Riley Greene had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Kevin McGonigle added a solo shot Monday to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Tigers starter Troy Melton (8-4) gave up four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, and four relievers held the Twins to one hit the rest of the way. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 494th career save and 18th this season.

Joe Ryan (6-9) lasted four innings for Minnesota in his return from the injured list. Trevor Larnach homered and scored twice for the Twins, who are 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot with 18 to play.

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the first when Luke Keaschall scored on an RBI grounder by Ryan Jeffers.

McGonigle’s 15th homer tied it in the bottom half before Detroit scored twice in the second, aided by Ryan’s command issues and a throwing error by first baseman Royce Lewis. Colt Keith was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Larnach launched a solo homer in the fourth, but Greene answered with a 417-foot shot off reliever Connor Prielipp in the fifth to give Detroit a 5-2 lead. Greene has six extra-base hits in his last three games.

Walker Jenkins’ two-run double scored Larnach and Kaelen Culpepper to pull Minnesota to 5-4 in the sixth. The Twins loaded the bases with two outs but reliever Tyler Kinley struck out Kody Clemens.

Minnesota threatened to tie it in the eighth with Jenkins on third, but Brooks Lee flied out to end the inning.

Making his first start after missing a month with a left glute strain, Ryan allowed three runs — two earned — and three hits. He struck out seven and walked one.

Prielipp went the rest of the way and gave up two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Twins RHP Dean Kremer (2-5, 5.81 ERA) starts Tuesday against Tigers RHP Drew Anderson (4-5, 3.73).

Kelly Rand's teenage twin boys playing hockey in St. Paul, Minnesota, are going through growth spurts that force the family to buy new equipment what seems like all the time.

The goaltender’s $400 helmet in 2022 now runs $1,000. The chest protector they got last year for $465 now goes for $900.

For a sport that is increasingly expensive for everything from gear and ice time to travel and coaching, the latest round of 50 percent tariffs levied by President Donald Trump’s administration against Canada was most unwelcome news as they threaten to ramp up prices even more.

“If a kid on the ice breaks a stick, every other parent is looking at that mom or dad going, ‘Ahhh oh, no!’” Rand said. “You feel for them. How many $400 sticks can you afford in one season?”

Hockey sticks and skates are among the more than 550 goods named in the tariffs by the White House. Custom equipment is also manufactured by True Hockey in Canada and imported into the U.S., according to B&R Sports Director of E-commerce John Merola, who said skates and goalie gear fit into that category.

An average stick is now $200, Merola said, with high-end versions ranging up to $400. He noted that Bauer, CCM and True still make many custom items in Canada.

“This not a minor blip by by any means,” Sports & Fitness Industry Association CEO Todd Smith said. “Even if manufacturers have moved over the last several years from Canada to other countries, there’s still healthy amount being manufactured in Canada and, yeah, this 50 percent tariff is a big deal.”

Rising prices and popularity amid production shifts

When Rand’s family bought custom goalie gear a couple of years ago, the entire setup cost $3,300. Skate pairs that in 2016 went for between $80 and $900 are now $200 to $1,230, according to HockeySkates DB, a database that charts the prices from various companies.

Inflation, as well as tariffs on other countries, are behind the price jumps in recent years. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s manufacturers sales report said the amount spent on hockey equipment increased 45.4 percent from 2020-25, up to $332.9 million from $228.9 million, dovetailing with increasing participation in the sport.

According to U.S. International Trade Commission data, which does not separate ice and field hockey equipment, gear from Canada made up roughly 8.5 percent of imports last year, fourth behind 52.7 percent from China, 13.2 percent from Vietnam and 9.5 percent from Thailand. Of the 2.1 million hockey sticks imported last year, trade data shows more than 1.5 million (74.1 percent) came from China and 268,000 (12.8 percent) from Mexico, compared to 18,909 (0.9 percent) from Canada.

Chris Douglas, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint, called it unlikely that stick prices will go up 50 percent across the board, noting Canada’s modest market share, but wonders what will happen if demand increases.

“Maybe that causes the price of hockey sticks to rise somewhat — maybe by $50 or something like that,” Douglas said. “Hockey is expensive with the equipment, ice time and so forth, so maybe there’s a family right on the margin where $50 or $100 in additional cost causes them not to enroll their kids at hockey any longer.”

The question is how long the tariffs will last

When Trump imposed tariffs on China, Merola said that had a bigger impact on business but not right away.

“Bauer, CCM — the big, heavy hitters in the market — came in and said: ‘We’ll absorb these costs. Don’t worry about it,’” Merola said. “And then as nothing happened, they kind of came back and said, ‘We can’t cover this, so we’re gonna have to increase pricing.’”

That wait-and-see approach could happen again this time, delaying how long manufacturers and retailers pass on the increase to consumers. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney saidtrade talks could resume if Washington became serious about negotiations.

Douglas said it all comes down to expectations for how long the tariffs will be in place.

“It’s hard to form expectations of the current tariff regime where tariffs are changing basically every day, it seems like,” Douglas said. “But if there’s an expectation that tariffs are going to be permanent or at least in place for the long term, then I think prices rise pretty instantaneously because the cost of production has risen and that gets passed on to consumers via a higher price.”

Merola thinks long-term tariffs will lead companies to move more production to the U.S., Asia or elsewhere. Roustan Hockey, the last major hockey stick factory in Canada, last week reaffirmed it will keep making them there, despite the challenges.

“We remain committed to our employees, our customers and our manufacturing operations here in Canada,” founder W. Graeme Roustan said in a statement after hosting federal minister Evan Solomon for a tour of the facility in Brantford, Ontario.

The Sports & Fitness Industry Association is advocating for the tariffs to go away, especially given what Smith said was a 7 percent increase in hockey participation in the U.S. over the past three years, a boom attributed to the 4 Nations Face-Off, Winter Olympics and more.

While pointing out the National Hockey League, USA Hockey and teams have contributed significant efforts with learn to play programs that include free equipment and ice time, Smith is concerned about the long-term impact of tariffs.

“This has, obviously, the potential to really stunt that growth,” he said. “It couldn’t be a worse time for tariffs to hit in terms of really having the having the possibility to increase costs.”

Breanna Stewart knows exactly how much pressure the U.S. team is under to keep its World Cup title streak going.

The Americans have won four straight women's FIBA World Cup championships and she's been a part of the last three. Now the 32-year-old is the leader of a group that features many fresh faces.

“There’s a ton of pressure, on team USA and on us and embracing that,” she told The Associated Press. “Not having the team face it in a bad way, but understanding the ones that have been before us and what they’ve done. We want to continue to have success every time.”

With the Americans coming off one of their worst offensive performances in a half century, Stewart took it upon herself to set a tone early in the 105-64 rout of the Czech Republic on Monday. Stewart had 11 points in the first 10 minutes as the U.S. jumped to a 29-15 lead and never looked back.

“I just wanted to be better. I just wanted to really lead by example,” Stewart said after the win. “Not only just from stats, but just the way that I was communicating to my teammates. This is a big moment for all of us and we need to take full advantage of it.”

Caitlin Clark, with the national team for the first time, said that after the narrow win over Italy, Stewart came into the weight room where a few of the youngsters were lifting. The team captain could tell they were a little down after the tight victory and had a conversation with them.

“I just want you guys to know this is how it is. Don’t be intimidated by that. This is just how this goes. The games are going to be close. That doesn’t mean like you should feel defeated in any way,” Clark recalled. “I thought that was just a really good thing we needed to hear. Don’t let that bother you. These games are going to be hard.”

Stewart learned from some of the best leaders in Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. First-time national team player Angel Reese has gravitated toward Stewart and her leadership style.

“She's won before and knows what it takes,” Reese said of the three-time World Cup champion. “I remember watching her play for USA Basketball when I was younger.”

Stewart is no stranger to being a calming influence as a veteran leader. She helped guide the New York Liberty to the first championship in franchise history two years ago.

Now the Americans are in the win-or-go-home phase with the quarterfinals on Thursday. They'll face the winner of the Hungary vs. Japan game on Tuesday.

U.S. coach Kara Lawson knows that for the Americans to keep the streak, which includes 33 consecutive victories overall in the World Cup dating to a semifinal loss to Russia in 2006, she'll need Stewart and Napheesa Collier to be a veteran presence.

“They are two of the best players in the world. It’s not my job to convince them that they’re good, but to remind them that they know who they are and what they bring to the team.”

Colson Montgomery hit a two-run homer and Erick Fedde pitched five sparkling innings, helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Friday night.

