OUR TROUBLING TIMES — What are the roles of sports right now? A distraction? A forum? A shred of normalcy or largely irrelevant? All of the above or something else? When Melissa Hortman was assassinated last summer, I shut down for the day. Had Lynx tickets. Didn’t go. Nephew was playing for the state lacrosse championship. Didn’t go. That’s how I handled my emotions. On Sunday, the day after Alex Pretti was shot to death, I craved distractions. Went to a retirement party for a former Star Tribune colleague in the afternoon. Watched football in the evening. That’s how I handled my emotions. Both times felt right. So I don’t have answers. If I did, I wouldn’t dare call them the right ones for everyone. How are you feeling? Tell me here. — Howard Sinker
SHUT IT DOWN? Via Jim Souhan at Star Tribune. His column chastised the disconnect between small business owners that shut down for the general strike on Friday and the “open letter” signed by more than 60 large Minnesota businesses — including all six major pro sports teams — “calling for state, local and federal officers to work together.” VERBATIM: “By avoiding taking sides, by not acknowledging what is actually happening, these supposed leaders accomplished nothing. Now it’s time for our rich sports owners to take the baton. Shut it all down until it’s safe for every Minnesotan to drive to a sports venue without being rammed, beaten, abducted or killed. Hold news conferences where you put yourselves on the line and defend your employees who could easily be targeted. Use your wealth, and the power that accompanies wealth in America, to protect your fans and employees, any of whom could be shot, beaten, gassed, rammed or abducted the next time they encounter federal agents.” COLUMN: https://fluence-media.co/souhan0129
READ THE LETTER: https://fluence-media.co/letter0129
BUSINESS AS USUAL? Via Andy Greder at Pioneer Press. Twins chairman Tom Pohlad was asked about canceling TwinsFest, the annual two-day event that started on the night of the strike. VERBATIM: “Listen, no matter what you think, we all see what is going on in our community and we understand what we’ve all been through in the last five years. It’s heartbreaking. Is there an argument to be made to cancel TwinsFest? Sure. But I think the Twins are about bringing people together and the community together. It’s for a good cause. The Twins community fund does great things. . . . I think it was the right thing to move forward with the event.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/cancel0129
ELSEWHERE: Athletes and those connected to them made an assortment of statements, ranging from ICE OUT shirts worn by one Minnesota college basketball team and the Minnesota Slam Squad, which performed at Sunday’s Wolves-Golden State game, to social media posts. Here are a few:
And there is a place for humor in troubled times. My friend, Twin Cities digital designer Jaime Chismar, found legendary Star Tribune sports columnist Sid Hartman kitted up in the cold.
THE PAUL ALLEN MESS: KFAN 9 a.m. to noon host Paul Allen remained off the air Thursday in the aftermath of comments he made about “paid protesters” on his radio show last week. He also deleted a Saturday post about a local TV basketball commentator in which he used the term “firing bullets.” Allen recorded an apology that was played on the air Monday morning, adding that he would be “taking a few days off.” Eric (Nordo) Nordquist filled in for Allen on Thursday after other substitute hosts worked earlier in the week.
HOW IT STARTED: Via John Shipley at Pioneer Press. VERBATIM: “Before tens of thousands of protesters marched in Minneapolis on Friday to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents leave Minnesota, they were mocked by the voice of the Minnesota Vikings. The protestors marched from Commons Park at the edge of downtown to a rally at Target Center in temperatures that hovered around 10 degrees below zero. While discussing the cold with former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, Allen said, ‘In conditions like this, do paid protesters get hazard pay? Those are the things that I’ve been thinking about this morning.’ The moment was saved by the web site awfulannouncing.com and can be heard here. . . . The remark, which pushes a baseless narrative that protesters are paid by left-wing groups, is commonly made to undermine the importance of social protest.” FULL STORY AND FOLLOW-UP: https://fluence-media.co/pa0129
MORE: Via Max Winters at Daily Mail’s U.S. Edition. VERBATIM: “Allen also deleted an X post Saturday after using the phrase ‘firing bullets’ to describe Big Ten Network college basketball analyst Parker Fox’s on-air work: ‘My man @Parkerfox24 firing bullets on #HockeyDayMinnesota,’ Allen wrote in response to Fox’s interview with a youth hockey player. ‘Such a cool annual day, and PFox taking part is a nice touch.’ Later, Allen said he deleted the post because he did ‘not know at that time about the shooting of a man in MPLS.’ “ STORY: https://fluence-media.co/tabloid0129
ALLEN’S APOLOGY: Via Awful Announcing. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/apology0129
HARTMAN DEFENDS PA: Chad Hartman, the WCCO-AM afternoon host, defended Allen in an X post. VERBATIM: “(Allen) has been my friend for 30 years. I get that my objectivity could be questioned. I didn’t like the joke, considering our times, absolutely inappropriate. PA is not political! If you listen at all, you know that. He made a bad mistake. We are humans, they happen.” POST AND REACTIONS: https://fluence-media.co/chad0129
WHAT’S AHEAD? There are several stakeholders in Allen’s future: The three main ones are KFAN, the Vikings and Canterbury Park, where he is the track announcer (and one of the best in the nation). MY TAKE: Allen will be shown grace by the radio station and the race track. His future with the Vikings is safe unless owners Mark and Zygi Wilf decide otherwise. HISTORY: In 2001, the Vikings hired a play-by-play announcer who was forced to resign before the season started after Minnesota Spokesman Recorder journalist Larry Fitzgerald Sr. wrote about a series of racist comments the broadcaster had made while working in California. Allen became the voice of the Vikings one year later.
