Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 9.28.26
Twins finished the season winning four of five games to finish with a 77-85 record. They also ruined the Rangers’ chances of the post-season.
Incredible day four comeback for the U.S. to win the Presidents Cup. The Americans have lost just two of the 16 match-place tournaments.
Brock Faber’s health is a question mark heading into Wild’s opener in Nashville on Thursday. We still don’t know where you’ll be able to watch Wild on Xfinity, no big rush.
GMH opens up the season at Michigan Tech on Friday. GWH dives right into WCHA play at Bemidji this weekend.
Wolves pre-season games start a week from today.
Vikings Move to 3-0 Despite Never Running Play Inside Red Zone
The Vikings’ 23-16 Week 3 win in Tampa Bay had everything.
Only if you consider everything inept quarterback play, injured stars, poorly-timed penalties, nearly as many punts as first downs and a winning team that didn’t run a single play inside the red zone.
The Vikings got a long punt return touchdown from Myles Price, three field goals from Will Reichard and a quick two-pass surge in a less-than-ordinary game from Kyler Murray to Jordan Addison. The Vikings looked out of sorts at best once Justin Jefferson left the game with an ankle injury in the first half.
Minnesota is 3-0 and will host the NFL’s worst team, the Miami Dolphins (0-3, -50 point differential) on Sunday.
Murray looks like he’s no longer an NFL signal caller. He’s making slow decisions, refuses to use his legs, and routinely overthrew receivers by five yards or more. He misfired on half of his 28 passes, and has accounted for the Vikings’ only two turnovers this season.
The Vikings are 0-3 without their defense, of course. They sacked Baker Mayfield six times. They hit him another 12 times. They sealed the game with two interceptions in the final 99 seconds, including Andrew Van Ginkel’s pick with 99 seconds left after Mayfield ran backwards for 30 yards trying to elude defenders.
Minnesota won despite not running a single play inside the red zone.
Liberty Have an Easy Time with Lynx in Game 1
New York’s best players were better - that’s an understatement - in Game 1.
Breanna Stewart outscored Napheesa Collier and Olivia Miles combined as the Liberty earned a 91-75 win at Target Center to open the best-of-three series. The top-seeded Lynx need to win Tuesday in Brooklyn to force a deciding Game 3.
Stewart had 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as the Liberty outscored the Lynx 51-31 in the second half.
Collier managed just 12 points, but it was Miles who really struggled in her first taste of pro playoff basketball. The Rookie of the Year frontrunner missed nine of her 12 shots, scored 11 points, had just one assist and four turnovers. She showed visible frustration on the bench when yanked in the fourth quarter after a bad turnover with the game somewhat within reach.
Remember that Collier signed just a one-year contract after the new WNBA CBA, betting on herself. Since she’s come back from injury, she has not been MVPhee. It will be interesting to see what the Lynx do this off-season. She’s going to get a lot of money from someone.
Gophers Stun Washington in B10 Opener
The Gophers became the third Big 10 team of the day to win against a ranked team on the road, earning a 27-24 win in Seattle in a game that ended at 1:30 a.m. central time. You’ve all seen the moment where P.J. Fleck wiped blood from senior Maverick Baranowski’s face onto his own face, I don’t need to link to it.
Minnesota is 3-1 with Michigan coming to town Saturday. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff will originate from Dinkytown.
The Gophers led 21-10 at the half behind three TD passes from Drake Lindsey, who completed 21-of-29 passes for 204 yards overall.
Minnesota’s defense was stout - seven sacks, two interceptions, and the Gophers held the Huskies to 1-for-10 on first down. Minnesota is one of only three teams to win at Husky Stadium the last four years.
The last times these teams played, Warren Moon and Tony Dungy were the quarterbacks.
The Gophers will face a ticked off Wolverines team this weekend. Michigan lost at home to Iowa on a touchdown as time expired.
Michigan opened this week a 6.5-point favorite against Minnesota. Not sure I remember a spread that small between these two teams…
Loons on the Brink After Another Loss
The Loons lost 3-1 Saturday in Seattle, remaining a one-win team since the first Saturday in May. Minnesota’s seven wins and 29 points are better than just one Western Conference team. The Loons have lost five in a row.
Minnesota has just seven games left - none till Oct. 10 against Houston. The Loons are six points back of the final wild card spot. And considering Minnesota has just one point over its last seven games…
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