After Letdown Last Season, Wild Aim To Revive Buzz
First there was the lockout. Then they sputtered through a shortened season, barely made the playoffs and were bounced out quickly by the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
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First there was the lockout. Then they sputtered through a shortened season, barely made the playoffs and were bounced out quickly by the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
The NFL is back in London boasting the star power of Adrian Peterson and Ben Roethlisberger. Trouble is, their teams have nothing to brag about. The Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers are both 0-3 heading into Sunday's game at Wembley Stadium.
As hard as it is to believe, we are now at the midway point of the season. It's that time of the year where a team's identity is established, it's a matter of executing the game plan and knowing what the team across from you will do.
The Vikings are doing their best to help bring a championship to Minnesota any way they can. The struggling football team has purchased 500 Lynx tickets for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Phoenix on Thursday night.
Josmil Pinto hit an RBI single in the 11th inning and the Minnesota Twins overcame 12 strikeouts by Justin Verlander to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Monday night. The Tigers led 3-0 in the eighth, but Jose Veras gave up RBI doubles to Eduardo Escobar and Ryan Doumit. Brian Dozier led off the ninth with a tying homer against previously perfect closer Joaquin Benoit. Dozier opened the 11th with a single off Luke Putkonen (1-2) and advanced on a wild pitch. Pinto punched a single to right field to give manager Ron Gardenhire his 998th career victory.
Jason Zucker scored the lone shootout goal and assisted on the tying goal to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in a preseason game Monday night. Zucker's shot trickled under the outstretched left leg pad of Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 26 saves in regulation and overtime. Minnesota goalie Josh Harding thwarted all three Columbus attempts in the shootout with the last one from Matt Calvert hitting the post. Harding stopped 20 shots before the shootout.
The Minnesota Twins are playing it safe with All-Star catcher Joe Mauer after having seen up close the damage concussions can do to a player. The Twins shut Mauer down for the rest of the season on Monday, saying it wasn't worth the risk to try to get him back on the field with the team far out of contention and Mauer still experiencing some symptoms of a concussion he sustained on Aug. 19. The Twins have seven games left in what has been another miserable season for them, and Mauer's injury only adds to the disappointment. He was hurt when he took a foul ball off his mask against the New York Mets and hasn't played since.
From the moment the gates opened on Saturday night, the vibe at Xcel Energy Center was a little different than usual. Can a pre-season hockey game have a "vibe," you ask? It can when the Winnipeg Jets are in town. Thanks to NHL realignment, the Minnesota Wild find themselves in the same division as their neighbors to the north. And if Saturday's game is any indication, the contests between the two will be intense all season long.
The Minnesota Vikings are bringing some extra baggage to London. They don't have any wins to take with them, though. Just a home game they have to play overseas.
After a big game in a big win over San Jose State on Saturday, Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner earned some Big Ten Conference recognition on Monday. Leidner, a redshirt freshman from Lakeville, ran for 151 yards and four touchdowns as the Gophers finished 4-0 in the non-conference schedule after a 43-24 win over San Jose State.
The state of Minnesota is preparing to issue bonds that will cover the public share of the new Vikings stadium. Minnesota Management and Budget issued what's known as a "request for proposal" on Monday.
Jordan Cameron caught three touchdown passes in Hoyer's second career start, including the go-ahead grab in the back of the end zone with 51 seconds left, and the Browns kept the Vikings winless with a 31-27 victory Sunday.
Seimone Augustus hit a 15-foot jumper with 21.1 seconds left and the Minnesota Lynx held off the Seattle Storm for a 58-55 victory on Sunday and a sweep of the best-of-three Western Conference semifinals.
Coco Crisp hit a three-run homer, Daric Barton and Jed Lowrie each had a solo shot and the Oakland Athletics wrapped up their second straight AL West title while overpowering the Minnesota Twins 11-7 Sunday.
Referee Bill Leavy mistakenly penalized the Minnesota Vikings after coach Leslie Frazier tried to challenge a ruling on a muffed punt in the second quarter of Sunday's game against Cleveland.
