HOT TOPICS: Is Kirill Kaprizov overpaid? The Wolves deceptive record. Jessie Diggins retires. Frost go for a three-peat. J.J. McCarthy’s struggles, in and out of context. The best Prep Bowl mascot. (Hey, Spuddy!) The best city for women’s sports. MNUFC returns to playoff action. A double-wide local sports calendar. The trouble with Gophers football. A caution about Gophers men’s basketball. A reason to go to Northfield this weekend. An Iowa road trip. We’ll get you there and elsewhere. Let’s go! — Howard Sinker
WHERE ARE THE BEST SPORTS STORIES? Sometimes they’re in plain sight, in arenas where we gather by the thousands to watch the teams that define Minnesota sports. Other times, they are in places you wouldn’t expect. Like at a small Lutheran college across the road from Medicine Lake in the west metro. That’s where we’ll start today, with the story of a basketball team that recently won its first game in almost 1,000 days, and the road it took to get there. It’s a story you haven’t read in local media — and a story I hope eventually gets told in more detail than I can share in today’s Sports Take.
THE CONQUERORS WIN! When coach Logan Strand replies to a teenager who expresses interest in playing men’s basketball for Free Lutheran Bible College, this is his first question: “What’s your relationship with God like?”
That often ends the recruitment.
“If you’re not coming here to learn about Jesus and how to use Him in your life, this is not going to be the place for you,” Strand said.
Here is in Plymouth, just off a twisting road on the shore of Medicine Lake. FLBC has an enrollment of about 110 students. Here is also the Student Life Center, which houses the arena where about 200 people gathered last Friday to watch the Conquerors defeat Dayspring Bible College of Illinois 75-62 to end a 47-game losing streak. Some of the scores are jaw-dropping: 85-5, 92-9, 114-14.
Yes, the Conquerors celebrated after the win. But not right away. First they gathered at midcourt to pray with their opponents. “We will always do that, no matter if we win or lose. That’s our No. 1 priority,” said Strand, who has a degree from FLBC and previously coached sophomore high school basketball. “After losing a bunch of games in a row, I never want to make another school feel like we were showing them up because we won one basketball game. We care about them just as much as we care about winning.”
Then players took part in another lose-or-win tradition, returning to their locker room through a tunnel created by their fans. This one was rowdier than usual. When Strand entered the locker room, it was dark and quiet, until players turned on the lights, screamed and doused him with their water bottles. Some traditions are universal.
What changed? Incredibly, Strand explained that last year’s team had so little playing experience that it was like coaching “fourth- and fifth-grade boys’ basketball.” A made shot was worthy of celebration. Forcing a turnover was a big deal. In the 114-14 loss, the Conquerors took only 30 shots and had the ball stolen 26 times.
This year’s roster is almost entirely new and includes players with high school experience who knew each other from church and summer camps. Frank Torfin of Elk River, a 6-foot-2 guard whose Spectrum High team lost to Class AA champ Albany in a section title game last season, scored 18 points in the streak-breaker. FLBC as a team averaged 23 points per game last season.
Most of the returning players from last year’s eight-man roster knew they were in over their heads as soon as they saw the freshmen. “They said, ‘I don’t want to stand in their way. I can do my work fulfilling the mission of the school in other ways.’ “ Strand said. “For me, I only have 15 jerseys. I can only fit so many people in the van.”
There are still beatdowns. The Conquerors lost their opener by 52 and lost to the North Central College junior varsity 108-48 the night before their victory. But there have also been two close losses and a reasonable shot at more victories.
FLBC’s story has not been discovered by local media. Part of that is the school not courting attention. Another part is the skinnier treatment of many sports by the Star Tribune and others because of shrinking staffs and changing priorities. They were featured last year in a sympathetic story by Yahoo! Sports and mocked by Barstool Sports. Strand said he got a call last year from a radio station asking about doing a story, but nothing came of it.
“I think they knew the first thing I was going to say is, ‘We’re doing this for our Lord and Savior.’ And then the interview would be over.”
