Minnesota Sports, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It is almost February and the winter sports teams that participate in Minnesota cannot seem to grab hold of momentum and carry it into the depths of their respective seasons. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been completely ravaged by injuries and cannot seem to find a win, no matter how hard they look. The Minnesota Wild started off hot but then lost two in a row and now find themselves at a very respectable 4-2-1 record. Finally, the Minnesota Golden Gophers dropped four straight but then came back to the Barn for a huge 19-point victory over the outmatched Nebraska Cornhuskers on Tuesday. The up and down nature of these sports teams has been very hard for Minnesota sports fans to watch and that has resulted in the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

Minnesota Wild: The Wild just beat the Columbus Blue Jackets and the undefeated Chicago Blackhawks on back to back days at the Xcel Energy Center. These were much needed victories and really rejuvenated a fan base that had started to become skeptical about the new look team. Aside from the top line, the Wild looked as though they had no depth, but against the Chicago Blackhawks last night that depth finally showed. Matt Cullen got his first goal and so did Cal Clutterbuck.

Minnesota Golden Gophers: The Gophers endured a tough 4-game losing streak over the past week and a half, but they recovered upon their return to the Barn for a huge victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Ray Gallegos of Nebraska went off in the game with 30 points, but that wasn't nearly enough to lead his team to victory. The Gophers take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Super Bowl Sunday and hopefully can come out with a victory to start a good stretch for the team.

The Bad

Minnesota Wild Defense and Goaltending: The Wild's defense and goaltending really played dreadful in their two regulation losses. The defense had really no depth behind Ryan Suter on the first line as well. Thankfully, Tom Gilbert has stepped up and it looks as though Niklas Backstrom is ready to turn it around in net.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The play of the Timberwolves has been dreadful ever since coach Rick Adelman took a leave of absence to be with his wife who was in the hospital. They were 2-9 without Adelman and just lost his first game back last night against the Los Angeles Clippers, 96-90. The Wolves play has been just awful and they cannot seem to find a go to scorer in the final moments. Hopefully the Wolves can turn it around and soon.

The Ugly

Minnesota Timberwolves Injuries and Losing To The Charlotte Bobcats and Washington Wizards: The injuries to the Wolves lineup obviously have been very ugly, but injuries are always a possibility and you have to be able to play through them. The back to back losses to the two worst teams in the NBA were extremely ugly. These teams flat out sucked and the Wolves couldn't beat them. Not pleasant at all.