Connect with us

Minnesota

Game Four Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Published

on

Game Four Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves


In Round One of the NBA playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs lost home-court advantage to the Portland Trail Blazers, and then won two road games to take a 3-1 lead. Now the Spurs find themselves in a similar situation, with the chance to go up 3-1 on the Minnesota Timberwolves before heading back to San Antonio with a chance to win the series.

Victor Wembanyama’s heroics helped the Spurs take a 2-1 lead in a 115-108 victory. Much like the first game of the series, Game Three was defined by back-and-forth play and tough defense. It wasn’t until Wembanyama took over in the fourth quarter that a clear winner emerged. Minnesota desperately needs a win at home to avoid going down 3-1, so expect another physical game with a large sense of urgency from the Wolves.

San Antonio’s strategy of playing fast on offense, pestering the Wolves’ ball-handlers on the perimeter with full-court pressure and doubles, while funneling everything to Wembanyama in the paint, has worked so far. Minnesota’s head coach, Chris Finch, is one of the best in the business. He’ll certainly have adjustments to counter the strategies that have worked for the Spurs.

This series has been pretty close through three games. Game Four should be no different. San Antonio can put itself in a great position to win the series by stealing another game on the road.

Advertisement

May 10th, 2026 | 6:30 PM CT

Watch: Peacock / NBC | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: No injuries to report.

Timberwolves Injuries: Donte DiVincenzo – Out (achilles)

Winning the possession battle

Advertisement

The Timberwolves took 14 more shots than the Spurs in Game Three. It’s rare to win a game where you lose the possession battle so brutally. Minnesota had 15 offensive rebounds compared to the Spurs’ 8. A lot of those offensive rebounds were long or contested 50/50 balls. If San Antonio had eliminated those second-change opportunities, the margin of victory may have been wider.

A great example of that was Game Two, when the Spurs forced 22 turnovers and grabbed more offensive rebounds, leading to a blowout. The Wolves have struggled to shoot the ball well in the series. Giving them easy opportunities and extra possessions is allowing them to make up for this weakness. The Spurs have to secure the defensive glass and take care of the ball to give themselves some more cushion in Game Four.

De’Aaron Fox’s shotmaking

San Antonio’s All-Star guard has been hot and cold in this series. He shot poorly in Games One and Three, but had a nice stat line in Game Two. Fox is averaging 18 points on 46.3% shooting in the playoffs overall. He, for the most part, has stepped up when the Spurs needed him this postseason. It’s been harder for him to get to the rim with guys like Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards guarding him on the perimeter, and Rudy Gobert roaming the paint.

Wembanyama is sure to draw a lot of attention in Game Four. San Antonio is going to need another player to step up and take on some of the scoring load. Fox is the best equipped to do that.

Advertisement

Minnesota’s Wembanyama game plan

Wembanyama has dominated this series. Something has to change for Minnesota to minimize his impact. Will they play Gobert more minutes? Start sending doubles earlier? Give the Spurs more open three-pointers to prohibit him from scoring inside? On offense, will the Wolves look to generate more threes to avoid going at Wembanyama in the paint? Whatever adjustments Chris Finch makes will be important to watch for in Game Four.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Minnesota

Minnesota man accused in a $250M fraud scheme taken into custody in Somalia | CNN

Published

on

Minnesota man accused in a 0M fraud scheme taken into custody in Somalia | CNN



AP — 

Authorities say a Minnesota man charged with helping to orchestrate a $250 million fraud scheme has been taken into custody in Somalia.

Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody Thursday in Mogadishu, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a news release. Court documents do not show if Eidleh has obtained an attorney, and he has not yet had an opportunity to enter a plea in the case.

Eidleh is one of dozens of people who were indicted in 2022 in connection with what prosecutors said was a massive scheme to defraud a federal meals program.

Advertisement

According to court documents, Eidleh was an employee of Feeding Our Future, an organization that claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic under a federal child nutrition program. But prosecutors say just a small portion of the federal money went toward feeding kids, with the rest laundered through shell companies and spent on property, luxury cars and travel.

Eidleh is accused of creating fake child nutrition program sites, falsely claiming they were feeding thousands of children a day and creating shell companies that purported to be meal vendors at the sites. The indictment charges him with 31 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said Eidleh was a central figure in “one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history.”

“He not only stole taxpayer dollars, but he also robbed vulnerable children of critical resources they desperately needed. Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice,” McDonald said.

President Donald Trump pointed to the fraud case as part of his justification for launching a massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota late last year.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Minnesota

Minnesota primary voting starts for major 2026 races

Published

on

Minnesota primary voting starts for major 2026 races


play

Advertisement
  • Early voting for Minnesota’s 2026 primary elections began on Friday, 46 days ahead of the official Aug. 11 election.
  • Voters will decide on nominees for governor, an open U.S. Senate seat, and all state legislative positions.
  • Minnesotans can vote absentee by mail or in person at designated early voting locations.

