THE OPENER: One of the magical phrases of winter for baseball fans is “pitchers and catchers report,” and that’s taking place today for the Twins in Florida. Sunshine and optimism are the best disinfectants for the sorry end to last season. Let’s hope lessons were learned. We’ve also got the Timberwolves ownership change, the future of Williams Arena, standout basketball players who deserve some love and more on our sporting minds (including pizza). Let’s go! — Howard Sinker
BEFORE YOU READ ANYTHING ELSE: Star Tribune’s Patrick Reusse ties together the Wolves’ ownership change and our love/hate relationship with Williams Arena by suggesting The Barn shouldn’t live much past the 100th anniversary of its 1928 opening. His plan? An arena that could house both the Wolves and Gophers, and a smaller arena on campus to replace the Maturi Pavilion part of the building. REUSSE’S PLAN (AND HIS OPINIONS ON A FEW OTHER THINGS): https://fluence-media.co/barn0213
SOUNDTRACK FOR MY TAKE: Headphones on. https://fluence-media.co/burn0213
MY TAKE: Agree with Reusse. The mystique of The Barn is long gone. Target Center is mediocre by modern standards. Build something that’ll be a feel-good for NBA fans, the Dinkytown Collective pay-the-players folks and Gophers athletes. Put it on the light rail to get students there from campus. Make it a place where U recruits want to play. Give students more good seats. Make it a place that isn’t a nightmare for people with accessibility issues. Sell commemorative prints of Williams Arena to people who want to hold on to the past.
NINE QUESTIONS: Via Bobby Nightengale at Star Tribune. There are questions on the field and off. First base, second base, ticket sales and more player moves are on that list. Here’s a guide of what to expect in Florida. VERBATIM: The top question asked to players during Twinsfest related to their late-season meltdown that cost the team a playoff spot last year. The Twins finished with a 12-27 record over their final 39 games. It was an obvious source of motivation during the winter, but (manager Rocco) Baldelli said he wanted to implement some changes this spring, including giving veteran players noticeably more at-bats in camp. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/questions0213
BUXTON ON THE ‘MELTDOWN’: Via Star Tribune. “Not happy with how it ended, but that’s something that built motivation for me to go into the offseason to make sure that don’t happen again. You still feel it because we controlled our destiny, and we let that get away from us.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/buxton0213
A HEALTHIER TEAM? Via Nick Nelson at Twins Daily. Player health has been a major focus at the start of training camp for the past couple of seasons. Nelson gives a rundown of current health issues and concludes (cautiously) that 2025 is starting on a more optimistic tone. VERBATIM: “By no means am I trying to paint some overly rosy picture of what I expect from a health standpoint. There are always a few surprises once the action fires up and from there it becomes a game of chance. But I will say this: Coming into spring training with so few prominent health predicaments sure beats the alternative. Especially because the Twins, given their highly questionable position-player depth, need key players to stay healthy in a pretty dire way.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/health0213
CASTRO GOING? Nelson also makes an argument that if the Twins aren’t interested in using Willi Castro as a back-up shortstop and center fielder, his value is diminished and they may be preparing to part with him. STAT: Using Fangraph’s Ultimate Zone Rating as a guide, shortstop and center field are Castro’s two weakest positions. EVIDENCE: The signing of outfielder Harrison Bader and team chatter about acquiring a back-up shortstop before the season starts. Baseball’s increased emphasis on super-utility players could increase Castro’s value as a trade chip. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/castro0213
STREAMING: The Twins have announced their streaming prices for 2025. The newly named Twins.TV will cost $100 per year. Bundled with MLB.TV, it’ll be $200. Season-ticket holders get MLB.TV for free and Twins.TV for $50. Cable and satellite information is still pending. There are monthly rates, too. DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/twinstv0213
INVITED TO CAMP: Via Betsy Helfand at Pioneer Press. VERBATIM: The Twins will have 16 non-roster invites in camp when they open spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., this week. That group includes a couple of their top prospects and eight players with major league experience. While top prospect Walker Jenkins, just 19, will not be in major league camp, a pair of top-10 prospects who are not on the 40-man roster already, Luke Keaschall and Andrew Morris, will be. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/invited0213
MY TAKES: 1. Hoping Randy Dobnak can pitch his way back to Target Field. Visiting in the stands with his parents Rick and Jodi is an added bonus. 2. Rooting for longshot slugger Yunior Severino to make the team as a reserve infielder. ARGUMENT FOR: 56 homers in the last two seasons at Wichita and St. Paul. ARGUMENT AGAINST: 327 strikeouts. 3. Shiny objects during spring training often lose their sparkle when the games count. Gotta keep remembering that.
