Recent content from Jim Souhan
Souhan: More than her on-court skills, WNBA will miss Diana Taurasi's sniping
The greatest women's basketball player ever, Taurasi was a 14-time all-WNBA selection, 11-time All-Star, and called "The White Mamba" by Kobe Bryant.
Souhan: St. Peter retiring as Twins president ... kind of
The longtime Twins executive has been lauded for passionate management.
Souhan: Women from the Lynx's past and present make Unrivaled a business matter that's personal
The women's three-on-three basketball league, co-founded by Napheesa Collier with Clare Duwelius as GM, is off to a fascinating start.
Souhan: Twins shortstop Correa eyes a path towards the Hall of Fame
With the blueprint set by Joe Mauer, Carlos Correa understands the analytics needed to make his case to gain baseball immortality — but it won't come at the price of sacrificing time with his family.
Souhan: There's no place like Minnesota for Terry Ryan and Derek Falvey
Even with the Twins in flux amid the selling of the franchise, GMs Ryan and Falvey remain committed to the team due to loyalty and a desire to win.
Souhan: Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax to lead talented Twins bullpen
With Duran and Jax battling for the Twins closing role, the rest of the bullpen is shaping up to be among the MLB's best.
Souhan: Last season's struggles proved valuable for Twins' Lewis
His worst month as a big-leaguer coincided with, or helped cause, the Twins' epic September collapse — but now he's better for it.
Souhan: What other pro leagues can learn from NHL's successful All-Star break
Here's how each major American sports league can improve its own All-Star presentation and why such improvements might never occur.
Souhan: Leaving ESPN is a bad idea for Major League Baseball
The greatness of the network's "Sunday Night Baseball" and "Baseball Tonight" and its use of the nation's best writers invited fans to the game.
Souhan: What Finch must do for the Wolves to win
After four games against teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings, the Wolves will face a remarkably easy schedule.
Souhan: Jessie Diggins and the author telling her story
The skiing star from Afton hit it off with Minnesota writer, Todd Smith, whom she shares a commonality with a willingness to work overtime to achieve a dream.
Souhan: Bueckers assists big UConn blowout that ends South Carolina's home winning streak
The Huskies on Sunday ended the Gamecocks' 71-game home winning streak in a game filled with milestones.
Souhan: Count Naz Reid as a Timberwolves cornerstone and nothing less
The NBA's Sixth Man of the Year last season is in his team's top two this season.
Souhan: Timberwolves leave a reminder of their erratic selves and head into the All-Star break
In a surprising victory Thursday over Oklahoma City, they showed depth and talent. But their other side showed just the day before.
Souhan: Are Wolves, Lynx trading stability for excitement with A-Lo in line to be new owners?
The ownership group of Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore — let's call them A-Lo — is popular with Wolves fans for its risk-taking and aggressiveness. Is the glee over an ownership change justified?
Souhan: Super Bowl champion Eagles were built with brilliance
Howie Roseman, the architect of the NFL's best roster, should take a bow following Sunday's rout of Kansas City.
Souhan: Look closely at J.J. McCarthy. See that resemblance to Mahomes?
The Vikings have the right kind of quarterback to succeed in the NFL and the right formula to make it happen.
Souhan: Minnesota has seen a deal like the stunner that sent Doncic to the Lakers
Saturday night's blockbuster NBA trade is remindful of the Vikings ditching star wide receiver Randy Moss in his prime in 2005.
Souhan: Tommies show off their first-place stuff for Wolves bosses
"The coolest story in college basketball" got cooler Sunday, when St. Thomas reached the Summit League's peak.
Souhan: Eye test says Barkley deserves to be in the GOAT conversation
Proclaiming the Eagles star the best running back of all time may seem presumptuous … but calling his 2024 season the greatest ever by a running back is not.
Souhan: Grading which Minnesota owners have thrived and which have stumbled
What the Twins and Wolves have to hope for is ownership that is rich enough to fund a winner, and humble enough to let the experts run the show.
Souhan: Wolves near two big deadlines that will affect season and franchise's future
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 6. Even bigger, in the next two weeks, the arbitrators' decision on the dispute between Wolves owner Glen Taylor and prospective owners Marc Lorre and Alex Rodriguez is expected to be made public.
Souhan: Vikings can feel Bills' pain following Buffalo's latest playoff exit
Running quarterbacks, running backs highlight the conference championship games.
Souhan: Twins will sell, soon, for big bucks, and then we'll learn the full cost
Team executives are balancing the promise of change with the comfort of stability as TwinsFest and other winter activities remind us baseball is ahead.
Souhan: Gophers basketball surging at the perfect time
There's hope at Williams Arena because the Gophers men are leaning on their star, and the Gophers women are learning to play without theirs.
Souhan: Dr. King would have approved of the rise of women's sports
Women's sports have grown so quickly the last two years that their current challenge is maintaining pace, but Minnesota continues to be among the front-runners in creating and supporting women's sports teams.
Souhan: A Vikings observer's view of the NFL's final foursome
We saw over the weekend promising precedents for young, mobile quarterbacks. The Minnesota roster includes one of those, J.J. McCarthy.
Souhan: In Minnesota men's sports, sequels just don't measure up
The Wolves' struggles this season are familiar to any who ever figured success in this state would lead to more. Here are 10 other times when running it back became running for cover.
Souhan: Trade that sent Towns to New York looks terrible … for now
As the Timberwolves and Knicks play Friday, the Wolves are struggling to incorporate Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo into their lineup and falling in the standings. Karl-Anthony Towns is thriving in a basketball mecca for a superior team.
Souhan: Late-season collapse didn't damage O'Connell's credibility
If the Vikings' Kevin O'Connell was a favorite to win coach of the year before this two-game collapse, he should be a lock now, because we can see what he was working with and fighting against.
Souhan: No QB controversy here. Vikings must dump Darnold and develop McCarthy.
The guy who played quarterback the past two games should be no part of the team's future.
Souhan: Circumstances insist Vikings will have their usual not-a-bit-normal playoff experience
Minnesota would like to alter a history that shows no playoff win since the 2019 season, but the various oddities in place now indicate nothing will happen simply.
Souhan: What happened in October, and how the Vikings can avoid a repeat
Monday's Vikings-Rams rematch will come in the first round of the NFL playoffs ... and if Minnesota has its way, they'll have learned from those mistakes back in Week 8.
Souhan: Instead of stewing in your fears, open your eyes. Vikings' path to Super Bowl remains clear.
Those other times when things went wrong — we're talking four Super Bowl losses plus 1998, 2000, 2009 and 2017 — weren't solid opportunities. This time, the NFC playoff field is flawed.
Souhan: Kevin O'Connell's task this week is to fix Sam Darnold... and fast
Darnold knows he is playing for his future. He is playing for tens of millions of dollars, a spot on the Vikings' roster, and, should he win the Super Bowl, eternal fame.
Souhan: Summarized simply, how can we trust Darnold again?
We've seen this. Add Sam's Swoon to the list that starts with Drew Pearson's push-off, runs through Gary Anderson's miss, stumbles at 41-donut and stretches to a flop at Philadelphia.
Souhan: Is Sunday the biggest Vikings regular-season game ever? It just might be ...
In the first game ever to feature two teams with 14 regular season victories, Sunday's Vikings-Lions is a matchup of likable coaches, altered cultures and outsized ambitions.
Souhan: Another coach in town reminds us it's too early to give up on Finch
The criticism we're hearing is the same stuff we heard when Kevin O'Connell was coaching a 7-10 Vikings team last season.
Souhan: There's no rush to decide Darnold's future with Vikings
Calls for the Vikings to urgently sign quarterback Sam Darnold to a long-term contract are premature. As Andy MacPhail once said, "Never make a decision before you have to."
Souhan: Darnold lifts Vikings again; teammates return the favor
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell trusted quarterback Sam Darnold to seal a 27-25 win over the Packers. In the postgame locker room, his teammates showed him what he means to them.
Souhan: Sunday Vikings-Packers showdown is proof of better times
What Sunday's Vikings-Packers game will be, no matter the outcome, is spectacular entertainment, and a scene that Vince Lombardi and Bud Grant probably couldn't have imagined 50 years ago.
Souhan: What should Minnesota sports fans be wishing for this holiday season?
Widely known that Minnesota sports fans are among the most suffering in the nation, this holiday season has the chance to become special, given the recent success of the Vikings, Wolves, Lynx and Wild.
Souhan: Time for Vikings to lock up their future
Following Sunday's dramatic victory, the Vikings control their own destiny to the NFC's top seed — but now it's imperative that ownership locks up the former journeyman quarterback.
Souhan: Darnold's big moment — the biggest of his life, perhaps — sets everything up
When quarterback Sam Darnold hit Justin Jefferson for the winning points against Seattle, he put himself and his team in position for big things.
Souhan: Now the real drama of the Vikings' season begins
Beginning Sunday in Seattle, the Vikings embark on a three-game journey to culminate what could become the most endearing season in the long and unconsummated history of the franchise..
Souhan: Reunion with Towns comes amid emotion and uncertainty
When Kirk Cousins made his return to Minnesota, we already could see his future and that of the Vikings. Nothing about Towns' or the Wolves' situation is as clear.
Souhan: The difference-maker wore a ballcap and headset, not a helmet. Kevin O'Connell, take a bow.
The head coach's work, particularly with quarterback Sam Darnold, is the reason the Vikings are winning. A lack of coaching is the reason the Bears are losing.
Souhan: Are the Bears a challenge for the Vikings, or just challenged?
Enjoy these four takes on Monday's game, starting with the realization that the Purple is positioned to go all season without a bad loss.
Souhan: A modest proposal to improve baseball, because the Golden At-Bat rule doesn't go far enough
We start with a warning to bad pitchers and bad owners: Beware the trap door. And yes, we are considering moats around infielders.
Souhan: Wolves should sit out the NBA trade period
Fans shouldn't let the uneven performance of the current roster fool them into thinking that there is a magic trade available that will improve this team; What this Wolves team needs is patience and stability.
Souhan: Where do the Vikings rank among the NFL's best?
If it's not the Vikings, currently 11-2 and one game back from owning the best record in the NFL, then who is it? The injured Lions? The offensively-challenged Eagles? The lucky Chiefs?
Souhan: Give Kevin O'Connell (or just call him KO) credit for that knockout
A football coach, especially one bearing the label of quarterback whisperer, could not have had a better day.
Souhan: Cousins returns, we yawn. Moving moments are unlikely at this homecoming.
The Vikings are better off without the quarterback, who peaked at "pretty good," and it's likely the Falcons will be, too.
Souhan: Subtle moves by Wild, Lynx and Vikings made all the difference
Rather than selling the future to go star hunting, Minnesota teams have taken a different approach with less obvious moves — and now it's paying off with dominant seasons and championship aspirations.
Souhan: Edwards, Gobert should take Timberwolves' lead
A mediocre first quarter of the 2024-25 season displayed a lack of leadership on the Wolves.
Souhan: Vikings' O'Connell is a legitimate contender for coach of the year
The other two coaches who deserve to be in the conversation at this point in the NFL season have a connection to the Vikings.
Souhan: Time to appreciate all Clare Duwelius, Katie Smith and Dave St. Peter gave to Twin Cities sports
Masters of the unappreciated work that drives franchises, Duwelius, Smith, and St. Peter will be remembered for everything they gave to the Lynx, Twins and the fanbases that follow
Souhan: Lindsey Vonn returns to U.S. Ski Team
A three-time Olympic medalist and four-time overall World Cup champion, Vonn could be eying a shot at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan & Cortina, Italy
Souhan: Jones isn't the best Vikings running back, but he might be the most likeable
Why laud Jones, who has played in just nine games for the Vikings? Because this is about style, savvy and personality, and he's a good-hearted overachiever.
Cashman is back, and he's money against the Jaguars
After missing three games because of a toe injury, linebacker Blake Cashman returned Sunday. As a teammate said, "You see the big difference that he made."
Souhan: The Sam Slide is here. How will the Vikings handle it?
Can Kevin O'Connell coach quarterback Sam Darnold through his recent struggles? It will be the greatest test of the coach's still-young career.
Souhan: NFL receivers are turning 'Did you see that?!' into a catchphrase
The Vikings' Jordan Addison was one of several NFL receivers to reel in a one-handed catch last weekend as what was once improbable is becoming a regular occurrence around the league.
Souhan: The Gophers were spiraling, and now this is one of Fleck's best seasons
Three key factors have made the difference for P.J. Fleck and the Gophers in their turnaround — And now what seemed impossible four games ago is very much a reality.
Souhan: Vikings have chance for rare achievement
Reaching 13 wins has been a rarity in the Vikings franchise. Led by a journeyman QB and a good head coach, and having already survived the daunting part of the schedule, this year's team has a chance to reach that milestone.
Souhan: Darnold's gaffes should have led to a loss. They didn't. But if he doesn't figure it out …
The Vikings quarterback made three errors that could have ruined the night. He'll need to show better poise if any playoff goals are to be met.
Souhan: Vikings GM Adofo-Mensah's moves play to his strengths
Why draft kids when acquiring veterans is cheaper and more certain? And why not take a lesson from the master and show you know when to grab players and when to separate from them?
Souhan: When you rank the top young athletes in Minnesota sports, there's a new leader
Royce Lewis' blazing start to his Twins career had him atop the ranking at the end of spring. But times have changed.
Souhan: Timberwolves' early schedule is a reminder of the NBA's magic
Doncic, Jokic and Wembenyama are next up in starry Western Conference battles.
Souhan: Randle, DiVincenzo show off in first Wolves home opener
Playing fast and passing quickly allowed newcomers Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to shine on Saturday night at Target Center.
Souhan: Following back-to-back losses, can Vikings fix flaws? If so, will they?
Back-to-back losses may have dimmed the undefeated start, but what the Vikings do moving forward can have huge ramifications on their future
Souhan: Vikings don't need a QB trade. They need a healthy Cashman.
Quarterback play is not the reason for the Vikings' two recent losses. Injuries are taking their toll.
Souhan: What should we think about Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve's postgame rant?
The legendary Reeve cut loose Sunday night following the Lynx Game 5 loss to the Liberty... was she right or wrong?
Souhan: Collier melds production and passion again, but the reward goes to others
The Lynx's star player spent the season going above and beyond her peers and again Sunday was the best player on the court.
Souhan: Vikings, Lions coordinators key to Sunday ... and future?
The grass isn't always greener, and that's a decision Brian Flores and Ben Johnson will have to make after Sunday's showdown
Souhan: Vikings sit atop the most dominant division in the NFL
Vikings may be on top of the NFL's best division, but are they the best when it comes to certain categories?
![BRIAN PETERSON ¥ brianp@startribune.com St. Paul, MN 9/24/2009 ] A lone kayaker makes his way from the Minnesota River into the Mississippi near Pike](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/O7Z6YC6SRE6G4XOBWQNICI7WUU.jpg?w=600&h=600&auto=format%2Ccompress&cs=tinysrgb)