This year will be the 45th anniversary of Clint Eastwood's the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and for this, we'll take a look at each team's good, bad, and downright ugly situations.
MINNESOTA WILD
Record: 31-22-6, 9th in Western Conference
Rankings: 9th - SI, 12th - ESPN
THE GOOD: The Wild are suddenly the hottest team in the Twin Cities as a result of the stumbles of the Gophers Basketball program. The Wild have gone 10-5 since the last Misery Rankings. The recent play of Martin Havlat and Niklas Backstrom has led the resurgence of the Wild as they fight with a logjam of teams competing for the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff spots.
THE BAD: The Wild had a big chance to show that they have improved with a home game against the best team in the NHL, the Canucks, but fell flat on their faces with a 4-1 loss.
THE UGLY: The Wild will have to push towards a playoff spot without one of their stars, Mikko Koivu. Koivu leads the Wild in assists with 34 and at 49 points is just one behind team leader Martin Havlat.
GOPHERS BASKETBALL
Records: 17-10 (6-9), 8th in Big Ten
Rankings: Not Ranked in either Poll, 36th - Sagarin, 39th - RPI
THE GOOD: Despite losing 6 of their last 7 games, the Gophers still hold top 40 RPI and Sagarin Rankings based on the quality of their wins so far. Still, if they can win out, there's a possibility of an NCAA tournament bid, with a home games against Michigan and Penn State, and an away game at Northwestern, a 9-9 Big Ten record might get them in. But even if they win the last 3, it'll be a disappointing season for a team that was expected to be a top 15 team in the country and elite Big Ten squad.
THE BAD: Their latest loss to Michigan State all but puts the Gophers hopes of an NCAA tournament berth on ice. The Gophers were figuring for a top 6 seed in the NCAA's until the last month's slide into mediocrity. Their loss to Michigan State in a must win game proved that they are not ready for the big time that we all expected of this year's squad.Losing 5 of their last 6 was obviously not good, especially against Indiana and Penn State, two teams that were supposed to be inferior to the Gophers. The transfer of Devoe Joseph and injury loss of Al Nolen left the team essentially without a point guard sans a couple rookie freshmen. Hoffarber has been forced to move from his natural position as a shooting guard, while the team has experimented with Freshman Chip Armelin and Maverick Ahanmisi. Needless to say, its been less than effective.
THE UGLY: The Gophers were a ranked team in either major poll from week 3 to 14, climbing as high as 13th. It's now week 16 and Minnesota can't be found in either poll, nor do they have a single vote. Ouch.
GOPHERS HOCKEY
Records: 13-12-5 (10-10-4), 6th in WCHA
Rankings: 20th - USCHO.com Poll
THE GOOD: The Gophers are making a push for home-ice advantage in the 1st round of the WCHA by going 2-1 in their last 3 games, including a win against #2 Denver and a win and tie against Wisconsin who is sitting on the 5th spot. The top 4 spots have already been guaranteed home-ice with North Dakota, Denver, UMD, and Nebraska-Omaha. That leave Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Colorado College fighting for the last 2 home spots. The Gophers have the favorable schedule with the last 4 games against Michigan Tech (12th) and Bemidji State (9th).
THE BAD: Wisconsin also has a favorable schedule to close out with 2 games apiece against SCSU on the road(9th) and Colorado College at home(7th).
THE UGLY: Losing at home to 9th place Alaska Anchorage just a day after blowing them out 5-1 definitely didn't help their cause. A tie would have turned heads, but at least would have given the Gophers that valuable point.
MINNESOTA TWINS
Record: 0-0, Spring Training Games start Feb. 27th
Rankings: 6th - FoxSports.com (Feb. 10th)
THE GOOD: It's the start of spring training, possibly the most optimistic time to be a sports fan. The Twins will once again be defending the AL Central crown with the return of one of the best collective offenses in baseball. Former MVP Justin Morneau is expected to return and bolster a lineup that includes power hitters Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, and Jason Kubel, along with table setters Denard Span, Alexi Casilla, and Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
THE BAD: Other than Nishioka, the Twins were really quiet this offseason and are banking on the return of Morneau and Nathan as a replacement for not going out and signing a big time free agent. If this plan backfires, it could be a tough go with a questionable bullpen and improved competition from the AL Central.
