Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 10.24.25
Don’t okay boomer me, but there has to be a better way on cable and streaming to have the game “live”. Remember the good old seven-second delay? It’s at least 45 seconds on most cable outlets, and maybe double that on streaming. Most agile sports fans use a second screen; it’s not possible when you’re 2-3 plays behind the action.
The Gophers are getting 8.5 points at Iowa in a battle of teams with identical records. Seems like a big spread for two of the conference’s top defensive teams. I’ll give Floyd of Rosedale to Minnesota.
Loons begin final preparations for best-of-three playoff series with Seattle, beginning Monday at Allianz Field.
Tough news for Gopher women’s hoops, as Mallory Heyer enters the transfer portal two weeks before the season starts. Heyer, a three-time All State selection out of Chaska, led the Gophers in rebounding last year. She said she’s leaving for “personal reasons”.
Love the Blue Jays, but it certainly looks like the Dodgers’ World Series to win.
Vikings Drop a Dud in L.A.
You have to hope last night’s 37-10 loss in L.A. is rock bottom for the 3-4 Vikings. But the Vikings next face the Lions on the road in a rematch of the 31-9 reguar-season ending loss that kept Minnesota out of the one seed and ultimately wound up with a first-round exit.
Avid Vikings fans will tell you this one could have been different had an early Isiaah Rogers pick six not been called back. Even the Amazon replay guy thought it was a catch. The Chargers marched 14 plays down for the field for a 7-0 score, and the Vikings never again looked in the game.
But had that not happened, how exactly were the Vikings to win this game? Their quarterback, in what had to have been his final start, routinely held onto the ball for way too long behind an offensive line that again lost Christian Darrisaw. Carson Wentz’ worst two offenses came late in the first half, when he got sacked back-to-back times, causing the Vikings to take all their timeouts and have to rush a Will Reicherd field goal attempt that was short.
Kevin O’Connell clearly doesn’t trust Max Brosmer in the spotlight, or he would have started the second half. As it is, he played the last series after Wentz’ body, already wearing a harness on his shoulder, had taken too much. They’ve got the best receiver in the league wasting away, in the prime of his career. Wentz had Jefferson wide open in the fourth quarter for a first down, and overthrew him considerably for an interception.
The defense is just as much to blame. They allowed 266 first-half yards, including a 94-yard drive for the Chargers’ third touchdown. At one point midway through the third quarter, Los Angeles has 20 first downs and the Vikings had run only 24 plays. After a Wentz to Jordan Addison TD gave the Vikings a brief moment of hope late in the third quarter, L.A. ran roughshod over the defense right again. But when you’re on the field for 39 minutes, those things happen.
The 3-4 Vikings, by the way, have had the league’s easiest schedule so far. From here on out, it’s the hardest in the NFL. We've got to at least see what J.J. McCarthy has in nine days in Detroit.
ANT Wills Wolves Over Blazers
Don’t bet against Anthony Edwards.
Low-hanging fruit joke about Chauncey Billups aside, ANT discarded his back spasms and lit up Portland for 41 points in a come-from-behind, 118-114 season opening win at Portland on Wednesday. Billups, the Blazers coach, was arrested by the FBI hours later in an illegal gambling ring sting, in case you’re living under a rock.
Edwards was good all night, but he was at his best in a fourth quarter that began with the Blazers up seven. Julius Randle added 19 points, and Jaden McDaniels had 18. Jaylen Clark was a beast defensively off the bench.
It’s going to be an interesting year at the Wolves’ point guard position. Donte DiVincenzo started and wasn’t very good - six turnovers, three field goals) as Mike Conley was relegated to bench duty. Conly only played 13 minutes, with Edwards taking on more of a ball-handling role. You can expect that to continue.
The Wolves catch a break tonight in L.A., where the Lakers are without LeBron James. Minnesota’s home opener is Sunday against Indiana.
Wild Limp Home
The Wild is far from the lone team to look like a team ready to be home just as soon as the puck dropped in the last game of a long road trip. New Jersey took it to the Wild 4-1, as Minnesota ended the five-game road trip 1-3-1.
I’ve seen enough of Marcus Johansson on the power play (and in general). I know he’s cheap, but as a top six forward…
Minnesota is 3-4-1 but heading home for a six-game road trip beginning Saturday against Utah. Two of the first three games on this homestand are against the hottest two teams in the West - the surprising Mammoth, as well as Winnipeg.
Both Gopher Hockey Teams Face UMD
A pair of intra-state matchups for the Gopher hockey teams. The No. 12 men play No. 18 UMD at Mariucci for two games, while the third-ranked Gopher women play No. 4 UMD in Duluth. The Gopher women play the second, fourth and top-ranked teams in three straight weeks.
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