Notes from the Sports Desk by Tyler Julson

 

It was an up and down week for a lot of the area sports. The Albert Lea boys’ hockey team started out a little rocky, but came back with a dominating win in Winona on Tuesday night. The Albert Lea girls’ basketball team lost by a good amount in their first game, only to come back and beat a team they lost to twice last season. The Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons girls’ basketball team bounced back after a loss to the defending state champions to crush LeRoy-Ostrander on Tuesday.

The Albert Lea wrestling team got its season off to a pretty good start over the weekend, going 2-1 in its duals, only losing to No.1-ranked Shakopee. Nic Cantu got his 100th career win at the tournament — congratulations to him on that.

In the college football world, the playoffs came pretty close to my worst nightmare. At least we didn’t have Georgia make its way into the final four. It seems like it’s pretty much destiny at this point that we’re going to have yet another Alabama vs. Clemson national title game, but with enough hope, maybe we can see a Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma matchup. Sure, that doesn’t seem like the greatest matchup, but at least it would be a breath of fresh air.

The Gophers are going bowling … in Detroit. That’s a great thing for Gopher fans, as it’s probably the closest to home you can get with a bowl game. I’m sure the Gophers are pleased to have the opportunity, as they should be, but when other teams get to go to Hawaii, California or Florida to play their final games of the season, I might be a little salty about going to Detroit in December.

The Vikings are looking shaky at best right now. Granted, Sunday’s loss was to the Patriots in Foxborough, but Kirk Cousins did not look like a guy you can depend on to lead the team to a deep playoff run — if they even make the playoffs at all. The play calling on Sunday was also a bit off, I thought. When the Vikings needed a first down to extend the game, they ran two short pass plays that were nowhere near the yardage they needed. That can be really frustrating to watch, just like a terrible defense that seems to give up points like they mean to (Chiefs).

I still wouldn’t put the Vikings out of the NFC North hunt just yet, but every game from here on out is a must-win.

Tyler Julson is the Tribune sports reporter. Contact him at tyler.julson@albertleatribune.com.