SUPER MATCHUP SATURDAY: Football is finished, spring training is just starting and the NBA/NHL are on break. But if you want to attend or watch a sweet game on Saturday, let me help.
Moorhead at Hill-Murray boys’ hockey. 3 p.m. at Aldrich Arena. The Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the state play in their final game before section playoffs begin. Top-ranked Moorhead is 22-1, with its only loss against Wayzata in the season-opener; No., 2 Hill-Murray is 20-2 with both of its losses by one goal. STREAM: https://fluence-media.co/moorheadhillmurray0213 TICKETS: https://fluence-media.co/aldrich0213
Omaha at NDSU men’s basketball. 7 p.m. at St. Thomas (FOX9+). Omaha is 10-1 and St. Thomas is in second place at 9-2. The Tommies lost their game earlier this season in Omaha. Tickets were sold out Wednesday, except for some student tickets. Schoenecker Arena holds about 2,100 people with standing room and students packed together on the end lines.
St. John’s at Gustavus men’s basketball. 3 p.m. Saturday in St. Peter. The Gusties are 14-0 in the MIAC but unracked nationally; the Johnnies are 13-0 and No. 6. Tickets at the door. STREAM: https://fluence-media.co/miac0213
USA vs. Canada in 4 Nations Face Off (7 p.m., ABC). The tournament, which also includes teams from Finland and Sweden, is a replacement (and an upgrade) for the NHL All-Star game. From the Wild, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber are on the U.S. team. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin and Filip Gustavsson are on the Sweden team that plays the United States at 7 p.m. Monday. SWEDEN’S WILD: Eriksson Ek and Brodin scored goals in Sweden’s 4-3 overtime loss to Canada in Wednesday’s opener; Gustavsson stopped 24 shots. SIDE NOTE: Faber is keeping a 4 Nations diary for The Athletic. PART ONE: https://fluence-media.co/faber021
Weekend warm-ups: Tonight at 7p.m., No. 2-ranked Hopkins plays at No. 5 Wayzata in girls’ basketball. TICKETS: https://fluence-media.co/wayzata0213. STREAM: https://fluence-media.co/watch0213. Friday at 8 p.m., the sixth-ranked Gophers wrestling team meets No. 3 Iowa at Maturi Pavilion (BIG). TICKETS: https://fluence-media.co/wrestletix0213
HELLO A-LO, SO LONG, GLEN: Via Evan Noby-Williams and Michael McCann at Sportico. The Wolves sale saga looks to be completed after an arbitration panel ruled for Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore to settle the question of who owns the team. The only roadblock could be if the NBA Board of Governors votes not to approve the owners or — less likely — if Glen Taylor appeals the decision and a judge rules in his favor. This rich-bro telenovela has had so many moving parts that a review and look ahead are in order.
VERBATIM: “The 2-1 decision comes following arbitration hearings that started at the beginning of November and continued into the new year. The ruling likely clears the way for Rodriguez and Lore to continue with their purchase of the Timberwolves and Lynx. The pair owe Taylor about $942 million to acquire the roughly 60% stake still outstanding, and that money was put aside in escrow last year, Sportico reported in October. The next major step before that money can be transferred is full approval from the NBA — the pair were already approved as minority owners years ago — which would come via a review of their finances and ultimately, a league-wide owners vote.”
TERMS OF THE MESS: “Should they be approved, it would put to rest one of the more unique and messy transactions in modern U.S. sports. The original purchase agreement allowed Rodriguez and Lore to buy the teams over four years in four stages—20%, 20%, 40%, then 20%. The valuation on the deal was $1.5 billion for the first payment, with small increases at each successive stage. The Timberwolves are now worth $3.29 billion, including the Lynx at $85 million, according to Sportico, a significantly higher total than the deal itself.”
BUT THEN AGAIN: “If Taylor could identify an established rationale for vacating an arbitration award, his odds would jump. For instance, if the panel allowed testimony or evidence precluded under their arbitration rules to sway their decision, a court might regard the arbitration as defective. The panel’s reliance on improper evidence, including evidence drawn from trade secrets and confidential materials, would also serve as a persuasive reason for a court to scrutinize the arbitration award. If Taylor succeeded in convincing a court to vacate the award, Lore and Rodriguez could then petition an appeals court to review the matter—meaning the ownership dispute could remain in court for many months, if not longer.
