Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 10.9.24

Oct 9

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MLB will produce and distribute Twins games in 2025 - no more Bally’s - but that mean a significant revenue decrease for the “small market” Twins.

Lynx Best Sun in Game 5, Advance to WNBA Final

The New York Liberty was the consensus No. 1 team in the WNBA for the entire season. Now, the top two teams by and large this season will tussle in the WNBA Final beginning Thursday after the Lynx beat Connecticut 88-77 last night in a winner-take-all Game 5 at Target Center.

The Lynx left little doubt they came to play last night, opening up a 19-point halftime lead. They didn’t score for the first four-plus minutes of the second half, but Alanna Smith ignited the crowd with a 3-pointer, and there wasn’t another anxious moment.

Napheesa Collier (27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four blocks) took the game over on multiple occasions. She became the first player in WNBA playoff HISTORY with 25 points and 10 rebounds in three straight games. Courtney Williams had the playoff game of her life with 24 points and seven assists.

Collier will have one heck of a matchup with Breanna Stewart in the paint. Collier didn’t win league MVP but may be the best overall player right now in the WNBA. Can Williams and the Lynx contain New York’s Sabrina Ionescu on the perimeter?

The series begins at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday. Games 3 and 4 (if necessary) are at Target Center October 16 and October 18. The Lynx took the season series 3-1.

Prior to winning two series this post-season, the Lynx had won just one playoff series in six seasons since their fourth - and last - title in 2017. That year ended a run of six Final appearances in seven seasons under Cheryl Reeve. Minnesota’s seven WNBA Final appearances are the most in league history.

Wild’s Season Opens Thursday

Before I get to the Wild, let me rant about the NHL which is just not a serious league. The season opened last night - or should I say yesterday afternoon.

The NHL is not MLB. They don’t play outside. Opening “Day” is not a thing, nor should it be. But the Seattle Kraken wanted an Opening Day game, and got one, opening the season at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time on a random Tuesday afternoon. Get in price was around $20 for the home opener. It was on ESPN and opened up a tripleheader of NHL coverage that ended in Utah’s first home game last night. A Utah team without a name and a couple sections in one end zone where you can’t see the goal. Again, not a serious league. And I’m a hockey guy.

As for the Wild, they welcome back Dean Evason and his Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday for the home opener. They’ve got three goalies on the roster for the foreseeable future, and a lot of money and term invested in Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno and Freddy Gaudreau. They’ll need better seasons from at least two of those three (won’t be difficult) this season to make the playoffs.

The Wild is a team that wouldn’t surprise you if they made the playoffs, but also wouldn’t surprise you if they don’t. Not a lot of ways to improve until July 1, when the Parise and Suter contracts finally come off the books.

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