READ THAT STORY: https://fluence-media.co/vikings0129
WALKING IT BACK: Gosh golly, the Vikings have some unfortunate connections to next weekend’s Super Bowl. There’s Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold, of course, who was cast aside for J.J. McCarthy last year, when he couldn’t get the Vikings beyond their first playoff game after a 14-3 regular-season record. The Vikings also did a major makeover of their offensive line, which yielded sack after sack (nine total) in that playoff loss to the Rams. And there’s New England center Garrett Bradbury, who was fired in that makeover, and has reemerged as a fierce protector of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Let’s go to the apologies:
APOLOGIES, Pt. 1: Via Chip Scoggins at Star Tribune. Throwing aside an excellent season because of a season-ending loss to Detroit and the Rams meltdown wasn’t smart. VERBATIM: “I was wrong about Sam Darnold. Dead wrong. . . . Darnold face-planted against Detroit. Blame for the Rams debacle belonged as much with an overmatched offensive line and head coach Kevin O’Connell’s play-calling as Darnold’s ineffectiveness. That was a collective failure. Those two performances clouded all that preceded it, convincing the Vikings and many outside observers that the original quarterback plan remained the best option. This is where a series of miscalculations began.” FULL APOLOGY: https://fluence-media.co/sam0129
APOLOGIES: Pt. 2: Via Mark Craig at Star Tribune. After scapegoating Bradbury, the Vikings signed free-agent center Ryan Kelly, who’d been with Indianapolis. VERBATIM: “Like many, this observer took the cheese and loved the Kelly signing initially. He was bigger, stronger. He looked the part more so than Bradbury. Then the season started. And we discovered that not only was Kelly older than Bradbury, he was also woefully less durable. Three concussions increased Kelly’s career total to six and were the leading cause of him missing nine games. A year after he missed seven games. Kelly played 329 snaps. That’s 72% of the eight games he appeared in. Bradbury played 1,072 regular-season snaps. That’s 98% of the 17 games he played. And, oh yeah, Bradbury has allowed only one sack in 20 games this season. . . . Dear Garrett, Sorry, man. My bad.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/garrett0129
LOOK AHEAD: Via Purple Insider. The newsletter is running a multipart series looking at issues facing the Vikings for 2026. Five parts have been published so far, including the quarterback situation. An interesting chart shows the performance of “quarterbacks through 10 starts since 2010 who were either first or second-rounders but were not drafted in the top five picks, ranked by Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt.” McCarthy ranks 33rd of the 40 QBs just ahead of . . . Christian Ponder. It needs to be noted that Josh Allen of the Bills and Geno Smith of the Raiders rank below the Vikings duo. VERBATIM: “The bottom line is that there is no way the Vikings coaching staff or front office can be sure that McCarthy can take the franchise back to the playoffs in 2026. . . . The Vikings have to do better than a high-quality backup. The question is: Do they have to find legitimate competition or do they have to find a starter?” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/purple0129
PROBLEM AND A DEADLINE: Via Britt Robson at MinnPost. The NBA trade deadline is 2 p.m. next Thursday and the struggling Timberwolves need to figure out how to handle their biggest issue — the lack of quality play from its bench. Three second-year players who were counted on at season’s start — Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark — haven’t lived up to expectations. Veteran Mike Conley only helps sporadically in his back-up role. Naz Reid and Bones Hyland have been the only reliable second-teamers. VERBATIM: “Fortunately, Wolves president Tim Connelly is exceedingly well qualified for this. A congenital networker who gives glad-handing a good name, he can sort bluffs and believe-its with rare acuity, or simply bypass the shenanigans with well-placed honesty among his brethren. That’s not in doubt. The mystery is what cards he holds and wants to play. Is Dillingham a mistake to be parted with? Is Shannon exposed or still intriguing? Given the scarcity of first-round picks at his disposal, can he make any meaningful roster tweak without touching his top six? Would karma punish him for trading the classy Conley?” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/wolves0129
TOP 30 TRADE CANDIDATES: Via Ricky O’Donnell at SB Nation. In his list of the 30 most likely players to be traded in 2026, Dillingham is No. 21 and Shannon is No. 28. No. 3 on the list is New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns. VERBATIM: “Towns probably won’t get traded at the deadline, but the probability that he’s traded will rise significantly this summer if the Knicks fail to make the 2026 NBA Finals.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/trade0129
ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION: After one promising season and two terrible ones, the Twins unloaded infielder Edouard Julien on the Colorado Rockies, who lost an MLB-worst 119 games last season, along with pitcher Pierson Ohl, who finished the season on the staff after the trade-deadline dismantling. The Twins received minor-league pitcher Jace Kaminska, who missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery. Kaminska was considered the No. 20 prospect in the Rockies’ organization in 2025, according to Keith Law of The Athletic.