THE UGLY: The Twins lost their best bullpen asset from last year in Jesse Crain. Crain had an up and down career with the Twins, but other than a couple bad years, he was pretty reliable in the pen and proved his worth last year. He's gone, but to make matter worse, he went to the absolute worst spot the Twins desperately did not want him to go to, the Chicago White Sox.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Record: 6-10 (2010)
Rankings: 18th - Bleacherreport.com (Feb. 7th)
THE GOOD: The Brett Favre experiment is over. It was fun for a year and a nightmare for the other. The team is better than their record suggests and with AP, Sidney Rice, and Percy Harvin, they offer 3 of the best young players in the NFL to build a team around. They just need a Quarterback now.
THE BAD: Speaking of Quarterback, the Vikings are now in a position to draft a QB for the future after years of settling for aging veterans. The problem, the Vikings pick 12th in a weak class of Quarterbacks. Aside from Blaine Gabbert and maybe Jake Locker, if those two are gone by 12, there's no reason for the Vikings to pick up a QB with that spot. Which means, if they do draft a QB, it's going to be another project. People are quick to say Tom Brady was a 6th round QB, but I'll also point out that so was Tavaris Jackson.
THE UGLY: The roof of the Metrodome is still inverted and deflated since the December snowstorm that forced the team to finish the season elsewhere. Furthermore, speculation of a move to LA seems to ramp up daily and although sites have been previewed and surveyed for a new stadium, the Vikings are a victim of bad timing as they try to pass a bill for the new stadium in a time where football is far from the priorities in the minds of Minnesotans. A 6-10 season didn't help that cause either.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Record: 13-43, Last in Western Conference
Rankings: 25th - ESPN, 29th - SI
THE GOOD: The Timberwolves have an all-star not name Kevin Garnett for the first time since Sam Cassell in 2004. Love is averaging a sick 21pts and 15rbs per game which would make him the first to do so since Moses Malone in 1983.
THE BAD: The Timberwolves still have 26 games left in yet another hopeless season. They have the exact same record as they did last year at the all-star break. It doesn't really matter what the schedule brings, the Wolves have an uphill climb to being relevant again.
THE UGLY: The Timberwolves are dead last in defense, giving up an average of 108 point per game. Ironically their 9th in points scored with 102, but really where is the defense on this team? It's one thing to rebound, its another to block, alter, and steal shots.
GOPHERS FOOTBALL
Record: 3-9 (2-6) 10th in Big Ten
Rankings: Perpetually last in the Misery Rankings
THE GOOD: The Gophers will finally be able to utilize their best player, Marquis Gray, at the most important position, Quarterback. He was the prize of Brewster's recruiting and his mobility will be a stark contrast to Adam Webber's. Also, the Gophers may have one of the best in-state recruits in 6-4 292lb offensive lineman Tom Olson from Mahtomedi.
THE BAD: The Gophers weren't able to recruit very well with the firing of Brewster and subsequent staff, the team had no legs to stand on for a while and lost many good recruits. Rivals.com have made the Gophers recruiting class 9th out of 12 (that's weird to say). Which I suppose is better than last, but hardly enough to compete with the top half of the Big Ten.
THE UGLY: Don't even bother looking at the 2011 schedule, it's anything but pretty.
Well there you have it, another month of the Misery Rankings, published fittingly, on the day after another walloping snowstorm, reminding everyone that winter is far from over.
Let's all lean on the good and hope the bad and ugly will soon disappear. Until next time, remember only you can prevent forest fires.
Brock from the Block
TWC
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