Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 11.29.23
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I’m an hour away from being I-35 southbound headed towards Branson. Next Takeout a week from today, Dec. 6. Nice of the NFL to schedule the Vikings’ bye week.
Gopher volleyball, left for dead a couple weeks ago, plays Utah State in the first round of the NCAA’s Friday in Omaha. Should they win, they’ll get either host Creighton or Colgate in round two.
Wild Wins Hynes’ Debut
Someone oughta look up an NHL team’s win percentage in a head coach’s debut mid-season. It has to be pretty darn good. The Wild looked like a totally different team under John Hynes, winning the new head coach’s debut 3-1 last night against St. Louis.
I know I’ve been talking about getting rid of Dean Evason since the 2023 playoff exit against Dallas. I didn’t expect it to happen, however. And, hiring a coach (who happens to be really good friends with GM Bill Guerin) who also hasn’t won a single NHL playoff series didn’t sit real well with me either. Hynes has coached in 603 NHL games with Nashville and New Jersey, and he won less than half. Now, the Devils were awful and it wasn’t his fault, and a lot of the guys he coached are now cornerstones of a really good team.
So the one who really hopes Hynes is the answer is Guerin, because the hot seat now belongs to him. And for one night at least, it looked like the 2022-23 regular season Wild.
Despite an early penalty (that had to have had Evason chuckling at home), the Wild killed it and then Joel Eriksson Ek almost immediately scored on the power play. Even when things didn’t go their way for a small amount of time - game getting tied up, Jake Middleton getting slew footed, not being able to score despite Blues goalie Jordan Binnington losing his skate blade, having to kill a four minute minor to beleagured winger Matt Boldoy - the team just kept coming at the Blues. Freddy Gaudreau, he of no goals under his pal Evason, broke the 1-1 tie late in the second. And Boldy, who got a $49 million contract extension late last season, earned his second goal of the year on a breakaway after a splendid blocked shot from Jonas Brodin.
Because the hockey gods have a sense of humor, the Wild now heads to Nashville where Hynes faces not only his former team, but the guy they chose to replace him with. That’s Andrew Brunette.
Wolves Outlast OKC, but Edwards Hurt
All I need to know about the in-season tournament is the West leading Wolves lost a single game, and won’t advance to the next round. Pass.
The Wolves garnered maybe their most impressive win of the season last night, too, beating West No. 2 Oklahoma City 106-103 despite star guard Anthony Edwards leaving the game with a hip contusion late and the Wolves trailing in the third quarter. He still led Minnesota with 21 points, but Rody Gobert and KAT combined for 30, and Troy Brown Jr. poured in 17 off the bench. Brown Jr. averages just more than four points per game.
Chris Finch switched to a zone defense in the second half, and the Thunder shot just 30 percent.
Vikings Have QB Decision to Make After Bye
You don’t need me to rehash much about Monday’s 12-10 Vikings loss to the Bears, who became the first NFL team this season to win a game without the benefit of a touchdown. Two straight games the 6-6 Vikings should have won. Wouldn’t you feel a lot better at 8-4 or even 7-5?
After being the toast of the town, Joshua Dobbs regressed to the mean in the worst way possible Monday. Now, three of his FOUR interceptions were tipped balls. One was actually a bullet that Jordan Addison just has to catch. But he also badly missed a wide open (by about 15 yards) Addison down the sideline in the fourth quarter. Jaren Hall is back to being healthy. Do you go back to Hall, after rewriting your playbook for Dobbs’ running ability?
Justin Jefferson will finally return when the Vikings visit the Raiders Dec. 10 coming out of the bye. They’re suddenly much closer to missing the playoffs than they are to first place Detroit, although catching the Lions is still very much in reach. Certainly no world beaters over the last five regular season games.
Kaliakmanis Enters Transfer Portal
In a rare win for both teams, Gophers QB Athan Kaliakmanis has entered the transfer portal and will play elsewhere his final two seasons. Kaliakmanis hasn’t been given a lot of trust by P.J. Fleck - but to be fair he hasn’t done much to earn trust either. Fleck’s cautious play calling no doubt annoyed Kaliakmanis.
Hours later, third string QB Drew Viotto also entered the portal. That means just two QBs are at Fleck’s disposal for the TBD bowl game - second stringer Cole Kramer and walk-on freshman and Stillwater product Max Shikenjanski.
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