Bears to provide both Test & Opportunity to Vikes
Photo of Dalvin Cook courtesy of SKOR North/@SKORNorth via Twitter.
When you looked at the Vikings 2019 regular season schedule, you probably figured anything better than 2-2 in September would be a real accomplishment. Well, the Vikes have an opportunity to go out and finish the month 3-1, and that would be huge.
The Vikings play at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 29 against the Bears, who will have a short week of preparation as they head into tonight’s game against the Washington Redskins.
After letting Green Bay off the hook, Sunday’s game against the Bears defense figures to be a real test for Dalvin Cook and the Vikings new “run first” offense, a scheme that gives the purple its best chance to win in a city where victories have always been hard to come by.
MNUFC can Clinch at Home, Wednesday night
Is there a silver lining to MNUFC’s scoreless draw in Portland? With a win, the team would have wrapped up a historic first trip to Major League Soccer’s postseason, however, the draw leaves the team on the outside looking in.
MNUFC has never fared well in Portland, and the Timbers, trying to earn their own way into postseason play, performed like a team fighting for its life.
Let’s hope MNUFC took note of the Timber’s desperation and apply a similar strategy to game play on Wednesday night against arch-nemesis Sporting KC at Allianz Field. It appears the Twins will be clinching on the road some time this week, with the way this season has played out for MNUFC, getting it done in front of fans, on home turf, would be the proverbial cherry to what’s been a wonderful first year playing in the Midway area.
Seeler as “Enforcer” is a Bad Plan
Minnesota Wild Defenseman Nick Seeler is listed on the team’s roster as 6’2” and 198-lbs. I won’t question Seeler’s height or his heart, but he’s only 198 and he has weights in his pockets while he’s standing on the scale.
Photo of Nick Seeler courtesy of Minnesota Wild/@mnwild via Twitter.
Seeler, a light-heavyweight at-best, had two roughing penalties and two fighting majors in this weekend’s back-to-back preseason games against division rival Colorado. Seeler has stepped up to play the role of “enforcer” for the Wild, a team that hasn’t put any fear into an opponent since the days of Derek Boogaard.
While the NHL has tried to cut down on fighting, physicality will always be a part of hockey, and last season the Wild lost fellow defender Mathew Dumba to a torn pectoral muscle from a fight. Like Dumba, Seeler’s value is what he brings to the team on a nightly basis, and losing him to the inevitable injuries that will come from constantly taking on bigger opponents will cost the Wild a player who makes everyone else on the ice around him better.
The puck drops on the Wild’s regular season Thursday, Oct. 3 in Nashville.
U.S. Women’s Soccer owes much to Wambach
Speaking of making everybody else around them better, former team USA forward Abby Wambach was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame this past weekend. As two-time Olympic gold medalist, FIFA World Champion and six-time winner of the U.S Athlete of the Year award, Wambach has scored more international goals than any other player, male of female, and was the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year.
Abby Wambach’s impact, however, goes way beyond numbers and accolades.
Wambach’s relentless effort, physical presence and unflinching ability to deliver in the clutch, not only inspired upcoming players like Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath, Ali Krieger and Megan Rapinoe, but gave those women a shining example of how to go out and perform your best in the biggest moments.
Wambach’s legacy was on display at the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup, where U.S. Forward Megan Rapinoe consistently delivered big moments, something she had seen Wambach do firsthand, for years.
No matter the sport, it always helps if your biggest and strongest player also happens to be your hardest working and most talented one. Abby Wambach was all of those things, and while she never played a minute in the 2019 World Cup, her legacy was clearly on display via the “swagger” that team USA exuded on its way to winning the cup.
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