TRUMP PARDON, T-WOLVES TIES: Guessing you didn’t expect to see that heading in Sports Take. But Tim Leiweke, the sports and entertainment executive pardoned by President Trump this week after his indictment in a bid-rigging conspiracy, was an original employee of the Timberwolves — hired as a vice president in the team’s lead-up and entry into the NBA in 1989. “We ran hard and we ran good,” he told the Star Tribune in a 2014 profile. READ IT: https://fluence-media.co/leiweke1204.
BACK TO SPORTS: We’re in the midst of a wide-ranging sports week, which can keep you from brooding too much about the sad state of the Vikings and Twins. In addition to the ugly stuff, you’ll also read about the Gophers bringing us some unexpected fun, college football recruiting (good and bad), Gophers and St. Thomas volleyball at Maturi Pavilion (and a bar takeover) on Friday, a major departure at the Star Tribune, lots of good college football in and near Minnesota, a huge high school hockey game, a Saturday of high-end high school basketball, writers who fill voids in local sports coverage, a memorial for a legendary coach who lived to age 105 and more. Settle in. It’s a lot. — Howard Sinker
UNEXPECTED JOY: I would not have bet on the two happiest Minnesota sporting moments of the last week coming from the Gophers. I’d been wondering how to pummel the football team if the regular season continued falling apart with a loss to Wisconsin. And I was prepared to let you know that we need to have lots of patience with Niko Medved because the team he cobbled together often bumbled so badly when facing quality opponents during its nonconference schedule. But the wins over Wisconsin in the snow and Indiana in the Big Ten men’s basketball opener set off celebrations — and what Minnesota fan can’t get enough of court storming at The Barn or mocking the Badgers in the snow. Let’s go to the video!
MEDVED SAYS: “It’s hard to be prouder of a group of guys. You learn a lot about people when you go through adversity.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/niko1204
And then there’s Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, whose play earned NHL Rookie of the Month honors for November and is a key reason the Wild are on a point streak that reached 11 games with a 1-0 win in Edmonton on Tuesday. Here are highlights and Wallstedt chatter from the NHL Network: https://fluence-media.co/jesper1204.
MORE WALLSTEDT: Via Sarah McLellan at Star Tribune. Keep in mind that Wallstedt’s 2024-25 season was struggle-filled after he was sent to Iowa instead of being part of the Wild’s goalie rotation. Salary cap issues played a role in his demotion, but his weak play in the minors kept that from being a talking point. VERBATIM: “That adversity seems incompatible with the confidence Wallstedt has exuded in the net this season, the 23-year-old fulfilling his prospect pedigree as a technical guru. ‘The thing that I respect about him is he had a tough year last year, and he didn’t handle those situations the right way,’ coach John Hynes said. ‘But he took the action steps and learning lessons from that and turned it into action of what he needs to be able to do to play at this level.’ “ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/goalie1204
Now we move on to the Vikings. Sorry, but duty calls.
WALL STREET JOURNAL WEIGHS IN: The Vikings failures on the field and in their front office caught the attention of the Journal owing to J.J. McCarthy’s struggles and last weekend’s 26-0 beatdown in Seattle. It cited the ugly outcome of the team’s choice to use a young, cheap quarterback and putting the savings toward a spending spree on free agents. VERBATIM: “The spree means that no other NFL team is spending more this year than the Vikings. By total cash spending in 2025, Minnesota is on the hook for $345.6 million on this year’s team, according to salary tracking website Over the Cap. (Cash spending accounts for the actual dollars paid to players and differs from cap spending because salary cap hits can be spread over future years.) What’s telling is that the other teams near the top of the list — the Jaguars, Bills, Cowboys and Broncos — are all vying for playoff spots. Minnesota’s season, meanwhile, is circling the drain.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/wsj1204
IN OTHER WORDS: The strategy wasn’t bad. The execution by management is as lacking as the execution by McCarthy (and by Max Brosmer in his fill-in cameo as a overmatched back-up in Seattle). The Vikings really have no choice but to use McCarthy as soon as he’s ready. The choice, as discussed in last week’s Sports Take, is how much patience the Wilfs will have with with their GM, head coach and others on the player personnel side.
