So many blog topics, so little time. Early last week I had a few different topics rolling around, but not enough time to put anything up on the actual blog page. Bear with me if this entry is a little different than others. I'll try to hit all my points in an organized way, even though they're not exactly timely.
MVP
The big sports news in Minnesota, and on the national level too, was Twins catcher Joe Mauer winning the American League MVP award. He received 27 of the 28 first-place votes by the baseball writers.
As word quickly spread on Twitter, the focus then shifted to finding out who the writer was that didn't give him the first-place nod. It turned out it was a writer out in Seattle, Keizo Konishi of Kyodo News. His MVP pick? Detroit's Miguel Cabrera. The same guy who partied it up at the end of the season and got in a little trouble with the cops. Good choice.
No doubt Mauer deserved this award. And I have to admit, it was nice to see a piece of hardware go to someone in baseball other than the Yankee prodigy Derek Jeter. Now of course, it is a necessity for the Twins to sign Mauer to a multi-year deal this off season. OK, it's technically not a must, but letting him reach free agency would be one of the most colossal mistakes of the Twins organizaiton.
Poor Pouliot
On the very same day when the rest of the Twin Cities focused on the glory day for Mauer (as it should be), I became a very torn sports fan. My sentimental favorite on the Minnesota Wild, Benoit Pouliot, was traded to Montreal for a guy whose name I couldn't even attempt to pronounce (Guillaume Latendresse).
From the early reporting and thoughts from Michael Russo, the trade seemed pretty even. And at that point, the Wild had made two of the three trades in the NHL since the start of the season. That's a pretty good step in the right direction for the Wild's front office.
Even if it's a good trade, it still stings when you see your favorite player leave your home team. I guess that's why I don't generally have favorite players. But that's the business side of professional sports.
Tommie football makes a run
What can I say about St. Thomas football? Simply amazing. The team is headed out west to play in the third round of the NCAA playoffs. I could go on and on about all the records and statistics this team has compiled, but I don't have that much time.
They are in the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades, and earned themselves a home playoff game last weekend (thanks to Coe College upsetting St. John's in the first round). I went to the game and it was great to see stands full of alumni, community members and students. It was a great game as the Tommies worked their way to a 34-7 victory.
Fritz Waldvogel was named the MIAC MVP. Just watch him run back a kickoff for a touchdown and you'll see why he earned this honor. It's not a good idea to kick the ball directly to him, just for future reference.
Best of luck to the Tommies this weekend!
A couple other things...
I was very disappointed to read in the newspaper that pitcher Glen Perkins will once again be with the Twins come next season. This is the same guy that had a horrible year pitching-wise, and also off the field. He wasn't very forthcoming when he had injuries, coming forward only after he had a sub-par pitching outing. Then he was upset when he was sent down to the minors, and nearly filed a grievance against the Twins.
It's a long saga that should have ended with the Twins showing Perk the door. But instead, they brought him back for at least another year. This is the same guy that also turned down an invitation to be with the team at a Metrodome celebration at the end of the season. What does that say about his team chemistry?
With Thanksgiving last week came the traditional Turkey of the Year award from Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune. It's always fun to read this column not only for the Turkey, but also for the great things Reusse has to say about the other candidates.
This year's pick was very obvious, and a good one: Golden Gopher football head coach Tim Brewster. The team finished 6-6, but don't worry, they'll still make a bowl appearance. For a team that couldn't score an offensive touchdown in two straight games, but is still able to limp into a bowl game, that tells me there must be too many bowls.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Respect your elders
It wasn't the most solid victory, but it got the job done. The Minnesota Wild faced off against the New York Islanders friday night at the Xcel Energy Center and pulled out a 3-2 win. Owen Nolan broke a 2-2 tie with just over a minute to go in regulation.
This was my second game of the season watching the Wild boys in person. The result was good, which is more than I can say for a lot of the games I have attended over the years. As a special treat, the "sellout" crowd had the pleasure of watching 5-year-old YouTube sensation Josh Sacco perform the traditional "Let's Play Hockey." What a cutie!
