Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 10.18.24
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If it’s MEA weekend and you don’t have a head cold are you even in education or a parent?
5-0 Vikes and 4-1 Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium Sunday with first-place in NFC North on the line. Minnesota is a 1.5-point favorite. Detroit is riding high after a 47-9 win in Dallas. I don’t want to be the guy, but I think the Lions take advantage of a slow Vikings start coming out of the bye and win 28-21. The Vikings need Aaron Jones to play, obviously, but it looks like Blake Cashman is out and that will hurt the defense big time.
Loons are back Saturday against St. Louis at Allianz after a break for International play. The Loons could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth, although they’ve got every reason to play for a win. That would guarantee them at least seventh and they’d avoid a one-game playoff. Our friends at MNUFC.com have the entire scoop on Decision Day 2024. The MLS does a lot of things wrong, but having every team in each conference play at the same time on the final day of the regular season is amazing.
Lynx on The Brink
If the 2024 WNBA Final doesn’t get the league to go to a best-of-seven championship series, nothing will.
It was Minnesota’s turn to blow a double-digit lead in Game 3, losing both a 15-point advantage and the game thanks to a Sabrina Ionescu 3-point heave from just inside the logo just before the buzzer.
Breanna Stewart torched the Lynx for 30 points and 11 rebounds, outplaying Napheesa Collier, who missed 13 of her 22 field goal attempts.
There’s a very slim margin of error for either of these teams, which will play Game 4 tonight at Target Center. Minnesota can force a deciding Game 5 Sunday in Brooklyn with a win.
Wild Look to Stay Unbeaten in Regulation
The Wild is one one of the weirdest seven-game road trips you’ll find. Game 1 in Winnipeg was the second half of a back-to-back. Home for a day, then off to St. Louis for a 4-1 win on Tuesday. Then back home for a couple days, and off to Columbus for what’s essentially Game 3 of a five-game actual road trip on Saturday.
Jared Spurgeon is out - feeling the effects of last season’s lower body surgery that limited him to playing just a quarter of the season.
The 2-0-2 Wild expects to get Joel Eriksson Ek back on Saturday. The gritty center had to have his “altered” nose reset via surgery after a (non penalized) hit earlier in the week.
Gopher Hockey
For my money, the best rivalry in women’s college hockey is renewed at Ridder Arena tonight and tomorrow when the No. 3 Gophers host No. 1 Wisconsin. Saturday’s game at 3 p.m. is on Big Ten Network. Minnesota earned just one of six points last week at Ohio State. The Badgers are 6-0-0 and just swept UMD.
The Gopher men travel up I-35 to visit UMD this weekend. Both games (tonight 7 p.m., Saturday 5 p.m.) are on Fox 9 Plus.
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