THE OPENER: St. Thomas wants to play basketball against the Gophers men’s basketball team. The Gophers reportedly offered to play the Tommies in the first game at their new arena, an unrealistic offer because St. Thomas was committed to playing Army, the alma mater of arena benefactor and namesake Lee Anderson, to open the building. Well, with neither team in position for an NCAA tournament berth, that frees them up to play each other in the NIT, right? An encore for two interesting seasons at Williams Arena next week. Make this happen, NCAA! — Howard Sinker
WHY IT WORKS: The NIT wants teams from major conferences. That’s Minnesota. St. Thomas finished the season with the highest NET ranking of any team in the Summit League. Tommies Coach Johnny Tauer told me his team is still practicing in hope of an NIT bid; Gophers Coach Niko Medved could give Gophers fans one more chance to show affection for the six-player rotation that carried the team through the final weeks of the season.
MEDVED VERBATIM: Two quotes from Wednesday’s postgame press conference. (1) “I don’t know if these guys could have given us any more than they gave this year.” (2) Asked about postseason play: “It’s too early to say. Let’s give these guys a few days and then see what the opportunities are and whether it makes sense.”
DEAL KILLER? The College Basketball Crown is an eight-team tournament in Las Vegas that will include two spots for Big Ten teams. If nine Big Ten teams make the NCAA field, as ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi believes, the next two teams in the final conference standings are Indiana and the Gophers. But three teams that finished below the U have higher NET rankings (Washington, Northwestern and USC). Nebraska and USC played in the Crown last year, with the Cornhuskers taking the title. Teams offered a spot in the Crown, which has NIL prize pools for the top four finishers, are not allowed to turn it down to play in the NIT.
MY TAKE: Fans on both sides want the game and it’s a sure bet to draw better than a usual first-round NIT match-up. Take the lemons that dropped on both teams this season and turn them into lemonade.
KYLER MURRAY DAY: The former Arizona quarterback is set to visit the Vikings training facility today and the question will be whether that will mark the end of his job search. We shared a deep dive into Murray last week, so we’re not going to repeat ourselves, beyond saying the move makes sense for the Vikings on the field and financially. The remaining question is whether it makes sense for Murray.
KOC BETS BIG (ON HIMSELF): Via Michael Silver at The Athletic. Coach Kevin O’Connell has basically turned down safer QB options in favor of hoping to resurrect Murray’s career. VERBATIM: “As much as O’Connell may have winced watching Sam Darnold help the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl LX victory last month . . . getting drowned by regret is not a winning strategy. Reviving a motivated Murray, who’s reeling from a midseason benching that ended his six-and-a-half-year stint as the Cardinals’ starter, absolutely could be. For O’Connell, who remains the most powerful presence in the Vikings’ universe, it better be. The Vikings are expected to hire a new GM after the draft, but this is very much O’Connell’s show.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/koc0312
ANOTHER OPTION? Posted on the X feed of Arizona Sports football writer John Gambadoro:
HUH? Via Billy Heyen at Sporting News. Gambadoro is saying that a starting job is the goal, but does it have to be for 2026? Murray could position himself as a backup to an established quarterback who may only play for one more season. Maybe the Rams and Matthew Stafford or the Steelers if they bring back Aaron Rodgers. VERBATIM: “That would be a fascinating choice for Murray -- essentially choose to take a redshirt year, learn from Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, and hit the ground running after a presumed Stafford retirement. Obviously, if Stafford chose to keep playing, that plan could backfire. Minnesota seems like a great fit. Murray could beat out J.J. McCarthy for the starting QB job, and he’d have a ton of offensive talent around him. It’s always good to have alternatives, though, and the Rams would probably be a solid one for Murray.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/murray0312
THE GOOD NEWS: This almost certainly gets settled in the next few days.
MORE: Via Star Tribune. Vikings free agent tracker | Access Vikings podcast on free agents.
GRACE: Class A state hockey typically takes a back seat to the big-school tournament. But this year’s Class A final should be remembered for the thrills on the ice and postgame humility from the Warroad player who scored in overtime to give his team a 5-4 victory over Hibbing. Warroad tied the game at 4 with 46 seconds left after Hibbing rallied with three third-period goals to take the lead. Then, Ryan Shaugabay scored the game-winner one minute into OT. The goal was pretty, the on-ice celebration was emotional and Shaugabay couldn’t get through his postgame TV interview without tearing up. It was a sequence full of good. VIDEO: Here’s the goal. The emotions get real (for both teams) starting at the 40-second mark — and good on the announcers for knowing when to let the images speak for themselves. Here’s the postgame interview, when Shaugabay is asked about sharing the moment with his father, a Warroad assistant coach.
FUN: Via Olivia Hicks at Strib Varsity. This story got buried in the innards of a longer story about the state tournament. Moorhead’s potato mascot, Spuddy, made frequent on-camera appearances in front of the Moorhead student section during the Class 2A tournament. BACKSTORY: Tournament Spuddy has no connection to Moorhead beyond the costume and a sense of whimsy. In real life, Spuddy is Bennett Wieland, a senior at Blake School in Minneapolis. Joining the student section was an idea that came about after Moorhead won its section title. VERBATIM: “He emailed Moorhead orchestra teacher Brian Cole with a simple request. ‘In order to do great things, one must fully commit to the bit,’ Wieland wrote. ‘I want to offer up my services. I understand this may seem like a prank, but I’m being so incredibly serious. If you need a Spud in the stands, I’m your Spud.’ “ BONUS QUOTE: “The vibe of the Spud just embodies something about the tourney that I just love,” Wieland said. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/spud0312 (Scroll down to find the story.) Photo courtesy of Brian Cole.
OVERREACTION: There was lots of social media chatter about many of Minnetonka’s players taking off their silver medals right after receiving them during the awards presentation following their overtime loss to Moorhead for the Class AA title. Poor sportsmanship from entitled suburban kids was the theme. TWO THINGS: (1) Many Hibbing players did the same thing after the Class A title game but it wasn’t noticed. (2) In both cases, it was a reaction to painful losses where a state title was within reach and slipped away. It wasn’t disrespect. It was agony. Somewhere in our house there’s a runner-up medal from a long-ago section basketball final that never got worn or displayed. Similar situation, smaller stage. If you’ve been there, you get it.
EDINA: The roughhouse end of Moorhead’s 3-1 semifinal win over Edina gathered an interesting collection of headlines. It was described as everything from a mass brawl in one game report to a postgame skirmish in another. On social media — the worst place for analysis — this was generally painted as an “Edina issue” that went beyond the usual glee over the Hornets losing. In fact, the situation was created and accelerated by one player responsible for a questionable play at the game of the game, throwing punches afterward and then being skated off the ice by an official. The player did not play in Edina’s third-place loss to Rosemount. Most of the Edina players stayed clear of the situation and off the ice until the postgame handshake line. Yes, it was an ugly ending. But many players kept it from being worse. BRAWL OR SKIRMISH? Somewhere in the middle. VIDEO (Choose your platform): FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | BLUESKY | X
TWINS ROSTER PROJECTION: Via Aaron Gleeman and Dan Hayes at The Athletic. Opening Day in Baltimore is two weeks from today — and the unsettling Twins roster may be settling in through default. The most interesting take here is that Alan Roden, the outfielder acquired from Toronto in the Louie Varland trade, may not make the final cut because major league mediocrity may trump youthful potential. James Outman is out of minor-league options and Trevor Larnach has a guaranteed contract for almost $4.5 million. VERBATIM: “If Larnach were removed from the mix, it would open up a regular job for Roden, make it easier to find a role for Kody Clemens, improve the defense by shifting Josh Bell more to DH and clear a bench spot for a right-handed bat to be used as a platoon partner for the various lefties.”
AND THIS: "The bullpen is a problem. The projection is for four lefty relievers, none of whom strike fear into opposing batter, and four right-handers, with the Twins hoping that Liam Hendriks, 37, rediscovers the form that once made him a top-end closer. VERBATIM: “They’re also banking on Cole Sands pitching like the 2024 version, not the 2025 version. I see the right side of the bullpen as perhaps the Twins’ biggest weakness, and that’s saying something.” FULL PROJECTION: https://fluence-media.co/twins0312
IT’S JUST BUSINESS: Via Ben Goessling at Star Tribune. The headline that Harrison Smith has been released by the Vikings looks like a shocker. But Goessling explained how the move makes sense for reasons beyond the $25 million salary that would have been guaranteed for 2027 if the move wasn’t made by Friday. VERBATIM: “It means he's off the Vikings' roster, at least for now, for the first time since the team drafted him on April 26, 2012, but the team would welcome him back if he decided to return. It seems unlikely Smith would play anywhere else at this point; the question will become whether he wants to do it again in Minnesota. The Vikings' move Wednesday gives him some space to make that choice.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/smith0312
THANKS, KEV: Via Michael Rand at Star Tribune. Daniel Jones turned his short stayover in Minnesota into a huge, new deal with Indianapolis after the quarterback didn’t think he’d be given a serious shot at the Vikings starting QB job last season. The end result, coming off season-ending Achilles surgery, is a two-year contract for $88 million with $50 million guaranteed and incentives that could bring it to as much as $100 million. VERBATIM: “He should send two bouquets to Kevin O’Connell: One for trouncing KOC’s Vikings in the 2022 playoffs, leading to his first payday with the New York Giants, and another for O’Connell helping him land on his feet and eventually cashing in with the Colts.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/jones0312
THANKS, SAM: The Vikings will get a compensatory third-round pick in the 2026 draft as a result of Sam Darnold’s signing and success with Seattle. The placement of compensatory picks is determined by a formula that includes a player’s value, amount of playing time and postseason honors. The pick is the highest of the 34 compensatory picks handed out by the NFL.
MISERABLE GOPHERS HOCKEY FINISH: Via Tony Liebert at SI.com. The Gophers men’s hockey season stumbled to a sad conclusion with a 6-3 loss at Penn State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The 11-22-3 record is the team’s worst in more than a half-century. VERBATIM: This season was Bob Motzko’s eighth at the Gophers head coach, and they’ve been trending in the wrong direction since losing in the NCAA Championship game in 2023. This season will be their first not in the NCAA Tournament since his very first with the program, excluding the 2020-COVID campaign. Motzko has built up plenty of goodwill, but he now faces serious pressure after a historically bad season. After deciding not to add any players from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) last offseason, there was a lot of criticism of their team-building strategy. They’ve already changed their tune with that idea, adding a commitment from Avalanche prospect Christian Humphreys on Wednesday. Their incoming recruits give them potential for a significant improved roster next season. Is that enough to overlook a declining 64-year-old head coach? That is a question Mark Coyle and the rest of Minnesota's administration will have to decide. It will be a fascinating offseason in Dinkytown.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/uhockey0312
HOW BAD WAS IT? Gophers men’s hockey records through the years are here.
U REFUSES REQUEST: Via Alexandra DeYoe at Star Tribune. The University of Minnesota declined the Strib’s request for information about how much athletes are being paid under new NCAA rules and NIL agreements. The decision troubled open records advocates and those who are concerned that Title IX regulations about treating men’s and women’s sports equally are being bypassed. VERBATIM: “By arguing that student athletes are not employees of the school like a professor or a coach, the school cited student privacy when it refused a request to reveal specific athlete payments. When asked for a payment breakdown by individual sport, the school denied the request by citing a law protecting trade secrets. Government transparency advocates say the decision runs counter to the spirit of the Data Practices Act, which requires public entities to disclose how they spend taxpayer money. ‘If they’re a public institution and they’re paying funds out, the public needs to understand what’s going on,’ said Matt Ehling, a board member for Minnesotans for Open Government.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/pay0312
GOOD GOPHERS NEWS: The NCAA women’s basketball field will be announced Sunday and ESPN, CBS Sports and Yahoo currently have the Gophers hosting games in the first two rounds as one of the nation’s 16 best teams picked by the NCAA. All have Minnesota as a No. 4 seed. The CBS bracket has the Gophers playing No. 13 Western Illinois in the first round with the winner playing No. 5 Notre Dame or No. 12 McNeese. ESPN’s has them playing UC-Irvine in the first round with the winner playing No. 5 North Carolina or No. 12 Gonzaga. Yahoo has the Gophers-Irvine matchup with the winner playing either No. 5 Mississippi or No. 12 Green Bay. PROJECTIONS: ESPN | CBS | Yahoo
TOP HOCKEY HONOR: Gophers and Team USA Olympic star Abbey Murphy is one of three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top player in women’s college hockey. She reached the final 10 nominees after the last two seasons. The award will be announced a week from Saturday during the Frozen Four at Penn State. The others are Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey and Penn State’s Tessa Janecke, who were also on the Olympic gold-medal team. WHO WAS KAZMAIER? https://fluence-media.co/kazmaier0312
HOME HOCKEY SATURDAY: The Gophers women are the No. 4 seed in their NCAA tournament and play Northeastern at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ridder Arena (BIG+). Unseeded Minnesota Duluth and Yale play in Columbus, Ohio, at 5 p.m. today (ESPN+) with the winner facing No. 1 seed Ohio State on Saturday. GOPHERS TICKETS | BRACKET
PROBLEM OR SITUATION? Via Jess Myers at Pioneer Press. This story handled one of my reactions to all of the Wild’s player moves at the deadline: How do players feel about going from playing time with their old team to potentially watching with their new one. Obviously, that’s not an issue for Quinn Hughes. But what about some of the others? VERBATIM: “In his first 48 hours as a member of the Minnesota Wild, defenseman Jeff Petry got a taste of the excitement and the reality of life with his latest NHL employer. The excitement comes via his move from Florida, which is likely to be a spectator when the playoffs start next month. Minnesota, meanwhile, is all but a lock for the postseason and has designs on much more than just a playoff spot. The reality came Friday night in Las Vegas, where Petry watched much of the Wild’s 4-2 win over the Golden Knights from the T-Mobile Arena press box. He’s one of the odd men out on a team that, when fully healthy, will have some tough choices to make about who makes the line chart on any given night.”