Miguel Vargas and Braden Montgomery also went deep for AL Central-leading Chicago, which had lost four of five. Kyle Teel went 0 for 3 in his return to the lineup after being sidelined by a sprained left ankle.

Josh Bell homered in the ninth inning for Minnesota. Kody Clemens had three of the Twins' eight hits.

Vargas connected in the first, and Braden Montgomery hit another solo shot in the second. Andrew Benintendi walked ahead of Colson Montgomery's 416-foot drive to right-center off Zebby Matthews in the fourth.

It was the 30th homer of the season for both Vargas and Colson Montgomery. Vargas' previous career high was 16 homers last year, and Montgomery went deep 21 times in 2025 in his first season in the majors.

Matthews (9-9) allowed four hits in five innings in his first loss since July 24. He went 5-0 with a 2.90 ERA in five August starts.

The 26-year-old right-hander also faced Chicago in his previous outing, surrendering one run in a career-high 8 1/3 innings in Minnesota's 5-1 win on Sunday.

Fedde (8-8) allowed three hits, struck out two and walked two. The right-hander pitched five innings of two-run ball in a 3-2 victory over the Twins in his previous start last weekend.

Hagen Smith pitched two innings for Chicago before Bryan Hudson handled the eighth. Grant Taylor allowed two hits in the ninth, including Bell's 18th homer, before Luke Keaschall flied to right for the final out, leaving two runners on.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring at the end the year, bringing to a close her seven-plus years at the helm of the league and a stewardship that has been transformative and at times tumultuous.

Engelbert is the second-longest tenured WNBA president or commissioner, and she helped negotiate a lucrative collective bargaining agreement this past spring that resulted in the league's first set of million-dollar player salaries.

“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday when announcing Engelbert's decision. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”

Engelbert, who turns 62 in November, told The Associated Press that she has been thinking about retiring for months.

“When I first came to the league I intended to do this for 3 1/2 years,” she said in a phone interview. “The 7 1/2 years exceeded that time. This is a really good time given the financial transformation journey we've been on. Getting the collective bargaining agreement done, getting a long-term media rights deal done, getting expansion done.”

Engelbert insists that the decision to leave was solely her own and that she did not feel any pressure to step down from NBA or WNBA stakeholders.

Engelbert: Several unidentified successors on league's radar

The commissioner said she has been working on a succession plan over the last few years. While she didn’t give any specifics on who might be considered for the position, Engelbert did say there are both internal and external potential candidates on the league’s radar.

“It’s a good time to hand it off to the next leader to take the ‘W’ into a better phase,” she said. “I’m proud of the team we built and everything we accomplished. A leader knows when it’s time to drop the mic and move on after building a powerhouse team in the league office.”

Engelbert said she has mixed emotions about leaving.

“I love women's basketball and am not going anywhere yet. We'll run a real succession process in the remaining four months. If we don't find someone I'll stay on," she said. "I had no transition. I walked in the door and I was by myself as no one transitioned me into this role.

"Hopefully I can help this next leader transition in especially considering the elevation of this league."

The WNBA has grown at an exponential rate during Engelbert’s tenure as commissioner, with record television ratings, strong attendance, a new long-term media rights deal and expansion to 18 teams by the end of the decade.

“I was brought in as a business leader to transform the business,” she said. “I look at revenue and merchandise, viewership and attendance,” she said, noting how they've all improved. “A great leader senses when it’s time for someone else to come in. When I came in, this league was facing questions about our long-term viability and sustainability.”

Turmoil and tension part of Engelbert's tenure

Engelbert said the growth of the league has “blown away her expectations” since she stepped into her role after leaving her previous position as president of Deloitte in 2019.

Besides the new CBA, the list of things she is most proud of includes getting charter travel for players, keeping the league going during the coronavirus pandemic, the historic media rights deal and exponential increase in the value of of WNBA franchises. In 2019, the average value of a WNBA franchise was $10 million; in 2026, it is about $460 million.

Along with the financial gains, however, turmoil and tension have accompanied the WNBA’s growth.

Players say they have seen more social media vitriol directed toward them over the last few years and some don't feel the league has done enough to ensure their safety. The league also has been at the center of discussions about transgender athletes playing in the league.

Engelbert has repeatedly said the online attacks of players are unacceptable and she backs league initiatives to protect players. She also said there should be no confusion on the transgender question.

“We have no current eligibility issues in the WNBA," Engelbert said, adding that “if we did, we would have a thoughtful policy discussion with the (players' association) and the players.”

While there was a strained partnership between the commissioner and players during the recent CBA negotiations, Engelbert insists she has a good relationship with them.

Talks between the commissioner and players have been complicated.

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, vice president of the WNBA players’ union executive committee, said before the All-Star Game that there is a respect for Engelbert among the players, just not much of a relationship.

What's next in Engelbert's future?

Engelbert said she is ready to do what most retirees plan: spend more time with family.

She also admitted that the online hate she receives has affected her family as well, though she did not share details of the impact.

“There have been some hard parts of that on my family with the vitriol and hate I get online,” Engelbert said.

Her retirement will make her mother happy.

“My mom is turning 90 this year, and she said that ‘it would be good if you were retired to spend more time with me,'" Engelbert said, laughing. “I have two children, one I barely see.

"I’m one of eight kids (and I) have five brothers. They always say can you retire so you can spend more time with us."

Come Jan. 1, her family will get its wish.

Javon Tracy set the program record with two punts for touchdowns and Darius Taylor rushed for three first-half scores as Minnesota opened with a 59-7 romp past FCS opponent Eastern Illinois on Thursday.

Drake Lindsey completed 19 of 24 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown to tight end Pierce Walsh, who posted his first career score with six seconds left before halftime to give the Gophers a 35-7 lead.

Backup quarterback Max Shikenjanski and deep reserve Xavier Ford each had rushing touchdowns in the second half and Daniel Jackson made his first college field goal on a night full of highlights for the home team, as head coach P.J. Fleck's 10th season started with ease.

Tracy, who also had five receptions for 98 yards in the first half, fielded four of the nine punts by Cade Cox and totaled 167 return yards in assuming the role held last season by safety Koi Perich, who transferred to Oregon.

“His vision is so good,” Fleck said.

Taylor had 56 yards on 14 rushes and 31 yards on three catches, becoming only the second running back in program history to reach the 100-reception mark for his career. After an uncharacteristically lackluster 2025 season running the ball, ranking last in the Big Ten, the Gophers are determined to not only re-establish Taylor as one of the conference's premier rushers but find ways to get him the ball in the air.

“It’s really cool to just be a part of an offense like this,” Taylor said.

The Gophers matched their second-largest margin of victory under Fleck, behind the 66-0 win over Northwestern State last season. They beat Western Illinois 62-10 in 2022. All three of those teams are in the second-tier FCS. Minnesota’s last such loss was to North Dakota State in 2011.

Tyren Buggs caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cole LaCrue in the second quarter for the Panthers (1-1), who beat Murray State 28-14 in their opener last week.

Javon Tracy sets program record

Tracy set Minnesota’s single-game record with two punt return touchdowns in the season opener against Eastern Illinois, an 87-yard runback for a score in the first quarter and a 69-yarder in the third quarter on Thursday night.

Tracy had the first punt return touchdown for the Gophers in eight years when he fielded a 55-yard kick near the right sideline late in the first quarter and sprinted along a wall of blockers untouched into the end zone.

The fifth-year wide receiver, an Indianapolis native who's in his second season at Minnesota after transferring from Miami (Ohio), then caught a 48-yard kick early in the third quarter near the right sideline. He made two stutter-step moves to evade would-be tacklers before veering left and racing down the field to give the Gophers a 42-7 lead. Starting safety Kerry Brown delivered a key block at the 36-yard line to clear the path.

“It was easy for me,” Tracy said. “Everybody else did their job.”

Tracy didn't find out until last week that he would start as the primary punt returner, a decision by the coaching staff that proved prescient.

Fleck's hire of new special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato also looked sharp on this night.

“It’s one game and it’s two returns, but it’s the way the players play for him, it’s the detail, it’s the schemes, it’s his energy, it’s his meetings,” Fleck said, “just how he’s brought the entire team together.”

Da Prato, who's in his 23rd season as a coach and will turn 45 next month, received a game ball from Fleck as a representative of all of the new assistants on staff.

“He's so passionate about the game,” Tracy said. “I'm not sure how old he is, but he acts like he's 21.”

