Minnesota
Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Time, TV for game against top West seed
The Detroit Pistons just won a basketball game.
It’s not something that has been said much this season, especially since their back-to-back wins in October, but on Monday, the Pistons got back in the win column for the fourth time this season when they knocked off a dreadful Washington Wizards team in an afternoon game for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The win for the Pistons came just about 24 hours after the two teams completed a trade, with Detroit sending Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers and some picks to Washington for Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari, both players on expiring contracts.
TRADE ANALYSIS: Why Detroit Pistons believe Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala can help them this season
None of the players involved in the deal suited up, but the victory was certainly a welcome sign for the Pistons’ management who decided some type of shake-up was necessary.
The bad news for the Pistons is they will get no respite after their win on Monday, even though Wednesday is the start of a six-game homestand. The Pistons’ next three games are against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks, who are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in their respective conferences and are a combined 56-23.
The tough stretch starts with the Timberwolves, who have completely reinvented themselves this season after falling flat on their faces last year and present some serious challenges for the Pistons.
Everyone in the NBA community of course remembers the Wolves trading a boatload of picks to the Utah Jazz to acquire Rudy Gobert and amidst injuries and a tough transition period, the Wolves finished just two games over .500 in 2022-23.
Many of the concerns over the fit of Gobert alongside Karl-Anthony Towns appear to be squashed now, at least for the regular season, and a big reason no one is talking about that anymore is the emergence of Anthony Edwards.
The fourth-year guard out of Georgia is averaging 26 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists on good efficiency and appears to be the T-Wolves cornerstone going forward.
Whoever the Pistons task with handling Edwards will surely have their hands full, especially with Towns and Gobert occupying the paint. A lack of perimeter defense against wing players has been one of the Pistons biggest downfalls this year, and without Cade Cunningham on either side, it will be a tall task to slow down the top-seeded Timberwolves.
Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves start time today
Matchup: Pistons (4-36) vs. Timberwolves (28-11).
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Time: 7 p.m. ET.
Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Betting line: TBD. (how to bet and get sign up bonuses).
• Box score
[ MUST WATCH: The “The Pistons Pulse” podcast with Omari Sankofa II and Bryce Simon reacted live to the trade Sunday morning with Spotrac cap expert Keith Smith. Watch the broadcast replay below. ]
Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves TV channel today
TV: Bally Sports Detroit Extra (Red Wings on Bally Sports Detroit).
Radio: WXYT-FM 97.1 (Pistons radio affiliates).
Streaming: Fubo (free trial).
If you do not have Bally Sports Detroit, you can sign up for Fubo with a free trial to watch the Pistons all season long.
Detroit Pistons injury report vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Cade Cunningham (left knee strain) continues to be out after missing the past four games. Monte Morris (right quad strain) remains out having yet to play a game this season, but he’s getting closer to his debut. The status of both Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari is still to be determined after they were traded to the Pistons on Sunday. Bojan Bogdanovic has missed the last two games with a calf strain and is listed as day-to-day.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have been relatively healthy this year, and have just one player listed on the injury report, and that’s Jaylen Clark, who remains out with an Achillies injury.
EARLY MOVE: Detroit Pistons trade with Wizards ‘first step’ in charting franchise back on track
Detroit Pistons vs. Minnesota Timberwolves projected starting lineups
Pistons: G Killian Hayes, G Jaden Ivey, F Kevin Knox, F Isaiah Stewart, C Jalen Duren.
Timberwolves: G Mike Conley, G Anthony Edwards, F Jaden McDaniels, C Karl-Anthony Towns, C Rudy Gobert.
Lineups subject to change.
Pistons uniform, jersey vs. Timberwolves
The Pistons will wear their black Statement Edition jerseys with blue and red stripes through the center and down the sides and “DET” on the chest.
Meanwhile, the T-Wolves will wear their Association Edition uniform which are white with blue at the top and the bottom.
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DULUTH — Finland was a force this summer at the University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena in Minneapolis during the
World Junior Summer Showcase,
beating the United States, Canada and Sweden by a combined score of 15-7.
The Finnish national junior team continued its domination at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Amsoil Arena on Friday night, beating Germany 7-3 in a 2026 World Junior Championship pre-tournament game played before a modest crowd of 650.
Finland also won the bonus 3-on-3 simulated overtime period after the game, scoring with 46.4 seconds left in the five-minute period.
The seven Finnish goals in regulation came from seven different players, with winger Max Westergard, a 2025 fifth-round NHL draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, getting the 3-on-3 goal after scoring an unassisted goal in the third period.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Centers Heikki Ruohonen, Oliver Suvanto and Jasper Kuhta, wingers Joona Saarelainen and Matias Vanhanen and seventh defenseman Lasse Boelius were among the other goalscorers for Finland.
Lenny Boos, Dustin Willhoft and Elias Schneider scored for Germany, which was outshot 29-17. The Germans had just one power play, in the third, compared to Finland’s four.
German goaltender Linus Vieillard made 22 saves while Finland goalie Kim Saarinen, a 2024 third-round pick of the Seattle Kraken, stopped 14 shots.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Finland’s lineup Friday featured 12 NHL draft picks — Germany had three — including Dallas Stars 2024 first-rounder Emil Hemming, Minnesota Wild 2024 fourth-rounder Aron Kiviharju and Montreal Canadiens 2024 third-rounder Aatos Koivu — the son of former NHLer Saku Koivu. Mikko Koivu, the former Wild captain, is Aatos’ uncle.
