Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 9.29.23.
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Pop out of bed at 6 a.m. — four-ball at the Ryder Cup…
The U.S. has some work to do in order to make an early wake up call Saturday or Sunday worthwhile. Down 4-0, Americans didn’t lead in a single foursome match early this morning. Hopefully it’ll be worth setting the alarm, but we’ll see.
Twins at Colorado - Just Don’t Get Hurt!
It’s looking more likely the Twins will face the Astros - though Toronto and Seattle are still possibilities - with the Wild Card series opening Tuesday at Target Field.
So the mission with the Twins facing the 101-loss, -228 run differential Rockies in Denver this weekend? Don’t get hurt.
Joe Ryan gets the call tonight in the series opener in his final audition for the Game 3 starter role. Neither Pablo Lopez nor Sonny Gray will get the ball this weekend, they’re set to pitch Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Wild Beat Avs 4-2
Kirill Kaprizov scored twice and Marco Rossi continued his strong pre-season as the Wild beat the Avs (or some semblance of the Avs) 4-2 in the first exhibition game at The X. Let’s not get crazy over Rossi yet - you may remember he led the pre-season in points last season. The entire NHL, not just the Wild…
But where will we be watching the Wild? As Bally hangs in the balance, Michael Russo of the Athletic reports that the Wild could be ready with a contingency, probably streaming and over the air, within 24 hours. Flashing back to the old “Forty-Five” days.
The Wild hosts Chicago on Saturday before some massive cuts and a team building trip in Duluth.
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Vikings Face Motivated Thielen Trying to Save Season
Adam Thielen did his best to not make this weekend’s 0-3 Vikings versus 0-3 Panthers his own personal revenge game. But you can tell with his press clips out of Charlotte this week that he’s very… motivated.
Thielen, who gets all the Detroit Lakes publicity but has long lived in his wife’s hometown of Woodbury, faces the Vikings for the first time this Sunday. Winner saves their season for one week, the loser can officially start Quitting for Caleb (Williams).
The Panthers aren’t a very good football team. The Vikings aren’t either, but they’re at least more talented than Carolina.
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P.J. Fleck on NIL Offensive Heading into Louisiana Game
Following a loss to Northwestern in which the Gophers blew a three touchdown lead in the fourth quarter, P.J. Fleck went on the offensive, trying to get his players some name, image, license money. Fleck said the Gophers will be “Triple-A” and will lose players unless they’re able to start making more money than current NIL deals allow them.
He’s for sure talking about Gophers star running back Darius Taylor.
People like to sit here and say that there are Fortune 500 companies galore (true) in the Twin Cities, and they should be ponying up sponsorship deals for the Gophers. But - and I love the Gophers - this is a pro sports town for sponsorship money, and quite frankly, the big time deals for athletes in most markets don’t come from Fortune 500 companies. The most decorated Gopher athlete I have seen in NIL is Taylor Heise.
The 2-2 Gophers host 3-1 Louisiana Saturday at 11. Minnesota is an 11-point favorite. I once lived in Lafayette, La., speaking of good college towns.
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Loons Face Must Win Game At Home
Just four games left for the Loons, who trail the last wild card spot by four points. Now it’s three points for a win in MLS - but the Loons have actually won less than a third of their games (nine wins in 30 games), and are one of the league’s worst at home.
And home is where they’ll be Saturday, facing No. 7 San Jose. That’ll be followed by a quick turnaround to face West No. 2 LAFC Wednesday in Los Angeles. Is Adrian Heath coaching for his job? Probably.
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