MORE THAN A SPORTING EVENT: Soccer doesn’t get much coverage in the Twin Cities compared to other major sports. But the World Cup is a cultural cornerstone as much as it is an elite competition. So I hope you find Sports Take’s World Cup guide interesting and useful as the world’s attention shifts to soccer for the next six weeks. — Howard Sinker
GREED BAD, GAMES GOOD: The Twin Cities have been spared the drama of hosting the world’s most riveting sports event. Given the demands that FIFA made of host cities and the uncertainties involving anything tinged with politics, this is a good thing. We won’t feel up-close anger over ticket prices, restrictions on where we can go, the impact security threats (real and perceived) or anything else politicians, organizers and their functionaries would have deemed necessary to put on the matches here.
We can just watch soccer. We have the privileges that come with not hosting, most notably the freedom to engage with the World Cup how we see fit. I will watch matches, engage with my text chain of college soccer friends, probably catch a few games in public spaces and pick a team to cheer on when the USA’s hopes for a miracle are ended. I will enjoy seeing the best players in the world and the upstart nations who will challenge them. This is a chance to bust apart the rituals of our sports calendar for the next few weeks. I’m all for that.
CONDITIONAL WELCOME: In a powerful essay for The Athletic, columnist Jerry Brewer wrote: “There will be more countries on the pitch, but fewer ordinary fans can afford tickets to watch them. For many potential visitors, an obstacle greater than price gouging will be simply arriving without incident, not to mention feeling safe if they do. The three neighbors hosting the tournament — the U.S., Canada and Mexico — once sold their continental cohesion, but now America is entangled in trade disputes with both of them. Seldom has the red, white and blue welcome mat been more conditional. The numbers suggest this is the biggest global soccer spectacle ever, but in reality, it keeps shrinking. And look at who gets squeezed out: the people who make it matter.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/brewer0611
SO WHY CARE?: I posed that question to my text chain, most of whose members played through college. REPLY: “Think of FIFA like the NFL, only bigger. Fans love the sport and are willing to die for their teams. But the governing bodies and country leaders, like NFL owners, are exceptionally greedy.” ANOTHER ONE: One of my friends sent along this piece by the outstanding writer Dave Barry, who wrote about being in Paris when the 1998 World Cup was being played and the mood leading up to the final between Brazil, which was expected to be there, and France, which wasn’t and pulled off a shocking upset. VERBATIM: “In the four days leading up to the final, Paris was the happiest city I’ve ever seen. The Brazilians were happy because they are just naturally happy, plus they were absolutely certain their team was going to win. The French were happy just to have gotten that far. And everybody, from whatever country, was happy to be in that beautiful place at that perfect time. It was magical; all of Paris was in a good mood. Even the waiters.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/paris0611
FAMILY MEMORY: My son being in France in 2006 and coming home to tell us about watching the semifinals, being played in Germany, at a plaza in Nice — and the fountain-jumping celebrations after Les Bleus defeated Portugal 1-0.
SO WHY NOT HERE? The Twin Cities was one of three major North American metro areas that passed on seeking to host. Chicago and Montreal were the others. That call was made in 2018, just after U.S. Bank Stadium played host to the Super Bowl. Matt Meunier, executive vice president of business development and tourism for Minnesota Sports and Events (MNSE), told Sportico’s Luke Cyphers: “That event for us was 100% financed through corporate fundraising and so we had to go back to these corporate community partners who are fantastic and say, ‘Oh, by the way, the commitment we just needed from you for Super Bowl, we need to multiply that to get to where we need to be for FIFA — can you do that?’”
