Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 9-8-23.
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Nice to have the NFL back last night. Motor City Kitties are going to be a handful for the Vikings in the division. Cool that the fossil fuel protester that glued his bare feet to the stands at the U.S. Open thought people were watching the U.S. Open last night.
General Manager Natalie Darwitz signed Kendall Coyne-Schofield along with former Gophers and Twin Cities natives Kelly Pannek and Lee Stecklein as the first three players for Minnesota’s PWHL franchise. I’d fall over in a dead faint if Minnesota doesn’t take former Gopher forward and former Patty Kaz Award winner Taylor Heise with the first overall pick in the draft later this month.
Pigskin is Back
Football fans rejoice across Minnesota. The Vikings are back Sunday against Tampa Bay at 12 p.m., the day after the Gophers host Eastern Michigan looking for an 0-2 mark.
First game first, where the Gophers are 20.5 point favorites for Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. start. It’s a final tuneup before things get difficult in week 3 at North Carolina. Look for Minnesota to try and establish the run more than they could against Nebraska last Thursday.
The Bucs begin the post Tom Brady area with Baker Mayfield under center. Minnesota is a six-point favorite and that seems about right. I’d expect it to be a close game since most of Minnesota’s offense didn’t play a snap in a game in the pre-season, with the Vikings pulling away late for a 24-13 win. And will Justin Jefferson get paid before or after this game?
Twins Up Six With Mets Coming to Town
Completing a sweep of the Guardians on Wednesday would have pretty much sealed the deal. But Cleveland kept any slim hope alive by salvaging game three. Minnesota now leads by six games with 22 contests left, starting with three at Target Field this weekend against the hapless Mets (that always feels good to write).
Ultimately, the Twins’ remaining schedule is just not very hard. Alex Kirilloff is soon back from rehab in St. Paul giving Minnesota another bat. Starters are rolling. Bullpen is good at least if you get to the eighth.
I’ve got a fun column on Royce Lewis coming up later today on Pulltab Sports.
Lynx with Plenty to Play for This Weekend
The Lynx are in Chicago tonight and at Indiana on Sunday to end the WNBA regular season. They could still finish anywhere between fourth and seventh. Only fourth gives them home court in the first round of the playoffs next week. But it’ll likely be Dallas and Minnesota in round one.
Loons Host New England on Saturday
The Loons have at least a point in six straight regular season MLS games coming into Saturday’s home game against New England. The Revolution are the second best team in the East, with just five losses all year.
Minnesota is tied for seventh but just five points out of second.
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