JOTTINGS

• ByungHo Park is hitting .357 with three home runs in 28 spring at-bats after the Twins took him off the 40-man roster earlier this offseason and he cleared waivers. "ByungHo is somebody who we talked to early on in camp after we made the decision to take him off the roster and one of the things I expressed to him is we view his career going forward," Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said. "We weren't here last year. We realize he went through some struggles, I think some of them related specifically to injury and not just performance. … We would continue to tell him to continue to put the work in, and when the opportunity arises we're confident that if he's the right guy we'll make it work."

• Former Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson told the San Jose Mercury News that one of the big reasons he signed a two-year deal with Oakland worth $8.5 million, with $5 million guaranteed, was that the Raiders want to use him at receiver as much as special teams. "It was one of the deciding factors," he said. "We sat down and talked, saying how they could work on getting me better."

• The 2012 UCLA football team had three players who most likely will start for the Vikings next season in linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks and defensive lineman Datone Jones. But the Vikings lost a Bruins teammate of theirs when punter Jeff Locke left for the Colts.

• The Gophers men's hockey team is lined up to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The last time the Gophers got a No. 2 seed was in 2012, when they made the Frozen Four, beating Boston University and North Dakota at Xcel Energy Center before losing to Boston College in the national semifinals. With their 37th appearance, the Gophers will take over the all-time lead for most NCAA tournament appearances. They had been tied with Michigan, which just finished a tough 13-18-3 season in what might be Red Berenson's last as Wolverines coach.