WHAT DID FIFA WANT? In addition to money, you mean? From the Sportico report: “The city and state didn’t have a sufficient public-funding mechanism in place then, Meunier said. The other challenge was a perceived lack of flexibility in FIFA demands about things like size and duration of fan festivals, and the two-month no-go zones created around the stadium venues, where no other events could be held. Lacking clarity, Minneapolis dropped its bid.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/no0611
MISSING ANOTHER CHANCE? Via Andy Greder at Pioneer Press. So far, a joint bid by the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica is the only one that FIFA has to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup. At one point, the Twin Cities hoped to get some games. But that optimism changed when the Legislature adjourned last month. VERBATIM: “In an April interview, Meunier expressed confidence Minnesota would be able to host matches for the women’s tournament. But his tone shifted in June after efforts to establish a sustainable funding model for MNSE failed in the Minnesota Legislature. . . . The women’s World Cup will have different costs than the men’s tournament, but Meunier emphasized, ‘until we solve our funding issue, it’s going to be really, really challenging.’ “ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/funding0611
WHAT WE GET: Instead, we will have locally sponsored fan festivals. Minnesota United is sponsoring the biggest one at Peavey Plaza next to Orchestra Hall – and there will be sports bars, restaurants and even a coffee shop in the area hosting watch parties. There will be more than enough soccer for the faithful and the casuals. It won’t be Kansas City, the nearest venue for the games, which constructed a special Fan Festival venue. And it won’t be Toronto, where estimated hosting costs of $45 million ballooned to $380 million, according to a Radio-Canada investigative report.
Even from a distance, there will be enough.
WORLD CUP GUIDE, TWIN CITIES EDITION:
SOCCER CELEBRATION: Hosted by Minnesota United, there will be daily events at Peavey Plaza between Orchestra Hall and Brit’s Pub. There will be the usual combination of big screen viewing, food trucks and live media events. It opens at noon today and features a Spanish-language broadcast of Mexico vs. South Africa at 2 p.m. The USA opener vs. Paraguay is being shown at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are required, but free. TICKETS, SCHEDULES, MORE: https://fluence-media.co/celebrate0611
LATEST NEWS UPDATES: Via The Athletic. https://fluence-media.co/live0611
TEAM USA PLAYS WHEN? The United States is in Group D in the qualifying round. Games are at 8 p.m. Friday vs. Paraguay, 2 p.m. on June 19 vs. Australia and 9 p.m. June 25 vs. Turkey. All games are on Fox, Telemundo and Peacock. https://fluence-media.co/teamusa
AFTER THAT? The top two teams in each of the 12 groups will advance to the single-elimination knockout round along with the eight best third-place teams. The knockout round starts June 28. The championship match is July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
USA PLAYER PROFILES: https://fluence-media.co/teamusa0611
‘OUR’ COACH: Via Henry Bushnell at The Athletic. Mauricio Pochettino was hired two years ago to reverse struggling U.S. men’s soccer fortunes. The hiring of the Argentinian native who had managed Chelsea of the English Premier League was largely financed by hedge-fund billionaires with an interest in importing what the United States had failed to produce — an elite international-caliber leader. It hasn’t been easy. VERBATIM: “It has not necessarily been linear and ascendant. Pochettino’s 20 months in charge have been rocky. The 54-year-old Argentine coach has spoken about how he ‘identified problems … destroy(ed) the things that we needed to destroy, and start(ed) to build the house from the ground up.” Doing so took pain, losses and time.’ ” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/coach0611
WORLD CUP ODDS: https://fluence-media.co/worldcupodds
TV INFO: Fox, FS1, Peacock and Telemundo are the primary outlets. If you have a Roku, check out the Soccer Zone tab. Every game is here: https://fluence-media.co/worldcuptv
ON THE RADIO? Team USA and other key matches will be broadcast on KFAN (100.3 FM). FOX Sports Radio is teaming with Sirius/XM (Channels 83 and 157) and IHeartRadio for all matches.
50 BEST PLAYERS: Via ESPN. Grow some quick soccer knowledge with these rankings: https://fluence-media.co/best0611
33 PLACES THAT WILL SHOW THE GAMES: Via Bring Me the News. Some will focus on specific teams. La Doña Cervecería in north Minneapolis will focus on Latin and North American teams. The Iron Ranger on Grand Ave. will be a gathering spot for Croatia’s supporters. QUESTION: Where’s the Canada bar? LIST: https://fluence-media.co/worldcupwatch
LOCAL ANGLE: There isn’t much. But Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III tells a colorful story about how his reward for writing about the 1994 World Cup — the last time it was played here — was his first job as a baseball beat writer. CAUTION: Story includes drug reference. ;) READ: https://fluence-media.co/lavelle0611
FIFA WEB SITE: Complete standings, schedules, statistics and rosters. https://fluence-media.co/fifa
SPORTS TAKE TICKER
WORLD CUP ASIDE: it’s still a packed sports time in Minnesota. Here’s a quick look and some links. The Vikings latest “quarterback battle” chapter — Kyler Murray vs. J.J. McCarthy — is continuing this week at mini-camp . . . The spring batch of high school state tournaments concludes this week and next . . . The bottom could easily drop out of the Twins season as the schedule gets tougher in the next month . . . Minnesota Aurora has run its unbeaten streak in regular-season competition to 55 since joining the USL-W five seasons ago . . . The NBA draft is in two weeks. Those are things being crowded out of this week’s Sports Take to focus on everything else. But they’ll be back.
LYNX CRUSH WINGS; FUDD FANS FREAK OUT
UNSTOPPABLE LYNX: The Lynx shot 70 percent from the field in the first half on their way to embarrassing Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings 100-76 on Tuesday in front of a raucous crowd that didn’t let up from the opening tip until the post-game Electric Slide. It was the eighth straight win for the Lynx (10-2), who are acknowledged for now as the best team in the WNBA and should be acknowledged as the No. 1 sports ticket in town. MY TAKE: The result was so one-sided that it was kind of like watching the Wings play the role of the Timberwolves in their last two playoff losses to San Antonio.
BUECKERS STRUGGLED. Via Dallas Hoops Journal. Bueckers scored 23 points but had only two assists and one rebound against the mayhem-inducing Minnesota defense. She was no more than the fourth-best player on the court behind Olivia Miles, Courtney Williams and Natasha Howard of the Lynx. To her credit, Bueckers owned it. VERBATIM: “I struggled with my decision-making tonight. I felt like I was over-penetrating at times or overthinking simple reads. I need to be quicker, more assertive, more aggressive, and do a better job of getting us into the paint.” Asked about containing Miles, Bueckers said the Wings failed to execute the game plan and put the responsibility on the players.”
BUECKERS ON MILES: “When you’re guarding her, the main focus is keeping her out of the paint and keeping her on one side of the floor. We didn’t do that tonight. We weren’t disciplined enough in executing our game plan, our schemes, and our (scouting report). That’s on us as players. We have to be more disciplined, and it starts with me.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/bueckers0611
MILES VS. FUDD. NO CONTEST: More notable was how badly Miles — the No. 2 overall pick in the draft — outplayed No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd, who scored six points (2-for-12 from the field) and didn’t have a rebound, assist or free throw in 30 minutes of play. It was a Julius Randle-like disappearance. How good was Miles? The Lynx posted this graphic on the scoreboard during the fourth quarter and then angered Dallas fans by posting it on social media, too.
FEELINGS HURT: Some Dallas fans lashed out at the Lynx for posting the graphic on social media. The Lynx deleted the post, but it lives on in the reposting. Some snippets of family-appropriate reaction: “This is absolutely disgusting.” . . . “I know Fudd had a lot of family in the building. Just complete unnecessary.” . . . “Everyone responsible needs to apologize to her.” . . . “To offer a little grace to a rookie shouldn’t be a hard ask.”
MY TAKE: Play on, everyone! The WNBA is major league and with that comes the mean-spirited trolling we’ve come to accept as part of social media. Anyway, truth-telling is not putting anyone on blast.
