FUN WHILE IT LASTED: Jhoan Duran takes his triple-digit fastball to Philadelphia . . . and the hottest entry music in MLB. Hoping to see the new version when the Twins end their season in Philly.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US: Today marks Sports Take’s first anniversary. It was the middle of last July when Blois Olson and I sat on the patio at the Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park and hammered out the details. The process had started a week earlier at Park Tavern and we pretty much were in the same place from the start, so I guess it wasn’t hammering as much as chiseling the finishing touches of a butter sculpture. It’s been fun and rewarding to rediscover my voice after years as an editor at the Star Tribune and I’m grateful to everyone — from all of you to Blois — who reads, reacts, sends tips and supports Sports Take. I hope you’re looking forward to Year 2 as much as I am.
TIPS AND THOUGHTS: sportstake100@gmail.com.
OWNING THE LIBS: A fun night of basketball, with the Lynx beating the defending champion (but shorthanded) Liberty 100-93 at Target Center, made up for the stench of the Twins’ 13-1 loss to the Red Sox earlier in the day across the street at Target Field. More below, but this is what it looked like when the lights went down for player intros.
And when they came up:
TWINS TEARDOWN? The MLB trading deadline is 5 p.m. and the Twins roster when this Sports Take is published will likely be different from the one you see when you read this. Sending Duran to the Phillies for two of their top minor-league prospects is a sign that management is in burn-it-down mode. Does that mean Joe Ryan or even Carlos Correa, despite his no-trade clause, are headed elsewhere by sundown?
NOON-HOUR TRADE: Via The Athletic. VERBATIM: “The Phillies on Thursday traded for Twins outfielder Harrison Bader, league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The Phillies are sending outfielder Hendry Mendez and righty Geremy Villoria to the Twins, according to league sources. A February signee for a modest $6.25 million, Bader has exceeded expectations this season. Largely brought in as a defensive specialist, the 2021 Gold Glove winner is having his best offensive season since 2021.” Mendez has been at Class AA Reading this season and Villoria had been in the Dominican Republic Summer League. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/bader0731
GOOD DEAL? Via Michael Baumann at FanGraphs. VERBATIM: “Given Duran’s prodigious gifts, track record of durability and reliability, and two full remaining arbitration years, the cost is high: rookie right-hander Mick Abel and teenage catcher Eduardo Tait. Abel, the first high school pitcher taken in the 2020 draft, had an unsteady progression through the minors, but has shown flashes in limited major league action. Tait, fresh off a futures game invite, is an 18-year-old catcher and therefore quite raw, but he has the tools to be a good defender with plus, even plus-plus power at the plate.” DEEPER DIVE: https://fluence-media.co/trade1
PHILLY VIEW: Via Chad Jennings at The Athletic. The Phillies have a fix for a bullpen that currently grades out in the bottom half of MLB. VERBATIM: “Neither team has to ‘win’ a trade. A deal can be good for both sides. This trade is what you’re supposed to do when you’re a team like the Phillies. It’s also what you’re supposed to do when you’re a team like the Twins. Pick a lane. Then do what you can to maximize that chosen path forward. For the Phillies, that meant fixing a bullpen that was their obvious Achilles heel. It was going to cost them. . . . This is the Phillies’ window to win a title, and they got the piece that’s been hardest for them to find anywhere else.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/trade2
MY TAKE: I remember Duran making his MLB debut on Opening Day in 2022 vs. the Mariners. He relieved Ryan in the fifth inning (I looked that up; I don’t remember everything) and didn’t have much of a clue about him. I am skeptical of spring training hype stories, having written too many of them during my reporting days. Then, the radar gun started hitting triple digits, Duran struck out four of the nine batters he faced and I wanted to see more. We saw a reliever enter with a bang and keep developing into an elite closer.
RIGHT NOW: The Twins have no use for an elite closer. It’s a huge stain on the organization — from the front office to the field — that the current roster leaves so much to be desired. The Twins are a sloppy mess on the field, where individual achievements are overwhelmed by fundamental failures. The best things that can happen right now are pretty drastic: Tear down the roster and rebuild under new ownership. And that should include an overhauled baseball operation. “Team Falvey” has had a nine-year run with little to show for it.
TRADE CORREA? Via Cody Christie at Twins Daily. Is this a valid concern? VERBATIM: “It is impossible not to see the parallels between Carlos Correa’s situation and Josh Donaldson’s exit a few years ago. The Twins signed Donaldson to the largest free-agent deal in franchise history at the time, only to trade him away before the contract ran its course. They were able to offload the deal to the Yankees and use the money saved to help bring Correa in as the face of the next competitive window. But if Minnesota turns around and does the same thing again, it sends a message to future free agents: even if the Twins step up to sign a star, they might not be committed long-term. The front office can point to Donaldson's age or Correa’s drop in power, but the optics remain difficult.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/correa0731
COUNTERPOINT: Bleep optics, win games.
McCARTHY’S STRUGGLES: Via Andrew Krammer at Star Tribune. J.J. McCarthy is calling them learning moments from which he hopes to show constant improvement. VERBATIM: “On Monday, McCarthy’s hurry-up drill saw flurries of pressure and ended in a third-down sack. On Tuesday, he completed just 3 of 11 passes in a red-zone period that saw him miss his targets behind or wide, as well as a couple catches ruled out when the receiver didn’t get his feet down in bounds. . . . On Wednesday, McCarthy traded good and bad plays.”
McCARTHY SAYS: He’s showing the impact of being sidelined by last season’s knee injury. “Not having those reps last year, that’s something you miss out on when you take a substantial amount of time off from throwing the football. You got to find that touch again. There was a lot of throws in OTAs where I felt I could’ve had a better outcome if I had that touch. Just learning from failures and trying to get better.” Will Vikings fans give him grace when things bog down? MORE: https://fluence-media.co/qb0731
JEFFERSON’S DAYS: Via Emily Leiker at Star Tribune. Fun to see how Justin Jefferson's hamstring injury hasn’t taken him off the field at Vikings training camp. This sounds like he’s 26 and acting like 36, in all the good ways. VERBATIM: “He shags footballs during quarterback and wide receiver drills. He sticks close to Coach Kevin O’Connell in early portions of practice during individual work, high-fiving him, tossing around a football, or, as was the case Tuesday, getting him to juggle. Most importantly, Jefferson is coaching and cheering up teammates both on good reps and poor ones, pushing them to better their games and bettering his own in return. . . . O’Connell said there’s still ‘zero worry’ about Jefferson missing the Sept. 8 season opener against the Bears in Chicago. Jefferson wears a sleeve on his left leg. He jogs, even dances sometimes, but doesn’t do anything that would make fans hold their breath.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/jj0731
LYNX WIN GAME 1 (OF 11 MAYBE): Yes, it took more than half the season for the Lynx and Liberty to resume their rivalry. But that also means we have three more games to look forward to in a 10-day window later this month and as many as 10 more if the teams meet in the WNBA Finals and go the full seven games. So the awkward scheduling could create another huge attention-grabber for the league.
WEDNESDAY’S WIN IN CONTEXT: I’ll dispute La Velle E. Neal III’s contention that the game showed the Lynx to be “the class of the WNBA” because the Liberty played without superstar Breanna Stewart, were missing two other key players and are still waiting on Emma Meesseman to join them. I’m concerned how the Lynx would fare in an extended series if all their starters need to play 30 minutes or more as they did Wednesday. They’ll need more than four minutes off the bench from Diamond Miller and back-up center Maria Kliundikova to make more than a one-minute cameo.
GOOD STUFF: Courtney Williams may have played the best game in basketball history by a player who missed 12 of 13 shots. She tormented the Liberty with 13 assists — one from the Lynx record — and nine rebounds. She also had a blocked shot on a player six inches taller and made a key steal when the Lynx were struggling early. Alanna Smith handled Liberty star center Jonquel Jones, blocking three shots and scoring 12 points. Their work will be vital because Napheesa Collier (30) and Kayla McBride (24) can’t be expected to score more than half their team’s points most nights.
GOOD CAUTION: The Lynx have showed that at their best (or close to their best), they can beat anyone in the league. They’ve also shown that doing less leaves them vulnerable to more teams in a better-balanced league. The first is good for them, the second is great for the WNBA.
NEW YORK VIEW: Via Madeline Kenney at New York Post. VERBATIM: “The shorthanded Liberty may have dropped their third straight game, losing 100-93 in a 2024 WNBA Finals rematch. But New York, down three key players, competed for the full 40 minutes. And that was a win in Sabrina Ionescu’s book. “If there’s ever a good loss, this was one of those losses that you can live with,” said Ionescu, who scored a team-high 31 points and had five rebounds and four assists. “Everyone played as hard as they could. . . . Just really proud of the way we were able to fight back and that’s the standard.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/liberty0731
PRO TIP: If you want to follow the Liberty, read Kenney’s work. She’s one of only four writers who travel with their WNBA teams on a regular basis. (No, the Lynx aren’t on that list.) Bluesky | X | Post WNBA page
REASON TO WATCH: The first NFL preseason game kicks off at 7 p.m. tonight (NBC, Peacock) with the Chargers playing Detroit. Starting at quarterback for the Chargers will be Trey Lance, the former North Dakota State star from Marshall, Minn., who will compete for a backup role behind Justin Herbert. Also in the QB mix is former Vikings QB Taylor Heinicke. Lance was the third overall pick (by the 49ers) in the 2021 draft but has played only 14 games as a pro.
KEEPING TRACK OF THE LOONS: In addition to their quest for the MLS title, Minnesota United opened play in the Leagues Cup with a 4-1 win over an overmatched Querétaro side Wednesday at Allianz Field. Leagues Cup is a 36-team tournament involving all of Liga MX and the top 18 MLS sides from 2024. Preliminary play with be followed by a knockout round of eight teams. The title game is set for Aug. 31. The Loons have also reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup and will host Austin on Sept. 17 with the title game scheduled for Oct. 1. MLS play resumes Aug. 10 when the Loons host Colorado. Yes, it’s a lot to track. But pursuit of multiple championships at one time is part of international soccer, and a bonus for supporters as MNUFC continues to become more of a force.
League Cup website | U.S. Open Cup | MLS standings | Loons schedule
ODD SCENE: Considering their anti-racist activities in recent years, it was odd to see the Twins do a scoreboard bit that included a Hulk Hogan clip and his Rick Derringer-written WWE theme song Real American during a weekend game against Washington. His death has brought out conflicted feelings among some pro wrestling fans owing to his racist behavior and anti-union activities.
