OPENING NOTE: Another awful end to a Vikings season. Another couple games of terrible basketball by the Gophers men. Another close and frustrating loss for the Wolves. The Wild lost twice to teams they must learn to beat. A three-loss Wednesday with the Wild, Wolves and Frost falling short. But we’ll try to make some sense of it here and maybe get you to smile through the suffering. There’s even a video that pretty much sums up how I’m feeling about Minnesota sports right now. HERE IT IS: https://fluence-media.co/blah0116 — Howard Sinker
DANG YOU, DARNOLD: Via Matthew Coller at Purple Insider. Upon further review, this Sam Darnold critique filed a few minutes after the final play of the 27-9 loss to the Rams still stands. VERBATIM: “There was nothing more stunning than Darnold’s collapse after throwing for 35 touchdowns and registering a 102.5 QB rating in the regular season. He got strip-sacked for a Rams touchdown, then sacked again on a fourth down attempt at the end of the half, and threw wildly inaccurate to start the third quarter when they had a glimpse of a chance to get back in the game, then got sacked for the 8th time when a miracle comeback was still within reach in the fourth quarter. He looked every bit the backup quarterback he was last year, not the star he was this year.” (Above photo from Lake Street, a Midwest-themed bar in Brooklyn.) MORE: https://fluence-media.co/sam0116
VIKINGS FUTURES CRASH: Coming out of the game, I took inventory of some of the key elements of the team and where they stand now as opposed to before their losses to the Lions and Rams. Here goes:
DARNOLD’S FUTURE: Still want Sam Darnold to be the No. 1 quarterback? Do other teams think Darnold could be their step-up-to-the-next-level QB? The answer to both is probably not. The Vikings had enough talent that I’m thinking they would have been a playoff team if J.J. McCarthy hadn’t been hurt in the preseason. I’m basing that on what Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix did to get their Washington and Denver teams into the playoffs. As for Darnold, the “big money after a break-through season” storyline pretty much got shattered. As Twin Cities filmmaker (and my brother-in-law) Shane Nelson put it, “Unfortunately Darnold turned back into a pumpkin . . . who sees ghosts and probably cost himself about $50 million.” What’s the toll-free number for problem quarterbacks who lose more than they should?
BRIAN FLORES’S DEFENSE: Conventional wisdom spared the defense from much blame after the Detroit loss, which surprised me. The inconsistent and lackluster performance against the Rams confirmed that the defense and coordinator Brian Flores were factors in both losses. They needed to be tone-setters but were done in by well-crafted game plans and experienced QBs. BIG QUESTIONS: Does this have an impact on Flores’s chances to become a head coach? What decisions will Vikings management make about holding on to some of their more experienced players? How will they rebuild a secondary filled with players who are considering retirement or unsigned?
THE JONES QUESTION: Toward the end of the season, Aaron Jones talked about his desire to stay with the Vikings. The question should really be whether the Vikings want to stay with a 30-year-old running back who had only one run of more than 15 yards in the team’s last 11 games?
OFFENSIVE LINE: Nine sacks vs. the Rams. Christian Darrisaw’s return will help but upgrades and depth are needed, whether it’s through free agency or the draft.
PANTS ON THE GROUND: Via Brian Murphy at Purple Insider. Harsh but fair. VERBATIM: “The Vikings were exposed as frauds in Week 18 against the Lions. The Rams confirmed it. No wonder all four of their losses came in head-to-head battles with the Super Bowl-or-bust Lions and the resurgent Rams, who have Super Bowl pedigree. (Kevin) O’Connell and his star defensive coordinator Brian Flores have been de-pantsed twice by these elite teams and their elite quarterbacks.” https://fluence-media.co/pantsed0118
BOTTOM LINE: The Vikings were 14-0 against the others and 0-4 against the Lions and Rams, regressing in both of their second meetings. They were good enough, but not as good as most of us wanted to believe. As Star Tribune’s Michael Rand wrote here, evidence was ignored in favor of the narrative.
PA TAKES IT HARD: I like Paul Allen calling Vikings games on the radio but I’ve never been able to come up with just the right words to describe why. So I’m going to borrow this Bluesky post and just say, “Yeah, this goes for me too.”
HOW HARD? Via Matt Yoder from Awful Announcing. Yoder explains Allen to a national audience. VERBATIM: “There is not an announcer in sports more passionate than longtime Minnesota Vikings radio voice Paul Allen. Unfortunately for him and for Vikings fans everywhere, that passion has come out for far too many defeats than victories when it matters most.” BONUS: Yoder not only includes several of the most forlorn calls from the Rams loss, but digs into the KFAN archives so we can relive a few other epic fails that still torment Vikings fans. READ AND LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/pa0116
STATE OF THE SECONDARY: Via Andrew Krammer at Star Tribune. VERBATIM: “When six veterans in the Vikings secondary left TCO Performance Center for the season’s final time this week, there were 740 NFL regular season and postseason games worth of experience walking out the door.” What happens next? FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/secondary0116
WANT TO SEE THE 2025 OPPONENTS? One break the Vikings caught by not winning the division is a slightly easier schedule next season. The Lions get to play Kansas City and the Rams. The Vikings get Seattle and the Chargers. The Vikings get the Eagles at home; Detroit gets them on the road. I’m seeing a 10-7 record. FULL LIST: https://fluence-media.co/schedule20250116
FEELING A DRAFT: Via Dane Brugler at The Athletic. Some confirmation for my bias that Jones shouldn’t be part of the Vikings future and the offensive line is the top non-QB issue. The Vikings pick 24th in the first round and this mock draft has them taking Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson. VERBATIM: Anyone who watched the Vikings’ playoff collapse to the Rams knows Minnesota needs to address its offensive line in a major way this offseason. But assuming those upgrades come in free agency, the Vikings could look for help at running back here. . . . The Iowa back would be a great fit for Minnesota’s outside-zone scheme, and his impact would help open the passing game. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/mockdraft0118
SKINNY DRAFT (FOR NOW): As of now the Vikings have only their first-round picks, two picks in the fifth round and a likely compensation pick in the third round resulting from Atlanta signing Kirk Cousins. Remember the Vikings packaged their second-, third- and fourth-round picks to acquire edge rusher Dallas Turner with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft. Picks in the final two rounds went to Cleveland as part of the 2023 trade that sent linebacker Za’Darius Smith to Cleveland.
CAP SPACE: Via Spotrac. The Vikings are currently fourth in the NFL with $77.8 in salary cap space available for fresh talent and reworked contracts. That’s a much different picture than last off-season when they were working with just over $10 million. CHART: https://fluence-media.co/capspace0118
U WOMEN GET NOTICED: The Gophers (16-2 after Tuesday’s 99-92 loss at No. 8 Maryland) are ranked No. 24 in the latest AP poll — their first appearance since Dec. 2019. There had been skepticism about their record because of a weak nonconference schedule and because their four Big Ten wins came against teams with a combined 3-20 record in league play. Star Tribune’s Kent Youngblood ranked them 25th on this week’s ballot. Despite losing, their play at Maryland reinforces that being ranked isn’t a fluke. AP POLL: https://fluence-media.co/week11. YOUNGBLOOD’S BALLOT: https://fluence-media.co/youngblood0116
MONSTER RALLY FALLS SHORT: Maryland led 93-73 with 2:55 to play before the Gophers made a frenzied comeback bid. No, the Terrapins did not empty their bench. This 60 or so seconds is worth the watch:
DECIDING MOMENT: Amaya Battle, who led Minnesota with 19 points and 6 assists, created an interesting situation with about 40 seconds left and the Gophers trailing by six. She knocked the ball loose and then received a pass before going in for an uncontested lay-up. I watched the video with a Minnesota basketball coach and asked, “Could Battle have pulled up and shot a three so the Gophers could play honest defense” instead of needing to foul to get the ball back? The coach’s reply: “That would be a Steph Curry move.” MY TAKE: Glad I asked. Watch the video and you’ll see how quickly Battle would have needed to pull up to shoot the three. It would have been a play-of-the-month move. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/amaya0116
UP NEXT, UP AHEAD: The Gophers play Northwestern, another winless Big Ten team, at 2 p.m. Sunday. (Big10+ streaming.) EARLY ALERT: Minnesota has a huge weekend coming up when they play at No. 4 USC on Jan. 30 (9 p.m., Peacock) and at No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 1 (2 p.m., BIG). Appointment TV, friends.