Tracy also caught five passes for 98 yards, all in the first half. He had a 55-yard reception in the second quarter to the 1-yard line, running a corner route for a leaping catch at the 37 before breaking four tackles. The play was called a touchdown on the field, before a replay review ruled that Tracy's knee touched the turf before the goal line as he tried to duck-walk across the plane while the last defender dragged him down.

In tribute to his new role on special teams, Tracy racked up 60 yards after the catch.

“That’s the part of my game that I value the most, making guys miss,” Tracy said.

The last Minnesota player with a punt return touchdown was Demetrius Douglas on Nov. 24, 2018, at Wisconsin. The last Big Ten player with two punt returns for scores in the same game was Penn State's Daequan Hardy on Oct. 14, 2023, against Massachusetts.

The Big Ten record book has three others who've logged two punt return touchdowns in a game: Kevonte Martin-Manley for Iowa against Western Michigan on Sept. 21, 2013; Garcia Lane for Ohio State against Purdue on Oct. 8, 1983; and Earl Girard for Wisconsin against Iowa on Nov. 8, 1947.

Olivia Miles is making a habit of being named the Kia WNBA Rookie of the Month.

For the fourth time in a row, most recently for August, she received the honor.

This makes her the only rookie this season to get the accomplishment. This also makes her the first rookie in Lynx history to earn the title four times.

Miles currently leads all rookies in scoring, assists and efficiency. She’s averaging 19.7 points on 49.5 percent shooting from the floor.

The former TCU guard from Phillipsburg, N.J., was the second overall draft pick. Since then, she quickly won the heart of Minnesotans, most recently being the muse for crop art designs submitted to the Minnesota State Fair.

“It’s crazy, I feel like my life just kind of changed in a few months a lot,” Miles said. “I thought people knew me at TCU, but this is a whole different level, and I have a whole city behind me.”

Aside from leading the rookie class, she ranks seventh in the WNBA in assists, eighth in scoring and 10th in efficiency.

In August alone, she averaged 20.6 points on 50.3 percent shooting from the floor, helping Minnesota achieve a 7-3 record. During the Lynx’s last game on Aug. 30, she broke Hall of Famer and former Lynx Seimone Augustus’ franchise single-season rookie scoring record with 749 points.

The WNBA is on FIBA World Cup break until later this month. The Lynx will be playing next at home on Sept. 18 against the New York Liberty.

Amazon’s Prime Video will be the exclusive local streaming home of six NHL teams this season as part of a multiyear agreement announced by the league Wednesday.

Defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina, Anaheim, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota and St. Louis will have their games on the platform in their markets. That includes pre- and post-game coverage.

“We’re excited to build upon our strong relationship with the NHL and provide fans with more ways to connect with the local teams they love,” Prime Video head of sports partnerships Charlie Neiman said in a statement. “We have firmly established Prime Video as a primary destination for sports and look forward to helping these teams broaden the reach and accessibility of their live games.”

The NHL announced in July it would be producing games for the Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Wild and Blues.

“Fans want an easy way to find and follow their favorite teams, and this agreement with Prime Video gives clubs the flexibility to meet that demand as the market evolves,” NHL chief media officer and senior executive VP David Proper said. “Amazon has been a terrific partner to the NHL, and we’re excited to expand our relationship as Prime Video grows its NHL offerings. Together, we’re creating new opportunities for Clubs to reach fans and delivering a premium, accessible regional viewing experience.”

Amazon this summer also signed on to broadcast Wednesday night national regular-season games in Canada in English and French.

The Minnesota Frost re-signed captain Kendall Coyne Schofield to a two-year contract on Monday, ending any concerns the 34-year-old may take a year off after helping the United States win an Olympic gold medal in February.

The signing means the Frost will enter their fourth season with the same veteran leadership core intact since winning the PWHL’s first two Walter Cup championships in 2024 and ’25. The group is rounded out by alternate captains Lee Stecklein and Kelly Pannek.

“We’re thrilled to be back for the next two seasons and can’t wait to return for Season 4. I’m ready to put in the work to bring the Walter Cup back to Minnesota,” Coyne Schofield said.

From the Chicago area, Coyne Schofield is a four-time Olympian, two-time gold medal-winner and played a key role in negotiations to help establish the PWHL in the summer of 2023.

Last season, Coyne Schofield finished with 12 goals and 23 points in 23 games while missing seven due to an upper-body injury sustained at the Milan-Cortina Games. Overall, her 63 points (30 goals, 33 assists) in 77 career PWHL games rank third on the league’s list.

Coyne Schofield was one of the Frost’s first three foundational player signings. Her playing status for this season was uncertain after she remained unsigned, leaving her unprotected through the PWHL’s expansion process in June.

The Frost now have 17 players under contract, including eight members of their two-time cup championship teams. The Frost finished third in the standings last season and were eliminated in a decisive Game 5 of their semifinal series against eventual champion Montreal.

Nothing about Colin Kaepernick, the football player, changed on that warm Southern California night a decade ago.

Not his speed. Not his arm strength. Not the improvisational skills that made him one of the NFL's most electrifying, if at times erratic, quarterbacks.

And to be honest, nothing changed about Colin Kaepernick, the 28-year-old man, that night either.

If anything, the moment the San Francisco 49ers star decided to take a knee during the national anthem before a preseason game on Sept. 1, 2016, to bring attention to a series of social issues he cares deeply about — from racial injustice to minority oppression to police brutality — only revealed to the world at large who Kaepernick always believed himself to be.

“It wasn’t a sudden act,” he wrote in a statement this spring announcing his memoir, ”The Perilous Fight," a title borrowed from a passage of the very song to which his name will forever be linked.

No, it wasn't.

That night wasn't even the first time the player who always seemed to have one eye on the field and the other on the world at large chose to do something other than stand during the anthem. In the two previous 49er exhibitions that August, he sat on the bench, largely unnoticed, as the anthem played.

Only after connecting with former NFL player and retired Green Beret Nate Boyer in a hotel lobby did Kaepernick move from the bench to a knee, something Boyer suggested would be more respectful to those in the military.

He didn't announce he was going to do it. He didn't share it on social media. He didn't promote it in any way. He just did it, quietly placing his right knee on the ground, his left arm across his left knee and staring silently ahead as Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Powell sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

When Kaepernick huddled with noted sociologist and then-49ers advisor Harry Edwards in the aftermath, they both knew Kaepernick's decision carried considerable risk.

While Kaepernick, who is biracial, was hardly the first athlete of color to parlay the playing of the anthem into an attempt to draw attention to social inequity — from U.S. track athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Summer Olympics to college basketball player Ariyana Smith at Knox College, who in late 2014 stood under the basket with her hands up during the anthem, then laid on the court for over four minutes in protest over the shooting death of Black teenager Michael Brown in Missouri — Edwards understood the spotlight the NFL provides and Kaepernick's status within the game had the potential to make it a divisive cultural flashpoint.

“I said, ‘You know, this is going to become a major issue,’” Edwards told The Associated Press. “You are a Black male and seen as a greater threat because of the centrality of male activities and male sports. And so there’s no way that there’s not going to be a price to pay for this.”

The price ended up being Kaepernick's football career.

The conversation Kaepernick intended to start was instead hijacked. The method of Kaepernick's protest became the focus, with critics calling it offensive, particularly to those in the armed forces.

Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lashed out and later, as president, labeled any player who knelt a “son of a bitch”. Fans burned Kaepernick's jersey in anger. The boos that cascaded in his direction every Sunday were hardly limited to 49er road games, though the franchise trudging through a miserable 2-14 season didn't help.

While supporters pointed out that Kaepernick's right to kneel is one of the freedoms protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, the very thing those in uniform are commanded to defend, it didn't seem to matter.

No matter how hard Kaepernick kept trying to steer the talk toward racial injustice, it swerved in seemingly every other direction instead.

Four months after kneeling for the first time, Kaepernick threw his 1,692nd and final pass in the NFL, a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Garrett Celek late in the fourth quarter against Seattle, a play that highlighted some of what made Kaepernick so tantalizing as a player. He dropped back, glanced to his left, then stepped up in the pocket and fired a dart over the middle to Celek in the end zone.

The score brought the 49ers to within three. San Francisco never got the ball again. The Seahawks ran out the clock, and Kaepernick's No. 7 jersey disappeared down the tunnel toward the locker room one last time.

The 49ers hit reboot during the offseason, firing head coach Chip Kelly and replacing him with Kyle Shanahan. Kaepernick met with Shanahan and new general manager John Lynch, then opted to void the remaining year on his contract and become a free agent.

