Sports

Minnesota looks to stretch bowl winning streak to 9 when it faces New Mexico in Rate Bowl
 In an era of bowl opt outs, Minnesota still finds plenty of reasons to embrace the postseason experience, even when the chase for a national championship ended long ago. The Gophers are pretty good at it, too, heading into Friday’s Rate Bowl against New Mexico on an eight-game bowl winning streak.
Vikings beat Lions 23-10 with six turnovers
The Detroit Lions have gifted the division rival Green Bay Packers a spot in the playoffs.
Seven Minnesotans will skate for the U.S. in the upcoming Junior World Ice Hockey Championships
Team USA will return four Minnesota players from last year’s gold medal squad. Defensemen Logan Hensler of Woodbury and Adam Kleber of Chaska will return to represent the United States, as will forwards Max Plante of Hermantown and Brodie Ziemer of Chaska.
Steven Stamkos scores in OT to give the Predators a 3-2 win over the Wild
Steven Stamkos scored 53 seconds into overtime to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Stamkos got a step on his defender as he raced down the slot, and Erik Haula found him with a pass that Stamkos deflected past goalie Filip Gustavsson.
MacKinnon nets 2 goals, Makar and Nelson have goal, two assists, as Avalanche beat Wild 5-1
Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, Cale Makar and Brock Nelson each had a goal and two assists, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 on Sunday night. Martin Necas also scored and Gabriel Landeskog had two assists for Colorado, winners of five straight.
Timberwolves coach fined $35K for spat with officials in win over Thunder
The NBA fined Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch $35,000 on Sunday for “directing inappropriate language toward game officials and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection” on Friday. Finch was ejected in the first quarter of the Timberwolves’ 112-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.