Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 7-31-23.

Jul 31

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Back from the vacation of a lifetime in NY, both upstate and the City. & Juliet deserves all the praise it’s gotten. Pizza Suprema is indeed the best slice in Manhattan. The Bagel Shop has a cream cheese buffet. Seventh Ave. is better than Eighth especially if you’ve got a kid. Also, 12:30 a.m. is never a good time to be on a tarmac waiting for a gate to open.

Women’s World Cup is down to 16 teams. The U.S. plays Portugal early Tuesday morning to try to advance to the quarterfinals.

Lee Hodges at -24 was a wire-to-wire winner of the 3M Championship in Blaine by SEVEN strokes. It was Hodges’ first PGA win. Some big name guys were here - none really contended.

Twins Hit Trade Deadline in Five-Game Swoon

A week ago I was ready for the Twins to go as all in as you can with a team that’s likely to win a division title and that’s it. But after five losses in a row, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the paltry Royals? How can you do much at tomorrow’s trade deadline?

The Twins have 55 games left and cling to a one-game lead over Cleveland, which also doesn’t really want to win the division.

This team is just maddening. Sure their offense is awful - but really shouldn’t be. The bullpen a week ago was fine. Now it’s not. There’s no issue with starting pitching, other than the fact the offense can’t make winners out of them.

The Twins are off today; it remains to be seen if there will be any lineup changes before they begin a three-game set in St. Louis on Tuesday. The Cards are at the bottom of the NL Central.

Danielle Hunter Agrees to Contract with Vikings

The Vikings’ shored up their defense by getting Danielle Hunter to agree to a one-year, $20 million contract. The deal is worth $17 guaranteed, and puts him in position for a big payday next spring. Hunter missed off-season training activities, but had reported to camp without actually doing anything.

Lynx Have Won Three Straight

The Lynx are at the .500 mark after three straight wins, and they’re in relatively solid playoff position. They’re in sixth (the top eight teams make it), 3.5 games up on ninth place.

Fourteen games left in the WNBA season.

Loons Advance to Knockout Round in Leagues Cup

After whacking a team from Mexico 4-0, the Loons lost 3-2 to Chicago to finish 1-1 in the round robin format of the mid-season Leagues Cup between the MLS and Liga MX. Minnesota has clinched a spot in the round of 32.

Opponent and location for the knockout round are still to be determined.

All eyes continue to be on Miami’s Lionel Messi.