Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 1.8.24
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Sporadic as it is sometimes due to real life, thanks for reading as The Takeout celebrates a third birthday this week.
Vikings Lose Fourth Straight, Miss Playoffs
Remember when Vikings fans said Kirk Cousins couldn’t win the big game? At least he could win a game, period. The Vikings’ season ended at 7-10 in fitting fashion with yesterday’s 30-20 loss in Detroit. Shades of brilliance, plenty of turnovers from Nick Mullens, who threw for 396 yards but two costly interceptions. Mullens is high risk, somewhat high reward, but he’s just too inconsistent to be a starter on a good team. We’ve seen enough of Joshua Dobbs...and the jury is out on Jaren Hall, who was not good on New Year’s Eve in a must win game against the Packers.
So that brings us back to Captain Kirk, who will be coming off the Achilles’ tear but has to be the Vikings’ biggest priority this off-season. He’s a free agent and a Brinks truck will be lining up at his door. What are there right now, eight above average QB’s in the NFL? It’s amazing really.
The thing to me for Vikings fans is this-if you can’t have someone get Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison the ball, they’ll leave. It’ll cost them millions or tens of millions. They’ll eventually sign with a team with a star quarterback.
The Vikings will pick 11th-behind the Jets (!) in this year’s draft.
Fleury on Verge of History; Could Pass Roy Tonight for 2nd Most Wins All-Time
With goalie-of-the-future Jesper Wallstedt finally on the roster, all eyes are on no doubt first ballot Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury tonight when Dallas comes to town (and Norm Greenstill sucks). With a win at The X, Fleury would pass his idol Patrick Roy for the second most wins by a goalie in NHL history.
Fleury is maybe the most likeable NHL’er ever. He set himself up to be in this position Saturday night, with a pair of highlight reel saves in a 4-3 OT win in Columbus.
First, with the Wild trailing late in regulation, Fleury went to the bench before realizing a turnover had happened and the puck was moving back towards his empty net. He raced to the cage, diving to keep the puck out. Seconds later, Marcus Johansson scored the tying goal.
And in overtime, Fleury’s glove save could go on a painting in the Louvre.
The reeling Stars are in third in the Central but have lost three straight. The Wild is ahead of only last-place Chicago, but at literally .500 (17-17-4) they’re just seven points from a playoff spot.
Wallstedt is just 21-a baby by goalie standards-and will be a star in the NHL one day. With Flower not as young as he once was and the Gus Bus still injured, you’d have to think we could see the Wall of St. Paul as early as Wednesday in Dallas.
PWHL Minnesota Draws 13,316 to The X for Home Opener
I was at another women’s hockey game across town and had big time FOMO, as the PWHL Minnesota team set a women’s pro hockey attendance record of 13,316 Saturday at The X. Minnesota (we need to rush the nicknames for these teams) beat Montreal 3-0 behind three goals from Grace Zumwinkle. Minnesota is 2-0, and five of its six goals have been scored by Minnesotans. Minnesota is the only PWHL team to win a home game so far this season (five games).
Minnesota hosts Toronto on Wednesday and New York on Sunday. I wouldn’t expect 13,000 plus every night, but the price is about right ($20). Pro tip, plan ahead and get your tickets at the box office early. Don’t give Ticketmaster a cent of your money. You don’t realizethose feeswhen you’re paying $200 for a concert ticket, but tacking on 50 percent on a $20 hockey ticketis criminal.
And I’ll take this minute to remind you that when the initial reports about the PWHL came out, there was no Minnesota franchise. We thought pro women’s hockey in Minnesota was no more.
Wolves Slumping, Go Cold Late in Loss at Mavs
The Wolves have lost three of four, including last night in Dallas, but they’re still atop the Western Conference and trail only Boston in the overall NBA standings.
Minnesota trailed most of the night in Dallas, but had stormed back to take a 106-100 lead withless than four minutes left. But the Mavs scored the next 13 points.
The Wolves visit Orlando on Tuesday.
Gopher Hockey
The Gopher women tuned up for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup this weekend by knocking off No.11 UConn 5-3 and 3-1 at Ridder. The Gophers actually trailed late in the second period onFriday. No. 2 Minnesota hosts No. 1 Ohio State this weekend in the series of the year.
The Gopher men got their gold medal winning World Junior players back in time for Sundaynight’s 6-4 loss to Colorado College at Mariucci. A rematch tonight in a rare Monday nightcollege hockey game.
World Juniors is coming to the Twin Cities in 2026 (actually most ofthe games will be in 2025).It’ll be a thrill, but I’ve said all along don’t expect crowds of 18,000 for Norway versus Germanyat 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. I could be wrong. Ticket prices especially for the U.S. and Canada willprice out the normal folks.
Gopher Hoops
Remember when everyone was ready to give up Ben Johnson? The Gopher men have now won seven straight, moving to 3-1 in Big 10 play with a 65-62 win over Maryland yesterday. Minnesota had lost 10 straight against the Terrapins. This coming on the heels of a two-point win at Michigan on Thursday.
The Gophers are off until playing at Indiana on Friday. Things aren’t going as well for the Gopher women in conference. They’re 1-2 in Big 10 play and have lost two in a row heading into Tuesday’s game in Michigan.
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