Minnesota
Minnesota Lynx Olympian’s Odd Stat Line vs. Caitlin Clark, Fever
Former Stanford Cardinal, current Minnesota Lynx star, and a bronze medalist in the Paris Olympics, Alanna Smith has a pretty solid resumé. Yet, in the Lynx 90-80 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Saturday night, her stat line was a bit perplexing.
She started, and recorded 27 minutes played with four rebounds, five assists and two blocks, but she didn’t score a single point in those 27 minutes. On the season she’s averaging 11 points per game, so that’s not unheard of. She has gone scoreless in the past. Everyone has a cold night.
But that wasn’t the case here. Smith didn’t even attempt a shot in this game. No field goals, no three pointers, no free throws. Zero points.
This felt odd, so we looked into it a bit further. The last time that Alanna Smith didn’t shoot the ball at least once, it was back in 2021 when she was with the Phoenix Mercury, a team that also touted (and still touts) Diana Taurasi and Britney Griner. This was on August 31, and Smith played all of two minutes.
At that point in her WNBA career, Smith had not yet started a game, but this season she has started 30 of her team’s 30 games. One caveat here is that the Lynx were on the back-end of a back-to-back, and Smith had tallied 33 minutes in the previous game, along with 15 points.
Even without attempting a shot on Saturday, Smith was still able to post a +14 in her time on the floor after putting up a +18 the night before, so her impact was certainly felt on the court, it just came in a different way.
With the win, the Minnesota Lynx have clinched a spot in the WNBA playoffs and currently hold the third seed, a half-game back of the Connecticut Sun for the two seed, and three back of the New York Liberty for the top spot. The Lynx have ten games remaining on their schedule, with their next contest scheduled for Wednesday August 28 against Taurasi, Griner, and the Phoenix Mercury.
Minnesota
What 3,000 federal agents are doing in Minnesota
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.
Welcome to The Logoff: Tensions are rising in Minneapolis as the Trump administration continues its crackdown.
What’s happening? There are some 3,000 Department of Homeland Security agents — both ICE and Customs and Border Protection, or CBP — in Minnesota this week, largely in the Minneapolis area. Since the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent eight days ago, a huge amount of video and reporting has documented further brutality by federal immigration agents, often indiscriminate and unprovoked, against immigrants and American citizens alike.
On Wednesday night, a federal agent shot and injured a Venezuelan man after an alleged traffic stop, giving fresh fuel to protests. And on Thursday morning, President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to Minnesota, “if the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E.”
Why does this matter? For the second time in six years, Minnesota feels like a tinderbox. Officials in the state, including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, are urging calm and asking protesters to remain peaceful, but it increasingly feels like this is a fight the Trump administration wants to pick. On Wednesday, senior Trump aide Stephen Miller described arresting “insurrectionists” in Minneapolis as a “national security priority.”
What’s the context? ICE, which makes up the majority of the agents currently in Minneapolis, has grown substantially in the last year, at the same time as its standards have dropped precipitously. At the same time, under pressure to make more immigration arrests, they’re taking an increasingly militarized approach at odds with how ICE operated under previous administrations. All of those factors are on display right now in Minneapolis.
What’s the big picture? What’s happening to Minneapolis residents already looks less like immigration enforcement and more like an occupation. If Trump follows through with his Insurrection Act threat, things could grow far worse.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
As always, thanks for reading, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
Minnesota
Minnesota judge declines lawsuit to block ICE operations | Fox News Video
Minnesota
Minnesota Wild Recalls Defenseman David Špaček From Iowa | Minnesota Wild
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled defenseman David Špaček (SPAH-chehk) from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Špaček, 22 (2/18/23), owns 19 points (3-16=19), 61 shots and 10 penalty minutes (PIM) in 35 games with Iowa this season, leading the team in assists (T-12th among AHL defensemen) and ranking second in points and shots. The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Columbus, Ohio, recorded 31 points (4-27=31), 31 PIM and 117 shots in 72 games with Iowa during the 2024-25 season, leading the team with 18 power play assists, ranking second in assists, and pacing team defensemen in scoring. For his career, Špaček owns 62 points (10-52=62), 62 PIM and 251 shots in 168 games over three AHL seasons (2023-26).
Špaček will represent Czechia at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic games and has previously represented Czechia at multiple international competitions, including the 2025 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded two assists in eight games, and the 2024 IIHF World Championship, where he posted five assists in 10 games to help Czechia secure gold. He also helped Czechia to a silver medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Tournament, recording eight points (3-5=8), 11 shots and a plus-7 rating in seven games.
Špaček was selected by Minnesota in the fifth round (No. 153 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft and has yet to appear in an NHL game. He will wear sweater No. 82 with the Wild.
Minnesota will host the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network and KFAN FM 100.3.
Minnesota Wild single-game tickets are on sale now at wild.com/tickets, ticketmaster.com and at the Grand Casino Arena Box Office. Flex, 11-Game, half and full season memberships are also available for purchase. Please visit tickets.wild.com or contact a Wild Ticket Sales Representative by calling or texting (651) 222-WILD (9453) for more information. Group reservations of eight or more tickets can contact [email protected] for more information. Single game suite rentals are also available, contact [email protected] for more information.
Follow @mnwildPR on X and visit www.wild.com/pressbox and for the latest news and information from the team including press releases, game notes, player interviews and daily statistics.
-
Montana5 days agoService door of Crans-Montana bar where 40 died in fire was locked from inside, owner says
-
Technology1 week agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Delaware7 days agoMERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach
-
Dallas, TX1 week agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis
-
Virginia5 days agoVirginia Tech gains commitment from ACC transfer QB
-
Iowa1 week agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Montana6 days ago‘It was apocalyptic’, woman tells Crans-Montana memorial service, as bar owner detained
-
Nebraska1 week agoNebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek