TIPSHEET

KNOW THIS

Thursday marked the 50-year anniversary of an underrated heartbreak in Minnesota sports history: the North Stars losing in double overtime to the Blues in Game 7 of the playoffs in their very first year of their existence, with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line.

WATCH THIS

If you stopped paying attention to the NHL playoffs after the Wild lost, you might want to reconsider. The San Jose/Vegas series has been great, and it's tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 Friday (9 p.m., NBCSN).

RANDOM FANDOM

"Miguel Sano's agent needs to sit him down and tell him straightforward that if he doesn't drop some weight and stay on the field he is going to lose hundreds of millions. He's already paid the Twins back in their investment. Teams are going to look at his complete history before writing him a big check."

"hey-bud" commenting on startribune.com.

TWEETED

"Ichiro really doesn't want this to be perceived as retiring. But when you're 44 years old and stepping away from the playing field for even a few months, it might not be your choice in the end."

— ESPN's Jerry Crasnick on the longtime outfielder.

@jcrasnick