Recent content from La Velle E. Neal III
Neal: 4 Nations Face-Off sets the standard for All-Star breaks
Other sports can copy hockey's brilliant idea, and here are some ideas.
Neal: Moving forward with Johnson is the only option for Gophers men
While top-25 wins over Michigan and Oregon helped Ben Johnson's case to return next season, his Los Angeles sweep made it a no-brainer.
Neal: As Wild and Timberwolves take their winter breaks, only one has laurels to rest on
The hockey team is overcoming adversity under coach John Hynes. The basketball team is underachieving by last season's standard and this season's expectations.
Neal: Look for spring training to reveal the wonders of warmth and the strength of the Twins' pitching staff
The starting rotation ranks in the majors' top 10, with above-average arms in Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, and the bullpen is strong if healthy.
Neal: Don't hate the Chiefs, emulate them
The Chiefs have navigated through turbulent times to become the gold standard of the NFL ... and they are showing the Vikings how it can be done.
Neal: Curling national championships in Duluth bring it all back around for Shuster
The leader of six U.S. champions faces a Minnesota-fueled challenge to win his seventh. The Peterson sisters of Eagan are going for their third U.S. championship.
Neal: Baldelli dwells on 2024's ending as he ponders 2025's beginning
The Twins manager said he remains upset his team flopped down the stretch but is confident about what's ahead: "We will be ready to rock."
Neal: From first to worst, NFC North disappoints in postseason
In a whirlwind, the toughest division in the NFL during the regular season failed in the postseason but became fascinating again in three days this week.
Neal: Vikings face no matter more important than the future of their defensive coordinator
Since the playoff loss, the team's needs have been recited item by item. Losing mastermind Brian Flores would create the greatest need of all.
Neal: Interest in Twins purchase spans the nation
The new season is approaching, which means that in the coming weeks there will be clarity on who the third owner in Minnesota Twins history will be. Here's everything you need to know.
Neal: All eyes will be on Sam Darnold, but don't forget about Aaron Jones and Cam Akers
All eyes will be on Darnold following his clunker against Detroit, but don't ignore the impact Aaron Jones and Cam Akers can have on Monday night.
Neal: Relax, Vikings fans, it's going to be fine
Vikings fans need to accelerate through the five stages of the grief process, arrive at the meaning of it all and get right in time for Monday night's playoff game with the Rams.
Neal: Dan Campbell is a big lug ... as in lovable big lug
While Kevin O'Connell is considered the front runner for NFL Coach of the Year, Dan Campbell should be the runner up — which makes this Sunday showdown that much more exciting.
Neal: For Minnesota sports teams, 2024 was great — but 2025 can be legendary
After a breakout 2024 for Minnesota sports teams, 2025 could be even better — but to do so, Anthony Edwards, Kevin O'Connell, Napheesa Collier, Lindsey Vonn and co. will have to keep raising the bar.
Neal: With CFP expansion, P.J. Fleck and the Gophers should have loftier goals
We should expect P.J. Fleck to craft a 10-win season every few years, not once in eight. Can't he just get the Gophers close enough to the CFP to be snubbed once in a while?
Neal: Sam Darnold's resurrection could grow to legend builder after Sunday
The legend of Darnold is beginning right when the Vikings are playing their most important games of the season, beginning with an NFC North showdown against the Packers on Sunday.
Neal: Rickey Henderson ... gone but never forgotten
After an incredible 25-year career that saw him become MLB's all-time stolen bases leader and the greatest leadoff hitter ever, Rickey Henderson died Friday at age 65.
Neal: Marriage suits Gophers hockey senior Huglen. Soon, fatherhood will, too.
Aaron Huglen and wife Maddie are expecting their first baby right before the Gophers take aim at a sixth NCAA title.
Neal: Wolves fans have no reason to boo KAT in his Target Center homecoming
Karl-Anthony Towns will be back in the place where he built a legacy as one of the best Wolves players of all time.
Neal: Vikings' best is required the rest of the way, and we didn't see it against the Bears
Quarterback Sam Darnold played scruffily, penalties mounted, chances weren't seized, and it took Vanilla Ice to get things going.
Neal: Vikings and Bears meet again, traveling in opposite directions
Nothing about the season has gone as predicted for either team, so this is not a prediction, it's a statement: Minnesota ought to win Monday.
Neal: Correa is tremendously unlikely to play for anyone but the Twins
A New York columnist caused a burst of chatter, but team officials say they are neither shopping their shortstop nor hearing offers. Plenty of reasons exist for that.
Neal: What does Soto's contract say about the future of baseball?
Payroll disparity has caused smaller-market MLB teams to become a feeder system to markets who can overspend on star players. Change is on the horizon, but it might take a few more years of suffering.
Neal: For the Minnesota Frost, the process of becoming a dynasty begins
The winners of the Walter Cup in the PWHL's first season endured an overtime loss in the opener of their second season. Like last year, that ends nothing.
Neal: Wrong, wrong, wrong. About the Vikings. About the NFC North. About Sam Darnold.
