Vikings
I'm not sure how much further they can reach into the magic hat but the Vikes pulled another one out this week. Instead of trading the long time tight end, the Purple gave Kyle Rudolph an extension that could keep him in Minnesota for most of the rest of the year but certainly gave the team it's much desired cap space - for whatever reason they need it at this point in the pre-season. Considering Spielman's obsession with draft picks, there must never have been an offer good enough for the vet's services.
A sub fact is that if all these big contracts to the team's talent pool never equate to a championship game appearance, at minimum, then this will be a failure on par with the four flops and the late 90's debacle.
Bison
It's old news by now but the week prior showed that it's good to be a quarterback. Carson Wentz was the latest pro to get a bar raising extension. Many of the bandwagon chasing Eagles fans in Fargo would rather not accept this but I'm not convinced he actually deserved the contract that he got. For Philly it was about securing long-term play at the game's most important position so I don't knock the extension in principle but injuries have hampered his career so far. That, combined with his well documented & accurate virtue made me think he would take a more team friendly deal but I guess Tom Brady is the last high end QB to go that route.
On the other coast, Wentz's protege made another demonstration of charmed living. Even though he was only a fifth round pick and will be locked in as a backup for the foreseeable future, Easton Stick got to throw out the first pitch at an Angels game. Must be nice to be a quarterback!
Clarity on the next one to take a snap in the FargoDome progressed this week as former backup Holden Hotchkiss announced that he would be transferring. Whether just to be closer to his home of Florida or because he had fallen behind in the competition & didn't feel like riding the pine any more is unclear but it does simplify the race. It's technically still a three player competition but I'd wager that it'll come down to Zeb Nolan or Trey Lance. The Iowa State transfer may have the leg up and would probably be the safer choice but I'm getting more & more curious about the possibility of coach Entz going for the four year home run on Lance to start at Target Field, and beyond.
There has also been news on the front of future Bison. Joining Ada-Borup's Mason Miller & Shanley's Ty Satter is Moorhead's Seth Anderson. Despite getting offers and interest from several FBS school's, Anderson chose to stay close to home and play for NDSU. It's a very early list of 2020 players but is already shaping up to continue the dynasty into the next decade!
The Football team wasn't the only squad to have player news come up this week. The Basketball team added JuCo transfer big man Tyler Witz. It came just before the unfortunate news that Dickinson native Jordan Meidinger would be medically retiring from the sports before ever donning the jersey in a game. It's an unfortunately bitter/sweet pair of developments but for the NoDak kid it's better to say goodbye so that he can live as healthy a life as possible than to keep trying, only to pay the price later.
Twins
Lather, rinse, repeat. See pitch, hit pitch, score runs. A simple strategy that's continued at record pace. The other thing that hasn't changed is that the pitching is unpredictable. Since there's not much else to say, I'll leave it at that.
High School Sports
Correcting an oversight - Forgot to give credit to a couple area champions from a couple weeks ago. West Fargo brought two more championships to their title town. Sheyenne brought home the hardware for girl's team Tennis while the original WF claimed the EDC Golf title. It's old news but better late than never to correct an oversight.
In current prep news, the annual Western border battle played out on Saturday night. The Mountaineers got the better of the Prairie team as they have so often over the history of the showcase but the final score is a far cry from how most of the game played out. ND lead 14-0 at the half thanks to a couple plays by two of this area's best - Caden Jastram & Luke Lennon. Montana reeled off the rest of the scoring but even that is more of a compliment to their offense then it is a slight against the ND defense.
Redhawks
It was a tough week for the Hawks as they fell to St. Paul & Chicago in what I think will prove to be critical losses as the season goes into it's higher gears.
Invaders
For the fifth time in six tries, the Invaders got a win. It was their first evening at the field most frequently their home turf but the script remained the same. Ja'vonte Johnson was efficient and effective passing the ball, to the tune of 3 touchdowns with 153 yards, while completing 57% of his passes. Still not great numbers but free of any major mistakes which is a step in the right direction. This week the primary target was Jon Baune, 75 & 2, while the defense limited Northland to one second quarter score.