VERBATIM: “They’ve obviously put themselves in a good position with the crew that they have,” Petry said, acknowledging that the Wild were upfront about his role when they called to welcome him to Minnesota. “Whether that’s me stepping in, playing a handful here and there, whatever the situation is, that’s something that I’m fully ready to be with. (I’m) just excited to be a part of this.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/wild0312
TRADE GRADES: Via Joe Smith and Michael Russo at The Athletic. VERBATIM: “The Wild’s heavy lifting was done with their mid-December blockbuster for Quinn Hughes, who has absolutely been a game-changer for the franchise. At the deadline, they basically overhauled their bottom six. Michael McCarron brings some size, snarl and strong faceoff ability to the fourth line and the penalty kill. Bobby Brink brings some speed and skill to the middle six, plus he fits Minnesota’s defensive identity and forecheck. Robby Fabbri is a four-time 15-goal scorer who is open to any role and can help with his experience in the room. Nick Foligno, the former Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks captain, is another potential fourth liner/depth piece who may not play much, but Chicago is doing the veteran a solid to give him a chance to chase the Cup with his brother, Marcus. Nick Foligno has played center all year, so that gives the coaching staff options. The addition of Jeff Petry (for a seventh-round pick) offers an experienced, right-shot defenseman who is OK being a seventh or eighth defenseman. Overall, the Wild didn’t make any flashy moves at the deadline — the Hughes addition brought plenty of that — meaning GM Bill Guerin and company still have useful assets they can parlay into a bigger move this offseason.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/grades0312
DONE SPINNING THE WOLVES: A five-game winning streak followed by three straight losses of 14, 25 and 27 points, including a while-we-should-have-been-sleeping 153-128 humiliation by the L.A. Clippers Wednesday night. The Wolves have 16 games before the postseason and the only question is whether they’ll conquer their disinterested tendencies in the playoffs. If they don’t, it will be yet another Minnesota sports embarrassment. If they do, it’s logical to ask why we should pay any heed to the NBA regular season in the future. STANDINGS AND PLAYOFF PICTURE: https://fluence-media.co/nba0312
SURPRISE RUN: One of the metro-area surprise teams in section boys’ basketball playoffs is Blake School, which upset top-seed Holy Family and No. 4 Minneapolis North to reach Friday’s title game against No. 3 Maranatha Christian. The game is at 7 p.m. Friday at Augsburg. The Bears are the lowest-seeded team to reach the boys’ section finals in all four classes. Blake is led by Carson McMichael, a 6-foot-1 guard who is shooting 41% on threes this season and will play college basketball at Macalester. VERBATIM: “I’ve been head coach at Blake for 10 years, 13 overall as a head coach in Minnesota,” said Coach Tyler Biwan. “This team walks into the gym with more belief and more energy than any team I’ve coached. Defensively, assistant Max Bohrer has led tremendous game plans for each upset, that our guys go and execute flawlessly. Offensively, our ball movement and shot selection has never been better. We’ll continue to ride that wave into Friday and keep doing the things that got us here.” TICKETS
GAMES TO WATCH: Here are the high school basketball games I’d pay extra attention to over the next three days. GIRLS: At the state tournament, No. 1-seed Hopkins plays No. 4 Maple Grove at 6 p.m. tonight in Class 4A and I’m hoping for a Class 2A title game between No. 1 seed Providence Academy (Maddyn Greenway’s team) and No. 2 Duluth Marshall (Chloe Johnson’s team) at 6 p.m. Saturday. Both games are at Williams Arena and on Ch. 45. BOYS: In Class 3A, the top four teams in the final Pacesetter Poll all play tonight. No. 1 Totino Grace plays Becker at St. Francis, No. 2 DeLaSalle hosts No. 4 Mahtomedi and No. 3 Richfield hosts No. 10 Orono. All three tip off at 7 p.m. and are being streamed by NSPN.TV. On Friday, Class 4A defending champ and No. 2 ranked Wayzata hosts No. 5 Hopkins at 7 p.m. Strib Varsity stream. GIRLS’ TOURNEY INFO: TICKETS | BRACKETS | PROGRAM