MARCH MADNESS PROJECTION: Via Charlie Creme at ESPN. The veteran bracketologist currently has Minnesota as a No. 9 seed and facing Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA tournament, with the winner facing No. 1 UCLA. Needless to say, there will be a lot of shuffling over the next seven weeks. CURRENT BRACKET: https://fluence-media.co/creme0116
PROFOUNDLY AWFUL: That’s probably the best two-word description of the Gophers men. At Wisconsin, they trailed by one at halftime and then collapsed, falling behind by 30 on their way to an 80-59 loss. The ineptitude was such that two reserves came off the bench in the final three minutes to score more than 20% of Minnesota’s points. Then, at Maryland, they led by seven early in the second half before yet another fade. That lead eventually became an 11-point deficit in a 77-71 loss.
NEXT CHALLENGE? Michigan tonight. The Wolverines are 5-0 in the Big Ten and ranked 20th in the nation. (6 p.m., FS1). Prayers up.
TONE DEAF, MAYBE? Via Marcus Fuller at Star Tribune. The Gophers played so badly at Madison that they held a lengthy team meeting after the game. This was star forward Dawson Garcia’s take. VERBATIM: “We just all have to come to the realization that this is our livelihood. This is how we’re going to pay our families. Everybody, really. The coaches and the players. It’s got to be taken to that level.” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/umen0116
MY TAKE: Huh? Yes, Garcia is apparently doing well cashing in on NIL money. But the players whose “livelihood” depends on basketball play at Target Center not Williams Arena. Some of Dawson’s teammates are pretty much in the old-school category of getting a scholarship to prepare for their livelihood. To be clear, I have no problem at all with players getting paid. But Garcia’s words do not speak for “everybody, really” and combined with the coming-and-going roster and its performance this season, it’s easy to abandon interest in these Gophers. And there’s no joy at all in being this critical.
ANOTHER TROUBLING LOSS: Via Jace Frederick at Pioneer Press. The final score was 116-115, but Wednesday’s close loss to Golden State was among the worst of the season. VERBATIM: “Golden State was sans four of its rotation players in Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Kyle Anderson and also on the last leg of a four-game road trip. The Warriors season is quickly draining into the tank. But Minnesota’s start . . . was so poor that the Warriors had no choice but to take the massive early lead and run with it.” The Warriors jumped to a 13-0 lead and led 34-12 after the first quarter.
IT DOESN’T GET BETTER: The Wolves were within two points with 10 seconds left when Golden State’s Gary Payton II missed a free throw. A chance to tie or win? Nope. Golden State got the rebound, Stephen Curry made two free throws and a three-pointer by Anthony Edwards with one second left did nothing but change the score. UNDERSTATEMENT: “We did get a chance to come back in the game, but we can’t allow ourselves to put ourselves in that position,” Rudy Gobert said. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/badloss0116
OUCH: The Warriors are 8-16 in their last 24 games. They are 3-0 against the Wolves in that span.