Highlights from the win | FLBC’s mission | Schedule and results
MY TAKE: I attended a college where our football team lost 50 games in a row, most of them while I was a student. In one game, we scored on the first play from scrimmage — and the opponents rallied to win 97-6. Our men’s basketball team went through a 10-year stretch where we had a conference record of 19-181, and made ESPN for giving up 100 points in one half. (That got the president’s attention and resulted in a coaching change.) So when our football team won a conference title and the basketball team went to the conference finals, it was a bigger deal than at most places. The struggles are very real. Conquering them is very sweet.
JESSIE DIGGINS RETIRING: Via Matthew Futterman at The Athletic. Jessie Diggins, the Afton native who is the most accomplished U.S. cross-country skier in history, will retire at the end of the season. Diggins has won three Olympic medals and has three World Cup overall titles. Her final season will include the Olympics in Italy in February and conclude with the World Cup finals at Lake Placid, N.Y., in March. Diggins, 34, recently talked in depth with Futterman, whose story broke the news early Wednesday morning. In addition to talking about her reasons for retiring and the changes in her life through the years, Diggins said the peak moment of her career had nothing to do with winning a medal or a title. It came in Minneapolis last year before a World Cup race at Wirth Park.
VERBATIM: “More than 20,000 of Diggins’ closest friends showed up and screamed their lungs out, creating an atmosphere that had the Scandinavians raving about the skiing culture that Diggins had played a major role in creating during the previous decade. Diggins got on the podium that day, but it was the practice lap that got her. That’s when she could look up and take it all in and let all the love for her and her sport wash over her. ‘I swear everything that has happened since then has just been icing on the cake.’ “ FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/diggins1120
WHAT MADE HER GREAT? I reached out to former Star Tribune Olympics writer Rachel Blount for her thoughts on Diggins: “In the US, Diggins is the indisputable GOAT of her sports. She achieved things that once seemed impossibly out of reach for an American cross-country skier: Olympic gold, World Cup overall crowns, Tour de Ski titles. And she did it with such exuberance, no small feat in a stoic sport! Jessie planted a flag for US cross-country skiing in Europe, the gutsy American in glitter and face paint who won races, fans and respect. At home, she gave her sport the brightest spotlight ever when her 2018 rush to Olympic gold (“Here comes Diggins!”) went viral. Someday, perhaps, there could be another American who can match her results. But Jessie will always be the one who showed what was possible.”
KAPRIZOV OVERPAID? Via The Athletic. Hockey writers Michael Russo and Joe Smith took questions from readers and one of them set up Russo for a breakaway by asking, “In your opinion, is Kirill Kaprizov overpaid?” VERBATIM: “The Wild were boxed in by an agent who clearly held the upper hand, and they ultimately conceded far more than they should have in the negotiation. Plain and simple, it doesn’t look good for the Wild that the aftermath of Kaprizov signing for $17 million was Jack Eichel signing for $13.5 million, Connor McDavid for $12.5 million, Kyle Connor for $12 million, Martin Necas for $11.5 million and Adrian Kempe for $10.625 million. All those players were willing to sign for significantly less than the new market value Kaprizov created because they wanted to help their team’s salary structure so they could win. And even though Kaprizov is the best player in Wild history, being paid so much will absolutely affect what the Wild can and cannot do around him in the future. That’s not good for anybody: for Kaprizov, who wants to win; for GM Bill Guerin, who really, really wants to ‘effin win;’ or for owner Craig Leipold, who really, really, really wants to win. Minnesota should be a hockey destination, and Kaprizov should help make it one by luring other players. But it’s troublesome that it took overpaying Kaprizov to such a large degree to keep their own homegrown player.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/overpaid1120
ARE YOU SAYING THERE’S NO CHANCE? The Athletic’s latest Playoff Simulator lists 11 teams that have less than a 1% chance to make the playoffs. Every other team but one has a 10% chance, according to the analytics. The “but one” is the Vikings at 2% If they lose at Green Bay on Sunday, they’ll join the <1% cluster. SIMULATOR: https://fluence-media.co/playoffs1120
THE TROUBLE WITH J.J.: Between unhappy Vikings fans and impatient media folks, we’re seeing J.J. McCarthy getting picked apart in a fashion that feels odd for a quarterback who has started only five games in his injury-hampered career. At The Ringer, football writer Steven Ruiz is suggesting that we could be getting close to time for a benching. VERBATIM: "Right now, McCarthy is physically incapable of making the throws the Vikings passing game requires, and the problem is getting worse by the week. If the live reps aren’t helping him improve, then it might be time to give the second-year pro a break and turn to rookie backup Max Brosmer — whose preseason performance turned some heads — to try to make the passing game functional again.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/jj1120