SORRY FUDDBUDZ: Watch Miles break Fudd’s ankles and crush Dallas’s soul. (Wait for the announcer comment at the end of the clip.)
BONUS SNARK: Alanna Smith, who left the Lynx to become the highest-paid player on the Wings, had no points and two rebounds in nine minutes off the bench. The 6-foot-5 forward is averaging 3.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Some Dallas fans are giving her grace because she broke her nose during the preseason and is playing with a mask. TAKE WITHOUT GRACE: I think Smith was an elite defensive player for the Lynx because Cheryl Reeve knew how to get the best from her. Mask or not, Smith’s current coach, Jose Fernandez, hasn’t unlocked what Reeve could. The Lynx are better off with Mia Coffey in the spot that used to be Smith’s.
BIG BASKETBALL SATURDAY: Lynx play at second-place Las Vegas (8-3) at 7 p.m. (CBS). Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs is at 7:30 p.m. (ABC). One room, two screens, tip your food delivery driver well.
TIME FOR CULPEPPER: Via aarongleeman.com. Most of the roster moves between the Twins and St. Paul Saints this season have been underwhelming. But the chance to make a big move exists by calling up Kaelen Culpepper and making him the starting shortstop. The data and the eye test concur, based on Culpepper’s performance with the Saints and the lack of what the Twins have gotten at the position from Brooks Lee and the three bit players — Tristan Gray, Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia — who’ve taken over since Lee was moved to third base. How bad has the Twins’ shortstop play been? VERBATIM: “It’s been bad enough that nothing should be blocking Culpepper’s arrival whenever he’s deemed ready. And he sure seems ready. Culpepper’s overall performance at Triple-A has been uncommonly strong for a 23-year-old, compared to shortstop prospects across MLB or Twins prospects of any position, and he’s trending up recently by hitting .294/.402/.581 with 11 homers and a 149 wRC+ in his last 35 games. Let’s see what the kid can do and let’s start figuring out the Twins’ future infield.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/culpepper0611
GOPHERS VS. TOMMIES, FINALLY: After ducking the Tommies since their move to Division I, Minnesota has agreed to play St. Thomas in a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader on November 6 at The Barn. The women’s game shouldn’t be a big test for the Gophers and I’m sure the men’s game came together in large part because Minnesota thinks the risk of losing is small: A team put together after Niko Medved’s first complete recruiting cycle vs. a St. Thomas team blown apart by the loss of several key players in the transfer portal. Still, it’s good for local basketball.
WILL BIG TEN STRIKE A POSE? Big Ten athletic directors are reportedly going to meet to discuss a league-wide ban on playing Texas Tech after quarterback Brendan Sorsby obtained a temporary injunction against the NCAA, allowing him to play this season despite his admission of gambling on his team while he was on the roster at Indiana. If any Big Ten teams have scheduled Texas Tech in any sport for 2026-27, that information has not yet been made public. More noise than signal for now. If the Big 12 — Texas Tech’s conference — takes that kind of action, that would go beyond the performative. BETTING LINE: More talk than action.
