I wonder if fans of a team are fans of other sports teams in an area. Do Twins fans, for example, care about this trade? Because there is a lot of comparing and contrasting you can do if you are a fan of all your city's sports teams. And I bring up the Twins because, if you have become disillusioned with the way the Pohlads run the local baseball club, you can see the very opposite happening with the hockey squad across the river. General Manager Bill Guerin, with the (seemingly permanent) green light given by Owner Craig Leipold, has once again swung for the fences and is spending big, giving up Zeeb Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a First Round pick in next Year's draft (completely unprotected) to get Hughes. This trade could blow up in the Wild's face. Buium was the linchpin to this trade and he could reach Hughes-level heights down the road. Also, Hughes could decide he will extend his contract in Minnesota, and if that happens, the pressure is going to be on to trade him once Guerin can starting on July 1. (There will also be pressure to, you know, win with him now.)
So I am not goo-goo-gaa-gaaing over the deal, at least not yet. But beyond not acting scared, Hughes helps solve much of the problems the team has, namely puck possession and zone exits and entrances. The dude apparently is a wizard with the puck, and he is so gifted on Offense that he basically exists as a fourth Forward. He started his tenure here Sunday and scored a Goal in the Wild's 6-2 demolition of Boston at the Gicka. He had an Assist in last/Tuesday night's 5-0 crushing of Washington at home. In fact, they were home all Week and ran the table, defeating The Bastard North Stars Thursday, 5-2, and getting past Ottawa Saturday, 3-2. They've won five in a row, and even though they're still in third in the Central (behind The Bastard Quebec Nordiques as well as The Team That Was Stolen From Us), it will make for a compelling regular season race. Arguably, those teams are The Three Best Teams In The NHL. All this excitement, coupled with all this winning, means that the Wild have, far and away, earned the top spot in this Week's WMNSS, and of course they're in positive numbers.
Another busy screening Week -- they visit cellar-dweller (and expansion brother) Columbus tomorrow/Thursday night, then come back home for Games against Edmonton Saturday afternoon, said Bastard Nordiques the following evening, and Nashville Tuesday. Over last and this Week, they will have played seven-of-eight at home.
#0: Timberwolves (Last Week: -5). They're still not quite the squad they were the past two seasons (and it might not matter if they even were, the way The Bastard Seattle SuperSonics are going to win the whole goddamn thing this Year, too), but in the hastily-made schedule this Week once the NBA knew the Timberwolves weren't playing in the NBA Cup Knockout Round, they got by The Bastard Philadelphia Warriors in San Francisco on Friday, then came home to surge past The Bastard Rochester Royals/Kansas City-Omaha Kings at Target Center Sunday. Point Guard play is still hampering this club; Anthony Edwards is now the primary ball-handler, but he's been sidelined this screening Week, so the Wolves have had to rely on Donte DiVincenzo and, of all people, Bones Hyland to bring up the ball. You know, there is a Guard recently cut off from his team that may be a fit. ...
One thing to note: Head Coach Chris Finch said after getting eliminated in last Year's playoffs that he needed to lengthen his rotation by playing his youngsters. He meant recent draft picks Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon, Jr. Dillingham, in particular, was seen as Mike Conley's eventual successor at PG. The way both players have remained rooted in the bench makes me think they are not long for this organization. That's a strike against both of them as well as Tim Connelly.
It'll also be a busy screening Week for the T-Wolves as they finish up a five-Game homestand facing, every other Day starting tonight/Wednesday night, Bastard Vancouver, Bastard Seattle (eek!), Milwaukee and (tear) Karl-Anthony Towns and New York.
#-1: Vikings (Last Week: -4). The season is lost, but I gotta say I'm impressed. I didn't think the Vikes had a chance to go down to Dallas and defeat the Cowboys. They had no incentive to win; the Cowboys did; and the situation and timing led me to believe this would be a bloodbath, a la their disaster at The Los Angeles Chargers. I watched the entire Liga MX Finals (Leg 2), where Toluca won the Apertura over Tigres on Penalty Kicks, before I wound up back on Channel 11 to see Minnesota get the final First Down to kneel it out, thus pushing the Cowboys to the brink, and that's always a good thing, for both the NFL and democracy.
J. J. McCarthy isn't putting up crazy numbers, but he has played well the past two Games. Apparently, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell is going heavy with personnel, deploying up to three Tight Ends at times. It also helps that the Offensive Line held up, even without the injured Christian Darrisaw; McCarthy wasn't sacked once.
There are people who met this Win with utter disdain. They think the smart thing to do is to tank, thus giving the Vikings the best pick possible in next Year's draft. That is cynical thinking, and I am a hateful cynic. But there are three things I believe counteract that. One, I don't know if I can stand this team pissing away the rest of the season while looking bad doing it. This victory Sunday night showed that O'Connell hasn't lost the team, that there are players who are going to continue to give it their all, and, most importantly, that the coaches and players know what they're doing. Two, I'm don't have a lot of confidence that General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would draft correctly even if the club has a high draft pick. And three, remember that Justin Jefferson was picked 22nd overall back in 2020. Yes, he was picked by someone other than KAM, but it goes to show that you can find a good player late in the First Round of the draft.
I am going to go out on a limb here: There's a possibility that the Vikings run the table the rest of the season. Sunday they visit The New York Giants, a team that's been in an existential crisis for about a Decade now. They should -- should -- win that.
#-2: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -8). They're about to finish up their non-con; they routed Alabama A&M by 38 Wednesday and Wyoming by 46 Sunday. Of course both of these victories were at home. Their final non-conference matchup is an intriguing one: At Drake Sunday afternoon. This team is 1-2 against teams away from The Barn, and all three opponents are at least schools you have heard of if you follow football, which means they are athletic departments of some heft. Drake is mainly a basketball school, so the Gophers are going into somewhat hostile territory. Can they win and improve on their project 9-Seed, according to Charlie Creme (and which I still do not believe)?
#-3: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -1). They could not follow up on their upset Win at home over Indiana; they got crushed at Purdue by 28. So, they responded by beating up a squad that couldn't defend themselves: Texas Southern, who got slaughtered by the Gophers at Williams Arena Sunday afternoon by 36.
Their non-con isn't quite over: They host Campbell early Sunday evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment