Speculation about a certain quarterback currently employed in the Lone Star State continues to dominate, but the team has been typically quiet at this point in the offseason. Considering what Detroit was able to get for Matthew Stafford, Houston is potentially sitting on an even bigger gold mine than most are saying. But the fly in the ointment could be the no-trade-clause in Watson's contract. The true test of his resolve to control his employment would be forcing a trade to one team and one team only. It's very possible that the Minnesota leadership may not be able willing to pay the price no matter what but the personal control that could be flexed has not gotten as much mention as it deserves.
It was a big week for present and former athletes. The ones still in the colors started with the 🏀 teams in Kansas City. The women got 17 from Emily Dietz & 14 from Heaven Hamling but couldn't overcome a 17-9 third quarter down the stretch, 53-45. Friday evening the men got a balanced attack with six players scoring at least 9. Rocky Kreuser was a free throw shy of a 10/10 game was enough to get him past the 500 boards mark, the 31st player to do so for the school.
In a reversal, the women came from six down at the half to win 68-65. Ryan Cobbins finished with a team-high 18 points and six rebounds while Hamling was just behind with 15. Down to a seven-man bench for the concluder, Tyree Eady finished with 14 points and Sam Griesel had as many rebounds but Kansas City won each half by a point to earn the split. Kreuser surpassed another milestone with his 1,000th point.
I'm of the opinion that with the shortened season, this is the year that shouldn't count toward the record books but it's a discussion for another day - which I'll glad have!
Earlier on Saturday, out West, 🤼 took care of Fresno St 29 - 15 and Cal Baptist 30 - 6.
At the same time the Track & Field were up in Grand Forks for their Open. As has become the standard, both the men and women proved to be the class of the state.
The 🏐 team also concluded January in KC. Of the six primary statistics, NDSU only lead in blocks, 13 - 9. Despite that they managed to push through to the fifth set but were edged 15-13 in the closeout.
As for the former athletes, both Jabril Cox & Dillon Radunz were in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl. After the fact both of the future pros were recognized for what they did during the week of practices. The LT got an extra nod and was recognized as the "Practice Player of the Week." If that doesn't seem significant, consider that Justin Herbert was the player to get that designation last year. That's far from apples to apples but is a feather in the big mans cap during this strange draft process.
Their former quarterback also had a special week. While the details are still murky and it was never really in doubt that he would have been included, Trey Lance received his invitation to the Combine earlier today.
But that's not all.
NDSU's mountain of a man, Payton Otterdahl competed in the American Track League today. The best of his four throws earned him a second place finish behind the world record holder. Another good step toward Tokyo this Summer!
A full week of activity was wiped away due to protocols but the Dragons still made some news this week with the announcement of the recruiting class for the pool. From as far away as South Africa or as near as across the railroad tracks, Moorhead State has a very diverse group of competitors set to join next year!
Another forgettable week for the Wolves has come and gone. Only time will tell if they've hit rock bottom yet or how long they'll hang out in the stratosphere. It may already be too late for them to get back into sniffing distance of the playoffs, but at the risk of hypocrisy for the opinion about how the Purple's season should have gone, it would be nice if they could put some wins together. Even with the pick going to Golden State if it's not in the top 3, I'm tired of this team losing. That's the difference between the franchises.
But on the bright side, they did knockoff Cleveland tonight to get halfway to a 10-win season. The long-term core of Anthony Edwards, D'Angelo Russell & Malik Beasley combined for 65 points while Jaylen Nowell added 13 in only 19 minutes. Not exactly a juggernaut of an opponent, even in the East, but can't turn up my nose to it.
The next four games (Cle, SA & OKC x2) very well may tell the story of the entire season!
While very-much still qualifying for an incomplete grade, Minnesota did make a somewhat splashy move this week. With an already stout defense at many positions, they signed Andrelton Simmons away from Anaheim. Across the board he's been lauded for his defensive prowess with an offensive style that should compliment the big bats very well. It came in concert with the announcement that Eddie Rosario would be moving on to Cleveland. His hot bat could be missed but more than anything it means that the future is now for Alex Kirilloff as the starting outfielder next to Buxton and Kepler. If the chips fall right, this will be another home run heavy offense but may be far more often not just solo shots, which would only increase their chances of ending the playoff drought!
Fargo had it's first back-to-back-to-back since Dec 3/4/5 this weekend. Game 1 came in Sioux City. The Bolts came back from a 2-0 deficit in the second period but the tie was broken in the third and Fargo couldn't muster another rally. From there they traveled to Lincoln but all four goals went the way of the home team.
They managed to flip the script in the close-out game starting with a Tristan Broz goal in the first period. Andrew Miller held the 1-0 lead into the third period at which point Jeremy Davidson doubled the lead. Austin Wong added a third goal for good measure minutes later. It finished as the first blanking by Miller in a USHL game and the three scorers separated themselves from a seven-way tie at the start of the day to a three-way tie at the end of it.
Even with the recent struggles that they've been battling through, Fargo remains atop the West at the midway point of the season.
It's only January, so the best of the Winter season could be ahead. But it's hard to imagine a better week of competition the rest of the way! It started with Norman County East visiting Park Christian for Monday night girls basketball. 24 hours after that there was history on the North side. A day before the weekend, Fergus Falls visited Moorhead. Then, a newsy Friday came as the precursor to Sheyenne VS West Fargo part 2.
Beyond in-person viewing, Kindred's Gavin Keller crossed the quadruple-digits threshold on Thursday during a win against #6 Central Cass.
And as always, there were more developments made in athletes' journeys from high school to college.
One other development for the fully-amateur level that was overlooked previously, Rachel Hummel was announced as the new 🏐 coach for North. A West Fargo & VCSU graduate, she was already an assistant coach with the Spartans.
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