OOPS, ANT DID IT AGAIN: Via Associated Press. Anthony Edwards has now contributed $285,000 of his salary to the NBA after a $50,000 fine for making an obscene gesture during Saturday’s loss to Memphis. That was his fifth behavior-related fine of the season to go with nine technical fouls. verbatim: “I made a careless, young, dumb mistake, shooting birds. That has nothing to do with the refs at all. That’s all me mentally making a dumb mistake. I won’t do it again.” MY TAKE: You’re a great player, Ant. Stop the careless, young, dumb mistakes. Please . . . and thank you. STORY: https://fluence-media.co/edwards0116
WOLVES ADD DIVISION III PLAYER: It’s not what you think. The Timberwolves have hired Robert Grace IV as the team’s videographer. Nothing unusual about that, except that Grace is also playing guard for Macalester when he’s not working for the Wolves. Last Saturday, Grace had 13 points and six assists for the Scots in their game at Bethel and worked for the Wolves game that night against Memphis. This weekend? It’s a Wolves road game Friday night at Madison Square Garden, a 1 p.m. Saturday game vs. St. Mary’s at Macalester and an 8 p.m. Wolves-Cavaliers game at Target Center. The Blake School alumnus, a senior majoring in Economics, was hired for game night video production by the Wolves and Lynx last spring. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/grace0116
NAZ’S NUMBER RETIRED: Via Union News Daily. Naz Reid will have his high school number retired at halftime of tonight’s Roselle Catholic game in New Jersey. The Wolves will be there because they’re playing the Knicks on Friday. STORY: https://fluence-media.co/nazreid0116
MY HALL OF FAME VOTE: Winners will be announced at 5 p.m. Tuesday. This is my seventh year casting a vote, a privilege that goes to members of the Baseball Writers Association of America after being a member for 10 consecutive years. Come December, I spend a lot of time talking, reading and making statistics dance to come up with my choices. Here’s my 2025 ballot. A player needs to be picked on 75% of ballots to get in:
You can vote for a maximum of 10 players. I voted for eight. Ichiro Suzuki is on the ballot for the first time. (Players are eligible five years after retiring.) I added Bobby Abreu and Andy Pettitte, who I hadn’t voted for in the past. Sometimes you take a second or third look at a player and come to a different conclusion.
I don’t consider drug issues (real or suspected) on my ballot. I changed my mind on this after Bud Selig, the commissioner during many of baseball’s “drug years,” was elected by a separate Hall of Fame committee in 2016. If the supervisor gets in, the workers should be considered too.
I’m in the minority on this, but I have a higher standard for candidates on the ballot for the first time. I consider first-ballot winner the greatest of the great. In other words, CC Sabathia looks like he’ll get in this year without my vote. Last year, I wrestled with my Joe Mauer vote because I debated whether his good-to-very good years at first base over the second half of his career dampened his catching years with the Twins. In the end, I decided that Mauer’s offensive achievements as a catcher warranted a first-ballot vote. (Mauer made it with four votes to spare.)
Sorry, Twins fans. Torii Hunter would be a first-round selection to the Hall of Very Good. And Fernando Rodney will be one-and-done on the ballot. A player needs to get 5% of the vote to stay on. I’m still annoyed that Joe Nathan didn’t reach that threshold a couple years ago.
Some people make their votes public. Other’s don’t. There’s a Hall of Fame tracker on the web for public votes. SEE IT HERE: https://fluence-media.co/hof2025
Got something to show or tell me? Email: sportstake@fluence-media.com
SMALLEY LEAVING TV ROLE: The Twins haven’t yet revealed their TV plans for 2025, but one of Cory Provus’s analysts has decided it’s time to go.
HUNTER, HALL OF FAMER? Via Matthew Leach at mlb.com. A Q-and-A with Jay Jaffe, the outstanding hall of fame analyst and author of The Cooperstown Casebook, delves into the pros and cons of Torii Hunter’s candidacy. JAFFE: “The traditional case as it would’ve been understood 20 years ago is that here you’ve got a nine-time Gold Glove-winning center fielder, five-time All-Star, who hit over 350 home runs, who stole almost 200 bases, collected almost 2,500 hits. Was on a whole bunch of playoff teams. Never got to a World Series but consistently helped his teams toward the playoffs and did OK, had some big postseason moments. I think there’s probably a point in Hall of Fame history when he would have been, I don’t know about an easy call, but I don’t think his election would have particularly raised eyebrows if it had come along 30 years ago.”
