Smith described freshman guard Austin Hollins as his best conditioned player. He said the son of former NBA player Lionel Hollins “plays his heart out.”
Minnesota’s election earlier this month delivered one certainty for the Vkings and their stadium campaign. Their message will be heard by a lot of new legislators and a new governor. How that translates into success or failure in gaining legislation to build a new stadium is anyone’s guess.
Stadium sources won’t predict whether the new Republican majorities in the House and Senate will positively affect the push for a stadium that has been going on for more than 10 years. Although election results aren’t official until certified by the State Canvassing Board on November 23, it appears the Republicans will have a 72-62 majority in the House, 37-30 in the Senate. It’s expected there will be 60 new legislators. Both Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer expressed support for a stadium during their campaigns, and whoever emerges from the recount as governor could be a Vikings ally.
The Vikings stadium lease expires at Mall of America Field after the 2011 season and rumors connect the franchise to a Los Angeles relocation but the stadium campaign remains unsettled in Southern California, too. https://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/news.html
The clearest sports winner from the new Republican legislative power might be Canterbury Park and its racino efforts. Canterbury has long advocated adding slot machines, a model that has boosted horseracing in other states, but particularly Democrats have been opposed to supportive legislation here.
The Lakers are in town on Friday night to play the Timberwolves and it was 50 years ago that the franchise relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. Although now one of the most popular sports franchises in the country, the Lakers of 1960 weren’t a big deal in Los Angeles. In a November 5, 1960 story Don Page of the Los Angeles Times wrote: “Bigger crowds have watched knitting tournaments than have viewed the Lakers so far.”