Loons 2017: A Bumpy Maiden Flight

Minnesota United FC ended its inaugural Major League Soccer season with a 3-2 loss at San Jose Sunday.  While no one expected a playoff run for the Loons right away, they did manage to make sure the Earthquakes qualified for a spot with a stoppage time goal.

For a squad that had been hastily put together, the Loons did quite well considering.  They ended up ninth in the Western Conference of MLS with 10 wins, 18 losses and six ties, totaling 36 points.  Their defense got better after a lousy start, but they still set a league record for the most goals allowed in a season with 70.

Along with some of the holdovers from United's North American Soccer League days, the team signed a few MLS-quality players for coach Adrian Heath to work with.  The results were hit and miss, from leading scorer Christian Ramirez and Francisco Calvo to expensive washout Vadim Demidov, who lasted all of three matches as United's captain.

The Loons made the transition from the National Sports Center in Blaine to the University of Minnesota's football stadium, which were filled with lower bowl sellouts and enthusiastic support.  The challenge will be how to maintain that before United moves into its new digs in St. Paul for the 2019 season.

Before the next season starts, Minnesota United FC will focus on getting better players on its roster that can score goals and not give up so many.  It would also help if they won a few more matches, and not be satisfied with ties.  But Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are successful soccer franchises.  So the banner-waving patrons should be patient.

Pot Shots '17, Volume 3

Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week in President Donald Trump's efforts to make athletes (and by extension the rest of us) stand to his favorite tune:

• The President wants to take away the NFL's tax-exempt status unless they order their players to stand and salute the flag during the national anthem.  Owners will soon decide whether or not to cave to Trump's demands.
• Vice President Mike Pence attended the San Francisco 49ers-Indianapolis Colts game, then departed after seeing some players kneeling during the "Star Spangled Banner".  Most wrote it off as a tacky political stunt that was dreamed up by Trump.  (By the way, wasn't Peyton Manning being honored that day?)  Remember folks, sooner or later Pence could be your next President.
• According to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, no player of his will ever disrespect the flag if they want to remain on the team.  This violation of a player's First Amendment rights comes weeks after Jones linked arms with his team before a game at Arizona in the name of 'unity', thus co-opting the real message of protesting police attacks on African Americans.  They don't call it "America's Team" for nothing.  More like 'Murica's Team.
• ESPN suspends "Sportscenter" anchor Jemele Hill for two weeks because she urged her viewers to boycott the Cowboys' sponsors in the wake of Jones' comments.  Stick to sports?  Right.
• Meanwhile Colin Kaepernick, who started this whole thing in the first place and now says he'll stand for the anthem because he's made his point, is still unemployed nearly halfway into the NFL season.

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In the era of the Super Team, we're not going to bother with previewing the Minnesota Timberwolves or the 2017-18 NBA season,  Instead, let's just say that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors will meet again next June in the NBA Finals and leave it at that.
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The U.S. Men's national soccer team's (or USMNT if you want to sound like an old Lucky Strike cigarette commercial) failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup has sent shock waves through the sport, from pundits to shoe companies to Fox, which had just spent billions for the TV rights.  This could also hurt the U.S.'s chances of co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico.  Bruce Arena, to whom many point to as one of the reasons why they didn't qualify besides lackadaisical play, has quit as coach.  All of this shouldn't have been a surprise, even in the years when they were in World Cup.  They'll have a hard time measuring up to the success of the women's team.
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After watching baseball games that took more than three or four hours to finish, here's one suggestion  to make them shorter and save pitcher's arms in the process:  Limit the number of foul balls hit after the count of three balls and two strikes.  After two or three consecutive foul balls, the umpire should call the batter out.  Isn't there a rule like this used in youth leagues?
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Austin Rogers, a bartender from New York, won $411,000 over a 12-show appearance on TV's "Jeopardy!".  Yes, his quirkiness could be as annoying to some viewers as host Alex Trebek's pomposity, or his dislike of The Eagles (a millennial thing, we suppose).  But he wasn't afraid to roll the dice and bet big on "Daily Doubles", and he's a worthy champion in spite of all that.

