Minnesota
Vikings vs. Lions score, live updates: Detroit, Minnesota face off for the NFC's No. 1 seed in 2024 NFL finale
Game 272 of the 2024 NFL regular season is a special one. In a year where so much of the playoff dust settled early, one Week 18 game stands out, not just for this season but in the history of the league, with the 14-2 Minnesota Vikings taking on the 14-2 Detroit Lions in the first regular-season game between two teams with 14 wins. The stakes are simple but extremely high: the winner is the NFC North champion and the No. 1 seed, with a first-round bye in the loaded NFC; while the loser is the No. 5 seed and will open the playoffs on the road during wild-card weekend. If the game should end in a tie, Detroit would win the division and be the 1-seed, thanks to winning the first matchup between the teams back in Week 7.
No matter how the game ends, this will be the first time in league history a wild-card team will have 14 wins. The only time a wild-card team had 13 wins in a season was 1999, when the 13-3 Tennessee Titans finished second in the AFC Central to the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars. Tennessee won the AFC championship game in Jacksonville that season before losing to the Rams in Super Bowl 34.
Live29 updates
• Orono 218.5, Benilde-St. Margaret’s 189, Bloomington 147.5. Medalist: Bennett Erickson, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 49.71.
• Benilde-St. Margaret’s 190, St. Louis Park 170, Bloomington 169. Medalist: Ava Krueger, St. Louis Park, 50.28.
EASTERN MINNESOTA ATHLETIC
• Avail Acad. 68, Twin Cities Acad. 55
MINNEAPOLIS — A task force is recommending the decriminalization of magic mushrooms.
A nearly 200-page report from the Minnesota Psychedelic Medicine Task Force said psilocybin mushrooms show evidence they may improve mental health.
Logan Fleischman co-owns Wonderland Mushroom Dispensary in St. Paul, a shop specializing in mushroom-infused gummies and drinks that tout supposed real-life health benefits.
“We’re not saying that this certainly will give you energy or will give you focus, but for some people, it does help,” Fleischman said.
Fleischman does not sell “magic mushrooms,” also known as psilocybin mushrooms, that cause hallucinations and are still illegal.
However, news of a state task force report that lays out potential health benefits, gives Fleischman hope.
“Really helping combat things like depression, anxiety, PTSD,” Fleischman said.
By a two-thirds supermajority, members of the Psychedelic Medicine Task Force are recommending the Minnesota Legislature create a state-regulated clinical program for the therapeutic administration of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, while removing criminal penalties for their use, and allocating for more funding for research on psychedelics, like psilocybin mushrooms.
The task force also looked at a clinical program for synthetic drugs like MDMA and LSD, but that didn’t garner enough support. There also was not enough support for a recreational market for magic mushrooms.
“The report itself is meant to be a long-term resource for the state,” said Jessica Nielson, chair of the task force. “We do need someone in the legislature to actually introduce the bill and move it through the system.”
Minnesota Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, a member of the task force, is optimistic.
“If we can get a true environment to have some research done and find an effective way to administer it, and we have the resources to do it here, then I would be all for moving it forward,” Koran said.
Ohio State will look for some Big Ten consistency on the road against Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers are struggling to keep up with high-end competition, yet to beat a top 80 team in the country thus far. Can the team score a home upset against Ohio State? The Buckeyes have yet to win a true road game but are laying a handful of points on the road on Monday night.
Here’s our best bet for this one.
Spread
Moneyline
Total: 136.5 (Over -110/Under -110)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Ohio State
Bruce Thornton: Enjoying a career-best year, Thornton is up to nearly 17 points per game while shooting 54% from the field and 44% from three. The veteran guard will be tasked with guiding the Buckeyes to a road win as the team looks to keep its three-point shooting at a high.
Minnesota
Dawson Garcia: The senior is averaging 19 points per game with seven rebounds while also showcasing improved playmaking with two assists per game. The Gophers are struggling to find consistency on offense, but a lot of it is coming from the 6’11” senior.
Ohio State continues to be an overvalued commodity after a strong start to the season. The team is ripe for regression, including three percent overall with a massive drop-off expected from beyond the arc (four percent), per ShotQuality.
The team will face a Minnesota team that grades out as a better defense according to shot quality and does a great job of contesting perimeter shots, which is a key to Ohio State’s offense. The Gophers are 38th in the country in three-point rate allowed, which can slow down Ohio State’s offense that ranks top 30 in three-point percentage.
The Gophers play at a prodding pace, bottom 10 in the country in adjusted tempo, and Ohio State’s defense continues to be overvalued due to poor shot-making marks, ranking 14th in effective field goal percentage. However, the team is outside of the top half of the country in turnover percentage, defensive rebounding rate, and opponent free throw rate.
In a low possession battle, give me the home underdog to keep this close.
PICK: Minnesota +5.5
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Two Bodies Found in Plane’s Landing Gear at Fort Lauderdale Airport
Carter Never Took to Washington. The Feeling Was Mutual.
How a Businessman Fleeing Fraud Charges Built a Life Offshore
Panama Canal’s Expansion Opened Routes for Fish to Relocate
Drug Company to Share Revenues With Indigenous People Who Donated Their Genes
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Two Bodies Found in Plane’s Landing Gear at Fort Lauderdale Airport
Laken Riley Act: House poised to pass 1st bill of 119th Congress
‘We didn’t have anybody there’: Kyiv’s troops struggle as Russia advances
Jimmy Carter’s body set to be transferred today to Washington, D.C., for state funeral
Defense Lawyers Seek to Block Special Counsel Report in Trump Documents Case
-
Health1 week agoNew Year life lessons from country star: 'Never forget where you came from'
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24982514/Quest_3_dock.jpg "Meta’s ‘software update issue’ has been breaking Quest headsets for weeks")
Technology1 week agoMeta’s ‘software update issue’ has been breaking Quest headsets for weeks
-
Business6 days agoThese are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
-
Culture6 days agoThe 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
-
Sports6 days agoThe top out-of-contract players available as free transfers: Kimmich, De Bruyne, Van Dijk…
-
Politics5 days agoNew Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
-
Politics4 days agoCarter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
-
Politics3 days agoWho Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?