MINNESOTA SPORTS FAN DAILY: Friday, September 8, 2017

MSF Daily: 9/8/17

Twins vs Royals in Game 1 of 4:

Gibson brought his best on Thursday night. He has been doing a lot better recently. The Twins no longer, and nobody else other than his mom maybe, expect Gibson to be the shut-down front-end starter he was once dreamed to be. However, many still hope that he can be that guy that you will be able to plug into the 4-5 spot for the bulk of his career.

5th Inning

Gibson was all the Twins really had for the first 8 innings. But Robbie G was there to help the cause in the 5th. He has said that his hand hurts when he swings and misses but he doesn’t feel it when he makes contact. Well, his hand felt good on this swing.

A couple RBI singles by Gordon and Merrifield would put the Royals on top before the inning was over. Castro had a chance to hold that to just 1 run but he can’t hang onto the ball:

2-1 Royals

That would be all the action we would get until we got to the top of the 9th inning. Up until then, I was starting to get frustrated:

9th Inning

Kepler started the inning off with an 0-2 base hit. An out later, Castro popped one up between the 3rd baseman and left fielder. Nobody took control of the play and it dropped in, leaving Kepler on 2nd and Castro on 1st with 1 out. Grossman was able to draw a walk, loading the bases for Brian Dozier.

But the Twins weren’t done.

FINAL: 4-2 Twins WIN

The Twins have now won 2 straight and will go for a game 2 win on Friday night at 7:15. They sit 1 game up on the Angels since they had an off-day on Thursday.

Friday’s game will feature Ervin Santana trying to recover coming off a loss in his last outing. He will face off against Ian Kennedy (4-10, 5.37 ERA)

(Help from MLB and ESPN)


The Vikings Need Their 2017 Rookies to Come Up BIG:

Fast forward to the 2017 draft class. I see shades of brilliance and longevity with this group. Minnesota missed out on their first-round selection after trading it for QB Sam Bradford (good decision) last September. All is good though; somehow Dalvin Cook fell to the second round and Spielman jumped on the chance to get him, trading up 7 spots in the 2nd round. Letting AP walk was one of the smartest decisions this current regime has done. It takes balls to cut ties with a legend like Peterson. Yes, AP made the decision a lot easier on the Vikings brass, when he demanded a silly amount of money for an aging, limited running back. I applaud their decision to move on and usher in the next wave of talent……. READ MORE:


Russo’s First Article with The Athletic:

Michael Russo wrote his first sports article for The Athletic today. It was nice to see him go back to his normal coverage after things have been a little crazy the last couple weeks. He seems like he will be just fine in his new home.

He is worth the subscription by himself but The Athletic has a full MN Division on the way and you can follow them on Twitter here: @TheAthleticMN. You can sign up for a subscription at a 30% discount here.

He sat down with Bruce Boudreau to talk about his expectations for the upcoming season. Not that Bruce is an overly negative guy but he seemed extra optimistic in this piece. He thinks the Wild are flying under the radar and thinks the team is being disrespected. Do you think he will use that in the locker room?

It is a coach’s dream. If he is telling it to us, you know he is drilling it into his team. He brings up some good points. He really likes the Cullen trade and loves the idea of being able to play Ek as the 3rd line center. If things go as expected early, the top 3 forward lines, and top 2 defensive lines seem about set.

Here are the lines from Russo’s article:


Gophers vs Oregon State is On:

It looks like the Gophers will be playing in Oregon on Saturday. With the fires that have been blazing on the West Coast and into Canada, the game was up in the air. It looks like it will be game-on at kickoff.

“Best day we’ve had since last Saturday,” Oregon State associate athletic director Steve Fenk said. “Saturday looks to be about 70 at kick. Perfect with no smoke.”

It looks like the Beavers practiced outside on Thursday. Game on.


Randy Moss Spoke About His Chances at the NFL HOF on the First Ballot:

If you put anything with Randy Moss on any website I visit, including my social media feeds, I will read, watch, and/or listen to it EVERY TIME. The guy is THE most interesting man in the world. He should be doing those shitty commercials. They would be way better.

He sat down with Mark Craig of the Star Tribune and he was gold again. He and Mark talked about his HOF voting and Ring of Honor induction along with some looks at the actual game being played on Monday night between the Saints and Vikings.

His quotes on the HOF were classic Randy:

“Wherever people hold me at or wherever they put me, that’s up to them,” Moss said when asked about his chances of being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Feb. 3 in his first year of eligibility. “I know deep down in my heart, when it’s all said and done, I know where I stand.”

“First ballot or not, I understand what it is, man,” Moss said. “It’s a political war, and I was one of those guys who didn’t play [politics], nor do I intend to play into politics. So I know what I stood for. I know what the game is. I gave my all to the game, 14 years through the ups and downs, I still gave my commitment to the National Football League. Like it or not.”

But Moss’ best quote was after he was asked by Mark about his thoughts on his Ring of Honor induction. It is this shit that makes me love this guy. He just doesn’t give a f***:

“I was just happy to be a piece of the puzzle,” he said. “And now I’m in the Ring of Honor. I don’t even know what the Ring of Honor is, but I know I did something good, man.”

Yes you did Randy. And Minnesota loves you for it.


Gopher Men’s Basketball to Get More TV Time in 2017-18:

If you aren’t on the Gopher Basketball Bandwagon, it is time to hop aboard! This team is going to be a top B1G contender this season but that is only the beginning. This roster is bursting with young talent and I can’t wait to watch EVERY F****** SECOND. Neither can the national networks apparently:


MSF Daily by Eric Strack @RealMNSportsFan

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