COMMISH SAYS: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hasn’t been thrilled with the process. VERBATIM: “I think once the dust clears on this deal, it may cause us to reassess what sort of transactions we should allow. “ FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/wolvessale0213
A-LO BROASTED: Via Jim Souhan at Star Tribune. VERBATIM: “If you gave truth serum to every Wolves employee today, I believe the vast majority would be mourning this latest development, because so many of them trust Taylor and don’t trust A-Lo. If you surveyed everyone who worked in or covered baseball during Rodriguez’s remarkable career, I believe more than 98% would not trust Rodriguez to run a professional sports franchise. Or the hot dog stand on the upper concourse of Target Center.” FULL COLUMN: https://fluence-media.co/souhan0213
ON THE COURT: The Wolves are in a rough patch right now with Julius Randle sidelined and Mike Conley coming and going from the lineup to keep him as healthy as possible. Add in that they’re in a hugely challenging schedule stretch, with three of their next five games (starting tonight) vs. best-in-the-NBA Oklahoma City and the other two against the Doncic/LeBron led Lakers and Houston. Yes, the team should be better at full health and with young players Rob Dillingham, Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr. getting more playing time.
BUT: There are only 27 games remaining and the Wolves are in seventh place. Where will they be when things get righted? (I’m assuming they will be righted, which requires a bit of optimism others may not share.) Finishing seventh through 10th, and needing to reach the postseason through the play-in tournament, means a first-round matchup vs. a No. 1 or 2 seed. And they’re 3 1/2 games from dropping out of a postseason chance entirely. So there’s drama ahead.
ANT’S UGLY NIGHT: Via Jace Frederick at Pioneer Press. In Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee, Anthony Edwards scored 27 points. But he went 10-33 from the field and 4-for-17 on threes, including a missed step-back jump shot to close out the 103-101 loss. Edwards said afterward he took that shot because his defender was backing away. VERBATIM: “. . . ‘I took a shot that I was comfortable with. I thought it was going in.’ The problem was the defender Edwards is referencing is Kevin Porter Jr., who doesn’t have the physical capabilities to stay in front of a player like Edwards. It was one of a plethora of poor decisions for the 23-year-old guard, who took one difficult shot after another when other options were available. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/wolves0213
MARCH MADNESS, NFL STYLE: Via Ben Goessling at Star Tribune. VERBATIM: “Twenty-four Vikings players are set to become unrestricted or restricted free agents in March, when the team could have more than $60 million in cap space to spend in free agency. They’re expected to have only four picks in this year’s draft, meaning another active free agency period is likely, and they’ll again have the quarterback expected to be at the top of the market if he leaves Minnesota. The decision the Vikings will make on Sam Darnold could be perhaps their most pivotal before free agency begins next month, but it will be far from their only important one.”
DETAILS: The Vikings have 15 players Goessling describes as “key free agents, a list topped by quarterback Sam Darnold, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and running back Aaron Jones. He cites seven other — including safety Harrison Smith — as “cut/trade/restructure” candidates and two others as candidates for a restructured contract before their contracts expire after next season. FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/vikings0213
AN OUTSIDE VIEW: Via Jeremy Fowler at ESPN. VERBATIM: “How Minnesota allocates its healthy cap trove will be worth monitoring this offseason. The big question: Do the Vikings pay Sam Darnold? They haven't made a firm determination on this, but many around the league see them starting over with J.J. McCarthy if a new suitor prices Darnold out of Minnesota. Like with Kirk Cousins, the Vikings won't mortgage their future on a free agent quarterback contract. Several free agents -- Byron Murphy Jr., Camryn Bynum, Cam Robinson, Aaron Jones -- could get cushy deals elsewhere, but GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has shown adaptability in adding new talent. (A prime example is last season's pass-rush duo of Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.) In the secondary, the sense here is Murphy walks but Bynum could stay under a new deal.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/freeagent0213
SUPER BOWL WRAP-UP, VIKINGS EDITION: Never thought I’d see Patrick Mahomes compared like this:
ESPN TOP TEN ENCORE: Minnesota-Crookston’s Emma Miller made an appearance a few days back on ESPN’s Top 10 plays for a three-quarter court buzzer beater against Northern State. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/miller0213
LAST YEAR: Miller, a 5-foot-1 junior from St. Michael-Albertville, made the Top 10 for this shot against Northwest Missouri State:
PLAYER OF THE WEEK SIBLINGS: Former Northfield High stars Soren and Annika Richardson were each named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Players of the Week in men’s and women’s basketball. Both attend Wheaton College, alma mater of evangelist Billy Graham and horror film director Wes Craven. Soren, who was also named national D-III Player of the Week, scored 53 points in a win over North Park College. On the same night, Annika scored 36 in a win over Elmhurst. Their father, Sam Richardson, is an elementary school principal in Northfield. He was a quarterback on Northfield’s football team that went to the 1993 Prep Bowl and played basketball at Carleton.
