Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING TAKEOUT NEWS: 3-10-23.
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Huge Pulltab Sports happenings this weekend
● 13th annual Hockey All Hair Team presented by Duke Cannon coming late Saturday after The Tourney wraps up. Closing in on 200K in cash and equipment raised for the Henderson Foundation.
● LIVE Make Glove not W.A.R. Twins podcast Friday at 5 at the Let’s Play Hockey Expo at RiverCentre. We’ll follow the first Celly Hard podcast featuring Winnie Brodt-Brown, Tom Chorse and special guests, Patty Kaz finalists Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle. Hopefully not a mass exodus when I go on stage…
My Tourney AA pick Maple Grove already upset by that underdog Cretin-Derham Hall team…use to be one good game if you were lucky on AA quarterfinal day…four great games yesterday including two in OT.
Did you take today off to watch hockey and hoops all day? Just me then…
Thirty years ago today Norm Green announced the North Stars would move to Dallas.
Kaprizov to Miss 3-4 Weeks
Bad news for the Wild, as Kirill Kaprizov was injured late in Wednesday’s 4-2 win against the Jets. He’ll miss 3-4 weeks with a lower body injury, as he got run over by Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley.
Not necessarily a dirty hit, but when one player is almost a foot taller than another, awkward things happen when they collide.
The Wild’s regular season ends in 34 days - so that’s five weeks. They’re comfortably in the playoffs right now, and won’t give up many goals. But many nights, Kaprizov is their lone scoring threat. They called up Sammy Walker. Sam Steele is in the press box most nights. Even with Hartman scoring more, and Foligno catching fire, there’s just no way to replace even a fraction of what Kaprizov does for this team.
The rub is the Wild has little chance in a seven-game series without home ice advantage. So can they lose their best player for a dozen games and still hold onto home ice in the first round, even? Especially because it’s Colorado in third (with two games in hand).
The saving grace in the Jets’ game was Marc-Andre Fleury. The Hall of Fame goaltender has regained his form, winning four straight. And unlike some other games, the defense wasn’t very good Wednesday. Flower made 46 saves.
The Wild is at San Jose Saturday and Arizona on Sunday.
Thielen Maybe Gone; Za’Darius Smith Drama
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported yesterday that there’s a “real possibility” Adam Thielen has played his last game in a Vikings jersey. It’s not a huge surprise.
What is a surprise is that Za’Darius Smith, an aging vet on the D line, asked for his release. And the Vikings told him no. Smith even tried to force the team’s hand by saying goodbye to “Skol Nation” on social media.
Meanwhile, KSTP’s Darren “Doogie” Wolfson reported that the Vikings have an offer for RB Dalvin Cook. The shelf life for a RB in the NFL isn’t very long, and he’s oft injured.
Gopher Hockey
The Gopher women will host Minnesota-Duluth Saturday at 2 p.m. in the NCAA Quarterfinals, with a trip to next weekend’s Frozen Four on the line. UMD dispatched of Clarkson 2-0 in the first round last night. Just not impressed by the East this year. If the Gophers play as they did in last weekend’s Frozen Faceoff they’re strong favorites. But you know the Bulldogs want to play in the Frozen Four on home ice. Still spring break at the U of M, so get down to Ridder to make some noise.
The Gopher men, at this point the presumed No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, hosts Michigan State in a Big 10 semifinal Saturday at 7. Should Minnesota advance they host either Ohio State or Michigan in the Big 10 Tournament final next Saturday.
KAT is Back (on the Court)
Hopefully Kaprizov’s 3-4 weeks is more accurate than Karl-Anthony Towns, whose 4-6 week injury is now at more than three months. But KAT returned to the court this week, albeit he hasn’t joined the team for practice.
It’s running out of time for KAT to have a meaningful impact.
The Wolves host the Nets tonight.
Gopher Hoops Season Over
I like Ben Johnson and I hope he gets a chance to straighten this Gopher team out. They won two of their last four games, including the first-round of the Big 10 Tourney against Nebraska. They ultimately lost 70-54 against Maryland in the quarterfinals last night.
It’s a long road for sure. He lost a top recruit, and may lose his best two players. But Roy Williams isn’t banging down the door to coach this team. Let the guy recruit, let him learn how to coach in game situations more, and see what happens.
Loons Host NYRB in Snowy Home Opener
The MLS schedule may be a tad too long. Winter weather awaits the Loons’ home opener against the NY Red Bull Saturday.
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