Minnesota
Minnesota United Sells Oluwaseyi, Shows Need For MLS Calendar Switch
Tani Oluwaseyi #14 of Minnesota United points in the air after scoring at the Seattle Sounders during the second half at Lumen Field on June 01.
Getty Images
In the end, Minnesota United Sporting Director Khaled El-Ahmad had no good options as Villareal pursued Loons star striker Tani Oluwayesi.
He could either separate his squad from its most productive attcking player just in time for the MLS stretch run and next month’s U.S. Open Cup final. Or he could risk alienating the 25-year-old Oluwaseyi by denying a preciously rare chance to move from MLS directly to a Big Five European league, not to mention leaving a club record transfer fee of reportedly $8.5-$9 million on the table.
In the end, El-Ahmad did what was definitely in Oluwaseyi’s best long-term interest, and probably the club’s as well, officially sending the Canadian international on to an enticing new opportunity in a move announced Friday.
And in doing so, he also illustrated why so many clubs – even those who experience frigid winters like those in Minnesota – are coming around on a potential MLS calendar switch that feels like an eventuality more than a question.
Dollars Out Require Dollars In
With the close of the league’s incoming window earlier this month, MLS smashed its previous record for outlay on new players, with 30 clubs combining to spend roughly $336 million in deals during the league’s two 2025 windows.
But the long-term sustainability of such an approach depends on MLS also to increase its volume as a player exporter. And the only real way to continue that work is to be willing to sell when most clubs with money are doing most of their buying: the summer season that precedes the beginning of most European seasons.
Minnesota is far from the first MLS club to suffer from this misalignment. And in particular, teams with in-form strikers like Oluwaseyi have repeatedly found the terms of mid-season sales too good to refuse.
In 2022, the New England Revolution sold striker Adam Buksa to RC Lens in early June. Later that year, New York City FC loaned Valentin Castellanos to Girona for the start of their La Liga campaign.
Last summer, the Philadelphia Union sold Julian Carranza to Feynoord just hours before the calendar turned to July. Not long after Real Salt Lake sold Andres Gomez to Stade Rennais.
All four of those clubs made genuine attempts to reload before the year ended. Only 2022 NYCFC won a playoff match. Neither 2022 New England nor 2024 Philadelphia reached the postseason.
Weathering The Storm
Minnesota’s sale comes even later, meaning the Loons can no longer make incoming transfers and can only add to their rosters via free agent signings. That said, the club were clearly planning on this eventuality when they added forwards Mamadou Diengo from Hartford Athletic and Kenyel Michel from LD Alajuelense.
They were also one of the few MLS teams with two productive center forwards, and Kelvin Yeboah will now perhaps get more chances to add to his haul of nine goals and two assists. But there’s bound to be a drag on the Loons’ performances for the rest of the season with Oluwaseyi’s departure.
Switching the schedule will come with challenges. Playing through the coldest part of the winter in Minnesota is not only inadvisable, it’s more or less impossible, as an infamous World Cup qualifier between the United States and Honduras in early February of 2022 proved.
But the combination of a winter break, some additional scheduling imbalances to help the league’s coldest markets, and perhaps even the shifting of Leagues Cup on the annual schedule should make those challenges solvable.
In exchange, clubs like this year’s Loons or last year’s RSL wouldn’t have to face the prospect of sandbagging their season for a club-record payday nearly as often. Instead, they could do much of that business at the start of their own campaign, giving sporting directors, managers and even fans a lot more time to adjust to their side’s new reality.
If MLS is serious about becoming a league that rivals some of the world’s most famous, that change needs to come as soon as is reasonably possible.
Minnesota
Minnesota weather: Rain and storms possible late Thursday
Minnesota weather forecast. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Most of Minnesota will be under a marginal risk of severe weather on Thursday, with rain and rumbles expected.
Thursday weather forecast
Local perspective:
A line of storms is expected to develop in west-southwest Minnesota on Thursday and grow in coverage as well as intensity tracking east into the early evening.
Large hail and damaging winds are the prevalent threats, but an isolated tornado is also possible along the line.
Isolated showers are expected to form in the western part of Minnesota on Thursday morning.
Rain chances in the Twin Cities area increase in the afternoon, as a line pushes through with possible thunderstorms.
Stay Sky Aware with FOX 9 for the latest.
The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.
Minnesota
TikToker’s ban from St. Paul parks lifted after appeal, agent says
A TikTok creator is no longer banned from parks in St. Paul, Minnesota, after appealing the city’s restriction, according to his agent.
St. Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez earlier this month accused Josh Liljenquist of going to Pig’s Eye Park to “harass, record and profit from vulnerable adults residing there without said individuals’ permission.” Liljenquist, who is known for giving away food and cash in his videos, denied the allegation.
On Wednesday, Liljenquist’s agent shared a new letter from the city.
“Based on an evaluation of the facts of this situation as they were relayed during your appeal meeting, I will be rescinding your ban from our parks, effective immediately,” the letter from Rodriguez read.
Rodriguez also wrote the city expects “all residents and visitors to our parks to abide by the rules.”
“Our responsibility is to ensure park spaces remain safe, respectful, and accessible for all, and we appreciate your partnership in that effort,” the letter read.
Liljenquist told WCCO he has only recorded at Pig’s Eye Park once, and it was with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office’s consent. He said he and his videographer always get consent from individuals they film, too.
Local organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness are split on Liljenquist’s impact. Sue Phillips, director of the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, said his content “is exploiting people experiencing homelessness/housing instability.” Feeding St. Paul founder Michael Brendale, on the other hand, said, “Josh has changed many lives, taken people off the streets.”
Liljenquist told WCCO he films his efforts instead of making them private in hopes of “inspiring other people to do it, showing that it doesn’t take a lot of money, it doesn’t take a lot of resources to go out there and do something for somebody.”
Minnesota
5 tornadoes confirmed in Friday’s outbreak in southeastern Minnesota
The National Weather Service confirmed that at least five tornadoes touched down in southeastern Minnesota on Friday, including four that hit Olmsted County. At least another three twisters were confirmed in southwestern Wisconsin.
The NWS was still analyzing data and other information to determine if more tornadoes occurred in the area.
The storms started Friday afternoon, with the first tornado touching down north of Sargeant in Mower County around 1:45 p.m. The short-lived EF0, with top wind speeds of 80 mph, traveled about 3 miles northeast into rural Dodge County near the unincorporated town of Oslo. It lasted for about five minutes in total, the weather service says, and caused minor damage to a grain silo before dissipating.
A new tornado formed a few minutes later, less than a mile away south of Oslo. The storm was also considered an EF0, with wind speeds around 80 mph. Lasting less than 10 minutes, it traveled 4 miles into Olmsted County, causing light damage to farm outbuildings and trees.
The line of storms seemed to pick up intensity as it entered Olmsted County.
Around 2:17 p.m., the EF2 tornado that would later hit Marion Township first touched down just northeast of Stewartville. The weather service estimates that the twister had wind speeds of about 130 mph and traveled nearly 10 miles northeast, before dissipating around 2:31 p.m. Multiple homes were severely damaged with roof removal and partially collapsed exterior walls.
An EF1 tornado was also confirmed to have hit near Potsdam around 2:30 p.m.
The first portion of the tornado was weak, the weather service said, with mainly EF0 damage. On the second portion of the 12-mile track, the tornado intensified to produce approximately 100 mph winds with tree and farm outbuilding damage. It lifted around 2:54 p.m.
A second EF2 tornado was confirmed in Olmsted County around 2:46 p.m. about 5 miles east-northeast of Viola and traveled about 7.5 miles, ending in Wabasha County, a few miles south of Plainview, around 3 p.m. Maximum wind speeds were around 125 mph. The storm affected mainly rural areas and damaged trees and outbuildings. One farmhouse lost a roof and a garage roof, the weather service said.
No injuries were reported in the Minnesota-Wisconsin outbreak.
Friday was a historic day for the NWS La Crosse office, which issued 26 tornado warnings – the most for any one day since the office opened in 1995.
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