Gopher FB Bowl eligible, extend Fleck NOW.
In a state where supporting the locals seems to bring a unique kind of collective pain, perhaps no singular team has offered more in the form of recent misery than the Golden Gopher Football Program.
It’s been more than 50 years since the Gophers have been to the Rose Bowl, and while they still might not get there this year, they are undefeated 6-0 and ranked #20 in the AP Top 25, meaning they’re bowl eligible.
P.J. Fleck was named head football coach at Minnesota on January 6, 2017. (Photo of P.J. Fleck courtesy of SKOR North/@SKORNorth via Twitter)
Do NOT mess this up. Extend the contract of head coach P.J. Fleck. Right. Now. Yes, the schedule gets significantly more difficult in November, but I’m not thinking about just this season.
If you find Fleck’s flair for self-promotion distasteful, I encourage you to get over it. He has his kids going to class, staying out of trouble, winning games, and in some cases, headed to the NFL.
Fleck has made the Gophers relevant in less than three seasons, and once he’s proven he can get his recruits to the NFL, the talent he brings in and the teams he coaches only figure to improve.
On the other hand, if you lose Fleck, no big deal. As long as you consider that it might take another 50 years to find someone who might have similar success.
Hey Mark Coyle, Joan Gabel, you listening?
Cousins steps up, Vikes impress.
(Infographic of Stefon Diggs courtesy of NFL Network/@nflnetwork via Twitter)
Called out by a former teammate, not to mention just about everybody in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins responded by torching the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Cousins was 22 of 29 passing, for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns. Three of those TD passes went to recently disgruntled wideout Stefon Diggs, who also had two drops, one of which resulted in a Cousins interception.
It was easily the Vikings most complete game of the season and showed that when they play to their potential, they can beat anybody. Now, if they can just play like that on the road…
Wild look Woeful. Woof.
And then, there is the Minnesota Wild.
This folks, is a gut job. Too old, too soft, too slow, not enough talent.
The good news is, this is hockey, the sport that proved an expansion team, when properly motivated, can make a run at the Stanley Cup.
(Photo of Kirill Kaprizov courtesy of KHL/@khl_eng via Twitter)
At 0-4 everything has to be on the table, nobody’s job should be safe. Yes, the Wild are locked into some disastrous contracts, but there is value in trading individual pieces like Devan Dubnyk, and the Wild has to be open to a rebuild at the foundation.
If Bill Guerin wants to bring in his own coach, let him. Everything should be focused on acquiring assets to support the pending arrival of Russian Kirill Kaprizov next season, but Kaprizov could stay and play in the KHL if he doesn’t see a reason to come.
Incomplete Whitecaps raise banner, start strong.
The Minnesota Whitecaps started their defense of the Isobel Cup by splitting a pair of games against the visiting Metropolitan Riveters.
The Minnesota Whitecaps won the Isobel Cup in 2018 during their first season in the NWHL. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Whitecaps/@WhitecapsHockey via Twitter)
While the Whitecaps are playing more games, have an increased salary cap and revenue sharing this season, there are more than 160 women who will not play in the NWHL this season, as they advocate for a new league and a new vision for women’s hockey.
Those boycotting include locals Hannah Brandt and Lee Stecklein, who both played significant roles for the Whitecaps last season, but are standing with their fellow national team members from the U.S. and Canada, in forming a players association focused on forming a new league, one that preferably has ties to the NHL.
The hope here is that consensus can be formed in a way that advances the women’s game to provide a viable future for women to continue to play the game they love at the pro level. Soon.
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