Ruohonen, a 2024 fourth-rounder of the Flyers, is the lone player on Finland’s roster from the NCAA. He’s a freshman at Harvard.
Finland will play one more pre-tournament game in Duluth at 6 p.m. Tuesday against the United States at Amsoil Arena. The Americans host Germany at 4 p.m. Sunday at Amsoil Arena.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Click on image to read comprehensive coverage of the 2026 World Junior Championship tournament.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
BREWSTER, Minn. — Lots of hugs were shared, tears were shed and utter shock was witnessed as a rural Minnesota family was surprised with the Best Christmas Ever early Sunday afternoon, Dec. 14.
More than two dozen people caravaned behind a Brewster Fire Truck to deliver gifts to Austin and Stephanie VandeKamp and their 6-year-old daughter, Callee, in Brewster, Minnesota, in Nobles County.
Julie Buntjer / The Globe
“We just came to bring some joy to your life,” said Sue Hagen, one of the local coordinators for the nationwide nonprofit
Best Christmas Ever organization,
which surprises families who have experienced hard times. “Last year, with the loss of Jaelee, none of these gifts we’re bringing to you will ever replace her, but we just thought that your family deserved a little joy this Christmas.”
The Vande Kamps gave birth to their daughter, Jaelee, on Feb. 4, 2024. Shortly thereafter, Jaelee was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, TAPVR (Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return). She spent her first eight months in the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she had 10 surgeries and ultimately required continuous dialysis.
Stephanie didn’t get to hold Jaelee until she was 50 days old, and stayed with Jaelee for much of her hospitalization. When she did come home, Austin would go to the hospital to stay with their youngest daughter.
They were finally able to bring Jaelee home on Sept. 23, 2024. Because she was dependent on respiratory support, someone had to be awake with her 24/7, so Stephanie got very little sleep, family friend Ashley Prins detailed in the nomination letter she sent to Best Christmas Ever.
Julie Buntjer / The Globe
Jaelee died unexpectedly on Dec. 9, 2024, while attending regular follow-up appointments in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Jaelee’s death compounded the loss the family was still feeling from the sudden death of Stephanie’s dad from a heart attack on Easter morning 2022.
“The community just rallies around a family and they don’t even know who it will be,” Hagen said, noting that Bedford Industries, Sanford Worthington and District 518 were among employers who stepped up alongside community members to “help uplift a family.”
Locally, the Best Christmas Ever program is sponsored by the Astrup Family Foundation, owner of Sterling Pharmacy stores, which provides $5,000 toward a life-changing gift for a local family who has fallen on hard times through no fault of their own. Business partners included Worthington Federal Savings Bank and Runnings who, along with Sterling Pharmacy, had giving trees set up at their businesses in recent weeks to accept gifts and monetary donations for the recipients.
The VandeKamps were nominated for the Best Christmas Ever program by family friend Ashley Prins.
“I would love to make this year a joyous season again for them in regards to holidays and I would love to see the three of them be able to get away on a vacation and enjoy their time together as they missed out on so much of that during this life struggle,” Prins wrote in her letter.
Julie Buntjer / The Globe
In addition to a mound of neatly wrapped gifts — most of which were for Callee — the family was presented with a monetary gift of $7,403.07. The local Best Christmas Ever committee will work with the family on how the gift may be used.
“I don’t know what to say,” Austin said after accepting the money.
“Merry Christmas,” replied Chad Nixon, representing Worthington Federal Savings Bank.
Callee opened her largest box, which contained a child-sized recliner just for her, as well as two stuffed animals to match the chair. Stephanie and Austin received Minnesota Twins jerseys reflecting their favorite current Twins players.
Among the people on hand Sunday were last year’s recipients, the Adrian and Melissa Gonzalez family, of Worthington. The Gonzalezes lost their son, Emmitt, to cancer in September 2023.
Hagen also presented the family with over $1,000 in gift cards to local businesses, and noted that donations are still coming in. The Best Christmas Ever committee will meet again with the Vande Kamps after Christmas, she said.
The VandeKamps were completely surprised by the gesture — after admitting a bit of fear as to why a fire truck with lights on and siren blaring pulled into their rural Brewster farmyard.
“I thought right away my barn was on fire, my lambs were running everywhere, then I saw a big wad of cars and I thought, ‘what’?” Austin said.
Julie Buntjer became editor of The Globe in July 2021, after working as a beat reporter at the Worthington newspaper since December 2003. She has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture journalism from South Dakota State University.
So Minnesota: Lego King of Minneapolis builds Minnesota landmarks one brick at a time
Many kids will find Lego sets under the Christmas tree this holiday season, but the popular toy isn’t just for children.
Jeff Esler fell in love with Legos as a child, and that love affair has never ended.
“I am the Lego king of Minneapolis,” Esler said. “So my friends call me.”
A decade ago, Esler immortalized Nye’s Polonaise Room in Legos and posted it on Facebook.
“That one, it kind of went really viral,” Esler said. “I think I got 100,000 shares.”
Esler’s fame grew after he went on to use toy bricks to build mini masterpieces of Minnesota landmarks.
“I did Matt’s, and then I did Gluek’s,” Elser said. “I did the Frank Lloyd Wright gas station in Cloquet. Then, probably the Split Rock Lighthouse. The Grain Belt sign.”
Each project costs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. They take a ton of bricks and days to build. Esler has sold some models and given others away.
“I do the landmarks, because they click with people,” Esler said.
Esler plans to keep building some of Minnesota’s most recognizable places one brick at a time.
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