KEEP HIM OUT THERE: Via John Shipley at Pioneer Press. VERBATIM: “Whatever the Vikings expected McCarthy to be in his first NFL season, it was too much for a 22-year-old who missed his entire rookie season because of a knee injury. More than halfway through the season, the Vikings are 4-6 and last in the NFC North, and frankly getting worse. Nearly everyone who cared could see this coming. Why Vikings management didn’t is a mystery.” MORE: “If Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah truly believed what they have been telling us about McCarthy, they need to stick with him. They threw him out there this season and asked him to either be great, or make all his mistakes in front of 70,000 people on Sundays. They owe it to him to not give up.” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/vikings1120
DEEPER DIVE: Via Arif Hasan at Wide Left. The data isn’t good, there are issues that go beyond the numbers. VERBATIM: “For most of his early NFL career, McCarthy had been offered a platter of excuses; promissory notes, really, to be paid back later with good performances. Those performances so far haven’t come, while the excuses have withered away; all of his receivers have returned to the lineup, the offensive line is about as healthy and performant as most offensive lines around the league and the running game — underutilized as it is — is effective and efficient. We do have a new set of excuses, of course. His hand is legitimately injured, and his receivers dropped the ball five or six times against the Bears this week, depending on who’s doing the counting. But it is pretty remarkable that very few fans — some of whom were ardent in their arguments about McCarthy’s supporting cast inhibiting his ability to produce — no longer feel empowered to provide a runway for a young quarterback.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/data1120
VIKINGS (4-6) VS. PACKERS (6-3-1): Noon Sunday kickoff on FOX and the Vikings Audio Network. Vikings depth chart | Real-time betting info, match-ups | Packers web site.
WOLVES FALSE POSITIVE: Via Britt Robson at MinnPost. The Wolves are 10-5. That’s good. The Wolves are 0-5 against teams with winning records. That’s cause for questions. The Wolves wins, including Wednesday’s 120-109 victory against Washington (1-13), have come against teams with a combined 20-77 record. Read that as really bad teams — and a continuation of the run that got the Wolves into the playoffs last season before they were crushed by Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals. VERBATIM: “Going down the rabbit hole of extenuating circumstances is mostly a waste of energy on specious judgment calls. For example, both Anthony Edwards, the superstar, and Jaylen Clark, the increasingly valuable defensive specialist, were out with injuries during the second loss to the Lakers and the first loss to the Nuggets. Okay, but L.A. was missing Luka Doncic as well as Lebron James when they won at Target Center in their second meeting, and the Nuggets beat the Wolves by a remarkably similar score in the rematch nearly three weeks later when both Ant and Clark were healthy.”
MORE: “Per the stats at nba.com, the Wolves have allowed 104.7 points per 100 possessions in their nine wins and 127.7 points in their five losses, for a differential of 23 points per 100 possessions. By contrast, Minnesota’s offense scores only 5.5 fewer points per 100 possessions in their losses, 114.8, than they do in their victories, 120.3. This tracks with the eye test, which indicates that a porous defense is a greater vulnerability than an anemic offense for the team thus far this season.” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/wolves1120
YO, MEDIA! FROST STARTS SEASON FRIDAY: You would barely know it by the scarcity of media attention, but the two-time defending PWHL champion Frost open their quest for another title Friday against Toronto at Grand Casino Arena (6 p.m., FDSN). Before stories that appeared Wednesday, the last mention of the Frost in the local legacy media was more than six weeks ago. OPENER PREVIEW: Here’s one from The Hockey News, which notes that the Frost are being forced to make significant changes on defense and have an unsettled goalie situation. VERBATIM: “Off the ice, it will be interesting to see the crowd size for the opening game at the newly renamed Grand Casino Arena in Minnesota to see if they can build momentum from a second straight Walter Cup.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/opener1120
STILL WAITING: The Strib posted a job for a women’s sports reporter this summer and still hasn’t filled it. I'm hearing a choice has been made, but in the contemporary calculus of staff downsizing and a difficult economy, I’ll believe what I hear when someone is writing those stories. Also unfilled is a college basketball writing position that was also advertised earlier this year. That has resulted in some Gophers home basketball games — men’s and women’s — being “covered” without having a reporter at Williams Arena, work that had been done previously by the reassigned Marcus Fuller and the retired Kent Youngblood.
QUICK BASKETBALL THOUGHTS: There are 365 teams playing Division I men’s basketball. In their last two games, the Gophers struggled to beat Wisconsin-Green Bay, which is ranked No. 324 by college basketball data cruncher Ken Pomeroy, and No. 354 Chicago State. (Minnesota is ranked 94th.) I have already seen one overwrought “Did Minnesota Hire the Wrong Guy” rant on the web. MY TAKE: Buckle up for a bumpy season. Coach Niko Medved bought the best team possible with limited time and resources, filling in his team’s many needs from the bargain racks. Medved deserves a full year of recruiting and a follow-up year of retaining those recruits before he can begin to be fairly judged. His team isn’t for the impatient. FULL KENPOM RANKINGS: https://fluence-media.co/kenpom1120
MONDAY NIGHT FUTBOL: Via Brian Hernandez at KUSI News. The Loons return to MLS postseason play after two weeks away at San Diego on Monday in the Western Conference semifinals. (9 p.m., APPLE TV). If for no other reason that they were an expansion team, San Diego was picked to finish last in the Western Conference before a surprising season ended with the team at the top of the conference standings. The Loons and SDFC split their regular season matches — each side winning on the road. The San Diego season has been filled with triumphs and a side of drama, featuring star forward Chucky Lozano, who was benched after a locker room incident and was suspended from the Mexican National Team before last year’s Copa America after complaining about flying in economy while a teammate was upgraded. Lozano is also battling a hamstring injury and his status is uncertain for Monday. MORE ON SAN DIEGO’S SEASON: https://fluence-media.co/sdfc1120
FIVE SEMIFINAL STORYLINES: Via MLS.com. Among other things, San Diego hopes to become the second expansion team to win the MLS Cup. The other was Chicago in 1998, when the league had only 12 teams instead of the current 30. STORYLINES: https://fluence-media.co/mls1120
WE’RE NO. 2! Via Meg Linehan at The Athletic. “What makes a great women’s sport’s city?” That’s a question The Athletic’s sports staff wrestled with before publishing its Top Ten list. The Bay Area came in first. Minneapolis-St. Paul was second — with Seattle, Portland and New York City filling out the top five. VERBATIM: “In addition to the women’s sports teams at all levels and regular hosting of major events, Minneapolis can also point to the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota as yet another reason that the Twin Cities take their women’s sports seriously. As Claire Weltz, a member of our social team, wrote in her survey: “there’s research and recreation.” Minneapolis has a dedicated women’s sports bar, A Bar of Their Own, but if you’re heading out that way, there’s also the pilgrimage to the giant mural of Megan Rapinoe on the side of queer soccer bar The Black Hart of St. Paul to make, too. RANKINGS: https://fluence-media.co/msp1120
TOO MUCH VOLLEYBALL? Via Joe Nelson at Bring Me The News and Pat Borzi at MinnPost. There are two professional volleyball leagues in the United States — League One Volleyball and Major League Volleyball. Both are expanding for the 2027 season — and both will have franchises in Minnesota. One has an ownership group that includes Wild owner Craig Leipold and will play at Grand Casino Arena. The other is currently owned by League One Volleyball, which will seek local investors. Two leagues moving into the Twin Cities is awkward and appears to have caught stakeholders by surprise. VERBATIM: “When we were doing our diligence, we assumed that there would be one in this market,” Leipold said. “I have to question whether it’s appropriate to put two teams in one market like this.” STORIES: Bring Me the News | MinnPost