Voting in Minnesota’s 2026 primary elections began Friday morning, 46 days before the official Aug. 11 Primary Election Day. 

Minnesotans confront a hugely important midterm election in the fall, when all constitutional offices, an open U.S. Senate seat, a highly competitive congressional district and the Legislature will be on the ballot. Control of both state government and Congress are at stake. 

Before then, however, the parties will choose their nominees in a bevy of competitive races that will shape the fall election. 

We don’t have party registration in Minnesota, which means anyone can vote in the primary.  

Following the sweep of a progressive slate in several New York primaries this week, political analysts will be closely watching voters’ preferences, which will set the stage for the second half of President Donald Trump’s second term. 

Advertisement

Here’s what you need to know.

Which races are on the ballot in Minnesota?

Every Minnesota citizen will have the opportunity to vote for statewide offices including governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor and U.S. Senator.

For this primary election, you can only vote for candidates from one political party. Your ballot will have Democrats on one column, and Republicans on the other. Choose one! If you vote for candidates from more than one political party, your votes will not count. You decide when you vote which one of the parties you will vote for. 

Advertisement

The governor’s race is wide open for the first time since 2018, when Gov. Tim Walz won his first term. Walz initially announced he would run for a third term before ending his campaign in early January following Republican attacks on his record on stopping fraud in Minnesota’s social safety net programs. 

The Senate seat is open following Sen. Tina Smith’s retirement announcement last year. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for governor, still occupies the other Senate seat. (If Klobuchar were to win the governor’s race and resign her Senate seat, she would appoint a successor to hold the position until a special election.)

The entire state Legislature is up for reelection in 2026, but not every race has a competitive primary. 

Voters may see other local races on their ballots, including county commissioners, county attorneys and school board members. 

Advertisement

You can use this tool from the Secretary of State’s Office to preview your ballot. 

How do I vote in Minnesota?

Friday, June 26, is the first day of absentee voting. You can request an absentee ballot be mailed to you, which you can return in-person or through the mail. 

Alternatively, you can vote “in person absentee” by going to your local early voting location, where you can request your absentee ballot, receive it, fill it out and submit it on the spot. 

Starting July 24, you can vote in-person at the early voting locations in a process similar to that of voting on Election Day. 

Advertisement

Who’s running in Minnesota?

There are several competitive primaries in statewide races that will determine the matchups in the general election later this year. 

For governor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is expected to win the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nomination after winning the party’s endorsement on the first ballot, over a challenge from Kobey Lane, a 26-year old trans activist and former Republican legislative assistant. 

The Republican primary is competitive; after Army veteran and former health care executive Kendall Qualls won the party’s endorsement in May, the other front-runners refused to drop out of the race, citing voting irregularities at the convention. House Speaker Lisa Demuth and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell round out the three-way race.

In the race to replace Smith in the Senate, two Democratic powerhouses are facing off: U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Flanagan won the endorsement after Craig dropped out of the endorsement process; Craig is gunning for votes outside of the party’s activist base.  

Advertisement

On the Republican side, GOP-endorsed former Navy Seal Adam Schwarze will face off against former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, whose name recognition and well-financed campaign could boost her performance in a primary.

With Craig’s highly competitive south metro seat in the U.S. House coming open, three top-tier Democrats are vying to replace her: former state Sen. Matt Little, state Rep. Kaela Berg and state Sen. Matt Klein. State Sen. Eric Pratt is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Minnesota

Children’s Minnesota doctor warns of Benadryl challenge dangers

Published

on

Children’s Minnesota doctor warns of Benadryl challenge dangers



A dangerous social media trend is circulating online, and Minnesota health experts are warning parents it involves allergy medication. 

Advertisement

Doctors say the so-called Benadryl challenge involves teens taking large amounts of the medication and record themselves as the effects kick in.

“Our goal here at Children’s Minnesota is if a trend causes any sort of physical harm or mental harm to make sure that we’re taking care of our patients,” said Dr. Nita Gupta, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children’s Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the trend first gained attention in 2020 when there were 184 reported cases tied to intentional misuse of the allergy medication. Cases continued to rise the years but dipped in 2024 and then more than doubled in 2025, reaching nearly 400 cases. Most of the cases involved teens ages 15 to 19. 

Dr. Gupta believes the main draw is the hallucinogen aspect of it, but says there are so many other negative consequences that can happen. 

Health experts say the allergy medication can become dangerous when taken in large doses. Symptoms can escalate quickly and may include agitation, blurred vision, seizures and in severe cases, death. 

Advertisement

“The second the parent knows that their child consumed this is a reason to come in or at least call poison control, don’t even wait for the symptoms to start,” Dr. Gupta said. 

Experts say the resurgence of this dangerous challenge shows how quickly trends can return, and they urge parents to talk to their children about what they are seeing online. 

Dr. Gupta believes early conversations at home may help prevent serious injury. 

The Minnesota Regional Poison Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for anyone with questions. The organization’s phone number is 1-800-222-1222.

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending