The Twins spent much of the summer in first place in the AL Central and were still tied for the division lead in early September.
On Minnesota pro sports landscape, Vikings still undisputed champions
Other teams had a chance to capture a large share this fall, but instead it's the Purple clearly at the top.
October 25, 2022 at 10:53PM
The Timberwolves traded for Rudy Gobert this summer and set a "championship or bust" course thanks to the words of Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Wild registered a team-record 113 points last season and came into this year filled with confidence.
The Gophers football team started the season 4-0, looking like a shoo-in to win the Big Ten West and perhaps even more.
The Vikings? They, um, hired a new coach and general manager, kept a lot of the same players from mediocre teams and seemingly hoped that culture and winning on the margins might be cause for better results.
As recently as late September, it was easy to imagine the Vikings being diminished in the collective local sports consciousness.
But October has proved this truth yet again: Though they've never won a Super Bowl, the Vikings are still the undisputed champs of Minnesota sports.
As I talked about on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast, which featured Star Tribune Wild beat writer Sarah McLellan as a guest, neither the Wild nor Wolves are capturing anyone's early imagination.
It's obviously WAY too early to draw any conclusions about either of those two teams, but by allowing 20 goals in their first three games (Wild) and losing twice at home to seemingly rebuilding teams (Wolves) in their first four, both eliminated any chance of a fast start.
The Gophers went to 4-0 on Sept. 24 with a rout of previously ranked Michigan State. At that time, the Vikings were 1-1 after a Monday night disaster. A day after the Gophers won, the Vikings were on the brink of disaster at home against the Lions.
But the Vikings rallied to win that game. In October, they have yet to lose while the Gophers have yet to win.
Combine that with the Twins' September fizzle, Minnesota United's limp into the playoffs and first-round exit, and the aforementioned lukewarm (at best) starts for the Wild and Wolves, and order has been restored.
There was an opening for a lot of teams just a month ago, but it's closed for now. If you come at the king, you best not miss.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
