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Monday/Wednesday Takeouts only this week.

The Loons were the hottest MLS team the last two months to get into the playoffs and get to the conference semifinal, but the three week break after the first round due to an international break was no help. They were blown out 6-2 at the LA Galaxy last night to end the season.

Vikings, 99.9 Percent Winners with 90 Seconds Left, Need OT to Oust Bears

“Vikings are going to win!” I exclaimed to our table at OMC Smokehouse in Duluth on Sunday when I saw an 11-point lead with less than two minutes left. So you can imagine my surprise when the teams headed to overtime 30 minutes later.

Yes, the Vikings needed overtime in Chicago after having a 99.5 percent chance to win the game with Chicago on fourth down in their own territory with less than 90 seconds left. But as they say in baseball, Sunday’s 30-27 win at Soldier Field looks like a line drive in the box score on this morning’s agate page.

The Vikings gave up ELEVEN points in regulation’s final TWENTY-TWO seconds. That inclues the first onside kick recovery of the NFL season - the NFL has made it nearly impossible to recover onside kicks.

John Parker-Romo kicked a 29-yard field goal late in overtime for the difference in a game that saw the Bears limit Justin Jefferson to two catches. But Jordan Addison caught eight balls for 162 yards, T.J. Hockenson caught seven for 114 yards and Aaron Jones ran for 106 yards.

Never in doubt.

The 9-2 Vikings play five of their last six games against teams with winning records, including Arizona this Sunday. Then it’s Kirk Cousins’ Falcons at home and the Bears at home on MNF. The last three weeks see them at Seattle, at home against the Packers and at Detroit. The latter game could be for the NFC North title and best record in the West, but I’m not sure the Vikings can win out through murderer’s row to put themselves in that position.

No. 1 Jets Take on No. 2 Wild at The X tonight

All eyes in the NHL tonight are on Xcel Energy Center, where the top two teams in the league go at it. Although the Wild/Jets game will for sure lose some of its luster should Kirill Kaprizov not be able to play.

Dolla Bill Kirill missed the Wild’s 4-3, comeback shootout loss in Calgary on Saturday after last week’s knee injury that didn’t look like much. He had an MRI yesterday, reports The Athletic’s Michael Russo, who reports Kaprizov is “day-to-day” (aren’t we all). He’s as competitive as they come, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can play.

Saturday in Calgary, the Wild got goals from Brock Faber and Marco Rossi in the final 3:59 to get the loser point.

Winnipeg has 34 points, four ahead of Minnesota. (New Jersey also has 30).

Gopher FB Just Short Against No. 4 Penn State

Two top ten teams, a combined four points in losses. It’s what makes P.J. Fleck’s decision to settle for a field goal and a one-point deficit with six minutes left in the fourth quarter against Penn State so questionable.

The Gophers got within 26-25 on that kick, but it was their only possession of the fourth quarter. No. 4 Penn State ran out the clock, handing the Gophers their second heartbreaker of the season against a top 10 team (Michigan has since fallen down the rankings).

Remember, P.J. went for it on fourth down at home against USC in an upset earlier this season. All in all on Saturday, the Gophers had to settle for three Dragan Kesich field goals, and you can’t leave those points on the field against a national championship contender.

Wouldn’t 8-3 sound a lot better than 6-5 going into the regular season finale at Camp Randall on Friday? It would certainly lead to a better bowl game.

Wolves Lose in Boston, Fall to .500

The Wolves have lost five of seven games to drop to 8-8 on the season after Sunday’s 107-105 loss in Boston. Yes, the Celtics are the second-best team in the East, but the Wolves fell behind early - again - 15-6 and didn’t really seem interested until they fell behind by 19 late in the third quarter.

Rookie Josh Dillinghman was a bright spot for the Wolves with 14 points. While they played harder than they have in some time, 8-8 is nothing short of disappointing for a team that was a series win away from the NBA Finals last year.

Naz Reid missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game. Reid missed five of his six 3’s, and seven of nine shots overall. The Sixth Man of the Year winner has seven points in his last two games, both Wolves’ losses.

Minnesota, which begins the week not even in play-in position, hosts a surprising 12-6 Rockets team on Tuesday.

Gopher Hockey

The Gopher men bested Notre Dame 6-3 and 5-3 to remain unbeaten in regulation (6-0-1) in Big 10 play. Minnesota has played just four home games this season, but that will change with an eight-game homestand beginning against Alaska Friday. The Gophers don’t again play outside Minnesota until Jan. 10.

St. Cloud State is vastly improved and at the bottom end of the top 10, but a disappointing home-and-home split for the Gopher women. The Huskies won 3-1 at home Saturday to snap the Gophers’ seven-game winning streak. The Gophers don’t play this weekend.

Gopher Hoops

The Gopher women suffered a brutal loss but remained undefeated. How? Leading scorer Mara Braun reinjured the foot she broke last season, an injury that cost her to miss the final six weeks of the season. Worse yet she hurt it in the shootround. She’s out indefinitely, but the Gophers still blew out Montana 84-45 at home on Sunday. The Gophers play Houston and Louisiana in the Big Easy Classic Friday and Saturday.

The Gopher men return off a six-day layoff tonight to host Central Michigan. They’re at the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando for Thanksgiving, playing Wichita State and either Florida or Wake Forest.

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