Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 10.23.23
Tell a friend to sign up for The Takeout here!
Vikings vs. 9ers on Monday Night Football
The Vikings won’t have to face 49ers WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) tonight. All-world RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique) is questionable. Gametime is 7:15p.m. on Monday Night Football. Something special about football under the lights. The Vikings are facing their first-ever 0-4 start at home if they don’t beat the one-loss Niners.
Oh, also, Astros/Rangers Game 7 is tonight if anyone wants to tune in to some playoff ball. Phils try to join one of them in the World Series in Game 6 at home versus Arizona.
Gophers (Finally) Beat Iowa
In a game as ugly as expected, the Gophers claimed the Floyd of Rosedale trophy for the first time in the P.J. Fleck era, edging the Hawkeyes 12-10 in Iowa City. It marked the Gophers’ first win at Iowa since Bill Clinton was in office.
It wasn’t a win without a lot of controversy. Iowa scored a punt return touchdown in the last two minutes, but it was called back when it was ruled the wide receiver made a fair catch signal. Cooper DeJean, of course, said he was not calling for a fair catch. Kind of looked like a point up the field to me, but…
Minnesota (4-3) handed Iowa (6-2) just its second loss. Dragan Kesich booted four field goals for the Gophers, who moved the ball decently but couldn’t find the end zone. Athan Kaliakmanis hit Daniel Jackson for 101 yards.
Such a character win for the Gophers, who trailed 10-3 at halftime but didn’t allow the paltry Iowa offense to score again - officially.
The Gophers host Michigan State Saturday at 2:30. Can’t be many times in recent years that Minnesota has been favored over the Spartans. Michigan State, in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal with its former head coach, embarrassed itself further this weekend by using an image of Adolf Hitler on the scoreboard in a silly trivia game.
Wild’s Defense a Mess in 5-4 OT Loss to Columbus
It’s hard to accurately describe how bad the Wild’s defensive effort was in Saturday’s 5-4 home OT loss to a Columbus team that played at home 24 hours earlier. The Blue Jackets launched 91 shots off their sticks - that’s one every 45 seconds - and 54 of them either hit the back of the net or some part of Filip Gustavsson. Without the Gus Bus, the Wild may have given up a dozen goals.
Jared Spurgeon isn’t close to returning apparently, and while the Wild can shuffle forwards up and down from Iowa (Vinni Lettieri yesterday in place of Sammy Walker), there’s just no way to change this defense due to salary cap hell. The answer has to come from within, and it’s on everyone, the coaches and the players.
Dean Evason was mad about an offsides call that overturned a Mats Zuccarello power play goal that would have made it 4-3 Wild, with a power play to come, but there’s just no way the Wild deserved to win this game.
Star Kirill Kaprizov was on the ice for 25 shots against. That’s remarkable. He lost the puck to a Columbus player far too many times.
And look out, the high powered Edmonton Oilers come to town Tuesday as the Wild tries to salvage the finale of this three-game homestand.
Gopher Hockey Splits at NoDak
After seeing a dozen friends post photos of their meals in Grand Forks this weekend, I DM’d Gopher Puck Live’s Eric Vegoe and asked - does all food in North Dakota come on a paper plate?
The No. 1 Gophers split with the No. 4 Fighting Sioux (I’ll call them that if I want), winning 4-0 Friday and losing 2-1 on Saturday. Friday’s game was much closer than it appeared - 20 with a few minutes left.
Minnesota plays host to Wisconsin in a rare Thursday/Friday Big 10 matchup this week. The Badgers are 5-1 - two games against Augustana, though - but did beat sweep No. 17 Michigan Tech this past weekend. That oughta move Wisconsin into the top 20 this week.
The Gopher women haven’t played since beating St. Cloud State last Monday. They’ll put their 5-0 mark on the road against 2023 National Semifinalist Ohio State Friday and Saturday.
Loons’ Season Ends
The Loons, with their season on the line, lost 3-1 in Kansas City on Decision Day, the last day of the MLS regular season. They’ll regroup this summer - you’d have to think interim coach Sean McAuley will be in the mix but the Loons would go for a head coach with more experience as a head coach.
The Loons finished 11th in the West and 21st overall in MLS. It’s the lowest ever league finish for MInnesota.
Sponsor The Takeout
Sponsorship packages are available! The Takeout is a great spot to advertise your small business. Get thousands of eyeballs on your product every month. E-mail ryanstanzel@gmail.com
NETWORK PARTNERS