WNBA LABOR UPDATE: Via ESPN. At the end of October, the WNBA and its players union agreed to extend their contract until Nov. 30 — and talks are expected to heat up as the deadline approaches. VERBATIM: “New details trickled out Tuesday night: The league’s latest proposal, initially reported by The Associated Press and confirmed by ESPN, includes revenue sharing with a maximum salary of more than $1.1 million starting in 2026, with a league minimum of more than $220,000 and average of more than $460,000. . . . What if labor uncertainty reigns? The longer both sides go without a deal, the greater the ramifications will be. And without an agreement in sight, damages are beginning to mount. ‘The basketball calendar is already at the point where it’s going to be impacted. They’re already there,’ a source told ESPN. ‘And when it comes to things like renewals and partnership opportunities, sitting here with an uncertain labor negotiation, it’s already having an impact on the basketball calendar and the business.’ “ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/wnba1120
FULL ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/ap1120
SO MUCH TO SEE HERE: The list of should-see sports Friday through Tuesday could be twice this length. But I need to draw a line somewhere. FRIDAY: Two-time PWHL champion Frost opens their season at Grand Casino Arena vs. Toronto. It’s the sole home game until mid-December. (6 p.m., FDSN. Tickets); FRIDAY-SATURDAY: Seven state football title games in the Prep Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium. Four games Friday, three on Saturday. I’ll stop to watch the 6A title game between Edina and Moorhead at 7 p.m. Friday. (All games on Ch. 45. Tickets, program and streaming info). SATURDAY-SUNDAY: D-III men’s soccer Sweet 16 and Elite 8. St. Olaf vs. Williams at 11 a.m. and Macalester vs. Wheaton (Mass.) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Northfield. Winners play at 1 p.m. Sunday. Augsburg plays Cortland in St. Louis on Saturday and, if the Auggies win, either Washington (St. Louis) or Trinity (Texas) at 1 p.m. Sunday. D-III women: Carleton plays Swarthmore at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Chicago and, by winning, either University of Chicago or Cal Lutheran at 1 p.m. Sunday. (Streaming for all games; St. Olaf and Macalester tickets at the gate in Northfield.) SATURDAY: D-II football playoffs. Minnesota State plays at Findlay (Ohio) and UMD plays at Ashland (Ohio) at noon Saturday. D-III: Crown College at Wheaton (Ill.) MIAC teams Bethel and St. John’s have first-round byes and don’t play until Nov. 29. (All football games on ESPN+). SUNDAY: Vikings vs Packers in Green Bay (Noon, Fox). MONDAY: MNUFC vs. San Diego in MLS quarterfinals at 9 p.m. (Apple TV). TUESDAY: Gophers wrestling home opener vs. South Dakota State (7 p.m., BIG+. Tickets)
CHEERS FOR ST. OLAF: St. Olaf is charging only $6 to attend the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 soccer games on campus Saturday and Sunday. Students are $3 and kids under 12 get in for $2. You can bring a chair and sit on the hill that surrounds Rolf Mellby Field. It’s only about 45 minutes from the Twin Cities to Northfield. DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/oles1120
MORE VOLLEYBALL TOO: D-III nationals start today with Saint Benedict playing Wash U at 11:30 a.m. and Gustavus playing Edgewood at 4:30 p.m. in Oshkosh, Wis. St. Olaf plays University of Northwestern at 4:30 p.m. in Bloomington, Ill. The second round is Friday and the Sweet 16 is Saturday at the same sites. (Bracket | Streaming). The D-II brackets are announced Monday.
PREP BOWL: All the nuts and bolts of the Prep Bowl are linked to in the sports calendar a few paragraphs about this. If you need a rooting interest — and you don’t want to do the knee-jerk “anyone but Edina” thing — I recommend Moorhead. The Spuds are playing in Class 6A (the state’s largest) for the first time this season and played a schedule entirely against metro-area teams, putting together a five-game winning streak to reach the finals after opening the season with a 3-4 record. They beat Edina 51-44 last month to start the streak. But all of that’s secondary to their mascot. That’s Spuddy.
