Minnesota
Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball’s 76-73 loss at Minnesota
1. MSU nearly got away with a regrettable performance for most of the night at Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — If only the Spartans had played the first 38 minutes with the tenacity and purpose they played the last two. There’s a lesson in there. One Michigan State’s basketball team probably shouldn’t have had to learn.
For most of Wednesday night, MSU experienced the other side of a feel-good home game in a 76-73 defeat. And the Spartans didn’t have the goods most of the night to prevent it.
Minnesota, which entered the game shooting less than 33% from beyond the arc, made 10 of 21 3s — which felt like 19 of 21. And the Gophers, who had been collapsing late in games, built enough of a margin — 67-51 with four minutes left and still 69-60 before a Jordan Scott 3 with 59 seconds left — to hang on for the biggest win at The Barn in a long time.
The Gophers might have held on by the skin of their teeth, but the students rushing the court and the elation by Minnesota’s players explained how big this was. And for MSU, it was the first bad loss of the season. Not an unexplainable defeat or an entirely unexpected one. But one a lot of other teams that are near the top of the Big Ten standings and pushing for top seeds in the NCAA tournament won’t have.
At halftime, MSU’s core four — Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper — had a combined four points on 2-for-14 shooting. MSU was in a funk most of the night and didn’t have answers on either end.
If college basketball games were 41 minutes instead of 40, the Spartans might have gotten away with it. Instead, they lost their second straight and lost one that really hurts their chances of staying in the Big Ten title race. They’ve got to get their mojo back from the start Saturday against Illinois.
2. Jordan Scott’s starting debut shows why he’s starting
MSU doesn’t want Jordan Scott to be its leading scorer yet, I don’t think. Not unless he becomes a 15-point-per-game guy every night. But he wasn’t the reason the Spartans lost Wednesday night, even if his performance in his first career start had some ups and downs. He got outmuscled and beaten defensively a few times on the block and turned it over twice. Teams are gong to attack him physically, if they have the personnel on the wing to do it. He’s got to be ready for that and his teammates have to be ready to help.
But Scott also made some shots — and did so on a night not a lot of other guys were making them and when none of Spartans’ core guys were making much. He hit a step-in jumper on MSU’s first possession and three 3s — one a huge shot from the left side to pull MSU to within 38-30, before he nearly came up with a steal seconds later, diving out of bounds, and another with a minute left as MSU tried to make a furious comeback. The 3 he missed would a been a big one, too. He finished with 15 points, on 5-for-8 shooting, with a couple rebounds, an assist and two steals. He was 2-for-4 from the free-throw line. He’s got to get better there. MSU’s problem was that Scott’s points were a team-high most of the night, until a flurry by Coen Carr in the final few minutes.
This was a forgettable night in a lot of ways for the Spartans. But Scott gave what MSU should need from him offensively. I don’t think he’s ready yet to do more.
A good first night off the bench for Ugochukwu. Losing him hurt.
This looked like an ideal first night back coming off the bench for Divine Ugochucku. Then, with about 7 minutes until halftime, Ugochukwu suffered some sort of foot or leg injury, subbing himself after a defensive possession.
It was a blow for MSU for a couple reasons. One, he’s the backup point guard again, and has been more often of late, even when he was still the starting shooting guard. Secondly, he was playing really well Wednesday, making a difference on both ends during the eight minutes he was on the court.
Not everybody responds well to moving to the bench after spending a good chunk of the season in the starting lineup. Ugochukwu played with an energy as if he was trying to make a point, that he’s still a factor. And he was.
I also thought the coaching staff handled it well early. These guys aren’t robots. You want to make sure a guy like Ugochukwu understands quickly that he still has value. Tom Izzo used a couple clunky possessions out of the gate as a reason to pull Jeremy Fears aside for a minute. Enter Ugochukwu, who produced some needed offense attacking the rim, his second such scoring drive with MSU trailing 12-3. He stayed in the game when Fears returned and saved a turnover soon after and had a couple of rebounds, after which he pushed the ball up the court. He was good.
Then it was done suddenly. He went to the locker room for a while, before returning to the bench in the second half, but didn’t play again. MSU needs him. We’ve seen in a few times this season. He’s not one of the four most important players on the Spartans. Probably not even fifth. But he’s not far behind. Not having him for any length of time would leave a mark.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @Graham_Couch.
Minnesota
Minnesota cannabis store owners lament testing backlog: “It’s getting frustrating for everyone involved”
One of five cannabis testing sites in Minnesota is shutting down, citing exorbitant costs as the reason.
William Drexler is moving product he has around as he waits patiently for more. He says customers who come into Grey Area, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, are looking for adult-use items, which he says are being held up by a backlog in testing.
“We haven’t had problems with drinks or edibles yet, but for the adult-use products that where we’ve seen the delays, like your pre-rolls, your flowers, we haven’t even gotten pens in yet,” Drexler said.
He says getting cannabis products in his store has been an issue since he got his license to sell them a few months ago.
“I’ve heard pretty much from every vendor that it’s testing that we are waiting on. That’s been the normal thing to hear, and week by week they may say, ‘it’s next week,’ and that can delay into the following week. So at this point I don’t think many of them are giving a date,” he said.
He anticipates getting those products will take even longer now that one of the testing sites is no longer testing.
