Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 8-7-23.

Sports That Aren't HockeyTwins

Aug 7

Written By Ryan Stanzel

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Matt Dumba has joined Jason Zucker on one-year contracts with the Arizona Coyotes.

The Vikings open the pre-season Thursday in Arizona at 9.

A great read from Brian Murphy on the one guy to ever strike out Joe Mauer in high school. He attended Mauer’s induction into the Twins Hall of Fame Saturday.

Twins Sweep Arizona Behind Wallner’s Walkoff Blast

There are eight weeks left in the MLB season, and the Twins wake up today with a 4.5 game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. That’s thanks to a three-game sweep of Arizona, including Matt Wallner’s first career walkoff homer in a 5-3 win over Arizona yesterday.

Of all the things Twins brass has done the last couple years, keeping Wallner in St. Paul so long is maybe the worst. (Ok, I see you Tyler Mahle trade). He leads the Twins in homers since the All-Star Break.

Dallas Keuchel, a former Cy Young winner several years off his best game, allowed just a run in five innings after dominating Triple-A. He’ll certainly play an important role down the stretch. The Twins really have a chance to put some distance between themselves and the Indians. Minnesota plays six of its next nine games against the 49-62 Detroit Tigers.

Heavy Favorite U.S. Out of Women’s World Cup

Anything less than a gold medal in the Women’s World Cup would have been a disappointment for the favored Americans. So what then is a round of 16 exit, besides leaving Fox execs worried about the quarterfinals and beyond on TV in the middle of the night.

The two-time defending champion Americans didn’t score a goal in the final 248 minutes of the tournament, losing in penalty kicks to Sweden after a draw early Sunday morning. Video review showed Sweden’s last goal was indeed a goal by just milimeters.

The U.S. will undergo heavy change now, with aging veterans like Megan Rapinoe retiring.

I don’t know what the answer is, but it’s time we stop ending knockout stage soccer games with a skills competition. I get that you can’t play all night - goals are harder to come by than hockey even - but not a single other sport does this at the highest level of competition. What’s your answer?

Loons into Leagues Cup Round of 16

Speaking of penalties, the Loons used them to defeat Columbus Friday to advance to the round of 16 in the Leagues Cup. They’ll play host to Toluca of Liga MX Tuesday for the right to move onto the quarterfinals.