The Wild were starting the game minus a few forwards, and with minor league call-ups as additions. Not making excuses, the hometown boys came out with another fairly slow start. I believe they did not register a shot on goal until about seven minutes into the first period.
Five for fighting
One highlight were a couple of good hockey fights. The first involved the Wild's Nathan Smith, who was playing in his first game since being called up from the Houston Aeros. It came at a good time when the team, and the building, needed some energy.
The other fight involved Shane Hnidy, and subsequently an absurb list of penalties assessed to the Wild's defenseman. From my seat, Hnidy made a good, clean hit along the boards on an Islander. Not long after on the shift, Islander Tim Jackman was duking it out with Hnidy.
I didn't quite see the start of the fight, since I was watching the puck, but I have a pretty good guess as to what happened. Jackman wanted to stick up for his teammate, so he decided to make a go of it with Hnidy. Predictably, the pair received five-minute majors for fighting. Not so predictably, Hnidy got hit with a two-minute minor for instigating, and a 10-minute major for game misconduct.
The problem for fans in the stands was that only the first two penalities were announced in the arena. So my mom and I were puzzled as to why Hnidy spent a good chunk of the second period in the box. These penalties just add to the list of bad calls the Wild have seen lately.
Hockey fan etiquette
Nolan gave the Wild a 1-0 lead in the first period. I wish I could write some more details about the goal, but I don't have a very good firsthand account. Let me explain.
A note to all novice hockey fans out there: please wait for a break in the action to leave or return to your seat. This means, don't get up to get yourself another beer and nachos while there's play going on. When you break this hockey-fan-etiquette rule, you block the view of those behind you and may cause them to miss important plays.
Yes, I am bitter. And yes, I missed seeing Nolan's first goal of the night because I was just getting settled into my seat after standing up to let a gentleman go back to his seat.
Back to the game
The Islanders took the lead with two unanswered goals, one appearing to be another soft goal given up by Niklas Backstrom. The score remained 2-1 for quite sometime, and I was getting worried that I had missed the Wild's only goal for the night. After all, they weren't playing the most commanding game, but it was a pretty good match with the Islanders, a team with 23 points in their division.
Wild captain Mikko Koivu scored a beauty to tie the game, and I did not miss that one. Things kept moving along after that, and it looked like we were about to see some more extra hockey. I was already praying the game wouldn't get to a shootout because the Wild had not scored a shootout goal in their past two games where they had the chance.
But the 37-year-old Nolan showed the younger guys how it's done. After taking a couple high sticks and then getting cross-checked and held down by the goalie in front of the net (all of which apparently did not warrant penalties), Nolan was in perfect position to score the game-winning goal with just 1:07 left in regulation.
It was a much-needed win for them, especially after what sounded like a very frustrating practice the day before. Sticks were flying, hitting the glass and being crumpled into sawdust. After that, you need an inspiring win.
They're off until Wednesday, when they hope to also have more injured players returning. Sometimes long breaks in between games can be good, or bad. Let's hope they can come up with some kind of momentum and get a few more wins under their belt, especially when they are on home ice.
This was my second game of the season watching the Wild boys in person. The result was good, which is more than I can say for a lot of the games I have attended over the years. As a special treat, the "sellout" crowd had the pleasure of watching 5-year-old YouTube sensation Josh Sacco perform the traditional "Let's Play Hockey." What a cutie!
The Wild were starting the game minus a few forwards, and with minor league call-ups as additions. Not making excuses, the hometown boys came out with another fairly slow start. I believe they did not register a shot on goal until about seven minutes into the first period.
Five for fighting
One highlight were a couple of good hockey fights. The first involved the Wild's Nathan Smith, who was playing in his first game since being called up from the Houston Aeros. It came at a good time when the team, and the building, needed some energy.
The other fight involved Shane Hnidy, and subsequently an absurb list of penalties assessed to the Wild's defenseman. From my seat, Hnidy made a good, clean hit along the boards on an Islander. Not long after on the shift, Islander Tim Jackman was duking it out with Hnidy.