POET IN MOTION: You may remember South High guard Poet Davis, who led the Tigers to the state 3A boys’ basketball tournament last season with a radically overhauled roster after almost all his teammates from the season before transferred. Davis scored 33 points for Lake Region State College, a two-year school in North Dakota, in an 84-67 win over Dakota College on Monday. Davis is leading his team with 15.3 points per game. PROFILE: https://fluence-media.co/poet0213
.CORRECTING MYSELF: I wrote last week that “Twin Cities media missed a chance this week to back up their talk about more coverage of women’s sports” by not sending a reporter on the road when the Gophers women played No. 1 ranked UCLA and No. 6 USC. The Star Tribune and Pioneer Press both passed, but there was one writer who made the trip: Charles Hallman of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Hallman wrote about the basketball traditions and other aspects of the two schools, which included a visit with USC women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller, and a story on USC women’s assistant Wendale Farrow on his work with standout JuJu Watkins and his path to coaching. STORIES: https://fluence-media.co/hallman0213
STORIES REMAIN THE SAME: The Gophers women are battling for an NCAA tournament berth, the Gophers men are just hoping to avoid being one of the three teams that doesn’t even get into the Big Ten tournament. The women get a big test tonight at No. 8 Ohio State (6:30 p.m., Peacock) before returning home to face middle-of-the-pack Oregon at 2 p.m. Sunday (BIG+) and going to 17th-place Purdue (6 p.m. Wednesday, BIG+). The U men currently are in 15th place, a half-game up on Northwestern. They play at USC at 3 p.m. Saturday (BIG) and UCLA at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday (FS1).
COME TO THE BARN (PRETTY PLEASE): The Gophers are offering free tickets to a men’s or women’s basketball game if you buy 2025 season football tickets by Feb. 27.
TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER OBSESSION HITS MINNESOTA: Via Jim Paulsen at Star Tribune. The U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday it will start investigations into high school governing bodies in Minnesota and California over their intention to keep girls’ sports open to transgender students. VERBATIM: “If found in violation, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) could lose its federal funding. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is also investigating the California Interscholastic Federation for a similar reason.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/transgender0213
MSHSL TAKE: “The Minnesota State High School League was notified by the United States Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights of the initiation of an investigation of the League’s compliance with the recent Executive Order. The League and its legal counsel are reviewing the recent communication and intend to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
DOE TAKE: Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor: “The Minnesota State High School League and the California Interscholastic Federation are free to engage in all the meaningless virtue-signaling that they want, but at the end of the day they must abide by federal law. . . . I would remind these organizations that history does not look kindly on entities and states that actively opposed the enforcement of federal civil rights laws that protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment.”
HISTORY: Ten years ago, the MSHSL board voted 18-1 with one abstention to open girls’ sports to transgender athletes. The athletic director at Cathedral High School in St. Cloud voted no. VERBATIM: “One woman held up a sign saying, ‘We represent God.’ Someone next to her held up a smaller one reading, ‘No you don't!’ " STORY: https://fluence-media.co/2015
10 HOTTEST RIVALRIES: Via Cassidy Hettesheimer at Star Tribune. A few weeks back, Hettesheimer put out a call to fans for the best high school rivalries in Minnesota. From the 50 or so suggestions, she picked 10 to profile — not including “Edina vs. everybody.” Most often mentioned was Warroad vs. Roseau hockey. Another: Edina vs. Minnetonka . . . in everything. VERBATIM: “In the reader submissions, everybody wanted to claim a little bit of rivalry with Edina, it seemed. And Edina wanted to claim a little bit of rivalry with everybody. It was the school involved in the highest number of different rival pairings. It makes sense. At the end of last school year, the Hornets led the state with 159 state titles. The next closest school, Wayzata, has 91. But readers' most frequently submitted pairing for the Hornets was fellow west suburb school Minnetonka.” The full list includes a fierce metro-area rivalry, which only softens when the schools combine to form a state title-winning co-op team in one sport. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/rivals0213
WANNA SEE A RIVALRY GAME? Edina plays Minnetonka at 7 p.m. tonight in boys’ hockey at Braemar Arena. I’ll be there for the JV game It’s a family connection (That’s Ben. ↓↓↓ He’s 6-foot-7 on skates) and, yes, it’s a mind-bender for me to root for Edina. So you can have my seat for the varsity game. Tickets at the door. NOTE: Straight credit homie. (No cash accepted.)
