Stop us if you've heard these tales of woe before:

*The Timberwolves, after a promising stretch of games, suffered a setback at the worst time and are now scrambling in search of their next victory.

*The Wild, full of optimism after some impressive early performances, are stuck in a rut because of a key injury, a few underachieving players and inconsistent goaltending.

*The Vikings, during a bye week and riding an otherwise high on a two-game winning streak, continue to dominate headlines for off-field news.

Ricky Rubio, Zach Parise and Adrian Peterson are a good first few heads for a Mount Rushmore of recent local sports troubles. Those who have followed Gophers football closely for, say, the past half-century know that the team was a prime candidate this weekend to fill that fourth spot.

A once-promising season appeared from the outside to be derailed two weeks ago with a terrible loss at Illinois. Next on the docket was rival Iowa, which had been gaining momentum this season and then used a charmed first drive to take an early 7-0 lead on the Gophers.

Everything was about to implode, and the familiar storyline was going to play out … except, of course, that Minnesota scored the next 51 points in a blowout victory, not only flipping its own script and regaining momentum but also salvaging a piece of positive news out of an otherwise depressing little local run.

The Gophers possess the Little Brown Jug and Floyd of Rosedale for the first time since 1967. They have already won two of their three big rivalry games (with Wisconsin yet to come), something they had not accomplished since 1990.

The season can already be labeled a modest success for those reasons. One more win in the next three would push this Gophers season into "very good" territory while two more would make it the best season in more than a generation.

For now, Minnesota fans will be content to relish a 37-point win over a rival and some positive energy to get them through a cold, snowy week.