Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 9.30.24
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Last day of a month without meaningful NHL hockey until July. Only two more Wild pre-season games until the regular season opens up Oct. 10 against Columbus at The X.
I’ve post-mortemed the Twins enough, and not a huge surprise Derek Falvey says that Rocco Baldelli is the manager in 2025. It’s on Falvey and the Pohlads to get this team some depth, or it’ll be Rocco’s last season and it’ll be in front of a lot of empty seats. At least they won’t lose to the Yankees in October…
Sun Too Much on D for Lynx in Game 1
The Lynx will have to win a road game to advance to the WNBA Finals.
Connecticut’s defense led the way in a 73-70 Game 1 win over the Lynx at Target Center last night. The game, which featured 13 lead changes, featured the top two defenses in the league.
After regularly scoring in the 80’s and 90’s for the last couple months, the Lynx were stifled. Napheesa Collier scored 19 points after going for 80 in two games in the first-round series. The Lynx’ last possession left a lot to be dscired, never even getting a shot off down three with 11 seconds left.
Minnesota will need more from the rest of the supporting cast. Courtney Williams, the fifth option on offense, missed an ill-advised shot with less than two minutes left.
Game 2 is Tuesday at Target Center at 8:30 p.m.
Vikings Use Fast Start to Beat Packers for 4-0 Start
You were scared, weren’t you?
Somewhere in the fourth quarter, the Vikings’ 28 straight first half points seemed like a week ago. But all that matters is Miinnesota headed west from Green Bay with a 4-0 mark, thanks to a 31-29 win over the Packers that wasn’t close at all until the final 15 minutes.
The Vikings looked like a Super Bowl Contender (they very well may be, by the way), scoring two touchdowns in each the first and second quarters. Sam Darnold, the placeholder QB on a one-year contract, looked like an MVP candidate (that he very well may be, by the way).
But Jordan Love Green Bay to 22 fourth-quarter points against a Vikings defense that looked beatable for the first time this season. That is unless you count against their blitz. Love threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, but two of his three interceptions came against the blitz.
Darnold threw for 275 yards and hit Justin Jefferson, a returning Jordan Addison and Josh Olver for touchdowns. Aaron Jones, in his return to Green Bay, ran for 93 yards.
Minnesota is the NFC’s lone 4-0 team (Seattle plays tonight), Only one NFC team has scored more points than the Vikings, and only one has allowed fewer.
The Vikings head to London to play the Jets this Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
Gophers Rally, Victim of Bad Offsides Call Late
One play doesn’t make a game, but man it’s tough to see the Gophers be on the wrong side of a terrible onsides kick offsides call at Michigan.
Down 21 midway through the third quarter, the Gophers stormed back behind Max Bosmer and Darius Taylor. They got within three with less than two minutes left, but a controversial (aka bad) offsides call negated a rare successful onsides kick. The call was not reviewable, and who knows if the Gophers would have scored after.
It wound up 27-24 Michigan for yet another Little Brown Jug.
The Gophers have to feel good about this one - it’s Michigan after all. Not last year’s Michigan, but a top 20 team on the road.
Bosmer threw for 258 yards. Taylor ran for only 39 yards against a stifling Wolverine defense but had two scores.
Things get no easier this weekend with a return home to face USC in the schools’ first B10 match-up ever. USC is ranked 11th and whipped Wisconsin on Saturday. They own a top 15 win over LSU.
Loons Rolling Behind Yeboah
The Loons got their signature win and are firmly in the playoff picture.
Led by Kelvin Yeboah’s continued historic start, Minnesota earned maybe its best win of the season, 3-0 over Colorado on Saturday. It marked the Loons’ first home win in two months (!).
Yeboah is just the fourth player in MLS history to score a goal in five of his first six matches. He scored in each half Saturday. He’s just 24, was signed in July and has another three years under contract.
And Yeboah has energized a team that just couldn’t score more than one goal a game for the last four months. Yes, they’d beat the bad teams but very rarely were they beating a top team.
The Loons have three games left, and they’re tied with Portland for eighth in the West, but with the tiebreaker. But they’re only two points out of seventh and three out of sixth. Still aways to go to avoid that one-game play-in, but at least at this point it would be at Allianz Field. The monkey is off their back at home, at least.
It’s a tough week for the Loons, which plays twice on the west coast - at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and in Vancouver on Saturday.
GWH Opens Season with Sweep at No. 9 UConn
Lofty expectations for the Gopher women’s hockey team as Abbey Murphy enters her senior season and 17-year-old freshman sensation defender Chloe Primerano enters the fray.
So far, so good. The Gophers, ranked third in the pre-seaon but No. 2 after defending champion Ohio State lost twice to UMD, swept an emerging No. 9 UConn team in Storrs. Murphy scored twice on Friday, while the freshman Pimerano scored her first collegiate score. There’s rarely been a buzz in women’s college hockey like there is around Primerano, who was the only female skater ever drafted into the WHL.
Murphy scored twice and Primerano had two assists in Saturday’s overtime win.
Minnesota plays host to B.U. Friday and Sunday.
The Gopher men play an exhibition at St. Cloud State on Saturday before taking on Air Force in Las Vegas on Oct. 11 in the regular season lidlifter.
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