THE GM ISSUE: Via Mark Craig at Star Tribune. In his “Five Things” wrap-up of the Seattle game, Craig got to the dirty stuff right away. VERBATIM: “Sunday’s 26-0 loss at Seattle — the Vikings’ most humiliating defeat since last being shut out 34-0 by Green Bay 18 years ago — isn’t just a quarterback issue. It’s an overall general manager problem. Sustained success isn’t possible when your GM gets lapped by his peers annually in the draft. Throwing $300 million at other teams’ aging free agents can’t replace building core starters and quality depth among players entering their prime at three to five years, or generally ages 23 to 26. The Vikings have four players on their roster who were drafted three to five years ago — one from the last year under Rick Spielman (2021) and three from the first two years under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (2022-23). Two are regular starters (Christian Darrisaw, Jordan Addison). Darrisaw didn’t play Sunday. As for the rest of the NFC North, the Packers have 18 players and 12 starters who they drafted from 2021-23 while the Lions have 13 players and 11 starters, and the Bears have six players and five starters. Feel free to say, ‘Wow.’ ” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/gm1204
BROSMER: It’s too easy to make fun of the hopeful headlines. “History suggests Max Brosmer’s first NFL start won’t go well. Our eyes say otherwise,” gave me the pre-game creepies. It’s never fun to create a narrative to gets smashed to smithereens. I know. I’ve done it. But an undefeated free-agent with one season of major college experience for a pretty good Gophers team? Anything more than hoping for a miracle was a reach.
THE BIGGEST REACH: This!
VIKINGS (4-8) VS. COMMANDERS (3-9): Noon Sunday kickoff on FOX and the Vikings Audio Network. Vikings depth chart | Real-time betting info, match-ups | Commanders web site
BUXTON GONE? Baseball’s Winter Meetings start Sunday and there’s more fuel to the speculation that Byron Buxton’s resolve to stay with the Twins is waning and that he wouldn’t enforce his no-trade clause. That’s a departure from Buxton’s position after the trade deadline roster purge of July. It’s a logical change-of-mind for Buxton based on (1) his age, (2) whatever he’s heard or suspects about the Twins’ plans for 2026 and (3) the desire not to be part of a teardown/rebuild process. So, yeah, it’s not only fans who are annoyed by the silence of ownership on its future direction.
HOT TOPIC: Via Jeff Passan at ESPN. Buxton is ranked No. 5 among the 25 players most likely to be traded during the off-season. Among things that make him attractive: He’s signed for three more seasons and $15 million per year. VERBATIM: “Buxton is willing to waive his no-trade clause -- and not just for Atlanta (he’s a Georgia native) -- which puts the Twins in an interesting position. If the paucity of front-line free agent outfielders prompts a team to make an offer for Buxton, how seriously would Minnesota take it? And if Buxton goes, does that mean the Twins would be open to dealing some of their pitching, too? The Twins are one of the most fascinating teams this winter because of the possibilities at their disposal.”
WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Joe Ryan is No. 6 on the list and Pablo Lopez is No. 8. Ryan Jeffers is on a separate list of 15 other players who could be traded. Passan puts the chance of a Buxton trade at 35%, and has Ryan and Lopez at 50%. FULL LIST: https://fluence-media.co/trades1204
MY TAKE: The Twins have done nothing since August 1 to generate any excitement over what’s to come. Every day without some sort of clarity makes their inactivity look more like dysfunction. If the Winter Meetings don’t produce answers, the credibility gap created by ownership will become a canyon filled with empty seats at Target Field.
