's been able to keep (relatively) clean on the pitch, plus he has added some contributions in scoring and, as you saw above, assisting. Those two are playing well, and are two of many reasons why, believe it or not, MNUFC is one of the best sides in Major League Soccer.
I think they're on an International Break until the 13th, where the second-place-in-the-West Loons travel to take on first-place San Diego FC.
#-3: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3). Still kind of think they'll never be able to overcome that opening-Match collapse at home to BYU. But these Gophers have recovered to win four in a row, with victories over Marquette (a 4-3 thriller at Robbie Stadium) and then a 2-0 Shutout Labor Afternoon at Brown. One final non-con tune-up comes Friday night when they host Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
#-4: Gopher football (NEW SEASON!!). Don't know how good Buffalo's supposed to be. Hell, I don't know how good the U.'s supposed to be. But better to win than to lose, and the Gophers pulled away in after Halftime to soundly defeat the Bulls, 23-10. There was a lot of fundamental football (Offensive Line play, running the ball, turning the ball over without turning it over themselves) that has slowly become a hallmark of The P. J. Fleck Era, and that's not a bad thing. Now comes a bodybag Game at home Saturday afternoon against Northwestern St. Are they a second-division program?
#-5: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -5). Like I said, better to win than to lose, and the volleyballers ran the table this Week, winning over Cal Poly, Ball St. and St. Thomas, all at home. But this is Minnesota I'm talking about, and they dropped one Set to both Cal Poly and St. Thomas. Considering the historical caliber of Minnesota and how not good those two squads are, I am not impressed at all. These should have been sweeps, all three of them. That they're not is disconcerting.
The team's in Nashville this weekend. They play Vanderbilt, a BcS school that has not had a women's volleyball program until this Year, Friday night, then another Music City university, Lipscomb, Saturday night.
#-6: Twins (Last Week: -4). A 2-4 screening Week. Last/Tuesday night was Bark In The Park, where you can bring your dogs (and maybe your pets) with you into Target Field. That was not enough to populate the stadium, which, according to some photos I saw on social media, looked absolutely dead. And why not -- the Twinks' Bullpen was their shitty post-Trade Deadline state again, giving up multiple Runs to the White Sox from the Fifth through the Eighth Innings on their way to a 12-3 pummeling. They've dropped the first two Games of the series to the ChiSox, the only team in the Division below them. A series Win over the weekend at home over San Diego is but a faded memory.
After tonight, they travel and play at Kansas City for a three-Game set over the weekend. They then go out to Anaheim to play The Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of Los Angeles Of Anaheim Angels Of ... for a trio starting on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment