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    Power 96 Sports for Monday December 9th, 2024.

    12/09/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics saw the Tiger girls hockey team win on Saturday in spite of taking 12 penalties. Minneapolis scored in the first period and that is all the Tiger Defense would allow as the Tigers rolled on to a 5 to 1 win. Jada Moyer made 21 saves in the win. The girls will be back in action on Tuesday.   Tiger boys basketball fell to Chatfield Saturday 69 to 80. Leading the way for the Tigers were Sophomore Marques Jeffers Joseph and Freshman Rara Brown with 11 and 10 points respectively. Action for the Tigers continues on Tuesday as they play their I-90 rival at home, the Austin Packers. Tiger teams are off today but will have a full slate of action tomorrow.

    The Austin Bruins kept racking up points over the weekend after a home and home series against Saint Cloud. Friday night the Bruins defended their home ice winning 5 to nothing. Bruins goaltender Jack Solomon made 23 saves. On Saturday night, the Bruins traveled up to Saint Cloud for game 2 which went to a shootout. The black and gold left town with 2 points with a 2 to 1 win.

    Steph Curry sunk a 39-foot jumper from nearly halfcourt to beat the third-quarter buzzer and finished with 30 points and eight assists, leading the Golden State Warriors past the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-106 on Sunday night in the teams" second meeting over three days. Anthony Edwards scored 27 points as Minnesota"s four-game winning streak ended. The T Wolves wont be back in action until Friday when they host the Lakers at the Target Center.

    Sam Darnold added yet another highlight to his shocking first season with the Vikings, passing for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, in a 42-21 victory over the foundering Falcons on Sunday to stretch their winning streak to six games. Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson racked up seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns after going the past six games without scoring.   The Minnesota Vikings did their part, but they'll have to wait at least another week to clinch a playoff spot. There was a possibility of the Vikings securing a playoff spot this week if all the cards fell their way. First, they needed a win, and they took care of business by beating the Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon.

    But they also needed a little bit of help. They needed the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks to play to a tie, or they needed the Cardinals to lose and the Los Angeles Rams to either tie or lose to the Buffalo Bills. There were a couple of other less likely scenarios, too, but ultimately, none of them came into play. While the Vikings got the help they needed from the Seahawks, who beat the Cardinals 30-18 on Sunday, the Rams weren't as helpful, beating the Bills 44-42 Sunday. It would've been nice if the Vikings nailed down a playoff spot Sunday, but that'll come soon. At 11-2, they just need to win any of their next four games to officially clinch a playoff spot. They host the Chicago Bears for Monday Night Football next week; they visit the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 22; they host the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 29; and Minnesota will close out its regular season at the Detroit Lions on Jan. 5 in what could potentially be a game with massive implications.

    The Minnesota Wild are off today, but they will take on Utah tomorrow in Utah. The Wild currently sit tied for first in the Central Division at 40 points.

    Power 96 Sports for Friday December 6th, 2024.

    12/06/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics as heard here on POWER 96 The Tiger girls hockey team recorded another shutout as the Tigers skated to a 7 to nothing win over Mankato West. Hanna Austinson scored her 100th career point in that game. Goaltender Jada Moyer turned away 10 Scarlet shots in the shut out. The boys team did not have the same luck, falling to Kato West 3 to nothing. Ledger Stadheim made 24 saves. Today, Tiger wrestling is in Iowa taking part in a varsity tournament. Yesterday 4 Girls took part in the Dan Gable Donnybrook Tournament, the most Albert Lea has ever sent to the tournament. State runner up Maggie Olson went 4 and 0 with 3 pins, and will be in the finals today. Tonight, boys and girls basketball are in action taking on Red Wing at 7:30. The girls are hosting the Wingers, while the boys will be in Red Wing.

    The sixth-seeded Gophers volleyball team will be dancing for at least another day following its four-set victory — 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23 — over Western Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky. With the win, the Gophers will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they'll face either third-seeded Kentucky or Cleveland State, whose game was later Thursday, on Friday at 6:30 p.m. back in Lexington.

    The Austin Bruins are in action tonight as they take part in a home and home series against Saint Cloud. The Bruins will host the Norsemen at Riverside Arena tonight at 7:05. Saturday, the Bruins head to Saint Cloud for the rematch.

    A key member of the Minnesota Vikings has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month.

    In November, outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard led the NFC with eight tackles for loss and recorded four sacks, 16 total tackles, one forced fumble and one pass defensed. During that stretch, the Vikings went 4-0.

    Throughout the month, Greenard helped the defense allow the fewest rushing yards per game at 58.8, fewest yards per rush at 3.0 and third-fewest yards per game in the NFL at 265.5.

    Vikings right guard Dalton Risner was added to the team's injury report on Thursday and was limited during practice due to a back injury. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore did not participate for the second straight day due to a hamstring injury. Risner was not on Minnesota's injury report on Wednesday, suggesting the injury could have popped up during practice Thursday. Risner started the season on injured reserve because of a back injury that he suffered in training camp, but was activated in early November and has since beat out Ed Ingram for the starting right guard spot. Ingram was even a healthy scratch last week against the Arizona Cardinals. As a late add to the report, Risner's status will be something to monitor.

    This Sunday the Vikings will try to keep pace when they take on the Atlanta Falcons at Noon. POWER 96 will bring you all that action beginning at 11 am Sunday morning.

    Both of Minnesota"s Mens winter teams are on the West Coast tonight. The Minnesota Wild will take on Anaheim at 9 pm. And the Timberwolves will face Golden State tonight with the tipoff slotted for 9 pm.

    Thursday night football showcased a Northern Division collision as the Detroit Lions found themselves in a shootout against the Green Bay Packers before finally putting the Packers away with a field goal as time expired. The Lions improved to 12 and 1 with the 34-31 win.

    Power 96 Sports for Thursday December 5th, 2024.

    12/05/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics are back in action tonight. POWER 96 will bring you Tiger girls Hockey at 7 pm when the team takes on Mankato West at the Albert Lea City Arena. Sports Director Dave Nelson and Jay Beherands will bring you all the action at 7 pm. You can listen here on 96.1 fm, or watch and listen live from our website kqprfm.com. Boys Hockey on the road, also taking on Mankato West at 7:30.

    Rudy Gobert delivered a pretty no-look pass to Jaden McDaniels for a transition layup in the opening minutes. It was the type of play that indicated it might just be the Timberwolves' night, and it certainly was Wednesday as they dominated the Los Angeles Clippers from start to finish on their way to a 108-80 victory at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

    Anthony Edwards finished with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. McDaniels and Mike Conley scored 11 points apiece. Gobert recorded eight points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and a block. The Wolves assisted on 31 of their 41 made shots. Josh Minott put together his best performance of the season, posting season highs in minutes (21), points (13), rebounds (eight) and assists (three). The Wolves emptied their bench late, and Luka Garza scored 10 points in eight minutes. The Timberwolves are off tonight and will take on Golden State on Friday.

    Dominique Petrie scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, Michela Cava also scored and the Minnesota Frost defeated the Boston Fleet 2-1 on Wednesday night.

    From the jump, Michigan State was crashing the glass, running the floor in transition and scoring easy buckets. It wasn't anything the Gophers men's basketball team wasn't expecting coming into its first Big Ten matchup, but the Spartans played to their strengths nonetheless in a 90-72 Gophers loss Wednesday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

    Vikings kicker Will Reichard was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, putting him on track to return this week against the Falcons after a four-game absence. He's been on injured reserve since aggravating a quad injury against the Colts in Week 9. Earlier on Wednesday, O'Connell said he was hoping to have Reichard back this week "barring any setbacks" in practice. The fact that he practiced in full suggests that if everything goes smoothly over the next couple days, he'll be activated from IR on Saturday and will be Minnesota's kicker on Sunday. John Parker Romo filled in admirably for the Vikings during Reichard's absence, going 11 for 12 on field goal attempts. He's proven he belongs in the NFL, but there was never any question that the rookie from Alabama would get his job back once he was healthy again. Long snapper Andrew DePaola is also set to be activated on Saturday and make his return from IR. Tight end Josh Oliver practiced in full on Wednesday as well. O'Connell said Monday that he expected Oliver to return this week, and that appears to be the case. It'll provide a nice boost to the Vikings' offense to get one of their best blockers — and a sneakily solid pass-catcher — back this week after he had missed the last two games. Oliver ranks fifth on the Vikings' roster in receptions this season, sixth in yardage, and fourth in touchdown catches. Stephon Gilmore, as expected, did not practice. He seems likely to miss at least one game with his hamstring injury, which would mean more action for Fabian Moreau. Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman were among four players listed as limited, but there's likely no reason to be worried about their statuses for Sunday.

    Thursday night football tonight features a Northern Division Collision as the Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers. That game will be on Amazon Prime Video. That game will get underway at 7:15.

    Power 96 Sports for Wednesday December 4th, 2024.

    12/04/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics as heard here on POWER 96 saw Tiger boys hockey goaltender Ledger Stadheim make 40 saves in a 5 to nothing loss to the reigning section 1 A Champion Northfield at the city arena. The Raiders converted on 4 of 9 power play chances. Girls basketball fell to Worthington in Worthington last night 66 to 53. Aliyah Heideman and Nevaeh Wacholz led the Tigers with 20pts each, with Wacholz notching 11 rebounds as well. Jaelyn Boss added 9 points, while going to the free-throw line 12 times. Hailee Godeke finished out the stats with 2 huge charges at critical moments. That is her 4th drawn charge of the early season. Tigers return back to the crib for their HOME OPENER Friday vs the Wingers of Red Wing. Tipoff set for 730.

    Tiger teams are off today and will be back in action tomorrow. Power 96 Sports Director Dave Nelson and his crew will bring you the call of the Tiger Girls Hockey game live from the City Arena.

    Kirill Kaprizov scored with 23.4 seconds left in overtime and the Minnesota Wild rallied to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night for their sixth victory in eight games. Frederick Gaudreau and Jake Middleton also scored for Minnesota, and Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves. The Wild improved to 17-4-4, giving them an NHL-best 38 points. The Wild Won for the first time in six chances when trailing after the second period and improved to 3-4 in overtime. Minnesota will start a three-game road trip Friday in Anaheim.

    The Timberwolves are in action tonight, but you"ll need to have a cup of coffee with dinner as tonight"s matchup against the Clippers wont get underway until 9:30.

    The No. 15 University of Minnesota volleyball program has earned an at-large bid in the 2024 NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament. The Golden Gophers were placed in the Lexington, Ky., region and will take on Western Kentucky in round one. The first two rounds will take place on Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6th.

    Second-year Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles County Court on Tuesday to two misdemeanor DUI charges from his July 12 arrest, according to a social media post from Star Tribune's Ben Goessling. Goessling also reported that there is a pre-trial conference hearing scheduled for Jan. 9. This likely confirms that Addison will finish out the 2024-25 season before receiving a final sentence. In August, Addison was charged with two misdemeanors following his July 12 arrest in Los Angeles on suspicion of DUI. He was found asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle, obstructing lanes of highway traffic near Los Angeles International Airport before being charged with "driving under the influence of alcohol, and driving with blood-alcohol content over California"s legal limit of .08 percent." From a football standpoint, he has dealt with some injuries this season, but in 10 games Addison has reeled in 36 catches for 575 yards and four touchdowns. Minnesota is 10-2 and an extended absence from a player of Addison's caliber could seriously impact their offensive chemistry.

    Tonight POWER 96 will bring you X"s and O"s, the Minnesota Vikings Coaches Show. You"ll get all the latest out of the Performance Center and maybe learn the fate of place kicker Parker Romo. Coverage begins at 6:30 pm.

    Power 96 Sports for Tuesday December 3rd, 2024.

    12/03/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics tonight will see the girls basketball team taking on Worthington in Worthington, with tip off at 7:15pm. POWER 96 will bring you Tiger boys hockey tonight live from the Albert Lea City Arena. Sports Director Dave Nelson and his crew will bring you all things Tiger hockey at 7 pm, with face off scheduled at 7:15pm.

    Julius Randle scored 18 points and Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Los Angeles Lakers 109-80 on Monday night. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each scored 15 for the Wolves, who limited the Lakers to their lowest point total since a 122-73 loss at Dallas in 2017. Anthony Edwards had only eight points on 3-for-13 shooting for the Wolves, but his Olympic teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis were just as quiet for the Lakers. The Timberwolves went 15 for 35 from deep and had 20 fast-break points. The Wolves will next visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

    The Minnesota Lynx have announced their schedule for the 2025 regular season, featuring an expanded 44-game slate and a new Western Conference opponent. Minnesota tips off the season on May 16 at Dallas, who secured the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft. After a trip to Los Angeles, the Lynx return to Minneapolis for their home opener on May 21, once again taking on Dallas. On June 1, the Lynx will travel to the Bay Area to face the expansion franchise Golden State Valkyries for the very first time.

    In a wilder than expected Monday night Football matchup, the Denver Broncos downed the Cleveland Browns in a scoring shootout winning 41 to 32.

    Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell provided some injury updates on key players during his weekly Monday press conference following the game against the Cardinals.

    Stephon Gilmore left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury and did not return. He was replaced by Fabian Moreau, who was kept busy.

    Josh Oliver has missed the last two games with what the Vikings have listed as both ankle and wrist injuries, but O'Connell said he expects to get one of his top tight ends back this week against Atlanta. The expectation is that it will be a fairly normal practice week for Oliver.

    And both Will Reichard and Andrew DePaola will have their 21-day practice windows opened up this week. They've now missed the minimum four games on injured reserve and could be in line to return to game action as soon as this week.

    With the recent cold snap, if you"re longing for the days of summer, Tickets for all 2025 Minnesota Twins home games are officially on sale. Twins fans can also purchase tickets for Twinsfest at Target Field as well as spring training games at Lee Health Sports Complex.

    The Minnesota Wild will host the Vancouver Canucks tonight. Faceoff is set for 7 pm at the X.

    Power 96 Sports for December 2nd, 2024.

    12/02/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics are off today. Action will resume on Tuesday with boys and girls hockey along with girls basketball. Power 96 Sports Director Dave Nelson will bring you the call of the boys hockey game Tuesday with pregame at 7pm and face-off at 7:15.

    The Austin Bruins keep racking up the points in spite of falling to the Minnesota Mallards Friday night. That game went to a shoot out before the Bruins fell 5-4 but the extra time gave the black and gold a point in the standings. Saturday night, the Bruins took on the Norsemen of St. Cloud soundly defeating their division rivals 4-1. This weekend the Bruins have a home and home series against St. Cloud. Friday night the Bruins will host the Norsemen at Riverside Arena before heading to St. Cloud for a Saturday night showdown.

    Jared Spurgeon scored 1:00 into overtime and the Minnesota Wild beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Saturday night.

    Kirill Kaprizov and Declan Chisholm also scored for the Wild, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Filip Gustavsson stopped 25 shots. The Wild will host the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night.

    The Timberwolves host the Lakers tonight at the Target Center. Tipoff is set for 7 pm.

    Sam Darnold"s second touchdown pass of the second half went to Aaron Jones for the Vikings first lead with 1:13 remaining, and the Vikings rallied from 13 points down to beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-22 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory. Darnold passed for 104 of his 235 yards in the fourth quarter against the blitz-heavy Cardinals, whose five sacks helped deny the Vikings the end zone until Darnold hit Johnny Mundt with 1:17 left in the third quarter. That was the second offensive touchdown against Arizona in a span of 15 quarters. Justin Jefferson had seven receptions for 99 yards for the Vikings, including an underneath catch on fourth-and-6 from the Arizona 34 that kept the winning drive alive.

    The Vikings stayed one game behind Detroit in the NFC North by scoring on their final three full possessions, totaling 187 yards on 23 plays over those three drives. The Vikes will next host Kirco Chains and his Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

    Only three times in the 64-year history of the Minnesota Vikings has a quarterback had ten games with at least a 100 passer rating in a single season. Daunte Culpepper did it in 2000. Brett Favre did it in 2009. With another clutch performance in Sunday's comeback win over the Cardinals, Sam Darnold has equaled those two with his tenth such performance this season — and he has five games left to break the record and stand alone in franchise history. Randall Cunningham had nine games above a 100 rating in 1998. So did Culpepper in '04. Kirk Cousins had nine in each of the 2019-21 seasons. That should help put into context how impressive and consistent Darnold's 2024 has been.

    If you see Randy Moss wearing sunglasses on ESPN, it's not a stylistic choice. The former star Minnesota Vikings wide receiver, now an analyst at ESPN, revealed on both his personal Instagram page and the network Sunday that he's been dealing with a health issue, the reason Moss has been wearing the sunglasses on air. Moss was in good spirits and even quipped that ESPN's Adam Schefter calls them his "Michigan turnover glasses." "I just wanted to let the viewers know that me and my wife, me and my family are battling something internally," Moss said on ESPN. "I have some great doctors around me. I couldn't miss the show; I wanted to be here with you guys. I feel great, but if y'all see me with these Michigan turnover glasses that I have on, it's not being disrespectful because I'm on television, I'm battling something. I need all the prayer warriors. God bless you all and thanks for the prayers."

    Power 96 Sports for Friday November 29th, 2024.

    11/29/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics are off today. Action will resume on Tuesday of next week. Power 96 will bring you Tiger Boys hockey action Tuesday night, as the Tigers face Northfield at the Albert Lea City Arena.

    The Austin Bruins hosted the North Iowa Bulls last night. The teams skated to a rare regulation 0-0 tie. About one minute into the overtime period, the Bruins Ashton Bynum scored on an assist from Alex Laurenza to win the matchup 1 to nothing. Bruins goaltender Jack Soloman made 28 saves in the shutout bid. The Bruins next hit the road to take on the Minnesota Mallards on Friday night then head to St. Cloud for a Saturday night showdown against the Norsemen.

    Filip Gustavsson made 39 saves and Kirill Kaprizov scored to give the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. The shutout was Gustavsson"s second of the season. Minnesota improved to a league best 10-1-3 on the road this season. Kaprizov"s 14th goal of the season came 6:55 into the first period on a 4-on-1 rush when he finished off a pass from Joel Eriksson Ek. The Wild begin a three-game homestand Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks who recently klnocked off the Dallas Stars 6-2.

    The Minnesota Timberwolves in action today taking on the LA Clippers at the Target Center. Tipoff is set for 6:30 pm.

    NFL Football was all the rage yesterday and some games had NFC North implications. The Chicago Bears fell to the first place Detroit Lions 23-20. The first place Lions improved to 11 and 1 with the dramatic win, and broke their Thanksgiving loss streak since their last win in 2016. The Dallas Cowboys seem to be getting it together defeating the NY Giants 27-20, the win was their first home win in almost a year. The late game saw the Green Bay Packers trounce the Miami Dolphins at Lambo 30 to 17.

    Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who went on injured reserve with a hamstring issue this week, will return this season, head coach Kevin O'Connell said on Wednesday. "Really, really bummed out, but he will be back," O'Connell said. The Vikings' hope is that Pace will only have to miss the minimum four games on short-term IR, which would allow him to play in Week 17 against the Packers and Week 18 against the Lions, as well as the playoffs. The Vikings will need others to step up in Pace's absence over the next four weeks against the Cardinals, Falcons, Bears, and Seahawks. Cashman will continue to be their No. 1 linebacker, with veteran Kamu Grugier-Hill likely sliding into the No. 2 role and Davis mixing in for pass-rush situations.

    The Minnesota Vikings next play on Sunday when they host the Arizona Cardinals at US Bank Stadium. POWER 96 will bring you Vikings Football Sunday at 11 am. Paul Allen will bring you the Boom at Noon.

    Power 96 Sports for Wednesday November 27th, 2024.

    11/27/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics as heard here on POWER 96 last night, the Tiger boys hockey team opened up their season with a win after 2 3rd period goals in route to a 3-1 win over Rochester Lourdes. Connor Pirsig had 2 of the tiger goals and goaltender Ledger Stadheim turned away 36 Lourdes shots. Tiger girls hockey also in action last night taking on Kato east in Mankato. The girls bounced back from their last loss and shut out East 3 to nothing. Haley Austinson opened the scoring in the first period and Morgan Goskeson buried a puck for a goal in the second, then struck on a Tiger power play in the third to close out the scoring. Jayda Moyer recorded the shut out turning away 31 Kato shots.

    Tiger girls basketball fell to the Mayo Spartans in Rochester 94 to 36 Tuesday Night.

    The Tigers took a lot of notes and are eager to grow and learn from this contest going into the Thanksgiving break and head to Worthington next Tuesday, with the Home Opener next Friday vs Red Wing.

    In other local action, the Alden Conger girls basketball team fell to Nicollet 68 to 52.

    The Austin Bruins will host a black out night as the black and gold take on the North Iowa Bulls Thursday night at Riverside Arena. A special ticket price of 5 dollars is being made available for the Bruins faithful. Faceoff is set for 7:05. The Bruins were recently ranked 6th in the NAHL power rankings with a record of 14-5-1 and 1.

    Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is signing with the Minnesota Vikings, a source told ESPN on Wednesday, a notable move for a team that is likely facing another quarterback transition in the offseason.

    Jones became a free agent Monday after clearing waivers following a mutual decision to move on from New York. Sources had told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Jones preferred to sign with a playoff contender, with the Vikings among his potential destinations. The Vikings are signing Jones to a one-year deal for the remainder of this season for $375,000, a source told Schefter. He will start out on the Vikings' practice squad, leaving the possibility Jones could sign with another team if another starting quarterback went down in the next three weeks. Jones is scheduled to become a free agent after this season. Entering Wednesday, the Vikings had only one quarterback under contract for the 2025 season. That's rookie J.J. McCarthy, who suffered a season-ending meniscus injury in his right knee during his preseason debut and has since had a second surgery to address swelling that had developed during his rehabilitation. Doctors gave him a biological injection, and the Vikings have said that his timetable for a 2025 return remains on track.

    McCarthy's injury shifted veteran Sam Darnold from a likely bridge option to the Vikings' starting quarterback this season. He has led the team to a 9-2 record amid a career year, having already surpassed his career high for touchdown passes in a season (21), and could command a hefty free agent contract this offseason.

    In the short term, Jones is likely to back up both Darnold and incumbent No. 2 quarterback Nick Mullens. If nothing else, Wednesday's move will give the Vikings a head start on evaluating whether they would want to pair Jones with McCarthy in 2025. It also places Jones with Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, one of the NFL's best quarterback tutors.

    The Minnesota Wild are in Buffalo tonight. The team will try to fight their way out of a recent slump. Faceoff is set for 6 pm.

    Power 96 Sports for Tuesday November 26th, 2024.

    11/26/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger athletics are back in action today as the boys hockey team opens their season hosting Rochester Lourdes at the Albert Lea City Arena. POWER 96 will bring you all that action starting at 7 pm. Listen here on 96.1 fm or listen and or stream the live video from our website at kqprfm.com. The girls hockey team is on the road taking on Mankato East tonight at 7:15, and Tiger Girls Basketball travels to Rochester Mayo tip off at 7:30.

    Connor Hellebuyck made a season-high 43 saves, Alex Iafallo scored two goals, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Monday night in a game between two of the Western Conference"s best. Only defenseman Jacob Middleton beat the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, on a rebound in the first period. Kirill Kaprizov returned to the lineup after a one-game absence with a lower-body injury suffered Thursday in Edmonton. The NHL"s No. 2 scorer had his franchise-record 11-game point streak snapped. The wild will try to right the ship on Wednesday when they visit Buffalo.

    The Timberwolves host Houston in NBA Cup play on tonight. The Wolves are looking forward to some home cooking as tonights game starts off a four-game homestand. Tipoff tonight at the Target Center is set for 7 pm.

    Dawson Garcia posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds and went 5 of 6 at the free-throw line in the final minute to help Minnesota fend off Central Michigan for a 68-65 win on Monday night. The Gophers converted 3-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 17 seconds to close out the win.

    The Twins announced Monday they have made a trade with the Rays...to swap home dates on the schedule for the 2025 season. Tampa will now host the Twins for a three-game series May 26-28. Minnesota will get to host the Rays for a three-game series July 4-6, meaning Twins fans can celebrate the Fourth of July at the ballpark. It will be the third straight season the Twins will host a Fourth of July game; they beat the Tigers and Royals on that day over the past two seasons. Outside of being able to celebrate the holiday at home, the swap also means Twins players will avoid playing outdoors in the July heat and humidity in Florida. Swapping home dates on a previously-announced schedule isn't a normal occurrence, but this is a result of the catastrophic damage to the Rays' Tropicana Field caused by Hurricane Milton. Due to the damage, the Rays have announced they will play the upcoming season at George M. Steinbrenner Field. It's an 11,000-seat outdoor stadium in Tampa that typically serves as the Yankees' spring training home.

    According to the latest ESPN NFL rankings, the Minnesota Vikings have moved up from the 6th spot to number 5. Detroit stayed at number 1, and the Packers moved from 8 to 6.

    Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones officially cleared waivers Monday and is now an unrestricted free agent.

    Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Jones prefers to sign with a playoff contender, and potential destinations include the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings.

    For a team to have plucked Jones off waivers, it would have had to claim the balance of his contract - $11,833,333 for this season in addition to the $23 million in injury guarantees for after this season.

    Monday night football saw the Harbaugh brothers do battle once again with Johns Baltimore Ravens beating Jims LA Chargers. The Ravens never relinquished the lead in the second half, opening a two-touchdown cushion midway through the fourth quarter and hanging on for an impressive 30 to 23 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers. As far as the Harbaugh brothers… John leads Jim in head to head matchups 3 games to none.

    Power 96 Sports for Monday November 25th, 2024.

    11/25/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Athletics are off today. Friday night the Albert Lea Tiger girls basketball team fell to Zumbrota Mazeppa 68-33.

    Nevaeh Wacholz led the scoring with 12 points, while Greta Moller led the team in times ran up the bleachers during the game, saving a ball, and returning to the court to keep playing. She also contributed 6pts. Lily Johnson & Makenna Oudekerk recorded their 1st Varsity points as well. Tigers travel to Mayo Tuesday. The boys hockey team will open their season tomorrow night hosting Lourdes at the Albert Lea City Arena. POWER 96 will bring you all that action starting at 7 pm.

    The Austin Bruins swept the Watertown Shamrocks over the weekend at Riverside Arena. Friday night the Bruins downed the Shamrocks 4-1. Saturday night was a record setting night for the annual Teddy Bear toss. The Bruins faithful set a new record when 1 thousand and 12 stuffed animals flooded the playing surface after the Bruins first goal as the team outscored the Shamrocks 5 to 2 to cap off the weekend. The Bruins will next be in action this Thursday when the black and gold host the North Iowa Bulls.

    Jaylen Brown scored the Celtics" first 15 points on five consecutive 3-pointers and finished with 29 points, before Boston withstood a late charge to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-105 on Sunday. Anthony Edwards had 28 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost five of its last seven. Julius Randle added 23 points, and Rudy Gobert finished with 10 points and 20 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the season. The Timberwolves host Houston in NBA Cup play on Tuesday, beginning a four-game homestand.

    Sam Darnold threw for 90 of his 330 yards in overtime to set up Parker Romo"s game ending 29 yard field goal, and Minnesota outlasted Chicago 30-27 on Sunday after giving up 11 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation. Darnold threw two touchdown passes. Jordan Addison caught eight passes for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown, and T.J. Hockenson had 114 yards receiving for the Vikings (9-2), who remained one game behind Detroit in the rugged NFC North. Aaron Jones ran for 106 yards and a score for the Vikings.

    Vikings left tackle Cam Robinson and linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. left Sunday's game against the Bears due to lower-body injuries in the first quarter. Pace got banged up early in the quarter, suffering a hamstring injury. In his absence, Kamu Grugier-Hill has seen more snaps alongside Blake Cashman at linebacker. Robinson stayed down on a knee after a play later in the opening quarter. He was looked at by members of the Vikings' training staff and then escorted to the blue medical tent on the sideline. From there, he went back to the visitor's locker room at Soldier Field. It's a foot injury. Veteran David Quessenberry is Minnesota's backup left tackle. Robinson was acquired as the replacement for injured star Christian Darrisaw, so in a sense, the Vikings are currently on their third-string option at the position.

    The Vikings will next host Arizona on Sunday.

    Despite giving fourth-ranked Penn State all it could handle on Saturday, the Gophers football team opens as a 1.5-point underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, for its Black Friday matchup against struggling arch-rival Wisconsin. It's a bit of a curious line. Minnesota went toe-to-toe with the Nittany Lions Saturday, falling 26-25, while the Badgers are coming off an ugly 44-25 blowout loss at Nebraska. That being said, it's always a battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, the Badgers do have home-field advantage with the game taking place in Madison, Wis., and Wisconsin will be coming in desperate. With the loss to the Cornhuskers, the Badgers fell to 5-6 on the season, putting them at risk of missing out on bowl eligibility. Wisconsin currently has a 22-year bowl streak, which is the third longest in the FBS, trailing only Georgia (25) and Oklahoma (27). Luke Fickell and company will be motivated to keep that streak alive with a win on Friday.

    Rasmus Andersson scored the shootout winner and the Calgary Flames held off the Minnesota Wild 4-3 after blowing a two-goal lead late in the third period Saturday. Marcus Johansson, Brock Faber and Marco Rossi scored for Minnesota. The Wild host the Winnipeg Jets tonight at the X.

    Power 96 Sports for Friday November 22nd, 2024.

    11/22/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey as heard here on POWER 96 saw a Tiger team that took 9 penalties fall to the Owatonna Huskies for their first loss of the season 3-1. The Tigers played from behind most of the game after a Husky goal in the first period. After giving up an empty net goal to make it 2 nothing, Tiger D-1 Commit Mika Cichosz found the back of the net with 20 seconds left. Albert Lea pulled Jada Moyer from net and the Huskies scored their final empty net goal with 9 seconds left to play. The Tigers now sit at 5 and 1 with their next game coming Tuesday against Mankato East in Mankato.

    Tiger Girls Basketball traveled to Dover Eyota Thursday Night to kick off the year versus a strong Eagle team returning 4 starters. Junior captain Greta Moller kicked off the scoring for the Tigers this season with quick shot on the baseline. The Tigers fell victim to a very successful and smothering diamond press and tried many times to dig their way out of it.

    Aliyah Heideman provided a nice scoring punch going 100% from the Free Throw line and adding 13pts.

    The big milestone happened just into the 2nd half, when Senior captain Nevaeh Wacholz scored her 1,000 point on a strong drive while getting fouled to the hoop. There was definitely some determination to get this accomplishment wrapped up last night and to proceed focused with the rest of the season. Wacholz finished with 24 points. The Tigers are right back at it Friday night vs Zumbrota Mazepa.

    The Austin Bruins will host the Watertown Shamrocks this weekend at Riverside Arena. Faceoff for tonight and Saturday are slotted for 7:05. Saturday nights game is the annual teddy bear toss where fans are encouraged to buy and bring a stuffed animal and thrown them onto the playing surface after the first Bruins goal. The animals will be collected and distributed to underprivileged families for Christmas.

    RJ Barrett scored 31 points, Scottie Barnes added 17 points in his return from injury, and the Toronto Raptors won back-to-back games for the first time this season by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-105 last night. Anthony Edwards scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half and Julius Randle added 23 for the Timberwolves. Jaden McDaniels scored 22 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

    One of the Gophers football team's five trophy games will take place Saturday against No. 4 Penn State in the battle for the Governor's Victory Bell. Minnesota enters the game as an 11.5-point underdog, but the Gophers will try to pull off the upset in its final home game of the season at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

    Frederick Gaudreau had two goals and an assist as the Minnesota Wild beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on last night. Matt Boldy, Marcus Foligno and Marcus Johansson also scored for the Wild, who have won five of their last seven games (5-1-1). Marc-Andre Fleury had 29 saves.

    Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was a full participant in Thursday's practice after being listed as limited Wednesday due to a foot injury, but tight end Josh Oliver was out for the second straight day due to wrist and ankle ailments. Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings take on the Chicago Bears, in Chicago. POWER 96 will begin our coverage at 11 am. Paul Allen will have the call at Noon.

    Power 96 Sports for Thursday November 21st, 2024.

    11/21/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey will host the Huskies of Owatonna at the City Arena on Thursday. POWER 96 will bring you all that action live at 7 pm, with Sports Director Dave Nelson and Jay Behrends on the call. You can listen here or go to our website to listen or even watch the game.

    The Gophers women"s basketball team moved to 6-0 on the season after a dominate 81-52 win over Eastern Illinois Wednesday night at Williams Arena. The Gophers shot 54.5 percent from three-point range in the win against Eastern Illinois.

    Four-star stretch forward Parker Jefferson committed to the University of Minnesota on Wednesday night, choosing the Golden Gophers over the University of Southern California. It's a big commitment for Minnesota's 2025 recruiting class as Jefferson, a 6-foot-10 forward from Inglewood, California, can shoot from deep and score at the rim. He joins guard Kai Shinholster from Philadelphia and Jacob Ross from Santa Clarita, California as 2025 commits. Shinholster, a 6-foot-5 guard, was Minnesota's first commitment for the 2025 recruiting cycle. Ross, a 6-foot-5 small forward, followed suit, and Jefferson marks the third commitment to the U of M. Shinholster and Ross have officially signed with the Gophers.

    The Minnesota Wild are now north of the border to take on the Edmonton Oilers tonight. Faceoff is set for 8 pm.

    The Minnesota Timberwolves face the Toronto Raptors for a non-conference matchup tonight. Tipoff is set for 6:30 pm

    Following the Vikings" 23-13 win over the Titans in Nashville this past weekend, Minnesota has moved up ESPN"s latest power ranking. Entering last weekend, the Vikings were the eighth-best team. But after the win, Minnesota has moved up to No. 6. The Detroit Lions are ESPN"s top team in the NFL following the Chiefs" loss to the Bills. This Sunday the Vikings take on the Bears who are ranked 23rd in the power rankings.

    Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was listed as a limited participant on the Vikings' first injury report of the week. The most notable player who did not practice for Minnesota is tight end Josh Oliver, whose status for Sunday's game against the Bears is up in the air due to an ankle injury. It was just a walkthrough for Minnesota on Wednesday. It's listed as a foot injury for Darnold. That's a change from last week, when he was on the injury report with a right hand but was never in danger of missing the game against the Titans. Until proven otherwise, it's safe to assume Darnold isn't in danger of missing this week's game either. There's been no indication so far that he might not play. Last week, Darnold was limited on Wednesday but then practiced in full on Thursday and Friday. It'll be worth checking in to see if he follows that same path this time. Nick Mullens is the Vikings' backup.

    POWER 96 will bring you all the coverage you need starting at 11 am Sunday with Vikings Football Sunday. Paul Allen and his crew will bring you the call at Noon.

    Thursday night football tonight brings a ho-hum contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers come into tonights game with an 8-2 record, meanwhile the Browns are 2-8. That game will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video with kickoff slated for 7:15

    Power 96 Sports for Wednesday November 20th, 2024.

    11/20/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey as heard here on POWER 96 saw Jayda Moyer record yet another shutout on 8 shots and Captain Shelby Evans notch her 100th career point as the monsters of the ice rolled to a 16 to nothing win over the Austin Packers at the City Arena. The Tigers peppered the Packer goaltender with 76 shots. Mika Cichosz had a 5 goal night while Morgan Goskenson had 2 goals as did Hannah Austinson and Keira Erickson. The Tiger will next host the Huskies of Owatonna at the City Arena on Thursday. POWER 96 will bring you all that action live at 7 pm. All Tiger teams are off today.

    In other local hockey scores , Owatonna fell to Hastings 1 to 3.

    The Minnesota Timberwolves are 3-4 in road games. Minnesota is 3-2 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 15.4 turnovers per game. Anthony Edwards is averaging 28.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Timberwolves. Tipoff tonight is set for 6:30 pm

    Some good news for the Minnesota Vikings. Wide Receiver Jordan Addison who left Sunday's game in the second half with cramping and did not return to the game will be available for Sundays game in Chicago. Also, The December 1st game versus the Arizona Cardinals… will not be flexed into the Monday night game. So those planning on attending will not have to change their plans for the game, which includes our very own sports director Dave Nelson.

    Tonight POWER 96 will bring you the Vikings Coaches show X"s and O"s starting at 6:30 for all the latest Vikings news.

    Kirill Kaprizov scored a pair of third-period goals, and Jonas Brodin and Ryan Hartman also scored to help the Minnesota Wild beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Tuesday night. Filip Gustavsson made 22 saves for the Wild who improved to 12-3-3 on the season. Minnesota continued to dominate away from home improving to a league-best 8-1-2 on the road. The Wild now head north of the border to take on the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night. Minnesota faces Toronto for a non-conference matchup.

    The Gophers had their fourth straight non-conference barn burner and they picked up their second straight win, sneaking past Cleveland State 58-47 Tuesday night in Minneapolis. Minnesota rolled with the same starting lineup for the third straight game. Dawson Garcia was joined by Frank Mitchell in the front court, while Lu'Cye Patterson, Brennan Risby and Femi Odukale filled out the group. The Gophers were able to come out with a little more urgency. They topped 20 first-half points for the first time since their game against Omaha and their 31 points were their most since the season-opener against Oral Roberts. Parker Fox's first career three with Minnesota came at the first-half buzzer, which resulted in a 31-29 lead heading into the locker room. The Gophers now have a much-needed six days of rest before hosting Central Michigan on Monday, Nov. 25. Then they head to Orlando, Fla. for two pivotal non-conference games in a tournament setting against Wichita State and then Wake Forest or Florida at the end of the week.

    Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, prolific tight end Antonio Gates and dominant pass rusher Jared Allen are among the 25 modern-era candidates for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. The Hall announced the semifinalists Wednesday after the selection committee cut a list of 50 nominees made by a newly created screening committee. The list includes six players in their first year of eligibility and 10 players who were finalists last year. The full selection committee will next reduce the list of candidates to 15 finalists who will be voted on at the annual meeting before the Super Bowl that will produce the new class. Players must be approved by 80% of voters to get in, with between three and five players getting in as modern-era candidates.

    Power 96 Sports for Tuesday November 19th, 2024.

    11/19/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey takes center stage tonight. The girls will host the Austin Packers at the City Arena. POWER 96 will bring you all that action tonight at 7 with Sports Director Dave Nelson and Color Commentator Jay Behrands. Listen here on 96.1 fm, or stream the audio and video from our website kqprfm.com

    Tiger football announced award winners with All-District Big South First Team honors going to Quarterback Teaghen Tolbers, Lineman Evan Schroeder, and Lineman Sam McGill who was also named defensive lineman of the year and team MVP.

    The Minnesota Timberwolves are off until Thursday when they take on the Toronto Raptors.

    The Minnesota Wild will kick off a 3 game road trip tonight as they take on the Blues in St. Louis. Faceoff is set for 7 pm.

    Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin left their 6-2 win at Utah on Monday because of a lower body injury, after scoring twice to move to within 27 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL record.

    Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said Ovechkin was being evaluated after the game and the team would know more about his status Tuesday.

    Derek Barnett forced the first fumble and returned the second for a touchdown on the definitive defensive play of the game for the Houston Texans.

    Joe Mixon did his thing, and C.J. Stroud didn"t have to do much to extend the misery of the Dallas Cowboys.

    Mixon ran for three touchdowns to extend his TD streak to six games since coming back from an ankle injury, Barnett returned a fumble 28 yards for a score, and the Texans beat the Cowboys 34-10 on Monday night. Dallas has now lost 5 in a row.

    The Dallas losing streak is its longest since a seven-game skid in 2015.

    On an already lengthy injury list full of some of the biggest names on the team, the San Francisco 49ers had another significant addition Monday: quarterback Brock Purdy.

    Coming out of Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Purdy is dealing with soreness in his right (throwing) shoulder, according to Niners coach Kyle Shanahan. At first blush, the shoulder issue does not appear to be long term, but Purdy will be watched closely when the Niners begin their practice week Wednesday.

    Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes won the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year award.

    Skenes beat outfielders Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres and Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers to become the first Pirate to win Rookie of the Year since Jason Bay in 2004 and the first NL starting pitcher to take home the award since Jacob deGrom in 2014.

    Power 96 Sports for Monday November 18th, 2024.

    11/18/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey took on River City Saturday afternoon at the Albert Lea City Arena and improved to 4 and 0 on the season after a 2 to nothing shutout. Morgan Goskeson opened the scoring in the first period and Hanna Austinson got the insurance goal later in the first. Jayda Moyer stopped 27 River City shots for the shutout. The girls will next host the Austin Packers at the City Arena. POWER 96 will bring you all that action Tuesday evening at 7.

    The Austin Bruins swept the Minnesota Mallards starting with an explosive Friday night contest winning 7 to 1. The Saturday night rematch still saw 5 Bruin goals in route to a 5 to 3 win. This weekend, the Bruins will host the Watertown Shamrocks Friday and Saturday at Riverside Arena. The Saturday night game will be the annual Teddy Bear toss night.

    Julius Randle hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cap his 35-point night and lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 120-117 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon. Randle and the Wolves got the ball back with just 2.1 seconds remaining and called a timeout to advance the ball. The ball found Randle, who hit a 24-footer as time expired.

    The Gophers football team will be a heavy underdog when it hosts fourth-ranked Penn State at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, with the Nittany Lions opening as a 13.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Gophers didn't play this past weekend, but they'll be looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss at Rutgers on Nov. 9. Minnesota is 6-4 and bowl eligible, and an upset of the Nittany Lions would be the highlight of what's been a solid season for the U. The Gophers have just two games remaining in the regular season, which they'll close at Wisconsin.

    Behind three Sam Darnold touchdowns and a barrage of penalties by the Titans, the Minnesota Vikings completed their sweep of the AFC South and improved to 8-2 with a 23-13 win in Tennessee on Sunday. Darnold threw two touchdown passes and scored another on a QB sneak for Minnesota. Most importantly, he didn't throw any interceptions after tossing five of them in the two previous weeks. Darnold looked a lot more like the early-season version of himself in this game, which was played in front of a ton of Vikings fans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 246 yards and made several plays on the run after escaping pressure. He also had a potential fourth touchdown dropped by Jalen Nailor in the fourth quarter.

    Darnold did technically lose one turnover on a fumble in the first quarter, but that was primarily the fault of Aaron Jones, who couldn't catch the ball on a toss play. Justin Jefferson caught 6 passes for 81 yards for the Vikings on a day where he broke Torry Holt's record for the most receiving yards in a player's first five seasons in NFL history. Addison caught a 47-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring for the Vikings. Defensively, Minnesota sacked Levis five times, with Andrew Van Ginkel and Pat Jones II getting two apiece. Harrison Smith sealed the game with an interception in the final minutes. The Vikings remain one game behind the Lions — who blasted the Jaguars on Sunday — in the NFC North. Next up is a trip to Chicago to face the Bears next week, which will cap a three-game road trip.

    Mason Marchment scored twice, Ilya Lyubushkin had two assists, and the Dallas Stars continued their recent domination of the Minnesota Wild with a 2-1 win Saturday night.   The Wild will kick off a 3 game road trip Tuesday in St. Louis.

    Minnesota native Paige Bueckers is most likely headed to Texas next year. The Dallas Wings won the WNBA Draft Lottery on Sunday. Barring a change in circumstances, that will give them the ability to select Bueckers, the Hopkins product and UConn superstar who is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft. Coming off of their loss to the Aces in the WNBA Finals, the Lynx will pick 11th.

    Power 96 Sports for Friday November 15th 2024.

    11/15/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey as heard here on POWER 96 last night scored 2 touchdowns 2 extra points and a field goal in route to a 17 to nothing shutout over Red Wing last night. D-1 commit Mika Cichosz notched a hat trick in the first period, then another in the second while having a 10 point night for the Tigers. Jayda Moyer recorded the shut out facing 4 Winger shots. The girls will next take on Rocori Saturday at the Albert Lea City Arena at 2:30.

    Speaking of Shutouts, The Minnesota Wilds Kirill Kaprizov had an empty-net goal and an assist, Filip Gustavsson made 19 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 on Thursday night. Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi also scored. Boldy opened the scoring in the second period when he tapped in a goal-mouth feed from Marcus Johansson. Rossi added a power-play goal in the third for the Wild. There is concern, however, because Minnesota forwards Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek left the game with injuries and didn't return. Zuccarello was hit by a Brock Faber slap shot somewhere in his midsection. It's unclear what caused Eriksson Ek to leave the game, but he was seen wincing in apparent pain on the bench. The Wild will next host the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

    The Austin Bruins are hosting the Minnesota Mallards this weekend at Riverside Arena. Game one is tonight at 7:05. Game 2 against the Mallards is Saturday night also at 7:05. This weekend is Military Appreciation weekend for the Bruins. All active duty members or veterans will get in free when showing their id at the door.

    The Sacramento Kings could be without one of their top players, veteran wing DeMar DeRozan, for Friday's NBA Cup game against the Timberwolves in Northern California. DeRozan left Wednesday night's win over the Suns with what the team described as lower back tightness. He scored just 2 points on 17 minutes in the first half. DeRozan is reportedly going to be listed as doubtful for Friday's game after not practicing on Thursday, but it's possible he could still play against Minnesota, depending on how he feels. A six-time All Star, the 35-year-old DeRozan had 26 points in the Wolves' narrow win over the Kings earlier this season. He's averaged a remarkable 33.4 points per game in his last eight appearances against Minnesota, including a 49-point game in March 2023 when he was with the Bulls.

    The Philadelphia Eagles scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two by star running back Saquon Barkley, to pull away and defeat the Washington Commanders 26-18 on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

    Barkley finished with 146 rushing yards and two scores as the Eagles extended their win streak to six straight games and now hold a 1.5 game lead over the Commanders for first place in the NFC East.

    The Vikings are on track to be fully healthy at least on their active 53-man roster for this Sunday's game against the Titans in Nashville. Three players, including quarterback Sam Darnold, were upgraded from limited participation on Wednesday to practicing in full on Thursday. And while three others remained limited, there's been no indication that any of them are in danger of missing this week's game. POWER 96 will bring you Vikings Football Sunday starting at 11 am. Paul Allen and the crew will call all the action starting at Noon.

    Power 96 Sports for Thursday November 14th 2024.