STAR TRIBUNE SHAKE-UP: Sports editor Ryan Kostecka is leaving the Star Tribune after less than 18 months to become sports editor at the California Post, a sibling publication to the tabloid New York Post that’s set to begin publishing in 2026. Kostecka’s staff was cut earlier this year through buyouts, as well as realignment that was part of the start-up of Strib Varsity which has separate leadership. Before coming to Minnesota, Kostecka was a digital content writer for the Utah Jazz and sports director for a community television station. The Strib is still without a college sports reporter and has yet to announce who will fill the women’s sports beat, jobs posted over the summer. Naila-Jean Meyers, the deputy sports editor, will be the section’s interim leader. The department also lost a first-rate editor when Kevin Bertels retired after the Prep Bowl.
MEDIA FOLKS TO FOLLOW: Veteran freelancer and hockey expert Heather Rule has started a Minnesota Frost-intensive Substack that’s worth a follow. You can subscribe here. Filling some of the void in Gophers sports coverage is Tony Liebert, a 2023 graduate of the U and former social media manager at the Gopher Hole fan site. His reporting and analysis are on SI.com’s Gophers site and Bring Me The News. And as long as we’re doing sports media gossip, retired Strib sports editor Glen Crevier is doing some writing for d3sports.com.
WOLVES ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Most in-game feeds add nothing to what people can see for themselves. Jack Borman, a podcaster at Locked on Minnesota, is an exception. His Timberwolves posts on BlueSky during games are analytical and amplify what’s happening on the court.
OUR BEST ‘LOCAL’ FOOTBALL TEAM: It’s not in Minnesota but it’s also only about 45 minutes away from the Twin Cities. That would be Wisconsin-River Falls, which finished the regular season ranked third in the D3football Top 25 and plays host to No. 7 St. John’s at noon Saturday. (Noon, ESPN+)
BORDER CROSSING: More than half the Falcons players (66 to be precise) are from Minnesota, including quarterback Kaleb Blaha, a Frldley grad who transferred from Winona State. He’s a candidate for the John Gagliardi Award, named for the late and legendary Johnnies coach and given to the top player in D-III. Defensive back Taylor Sussner of Chaska was named the WIAC’s top freshman. The team’s success is especially sweet because you don’t need to go back a long way to find a stretch (2001-2019) when River Falls finished below .500 every season — and often well below. The WIAC is an elite D-III league, with four of its eight schools making the 40-team D-III field — and three still alive after the second round. ROSTER | TICKETS | WATCH | Patrick Reusse on UWRF
THE OTHER ‘LOCALS’: In D-III, No. 4 Bethel is host to No. 10 Wisconsin-Platteville and No. 13 UW-La Crosse plays at No. 1 North Central of Illinois (noon). D-III winners go to the quarterfinals. In D-II, Minnesota State plays at Ferris State, ranked No. 1 in its region, with the winner going to the semifinals (noon). In FCS playoffs, the four Minnesota-stocked state schools along the border with the Dakotas are all playing second-round games: No. 1 North Dakota State hosts Illinois State (noon), No. 11 South Dakota is at No. 6 Mercer (11 a.m.), No. 14 South Dakota State at No. 3 Montana (1 p.m.) and North Dakota at No. 4 Tarleton State (noon). Winners go to the quarterfinals. All games are on ESPN+. WATCH
GOPHERS BOWL UPDATE: Matchups will be announced Sunday after the College Football Playoff bracket is announced. Here are the latest projections for where Minnesota could end up: The Athletic: Rate Bowl in Phoenix vs. Iowa State on Dec. 26. ESPN: Pinstripe Bowl in New York vs. Duke or Pittsburgh on Dec. 27. CBS Sports: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Georgia Tech. USA Today: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Clemson. Athlon Sports: Music City Bowl in Nashville vs. LSU on Dec. 30. MY TAKE: Looks like a trip to New York City is mostly likely. But playing Iowa State would almost feel like a rivalry game and playing LSU, even though newly hired Lane Kiffin won’t be coaching, would still bear witness to a wild atmosphere.