Lynx Are Chanpions (X4), Twins Make Playoffs

The Lynx' Dynastic Decade

The Minnesota Lynx are WNBA champions for the fourth time in seven years, having edged the Los Angeles Sparks in five games.  The Sparks were the same team that denied the Lynx a title one year ago, and would have done that again had a furious rally late in the fourth quarter not fizzled out.  In stead, the Lynx won 85-76.

Playing in their second temporary home of the season (Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota) while Target Center was being renovated, the Lynx and their coach Cheryl Reeve summoned whatever strength they had left from their core veterans--Maya Moore, Seimoine Augustus, Lindsay Whelan, Sylvia Fowles (the Finals MVP) and others--to overcome the 2-1 deficit against the league's other super team.  They had to be firing on all cylinders, and that's what they did.

Since the Lynx won their titles in odd-numbered years (2011, '13, '15, '17), it's reasonable to expect another one from them in 2019.  But as long as the current cast sticks around, they're favorites next year too.

Twins:  Worst to Wild Card

The Minnesota Twins won 85 games this past season, which is a lot better than losing 103 last season.  For that, they finished second in the American League Central division to the Cleveland Indians, which is good enough in today's baseball to win a wild card spot.  Then they lost in a playoff to the New York Yankees because it's what they do in the post-season.

The pitching and hitting did just enough to rise above their mediocre competition this season, so the challenge for 2018 is for the Twins front office to find better talent that doesn't need to go to the minor league affiliate in Rochester, New York for seasoning.  And a pitching staff that includes Bartolo Colon, who's been in baseball longer than some of these players have been alive, needs to improve.  Or does that go without saying?

It looks like manager Paul Molitor will get to keep his job, despite reports that the front office wanted their own guy.  That would not have been smart, given Molitor's accomplishment of turning a wretched team into playoff contenders.

All of which gives the patrons at Target Field something to look forward to besides sampling gourmet nachos.
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Here's our semi-bold World Series match-up:  Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers.

NHL 2017-18: No Olympics, No Problem. Right?

English: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States during a sold-out National Hockey League ice hockey game between the Columbus Blue Jackets (home team) and the Boston Bruins (visiting team), in 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The National Hockey League made its presence felt in China, with a couple of preseason games between the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings.  But that's as far in the Far East as they're going to go for now.  The league is not sending its players to the Winter Olympics, which is scheduled for South Korea in February, citing the long travel and having to shut down the regular season for three weeks.  Some players wanted to go anyway, but they've been discouraged by the league for risking their careers over this.

As it turns out, the NHL might be doing the smart thing with tensions between the United States and North Korea reaching the boiling point.  War might break out on the Korean Peninsula by the time the Opening Ceremonies are supposed to take place, and nobody wants to put athletes at risk.  At least France isn't.

Meanwhile, back in North America, there are these questions: 

• Can the Pittsburgh Penguins win their third consecutive Stanley Cup?
• Are the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets more than one-season wonders?
• How far will Conor McDavid and Auston Murphy take their teams?
• Will the Vegas Golden Knights be a good bet for the NHL?
• What's going to become of the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, New York Islanders and Calgary Flames?  Seattle, Kansas City and Quebec City are waiting.

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The Minnesota Wild are coming off their most successful regular season ever, yet they exited the playoffs after one round.  To help remedy that this season, they added Matt Cullen and Tyler Ennis.  Then they said goodbye to Marco Scandella (traded to Buffalo), Eric Haula (drafted by Vegas), Jason Pominville and Darcy Kuemper.

Coach Bruce Boudreau, in his second season, has to get more out of veterans Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Devan Dubnyk and Zach Parise if the Wild hope to successfully navigate the tough Central Division.  Yes, they're a playoff team.  The catch is that once they get there, they have to start playing like they belong there.
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Our picks as to who will be eligible to lay claim to the Stanley Cup come April are as follows:

Eastern Conference  Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and New York Islanders.