I didn't quite see the start of the fight, since I was watching the puck, but I have a pretty good guess as to what happened. Jackman wanted to stick up for his teammate, so he decided to make a go of it with Hnidy. Predictably, the pair received five-minute majors for fighting. Not so predictably, Hnidy got hit with a two-minute minor for instigating, and a 10-minute major for game misconduct.
The problem for fans in the stands was that only the first two penalities were announced in the arena. So my mom and I were puzzled as to why Hnidy spent a good chunk of the second period in the box. These penalties just add to the list of bad calls the Wild have seen lately.
Hockey fan etiquette
Nolan gave the Wild a 1-0 lead in the first period. I wish I could write some more details about the goal, but I don't have a very good firsthand account. Let me explain.
A note to all novice hockey fans out there: please wait for a break in the action to leave or return to your seat. This means, don't get up to get yourself another beer and nachos while there's play going on. When you break this hockey-fan-etiquette rule, you block the view of those behind you and may cause them to miss important plays.
Yes, I am bitter. And yes, I missed seeing Nolan's first goal of the night because I was just getting settled into my seat after standing up to let a gentleman go back to his seat.
Back to the game
The Islanders took the lead with two unanswered goals, one appearing to be another soft goal given up by Niklas Backstrom. The score remained 2-1 for quite sometime, and I was getting worried that I had missed the Wild's only goal for the night. After all, they weren't playing the most commanding game, but it was a pretty good match with the Islanders, a team with 23 points in their division.
Wild captain Mikko Koivu scored a beauty to tie the game, and I did not miss that one. Things kept moving along after that, and it looked like we were about to see some more extra hockey. I was already praying the game wouldn't get to a shootout because the Wild had not scored a shootout goal in their past two games where they had the chance.
But the 37-year-old Nolan showed the younger guys how it's done. After taking a couple high sticks and then getting cross-checked and held down by the goalie in front of the net (all of which apparently did not warrant penalties), Nolan was in perfect position to score the game-winning goal with just 1:07 left in regulation.
It was a much-needed win for them, especially after what sounded like a very frustrating practice the day before. Sticks were flying, hitting the glass and being crumpled into sawdust. After that, you need an inspiring win.
They're off until Wednesday, when they hope to also have more injured players returning. Sometimes long breaks in between games can be good, or bad. Let's hope they can come up with some kind of momentum and get a few more wins under their belt, especially when they are on home ice.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Tommie football: Pride and passion
I went to my first University of St. Thomas football game as an alum Saturday. It was the regular-season finale at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in a non-conference contest with Northwestern College.
The No. 10-ranked Tommies didn't hold back. By the end of the afternoon, they had a 63-14 win under their belts, tying their modern school record in points. If you're hungry for more records, they broke school season records in points (409), touchdowns (58) and rushing (2,472 yards).
Even more impressive was the 9-1 overall record, with the lone loss coming against those pesky Johnnies in an away game. The record is the team's best since 1983, and it's the third time in school history it had a nine-win regular season. With the win, the Tommies are also 9-1 at home in the two seasons under Coach Glenn Caruso (that loss again to St. John's last season).
It was a brisk, cool fall day for football. I hadn't been to a game all season, but I'm glad I went to this one. St. Thomas came flying out of the gate with two touchdowns in just the first few minutes of the first quarter. They were making it look easy and taking it to the Northwestern team (5-5).
Possession after possession resulted in a touchdown for the Tommies, while Northwestern's punt team got its workout for the day. It was 42-7 at the half. A big kudos to the referees, and I suppose the discipline of the players too, for only a couple called penalities.
This kid's got skills
The highlight play-of-the-day for me would have to be sophomore Fritz Waldvogel's 50-yard punt return. He caught the punt in the air just inside St. Thomas territory. He made a short run to about midfield, where I thought the play would soon end as his opponents were ready to pounce. I was wrong.