WHAT WOULD P.J. DO? Via Tony Liebert at Sports Illustrated. So far, it’s been easy to make headlines by responding to the Sorsby mess. Fleck didn’t fall into that trap when he was asked about it. His answer stuck to the limits of what he hopes he can control. VERBATIM: "The only thing I can focus on is our players. That's the only thing I can do, the constant education. One thing about it is, we're going to take the case, and we're going to teach our players from that.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/fleck0611
BIG WIN FOR COLLEGE HOCKEY. Via Randy Johnson at Star Tribune. College men’s coaches and junior hockey officials won a major victory when the NCAA’s Division I Cabinet modified a plan that would have started a player’s five years of college eligibility during the year of his expected high school graduation. That would have put a big crimp in hockey’s typical path of going from high school to junior hockey to Division I by cutting into the available years of eligibility for college play. The new recommendation, expected to be approved in two weeks, will start the eligibility clock upon enrollment in college or the start of the academic year following a player’s 19th birthday, whichever comes first. That would still give players time to grow their games in junior hockey without cutting as deeply into their college careers. New Minnesota coach Brett Larson is fine with the compromise, which was sought because of NCAA concerns about players in their middle 20s taking more roster spots in some sports. VERBATIM: “ ‘It still accomplishes some of the uniformity that the NCAA wanted, but it’s not a sea change for college hockey, junior hockey and high school hockey. This new rule is very manageable.’ Larson expects college hockey rosters to become ‘a little bit younger’ than they have been, with players occasionally reaching 25 or older as seniors. He is pleased that players enrolling after playing in a junior league still could have more than three years of eligibility remaining.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/hockey0611
‘IT’S NOT EASY DRAFTING ME’: Via Tyler Kuehl at Daily Faceoff. Few tears were shed among Minnesota Frost fans, especially those in the LGBTQ community, when Britta Curl-Salemme signed with Detroit as part of the PWHL’s expansion process. On the ice, in addition to her goal-scoring skills, she was suspended four times in her two season with the Frost for dirty play, including twice during the postseason. Her off-ice activities didn’t help. Apologies and other attempts at amends were followed by more actions that kept them from taken seriously. VERBATIM: “Curl-Salemme’s reputation stems from her controversial posts and supportive actions during her time at the University of Wisconsin and leading up to the 2024 PWHL Draft. She was seen liking racist, anti-LGBTQIA+ and COVID-denier posts on her X account, as well as supporting twin sisters Monique and Jocelyne Lamoreux during their multiple campaigns calling for the ban of transexual athletes in women’s sports. On top of that, Curl-Salemme has partnered with FIERCE Athlete, a group that leads anti-trans and anti-abortion campaigns. While she has apologized for her actions in previous interviews, it hasn’t changed fans’ perception of her, as she has been noticeably booed in every PWHL arena outside of Minnesota.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/curlsalemme0611
GOOD GUYS GONE: Two players who had very different roles have recently made quiet departures from their teams. After four seasons with the Wild, Marcus Johansson decided to return to his native Sweden, signing a contract with a Swedish Elite team. Johansson, 35, had 15 goals and 34 assists in 75 games for the Wild last season. Joe Ingles, 38, the seldom-used reserve who was a parental influence on the Wolves bench, is leaving after two seasons in Minnesota (and 810 NBA games) to return home to play in Australia’s National Basketball League.
WHY GO, JOE? Via ESPN. Ingles decided to exit after playing 30 minutes in the Wolves final regular-season game, against New Orleans, when coach Chris Finch had no need to use his starters. VERBATIM: “The door opened, Ingles walked through it, and in just over 30 minutes, he dropped a double-double — 15 points and 10 assists — in a high-scoring Timberwolves win. In a vacuum, a fine performance, but it meant more than that. ‘To compete and do what I did in that game was kind of like a tick of the box,’ Ingles said. ‘Like, I know I can still do this.’ ” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/ingles0611
NEW A.D. HIRED: Brett McNeal starts Monday as athletic director at North Central University, leaving an administrative role in the Minneapolis Public Schools, where he was AD for Camden High and FAIR School for the Arts. McNeal was a basketball standout at North High. Two of his five children graduated from North Central last month after playing for the Rams, who are in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
AND FINALLY: Azzi Fudd wasn’t the only one humbled by the Target Center scoreboard during Tuesday’s Lynx-Wings game. Taylor Swift took a Big L too.
THAT’S ALL FOR NOW: Touch asphalt and watch soccer with some new friends.
EMAIL HOWARD: sportstake100@gmail.com
ON THE WEB:
Bluesky: @howardsinker.bsky.social
Instagram: @howardsinkermn
Previous editions of Sports Take are here.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-sinker-80921813/
ESPN’s full TV and streaming service listings: https://fluence-media.co/watch