WNBA TALKS IN PLAY: Via Alexa Phillipou at ESPN. Not much new to say except that talks were in high gear two days after the WNBA’s Tuesday “deadline” for starting the season on time. VERBATIM: "At the end of the day, we want a season," WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike told reporters. "We want to play. We've heard that from the other side as well. We need to see a more robust demonstration of that as we continue on in these negotiations." MORE: https://fluence-media.co/wnba0312
D-III UPDATE: Men — Winning twice at home last week earned Gustavus a boost to No. 7 in the latest D-III basketball poll and a game at 4 p.m. Saturday at No. 6-ranked University of Chicago with a spot in the national quarterfinals to the winners. Quarterfinals and semifinals will be in Fort Wayne, Ind., next Thursday and a week from Saturday. The title game will be in Indianapolis on April 5 — the Sunday and site of Final Four weekend. Women — Bethel and Concordia-Moorhead are in the Sweet 16. Bethel plays at Washington and Lee at 7 p.m. Friday and at 7 p.m. Saturday against Denison or John Carroll if the Royals win. Concordia plays Johns Hopkins at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Scranton, Pa., and at 6 p.m. Saturday against Scranton or Bates if the Cobbers advance. Semifinals and finals are next Thursday and a week from Saturday in Salem, Va.
D-II STARTS: First- and second-round games are this weekend. Women — Minnesota State hosts St. Cloud State at 5 p.m. Friday with the winner playing Central Missouri or Washburn University. Concordia-St. Paul hosts Northwestern Oklahoma State at 2:30 p.m. Friday with the winner playing Fort Hays State or Harding University on Saturday. Those games are also in Mankato. The Mavericks are the top seed in the Central Region and Concordia is second, despite beating Mankato in two of their three games this season, including the Northern Sun title game. UMD in the bottom seed among the eight teams. Men — No. 4 seed St. Cloud State plays Missouri Western at 8 p.m. Saturday right after No. 8 UMD plays Washburn. Both games are in Topeka, Kansas, with the winners advancing to play each other.
D-III HOCKEY: Men — St. John’s plays at Aurora College at 2 p.m. Saturday and UW-Stout hosts Anna Maria College of Massachusetts at 7 p.m. Saturday in the 14-team tournament. The semifinals and finals will be March 27 and 29 in Utica, N.Y. Women — Three MIAC teams are among the 14 in the tournament. At 3 p.m. Saturday, Augsburg hosts Elmira and Hamline hosts Endicott at TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul. St. Benedict, which won the conference title, plays at Amherst at 2 p.m. Saturday. No. 1 seed UW-River Falls has a first-round bye. TICKETS: Augsburg | Hamline POLLS: Men | Women
LIVESTREAMS FOR ALL D-II AND D-III GAMES
AND FINALLY: Via Breaking the News at KARE-TV. Last March, veteran Minnesota hockey writer David La Vaque was in his usual spot covering the state tournament for the Star Tribune. Soon after, his health took a sad turn when David was diagnosed with leukodystrophy, a central nervous system disorder that forced him to give up his writing, but not his love of hockey. La Vaque attended this year’s tournament as a spectator, visited one team’s locker room before a game and was featured in this Ch. 11 report that explains his place in the state’s hockey universe.
There is a GoFundme to help with David’s medical expenses. You can donate here.
THANKS FOR READING AND WRITING. Taking next week off and back in two weeks.
EMAIL HOWARD: sportstake100@gmail.com
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