‘EMOTIONAL CONTRADICTION.’ Via Safiyah Riddle at Associated Press. Her story about the impact of Hogan’s death and its impact on Black wrestling fans included this from former Star Tribune sportswriter Master Tesfatsion. VERBATIM: “Tesfatsion was in the audience at Hogan’s last appearance at a professional match in January. He was one of the many who booed Hogan. After decades of fandom, it was his first time seeing Hogan live. ‘I never thought that I would see ‘The Hulk’ in person, and that I would resort to bullying him. But that’s what his actions made me do.’ Still, Tesfatsion said he will never stop being a super fan. ‘I still love America, I still love the WWE. It’s an emotional contradiction that I choose to deal with because I still find value in it.’ “ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/hogan0731
HOGAN VS. VENTURA. Via Dave Zirin at The Nation. The sports editor of The Nation (and Macalester College alumnus) wrote about Hogan undermining a campaign to unionize pro wrestlers that was being organized by ex-wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. VERBATIM: “The media is treating Hogan’s death like they are in on a bit. They praise ‘Hulk Hogan’ for being an American hero while ignoring that Terry Bollea (his real name) led an ugly, amoral life; that he was accused of abuse by both one of his wives and a daughter; that he was broadly loathed by generations of wrestlers; and that his final act involved shilling full-time for Donald Trump.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/zirin0731
PADDACK THUMPS TWINS: Via Evan Petzold at Detroit Free Press. After getting the win in his first start for the Tigers on Wednesday, Chris Paddack compared his first days with the Tigers to his time in Minnesota. Based on the upcoming schedule, Paddack should get his second Detroit start early next week against the Twins. Hoping someone gets him to go deeper on this:
25 BEST GOPHERS: Via The Daily Gopher. Being 25 years into the 21st Century gave the web site reason to try ranking the 25 best Gophers men’s basketball players going back to 2000. (There are 26 on the list because of a tie in the one-and-done category.) WHO’S NO. 1? That would be forward Jordan Murphy (2015-19). VERBATIM: “He ranks 1st in Gopher history in total rebounds and 2nd in points. He is also tied with Andre Hollins for the most starts as a Gopher, with 122 games. Murphy’s teams made two NCAA Tournaments, losing to MTSU as a 5-seed in 2017 and beating Louisville as a 10-seed as a senior in 2019. Murphy was a treat to watch. Not only was he an elite Big Ten forward, but he was a great teammate and played with joy.” FULL LIST: https://fluence-media.co/topgophers0731
U POSITION BATTLES: Via Andy Greder at Pioneer Press. With four weeks until the Gophers opener against Buffalo, position battles are especially interesting among wide receivers, cornerbacks and edge rushers. The top returning pass catcher, Le’Meke Brockington, had only 18 catches last year and Coach P.J. Fleck hit the transfer portal hard to fill in. VERBATIM: “The Gophers brought in three transfers Javon Tracy (Miami of Ohio), Logan Loya (UCLA) and Malachi Coleman (Nebraska) to help replace the lion’s share of the lost production in the wide receiver room. ‘We’ve got a bunch of guys who have played a lot of football, but then it might not have been here,’ Fleck said. ‘I think that we’re probably deeper with playmakers then we’ve been at that position for a while.’ “ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/battles0731
AUGSBURG ADDS TWO: Conner Nord, the former associate head coach at Macalester, has joined the Augsburg men’s basketball staff as an assistant. Nord was a finalist for the Mac head coaching job that went to former Dartmouth assistant Rich Glesman. The school has also hired Christa Burgess as senior associate athletic director. She was previously athletic director at Trinity Washington University, a D-III women’s school in Washington, D.C. Burgess was also the school’s lacrosse coach.
AND FINALLY: In looking ahead to Year 2, I tried to look back on our first year and my favorite takes. It’s hard to rank them, but I came up with a few that were fun for me and/or set Sports Take apart from other sports media in Minnesota.
THE LIST: (1) The holiday shopping list that included Zamboni lessons at the Hopkins Pavilion. My son-in-law can now drive a Zamboni and I’m pretty sure I would need two tries to pass the class, much like my experience learning French in high school. (2) Meeting the mother of the boys whose neighbors went to court to get them to stop shooting hoops in their driveway. I was glad to see the Wolves and others reach out to them. (3) Being first to report that the Shakopee Amphitheater near Canterbury Park won’t open this summer, as had been promoted for several years, because of construction issues. (4) Amplifying voices that too often get outlooked. Those include Heather Rule at Minnesota Hockey Magazine, Charles Hallman at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Cassidy Hettesheimer at Star Tribune, Cody Christie at Twins Daily and others. Boosting them will continue to be part of Sports Take. (5) Reconnecting with sources from my reporting years . . . and connecting with a great group of readers. I appreciate the support you give and the issues you raise.
ON THE WEB:
Bluesky: @howardsinker.bsky.social
Instagram: @howardsinkermn
Tips and thoughts: sportstake100@gmail.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