Minnesota United at San Diego FC

What: Western Conference semifinal
When: 9 p.m. CT Monday
Where: Snapdragon Stadium
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 60 degrees, overcast, 4 mph south wind
Betting line: MNUFC plus-360; draw plus-320; San Diego minus-160

Format: The MLS Cup Playoffs have entered its one-game knockout rounds. Unlike the best-of-three, first-round series, if this match is tied after 90 minutes, a 30-minute extra time period will be played for a tie would go to penalty kicks.

Look-ahead: Monday’s winner will play Vancouver in the West final next weekend. The second-seed Whitecaps beat Los Angeles FC in penalty kicks on Saturday night. Top seed San Diego would host, while fourth-seed Minnesota would again go on the road.

Form: MNUFC outlasted Seattle Sounders in a wild Game 3 on Nov. 8, overcoming a two-goal deficit and Joseph Rosales’ red card to win in 10 rounds of penalty kicks.

View: The MLS schedule change (where in 2027, the season starts in fall, ends in spring) will hurt cold-weather clubs such as the Loons, but the flip will nullify the current playoff pause during international windows, which can suck momentum from the proceedings. The Loons were buzzing after the Seattle win, but there is a 15-day gap between matches.

Recent matchups: The Loons split its regular-season set against expansion franchise San Diego, losing 4-2 in St. Paul in June and winning 3-1 in San Diego in September. Both team lacked key players in June and Minnesota rode its luck in September as San Diego had an 2.2-0.7 advantage in expected goals.

Quote: “I don’t think anyone sees the game playing out distinctly differently to how it’s played out in the first two,” Ramsay said Friday. “They’re a team that will really dominate the ball, I would say (as) any team in MLS at the moment, so we know full well the things that we’ve done well (defensive organization, threat on transition and set plays) We have to do that to a really high level if we want to win the game.”

Stats: 66%. The amount of possession San Diego held in each of the regular-season matches against Minnesota. This was not a  shocking number. S.D. led the league with 60.8%, while Minnesota was dead least at 39.7.

Absences: Rosales (suspended) is out. The MLS availability report has not yet been released.

Key to the game: Unlike the West semifinal last year against L.A. Galaxy, the Loons need to keep this goal-less early — or, ideally, score their own goal. If high-flying San Diego scores early, Minnesota will have to chase an open-play goal and that is far from their strength. That would invite a blowout.

Scouting report: The head of the San Diego attack is Anders Dreyer. The Dane attacker has 36 combined goals and primary assists, which is behind only Lionel Messi (45) this season. Coming in from Anderlecht in Belgium, the 26 year old. MLS New comer of the year.

Prediction: Minnesota luck ran out at this stage a year ago and it’s hard to see how it will go beyond this point again in 2025. San Diego, 3-1.

Considering that St. Paul’s History Theatre has spent almost half a century examining Minnesota’s stories and presenting them onstage, it’s somewhat surprising that the company has never explored the 139-year-old St. Paul Winter Carnival.

That annual frozen festival was created to spark tourism during the state’s darkest months and stir locals from hibernation. It’s evolved over the years to include parades, ice palaces, sculptures fashioned from ice and snow, a medallion hunt, and a cosplay mythology about the battle between warmth and cold.

Having so much history with which to work, perhaps it’s no surprise that History Theatre’s “Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical” can’t seem to figure out where to place its focus. So it goes every which way, cherrypicking from a multitude of carnival-related subjects and tossing them together into a sort of scattershot fantasia, a collage of scenes and songs that are often entertaining, but never add up to anything resembling a story.

Roland Hawkins II, left, and Annika Isbell in the History Theatre’s premiere production of “Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical,” a fantasy built upon architect Cap Wigington and his wife being swept into the fantastical legend of King Boreas. It runs at History Theatre in St. Paul through Dec. 21, 2025. (Rick Spaulding / History Theatre)

So you’re likely to leave a performance of the inaptly titled “Rollicking!” unsatisfied, but fully ready to clean up if your neighborhood pub hosts a St. Paul Winter Carnival trivia contest. For the facts do come at you in fast and semi-furious fashion, often delivered by the anthropomorphic Hi-Lex drops of bleach that used to march in the Winter Carnival parades. They repeatedly interrupt the action to toss historical footnotes at the audience, adding to the feeling that this is the theatrical equivalent of channel surfing or scrolling on social media.

The production’s key saving grace is that composer Keith Hovis is clearly a talented songsmith. He’s created 18 songs in disparate styles, from bouncy pop to vintage Vaudeville splash and dazzle (with catchy choreography by Joey Miller) to booming belters a la Adele to a deliciously funky rebellion of the snow queens. So if you just enjoy “Rollicking!” as a carnival-flavored musical revue, you’ll probably be better off than those left trying to puzzle out this musical’s plot or central conflict.

Playwright Rachel Teagle seems to be constantly chasing after Hovis’s music in the vain hope of pinning some sort of story onto it. What she’s ended up with is early 20th-century architect “Cap” Wigington designing the 1937 ice palace – his first sung phrase is “find the line,” perhaps foreshadowing the playwright’s quandary in trying to pull a tale out of this mountain of facts – and being drawn into a kind of Oz or Narnia-like fantasy world where his quest is to… Hard to say, exactly. Hold his marriage together? Save the carnival from capitalist exploitation? It’s unclear.

