Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 9.16.24
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Wild training camp opens Thursday.
Vikings 2-0 with Win Over Super Bowl 49ers
It was a bizarre feeling as the final horn sounded of the Vikings’ 23-17 win over San Francisco in the home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Viking fans wanted to celebrate an unlikely win, but were concerned about star Justin Jefferson who was helped off the field with a bruised thigh (he’s “not overly concerned”). And there were the 49ers fans, who made up nearly half the 66,000-plus in attendance and couldn’t believe how lost their team looked without Christian McCaffrey.
The Vikings are much better than pre-season prognosticators thought. If Brian Flores’ defense plays like it did yesterday, they can beat anyone. McCaffrey didn’t play last week, and the Niners torched the Jets.
Minnesota sacked Brock Purdy five times. Local hero Blake Cashman had 13 tackles. Josh Metellus had a timely interception. San Francisco was 2-for-10 on third down, needing more than eight yards per attempt. A blocked punt early also set up the Vikings’ first touchdown.
Offensively, Josh Darnold had another solid game. He was the 49ers backup last season, so he spent much of the year practicing against their first-team defense. Fred Warren picked him off once, but the kid has a good arm and good pocket presence. He threw a 55-yard pass to Jefferson, who ran the other 42 yards for a 97-yard TD reception. It marked the longest play from scrimmage against the 49ers in their history that dates back to 1950.
But Jefferson caught a knee to his hip/thigh area in the second half. Already without Jordan Addison, the offense didn’t stop, getting key catches from Brandon Powell and Jalen Nailor. Aaron Jones was out briefly too; the Vikings were missing their top four offensive threats and still made the San Francisco defense look regular.
The Vikings are one of four 2-0 NFC teams heading into Sunday’s game against Houston.
Twins Head to Cleveland with Wild Card in Balance
A month ago, we all thought this week’s four-game Twins/Guardians series would have AL Central title implications. Consider this - if the Twins unlikely swept four games on the road, they’d still be 2.5 back of Cleveland for first.
So we’ll focus on the wild card, and after the Twins salvaged the final game against Cincinnati 9-2 yesterday, they lead Detroit and Seattle by two games for the final wild card spot.
The Twins got Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa back this weekend, yet did all their damage in a game both were given the day off. Brooks Lee drove in five runs in yesterday’s win, in which the Twins trailed by two runs but had their bullpen record 16 outs without allowing a run.
Thirteen games left. Bailey Ober versus Tanner Bibee tonight.
Detroit plays K.C. this week and Seattle hosts the Yankees.
Lynx Keep No. 1 Hopes Alive by Beating Liberty
It would have been easy for the Lynx to take the foot off the gas yesterday, but instead they moved two games back of the first-place Liberty with two to play.
Minnesota led by 25 after three quarters, and outclassed the team that’s led the WNBA from start to almost finish this season. Bridget Carlton and Napheesia Collier combined for 37 points.
The Lynx would win the season tiebreaker against New York, but they’ve got to get there first. The Liberty should not lose to either Atlanta or Phoenix, though.
Minnesota, meanwhile, has an important game with second overall implications on Tuesday against Connecticut, and finishes the season Thursday at home against L.A. The Lynx and Connecticut Sun are separated by just two games for second and third; second likely gets Phoenix, third likely draws Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. The Sun has the tiebreaker.
Gophers Whip Nevada; Open B10 Play at Home Versus Iowa
The Iowa Hawkeyes opened up a 2.5-point favorite against the Gophers this Saturday, a 6:30 p.m. NBC game at Huntington Bank Stadium.
The Gophers have won their last two non-conference games of the season by a combined 75-0 score, including a 27-0 drubbing of Nevada on Saturday.
The well-balanced Gopher offense rushed and passed for nearly 200 yards each.
Both teams are 2-1 heading into this week’s Floyd of Rosedale game. Iowa’s lone blemish came against then No. 20 Iowa State. Minnesota won last year’s rivalry game 14-12 in Iowa City.
Loons Solidify Hold on Ninth with Win in St. Louis
The Loons have won back-to-back games for the first time since early May, with a 3-1 win at St. Louis on Saturday. Now, both those wins have come from teams near the bottom of the Western Conference, but with six games left, Minnesota is five points up for the No. 9 and final spot in the post-season. It’d be a one-game playoff with No. 8 Portland - the two teams are separated by just a point.
Now the Loons, which went six weeks playing only two MLS games, plays on a quick turnaround when they host Cincinnati on Wednesday, before a game at KC Saturday. That’s three games in eight days.
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