2 from Minnesota among penalized CC players

Last update: October 17, 2007 - 11:37 PM

Four Colorado College men's hockey players recently completed a two-week suspension for wearing blackface and dressing up as black actors during a preseason team golf outing Sept. 8.

The players, including Brian Connelly of Bloomington Jefferson and team captain Scott Thauwald of Rochester Mayo, tried to look like characters on "Family Matters," a TV show about a black family. Their teammates picked five other TV shows, ranging from "Baywatch" to "Scrubs," in keeping with the theme of the outing.

"We realize now, even though there was no racial intent, that what we did was wrong," Thauwald told a Colorado newspaper.

The four suspended players returned to practice Oct. 8 and are expected to play against the visiting Gophers in a two-game series starting Friday.

Belgium group buys local soccer clubs

The Minnesota Thunder and Lightning Soccer teams have confirmed they have been acquired by a new ownership group, WingField Corporation N.V., based in Brussels, Belgium, and headed by St. Paul native Dean Johnson and Henk Habers of the Netherlands.

Manny Lagos, the Thunder president and director of soccer operations, said the new owners are committed to bringing championship soccer back to Minnesota and building a permanent home for both teams.

"We want to have one of the most successful professional soccer franchises in North America and want to give the Thunder and Lightning the resources to achieve this," Johnson said. "Currently, we are evaluating various options and sites in the Twin Cities for a permanent home for the Thunder and Lightning."

Johnson graduated from Hamline University and completed his graduate studies at the Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany. Habers has 26 years of experience in the hotel, tourism and leisure industry.

A decision is expected in early November on where the team will play in 2008.

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