Don’t underestimate the chance that Wild owner Craig Leipold and his family, once Major League Baseball settles on a new economic model in a year or two, become the Minnesota Twins’ next controlling owners.
Leipold, George Hicks from Minneapolis and Glick Family Investments from New York recently became limited partners in the Twins to help alleviate the team’s $500 million debt.
Leipold, remember, paid $80 million in 1997 for a NHL expansion team in Nashville, Tenn. In 2007, he sold the Predators for $193 million. A year later, he bought the Wild for $280 million.
Today, the Wild are valued at nearly $2 billion. The Twins have been seeking $1.75 billion in a sale.
Leipold has been a model owner for the Wild. No doubt he would be a welcome owner of the Twins.
>> Somewhat unnoticed, other Twins limited partners are brothers John and Allen Martin, managing partners of the minor league Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
>> Had Carl Pohlad and family not bought the Twins in 1984 for $44 million and instead invested the money in the S&P 500, with dividends reinvested, such an investment today would be worth $4.25 billion.
>> Only 45 days until Twins pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
>> The Twins don’t have to worry about paying a luxury tax for last season. Only teams with payrolls of at least $241 million have to pay. The Twins finished at $141,653,205.
>> The University of Minnesota met nearly a half-dozen times in recent years with a Kansas City architectural firm about renovating Williams Arena, the storied basketball venue that opened in 1928.
The university was preparing to begin a renovation fundraising campaign but it has been temporarily shelved in favor of raising internal Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money, as well as an NCAA settlement that allows $20.5 million for schools this year to pay athletes annually.
Now, it appears the university will wait between 12 and 18 months before resuming talks with architects. A renovation of Williams Arena, though, remains on Minnesota’s radar screen.
>> The Gophers’ athletics department has been especially impressed by the Chicago Cubs’ complete renovation of Wrigley Field that concluded in 2019 and retained all the iconic ballpark’s amenities and personality inside and outside. That would be a similar strategy for Williams Arena.
>> The $35,000 Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was fined by the NBA for inappropriate behavior during the victory over Oklahoma City last week comes out of his pocket. The team doesn’t reimburse him. But he can afford it; his annual salary is in the $5 million range.
>> First, there was Bill Musselman, then son Eric Musselman as big-time men’s basketball coaches. Now there’s Matthew Musselman, Eric’s son, who is the youngest assistant coach in college basketball. Eric’s California-Riverside team lost to St. Thomas, 92-78, in St. Paul last week.
>> Eric’s Southern California team won’t be warming up to “Sweet Georgia Brown,” which was the Gophers’ popular theme song when Bill coached them from 1971-75, when he brings the Trojans to Williams Arena on Jan. 9. USC will get into town a few days early and attend the Timberwolves-Cavaliers game at Target Center. Eric, 61, last week celebrated his 250th college victory.
>> St. Paul Johnson grad Ron Peltier, 76, the former Gophers hockey captain and retired executive for Warren Buffett, recently made a $500,000 gift to Gophers hockey.
>> Beloved Wally “The Beer Man” McNeil, 91, retired in Plymouth after two hip replacement surgeries, said Friday he’s feeling “pretty good; I can’t complain.”
>> Bernie Kukar, 85, the St. John’s Hall of Honor electee who was referee for two Super Bowls, asked how at one time Minnesota produced six NFL on-field officials, most of any state: “Because we’re good.”
>> Patrick Klinger, who runs the Agile Marketing Partners sports firm, when he was VP of marketing for the Minnesota Twins some 20 years ago hosted baseball enthusiast Rob Reiner, who was on a ballpark tour visiting the Metrodome.
“He couldn’t have been nicer; unpretentious, kind, gracious, didn’t ask for anything. One of the finest celebrities I’d ever dealt with,” Klinger said of the Hollywood icon recently murdered with his wife in Los Angeles.
>> Speaking of Klinger, the marketing whiz was spotted lunching the other day with new St. Paul mayor Kohl Her, and Cheryl Reeve and Carley Knox of the Lynx at the St. Paul Grill.
>> Nick Hanson, the former Prior Lake star baseball pitcher who in 2016 signed with the Cincinnati Reds for $925,000 but was forced to retire in 2022 due to arm injuries, has utilized the college tuition perk of his initial contract and this month will graduate online from Minnesota with a business degree.