The player whose rise in 2012 sparked San Francisco to an NFC title, who once led former NFL quarterback-turned-analyst Ron Jaworski to wonder aloud if Kaepernick could become one of the best ever at the position, never pulled on a uniform again.

Kaepernick and former teammate Eric Reid — who knelt alongside him in 2016 — filed a lawsuit against the NFL claiming owners colluded to blacklist them out of the game. A settlement was reached in 2019, and while Kaepernick kept one toe in the game — as late as 2022, he worked out for the Las Vegas Raiders — both he and the league seem to have moved on.

An absence that still leaves some wondering ‘why’?

Nearing 10 years after the 72nd and final touchdown pass of his career, the circumstances remain hard for some to square. How is it that 32 teams saw a player in his prime, a player who guided a team to the Super Bowl, and who was only a couple of years removed from leading his team on a pair of deep playoff runs, and decided “nah, we're good"?

The NFL is, in just about every way, a meritocracy. Pedigree doesn't matter, only production. The league's history is filled with players granted countless second (and in some cases, third or fourth) chances despite various misdeeds, some of whom returned to the field after spending time in prison.

Over the last month, the Seattle Seahawks sprinted to land cornerback Terrion Arnold even as he faces eight felony charges stemming from an incident in Florida. Arnold, who has denied the allegations, agreed to a one-year deal on Saturday and was immediately placed on the commissioner's exempt list by the NFL while it conducts its own investigation.

Kaepernick, by contrast, remains unsigned to this day even as countless quarterbacks with lesser resumes have drifted in and out of the league.

His exile doesn't quite make sense to longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward. Heyward described Kaepernick as “hell of a talent” who created “headaches” for opponents on the field and who once passed for 302 yards, ran for 62 more, and accounted for a pair of touchdowns in the Super Bowl, a game Heyward is still waiting to play in as he enters his 16th season.

Heyward, a seven-time Pro Bowler and the league’s 2023 recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his charity work and contributions to the community off the field, also remembers a player who stuck to his convictions in the face of withering pressure.

The way Heyward figures it, isn't that kind of the point? While stressing he didn't have all the specifics on why Kaepernick never played again, Heyward said the quiet part out loud when asked if he felt Kaepernick's stand was the driving force behind why he didn't play beyond 2016.

“I don't think any player deserves that,” Heyward told the AP. “I think we all strive to be football players, but then we also strive to give back. And you never would think it would lead to that. It feels like he paid the price with his career. I just don't think that's right.”

Even as football opportunities dried up, Kaepernick doubled down on his activism

It's telling of how fraught Kaepernick's decision remains 10 years later that numerous people who either played or coached alongside Kaepernick in 2016 declined to speak to the AP about their experiences of that season and its fallout.

“I think that this reluctance to even talk about it now is indicative of to what degree did the NFL substantively address it,” said Frederick Gooding Jr., a professor of African-American studies at TCU and the author of a book examining the intersection of race, media and sports. “If anything, people should be more open to talk about this, warts and all.”

It hasn't happened on the scale Kaepernick envisioned, and Gooding added that he believes one reason Kaepernick never took another snap was the way he “forced people to get uncomfortable.”

It wasn't until 2020, in the wake of George Floyd's murder in Minnesota, that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged the league misstepped by not listening to players like Kaepernick who were fighting for social equality. By then, Kaepernick was already three-plus years removed from the sport.

“Now that the game has been decided, now that his career is effectively over, now from a power and control standpoint, the NFL still is able to acknowledge that maybe they should have listened better, but they’re not losing anything,” Gooding said. "Now the stakes are lower for them to admit in retrospect.”

While demonstrating during the anthem spread across the league in the immediate aftermath — with as many as 200 players taking a knee at times during the 2017 season — the temperature, at least inside NFL stadiums, has been turned down even as it remains ratcheted up in so many other areas of society.

Edwards, whose roots in promoting social justice date back to his time counseling Smith and Carlos to raise their gloved fists in a Black power salute while on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics, once publicly lobbied for Kaepernick to return to the game.

Now, he sees the work Kaepernick and his wife, Nessa, have done through the years — from the “Know Your Rights” camps they host to promote “education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization” for people of color to the independent autopsies their foundation pays for (most recently following the death of Black teenager Nolan Wells in Mississippi) — and believes the game would have just gotten in the way.

“Nothing he would ever accomplish in football, even if there was a team that would bring him on board, would match his importance as a sports political figure in the first two decades of the 20th century,” Edwards said. “And I think that that’s critically important that that example be out there. There will be others who will come along. The only thing that’s missing today is that broad-scale societal movement that athletes use as scaffolding to make their statements.”

Kaepernick’s activism inspired others from afar

Marcellis Perkins watched intently from the other side of the country as the rhetoric around Kaepernick heated up. A sophomore forward on the Holy Cross men's basketball team at the time, Perkins had long felt the pull of civic engagement while growing up in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

An advisor, sensing a need for allyship in a particularly fraught environment, suggested to Perkins and a handful of other athletes that they start meeting regularly in an effort to carve out a place for them to openly share their experiences.

During those early days the group, which became known as Men of Color Athletes (MOCA), would talk openly about Kaepernick's commitment to his cause at a time it wasn't unusual for them to hear criticism of the 49ers quarterback in their own locker rooms in Worcester, Massachusetts — a good 2,500 miles from San Francisco.

“I'm like well, if our coach says this or the captain of the team says this, how can we feel like we express ourselves or find the words to talk about what’s actually happening from our perspective without feeling like we'll be penalized?" Perkins said. “And so the best thing we could do is create a space for ourselves where we can talk and share these resources, share these thoughts and better equip ourselves.”

Perkins, who now holds a doctorate in philosophy and is the program director for an entrepreneurship program at TCU, likened Kaepernick's stand to ones made by predecessors Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown, only they were living through it, not reading about it in a book.

In Kaepernick, the men in MOCA saw “somebody reflecting and representing us and using their voice.” What began with a group of around 10 athletes quickly grew into 30 and laid the foundation for a women's group.

An enduring example

On a personal level, Perkins watched Kaepernick deftly navigate the transition from athlete to former athlete, a path Perkins had to walk himself when injuries forced him to spend his final years at Holy Cross watching from the sideline.

Perkins has been heavily involved in several projects since moving to the Fort Worth area, including serving on a non-profit board that addresses health inequities and for a time, running an after-school program at an all-boys school. While Perkins has always felt pulled in this direction, Kaepernick provided more than a gentle nudge.

It's one of the many ways ACLU President Deborah Archer told the AP that Kaepernick's journey “set an example” for others to follow.

“He showed what they can do, the power that they have to start conversation,” she said after the organization presented Kaepernick with an activism award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in July. "For so long athletes, actors were told: That’s your lane, stay in your lane. He showed that there is no lane. We are all a part of this democracy, that we all have a right to speak, we all have an obligation to speak.”

An obligation that Kaepernick is perhaps even more fervently committed to now at 38 than he was at 28. Yes, speaking out came at a high personal cost. And yes, there will always be a segment of the populace whose judgment of him will begin and end with the image of Kaepernick on one knee while someone sings about “the land of the free and the home of the brave."

No, he did not make it to the Hall of Fame as some once thought might be possible. Yet for those like Perkins who were inspired by watching someone take a stand at deep personal cost in hopes of creating what Edwards likes to call the quest for a “more perfect union,” it hardly matters.

“I would hope and I would think that when he looks back on his legacy, he'll say ‘I made the right decision because of all the lives that were impacted, all the lives that were changed,’ ... that is a different level of greatness," Perkins said. "The media might not celebrate it, but the people will. I think that’s all that matters.”

Ryan Jeffers had two homers, Walker Jenkins went deep for the first time in his major league career, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 11-1 on Monday night.

Taj Bradley (10-6) struck out nine in seven innings, his seventh outing with at least nine strikeouts. The 25-year-old right-hander allowed one run on four hits and allowed three walks.

Jenkins, the Twins' fifth overall selection in the 2023 draft, had a two-run homer in the eighth off of position player Zach McKinstry for his first big-league knock. The 21-year-old is the third-youngest player in baseball and was the top prospect in the Twins system before his call-up on Friday.

The Twins led 2-0 through four innings after a sac fly and homer from Kody Clemens. They scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a commanding lead.

Jeffers' first homer was a 420-foot, three-run shot to left-center in the fifth. Brooks Lee cleared the bases with a three-run single to right in the sixth.

Lee was thrown out after trying to stretch a double, but the throw to second allowed Luke Keaschall to score from first.

Jackson Jobe (1-2) allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and struck out four in five innings.

Hao-Yu Lee accounted for the Tigers' only run with a towering homer into the Twins bullpen in the seventh. Lee’s solo shot came off his bat at 109.6 mph and traveled 439 feet.

Jeffers answered with his second homer of the game and 12th of the season, sending a low slider from Yilber Díaz 384 feet into the bleachers in left.

Tigers RHP Troy Melton (7-3, 1.86 ERA) faces Twins LHP Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.55) on Tuesday in the middle game of the three-game series.

The Minnesota Vikings have finalized their list of 53 players for the upcoming season. Sunday was the deadline for NFL teams to do so, but their rosters could still change. The Lynx lost their second game in a row Sunday before heading into a break for the FIBA World Cup.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Kelly Gordon to break down these sports stories, plus the latest on the Twins and Loons.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

Tyrese Spicer scored three minutes into second-half stoppage time and Orlando City salvaged a 3-3 draw with Minnesota United after blowing a two-goal lead on Saturday night.

Spicer used assists from newcomer Antoine Griezmann and Iván Angulo to score his career-high sixth goal for the equalizer.

Daryl Dike scored in the 28th minute to give Orlando City (7-11-4) a 1-0 lead that stood through halftime. Dike's first goal this season came in his first start and fourth appearance.

Griezmann took a pass from Justin Ellis in the 64th minute and scored his fourth goal in his seventh MLS appearance for a 2-0 advantage.

Minnesota United (7-7-8) got on the scoreboard in the 71st minute when Kelvin Yeboah and Kyle Duncan set up Marcus Caldeira for his second goal in his fifth appearance in the league.

Defender Anthony Markanich scored his sixth goal three minutes later — with an assist from Joaquín Pereyra — to tie it 2-2.

Yeboah found the net for the 11th time just one minute after Markanich scored to give Minnesota United a 3-2 lead.

Drake Callender had two saves for Minnesota United, which was coming off a 5-1 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes before finishing off a 1-1-3 August.

Maxime Crépeau saved five shots for Orlando City in its first trip to St. Paul since 2023. The club finished 1-2-2 for the month.

Up next

Orlando: Hosts San Diego FC on Saturday.

Minnesota: At Portland Timbers on Saturday.

Andrew Benintendi had all three of Chicago's hits, with his sixth-inning home run being the difference, as the White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 Saturday.

After five shutout innings Friday, the White Sox bullpen added four more as division-leading Chicago won its fourth straight game and improved to a season-high nine games over .500.

Josh Bell and Walter Jenkins had RBIs for Minnesota, which lost for the seventh time in eight games. The Twins are 8-17 in August as their playoff aspirations continue to fade.

A season-low-tying eight games under .500, Minnesota is 4 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card spot, behind four other teams.

Benintendi, who had two hits and two RBIs in Friday’s 7-4 White Sox win, lofted a below-the-strike zone cutter from Andrew Morris (4-7) into the right-field seats for a 3-2 lead. All 14 of the left-handed hitters home runs this season have come against right-handed pitchers.

Chicago’s Sean Newcomb pitched three scoreless innings for the second time in three games before Bryan Hudson earned his seventh save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Both starters were pulled after five innings.

Chicago’s Erick Fedde (7-8) allowed two earned runs on three hits and struck out four in his first start since July 31. His previous six appearances came in relief. Seeking his first win in seven starts since July 17, Minnesota’s Bailey Ober allowed one earned run and two hits while striking out five.

A groundout from Jenkins scored Kaelen Culpepper in the second for a 2-1 Minnesota lead, but a two-out fielding error from Culpepper in the fourth allowed the White Sox to tie the game.

Up next

Chicago RHP Jordan Hicks (2-1, 3.83) will face Minnesota RHP Zebby Matthews (8-8, 4.86) in the series finale Sunday.

Colson Montgomery hit his 28th homer and Andrew Benintendi drove in two runs to help the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 7-4 on Friday night.

Chicago took advantage of shaky pitching early by the Twins. Montgomery's three-run homer off starter Dean Kremer (2-5) in the first inning put the White Sox up 4-0.

The Twins climbed back with first-inning homers by Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens. Lee also singled in the second to tie it at 4 before Chicago regained the lead on Benintendi's double in the third.

Both starting pitchers went just four innings. Chicago right-hander Luis Castillo allowed four runs on eight hits, while Kremer gave up six runs — five earned — in his outing.

Reliever Grant Taylor (7-2) pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings for Chicago for the victory. Bryan Hudson pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

White Sox center fielder Tristan Peters ended his home run streak at five games, which matches a franchise record. He went 1 for 4 with a single.

The Twins are 8-14 since the trade deadline as their wild-card hopes continue to fade. Minnesota is four games out of the final wild-card spot in the American League, with four teams ahead of them.

Minnesota's top prospect Walker Jenkins made his debut in the majors Friday, batting ninth and playing center field. He drew a nice ovation from the home crowd after his first at-bat, a deep flyout to the warning track. Walker got his first hit his next time up, singling to right in the fourth inning.

The NFL will play a record nine games internationally this season and they include three cities hosting for the first time: Melbourne, Australia; Rio de Janeiro; and Paris.

Jacksonville and San Francisco both play two games abroad: the Jaguars back-to-back in London; the 49ers in Melbourne and later in Mexico City.

Here’s some handy information about the games and locations.

Melbourne, Week 1

Talk about pushing boundaries. The Los Angeles Rams face the San Francisco 49ers in a game at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The league has never staged a regular-season game so far from home. It’s a nearly 16-hour flight from the West Coast. The NFL West matchup will kick off at 10:35 a.m. local time Friday, Sept. 11, in Melbourne — which will be 8:35 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, on the U.S. East Coast.

The 100,000-capacity stadium, known as “The G,” is the largest on the NFL schedule this season. Aussies call American football “gridiron” so as not to confuse it with Australian Rules Football. Visitors might want to look up Shane Warne to get a flavor of Australian cricket history.

Rio de Janeiro, Week 3

“America’s Team” is coming to the famed Maracanã Stadium on Sept. 27. The Dallas Cowboys will play just their second-ever regular-season international game when they face the Baltimore Ravens. In 2014, the Cowboys beat the Jaguars 31-17 at Wembley Stadium.

Rio is hosting for the first time and has what looks like a good QB matchup: Dak Prescott vs. Lamar Jackson. The league has committed to playing at least three regular-season games in Rio over the next five years. There have been two previous games in Brazil — both in Sao Paulo.

Dallas to Rio is an estimated 10-hour flight.

The Maracanã has staged two men’s World Cup finals — in 1950 and 2014. It was also the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

London, Weeks 4-6

London has been a mainstay for the NFL since 2007. Forty-two of the 62 regular-season games played internationally so far have been staged in London. Three more are on tap this season.

The first two will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: Indianapolis vs. Washington on Oct. 4; and Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville on Oct. 11.

The Jags pull double duty by staying to face the Houston Texans on Oct. 18 at Wembley Stadium — and by doing so will become the first team to play two home games abroad in the same season. The Jags, who have a 7-7 record in London games, are undergoing stadium renovations at home.

Washington’s only other trip to London ended in a 27-27 tie — or a “draw” as the locals would call it — with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will look to make his international debut after missing last year’s Madrid game because of injury.

Paris, Week 7

The NFL finally makes it to the City of Light. Practices in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower perhaps?

The New Orleans Saints have the French connections and the Pittsburgh Steelers have the star quarterback — Aaron Rodgers — for the first regular-season game in Paris. The 42-year-old Rodgers headlined Dublin’s debut as a host city last season and figures to be in the spotlight at Stade de France on Oct. 25.

The 80,000-seat stadium, located just north of the capital in Saint-Denis, was the centerpiece of the 2024 Paris Olympics — Tom Cruise descended from the roof during the closing ceremony. It opened in 1998, when it hosted the FIFA World Cup final — France beat Brazil 3-0.

Madrid, Week 9

Joe Burrow goes international for the first time — as a player anyway. The Bengals quarterback was a hit at Vogue World 2024 in Paris.

He's set to make his international debut at Bernabeu Stadium when Cincinnati faces the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 8. It will be Cincinnati’s first game outside the U.S. since a 24-10 loss to the Rams in London in 2019 in Zac Taylor’s first season as head coach. The Falcons lost to the Colts in Berlin last season.

The 83,186-capacity Bernabeu is home to Real Madrid soccer club — one of the most recognized sporting brands in the world. Real Madrid's soccer team has more Instagram followers — 180 million — than the combined total of all 32 NFL teams.

