This feels like an “I don’t really know the game, so Imma gonna go California Postal” moment by the boys.

sports take | If You Resent Them, You Aren't Really With Them 4.16.26

New Sports Take: Lynx fans angry about players leaving as free agents are being hypocritical and unrealistic. Also: What we've learned about the Twins so far. Maybe the Vikings *won't* take the safety everyone was talking about. @startribune.com takes a deep dive into high school athlete transfers.

Excellent at gametime. Chilly but comfortable starting midgame. Wore a hoodie and windbreaker. For April, that's winning!

Twins winning + Great weather has not captured the hearts of baseball fans.

It’s a great draft with lots of intrigue. Because the Lynx lost bigs (Masha, Shepard and Smith) and backcourt/swing players (Hiedeman, Carleton, Carrington), I have absolutely no clue which way they’ll go. There are no bad choices.

WNBA mock draft: Four UCLA Bruins will be picked in first round UCLA stars Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens are expected to be selected in the first round of the WNBA draft on Monday.

I know a lot of us are Lauren Betts fans and are rooting for her to be taken by the Lynx. But this mock draft from the excellent L.A. Times reporter @mingemi.bsky.social doesn't even have the 6-foot-7 center in the top five selections -- or as the first UCLA player chosen.

Lynx must hit with the No. 2 overall pick. I'm on Team Betts/Fam, but would be happy with Olivia Miles, too. Their only other pick is at end of Round 3. The free-agent signing period is only in Day 2.

If the Lynx get Natasha Cloud, that's a point guard upgrade. And Courtney is back to bring the🔥

Now it's on Cheryl to find the right replacements. She turned borderline and developing players into valuable members of their new teams.

To be upset about this is in opposition to supporting what players achieved: marketability and other improvements comparable to what men have had for years. 2/2

Hey, Lynx fan friends. We all supported the players in the battle for a better CBA. Now the players are cashing in, including more now-former Lynx players that you'd imagined, probably. Good on the players, whose relationships with teams have become much more transactional, as they should be 1/2

Nice! Here’s the St. Paul version of well-done hit pieces, done by college students at Macalester.

Marcy-Holmes neighborhood group seeks to rename park named for slavery advocate 19th-century statesman William Marcy's contemporaries called him a "doughface," a northerner with southern principles on slavery.

Thanks, Vic. I just read the Strib article about changing the name of the park and the neighborhood association did the right thing.

Not quite an issue to caucus on, but yes, I understand.

Marcy Park was in Dinkytown and, in an unreported travesty last year, was renamed Dinky Park. I hope it had nothing to do with the distribution of sex and candy.

There’s also a Marcy Park in Brooklyn.

Not sure that .790 in only 98 PAs over the course of 2025 season proves much. Bigger issue is that the Twins *need* to go lefty-lefty because of their roster construction.

We can hope this game marks the end of the Matt Wallner as a full-time player nonsense. His allergy to hitting with runners on base -- 3 HR, 5 RBI, .366 OPS with men on base -- is not a small sample size when you look at last year's stats too. Find another right-handed hitting outfielder now!

A billboard for Heinz ketchup at Rogers Centre says, "Canadian ketchup made with Canadian tomatoes."

🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦Canadian pride on full display 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Quality Control Editor FTW!

New Sports Take: I'm playing Tour Guide in this week's newsletter, talking you through the WNBA free agency/draft craziness, the Wild and Timberwolves as they begin their playoff pursuits, the transfer portal and more on this week's 42-9 baseball game between St. Scholastica and Carleton.

Line score from a recent game between St. Olaf and Macalester.

The Oles had their own pitching issues last week:

Line score from Wednesday's baseball game between Carleton and St. Scholastica, which St. Scholastica won 42-9.

Kind of a tough afternoon for the Carleton College pitching staff.

My son did MITY and it kick-started his interest in film/video. It's excellent! (I'd post my photo of him with an Emmy award but that would be bragging.)

Our three found very different schools in Oklahoma, Iowa and Minnesota. Two ended up pursuing different careers than they’d imagined. The third went to a place that provided awesome resources for what he wanted to do. All felt they made great choices.

My “expertise” comes from softly guiding 3 youngsters through searches and being a college essay coach at my son’s school. The college is usually more important than a career goal. A traveling fair called Colleges That Change Lives is a sweet low-key starting point. The mix of schools is A+.

We Uber’s around Maui a couple weeks ago and I’m pretty sure we spent less than a rental and gas. Bonus: Getting groceries, the driver was a former Twins minor-league pitcher who played with Hrbek and Gaetti.

Opening Day is like New Year's Eve and I'm hoping this was an outlier. I'm hoping Friday/Saturday doesn't become games to avoid, in part because I like the idea.

Scoreboard at Target Field reads: Due to the downtown Minneapolis power outage we are extending the $2 beer and happy hour snacks through the end of the second inning."

Downside of $2 beer at Target Field: Guy (father in family of 4, it looked like) starting early, seems oblivious to when discount expires (based on consumption) & cutting beer with lemonade by 6th inning. Loud & annoying. Kids (old enough to know better) blocking view for others. Hope he got home OK

Makes me miss Sergio Romo even more. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a good Sergio Romo entry video from his time with the Twins. But this will never grow old.

The power is out at Target Field, which is apropos of many things!

sports take | Telling the Full Story, Even When It's Not Pretty 4.2.26

Sports Take newsletter: The death of a former Gophers coach who transformed his team into one of the nation's elite is a reminder that media need to tell the complete story, even when facts aren't pretty. Also, a rocky Twins opening week and a coach's mom highlights an awesome March madness video.