Vikings
The No oFf-season League has already showed up in Norseland. Despite plenty of communication about having to wait to interview the Eagles QB's coach the Vikings didn't and not have their offensive coordinator for 2018. In the event that he's only around for one year they may also have their OC of the future based on the blocking of an interview of Kevin Stefanski with the New York Giants. They did so through the utilization of NFL rules language which leads me to wonder whether they'll do similarly with another employee (Teddy) soon with the whole tolling deal. Time will tell about that and the quarterback position as whole but the question should be raised!
Bison
The long winter of losing is nearing it's conclusion. As the men's and women's Basketball teams continued their way down the rankings of the Summit league the hope that Softball and Baseball represent have begun to rise. Softball started their season this weekend with a five spot of games out in sin city. The one win through the first four games could have been better but today's outcome could draw that closer to .500. In the days to come the golf teams also will commence their latest slate of competitions. Those are all tier three sports, at best, in terms of fan support but could help to distract from the disappointment by the hoops teams! I should probably include the Track & Field in that cluster of options but they may be an even lower priority for people. I wasn't exactly subtle about it but the Basketball teams went 0-4 this week and things do not look to get better any time soon...
Dragons
At least the Dragons women's Basketball team has continued to be deserving of attention. After a 15 point victory yesterday in Crookston the lady Dragons have run their streak of success to 15 wins. That's some pretty nice symmetry and continues to be the best story around. With a pair of home games to close out their regular season, 17 wins is well within reach. The real question now is how they'll be able to perform when the pressure goes higher in Sioux Falls and then in the national tournament? If they split the next two they'll still have a great chance to hold the #1 seed but Northern State is lurking so hopefully they can just pull off the victory!
Beyond the Basketball court, MSUM also started the transition into Spring as their Tennis team started their season. In concert with the Wrestlers and Track & Field team all made it a successful weekend of action. Oh and there was the little thing known as national signing day at midweek. While NDSU had gotten many of their players to sign at the early date, the Dragons were the beneficiaries of the historical signing day. I don't know how the math works but by my count they had a total of 60 signees. You can see the entire list here, but hopefully all the new talent can get them past Concordia on the Football hierarchy!
Cobbers
Speaking of the Corncobs, they made it a clean sweep of school's starting their Spring sports seasons. Their initiation was on a much smaller scale but nonetheless, a start is a start! The Tennis teams started amidst the the flurry of weekend activity but were the capstone to the weekend. In footnote like fashion to the soon coming warmth, the men's Basketball shot their way to a 1 - 2 record while the women's team went 1-1. Likewise with the men's hockey while their female counterparts went 0-2. The Wrestlers cruised to a 49 - 6 victory over St. Olaf. And both Track & Field teams finished in third at the St. John's Invite.
Timberwolves
Team Howl hid their meager assets away from all would be suiters. No complaints there since they brokered one of the best deals in franchise history during the last draft. So the answer would be no, there is no second guessing of the trade for Butler even though Lavine, Dunn & Markkanen have all had good seasons, in limited time. I do hope that they do not compound point guard related mishandling with a signing of Derrick Rose but I won't hold my breath on that one. A transaction of Shabazz for a cup of water would make some sense though, obviously not as a direct trade but as simultaneous maneuvers.
High School
Took in 3/7 of a Basketball jamboree yesterday so stay tuned for a post about that soon!