Last year, Bernabeu hosted Spain’s first regular-season game when the Miami Dolphins, led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, beat the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime. Tagovailoa has since joined the Falcons.

Munich, Week 10

The Patriots-Lions matchup in Bavaria looks promising. New England reached the Super Bowl last season but the big draw will be a homecoming for Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The star's mother was born in Germany and he has a big following among the NFL’s large German fan base.

The Nov. 15 game at Bayern Munich’s home stadium will be the third NFL game in Munich. The first one, in 2022, was Germany’s first regular-season NFL game and Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past the Seattle Seahawks 21-16. Days earlier, Brady had been gifted lederhosen. The crowd sang ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ — and the seven-time Super Bowl champion called it “one of the great football experiences that I’ve ever had.”

Note to visiting fans, if you enjoy downing pre-game beers, probably best to bring some with you on the train ride to the stadium. Seahawks fans complained no alcohol was served by vendors outside the venue.

Mexico City, Week 11

The NFL returns to Mexico City for the first time since 2022 for a matchup between the 49ers and Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 22.

Azteca Stadium, which has been renamed Banorte, hosted the very first regular-season game played outside the U.S. when the Arizona Cardinals beat San Francisco 31-14 in 2005 before a crowd of 103,467. (A Cowboys-Giants regular-season game in 2009 eclipsed 105,000). The first play from scrimmage was a wild one — a strip-sack that resulted in a touchdown.

Four years ago, the 49ers were prepared for the high altitude and beat the Cardinals 38-10. Azteca then underwent renovations for the 2026 World Cup and its current capacity is 87,523.

The Vikings played in Dublin and London in consecutive weeks last season and are 5-1 overall in regular-season international games.

The Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to terms with power forward Jonathan Kuminga on a two-year, $12.4 million contract on Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not confirmed the agreement. ESPN reported that Kuminga's contract includes a player option for the second season, which would give the seventh overall pick from the 2021 draft an opportunity to hit the free agent market in a year.

Kuminga will fill an obvious need in the frontcourt for the Timberwolves, who traded Julius Randle and Naz Reid as part of their offseason acquisition of point guard LaMelo Ball.

Kuminga, who will turn 24 on Oct. 6, averaged a career-best 16.1 points during the 2023-24 season for the Golden State Warriors, who drafted the Congo native but never found the right fit for him before ultimately trading him to the Atlanta Hawks in February. Kuminga fell out of favor with Warriors coach Steve Kerr and out of the rotation last season, making his departure an inevitability. He played in only seven of his last 38 games with the Warriors.

He'll have a fresh start with the hungry Timberwolves, who'll have the challenge of finding enough shots for Kuminga and fellow forward Jaden McDaniels in a lineup that will revolve around Ball and superstar Anthony Edwards. In 278 NBA games, Kuminga has averaged 12.5 points and 22.1 minutes. He's a 50.2 percent shooter from the floor.

Lawrence Butler homered, Alika Williams hit a two-run triple and the Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins 7-4 on Wednesday night to win the three-game series.

Minnesota (64-70) fell four games behind Cleveland for the final American League playoff spot.

Tommy White had three hits for the A's, who have won four of five following a five-game losing streak. J.T. Ginn (9-8) allowed six hits and four runs in six innings.

Elvis Alvarado pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.

After Jonah Heim singled with one out in the sixth, Andrew Morris (4-6) replaced Twins starter Connor Prielipp. White singled and pinch-hitter Jeff McNeil doubled in a run before Williams' triple gave the Athletics their first lead. Darell Hernaiz added an RBI single that made it 6-4.

Butler’s solo shot in the seventh capped the scoring.

Brooks Lee homered in the first inning and Trevor Larnach and Kaelen Culpepper hit back-to-back shots in the second to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

Michael Stefanic doubled home a run and Brian Serven followed with an RBI groundout that trimmed it to 3-2 in the fourth.

Royce Lewis hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2 in the sixth.

Prielipp allowed three runs and six hits with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Up next

Twins RHP Dean Kremer (2-4, 5.22 ERA) starts Friday at home against White Sox RHP Luis Castillo (4-10, 5.19).

The Athletics visit Baltimore for a three-game series that begins Friday.

Carlos Cortes homered and Gage Jump struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings as the Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Jump (6-8) pitched into the seventh for the first time since June 18 against the Angels, when he fanned seven and allowed one hit in seven innings.

Alika Williams got the first A's hit with a two-out double in the second, and Cortes put them ahead with a two-run shot to right field. Tommy White hit an RBI double with two outs in the sixth and Donovan Walton added a run-scoring single, extending the lead to 4-0.

Lawrence Butler had two hits for the A's, and Henry Bolte legged out his first career triple.

Taj Bradley (9-6) tied his career high with 11 strikeouts, but gave up four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out the side on nine pitches in the fifth for the first immaculate inning in Twins history.

Minnesota got two runs back in the seventh, ending Jump's night, but the Twins were held hitless the rest of the way. Hogan Harris and Luis Medina combined for 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Elvis Alvarado earned his fourth save.

Royce Lewis led the Twins with two hits. They went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and stranded five overall.

LHP Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.57 ERA) takes the mound for Minnesota opposite A's RHP J.T. Ginn (8-8, 3.60) to conclude the series on Wednesday.

Cecilia Zandalasini scored eight of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, Gabby Williams added 15 points, and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Minnesota Lynx for the first time in franchise history, 80-66 on Monday night.

Golden State (26-11) entered 0-9 against Minnesota in the regular season and playoffs since joining the WNBA in 2025.

Golden State led 63-57 early in the fourth quarter before going on a 14-1 run to make it 77-58. Zandalasini made her first 3-pointer of the game with 4:39 left and she added another on Minnesota’s next possession for a 16-point lead.

Veronica Burton had 14 points and nine assists, and Tiffany Hayes also scored 14 for Golden State. Janelle Salaun added 12 points off the bench.

Minnesota (31-8) was without starting guard Courtney Williams (right ankle injury) in a regular-season game for the first time since she joined the team in 2024, a streak of 122 games.

Natasha Howard led Minnesota with 13 points and Kayla McBride added 12. Napheesa Collier was held to nine points on 4-of-10 shooting. Olivia Miles moved past Ticha Penicheiro for the second-most assists by a rookie in WNBA history with 225.

The Lynx had won 15 of their last 16 games, including a 77-66 victory over the Valkyries last Wednesday.

Valkyries: At Connecticut on Wednesday.

Lynx: At Atlanta on Sunday.

Kelvin Yeboah scored two goals to help Minnesota United beat the San Jose Earthquakes 5-1 on Saturday night to snap a nine-game winless streak.

Minnesota (7-7-7) won for the first time since a 3-2 victory at Columbus on May 2.

The Earthquakes (10-8-3) have lost four in a row and are winless in six straight.

Drake Callender had five saves for Minnesota. Joaquín Pereyra, Marcus Caldeira and Mauricio González each scored a goal.

Yeboah, on the counter-attack, flicked a shot from the top of the penalty box inside the left post — his first goal since May 16 — to make it 2-1 in the 40th minute and gently chipped a first-touch shot over the head of goalkeeper Angus Gunn into the net in the 44th to give Minnesota a two-goal lead.

Pereyra scored in the 10th minute to make it 1-1. Near the left corner of the 6-yard box, Pereyra turned and flicked a shot inside the back post.

The 21-year-old Caldeira scored his first career goal, in his fourth MLS appearance, to make it 4-1 in the 65th minute and González capped the scoring in the 86th.

Timo Werner converted from the penalty spot to open the scoring in the fourth minute.

Gunn finished with one save.

Ty France homered and drove in three runs and Randy Vásquez and two relievers combined on a two-hitter as the San Diego Padres beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 Friday night in the opener of a three-game series between teams fighting for wild-card berths.

The Padres held onto the National League's third wild card while the Twins dropped one game behind Texas in the race for the American League's third wild card.

Vásquez (9-6) matched his career long with seven innings while allowing two runs and two hits. He struck out three and walked none. Bradgley Rodriguez pitched a perfect eighth and Mason Miller struck out the side in the ninth.

The Padres retired the final 16 Twins batters.

San Diego won for the ninth time in 12 games and for the 19th time in 26.

The Twins, coming off a three-game sweep of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, lost for the fourth time in seven games.

France hit a two-run homer to left with two outs in the first off left-hander Connor Prielipp (3-7). It was his 18th and Manny Machado was aboard on a single.

Vásquez's only big mistake was allowing Kody Clemens' two-run triple off the right field wall with two outs in the fourth tie the game.

