Morning Edition: Sports

In a normal year, this is a time when many high school athletes are looking ahead — playing on summer teams, starting captains’ practices and getting ready for the fall season. But this year, so little has been normal.

The No. 7 seed Gophers will challenge Fairfield at Maturi Pavilion.

The Minnesota Gophers football team has dropped four spots in the AP Top 25 poll after Saturday's loss to Iowa. It was Minnesota's first loss of the season.

With girls’ high school wrestling on the rise nationally and the NCAA’s interest growing, Augsburg and its team of mostly Minnesota wrestlers see a chance to lead in a sport they love. They expect to be formidable.

The stakes are enormous for the Gophers not just in the conference standings or national rankings but for the credibility of a once-downtrodden program and its coach, P.J. Fleck.

They play the Nets in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with MPR News sports commentator Brian Murphy about the developments.

The Vikings start the season off with a win. MPR News sports commentator Brian Murphy shares his thoughts on the game with Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer, and what it might mean for the season.

This will be head coach P.J. Fleck’s third season with the Gophers. Last year, the team finished 7-6, including a win in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Friday marks the first day of training camp for the full Minnesota Vikings squad, and preseason play begins in two weeks.