    11/14/2024

    The 2 and 0 Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey will take on Red Wing at Albert Lea"s City Arena tonight. POWER 96 will bring you all that action live at 7 pm with Sports Director Dave Nelson and Jay Beherands.

    Shaedon Sharpe scored 33 points, Donovan Clingan narrowly missed a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks on Wednesday, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second straight night 106-98. Anthony Edwards scored 24 points as Minnesota squandered an early lead and dropped its third straight game. The teams entered the fourth quarter tied before Portland took control behind the defense of Clingan, who had four blocks in the period as Minnesota missed 10 of its first 11 shots to start the final frame. Minnesota played without starting point guard Mike Conley. Conley played in the first two back-to-backs of the season, but resting him Wednesday is part of a bigger plan for the 37-year old point guard.

    The Minnesota Wild held a practice on Wednesday after having the last two days off. They were without three players at practice.

    Johas Brodin (maintenance) missed practice and is listed as questionable for the Wild's game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

    Zach Bogosian (personal) missed practice on Wednesday but Wild head coach John Hynes anticipates he will play on Thursday. The Wild will take on the Montreal Canadians tonight at the X. Faceoff is set for 7 pm.

    Minnesota native Lindsey Vonn is coming out of retirement to rejoin the U.S. Ski Team, she announced Thursday, intending to race again at age 40 - and six years after her most recent Olympics. Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist, including a downhill gold and super-G bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and a bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She is also a four-time overall World Cup champion and owns eight world championship medals. Her 82 World Cup race victories stood as the record for a woman until that total was eclipsed in January 2023 by American Mikaela Shiffrin, who is still active and is now up to 97 wins - more than any Alpine ski racer in the history of the sport.   Vonn's last competition came in February 2019, after she dealt with a long series of injuries throughout her career. There were broken arms and legs, torn knee ligaments, concussions, and more. Just this April, years after leaving the World Cup circuit, she had surgery for a partial knee replacement.

    Vonn has been training in recent months, U.S. Ski & Snowboard said Thursday. Vonn is back with the team effective immediately, but it is not yet known which particular races she will be aiming to enter. The next Winter Olympics are in Italy in February 2026.

    The NFL scouting combine will remain in Indianapolis for at least two more years under an agreement announced Thursday.

    Indianapolis tourism officials announced a deal with the NFL to host the league's flagship pre-draft event through 2026, superseding a previous agreement that ended with the 2025 combine. The combine has been held in Indianapolis since 1987. Since those early days, when the combine played out with little fanfare, it has evolved into a major event on the NFL calendar. The combine now features hours of live television coverage, and in recent years, fans have been permitted to attend to watch on-field drills at Lucas Oil Stadium. More than 27,000 fans attended the 2024 combine, according to Visit Indy, which helped broker the deal.

    A good one for Thursday night football tonight as the 7 and 3 Washington Commanders visit the City of Brotherly Love to take on the 7 and 2 Philadelphia Eagles. Kickoff tonight to start week 11 is set for 7:15

    Power 96 Sports for Wednesday November 13th, 2024

    11/13/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey defeated Luverne 4 to 1 last night. Jada Moyer picked up her second win of the season in net for the Tigers. Hanna Austinson opened the scoring for the Tigers in the first with a power play goal. Shelby Evans scored in the second on the power play while Haley Austinson added an even strength goal. Aryah Hansen finished the Tiger scoring in the 3rd on an even strength goal. Mika Cichosz had 3 assists on the night. The Tigers will take on Red Wing at Albert Lea"s City Arena Thursday night. POWER 96 will bring you all that action live at 7 pm. Speaking of Mika, Cichosz is signing her Letter of Intent to play Division 1 Hockey at Minnesota State, Mankato today. Approximately 1% to 2% of high school athletes in the U.S. go on to play at the NCAA Division I level, making these signings quite rare and impressive. Power 96 Sports Director Dave Nelson was at the ceremony for Cichosz, and you can see the pictures on our Power 96 Facebook page.

    The Minnesota Vikings moved to 7-2 on the season after taking down the Jaguars in Jacksonville, 12-7. It was a unique game for the Vikings for multiple reasons. Quarterback Sam Darnold threw three interceptions and the Vikings still won the game without their star rookie kicker, Will Reichard.

    But the main reason why the win was so unique was because teams were 0-147 since 2010 if they had three turnovers or more paired with zero touchdowns scored. Minnesota is the first team to win a game like this since Green Bay took down the Vikings back in 2006. The Vikings will try to get away from stats like that this Sunday when they take on the Titans of Tennessee. POWER 96 will bring you everything Vikings starting at 11 am Sunday morning.

    Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy has found a home in Minnesota. Literally. McCarthy has purchased the now-former home of Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer. The home — a four-bedroom, five-bathroom home featuring 7,252 finished square feet with 4.92 acres of property — is located in Sunfish Lake, a small suburb south of St. Paul, just miles from the Vikings' headquarters at TCO Performance Center in nearby Eagan. According to property records, the home was actually sold on June 24 for $2.44 million. That's two months after the Vikings drafted McCarthy 10th overall on April 25. For clarity, the Dakota County property records list IMM LLC, an investment management company, as the fee owner, though McCarthy is named as the registered agent for IMM LLC.

    Gable Steveson announced himself on a national scale when he won the 2021 NCAA national title in the heavyweight division. He's been on a whirlwind ever since with another national championship in 2022, an Olympic gold medal, two Dan Hodge trophies, a WWE career and an NFL career, but he will now be returning to the NCAA wrestling mat for "one more time" with the Gophers.   There have been a multitude of rumors about Steveson's potential return to amateur wrestling. At one point there were rumblings about a potential transfer to Iowa, but the shortened COVID year in 2020 and the traditional Olympic redshirt rule means that he has one season of eligibility remaining.   Minnesota's 2024-25 season officially began last week at the Mountaineer Invite and Bison Open. The school announced that Steveson is expected to make his season debut on Nov. 24 against Campbell. He has not competed in NCAA wrestling since the 2021-22 season, but he will now resume a 52-match winning streak that lasted throughout his previous three seasons with the Gophers.

    Robert Williams and Jerami Grant each scored 19 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 122-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

    Williams, who recently returned from a knee injury, also had nine rebounds and three assists.

    Naz Reid led Minnesota with 28 points in the loss while star guard Anthony Edwards pitched in 26 points. The Blazers dominated the bench points in Tuesday night"s game, outsourcing Minnesota 64-39.

    The same two teams will battle it out again tonight in Portland. Tipoff is set for 9 pm.

    Gophers women's basketball has started the 2024-25 season red hot, and that continued on Tuesday night with a dismantling of UMass Lowell, 82-37, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

    Power 96 Sports for Tuesday November 12th, 2024.

    11/12/2024

    Albert Lea Tiger Girls hockey in action tonight as they travel to Luverne. The Girls will return home to play Red Wing on Thursday.   Boys hockey had their first practice of the season on Monday.

    Albert Lea Tiger Volleyball Coach Megan Quam has been named Section 1 triple A Volleyball Co-Head Coach of the Year. Coach Quam will share that honor with Austin Packer coach Nichelle Gabrielson. This is just coach Quams second season at the helm of Tiger Volleyball.

    The Austin Bruins will face the Minnesota Mallards this weekend at Riverside Arena. Games will take place both Friday and Saturday nights at 7:05.

    The Minnesota Wild announced that they have sent down prospect Mikey Milne (Miln) to the American Hockey League with the Iowa Wild. Milne, 22, was recalled by the Wild from Iowa for their three-game road trip. He did not appear in a game and has now been sent back to the AHL. The Wild host Montreal on Thursday night at the X.

    Minnesota Timberwolves will be in Portland for 2 games. Tipoff for game 1 is set for 9 pm tonight. Game 2 against the Trailblazers will be Tomorrow at 9 as well.

    Monday night Football saw the Miami Dolphins beat a pretty good Rams team on the road in a 23-15 win. The Dolphins took advantage of the 57-yard missed field goal by the Rams. Jonnu Smith had a catch and a tough run downfield to the 1-yard line, then Tyreek Hill caught a touchdown. That put Miami ahead 17-6. Miami never looked back after that.

    The NFL"s week 11 schedule kicks off on Thursday. Thursday nights matchup will feature the Washington Commanders taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly. That game will be on Amazon Prime with a scheduled 7:15 kickoff.

    Shane Waldron has been fired as the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator less than 10 months after being hired for the job.

    The Bears announced the firing Tuesday, one day after head coach Matt Eberflus promised "changes" and "adjustments" for the struggling Bears. Passing game coordinator Thomas Brown has been promoted to offensive coordinator.

    The Gophers' final home game of the season against Penn State has been announced as a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on November 23. The game will be broadcast to a national audience on CBS.

    Power 96 Sports for Monday November 11th, 2024

    11/11/2024

    Albert Lea Sports teams are off today. Girls Hockey will travel to Luverne tomorrow for a 7pm puck drop.

    After a 3 point weekend against the Bismarck Bobcats last weekend, the Austin Bruins took 3 points from the Aberdeen Wings this weekend. The Bruins took the wings to overtime before falling to Aberdeen 3 to 2 Friday night. Saturday night, the Black and Gold downed Aberdeen in regulation 2 to 1. The Bruins will return home to face the Minnesota Mallards this weekend at Riverside Arena.