BIG TIME WANNABES: Via Chris Murray at Nevada Sportsnet. FCS superpower North Dakota State would like to move up to the NCAA’s highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision, and wouldn’t mind a phone call from the Mountain West Conference, which currently has nine members for football. The Bison have won 10 of the last 15 FCS titles. Also, of the 16 schools that have won FCS titles in the last 30 years, half are now playing at the FBS level. AD Matt Larsen told Fargo radio show host Dom Izzo that he understands the constant queries from team supporters. VERBATIM: “I think the reason I get asked that is the same reason there’s a level of interest on campus is because of where our football program, what we’ve been able to accomplish collectively as an institution, as a fan base, all of those things and looking at potential upside. I completely get the questions and I don’t get frustrated by them. I get frustrated by not having a different answer.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/ndsu0129
CURL CONTROVERSY REKINDLING? Via Lesley Ryder on Bluesky. Last month, Frost forward and Olympian Britta Curl-Salemme sat for an interview with The Athletic in which she tried to walk back her previous social media activity that supported opposition to participation by transgender women in women’s sports. Among other things, she said that her “likes” on social media were more bookmarks than support and that the perception of her is a “misunderstanding.” QUOTE: “The person that has been painted and what has been shared, that sounds like a s—-y person. Someone who’s racist, transphobic, hateful and wants people to not exist, I wouldn’t like them either.” MORE: Along with her husband, Curl-Salemme reached out in various ways to the LGBTQ+ community and had been granted grace by some for her efforts. That grace will be tested after Curl-Salemme posted an Instagram video to her page and to the page of a group called FIERCE Athlete, a Catholic-based organization whose fund-raising page says that it fights “Transgender Ideology in Sport,” promotes “true femininity in sports” and whose X feed includes posts from high-profile anti-trans influencer Riley Gaines. INSTAGRAM VIDEO | FIERCE ATHLETE BLOG
READ: The Athletic article. WATCH: Curl-Salemme’s video explanation posted last year.
PATH TO SAINTHOOD: Via Lauretta Brown at OSV News. This feature story on Curl-Salemme references her involvement with FIERCE Athlete and hockey’s role in her life. VERBATIM: “Ultimately, Curl-Salemme does see hockey as one of her ‘paths to be a saint.’ She said there’s a lot to learn from ‘the daily ins and outs of being on a team and being with tons of different people with different backgrounds and different personalities and the way that, as a team sport, you’re tested to sometimes die to yourself and put the team ahead of yourself. It’s such good practice for greater life and things that Jesus is asking you to do. I kind of see it as like a little training, a little training table for heaven and for how I’m supposed to be.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/britta0129
REQUEST DENIED: Curl-Salemme scored two goals for the Frost in their 4-1 victory over Vancouver on Wednesday, the last game until March 1 because of the Olympic break in the PWHL schedule. She was not one of the two players made available for the postgame media session — despite a reporter’s request — and instead did an on-ice interview with Kevin Gorg. The Frost are in second place with 28 points through 15 games, two points behind Boston.
WOMEN’S RUGBY FOR BEGINNERS: An entry-level women’s and gender-inclusive rugby team, the Nokomis Lake Monsters, is forming with the intent of playing in the lowest level of the Minnesota Rugby Union. “Our primary goal is to help expand access to rugby in the Twin Cities, while also working with queer organizations to connect youth with queer-friendly physical activities,” said Finn Odum, the team’s organizer. More about the team and contact information is on Instagram
GOFUNDME FOR PREP HOCKEY WRITER: Former Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque was saluted at Tuesday night’s boys’ game between Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Bloomington Jefferson. La Vaque, 50, has been diagnosed with leukodystrophy, a disorder that impacts the central nervous system, and is currently living in a Twin Cities assisted living facility, where Benilde coach Ken Pauly is a frequent visitor. As part of a pregame ceremony, La Vaque was presented with a jersey from his alma mater, St. Paul Johnson, where he graduated in 1994. A GoFundMe to help with his expenses has been established here.
