Minnesota
Minnesota United Signs Goalkeeper Alec Smir to Second Short-Term Agreement | Minnesota United FC
Minnesota United announced today the club has signed MNUFC2 goalkeeper Alec Smir (pronounced smurr) to a Short-Term Agreement, making him available for Saturday’s MLS away contest against Atlanta United FC at 6:30 p.m. CT. This is Smir’s second Short-Term Agreement of the season, and is the last time he can be called into the first team for an MLS contest in 2024. Smir still has two Short-Term Agreements available for non-MLS competitions.
Smir has been with MNUFC2 since 2022, the season that the team was founded and began play in MLS NEXT Pro. Since 2022, the goalkeeper has made 22 game appearances (15 starts in net) in regular-season action. This season, Smir made the start and earned a clean sheet following the 3-0 U.S. Open Cup First Round victory at Chicago House A.C. in March. He was on his first Short-Term Agreement last week, making him available on the bench during the Loons’ 2-1 victory at home over Sporting Kansas City on April 27.
The North Carolina native notably was selected to participate in the 2022 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge in the return of “Goalie Wars”, defeating three other MLS NEXT Pro goalkeepers to win the surprise event at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
TRANSACTION: Minnesota United signs MNUFC2 goalkeeper Alec Smir to a Short-Term Agreement. This is Smir’s second Short-Term Agreement of the season, and is the last time he can be called into the first team for an MLS contest in 2024. Smir still has two Short-Term Agreements available for non-MLS competitions.
Alec Smir
Pronunciation: smurr
Position: Goalkeeper
Date of birth: 4/13/1999 (25 years old)
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 183 lbs.
Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas
Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina
According to Kyle Hamilton, the Ravens defense has its swagger back. Well, almost.
They need to improve their celebrations first, Hamilton said after the Ravens’ 27-19 win in Minnesota. But the mere fact that they’re planning them shows that they expect them and is a far cry from the feeling around Baltimore’s defense earlier this season.
On a day in which Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense had an uneven performance, Baltimore had three takeaways, including two interceptions, and had three fourth-down stops.
“I think we’re starting to hit our stride,” Hamilton said. “It’s not a surprise to us. I think we’re playing to our potential now, and that has to be sustained.”
Heading into their Week 7 game against the Bears with a 1-5 record, the Ravens’ defense was ranked last in the league in points allowed per game (32.3) and had just three takeaways in six games.
Baltimore now has seven takeaways in its past three games. Turnovers come in bunches, they say, and the Ravens are reaping the rewards.
Baltimore also held one of the best wide receivers in the game, Justin Jefferson, to just four catches for 37 yards on 12 targets. Fellow top receiver Jordan Addison had just three catches for 35 yards.
In his fourth career game, Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy started hot but finished completing less than half of his passes (20 of 42) for 248 yards.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens didn’t do too much out of the norm to deal with Jefferson.
“We rolled the quarters to them a couple of times, but that’s really still covering the guys,” Harbaugh said. “I think the credit goes to the players. I thought our guys did a great job of just covering.”
It was a night he will never forget, and neither will any of his teammates at Lakeville South High School.
Griffen Dean broke school records in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, leading the Cougars to a thrilling 49-31 victory in the Class 6A Minnesota high school football playoff quarterfinals over Maple Grove.
The win for Lakeville South ended the reign of Maple Grove, who won its second 6A state football championship in three years last season. The other title for Maple Grove came in 2021.
But this night belonged to Dean and the Cougars, as the junior had 292 yards and scored six touchdowns, accoridng to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
Lakeville South led by two at halftime, but Dean put his team on his shoulders, scoring three times, including on a 73-yard jaunt to the end zone. The Cougars scored 28 consecutive points in the half.
Up next for Lakeville South will be a meeting with Moorhead in the state semifinals from U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday, November 14. Moorhead advanced with a 35-21 victory vs. Centennial.
Dean, who has rushed for over 1,500 yards this season, and the Cougars have won three straight since a 20-15 loss to Rosemount in mid-October. They also own narrow wins over Edina and Prior Lake around a four-point setback to Shakopee in early September.
According to the report, Lakeville South scored on its first seven possessions of the game and did not attempt a pass all game long. Nic Swanson, who has over 1,200 yards rushing this year, added 167 on the ground, highlighted by a 72-yard run.
The Cougars went 6-4 last season after an 11-2 mark in 2023. They have not had a losing record since 2017.
In 2020 and 2021, Lakeville South won 21 consecutive games, going back-to-back as state champions. They made the semifinals in 2022, along with trips to the final four in both 2019 and 2018.
Maple Grove had won 23 consecutive games before the loss, going 13-0 last year to win the 6A state championship. They finished 2023 with a record of 7-3 overall and also went a perfect 13-0 in 2022.
Since the start of the 2021 season, Maple Grove has posted a record of 55-9 overall.
Chronic wasting disease, a neurodegenerative disease that affects deer and other hooved mammals like elk, causes lethargy and weight loss. It is always fatal.
Infected animals spread prions, the infectious agent, through saliva, urine, feces, blood, antler velvet and from the carcass after death, but the spread is not fully understood. Prions are resistant to heat, disinfectants and decomposition.
One recent study by Minnesota and Wisconsin researchers suggested that infected deer ticks swallowed by deer during social grooming may be one way that the disease jumps from animal to animal, according to a 2023 Minnesota Star Tribune report.
The first case of CWD in Minnesota was in a farmed elk in 2002 in Aitkin County. Incidents of the disease began appearing in wild whitetail deer in 2010.
The Minnesota DNR’s deer permit areas govern rules on tracking CWD into two types of zones, designed to track the progression of the disease in deer herds.
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