MORE JAFFE: “The counterargument to that, the advanced-stat case, is that the fielding metrics that we have for him do not paint him as a particularly elite fielder. . . . He had very good range but he did not have the elite range of some other great center fielders in terms of plays per game. He always looked good doing it, very graceful player. But it’s kind of the Jim Edmonds problem in that a lot of times what you’re seeing is that a guy who’s making spectacular plays is not necessarily the best guy. He’s maybe the most acrobatic guy, and that’s certainly worth something from an entertainment standpoint. I’m not going to belittle that at all. But a lot of times the guys who make it look easy are the ones who are better positioned and have to do less work.” FULL INTERVIEW: https://fluence-media.co/torii0116
THAT’S WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT: This clip from the 2006 playoffs amplifies Jaffe’s words. The commentary is spot-on too. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/risk0116
WATCH THIS ONE, TOO: This is the catch I want to think of when I think of Hunter: https://fluence-media.co/reward0116
ANOTHER SETBACK: Via Sarah McLellan at Star Tribune. The Wild had more late-game troubles in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to Edmonton, their third loss in the last week against a top rival in the Western Conference. This one came after Minnesota took a two-goal lead in the first period. VERBATIM: “This was the Wild’s third loss in their past four games to one of their neighbors at the top of the conference after also falling to the Golden Knights and Avalanche. Those teams pulled away from the Wild during the third period, and Edmonton followed suit to put an exclamation point on the 180 after the Wild were in control at the start.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/wild0116
THE STRUGGLES: The Wild have dropped to fourth place in the West. Vegas is second, Colorado third and Edmonton sixth. Others in the top seven: Winnipeg (first), Dallas (fifth), Los Angeles (seventh). The Wild have a 2-11 record against those teams. They are 25-7 against the rest of the NHL. TAKEAWAY: Does this sound a bit like a football team that went 14-0 against most of its competition and 0-4 against the teams that crushed their dreams?
KAPRIZOV UPDATE: Via Joe Smith at The Athletic. VERBATIM: “Kirill Kaprizov . . . hasn’t played since Dec. 23 against Chicago, with the team announcing after the Christmas break that he was day-to-day with a lower-body injury — some soreness, an injury he’d been battling before the holidays. Monday was the three-week mark since Kaprizov’s last game. He’s been skating on his own regularly for at least the last week. What’s been the holdup? ‘I mean, there’s a protocol,’ (Coach John) Hynes said. ‘It’s an easy skate, then a hard skate, how did he respond to that? You push a little bit harder. How did he respond to that? It’s an easier day, then a harder day.’ “ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/kirill0116
DEBUTING FRIDAY: The 3-on-3 league founded in part by Lynx star Napheesa Collier starts play Friday night in Florida. There are six teams of six players, with games scheduled for Mondays, Fridays and Saturday. In addition to Collier, Lynx players Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams are also in the league. Collier and Williams play in the league opener for the Lunar Owls at 6 p.m. Friday (TNT). McBride’s Laces team plays at 1 p.m. Saturday. (TruTV)
WHAT YOU’LL NOTICE: Via Kendra Andrews at ESPN. This is not the same 3-on-3 basketball that you’ve seen at the Olympics. It’s a full-court game played on a smaller court. The regular season will run for 14 games followed by playoffs and all games will be played at the same venue. All will be on TV and streamed. The rosters were put together jointly by coaches with the intent on creating balanced teams. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/unrivaled0116
WHO WINS? Games will be played with three seven-minute quarters followed by an untimed fourth quarter. For the fourth quarter, 11 points will be added to the score of the team that’s ahead — and the winner will be the team reaching that number first. EXAMPLE: If the Laces lead the Lunar Owls 50-45 at the end of the third quarter, the winner will be the first team to 61.