YES, I COUNTED: Of the 14 schools in the Prep Bowl. One — Hillcrest Lutheran of Fergus Falls — is a private school.
TWINS TV SET: Via John Bonnes at Twins Daily. Amid all the changes in MLB’s national TV exposure, the ways to watch the Twins in 2026 will remain the same. Twins.TV will continue streaming games through Minnesota and much of the Upper Midwest. Cable and satellite delivery will remain the same and MLB.TV will be available for those outside the regional coverage area. VERBATIM: “MLB will gain an additional distribution lane and may choose to stream select games on the ESPN app or related platforms. Those specifics haven’t been announced, but whatever ESPN adds will be in addition to, not instead of, Twins.TV or your current TV provider.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/twinstv1120
FIELDS OF DREAMS TICKETS: MLB announced this week the Twins will play the Phillies on August 13 at the Field of Dreams ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa — the third MLB game at that site. (The St. Paul Saints will play the Iowa Cubs at the site on Aug. 11.) Minneapolis to Dyersville is about a 235-mile drive and the nearest city of size is Dubuque. Ticket and lodging info is HERE: https://fluence-media.co/dreams1120
ROAD CUPCAKES: Via Randy Johnson at Star Tribune. It feels weird that the Gophers are four-point underdogs to Northwestern in Saturday’s game at Wrigley Field. The Wildcats are 5-5 and give off a vibe of mediocrity. The Gophers are 6-4, but the season has been a cluster on the road, where they’ve lost all four games, including Friday’s 42-13 dismantling at Oregon. VERBATIM: “The loss marked the third time this season that the Gophers have been bludgeoned on the road in Big Ten play. The other was their 41-3 loss to Iowa in which they trailed 31-0 at halftime. Combined, Ohio State, Oregon and Iowa outscored the Gophers 125-19. Throw in the 27-14 nonconference loss at California, and they are 0-4 away from Huntington Bank Stadium, being outscored 152-33 in those games.” MY TAKE: Losses to three really good teams and a pretty good on the road are solid roadblocks to being a next-level team. I wish the Gophers would have faced a couple of stiffer challenges at home this season. Last season’s USC win and close Penn State loss at Huntington Bank Stadium added excitement and contour to the season that has been absent in 2025. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/ufootball1120
GOPHERS (6-4) VS. NORTHWESTERN (5-5): 11 a.m. Saturday kickoff on BIG and the Gophers Radio Network. Gophers depth chart | Real-time betting info, match-ups | Northwestern web site.
AND FINALLY: Two quirky stories about pro football.
LIFE ON THE PRACTICE SQUAD: Via Mark Craig at Star Tribune. Meet Nick Vannett. VERBATIM: “A 6-6, 261-pound tight end nicknamed “Baby Gronk” coming out of Ohio State in 2016, the year he was drafted by Seattle in the third round. Vannett never became the next Rob Gronkowski and never will, but he still loves football as much as the future Hall of Famer, anybody in the Vikings’ locker room and probably more than most of his NFL peers considering he’s now 32 years old toiling on a practice squad with an eighth team in 10 seasons. ‘It’s not easy but I still think I belong out on that field on Sundays, and that keeps me going.’ ” FACT: Being elevated to the active roster for a game is worth about $40,000 extra in his weekly pay. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/practice1120
LIFE OF A LONG SNAPPER: Via Brian Hamilton at The Athletic. This is a showpiece story for taking readers deep into football culture and keeping us engaged from first paragraph to last. (Yes, my writing class will be reading next year . . . and for years to come.) The story notes that the Vikings long snapper — you knew his name is Andrew DePaola and that he’s 38 years old, I’m sure — has been an All-Pro in two of the last three years and the only long snapper to make three straight Pro Bowls. READ: https://fluence-media.co/snapper1120
THANKS FOR READING: Taking off next week for Thanksgiving. Count your blessings and create joy where you can.
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