Waldvogel has shown much skill and talent in his time so far at St. Thomas, but this play was nothing short of spectacular. It started out looking typical enough, but this kid can really maneuver on the field. He spun around, ran and twisted his way out of three, four, I'm not sure exactly how many tackles (In hindsight, I wish I would have been keeping closer count).
He broke through the tackles, found a few holes and made a dash for the end zone. It was the greatest play of the game that brought many Tommie fans to their feet. He also had an 86-yard kickoff return, but that was nothing compared to his first return.
What a turnaround
It's amazing to see what Caruso has done with this football program in just two seasons. He came in with the reputation of being a rebuilding coach, and it definitely shows. The team's 2007 record was 2-8. A year later they had a changed attitude and a changed record, 7-3.
From the beginning, Caruso emphasized two things: pride and passion. He instills these core values in his players, and it shows on the field. Regardless of the wins and losses, Caruso turned this program in the right direction.
Watching the Northwestern game proved yet again how much the Tommies pride themselves on their play and conduct on the field. It's great to see success with St. Thomas football, following suit with the rest of the dominant sports at the school. But it's also refreshing to see the campus excited about football again.
The Tommies will most likely receive a NCAA at-large bid to continue their season into the playoffs, something that's escaped them since 1990.
Now with so many goals achieved and positive changes, in my eyes maybe one of the biggest items on the St. Thomas football checklist that needs to be fulfilled: beating those stinky rats from St. John's.
The No. 10-ranked Tommies didn't hold back. By the end of the afternoon, they had a 63-14 win under their belts, tying their modern school record in points. If you're hungry for more records, they broke school season records in points (409), touchdowns (58) and rushing (2,472 yards).
Even more impressive was the 9-1 overall record, with the lone loss coming against those pesky Johnnies in an away game. The record is the team's best since 1983, and it's the third time in school history it had a nine-win regular season. With the win, the Tommies are also 9-1 at home in the two seasons under Coach Glenn Caruso (that loss again to St. John's last season).
It was a brisk, cool fall day for football. I hadn't been to a game all season, but I'm glad I went to this one. St. Thomas came flying out of the gate with two touchdowns in just the first few minutes of the first quarter. They were making it look easy and taking it to the Northwestern team (5-5).
Possession after possession resulted in a touchdown for the Tommies, while Northwestern's punt team got its workout for the day. It was 42-7 at the half. A big kudos to the referees, and I suppose the discipline of the players too, for only a couple called penalities.
This kid's got skills
The highlight play-of-the-day for me would have to be sophomore Fritz Waldvogel's 50-yard punt return. He caught the punt in the air just inside St. Thomas territory. He made a short run to about midfield, where I thought the play would soon end as his opponents were ready to pounce. I was wrong.
Waldvogel has shown much skill and talent in his time so far at St. Thomas, but this play was nothing short of spectacular. It started out looking typical enough, but this kid can really maneuver on the field. He spun around, ran and twisted his way out of three, four, I'm not sure exactly how many tackles (In hindsight, I wish I would have been keeping closer count).
He broke through the tackles, found a few holes and made a dash for the end zone. It was the greatest play of the game that brought many Tommie fans to their feet. He also had an 86-yard kickoff return, but that was nothing compared to his first return.
What a turnaround
It's amazing to see what Caruso has done with this football program in just two seasons. He came in with the reputation of being a rebuilding coach, and it definitely shows. The team's 2007 record was 2-8. A year later they had a changed attitude and a changed record, 7-3.
From the beginning, Caruso emphasized two things: pride and passion. He instills these core values in his players, and it shows on the field. Regardless of the wins and losses, Caruso turned this program in the right direction.
Watching the Northwestern game proved yet again how much the Tommies pride themselves on their play and conduct on the field. It's great to see success with St. Thomas football, following suit with the rest of the dominant sports at the school. But it's also refreshing to see the campus excited about football again.
The Tommies will most likely receive a NCAA at-large bid to continue their season into the playoffs, something that's escaped them since 1990.
Now with so many goals achieved and positive changes, in my eyes maybe one of the biggest items on the St. Thomas football checklist that needs to be fulfilled: beating those stinky rats from St. John's.
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