    Philipp Kurashev"s goal at 1:48 of overtime lifted Ron"s Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night, snapping Chicago"s two-game slide. Matt Boldy scored with 4:31 left in the third period to tie it at 1 on Minnesota"s 32nd shot of the game. The Wild who are 10 2 and 3 with 23 points, host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

    Nikola Jovic (Yo Vitch) made the tying layup and go-ahead foul shot with 7.8 seconds left to send the Miami Heat past the Minnesota Timberwolves 95-94 and stop their three-game losing streak on Sunday night. Anthony Edwards scored 22 points on 8-for-24 shooting for the Wolves, Rudy Gobert had a season high 16 offensive rebounds for the Wolves. Minnesota will be in Portland on Tuesday.

    Albert Lea Senior Hailey Demming punched her ticket to the Class A State swimming and diving meet in the 50 yard freestyle. Demming place second with a time of 25.3.

    Over the weekend Waldorf"s D1 Hockey team fell to Minot State 3 to 9, and 1 to 2,

    The Viking"s stingy defense held Jacksonville to 143 yards — the fewest in coach Doug Pederson"s three seasons — and the Vikings overcame Sam Darnold"s three interceptions to beat the Jaguars 12-7 on Sunday. Minnesota ran 82 plays to Jacksonville"s 43. The Vikings also held the ball for 42 minutes, 19 seconds compared to Jacksonville"s 17 minutes 41 seconds. Minnesota picked up 28 first downs to Jacksonville"s 10. The Vikings ran 39 plays in Jaguars territory and finished with 402 yards. The Vikings finished with three field goals in the five trips inside the 20-yard line. They took the lead on the third of John Parker Romo"s four field goals. Romo hit from 29, 34, 33 and 45 yards in his NFL debut. Next up, the Vikings will play at Tennessee next Sunday to complete a three-game stretch against AFC South opponents.

    Jimmy Snuggerud lofted a slick backhand saucer pass to freshman Brodie Ziemer, who batted it home for an overtime winner as the Gophers completed a two-game sweep of rival Wisconsin at the Kohl Center on Saturday night. Minnesota caught the Badgers in a change during the 3-on-3 OT period, and Snuggerud and Ziemer made them pay with a highlight-reel goal to send the fans in Madison home disappointed.

    Power 96 Sports for Friday November 8th, 2024.

    11/08/2024

    Albert Lea Girls Hockey as heard here on POWER 96 picked up right where they left off last season shutting out Rochester Mayo 3 to nothing. Jada Moyer picked up the shutout win in the net, while the Tiger defense led by Mika Chicos allowed only 14 shots on goal. The Tigers high powered offense peppered Mayo"s goaltender with 46 shots in the win.

    After a 3 point weekend against the Bismarck Bobcats, the Austin Bruins are on the road this weekend taking on division rival Aberdeen Wings. The weekend series gets underway tonight at 7:15. The same teams will do battle on Saturday night at 7:15.

    Matt Boldy had two goals, Kirill Kaprizov recorded three assists and the Wild beat the Sharks 5-2 last night.

    Mats Zuccarello"s goal put the Wild ahead 2-1 in the second period, set up by a no-look pass through multiple defenders by Kaprizov. Kaprizov entered the night sixth in the league with 17 assists.

    Boldy scored on the power play in the second to double Minnesota"s lead, and Jonas Brodin made it 4-1 with a slap shot from the point in the third. Boldy added an empty-net goal with 1:35 remaining.

    Zach Bogosian put the Wild ahead 1-0 in the first. The Wild play the Ducks in Anaheim tonight.

    Last night the NFL seen a great game played between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens. In the final seconds of the game, the Bengals tried a 2 point conversion to win the game, but fell short and secured a 35 to 34 win for the Ravens.

    Julius Randle muscled his way into the paint for a layup to give the Timberwolves their first lead since the first quarter. Anthony Edwards hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Minnesota up 113-106 with 5 minutes, 59 seconds to play. The Wolves were able to parlay that run into a 135-119 victory over the Chicago Bulls Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago, shaking off a rough defensive start in the process. Minnesota snapped a three-game losing skid to the Bulls. It was Chicago"s fourth consecutive loss. The Timberwolves return home to host the Trail Blazers tonight.

    It does not appear that Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence will play against the Vikings on Sunday because of his left shoulder injury, coach Doug Pederson said Friday morning.

    "It is trending toward Lawrence not playing," Pederson said.

    Mac Jones, whom the Jaguars acquired via trade in March, will start against the Vikings if Lawrence is out. C.J. Beathard a former Iowa Hawkeye, whom the Jaguars signed off the Miami Dolphins' practice squad Wednesday, would be Jones' backup.

    This would be just the second game that Lawrence has missed since the Jaguars drafted him first overall in 2021. He did not play against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 last season because of an injury to his right, throwing shoulder.

    Lawrence was injured in the first half of Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles when he was hit while diving headfirst on a run. He didn't miss a snap against the Eagles and had the Jaguars in position to score a go-ahead touchdown but was intercepted by linebacker Nakobe Dean in the end zone with 1:40 remaining.

    Power 96 Sports for Thursday November 7th, 2024.

    11/07/2024

    Albert Lea athletics tonight features Girls Hockey. POWER 96 will bring you all the action live as Sports Director Dave Nelson and Color guy Jay Beherands kick off the Tiger season tonight. Coverage begins at 7 pm with faceoff set for 7:15 from the Albert Lea City Arena as the Tigers take on Rochester Mayo at 7:15.

    The Minnesota Wild are in San Jose to take on the Sharks. You"ll have to have a late coffee if you are going to catch that game. Face off is set for 9:30. The Wild will be Looking to bounce back from a rare poor showing, as they begin a three-game road trip along the West Coast. The Wild's most glaring flaw is a struggling penalty-kill unit that ranks near the bottom of the NHL standings. The power-play unit has also gone cold, as Minnesota is 0-for-14 with the extra attacker over its last four games. Kirill Kaprizov leads Minnesota with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists). Kaprizov briefly left Tuesday's game after being bloodied by a puck to the face, but he returned for the third period.

    Gophers head coach Ben Johnson opened his fourth season at the helm leading Minnesota to an impressive 80-57 win over Oral Roberts Wednesday night in Minneapolis. With projected starter Frank Mitchell dealing with a shoulder injury, the Gophers began with Lu'Cye Patterson, Mike Mitchell Jr., Brennan Rigsby, Parker Fox and Dawson Garcia in the starting lineup. Things began fast with a sense of urgency and they never really looked back. Garcia lived up to his preseason All-Big Ten billing in the first half with an impressive 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Minnesota led 38-24 going into the break. It seemed like another opportunity for Johnson and his staff to learn about his new-look squad following last month's exhibitions. Fox made his second career start in a Minnesota uniform and after going a combined 10-of-10 in the two exhibitions, he continued his perfect streak from the field, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting.

    Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman has missed three straight games with turf toe, but it appears he could be nearing a return this week as he participated in practice for the first time since Oct. 6 on Monday in limited capacity. Cashman"s fill-in the last few weeks, Ivan Pace Jr., however, did not participate in Monday"s practice due to a knee injury. Cashman participating in any capacity in the first practice of the week Monday is good news for the Vikings defense. Cashman hasn"t practiced since suffering the turf toe injury on Oct. 6, but he was a key contributor to the perfect start through five weeks. In those games this season, Cashman recorded 40 tackles, one sack and five passes defended. The Vikings would, however, miss Pace, who"s another important piece of the linebacker corps and has been a strong fill-in for Cashman. In six games this season, Pace has 50 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery. Center Garrett Bradbury and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel also didn"t participate in Monday"s practice, but both absences were due to rest rather than injury. Cornerback Akalyeb Evans (hip) and linebacker Gabriel Murphy (knee), whose 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve was opened on Monday, were both limited participants. Safety Theo Jackson (hand) and tight end Josh Oliver (wrist) were both full participants in the practice. The Vikings visit the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Listen here on Power 96 as PA and his crew have the pregame at 11am, and the Boom at Noon.

    Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is dealing with a partial avulsion of his right hamstring, which means part of the tendon has pulled away from the bone, a source confirmed Wednesday.

    Prescott has not yet been put on injured reserve. If he is put on IR, he would sit out a minimum of four games, which would keep him out until at least Dec. 9 against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals should such a move be made this week. But two sources said Prescott probably would need a longer recovery period than four weeks.

    NFL Network first reported the nature of Prescott's injury.

    Tonight at 7 pm the Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago. The Bulls are 3 and 5 on the young season while the Timberwolves come into the matchup with a record of 4 and 3.

    Power 96 Sports for Wednesday November 6th, 2024

    11/06/2024

    Albert Lea athletics are getting ready to open up their winter season sports. ALHS is reporting that the girls swim and dive will participate in their section meet in Rochester tonight at 6. Girls Hockey kicks off tomorrow at the Albert Lea City Arena when the Tigers take on Rochester Mayo at 7:15. Power 96 Sports Director Dave Nelson will bring you all of the action, with a pregame show at 7pm.

    Trevor Lewis scored twice, Kevin Fiala added another on the power play and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 on Tuesday night. Fiala, who was traded to Los Angeles in 2022 by Minnesota for a first-round pick draft pick and defenseman Brock Faber, scored his seventh goal of the season. He now has three goals and six assists in his last seven games against the Wild.

    Minnesota, which had won three in a row, opened the scoring in the second period on Zach Bogosian"s first goal of the season. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots for the Wild. For the first time this season, a game got away from Minnesota. The Wild scored first for the ninth time in 12 games, but they fell to 6-1-2 in such contests. The Wild will next face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

    Gophers men's basketball begins its 2024-25 regular season tomorrow night against Oral Roberts, but they will be without Canisius transfer big man Frank Mitchell, who is now "week-to-week" with a dislocated shoulder.   Mitchell was expected to immediately play a big role for the Gophers. He averaged 11.6 rebounds per game last season at Canisius, which ranked fourth in college basketball. His official regular-season Minnesota debut will now have to wait.

    The Minnesota Timberwolves have an off day today before taking on the Bulls on Thursday.

    Vikings rookie kicker Will Reichard is headed to injured reserve with a quad strain and the team is signing John Parker Romo to replace him, according to NFL Media. That means Reichard will miss a minimum of four games, with Romo in line to make his NFL regular season debut on Sunday in Jacksonville. Mike Garafolo also reports that the Vikings are signing long snapper Jake McQuaide to replace the injured Andrew DePaola.

    The NFL trade deadline has come and gone without any deadline-day action from GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Minnesota Vikings. It wasn't a totally quiet deadline for the Vikings, of course, as they acquired Cam Robinson from the Jaguars last week to fill in for injured star Christian Darrisaw at left tackle. They also added running back Cam Akers in mid-October. The Vikings appear to have a high ceiling this season. The recent additions of Akers and T.J. Hockenson, plus the move to get Robinson, mean this offense can go as far as Sam Darnold takes it. Defensively, they're currently No. 1 in the league in DVOA and should get Blake Cashman back as soon as this week. They're 6-2 with plenty of winnable games coming up, starting this Sunday against the 2-7 Jaguars.

    For the second straight game, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will play despite missing practice time.

    Jackson did not participate in Tuesday's practice, which is the only full session of the week, because of a knee injury. But, just like last week, the lack of practice time won't affect the reigning NFL MVP's availability for Thursday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

    Power 96 Sports for Tuesday November 5th, 2024

    11/05/2024

    Ahead of Monday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said he hadn't felt his team played with its typical defensive competitiveness in the early going, something that he said needed to change. It changed a few short hours later as his Wolves showed that competitive fire and put together one of their best defensive performances of the season in a 114-93 blowout victory Monday night at Target Center in Minneapolis. The Wolves (4-3) broke free in the second quarter after playing to a 24-24 draw with the Hornets (2-5) through the opening frame. Charlotte never led after the first quarter as the Wolves' second-unit lineup of Mike Conley, Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run. Minnesota never looked back. Reid was a spark plug off the bench for the Wolves as part of that strong second-unit lineup, finishing with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds while shooting 9 for 13 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3. Anthony Edwards finished with 21 points and five rebounds. DiVincenzo was good on both ends, tallying 14 points, five boards and a pair of steals. Finch didn't go beyond his eight-man rotation until all the young guys checked in with the game well in hand midway through the fourth quarter. Dillingham had four points and two assists in eight minutes of game action. The Wolves return to action on Thursday when they visit the Chicago Bulls for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

    The Twins have outrighted five players off of their 40-man roster and exercised the 2025 club option for relief pitcher Jorge Alcala on Monday as the offseason officially gets underway. For Alcala, it's a $1.5 million club option for next season. The 29-year-old had a 3.24 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 58.1 innings in 2024. He struggled a bit in the second half after posting a sterling 1.60 ERA through August 2, including a 5-run blowup in Texas on August 18 that sparked the Twins' collapse, but it was still a strong season for him on the whole. Alcala projects as a low or medium-leverage option in a 2025 Twins bullpen that should again be led by Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Cole Sands, among others (Louie Varland, Justin Topa, Brock Stewart, Michael Tonkin, and potential newcomers could all be in the high-leverage mix). He's set to hit free agency after the season.

    The Wild are in action tonight facing the LA Kings at the X. Minnesota has showcased plenty of offense, scoring 41 goals in its first 11 games to set a franchise record. The Wild have proven that they can win low-scoring contests, too, including a 2-1 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday in their latest game. Faceoff tonight at the X is set for 7 pm.

    The Minnesota Wild are in action tonight facing the LA Kings at the X. Minnesota has showcased plenty of offense, scoring 41 goals in its first 11 games to set a franchise record. The Wild have proven that they can win low-scoring contests, too, including a 2-1 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday in their latest game. Faceoff tonight at the X is set for 7 pm.

    Injuries to All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola and rookie kicker Will Reichard had the Minnesota Vikings assessing their options for temporary replacements. DePaola will have minor surgery on his hand and need to be placed on short-term injured reserve. Reichard has a quadriceps injury that was being evaluated by the medical staff, with his availability for the next game still being determined. The Vikings also announced that left tackle Christian Darrisaw had surgery Monday to repair the ACL and MCL in his left knee after suffering the season-ending injury in the game on Oct. 24. Darrisaw"s procedure was done by head team physician Dr. Chris Larson.

    Today is the NFL trade deadline, expect many teams including the Vikings to make moves to bolster their teams.   The New Orleans Saints also fired their head coach Dennis Allen, after their 7th loss in a row.

    The Kansas City Chiefs won the coin toss in overtime, and there wasn"t much surprise for what happened next. Patrick Mahomes drove the Chiefs right downfield, as he has so many times in clutch situations. And Kareem Hunt scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to end the game, keeping the Chiefs undefeated with a 30-24 win.

    Power 96 Sports for Monday November 4th, 2024

    11/04/2024

    The Austin Bruins split their weekend series with the Bismarck Bobcats winning Friday night 4 to 2 while giving the Bobcats their first loss in regulation on the season. Saturday night, the Bruins took the Bobcats to overtime tied at 2 before falling in a shootout 3 to 2. Even with the shootout loss, the Bruins took 3 of 4 points on the weekend.

    In area high School football action over the weekend, Owatonna defeated John Marshall 38 to 15 to take their class 5A sections. In class 3A Fairmont defeated Waseca 17 to 12 to advance. And Lester Prairie defeated USC 14 to 6. Section quarter final games will be played this upcoming Saturday.

    The Waldorf D1 hockey team entertained No. 1 and undefeated Jamestown for a weekend series in Albert Lea. Jamestown would gain a sweep over the Warriors.

    Jamestown earned a 4-1 win Friday night. The Jimmies scored two goals in the first and second periods to take a 4-0 lead. Waldorf got on the scoreboard in the third period when Geoffrey Dick scored at the 6:20 mark off assists from Luke Nemeth and Dominic Toews. Vaughn Holbeche made over 40 saves in net for the Warriors. Saturday night, Jamestown gained a 9-1 win over Waldorf. Jamestown led 1-0 going into the second period. They erupted for six goals in the second. They scored four goals within the first seven points of the frame. Three players scored two scores a piece for the Jimmies. Waldorf's goal came in the third period on a power play goal from Evan Koivunen. Waldorf (4-8) next plays November 8-9 at Minot State.

    Matt Boldy scored on a breakaway 2:14 into overtime to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night. Boldy and Marco Rossi worked a 2-on-0 breakaway after defenseman Jared Spurgeon chased down a loose puck in the neutral zone. He fired down the ice to Rossi, who tapped it ahead to Boldy. The Wild forward made a move on Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz to bury the game winner. Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves in the win for Minnesota. The Wild will next take on the LA Kings at the X on Tuesday.

    Keldon Johnson had 25 points, Chris Paul added 15 points and 13 assists, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-103 on Saturday night. Julius Randle scored 21 points and Anthony Edwards had 18 for Minnesota. The T wolves are back home taking on Charlotte tonight at the Target Center.

    Sam Darnold overcame four sacks and three turnovers by throwing three second-half touchdown passes, and the Minnesota defense made Indianapolis quarterback Joe Flacco"s return to the starting role a rough one as the Vikings beat the Colts 21-13 on Sunday night. Justin Jefferson had 137 receiving yards, Jordan Addison made a one-handed diving grab in the back corner of the end zone to get Minnesota on the board after a sloppy and scoreless first half, and Jalen Nailor had the tiebreaking touchdown reception to help the Vikings (6-2) stop a two-game skid. The Vikings will hit the road to take on Jacksonville Sunday at noon.

    Vikings rookie kicker Will Reichard will have an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his right quad injury, he said after Sunday night's win over the Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium. He was dealing with some soreness coming into the game and exacerbated it during the first half, but used a heat pad on the sidelines to continue playing, he told the Star Tribune's Andrew Krammer. "At some point in the first half, don't know whether it was a field goal attempt or kickoff, he started to feel a little tightness in there," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Definitely something to monitor as we move forward." Coming into this game, Reichard was the only kicker in the NFL who hadn't missed an attempt of any kind this season; the 23-year-old sixth-round pick out of Alabama was 14 for 14 on field goals and 20 for 20 on extra points. That changed on Sunday. Reichard missed a 53-yard attempt wide right midway through the the second quarter and then shockingly hit the right upright on a 31-yard chip shot with 17 seconds left in the half. But despite clearly being less than 100 percent, Reichard was able to hit all three of his extra-point attempts in the Vikings' 21-13 win.

    Kirk Cousins got the better of Mike Zimmer on Sunday in a battle between two former central figures in the Vikings' organization. Facing a Zimmer-coached Cowboys defense missing Micah Parsons and several other key players, Cousins had a highly efficient day in a 27-21 Falcons victory in Atlanta. The veteran quarterback completed 19 of his 24 passes for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns, good for a 144.8 passer rating. He did lose a fumble early in the second quarter, but he was able to bounce back and didn't throw any interceptions on the day.

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