Western Conference  Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers.

Pot Shots '17, Volume 2

English: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There's a lot of talk about how low the TV ratings are for the first two weeks of the National Football League's 2017 schedule.  People mention politics, Mother Nature and protests over the owners' continued refusal to hire quarterback Colin Kaepernick as some of the reasons why they're not watching.  They could have also mentioned over-exposure, lousy games, and competition from that smartphone you're reading this on.  But the first two Sunday night games on NBC topped the ratings, so not all is dire.  Let's see what happens when the weather turns colder.
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The NFL already has a Breast Cancer Exploitation Month (October) and a Suck Up to the Military Month (November), so why not have a month to highlight the activism of the players?  That's a great idea, except that the league might shift the focus from players protesting racist cops and the re-emergence of white nationalist groups to promoting NFL-sponsored community outreach programs.  Maybe it would be better if the league got out of the 'cause' business altogether.  Because some people just want to watch football, and not another league-sponsored plea to give to a dubious charity's disaster relief effort.
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Was it a mistake to put two NFL teams in Los Angeles, the city league owners have coveted for so long?  Neither the Rams nor the Chargers sold out their home games last Sunday.  Granted, it's not easy to fill the massive Memorial Coliseum.  But what's the Chargers' excuse, failing to sell out their tiny (by NFL standards) soccer park?  Charging $100 for parking certainly doesn't help.  The truth is that LA did just fine without professional football for two decades.  But now they're stuck with two mediocre franchises playing in temporary homes, until a new stadium is ready for them in 2020.  Or the NFL moves the Chargers back to San Diego, whichever comes first.
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ESPN, already having problems in keeping subscribers because of cord cutting, has bungled its handling of a controversy involving "Sportscenter" anchor Jemele Hill.  She sent out tweets critical of President Donald Trump, calling him a 'white supremacist', which led to Trump demanding an apology. Instead of suspending or defending the African-American Hill for her ability to comment on the world beyond sports, the Worldwide Leader chose to reprimand her for violating the network's social media policy.  Hill then issued a "sorry not sorry" apology.  If ESPN discourages the discussion of politics as it relates to sports by its commentators, then they just don't understand the world we live in now.  And neither do some of its viewers with ostrich mentalities.

NFL 2017: Prelude to Minneapolis

English: Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA behind Lake Calhoun. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before we get into another head-knocking season of the National Football League . . . Wait a minute.  You mean to tell me that some players have actually quit the game, because they want to save their brains from being scrambled into an early death?  Wow.  That's heavy, man.

Anyway, here's our NFL preview:

• The New England Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions, and are favored to do so again this year.  But quarterback Tom Brady just turned 40, and his teammates aren't getting any younger either--which makes the Patriots more vulnerable to injuries such as the one that befell Julian Edelman.  Still, never count out a Bill Belichick-coached team whether he plays by the rules or not.
• Colin Kaepernick, best known as the quarterback who took a knee during the national anthem before a game to protest African-Americans getting harassed by police officers, still does not have a job in the NFL.   It seems teams would rather hire mediocre players off the street or those who have criminal backgrounds than offend its conservative fans and stockholders, who see Kaepernick as a traitor in Trump's America.  Even the Miami Dolphins saved Jay Cutler from life as a TV analyst to be its starting QB.  But there have also been organized efforts to boycott the NFL if nobody hires Kaepernick.  Who's going to be the team that finally does?  And does Kaepernick still want to play football?
• The Raiders are still playing in Oakland this season, even though they made a deal to move to Las Vegas.  The Chargers moved up the California coast from San Diego to Los Angeles, playing in a tiny (by NFL standards) soccer park until the stadium they're sharing with the Rams is ready.  And the Atlanta Falcons, coming off the most incredible giveaway in Super Bowl history, are moving from the Georgia Dome to Mercedes Benz Stadium.  That's where the Chick-fil-A restaurant won't be open on game days.
• Some of the new rule changes in the NFL include quicker waits for decisions based on instant replay, a ten minute overtime period during the regular season, and a relaxation of celebration penalties in the end zone.
• On TV, there's also some changes:  Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, has replaced Phil Simms as Jim Nantz' partner in the CBS booth, while Simms has been demoted to the network's pregame show.  Mike Tirico will call NBC's Thursday night schedule, just to give Al Michaels a break.  Chris Berman has left the hosting of ESPN's NFL coverage to others.  Other than that, there will be fewer commercial breaks that prolong games.  And the NFL will be trading in Cialis and Viagra ads for hard liquor.  Try explaining that to your kids.

