Neal: No one asked me, but I think Purple Reign would have been great PWHL nickname

Purple Reign would have been a fantastic name for Minnesota’s entry in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. The league opted for Frost instead when it picked team nicknames in advance of its second season.

The name they overlooked was suggested last year by forward Taylor Heise, and it makes a lot of sense. It honors The Purple One and connects with The Purple Team that plays football here. In addition to selling caps with the logo on it, they could have sold crowns.

Just imagine the scene when Grace Zumwinkle scores her latest hat trick, triggering a blizzard of crowns being tossed to the Xcel Energy ice.

That nickname also would have served as an everlasting acknowledgement that the Minnesota team, which won the inaugural Walker Cup, was the first to rule the PWHL.

Instead, we have the Frost. It’s supposed to represent the region, which it does. And more now than ever, a nickname has to connect with a community or region. Around here, most of the time, that means something cold. I checked to see if Frost was a finalist before the Wild were named the Wild. It wasn’t. But Freeze was. Ugh.

When I think Frost, I think ice scrapers.

It also reminds me of ... Brad Frost.

Frost, heading into his 18th season as coach of the Gophers women’s hockey team, definitely represents the area. It was worth a call to check on a possible connection.

“You know, the PWHL teams had sent out that those teaser lines, and I think the Minnesota one was like, ‘A cold front is blowing through,’ or something like that‚” Frost said. “I actually told my staff, like, ‘What if they name the Minnesota team The Frost?’ And they just kind of chuckled like, ’No chance.’

“And then the next day, it came out.”

And his phone began buzzing with messages from the local hockey community, joking that the team was named after him. I asked Frost if he paid to be team’s title sponsor, which was met with a chuckle and a denial.

“We know it’s not true,” he said of the team being named after him, “but, no, I didn’t get any royalties from it, which I was a little disappointed in. But overall, yeah, pretty cool.”

Frost watched several PWHL Minnesota games last season. A number of his former players still work out at the school, so he’s kept tabs on the league.

“I just thought the PWHL did a great job of promoting, advertising and marketing their league,” he said.

Too bad there won’t be a Purple Reign in town this season. But we are assured of getting at least two Frosts.

Twins ownership and front office did little to capitalize on last season’s success, and it is unlikely they will repeat as American League Central champions. But here’s a big-picture view of how this season has gone for the on-field product.

They went through a lengthy scoring drought during the first 2 1/2 months of the season.

They suffered another offensive slump last month that they are trying to emerge from now.

Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack went down with injuries, and the rotation is leaning on three rookie starters down the stretch.

The two righthanders they traded for from Seattle, Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa, never threw a pitch this season.

Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis, their three best offensive players, played together for only the 18th time on Saturday.

Brock Stewart, expected to be a key reliever, has thrown 15⅔ innings.

Despite all of this, the Twins entered Saturday nine games over .500, and that should not be taken lightly.

The Vikings knocked off the 49ers last season without the injured Justin Jefferson. T.J. Hockenson had 11 receptions and Jordan Addison caught two touchdown passes while gaining 123 yards.

Jefferson is healthy this time around. But Hockenson is recovering from surgery, and Addison is unlikely to play because of an ankle injury.

I trust defensive coordinator Bryan Flores to scheme a way to slow down San Francisco’s ridiculously dynamic offense in a game in which the 49ers are traveling east on a short week. But who besides Jefferson is going to help Sam Darnold move the ball through the air against a physical defense?

It is on Jalen Nailor to be that guy Sunday. He’s expected to get more snaps, so get ready to see some vertical routes that use his 4.4 speed to attack the defense.

This is Nailor’s opportunity to repay the Vikings for believing in his talent while helping Darnold build off of last week’s win over the Giants.

• The Gophers will keep the game close against their southern rivals, but the passing game will sputter in a 20-17 loss to Iowa.

• Expect a 2-2 series split when the Twins visit Cleveland for four big games. But those two wins will double the Twins’ season victory total against their division rivals.