THE MOST OPTIMISTIC DAY IN SPORTS: One thing you can count on is that, no matter what, college football’s national signing period will result in unbridled optimism about the future of whatever team you’re reading about. On social media, the Gophers posted each of the official commitments as they were received early Wednesday morning. At 11 a.m., coach P.J. Fleck met with school donors in the locker room at Huntington Bank Stadium to tout the signees, including the news that he’d signed the first “Top 25” recruiting class in his nine years at Minnesota. By 3 p.m., however, Minnesota had slipped to No. 26 and, as of 10 a.m. today, the Gophers were 29th — and eighth in the Big Ten. RANKINGS: https://fluence-media.co/rankings1204
WHAT WE DO KNOW: The Gophers signed three of the top four ranked players from Minnesota: defensive lineman Howie Johnson of Forest Lake, quarterback Roman Voss of Jackson County Central (who will likely play tight end) and offensive lineman Andrew Trout of Rocori. FULL LIST: https://fluence-media.co/list1206
MORE NAMES: Via Strib Varsity. A total of 71 players had signed as of Thursday morning with D-I and D-II schools. SIGNINGS: https://fluence-media.co/signings1204
YEAH, I’M ANNOYED: I’ve trolled college sports “commitments” from time to time, and now it’s reached the point where I feel compelled to offer some advice to my colleagues who report on them in real time. STOP TURNING EVERY VERBAL COMMITMENT INTO A STORY! More players are announcing “commitments” and then taking them back within weeks. Last month, the Gophers announced that a running back had flipped to them after committing to West Virginia — and then lost him three weeks later when he decommitted and committed to Texas. (He did, actually, sign with Texas on Wednesday.)
PART II: If a prominent player decommits, find out what happened. Two players from Hutchinson Junior College, the top-ranked junior college team in the nation, committed to the U on Nov. 12. That’s worthy of a headline. But it’s also worth investing energy into WHY they chose to decommit less than two weeks later. What did Kansas State offer wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr. and cornerback Michael Graham that made them abandon the U? Salley was a big deal because he was ranked as the top junior college receiver in the country and Graham was ranked No. 3 among safeties. I’m not saying that college commitments aren’t a big deal. They are. But there’s a wide swath of the process that’s currently under-covered. NOTE: A third Hutchinson player who committed to the Gophers that day walked back his commitment Wednesday afternoon. So . . . many . . . questions.
REMEMBER THIS GUY? Dennis Evans, the 7-foot-1 high school shot-blocking savant whose commitment to the Gophers in 2022 was such a big deal that the Star Tribune sent a writer to California to write about him. “Next year’s big thing,” according to the headline. “Sky’s truly the limit for him,” former Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. Evans changed his mind a few months later and went to Louisville, barely played, took a year off because of an injury and is now at Grand Canyon University in Arizona. His college career totals: 12 games, 85 minutes, 18 points.
