Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 9.25.23.

Sports That Aren't HockeyTwinsVikingsGophersWildLynxTimberwolvesPWHLLoons

Sep 25

Tell a friend to sign up for The Takeout here!

Maybe a celebrity wife or girlfriend would make this Vikings’ season more palpable… but instead, Vikings Drop to 0-3 Despite Being Gifted Apparent Win.

It was one of the most puzzling decisions in recent memory - maybe in NFL history. With his 0-2 team facing a 4th and 1 deep in their own territory with less than two minutes left, Chargers coach Brandon Staley went for it.

The Vikings stopped the run, leading to another decision that will be questioned as long as Kirk Cousins’ reign in the purple continues. Cousins marched Minnesota to the 6-yard line with 35 seconds left. The crowd noise was so loud Cousins couldn’t hear coach Kevin O’Connell’s play call. He let 20 seconds run off the clock, costing him at least two potential plays. And he threw an interception that was tipped, ending an unlikely Chargers 28-24 win that dropped the Vikings to 0-3.

Spiking the ball to conserve clock, and get 40 seconds to set up the next play, was the only option. As a veteran QB, Cousins just has to make the right play there.

Just one of the last 99 teams to begin a season 0-3 has made the playoffs.

So many opportunities for the Vikings in this disappointing loss, none moreso than Staley - likely coaching for his head coaching position - assuming his team could get one yard inside two minutes.

Cousins has more passing yards this season than any quarterback in the NFL; he had 367 yesterday. Justin Jefferson caught seven passes for 149 yards. Hockenson, the intended target on the last play of the game, caught eight passes for 78 yards, but lost an early fumble that set the tone in a pedestrian first half.

The stats say the Vikings aren’t 3-0, but your morning newspaper agate page tells you otherwise.

There’s no one fix for this team either, with a date at 0-3 Carolina this Saturday. Those two teams, along with the lowly Bears, are the only winless teams in the NFC.

Quit for Caleb Williams, anyone?

Division Champ Twins Try to Get Healthy in a Week

The Twins clinched the Central Division on Friday and are all but locked into the No. 3 seed and a best-of-three Wild Card round at home starting a week from tomorrow. Yes the Central is awful, but they’ve done most of the damage the last six weeks playing teams outside their own division.

Rocco has said Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray will be his first two pitchers. Joe Ryan was good Sunday and has to have the inside track on the No. 3 role. Kenta Maeda is expected to pitch out of the bullpen sometime this week but could be a Game 3 option too.

So the health of Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis becomes the thing to watch. Neither is expected to play in any of the six games this week (three versus Oakland, three at Colorado), but the Twins desperately need them to be back for the Wild Card round.

If the season ended this morning, the Twins would play - yikes - the Astros. It’ll likely come down to Houston and Seattle - both teams limping into the post-season.

Gopher FB Loses in Excruciating Fashion

The Gophers’ 37-34 loss at Northwestern on Saturday - after I’d gone to bed sure they had it in the bag - was every bit as unlikely as the Vikings’ loss.

Minnesota led 31-10 early in the fourth, but gave up three fourth quarter TD’s and eventually fell in overtime. After kicking a field goal, they gave up a trick play touchdown as Northwestern secured the win.

The Wildcats are one of the Big Ten’s worst teams. The Gophers shut it down after three quarters, no doubt about the time Darius Taylor got hurt. The freshman RB ran for 206 yards, and will probably be named the conference’s Rookie of the Week for the third time this season.

Both teams are now 1-1 in the Big 10 and 2-2 overall. Minnesota hosts Louisiana on Saturday. After that, the waters get much deeper with Michigan, Iowa and Michigan State on the schedule.

Wild 1-0 in Pre-Season

I’m not a big NHL pre-season guy, with how visiting teams can bring a bunch of scrubs who can’t complain about flying across a time zone on the day of a game. But the Wild did just that, and still won 4-3 at Colorado yesterday.

Goalie of the future Jesper Wallstedt made 40 saves, while former Gopher Sammy Walker had two goals and an assist. It’ll be hard for Walker to make this team, save for an injury, but he’ll be one of the first call-ups.

The Wild is at Dallas on Tuesday in game 2 of the pre-season.

Time Running Out for Loons

There are still opportunities for the Loons to make up ground in the last four games and make the MLS playoffs, but it’s not looking good.

Minnesota fell 2-1 against St. Louis Saturday. They’re in 11th and two behind ninth-place FC Dallas, which has a game in hand. The top seven are in the playoffs; No. 8 and No.9 get a one-game playoff for the right to face St. Louis, an expansion team that has ruled the roost this season.

The Loons host eighth-place San Jose on Saturday.

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