Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 8-9-23.

Sports That Aren't HockeyTwins

Aug 9

Written By Ryan Stanzel

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Vikings in Seattle Thursday for pre-season opener. Awful late start (9 p.m.), though the starters will be out by 9:15.

Loons Reach Leagues Cup Quarterfinals; Could Host Messi in Final

The Loons are one step closer to facing the best soccer player on the planet in the Leagues Cup Final. Minnesota won a game it was lucky to - 3-2 in penalties over Toluca of Liga MX last night at Allianz Field. The Loons were outshot by a 3 to 1 margin and had just 30 percent of the game’s possession time. They surrendered a two-goal lead in the last 20 minutes. But survived in penalty kicks.

They move onto the quarterfinals, and they’ll travel to Nashville for that game this Friday.

The Loons could be on a collision course for the Leagues Cup Final with none other than the best soccer player on the planet, Lionel Messi. The World Cup winner joined FC Miami last month and has led them to some dramatic victories in this tournament. The Final is Aug. 19. And someone smarter than me on Twitter tells me the Loons would host that game.

Tigers Snap Twins’ Five-Game Winning Streak

The Twins’ five-game winning streak came to a shrieking halt last night with a 6-0 loss in Detroit. Donovan Solano left the game hurt, and the Twins couldn’t get anything going against Eduardo Rodriguez. Miguel Cabrera is still terrorizing Minnesota pitching at age 40.

The good news is that Royce Lewis has started his rehab in St. Paul. Top prospect Brooks Lee, also a natural shortstop, was in the lineup for the Saints, too. The future is bright. Lewis will provide an instant boost when he returns to the Twins sometime soon.

Bailey Ober toes the rubber for the Twins in tonight’s series finale.

Lynx Back in the Win Column

The Lynx had lost back-to-back games for the first time in a month, but that’s no more after an 88-79 win in Chicago last night.

Twenty nine points and nine boards for all world forward Napheesa Collier. The Lynx plays at WNBA worst Indiana on Thursday before an eight-day break.