REMEMBER THAT GUY? Former Breck School and Bloomington Jefferson star Daniel Freitag is bouncing back from a troubled freshman season at Wisconsin. He left for University of Buffalo, which is off to an 8-0 start for the second time in school history. Earlier this week, he was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Week and the school’s Student-Athlete of the Week. Freitag is averaging 20.1 points per game for the Bulls and is shooting 40% from three-point range after rarely getting on the floor with the Badgers. LOOKING AHEAD: Will Freitag try to use this season for a move to a higher-profile basketball school? DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/freitag1204
GOPHERS VS. ST. THOMAS? Minnesota and St. Thomas are part in a four-team cluster for the first two rounds of the NCAA volleyball tournament on Friday and Saturday at the U. For the Tommies to face Minnesota, however, they’d need to beat No. 22-ranked Iowa State at 4:30 p.m. Friday. (The No. 19 Gophers play Fairfield in the following match, with the winners meeting at 7 p.m. Saturday for a place in the Round of 16.) St. Thomas finished third in the Summit League but got an NCAA berth after upsetting South Dakota State in the conference tournament title match. Minnesota defeated St. Thomas in four sets in August. Matches are on ESPN+. BRACKET | TICKETS
GOPHER BAR GONE WRONG? Over the years, the bar most closely associated with Gophers athletics is Stub and Herbs, which dates back to the 1930s. So I was a bit surprised — in an amused way — when I heard about this from one of my St. Thomas sources:
WOMEN GET IT RIGHT: Via Pat Borzi at MinnPost. One way to build a connection to young fans that women’s teams in the Twin Cities have done well is by holding camp and field trip days — giving away tickets or selling them at a big discount to get kids into their games. All teams in the WNBA participate and the crowd at Target Center to watch the Lynx play Phoenix on a weekday afternoon this summer was a high-decibel near sellout of 16,421 fans. The Gophers women’s hockey team gave away more than 4,000 free tickets to a game a few weeks back and moved it from their usual home at Ridder Arena to Mariucci Arena in order to seat everyone. St. Thomas had a field trip basketball game against Northern Arizona on Wednesday and has a hockey game vs. the Gophers set for February 6. VERBATIM: “This is one of the many things women’s sports gets right, and men’s sports often overlook. It’s not all about ticket revenue. It’s getting your product in front of kids who might not otherwise see it. If they like it and connect with your players (postgame autograph sessions help immensely), they’ll bug their parents to take them again. And when they get old enough, they’ll buy tickets on their own. That’s how you build a fan base. The Lynx mastered this even before the championship years. So did Gopher women’s hockey.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/fieldtrip1204
BIG BOYS’ BASKETBALL WEEKEND: The season started Tuesday and there are two huge day-long festivals on Saturday. The Big Stage Classic kicks off at Royals Athletic Center in Hopkins with seven games starting at 10 a.m.. Top games are Maple Grove vs. DeLaSalle at 6 p.m. and Tartan vs. Hopkins at 7:30 p.m. The Southside Showcase at Minnehaha Academy has five games starting at 1:15 p.m. and concluding with the host Redhawks playing Southwest. SCHEDULES: https://fluence-media.co/hoops1204
AND IN GIRLS’ HOCKEY: The Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the state — Hill-Murray (7-0) and Holy Family (6-0) play at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Victoria Ice Arena. The Pioneers defeated Edina 4-3 in a rematch of last year’s Class AA title game and Holy Family shut out Centennial/Spring Lake Park and Eden Prairie in the last week.
THIS SHOULD BE FUN: St. Thomas and St. John’s will bring back their rivalry next Thursday when their basketball teams meet at the new arena on the St. Thomas campus. The Tommies are 6-4 after a loss at Montana State on Wednesday. The Johnnies are 2-3, including a home loss to St. Olaf in the MIAC opener on Wednesday. Aside from single seats in the lower level and accessible seats, the only remaining tickets are priced at $82 in the club level. TICKETS
SWEET FAREWELL: Via Chip Scoggins at Star Tribune. A funeral for the man thought to be Minnesota’s oldest living World War II veteran was held Tuesday. It started with the Anoka High fight song because Stan Nelson, who died last month at age 105, was also the longtime football coach at the school. VERBATIM: “Nine days before his death, Nelson led the “Let’s Play Hockey” cheer at the Wild game, then drank a 16-ounce beer in a suite. He lived by himself in his home until the final few months. He loved going to the casino to play bingo and blackjack. He bought himself a riding lawn mower when he turned 99 (he talked the store into a financing plan). He competed in golf at the National Senior Games at age 95. His son Dave served as his caddie and remembers his dad being nervous before each round. ‘I’d go, ‘Dad, you’re 95. Let’s enjoy this.’” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/coach1204
A SWEET FAREWELL TO YOU FOR NOW: Back next week with news, takes and some sporting holiday gift ideas.
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