THEY LIKED THAT: Via Ben Axelrod at Awful Announcing. Taking over for Matt Ryan, who was recently named president of the Atlanta Falcons, former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins earned major praise for his work as a studio analyst on the CBS broadcast of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game between Denver and Buffalo. VERBATIM: “Unlike his reputation as a quarterback, Cousins’ performance on television was anything but polarizing. Throughout CBS’ pregame, halftime, and postgame presentation, the 4-time Pro Bowl selection received praise from a variety of viewers impressed by his acumen as an analyst.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/cousins0129
TARTAN, WAYZATA . . . AND BUFFALO: Via Marcus Fuller at Strib Varsity. The Lake Conference is filled with the glamour teams of Class 4A boys’ basketball. Wayzata, Hopkins, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie. But the conference has been shocked by the surprising emergence of Buffalo. The Wright County school, 40 miles from Minneapolis, has a 15-1 record and is No. 3 in the latest 4A state poll behind Tartan and Wayzata. The wins include a three-game run of road victories at Hopkins, Maple Grove and Minnetonka in an eight-day stretch earlier this month. Friday night brings a 7 p.m. rematch at home with Wayzata, which thumped the Bison 91-60 on Jan. 6. LIVESTREAM | TICKETS
MORE: The team is led by sophomores Eli Hegle (22.5 points per game) and Thomas Jordan (19 ppg). Hegle played junior varsity last season; Jordan, the tallest starter at 6-foot-4, was a varsity reserve. VERBATIM: “Buffalo won’t blow you away with size or athleticism, but its brand of basketball is a beauty to watch. There’s excellent ball movement and execution with offensive sets. Every player who steps on the floor defends and will outwork opponents with intensity, effort and discipline. The bench brings energy by celebrating each play. Double teams? No problem. Hegle and Jordan find teammates in stride for backdoor cuts and wide-open three-pointers on kick-out passes. They both can drive to the basket or knock down shots from deep range, but they also love post touches. FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/buffalo0129
SMALL SCHOOL, BIG HOPES: Liberty Classical Academy of White Bear Lake is the only metro-area school in the latest Class 1A basketball rankings, boys or girls, with its boys’ team moving into 10th place in the latest poll. The Lions are 17-0 and have topped 100 points eight times. They’ll get a tough challenge Saturday when they play Rushford-Peterson (15-3) at 1:15 p.m. in the Kasson-Mantorville Invitational in southern Minnesota. POLLS: https://fluence-media.co/polls0129
BEST RESORT COURSES 2026: Via Jason Lusk at Golfweek. Temperatures hovering on either side of zero don’t mean you can’t start thinking about golf. The annual Golfweek ranking of Top 200 resort courses in the United States includes four in northern Minnesota. The Quarry Course at Giants Ridge in Biwabik is ranked at No. 35, Wilderness at Fortune Bay in Tower in No. 88, The Classic Course at Madden’s on Gull Lake is No. 106 and the Legend Course at Giants Ridge is No. 123. VERBATIM: “This list focuses on the courses themselves, not the resorts as a whole or other amenities.” FULL LIST: https://fluence-media.co/golf0129
AND FINALLY: Via Mitchell Atencio at Sojourner. Among the most outspoken Twin Cities sports voices since the ICE surge in the Twin Cities has been Timberwolves chaplain Matt Moberg, a graduate of the seminary at Bethel University in Arden Hills. VERBATIM: “As a lifelong resident of Minnesota’s Twin Cities and a minister trained in de-escalation, Matt Moberg has spent many of his past mornings at the Whipple Building in Minneapolis alongside those protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement descending on their cities. He’s spent his nights at the 19,000-seat arena in the Target Center, as a chaplain to the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. ‘Sports can be done and sports can be held—and I think the Timberwolves in particular do it well— not as a distraction from real-life unfoldings,’ Moberg told Sojourners. ‘It’s a way to go, we’re still going to come together, not in spite of that, but because of that, and figure out how we can move forward together.’ “
MORE: “Now, Moberg’s found himself in a small spotlight after his words reflecting on faith and social justice went viral on social media, where he chastised churches for ‘posting prayers for peace and unity today while my city bleeds in the street. Don’t dress avoidance up as holiness. Don’t call silence ‘peacemaking. Don’t light a candle and think it substitutes for showing up.’ ” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/chaplain0129
MOBERG’S INSTAGRAM POST: https://fluence-media.co/post0129
THANKS FOR READING: Back with more next week. Be safe.
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