Bob CollinsThe Minnesota Wild have no one to blame but themselves for yet another snub against the ‘state of hockey.’
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MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Sports
ESPNw reports that softball coach Jen Banford has been informed she will not have her contract renewed when it expires. She received notice the same week that women’s hockey coach Shannon Miller would not be retained, a move that has sparked controversy at the school. Read more →
Contrary to what you may have heard, it’s tough being a New England Patriots fan, what with the constant claim by their detractors that the team cheats. It doesn’t help that the team cheats, either. Read more →
People don’t typically root for umpires, but an exception should be made for one because of today’s beautifully written story about baseball umpire John Hirschbeck.
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Republican presidential hopeful Paul Ryan won the public-image campaign at Sunday’s Packers game. Read more →
Let he (or she) who can easily sing one of the world’s most unsingable songs, without accompaniment, with a 17 degree wind chill, while millions of people watch you on TV cast, the first stone. Read more →
The city has lost two private businesses it intended to help create a destination sports complex.
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There’s an old saying in sports: if a play is working, just keep running it.
The National Football League ran its stadium play again this month in St. Louis and, just as it has in every other city, it’s working perfectly so far Read more →
You kids and your newfangled indoor hockey rinks have got it swell, but if it ain’t outdoors, it ain’t hockey. Read more →
In the absence of a decent explanation for the firing of University of Minnesota Duluth hockey coach Shannon Miller, the whiff of gender inequity begins to fill the air. Read more →
Last month, a Cretin-Derham High School basketball player went to the free-throw line in a game against White Bear Lake High School when someone in the stands made ‘racially motivated noises,’ the Pioneer Press reports. Read more →
With a few seasons as exceptions, the Minnesota Wild have been dull underachievers almost since the day they brought mediocre hockey back to Minnesota. Read more →
The Baseball Hall of Fame balloting is over and all that’s left are the sour grapes. Read more →
This afternoon, the Baseball Writers of America will announce the 2015 class for the Baseball Hall of Fame. The juiced-up stars — Bonds, Clemens, McGwire — will not be among them.
And that’s a good enough reason to scrap Cooperstown. Read more →
There’s a reality about the State of Hockey — it can be stuck in the ’60s when it comes to female coaches and the way parents and players react to the notion that women know a thing or two about the game. Read more →