Yet the cast of nine, director Laura Leffler and a quartet of musicians led by Isabella Dawis sell this material with plenty of energy and enthusiasm. Benjamin Dutcher and Randy Schmeling joyfully embrace the silliness of their roles as the key spokesmen on either side of the ice vs. fire debate. Adrienne Zimiga-January strikes a deft balance between clownishness and dignity in her roles. And Wigington and his wife Viola are given powerful voice by Roland Hawkins II and Erin Nicole Farste.

But “Rollicking!” eventually succumbs to the demands of trying to stuff too much history into a two-and-a-half-hour show, likely leaving even the most devoted Winter Carnival fans flummoxed.

‘Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical”

When: Through Dec. 21

Where: History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul

Tickets: $78-$30, available at 651-292-4323 or historytheatre.com

Capsule: An unfocused carnival collage.

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GREEN BAY, Wis. — The game briefly appeared to be there for the taking on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field after the Vikings managed to force a punt shortly after halftime.

The offense had proven capable of moving the ball, even if it hadn’t found the end zone; and the defense had proven capable of getting the necessary stops, even if they hadn’t forced a turnover.

The tenor changed on a inexplicable decision by rookie returner Myles Price. After opting not to call for a fair catch near the goal line on the ensuing punt, Price accidentally made contact with the ball as it bounced off the turf. It resulted in a turnover that opened the floodgates on the Vikings in what ended up a 23-6 blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Though the the blunder on special teams was undoubtedly the turning point, the fact that the Vikings were manhandled by the Packers in the immediate aftermath spoke volumes about the bigger picture.

This is an imperfect group that needs to be perfect to even sniff victories at the moment.

Heck, if it weren’t for a couple of long field goals from kicker Will Reichard, the Vikings legitimately would’ve been shutout. He was the lone standout in a total system failure across the board.

There was virtually no pushback from the Vikings after the Packers took a 17-6 lead shortly after halftime. They couldn’t move the ball on offense.

Every single dropback from quarterback J.J. McCarthy the rest of the way looked like it might end in disaster. It often did. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

It was a complete disaster for the Vikings that ended with the Packers mercifully running out the clock so not to make it look worse.

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For the 68th straight year, the Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities will make sure thousands of families don’t spend Thanksgiving hungry — handing out 10,000 meals as need reaches record levels.

The annual Thanksgiving Grocery Bag Distribution will be held on Monday, and the annual Thanksgiving Day meal will be served on Thursday.

“We have seen community food and resource needs rise significantly over the last several months — especially with the pause in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the federal government shutdown,” said Pam Stegora Axberg, the CEO of the Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities. “This increased need is especially heartbreaking during the holidays. I’m looking forward to seeing our community come together to support their neighbors experiencing hunger and homelessness.”

The grocery bag distribution will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, at the mission’s Men’s Campus at 435 E. University Ave. in St. Paul.

“This event helps families and individuals facing hardship enjoy a full Thanksgiving meal. With the help of more than 250 volunteers, UGMTC will pack and distribute 10,000 complete meals, including 2,000 frozen turkeys, 14,000 pounds of potatoes and a variety of canned and boxed items,” organizers said.

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A Thanksgiving meal will be provided to visitors from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, at the St. Paul Men’s Campus.

“Dozens of volunteers will serve a traditional meal in a warm, dignified atmosphere, ensuring guests experience comfort and belonging. Everyone from the community is welcome,” organizers said in a news release.

“Our Thanksgiving Day events are not just about providing food – they’re about creating a meaningful and uplifting dining experience for those who may not have the opportunity to be served,” said Axberg. “Our celebration is a way to extend generosity and remind each person that they are valued and not alone.”

Other food drives

Linwood Recreation Center in St. Paul, located at 860 St. Clair Ave., is accepting food shelf donations for the Hallie Q. Brown Food Shelf from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Monday.

The most-needed items include:

Canned tuna, chicken or beans;
Rice, pasta, lentils, boxed meals and ramen;
Canned fruit, vegetables, soups and stews;
Peanut butter, cereal and oatmeal;
Shelf-stable milks;
Sealed baby formula, baby food, baby wipes and diapers;
Hygiene items such as deodorant, bar soap, shampoo, conditioner and feminine care items.

Organizers ask that anything with a glass container, alcohol, open or expired items, refrigerated or frozen items or homemade foods not be donated.

The city of St. Paul will continue operating food drive locations that began Nov. 1 when SNAP benefits were suspended. They are asking for new, unopened, shelf-stable items and hygiene items.

The most-needed items are:

Canned tuna, chicken or beans;
Rice, pasta, lentils, boxed meals and ramen;
canned fruits and vegetables, soups and stews;
Peanut/seed butters, cereal and oatmeal;
Shelf-stable milk, both dairy and non-dairy;
Masa Harina, jasmine/basmati rice, noodles and Halal options;
Baby formula, sealed and not expired; baby food; baby wipes and diapers.

No glass containers, open/expired items, homemade food, alcohol or refrigerated/frozen items will be accepted.

Items can be dropped off during business hours at the following locations: Highland Park Community Center at 1978 Ford Parkway; Arlington Hills Community Center at 1200 Payne Ave.; North Dale Recreation Center at 1414 N. Albans St.; and Oxford Community Center at 270 N. Lexington Parkway.

Neighborhood House

Neighborhood House officials ask that smaller donations, such as a few bags of food, can be dropped off anytime during market hours. Hours can be found at neighborhoodhousemn.org/programs/food-support/food-markets/. Officials ask that, if possible, people schedule their drop-offs by calling 651-789-3630.

The Neighborhood House has two locations for donations and for people to pick up food:

Wellstone Center Food Market at 179 Robie St. in St. Paul.
Neighborhood House on Montreal Food Market, 1080 Montreal Ave., St. Paul.