We interrupt your hand-wringing about everything that has gone wrong lately in Minnesota sports with a different idea:
Giving ... thanks?
If not now, when?
Let’s go team-by-team in today’s 10 things to know, searching for and identifying the positives.
- Vikings: They tend to surprise us in a good way just when things look the most bleak. In the spirit of the season, I won’t say what usually happens when fans go all-in with belief. Sure, the Vikings are 4-7 this season and their QB situation has been the biggest example of a hot roster mess. But they have a lot of draft picks in 2026 and there is still time in 2025 to chart a more positive course forward, even if there is a temptation to panic right now.
- Twins: Young talent is the lifeblood of any mid-market MLB team, and the Twins are fortunate to have a lot of it. They consistently show up near the top of the rankings in terms of minor-league prospects. New manager Derek Shelton is putting together a staff of major-league coaches who might be able to develop it.
- Wild: They have a formula that has worked for the better part of their existence, and they decided after a brutal October to try it in November. Lo and behold, tight checking, disciplined play and good goaltending have worked again. Not only that, but the Wild might have found their goalie for the next decade in Jesper Wallstedt.
- Wolves: This is the golden era. We can grouse about blown leads and how things don’t quite look right so far this year, but the Wolves have never had a better run of success. They have a young superstar nearing his prime and a team that should perennially compete in the playoffs for the rest of the decade. Let’s not take that for granted.
- Frost: They’re the anti-Minnesota team. They stumble when it matters least and show up when it matters most. Two PWHL titles in two years are all the evidence you need.
- Lynx: They’ve once again become a model franchise for this market and the WNBA. That might feel tenuous as the WNBA navigates labor negotiations this offseason, but it shouldn’t detract from what the Lynx have accomplished the past two seasons.
- Loons: They flat-out overachieved to reach the Major League Soccer conference semifinals for the second straight season. If they ever get to play a full season at full strength, they might be able to do even more.
- Gophers football: They should have beaten California and Northwestern. They’ve escaped other times. But at the end of the day, there is this: They’re better than Wisconsin, and they have a chance to show it again this weekend.
- St. Thomas: They’re putting together a competitive all-around Division I athletic program, with their qualification for the NCAA volleyball tournament serving as the latest example.
- Everyone else: I got through nine teams and realized there are so many more. We’re never bored here in Minnesota between high school, college and professional teams. We have everything. What more could we want?