The Padres rallied for three runs in the fifth on four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly. Tatis, Luis Rengifo and Machado hit consecutive RBI singles with one out and France followed with a sacrifice fly.

Prielipp allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings, struck out seven and walked two.

Olivia Miles scored 24 points Natasha Howard added 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Washington Mystics 94-84 on Friday night for their sixth straight win.

The Lynx (31-7) have won 16 of 17 have a 4 1/2-game lead on second-place Golden State in the WNBA standings.

Washington (21-15) fell into seventh, a half-game behind New York.

Howard finished with seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Kayla McBride scored 18 points and Courtney Williams had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Minnesota. Williams fell to the floor in the closing seconds and left the game due to an apparent lower-body injury. Napheesa Collier (rest) did not play.

Kiki Iriafen had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Mystics. Shakira Austin added 17 points and eight rebounds and Michaela Onyenwere scored 14.

Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx co-owner Marc Lore has agreed to sell his controlling stake in the franchises to limited partner Marc Stad at a $4.5 billion value barely a year after his purchase was finalized, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke Friday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the agreement — the second sale in the NBA this month — were not being publicized.

The Los Angeles Lakers were flipped by Mark Walter to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation in a deal struck last week.

Lore, a New York e-commerce entrepreneur, and partner Alex Rodriguez, the former Major League Baseball star, bought the NBA and WNBA clubs from Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor. That complicated and contentious process lasted more than four years until the $1.5 billion sale got league approval in June 2025.

Lore will retain a limited share and essentially swap roles with Stad, who is the founder of Dragoneer Investment group, a California-based firm focused on technology companies. Rodriguez will remain as a co-owner and continue as the most publicly visible owner of the pro basketball franchises.

Lore's decision to sell his majority stake stems from his focus on his food delivery startup Wonder, according to a second person with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity to the AP because those details were not being made public. Lore has started the process of taking Wonder public.

Lore, Rodriguez and Stad issued a joint statement Friday expressing their commitment to the current leadership in the organization including chief executive officer Matt Caldwell, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, and Lynx president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve.

“We have been working together for years with a shared goal of building the Timberwolves and Lynx into the best organization in basketball on and off the floor. Our priority is and always will be championships,” the owners said. “Our new agreement, pending league approval, is an evolution of the partnership we have built together and strengthening of our commitment to our team and our culture.”

The two teams currently play at Target Center, which opened in 1990 for the second season of the Timberwolves after they were granted an expansion franchise. Lore and Rodriguez have previously pledged a desire to keeping the teams in downtown Minneapolis, eventually in a new arena.

The Lynx were added to the WNBA as an expansion club in 1999 and have won four championships, with a healthy lead on the rest of the league this season behind star Napheesa Collier and rookie Olivia Miles.

The Timberwolves have never won a title or reached the NBA Finals, with an eight-year run of making the playoffs behind star forward Kevin Garnett their only period of sustained success until recently.

Since drafting Anthony Edwards with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, hiring Finch in 2021 and Connelly in 2022, the Timberwolves have grown into one of the league's best teams. They reached the Western Conference Finals in 2024 and 2025 and were ousted in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs last season. They acquired point guard LaMelo Ball in one of the NBA's biggest summer trades.

Myles Price has been a standout performer throughout training camp for the Minnesota Vikings.

His experience got even better this week.

The second-year wide receiver, who made the team as an undrafted rookie last season after winning both the kickoff returner and punt returner jobs, has elevated his game as a pass-catcher and route-runner enough this summer to put himself in position for a depth role on offense.

The 5-foot-9 Price, who played four years at Texas Tech before finishing his college career in 2024 at Indiana, has made multiple highlight-reel catches during open-to-the-public practices, including an in-traffic snag of a pass by J.J. McCarthy that ended a two-minute drill and concluded a joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday.

Price impressed a prominent visitor, too. Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, who was in Minnesota this week as a guest of the Vikings, sat in on a position group meeting, spent time with players and watched both days of dual workouts with the Ravens.

“He was sitting right next to me. He was giving me tips. I couldn’t believe it. I’m not going to lie,” Price said Thursday, his face beaming with pride. “Then we come out on the field before practice, and he comes here and shows me a little move. I think that is so cool.”

Even for Justin Jefferson, the time with Moss was particularly meaningful. The two-time All-Pro, who has broken some of his predecessor's records, sounded almost as awestruck as Price when reflecting on their interactions around the facility.

“The information that he has is just endless,” Jefferson said, before making sure to pay respect to his current position coach: “There’s no better person out here — beside maybe Keenan McCardell — who can teach me different things of how to be a true route runner, how to be a true receiver.”

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who had Moss as a teammate with the New England Patriots in 2008, said he had a goal since being hired in Minnesota to get Moss around the team whenever possible.

“He talks to me more now than he did when I was teammates with him,” O'Connell said. “I remind him of that often, but I love him.”

The Ravens and their defense under new coach Jesse Minter provided plenty of valuable moments for the Vikings, too, especially considering neither team was planning to play starters in the preseason game on Saturday.

Cornerback Marlon Humphrey, himself a two-time All-Pro, presented Jefferson plenty of challenges in their one-on-one matchups.

“It felt good to win some battles against him,” Humphrey said on Thursday. “He got me on some.”

One of those came near the end of the workout on Wednesday during a two-minute drill the Vikings owned, when Kyler Murray threaded a pass through a double team to hit Jefferson in stride. Though Murray has had an uneven camp while learning a new offense and only taking full-time turns with the first team since being named the starter last week, his connection with Jefferson has stood out.

“It's definitely rolling as time goes on,” Jefferson said. “As much as he sees me in practice and seeing how I run my routes and the timing and everything, everything’s going to come together.”

Ravens reset at the center position after Pinter's injury

Danny Pinter was in line to take over as Baltimore's starting center for the departed three-time Pro Bowl pick Tyler Linderbaum, but he went down with a right leg injury during practice on Wednesday and needed a cart to be transported off.

NFL Network reported that Pinter tore his patellar tendon, a diagnosis that Minter declined to confirm other than to acknowledge the seventh-year player would “miss an extended amount of time.” Two other newcomers, Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic, remain in the mix for the starting spot.

“It's probably still a competition,” Minter said, “and we’ll see how it shakes out these next couple weeks.”

Olivia Miles had 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds before leaving midway through the fourth quarter with a left ankle injury, and the Minnesota Lynx ran away early from the Golden State Valkyries before holding on for a 77-66 win Wednesday night in a matchup of the WNBA’s top teams.

Kayla McBride also scored 20 for the Lynx and did Stephen Curry's signature “night night” gesture after a late 3-pointer at Chase Center, home to Curry's Warriors. Napheesa Collier added 18 points and eight rebounds for the league-best Lynx.

Miles, Minnesota's standout rookie who shot 8 of 10 from the field, turned her ankle when she stepped on Collier's foot. She limped off the court and went to the locker room briefly before returning to the bench area.

Veronica Burton had 14 points and seven assists for the cold-shooting Valkyries (25-10), who have yet to beat Minnesota in seven meetings. The top-seeded Lynx swept the expansion Valkyries in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.

Janelle Salaun's 3-pointer with 9:41 left pulled the Valkyries within 54-44, and she made one free throw the next time down before a layup with 8:18 remaining that cut the lead to 54-47. But Golden State didn't get enough defensive stops in crunch time.

The Valkyries' Kaila Charles left in the fourth after she took a hit to the eye.

The Lynx (30-7) have won five straight and 15 of 16, improving to 11-1 on the road against the Western Conference.

Golden State started 5 of 27 in front of a raucous, sellout crowd. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Tuesday that the arena and Valkyries will host the 2027 All-Star Game.

The Valkyries (25-10) had their six-game winning streak snapped with just their second loss in 17 games. They clinched a playoff berth with Monday's 78-70 win over Dallas.

Golden State shot 4 for 17 in the first quarter, missing five of its six 3-point attempts, then began 1 of 12 to start the second as Minnesota jumped to a 35-18 lead and opened the second quarter with a 7-0 burst on the way to a 41-26 halftime advantage.

The Valkyries typically find their offensive rhythm from their defense, but never got in sync on either end. They shot 2 of 14 from deep in the first half and 7 for 37 overall — 1 for 7 by leading scorer Gabby Williams, who was held to 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting.

Up next

Lynx: At Washington on Friday night.

Valkyries: Visit Chicago on Friday night.

