>>Twins Back In Action Tonight
(Denver, CO) — The Minnesota Twins begin the second half of the season with a game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field tonight. The Twins are in second place in the A-L Central at 47-49, trailing Detroit by 11-and-a-half-games. Minnesota is four-games out of the final A-L Wild Card spot. The Rockies are 22-74 this season and just 3-9 in July. The Twins are scheduled to start right-hander Chris Paddack tonight. He is 3-8 on the season with a 4.95 earned run average. Colorado is slated to start Kyle Freeland, who is 1-10 on the season with a 5.44 E-R-A. First pitch is at 7:40 P-M. In other team news, former Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson announced his retirement from the M-L-B yesterday.
>>Saints Take On Louisville
(Louisville, KY) — The Triple-A St. Paul Saints return to action with a weekend series against the Louisville Bats that begins tonight at Louisville Slugger Field. The Saints are in seventh place in the International League West with a 42-49 record. St. Paul hasn’t announced a starting pitcher for tonight’s game. First pitch is at 6:15 P-M.
>>Lynx Head Into All-Star Break
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Minnesota Lynx are now into the W-N-B-A’s All-Star Break. Lynx players Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, and Kayla McBride are on the All-Star rosters, while Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve will coach one of the units. The W-N-B-A All-Star Game will be played tomorrow night in Indianapolis at 7:30 P-M. Meanwhile, the Lynx regular season resumes on Tuesday with a game against Chicago at the Target Center at 7 P-M.
>>Wolves Have One More Summer League Tilt Tomorrow
(Las Vegas, NV) — The Minnesota Timberwolves narrowly missed out on making the N-B-A Las Vegas Summer League’s four-team championship bracket after losing out on a point differential tie-breaker. The top four teams in the Summer League advance to the weekend tourney, but there were six teams with 4-0 marks, including the Wolve, who missed out. So, Minnesota will take on Houston in a single “consolation-type” game tomorrow afternoon in Vegas. Toronto, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Sacramento are the teams in the championship bracket.
>>Lillard Returning To Portland
(Portland, OR) — Damian Lillard is returning to Portland. According to E-S-P-N, the nine-time All-Star and Blazers all-time leading scorer is returning to the franchise on a three-year deal worth 42-million dollars. Lillard spent his first 11 seasons with the franchise before being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023. He is expected to miss potentially all of next season as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.
>>Gopher MBB Continues With Summer Workouts
(Minneapolis, MN) — The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team is wrapping up its fifth week of summer workouts under new head coach Niko Medved with a few more weeks to go. Medved says things have gone smoothly so far in practice, which has mostly been spent getting to know the roster and instilling the pillars of the program. He says they have split the workouts up between team and individual drills. Medved says he has enjoyed the “newness” of having a brand new roster and he has enjoyed “putting a stamp” on it. The Golden Gophers will get a few weeks off in August before returning and getting into the school year. Medved enters his first season at Minnesota after a successful stint at Colorado State. He is a Roseville native and graduated from Minnesota after serving as a student manager under Clem Haskins.
>>Gopher QB Gearing Up For Fall Camp
(Minneapolis, MN) — The start of the college football season is now less than six weeks away for the Golden Gophers. And, they will have a new starting quarterback when opening night arrives. Redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey of Fayetteville, Arkansas has not officially been named the starting Q-B, but it is fairly clear he will be. Lindsey says he is “super ready” to take over the starting duties after learning from Max Brosmer for the previous 18 months. He says he has spent countless hours studying the playbook on his own, as well as with coaches, to understand what it takes to play winning football. Lindsey says he has set individual goals, but is keeping those to himself. He says he wants to help make this team win games and possibly get the Gophers into college football playoff contention. The season opens for Minnesota on Thursday, August 28th at home against Buffalo. Fall camp gets underway late this month.
>>Vikings’ Addison Pleads Guilty to “Wet Reckless” Charge in DUI Arrest
(Los Angeles, CA) — Jordan Addison of the Minnesota Vikings is pleading guilty to a “wet reckless” charge for an alleged drunken driving arrest in Los Angeles. Addison’s attorney says it is a lesser offense than a D-U-I, and he will pay a standard fine and complete two online courses. The Vikings’ wide receiver was found asleep behind the wheel last summer, blocking a freeway near L-A-X Airport. Addison could have been suspended for three games if convicted of driving under the influence. He could still face discipline from the N-F-L.
>>Former Vikings Defensive End Everson Griffen Removed from Delta Flight
(Chicago, IL) — Delta Air Lines is confirming former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was removed from a Wednesday flight departing Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Delta cited its “zero tolerance policy for unruly behavior” as the reason Griffen was kicked off the flight bound for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. There is video of Griffen being escorted off the plane. Investigators say he reportedly tried to smoke in the bathroom shortly after takeoff, prompting the plane to return to the airport. Griffen has a history of run-ins with police and mental health challenges. Griffen denies any wrongdoing.
>>N-F-L Players Association Executive Director Steps Down
(Undated) — The executive director of the N-F-L Players Association is backing down. Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned Thursday night after two years as the leader of the union. In a statement, Howell said his leadership has become a distraction to the work they’ve been doing every day. The resignation comes after numerous reports about F-B-I investigations, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality agreements.
>>United Go Up Against Portland Tomorrow
(Portland, OR) — The Minnesota United look to get back in the win column when they visit the Portland Timbers at Providence Park tomorrow night. The Loons are coming off a 1-nil loss to LA-FC on Wednesday. Minnesota is in third place in the M-L-S Western Conference with 40 points. Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 9:30 P-M.