In a statement, Legends Technical Services said, “under the current regulatory framework, we do not foresee an ability to continue to meet our client expectations in an economically viable manner. “
“We’ve already seen testing delays from the get go, so vendors aren’t really giving us time frames because they are probably hearing different time frames themselves,” Drexler said. “It’s getting frustrating for everyone involved.”
For now, Drexler contacts growers to see how long before his shelves are in full bloom.
“These companies here, it’s the same story kind of from them when we contact them. ‘Hey, we need more product. We’re hoping for new [product] soon, but it’s coming out of testing soon,’” he said.
WCCO has reached out to Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management for comment on the backlog.
Minnesota
Jack Leiter’s struggles at home give Minnesota Twins a pitching edge in American League clash
Every year, I feel like I end up locking on certain pitchers and teams and bet them more than others. It almost never is intentional; usually, I find a team or player I like, we win with them consistently, and I ride the horse until it is time to get off. That’s a bit of how I feel with both the Twins and Rangers who battle in this one.
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I have said that the Chicago White Sox are the biggest surprise in all of baseball, but the Minnesota Twins might be willing to make a strong argument about it. This was a year that the Twins were supposed to be garbage and be more likely to trade people away (like they did last year) than they would be looking to make a move for the club. I can’t say it is entirely due to Byron Buxton, one of the names floated in trade rumors last year and in the offseason, but he is having a great campaign and has the Twins just five games below .500.
Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 21, 2022. (David Berding/Getty Images)
One of the other guys that you can attribute the success of this year to is today’s starter, Joe Ryan. If the Twins do decide to take Ryan to the market, he will have many suitors and should bring back a big haul. Ryan has posted a 4-3 record with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has been slightly worse on the road than at home, but it hasn’t been a significant issue. He was great in May, posting a 1.73 ERA, but June has seen him make three starts and allow eight earned runs, including four homers. Rangers hitters have struggled significantly against him, hitting just .143 against him.
The Texas Rangers are still in the mix for the American League West division. Before you say, “Well, yeah, it’s only the middle of June.” I bring this up because they are just two games back of the Mariners, and the Rangers really haven’t played all that well this season. I think there is a lot of potential for this team to add a bat, and he could make a major difference. If they added Buxton, for example, the Rangers might be the favorite to win the division given how everyone else is playing.
Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter delivers a pitch to the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on May 31, 2026. (Jim Cowsert/Imagn Images)
I’m not trying to discuss hypothetical trades, though. The pitching staff might be enough to carry them to a Wild Card or division title anyway. Today’s starter, Jack Leiter, isn’t the best on the roster, but he’s been good. Leiter is 3-6 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. At home, he has been okay, going 2-2 with a 4.14 ERA. He has allowed four or more earned runs in seven of his 14 outings. Twins hitters are batting .417 against Leiter in just 12 at-bats, with Buxton going 2-for-2 with a double, a homer and three RBIs.
I think it probably makes sense to play Buxton to get 2+ bases here today. I get that he probably did all of this damage to Leiter in one game, but it is still worth seeing if he can get it done. He is having a good season, and Leiter isn’t a guy who is going to make you nervous very often about throwing zeroes.
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Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins jogs off the field after the fifth inning of the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 15, 2025. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
I also think we probably should play the game overall. I think the Twins are the correct side in this game. There are a lot of times that I’d back the Rangers, as I think they have the better overall team, but in this one, the pitching mismatch is too strong. Give me the Ryan-led Twins, through five, on the moneyline.
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For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
Minnesota
End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum packs big history into small-town Minnesota
City parks are all across Minnesota. But a town in Murray County has one that’s gone off its rails.
Currie, Minnesota, is truly small-town America. The population hovers at just over 200. But on the northern outskirts, you’ll happen upon a place with plenty of bells and whistles: End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.
“It’s like a little village from way back when. You have your church. You’ve got a school,” said visitor Larry Diedrich.
You’ve also got railroad relics, up and down the tracks.
“1901 was when the first line was put in here,” said Jake Halverson, site manager for End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.
Halverson said Currie was once a thriving railroad town. In fact, it was the end of the line for steam engines heading west. If you wanted to go east, Currie was your gateway to the rest of the world. The first stop was Bigham Lake.
“From Bigham Lake they could go to Minneapolis, from Minneapolis to Chicago, from Chicago to New York,” said Halverson.
But by mid-century the last train had left the station. No sooner did that happen than teenagers from the local 4H club began to clean up the abandoned turntable.
The platform was used to turn 400,000-pound steam engines around when they hit the end of the line. Thanks to the 4Hers, it still works today.
The club also bought the train depot for $1 from the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company and moved it closer to the turntable.
“That is really the beginning of maybe bringing more attention to the history of the railroad here,” said Halverson.
It’s history that comes in all shapes and sizes, including a model railroad that’s a replica of a time that was.
“It was built to look like what Currie was 100 years ago,” said Halverson.
Much of what you see at the park and museum is original, including a 125-year-old water tower that was moved to the site from Walnut Grove.
The caboose nearby originally came from South Dakota. The locomotive once ran in Georgia.
The rail business may have left Currie, but the love for trains never did. It’s a chance to celebrate big history in a small town.
“Wherever there have been trains, there have been people who are fascinated by them,” said Halverson. “I think this is an opportunity for individuals to learn about not only this part of Minnesota but to know where this part of Minnesota fits in with the rest of the world.”
The End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum is open from Wednesday through Sunday from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
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