When it comes to college football bragging rights in Minnesota, the honors go to Division II and III teams. Minnesota-Duluth, national champion two of the last three years, is rated No. 1 in the country in preseason rankings like D2Football.com. St. Cloud is No. 13 in the D2Football.com rankings.
Minnesota-Duluth coach Bob Nielson has turned plenty of heads with his work. His best players include junior offensive lineman Garth Heikkinen from Duluth Central High School. He’s a popular choice for preseason first team All-American. The Bulldogs open their season at Augustana (ranked No. 9 by D2Football.com) on Saturday.
MIAC powers St. Thomas, Bethel and Saint John’s have all received at least one top 10 national preseason ranking. The Tommies have been ranked fourth by The Sporting News, No. 5 by D3football.com and seventh by Lindy’s Sports. The Royals were ranked No. 4 by Lindy’s Sports, seventh by D3football.com and No. 15 by The Sporting News. The Johnnies were No. 9 in The Sporting News poll and No. 25 in the D3football.com poll.
In the preseason MIAC coaches poll, St. Thomas is the favorite to win the conference championship. The Tommies received six of nine first place votes while the Royals had two and the Johnnies one. Among the league’s outstanding players is St. Thomas wide receiver and returner Fritz Waldvogel, a former MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, who could be a first team Division III All-American.
The Lynx, who have won the first Western Conference championship in franchise history, are awaiting official playoff dates from the WNBA. The club has four regular season games remaining including a home game against New York Friday night and the season finale in Phoenix on September 11.
A WNBA source told Sports Headliners the Western Conference best of three games semifinals may start on Thursday, September 15 and end on Tuesday, September 20 at the latest. The WNBA finals are likely to begin on September 22. The Lynx will have home court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs and possibly in the finals.
Minnesota’s talented roster includes players like Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen who have been on winning NCAA, WNBA and Olympic teams. Moore will be Rookie of the Year, while Whalen and teammate Seimone Augustus are league MVP candidates.
Although the franchise has lost money for several seasons, the WNBA source said the Lynx revenue sources, including ticket sales and corporate revenues, have “dramatically increased” and the club is “nearing profitability.”
Twins starting pitchers finished the club’s 2-9 homestand on Sunday with a 7.04 ERA.
Ben Revere, with 25 stolen bases, is chasing the Twins record for most stolen bases by a rookie, 31 by Luis Rivas in 2001.