MinnesotaSportsScene.com

The next six games will determine which team will advance to the playoffs and which two teams will be sitting at home in January, wishing. The Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears are all 5-5 after Sunday’s games, which saw the Packers disrupt the Bears, 37-3, while Minnesota lost a tough-fought game to Tampa Bay, 19-13.

Of the three teams in the hunt, Minnesota has the most challenging schedule ahead of them; their last six opponents combined for a 31-29 record, including a season finale against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, currently 9-1.

By contrast, Chicago’s last six opponents have a 24-36 record this season, and face Houston (3-7) in their final game, while Green Bay’s last six have a 25-35 record and the Pack will host Detroit (0-10) in their season-finale… at Lambeau Field.

Whichever of these three finish strongest will go on to the playoffs; it’s unlikely one of the wild card teams will come from a division with such mediocre records. So that’s the challenge for Purple Pride: win enough to take the division, or spend January at home.

Is that a strong enough pitch to land me some jobs in marketing? Probably not.

After a hope-building win to start the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have now lost eight straight games to get off to yet another disappointing start under third-year head coach Randy Wittman. Now standing at 1-8, their hopes for achieving at least a 5-5 record in the first 10 games is blown to smithereens.

While the Wolves have plenty of young talent, even with the addition of Mike Miller, they simply haven’t come into their own just yet, and their “W” column looks like a supermodel on cheap diet pills.

Still, there are signs of hope, right?

Not really. Not at this point. Sorry.

Whether on the benches at the arena, or from the comfort of satellite TV and home theater seating, the second season of Tubby Smith-coached Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball looked outstanding this weekend as Minnesota won three straight games to start out 3-0 on the season and take home top honors at the NABC Classic.

Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III have lived up to their top billing so far, as Iverson came out of the gates rumbling with nine blocks in the first game alone. It was Lawrence Westbrook who took home top honors from the four-team tourney as he collected 48 points in three games over the three days of the tournament.