K-HEART SPORTS – THURSDAY – 09/14/23
MINOT, ND – The Class A Football poll is the same as last week, while there are changes 9-Man. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota AP Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association.
Class A Football Poll
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Week
1. Velva-Drake/Anamose-Garrison (14) 4-0 86 1
2. Kindred (2) 3-0 65 2
3. Dickinson Trinity (1) 4-0 49 3
4. Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich 4-0 30 4
5. Shiloh Christian 4-0 21 5
1. Velva-Drake/Anamose-Garrison (14) 4-0 86 1
2. Kindred (2) 3-0 65 2
3. Dickinson Trinity (1) 4-0 49 3
4. Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich 4-0 30 4
5. Shiloh Christian 4-0 21 5
Others receiving votes: Central Cass (3-1)
9-Man Football Poll
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Week
1. New Salem-Almont (15) 4-0 81 2
2. Sargent County 4-0 57 3
3. New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock 4-0 37 RV
4. South Border 4-0 35 4
5. Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn 4-0 32 5
1. New Salem-Almont (15) 4-0 81 2
2. Sargent County 4-0 57 3
3. New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock 4-0 37 RV
4. South Border 4-0 35 4
5. Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn 4-0 32 5
Others receiving votes: North Prairie (3-1)
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MINOTAUROS-NAHL SHOWCASE
MINOT, ND (MINOTAUROS) – The Minot Minotauros opened their thirteenth season with a win over Lone Star on the first day of the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota. The Tauros have historically struggled on the Showcase’s first day having won just twice at the league’s season kickoff event. The only two previous seasons that the Tauros won the opener they went on to have been successful overall going 4-0-0 in 2016 and 3-0-1 in 2019.
Wednesday’s game opened with a fairly even first period that saw the teams fail to change the scoreboard with 17 combined shots (9-8 in favor of Lone Star) all stopped by the Tauros James Norton and Lone Star’s Deivis Rolovs. Early in the second however the Tauros’ Colby Woogk broke through to give the Tauros a 1-0 lead. With the Tauros down a man due to a too many men penalty Trevor Stachowiak freed up the puck with a hit on Antti Autere and Nick Sewecke picked it up and fired a shot that was gloved by Rolovs creating an offensive zone draw for the shorthanded Tauros. John Emmons won that ensuing faceoff to Payne Gatewood who’s shot was deflected up and out of play for another offensive zone faceoff for the penalized Tauros. Again Emmons won it back, this time to Colby Woogk who blasted a slap shot past Rolovs to give the Tauros the lead on a shorthanded goal.
That score would hold into a penalty filled third period that saw 25 minutes in penalties. After the teams traded fruitless power play opportunities in the first five minutes of the period the Tauros would get another chance on the man advantage at the 5:03 mark when Charlie Masek was sent to the box for tripping. This time they would break through as Joel Lehtinen rifled a puck past Rolovs’ glove from the top of the right circle. The penalized Brahma would atone for his mistake however just 1:41 after Lehtinen’s goal as he deflected a puck through Norton off of a point shot from Ray Murakami after contact had knocked Norton’s stick from his blocker hand. Lone Star would try to push back to draw even but Shane Carr’s hit on Emmons was called for a five minute major and game misconduct for head contact sending the Brahmas to the penalty kill for the final 1:42 of the contest. From there the Tauros closed out the game and held on to win 2-1.
Next up the Tauros take on the Maine Nordiques for the first time in franchise history. The Nords also won on the Showcase’s opening day with an impressive 7-2 tromping of the Chippewa Steel.
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TWINS-RAYS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Randy Arozarena’s bat has been relatively quiet for Tampa Bay since the All-Star break, and September has been a particularly slow month at the plate for the All-Star left fielder and 2021 American League Rookie of the Year. He rose to the occasion in Minnesota on Wednesday. That ball he hit kept soaring, too. Arozarena’s tiebreaking home run with two outs in the ninth inning helped the Rays recover from a blown four-run lead to beat the Twins 5-4 heading into a weekend showdown with AL East leader Baltimore. Arozarena sent a 448-foot drive — the longest of his 70 career homers — into the third deck above left field on a 3-2 slider from Griffin Jax. Jax (6-10) became the first Twins reliever with double-digit defeats since Ron Davis went 7-11 with 14 blown saves in 1984. Only five relievers have done that in team history. Mike Marshall has the club relief record with 14 losses in 1979.
UP NEXT
RHP Kenta Maeda (4-7, 4.65 ERA) starts today to begin a four-game series at Chicago. RHP José Ureña (0-5, 8.46 ERA) pitches for the White Sox.
RHP Kenta Maeda (4-7, 4.65 ERA) starts today to begin a four-game series at Chicago. RHP José Ureña (0-5, 8.46 ERA) pitches for the White Sox.
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TWINS-BUXTON
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins are still planning on the oft-injured Byron Buxton playing again this season despite persistent knee problems, head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta said Wednesday. Buxton received a cortisone injection Sunday in his troublesome right knee to treat a new bout of inflammation and irritation just below his kneecap that halted the Triple-A rehab assignment he was on to ramp up from a strained right hamstring. The Twins have been trying to reintegrate him to center field duty, after limiting him to designated hitter all season. Paparesta said this latest issue “came on out of nowhere” and that an MRI exam showed improvement with both Buxton’s chronic patellar tendinitis and from the cartilage cleanup surgery he had last year. Buxton’s current discomfort comes primarily from bending and rotating on his back knee while batting. Though there are only 16 games left for the Twins in the regular season, and fewer for their minor league affiliates, Paparesta said there’s still time for Buxton to play in enough rehab games and be ready again for major league action. “We’re going to make it happen,” Paparesta said. Buxton has missed 38 games and counting with his latest injury list stint. He missed 10 games earlier with a bruised rib. Buxton has played in more than 100 games only once in nine major league seasons.
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VIKINGS-EAGLES
UNDATED (AP) – Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles host Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings in their home opener in prime time for the second straight season. Pro Picks doesn’t expect another dominant performance from Philly. The Eagles (1-0) and Vikings (0-1) kick off Week 2 tonight at rowdy Lincoln Financial Field where the home fans get to see their starters for the first time since a 38-35 loss to Kansas City in the Super Bowl. The defending NFC champions were rusty and lucky to pull off a 25-20 win last week at New England. The Vikings, who lost a wild-card playoff game at home last season after going 13-4, picked up where they left off with a 20-17 upset loss at home to Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Philadelphia overpowered the Vikings on both sides of the ball in a convincing 24-7 victory on Monday night in Week 2 last season. Hurts threw for 333 yards, the offense racked up 486 yards and the defense held Minnesota to 264 yards. Cousins was picked off three times on his way to losing again under the bright lights. He’s 8-10 with Minnesota in prime-time or stand-alone games. The Eagles are banged-up on defense. They could be without three starters. The Vikings might be missing two offensive linemen.