MORE THAN SPORTS: Via Joe Nathan at Center for School Change. State-level high school competition exists beyond sports, even if you don’t read or hear much about it (or as much as you should) in the media. The state debate tournament was held last month at the U and the one-act play competition was last week at St. Kate’s. The Minnesota State Math League tournament is set for next month. VERBATIM: “Magister Thomas is the math team coach and a math teacher at Parnassus Preparatory School, a charter public school in Maple Grove. The team tied with Breck School for first place at last year’s state championship meet, in Class A (smallest high school enrollment). Thomas has been teaching for 16 years, 10 of them at Parnassus. He’s found that the league challenges students ‘to be critical thinkers while applying skills learned in their math classes. Students learn to work together as a team. They also become better problem solvers.’ “ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/mathleague0213
ONE ACT PLAY RESULTS: https://fluence-media.co/oneact0213. DEBATE RESULTS: https://fluence-media.co/debate0213
REALITY CHECK: Via Pat Borzi at MinnPost. Minnesota Aurora’s recently completed crowdsourcing campaign raised about $893,000 toward operating the franchise for a fourth season. But the enthusiasm doesn’t match the reality of the team moving up from its “pre-professional” status to the NWSL, the top U.S. women’s soccer league. Still, there’s another potential path to a higher level. VERBATIM: “With expansion fees for the NWSL skyrocketing from $2 million for the Utah Royals in 2022 to $110 million for the new Denver franchise in 2026, Aurora already may be priced out of contention. Even if Aurora comes up with the ante, club president Andrea Yoch believes future bids will require clubs to build a practice facility and perhaps a stadium. Playing at Minnesota United FC’s Allianz Field seems unlikely, Yoch said, because NWSL and Major League Soccer seasons overlap. But there’s another, less costly option — the USL Super League, USL W’s pro venture.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/aurora0213
HEALTHY DEBATE HITS HARD: Blois Olson, the guiding force of The Daily Agenda, just published his annual rankings on Minnesota pizzas. He knows the annual Authoritative Minnesota Pizza List hits a hot spot with readers. VERBATIM: “Feedback is fine, but your feelings aren't considered. Until next year. . .”
YEA AND NAY: No two pizza rankings are going to be the same. With that in mind, here’s the 2025 Sports Take pizza rotation: 1. ElMar’s (Double cut — 16 slices instead of eight); 2. Love Pizza (Bar pizza > coal fired); 3. Tono (Spicy Tono or Pineapple Express); 4. Bricksworth by Target Field (Detroit style, magnificent corners); 5. Jet’s (Eight Corners with Turbo crust or Sausage on Cajun-spiced thin crust). ALSO IN PLAY: Davanni’s (regular and thin), Parkway (excellent sausage, super-fast delivery), Bombay Pizza Kitchen (Indian fusion in Eden Prairie), Bellatoria Ultra Thin Crust (frozen go-to, baked on air fry). TARGET FIELD: Pizza Luce’s TC Bear slice. (Needs to move from center field to the usually closed pizza stand behind Section 218.)
UNLIKE BLOIS: I’ll consider your pizza feelings right away, especially if they come with suggestions. I don’t like mushrooms, BTW. Get me at the address below.
Thanks for reading. Back with more next week.
HOWARD ON THE WEB:
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Instagram: @howardsinkermn
Tips and takes: sportstake@fluence-media.com
HOW TO WATCH ALMOST ANYTHING
ESPN's guide to sports on about 250 channels and streaming services: https://fluence-media.co/3T4rYw4
Minnesota Division II and III sports: MIAC Network | Northern Sun Network | Upper Midwest Network
NSPN Minnesota high school livestreams: https://fluence-media.co/3My8Tyv
NFHS Minnesota high school livestreams: https://fluence-media.co/3MvFSU6