Kevin O'Connell's QB whispering worked again, setting off a series of events that made Minnesota's division the NFL's best.
Neal: Timberwolves say the right things, but to quote the coach, 'You just gotta go out and do it.'
Chris Finch sees too little effort. Anthony Edwards sees the same. And those of us watching from a distance see nothing at all like last season.
Neal: In a game with twists and turns, Darnold and Williams steadily guided their teams
The Vikings beat the Bears on Sunday in Chicago as the Vikings quarterback continued to inspire and the Bears quarterback showed his potential.
Neal: Vikings could profit off a Bears team that wins ugly and loses dramatically
The Vikings are catching a Bears team on a four-game losing streak that recently canned its offensive coordinator and is too timid to do it to the head coach in-season.
Neal: Loons will have no trouble walking into LA and making Galaxy fans cry
Despite being tormented by the Galaxy over the years, this version of the Loons has a chance to return to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2020.
Neal: The champ is back for one final ride — and Minnesotans should appreciate it
A wrestler who won two NCAA titles for the Gophers and an Olympic gold medal for his country, Gable Steveson said it's a fine time for him to rejoin the success going on in Minnesota sports.
Neal: La Velle Neal, Pedro Martínez and a look back at a controversial American League MVP vote
Twenty-five years ago, Martínez finished second in AL MVP balloting — because La Velle didn't vote for the Red Sox ace.
Neal: Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Hockey Hall of Famers? It's happening, and it's right.
A pair of former Gophers, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl continue to contribute to the game that took them around the world.
Neal: Johnson, starting over again with Gophers roster, doesn't have to go backward
Avoiding "disaster" status this season is possible with the U's group of short-timers, and any more than that would be celebrated as overachieving.
Neal: Fourth-quarter version of Brosmer indicates Fleck was smart to get him and even smarter to let him throw
After three strong games in a row, the Gophers quarterback was three quarters into a mediocre (or worse) day, until his team fell behind and required a response.
Neal: Five reasons the Wild could be the real deal
Kirill Kaprizov leads the league in scoring, but there are other factors leading to the team's hot start.
Neal: Made devastatingly clear: Lions' Goff is the best QB in the NFC North. Sam Darnold is not in the top three.
The NFC North is a conference in which all four teams like their quarterbacks, but Sunday's game revealed separation between Detroit's guy and Minnesota's.
DiVincenzo brings shooting, passing, defending and one more quality to the Wolves: an edge
Acquired in the deal for Karl-Anthony Towns, guard Donte DiVincenzo arrives bearing lessons learned on four NBA teams under two MVPs.
Neal: Collier didn't score much in Game 4. Trouble for the Lynx? No. Trouble for the Liberty.
Lynx prove they're more than just Napheesa Collier in WNBA Finals Game 4 victory.
Neal: Vikings vs. Lions is big, but a Minnesota win would set up something much bigger
Are the Vikings for real? Sunday's showdown, and the road game four days later against the Rams, will go a long way toward determining that.
Neal: Timberwolves cross preseason off their list, head into a high-exposure, high-expectations NBA season
Coach Chris Finch said the team is in a "really, really good place," and a columnist watching closely agrees.
Neal: A Lynx crowd large and loud turns out, but the festive atmosphere just couldn't last
Another high-quality game, part of perhaps the most important season in the WNBA's history, becomes another dramatic loss for the Lynx.
Neal: Wild appear positioned to pull off a rare combo and win and grow at the same time
The team has veterans capable of improving and youngsters with the skills to push more experienced teammates.
Neal: Did the Pohlads help the Twins or hamper them over 40 years?
What will history tell us about the family's complicated legacy as owner of the Twins, from a hopeful beginning to a disappointing conclusion?
Neal: Lynx will defeat Liberty in WNBA Finals, and here's why
The 2024 group pieced together by Cheryl Reeve isn't the betting favorite, and it's probably not the best team she has assembled, but five reasons say Minnesota will win the WNBA championship.
Neal: Last-minute thriller could redefine Gophers' season
The decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal was the right one, and it could totally change the direction of the Gophers' 2024 campaign under P.J. Fleck.
Neal: Courtney Williams sparks Lynx past Sun
The veteran point guard had a game-high 17 points as the Lynx evened the WNBA playoff series at a game apiece with a 77-70 win.
Neal: Twins' Falvey, Baldelli have earned one more year
But Twins' process must yield results in 2025 after failures to finish 2024.
Neal: Hear that? It's O'Connell and LaFleur in a battle of quarterback whisperers
Quarterback whisperers take center stage on Sunday when Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings face Matt LaFleur and the Packers.
Neal: Flagrant foul on Carleton set a spark, and Lynx went on a tear
The Lynx closed out the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the WNBA playoffs with a second-half flurry.
Neal: Collier's phenomenal effort on both ends drives Lynx to Game 1 victory
The WNBA MVP runner-up and AP Defensive Player of the Year showed why she earned those accolades in the playoff opener against the Mercury.
Neal: Veeck's next chapter has taken him across the Atlantic to a new sport
After 30-plus years with the St. Paul Saints, Mike Veeck traded in the baseball diamond for a football pitch — trading in the St. Paul Saints for Larne FC in Ireland
Neal: No one asked me, but I think Purple Reign would have been great PWHL nickname
The newest moniker is A-OK by the Gophers women's hockey coach, however.
Neal: Twins postseason hopes rely on unproven arm
With every game heightening the pressure to get to the postseason, Jeffers is trying to guide three rookies pitchers to the finish line
Neal: Bet against Aaron Jones, Vikings running game at your own risk
Despite boasting one of the game's best receivers, a QB looking to resurrect his career and a coach searching for balance, all of the Vikings' success may depend on what Aaron Jones does in the backfield.
Neal: Gophers kicker Kesich will be fine; he just needs another chance
After emerging as one college football's best kickers last season, Gophers star Dragan Kesich got off to a rough start this year. Don't worry though, there's reason to believe Kesich will be just fine.
Neal: With the return of Lewis' power swing comes the return of hope for Twins
The Twins earned a much-needed victory thanks to Royce Lewis' go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Lewis' three-run homer in eighth lifts Twins to victory over Blue Jays
Royce Lewis hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the eighth inning Sunday at Target Field, propelling the Twins to a 4-3 win over Toronto to end their homestand.
Michael Helman, 28, tries fitting in after getting first call-up to Twins
The utility player said he didn't have time to get emotional over his first promotion to the major leagues.
Neal: Wild wanted Patrik Laine, but Laine did not want the Wild
The 3-2 Pitch: With the Wild's season fast approaching, Neal also tackled the difficult AL Central, the putrid Gophers run defense and a bold prediction for the Lynx and Twins.
Neal: Here's hoping MLB voters get it right when it comes to Carlos Santana and the Gold Glove
Twenty five years after Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz was robbed of the Gold Glove award — losing to an undeserving Rafael Palmeiro — Minnesota is hoping Carlos Santana brings it home.
Neal: Jumping to conclusions about Twins prospects is a road not worth traveling
Once an afterthought in Minnesota's future, prospects Trevor Larnach and Jose Miranda are proving their value by helping the Twins push to the postseason.
Analysis: Ramsay has been a steady hand for Minnesota United, despite the chaos
Since taking over as Loons coach four games into the MLS season, Eric Ramsay has weathered constant roster challenges yet still has the team challenging for a playoff berth.
![Can the Twins count on Zebby Matthews in the stretch run of a pennant race?
] AARON LAVINSKY • aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/M2MSP73JKNCC7PW5E53V2KNQNE.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Neal: Festa. Matthews. Woods Richardson. Varland. Can the Twins count on them down the stretch?
The good news is that Derek Falvey has created a pipeline of young starters. The bad news? They're being thrown into the fire.
St. Thomas football gains strength by tapping the family that produced Faith, Hope and Love
Running back Hope Adebayo has helped lead the Tommies to a 25-7 record in their first three seasons as a Division I team.
Neal: Witt and KC, next up for the Twins, present an AL Central threat
Their young superstar is among the hottest hitters in baseball, and the Royals made themselves stronger at the trade deadline.
Neal: She's back! Andrea Hayden returns to Twin Cities, this time with Lynx
MLB's first female strength coach with the Twins, Andrea Hayden followed her journey west to Stanford. Now she's back, helping the Lynx make a push for the postseason.
Neal: It turns out South Sudan is on route from Mahtomedi to Olympics
Nuni Omot and his teammates will take on the powerful U.S. men's basketball team in the Olympics.
Neal: Kuchar gathers momentum with tie for third at 3M Open
Winless since 2019, Matt Kuchar had a shot at victory at TPC Twin Cities on the final hole, but just being in the final group had him feeling back on track.
Neal: Of the NFC North's two rookie QBs, which one has the better plan?
Between the Vikings' J.J. McCarthy and the Bears' Caleb Williams, only one is supported by infrastructure for growth and development.
Neal: Twins lose again vs. baseball's best, but they can turn trend around
The Twins entered their series this week against Philadelphia with a 2-19 mark this season against the five other teams with a better record than them, but that trend can change.
Neal: Mauer had his Cooperstown moment ... next year, it's Ichiro
St. Paul's hometown hero was treated right on his Hall of Fame weekend.
Mauer is inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in front of thousands of Twins fans
Former Twins star catcher Joe Mauer was enshrined in the Baseball Hall on Sunday in Cooperstown. The St. Paul native, who wore No. 7 in his career, is the seventh player to wear a Twins cap on his plaque.
Friends, family and former Twins flood Cooperstown ahead of Mauer ceremony
Despite massive travel delays Friday, a host of familiar faces arrived in time to help settle Joe Mauer's jitters before he officially becomes a Hall of Famer.
Seven memorable moments in Joe Mauer's career
Joe Mauer enters the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, elected on the first ballot five years after his retirement. Here are seven memorable moments in St. Paul Joe's career, from high school to the pros.
Mauer's 2009 Twins season made baseball history
Joe Mauer's third league batting title as a catcher is unmatched in MLB annals.