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The Minnesota Vikings' hangover from the collapse of last season lingers into the start of this one.  Adrian Peterson and Cordarelle Patterson are both gone.  Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater might return later this season from his devastating knee injury.  His replacement, Sam Bradford, is hanging in there despite an offensive line that, frankly, sucked.  And the coach, Mike Zimmer, has had eight eye surgeries in the past year.  Yes, we said eight.

For the Vikings to be anything other than 8-8 or worse this season, the new offensive line they stitched together must do a better job of protecting Bradford.  The defense is one of the best in the league, and should remain that way.  But the way the team looked in the preseason is not encouraging.

Let's just say the Vikings won't be playing in their home stadium for the Super Bowl.
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And now, if you're still paying attention, here's who we think will be on the road to Minneapolis come January.

AFC EAST      New England Patriots
         NORTH  Pittsburgh Steelers
         SOUTH   Houston Texans
         WEST     Oakland Raiders
WILD CARD  Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts

NFC EAST      Dallas Cowboys
         NORTH  Green Bay Packers
         SOUTH   Atlanta Falcons
         WEST      Seattle Seahawks
WILD CARD   Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants.
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UPDATE (9/8/17):  We should have also mentioned that Beth Mowins will become only the second woman (the other was Gayle Sierens a couple of decades ago) to call NFL games on TV.  She will cover the Chargers-Broncos game on ESPN Monday September 11, then later in the season call some regional matchups for CBS.

Twins 2017: Worst to Second Place

Bartolo Colón (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To everyone's amazement, the Minnesota Twins have gone from unwatchable last season to more tolerable this season.  They led the American League Central division for a few weeks, then settled to second place at the All Star break with a 45-43 record, which is two and a half games behind the Cleveland Indians.

What brought this on?  The Twins have mostly the same players from last year's disastrous squad, but they're hitting and fielding better.  Miguel Sano is having a breakout season with 21 homers and 62 RBIs, enough to earn him a trip to Miami for the All Star Game and an appearance in Home Run Derby as the runner-up to the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter clone Aaron Judge.  A Twin losing to a Yankee.  Sound familiar?

The pitching, outside of starter Ervin Santana and closer Brandon Kintzler (who also joined Sano as  American League All Stars), has been horrendous.  Not a day goes by without some pitcher who is with the Twins one day, then gets a one-way ticket to Class AAA Rochester or on the disabled list.  They even signed 44-year old journeyman Bartolo Colon, who is getting a minor league tryout.

Manager Paul Molitor, whose job seemed to be in jeopardy at the start of the season, appears to have turned things around enough to warrant a contract extension if he wants one.

Before we breathe the word "playoffs", the Twins have the little matter of trying to play better baseball at Target Field as well as on the road.  This has been happening ever since the park opened in 2010, when it became the launching pad for every other team but this one.  In order to advance to the post-season, they have to learn to take the advantage back.

But then again, the Twins could always go beck to being putrid.  They play the league-leading Houston Astros, Yankees, Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers coming up in July.  Byron Buxton could hurt himself making a "Sportscenter"-worthy catch.  Sano could go into a slump.  Joe Mauer could be phoning it in.  And Santana could be traded for a prospect or two.

Until then, with the Twins being a competitive team for a change, just go with it.