Josh Bell hit a two-run homer, Ryan Jeffers drove in Minnesota’s other two runs, and the Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Bell hit his 17th home run of the year over the right-center field wall in the first inning to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Jeffers added a two-run double in the eighth inning that plated Kaelen Culpepper and Byron Buxton as the Twins took the first two games of the three-game series.

Zebby Matthews (7-8) tossed 5 2/3 innings for Minnesota, allowing one run on five hits while striking out four. Yoendrys Gómez worked a scoreless ninth for his 19th save of the season.

Drake Baldwin scored Atlanta's run in the sixth inning on a home run to left-center field.

Tyler Mahle (4-10) worked 6 2/3 frames and gave up two runs on six hits. Dylan Dodd and Didier Fuentes both allowed a run in 2/3 innings as well.

Up next

Braves' RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 4.15 ERA) squares off against Twins' RHP Taj Bradley (9-5, 3.98) in the series finale this Wednesday.

The Minnesota Vikings named Kyler Murray starting quarterback for the upcoming season. They played their first pre-season game against the New York Giants this weekend and won 13-10.

But it came with the loss of a veteran defender. Jamal Adams tore his right quadriceps tendon during the game. And some are blaming the turf at MetLife Stadium in New York.

Plus, the Minnesota Lynx beat the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces and are gearing up to play the No. 2 Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.

Minnesota Now sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson have those sports headlines plus other Minnesota sports news.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.

Minnesota Vikings safety/linebacker Jamal Adams was placed on injured reserve Monday, two days after leaving a preseason game on a cart with a right knee injury.

Adams, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, is expected to have season-ending surgery.

The 30-year-old Adams was injured in his first game with Minnesota after signing on the eve of the start of training camp.

The Vikings signed cornerback Bryce Phillips to fill Adams' spot on the roster. Phillips originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Kansas City following the 2026 NFL draft. His brother, Clark Phillips III, plays cornerback for Atlanta after starring collegiately at Utah.

Tommy John, who won 288 games during a 26-year big league career and became the first pitcher to successfully return following groundbreaking elbow surgery that later was named after him, has died. He was 83.

He died at his home in Bradenton, Florida, on Saturday night, agent Mike Maguire said Sunday. He had been in hospice care.

On Aug. 8, the New York Yankees released a social media post in which John wrote that he wanted to say goodbye to everyone, including friends and fans who followed him throughout his career, saying, “I will never forget you.”

The Yankees called John “a bedrock of our rotation during his time in pinstripes and a longtime favorite of Yankees fans.”

John was a four-time All-Star with a record of 288-231 and a 3.34 ERA during a career that stretched from 1963 to 1989. He pitched for Cleveland, the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees, the California Angels and the Oakland Athletics.

“Tommy was an exceptional pitcher throughout his career in Major League Baseball, and his courageous role in becoming the first to have surgery that would go on to bear his name can’t be overstated,” Stan Kasten, Dodgers president and CEO, said in a statement. "His impact both on and off the field has been felt by ballplayers of all ages and will be for generations to come.”

The left-hander was 31 years old when he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow in 1974, a death knell for pitchers' careers to that point.

John allowed Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodgers’ team physician, to replace the ligament with a tendon from his right forearm. Jobe gave the surgery 100-to-1 odds of being successful.

John was a great pitcher, but his elbow surgery made him a baseball legend

The procedure had been done on others before, although it was usually performed on wrists and hands. John was the first pitcher to have it done on his elbow.

More than 2,600 big leaguers and thousands more amateurs have since had UCL reconstructions, better known as Tommy John surgery. It’s been a godsend for many of baseball’s greatest stars, including two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander and even Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper.

“If you put it in dollars and cents, I think there’s no question that Tommy John is the most valuable reconstructive procedure there is,” Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache told The Associated Press in 2024.

Born Thomas Edward John Jr. on May 22, 1943, in Terre Haute, Indiana, he was a top baseball and basketball player at the city’s Gerstmeyer High. He graduated in 1961 as valedictorian but did not give the commencement speech because of a stutter. Despite being recruited by the University of Kentucky to play basketball, John chose baseball and signed with Cleveland.

“The day I left for my first job as a pitcher, my father looked at me & said, ‘Good luck, Tommy. Just remember one thing: whether you make it big in the big leagues or you don’t, you’ll always just be Tommy John from Terre Haute, Indiana.’ I’ve never forgotten those words,” John wrote in his Aug. 8 post.

John recorded 2,245 strikeouts but never led either league in wins or strikeouts. He had the second-most wins of any pitcher since 1900 not to be elected to the Hall of Fame. From 1995 through 2009, John was on the Hall of Fame ballot, but he never received more than 31.7% of the votes, falling well short of the 75% required for election.

“Tommy was a wonderful person who competed to the utmost and did what no player had ever done to save his career, in conjunction with the esteemed Dr. Frank Jobe,” former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti posted on X. “The HOF is missing Tommy John.”

John won more games after his eponymous surgery

Known for his longevity, John was the opening day starter for both the 1966 Chicago White Sox and the 1989 New York Yankees. He won 124 games before his UCL repair and 164 after. His final appearance came days after his 46th birthday.

“While his incredible longevity and post-surgery achievements changed the fortunes and trajectory of countless athletes around the world, it also overshadowed his excellence as a pitcher,” the Yankees said in a statement. “We pause to remember the totality of his legacy — his competitiveness and skill, his penchant for conversation, his kind and gracious nature, and his stature as an athletic and medical pioneer.”

John made his major league debut on Sept. 6, 1963, pitching one inning in relief for Cleveland.

He was traded to the White Sox in 1965 and worked his way into the starting rotation. The following year, he tied for the American League lead with five shutouts and in 1967, his six shutouts led the AL.

In 1971, he was traded to the Dodgers.

In 1974, John had a 13-3 record and led the National League in victories going into the All-Star break. He was pitching against the Montreal Expos when he permanently damaged the UCL in his left arm. After a month, the injury had not improved.

During the four-hour surgery on Sept. 25, 1974, Jobe made holes in the humerus and ulna bones of John’s left arm and used anchors to insert the tendon in a figure-eight pattern.

At first, John’s left hand was shriveled and he lacked feeling in several of his fingers because of damage to the ulnar nerve. Jobe performed a second procedure to reroute the nerve that was necessary to John’s full recovery.

John’s arm was in a cast for four months. He had recovered the full range of motion in his left arm by spring training of 1975 and spent that season resting, healing and rebuilding strength in his arm. John worked with fellow Dodgers pitcher Mike Marshall, who had a doctorate in kinesiology, on learning a different grip.

That September he made five appearances during an offseason instructional league, working his way up to seven innings by his final game.

John resumed pitching for the Dodgers in 1976 as the fourth starter in their rotation. He allowed three runs in five innings and took the loss in his first start against Atlanta, the first time any pitcher had started a game following UCL reconstructive surgery.

John donated the original cast from his surgery to the Smithsonian Institution in June 2022. His teammates on the 1974 Dodgers signed it, as well as Jobe and the team’s Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully.

The procedure has become so widely known that in 2019, Merriam-Webster added the term to its dictionary.

John made 31 starts for the Dodgers in 1976, posting a 10-10 record, a 3.09 ERA, 91 strikeouts, 61 walks and 207 hits allowed in 207 innings.

In 1977, he won 20 games for the first time in his career, finishing with a 20-7 record. He finished second behind Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton in voting for the NL Cy Young Award.

John and his family had mixed feelings about the legacy of his operation

Over 50 years later, Tommy John surgery is as much a part of baseball as peanuts and hot dogs. Advanced training methods are helping pitchers of all ages throw harder than ever. They take comfort knowing a torn UCL won’t necessarily end their careers.

“I am sick my name is attached to a surgery happening in kids more than pros,” John tweeted in July 2018.

John’s oldest son, Tommy III, became a chiropractor who wrote a book suggesting ways to prevent young athletes from having to undergo major sports-related surgery similar to what his father endured.

After his pitching career ended, John worked as a broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins and Yankees in the 1990s. He managed the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Bluefish from 2007-09.

John was hospitalized in December 2020 because of COVID-19 and later had Guillain-Barré syndrome, in which a person’s immune system attacks their nerves. John told the New York Post in May 2022 that he was paralyzed in his lower extremities for several months.

John and his wife Sally Simmons had four children: Tamara, Tommy III, Travis and Taylor, who died of a prescription drug overdose at 28 in 2010. The couple divorced in 2013.

Besides his children, he is survived by his second wife, Cheryl, and son-in-law Patrick Mannelly, a retired NFL long snapper who played 16 years for the Chicago Bears.