MORE: Player info, rosters and more. GO HERE: https://fluence-media.co/moreunrivaled0116
PLAYOFF ELIGIBLE THIS YEAR: Via David Griswold at KARE11. When St. Thomas jumped for NCAA Division III to D-I, the agreement included a wait of five years before teams would be eligible for postseason tournaments. That wait has been cut to four years by the NCAA, meaning the Tommies could be eligible starting this fall. VERBATIM: “The NCAA adopted a new reclassification criteria on Wednesday to reduce its provisional period from five years to four, meaning the University of St. Thomas could be playoff-eligible by fall 2025. However, before competing in postseason tournaments, St. Thomas will still need to show it meets the new criteria by June, which includes an academic review.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/tommies0116
TOMMIES REACT. Via tommiesports.com. ST THOMAS OFFICIAL STATEMENT: “As the only university in the modern era to transition directly from D-III to D-I, this change represents a momentous step forward for our university as we enter the final stage of our D-I transition. While we await final details, we remain confident we will meet the necessary parameters required to take this next step and look forward to full D-I status and postseason eligibility beginning fall of 2025.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/ust0116
GREAT GIRLS’ BASKETBALL MONDAY: St. Catherine’s will host some of the state’s top teams and players in its six-game MLK Classic. HIGHLIGHTS: Duluth Marshall, featuring ninth-grade superstar Chloe Johnson, plays Rochester Lourdes at 1 p.m. Minnetonka (No. 8 in 4A) plays Minnehaha Academy (No. 4 in 2A) at 5 p.m. and Providence Academy (No. 1 in 2A and in Star Tribune’s all-class Top 25) plays Park Center at 6 p.m. DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/mlkclassic0116
BEST PREP RIVALRIES: Via Cassidy Hettesheimer at Star Tribune. VERBATIM: “I want to know what the best high school rivalries are in the state of Minnesota, and why. From the Twin Cities to the North Shore, what pairs of schools produce can’t-miss action when their sports teams meet? We’ve created a survey where you can make your case. Whether it’s teams repeatedly meeting in a specific sport’s state tournament, or neighboring schools battling in everything from hockey to tennis — anything goes. SURVEY: https://fluence-media.co/rivals0116
HOOPSTOWN USA? Warroad calls itself Hockeytown USA but the school’s boys’ basketball team has a 13-0 record and is currently ranked ninth in the state Class 2A poll. Warroad has never been to state in the 113-year history of the tournament, but has been dominant through the first half of this season, winning all but two of its games by double-digit margins. That includes a 113-22 win over International Falls on Tuesday.
LOCAL WRITER MAKES GOOD: Via AL.com. Twin Cities sports journalists remember Nick Kelly first tracking them down for tips when he was in high school. The former Star Tribune intern and Lakeville North graduate covers University of Alabama football has been named that state’s Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. In other words, Kelly had a better season than the team he covered. MORE: https://fluence-media.co/nickkelly0116
UNDEFEATED WEEKEND AHEAD? Gophers men’s and women’s hockey will try to complete season sweeps this weekend. Both Minnesota teams are ranked third in the latest USCHO.com polls. The men host Notre Dame (7-14-1) at 7 p.m. Friday (FOX9) and 5 p.m. Saturday (FOX9+). The women host Minnesota State at 6 p.m. Friday (BIG+) and go to Mankato for a 2 p.m. Saturday rematch (FOX9+).
AND FINALLY: You knew this newsletter couldn’t have that headline at the top without this video at the bottom right?
Thanks for reading, watching and listening. Back with more next week.
HOWARD ON THE WEB:
Bluesky: @howardsinker.bsky.social
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