>>Wolves Whip Hawks
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Minnesota Timberwolves scored 81 first half points and cruised to a 138-116 home win over the Hawks. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 30 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Julius Randle registered his first triple-double of the season with 18 points, 12 rebounds and ten assists. Newcomer Ayo Dosunmu contributed 21 points off the bench. The T’Wolves snapped a two-game skid to improve to 33-22, sixth place in the N-B-A Western Conference. C-J McCollum scored a game-high 38 points for Atlanta in the setback. The Hawks have lost back-to-back games and are ninth in the East with a 26-29 record. The Wolves host Portland tomorrow night at 7 P-M.
>>Wild Continue Break
(St. Paul, MN) — The Minnesota Wild are enjoying their second week off. The N-H-L is shuttered until the end of the Winter Olympics. Minnesota entered the break on a five-game winning streak. The Wild are in second place in the N-H-L Central Division with 78 points. They visit the Avalanche on February 26th.
>>Team U-S-A Women’s Hockey Beats Switzerland
(Milan) — The U-S women’s ice hockey team remains perfect through the preliminaries after shutting out Switzerland 5-0 in Milan yesterday. Haley Winn opened the scoring in the first period. Gwyneth Philips and Ava McNaughton combined for the shutout. Team U-S-A is now 3-0 and will close out the preliminary round with a fierce battle against its biggest rival. The Stars and Stripes take on Canada today at 1:10 P-M.
>>Duluth Curlers Going for the Gold in Winter Olympics
(Cortina, Italy) — Duluth curlers Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin are headed to the gold medal game in the Olympic finals for mixed doubles curling. Thiesse and Dropkin made history when they advanced to the semi-finals on Monday morning. They’d lost to Italy in the final game of the round robin competition, but then defeated them in the semifinal, sending Italy to the bronze medal game as Team U-S-A secured its place in the final. The mixed doubles final starts at 11 a.m. on U-S-A Network.
>>MN Native Lindsey Vonn Says She’ll Need Multiple Surgeries After Complex Leg Fracture
(Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy) — Minnesota native and skiing legend 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn says she’ll need multiple surgeries after suffering a complex tibia fracture. Vonn shared on Instagram that she has no regrets about her run and emphasized that her previous ACL rupture did not contribute to the fall. She explained that she was too tight on her line when her right arm caught the inside of a gate, twisting her body and triggering the crash. It’s believed Vonn has already undergone two surgeries in Italy to stabilize her condition following the accident.
>>Twins Getting Ready For Spring Training
(Fort Myers, FL) — The Minnesota Twins are gearing up to start spring training this week in Fort Myers, Florida. The equipment trucks have arrived, the fields are ready, and the clubhouse is set up. Minnesota general manager Jeremy Zoll (zole) says he likes the versatility that adding veteran catcher Victor Caratini offers. Twins pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training this Thursday with position players mandated to report by Monday. The Twins will have an exhibition against the University of Minnesota a week from Friday and officially open Grapefruit League play against Boston a week from Saturday. The regular season begins at Baltimore on March 26th. The Minnesota home opener comes against Tampa Bay on April 3rd at Target Field in Minneapolis.
>>Twins Bring Back Urshela
(Minneapolis, MN) — Gio Urshela is coming back to the Minnesota Twins. The infielder signed a minor league deal with the team yesterday. The contract includes an invitation to Spring Training. Urshela played with the Twins in 2022. He was with the Athletics last season and hit just .238 with no homers and 20 R-B-I.
>>Gopher Baseball Gearing Up For Season Opener
(Minneapolis, MN) — The University of Minnesota baseball team opens its season this Friday against Stetson in Deland, Florida. The Golden Gophers leave for the Sunshine State on Thursday after weeks of working out indoors on the U of M campus. Second-year head coach Ty McDevitt says he is excited about the prospects of his team, which returns a nice nucleus of players, while also adding some talented newcomers. He says the pitching staff will be on the deepest of his team here when he counts his time as a pitching coach. McDevitt also says the defense will be strong with returners at catcher, shortstop, second base, and center field. Minnesota and Stetson will play a single game to open the season on Friday night at 5:30 P-M. The Gophers then will play St. John’s (NY) on Saturday at 9 A-M and then against Ball State on Sunday at 8:30 A-M.
>>College Hockey Poll
(Undated) — Minnesota-Duluth remains the highest-ranked Minnesota-based men’s college hockey team this week, sitting at number-ten in the U-S-H-C-O national poll. The Bulldogs split with third-rated North Dakota last weekend to remain in the tenth slot. St. Thomas is ranked 15th with Minnesota State-Mankato at 16th. Michigan State is the top-ranked team in the survey. The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team remains number-three in this week’s national rankings, behind number-one Wisconsin and second-rated Ohio State. The Minnesota-Duluth women are tenth. The Augsburg women are ranked second in the Division III poll, with Hamline seventh. UW-River Falls is first.
>>College Basketball Players Honored
(Undated) — Minnesota State-Mankato junior guard Ahrman Lewis of Madison, Wisconsin is the N-S-I-C Men’s Basketball South Division Player of the Week, while Minot State junior guard Deuce Benjamin of Las Cruces, New Mexico is the N-S-I-C Men’s Basketball North Division Player of the Week. Winona State senior guard Hailey Markworth of LeGrange, Illinois is the N-S-I-C Women’s Basketball South Division Player of the Week for the second time this year, while U-Mary junior guard Bergan Kinnebrew of Bismarck, North Dakota is the North Division honoree for the third time this season. St. Scholastica sophomore guard Ava Haus of St. Michael is the MIAC (MY-ack) Women’s Basketball Offensive Player of the Week, while Hamlin sophomore guard Josie Schmidt of Belle Plaine is the MIAC Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week. Bethel sophomore guard Blake Schmitz of Hermantown is the MIAC Men’s Basketball Offensive Player of the Week, while Gustavus Adolphus junior guard Myles Barnette is the MIAC Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week.
>>N-F-L: Raiders Officially Name Kubiak As New HC
(Henderson, NV) — The Las Vegas Raiders have officially named their new head coach. Las Vegas has tabbed Klint Kubiak as the new head coach and signed him to a reported five-year deal following the Seattle Seahawks’ win in Super Bowl 60. The team posted a video of the former Seattle offensive coordinator and his family arriving in Las Vegas and being greeted by general manager John Spytek on Monday evening. He will be introduced at a news conference scheduled for this afternoon. Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings from 2019-2021.