Hanson’s sister Julia, a star senior hitter for the Gophers volleyball team, also graduates this month. She had planned to play volleyball professionally overseas, but has received an opportunity to play with the upstart professional Nebraska team in League One Volleyball.
>> Caleb VanArragon, 24, the former Minnesota State Open and State Amateur champion from Blaine, with rounds of 72-70-68-73 tied for 111th at the recent PGA Tour Q-School final stage. But he has qualified for 21 Korn Ferry tournaments in 2026 beginning Jan. 11 in the Bahamas. The top 20 Korn Ferry finishers next year will qualify for a PGA Tour rights card.
The pressure is intense, but VanArragon has it in perspective.
“There is a lot of pressure, but at the same time, we’re just playing golf,” he said.
>> Carson Herron, 23, the 6-feet-4, long-hitting son of Champions Tour player Tim Herron from Deephaven, pre-qualified in California for Asian Tour Q-School by shooting 72-62-62-64, then last week qualified in a sudden death playoff in Thailand for full status on the 2026 Asian Tour.
>> Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka has left LIV Golf, and pal Hollis Cavner is already in pursuit for the 3M Open (July 23-26 in Blaine) he owns.
“We’re trying; he would come in two seconds (if allowed by the PGA Tour), there’s no doubt about that,” said Cavner, who was with Koepka in Jupiter, Fla., last week.
>> Duane Mutschler, 84, the retired hall of fame Stillwater boys basketball coach, asked the other day the best player he coached during 26 seasons with the Ponies, didn’t hesitate.
“Chris Engler,” he said.
It has been four years and eight months since Engler, now 66, the 6-foot-11 former Gophers and NBA center, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He resides in Lake Elmo and remains upbeat.
“I have very limited use of my arms and hands, and my neck is weak. I still lift weights and go in the pool,” he said. “We’re hanging in there. There’s lots of excitement that we’re getting close to a cure for this disease. That’s the hope.”
>> Tommy Younghans, 72, the popular former North Star from St. Paul, still plays hockey several times a week at Richfield Ice Arena despite having two hip replacements and a knee replacement. How does he do that?
“Lot of meds,” he said.
>> Kyle Green, 55, who recruits the Upper Midwest for No. 3 nationally-ranked men’s basketball Iowa State (12-0), is a Minneapolis Washburn grad and has degrees from Hamline University and the University of St. Thomas.
“We’ve got some blue collar, tough, St. Paul-type kids that compete and play with a chip on their shoulder, to be honest with you,” Green said.
Sixth man for the Cyclones is redshirt senior guard Nate Heise, brother of Minnesota Frost and former Gophers hockey star Taylor Heise from Lake City.
Another Cyclones assistant is Erik Crawford, the ex-Tartan star. Former Iowa State sharpshooter Gabe Kalscheur, the former Gopher from DeLaSalle, is averaging 12.3 points for Ourense Blankest in Spain.
Don’t print that
>> Bud Grant’s No. 1 axiom during a Hall of Fame Vikings coaching career was the “best ability is durability.” In two years in the NFL, Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy has suffered five injuries that have caused him to miss playing time.
Another Vikings QB, Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, played 18 seasons and had two injuries that caused him to miss time. And those didn’t occur until season Nos. 16 and 17.
Said one quipster of McCarthy last week, “He ain’t Lou Gehrig,” the former Yankee who played in 2,130 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it’s clear the Vikings can’t go into next season with Max Brosmer as the backup QB. Brosmer, 24, is signed for $1 million next year.
>> Had the Vikings gotten just average quarterback play this season, they would have been a playoff team.
>> The Vikings have won their last four games, but the only way to be encouraged about the future is if they clean up the quarterback situation.
>> Vikings rooters won’t know the Vikings’ real 2026 QB plans until the middle of March, when NFL free agency and the trading period begins. What veteran QB the Vikings sign will reveal how the team feels about McCarthy going forward. Right now, the Vikings have more questions than answers.
>> It remains interesting that Vikings’ defensive coordinator Brian Flores hasn’t re-signed even though his contract is up after the season.
>> It’s clear that Vikings Aaron Jones (signed for $9 million) and T.J. Hockenson ($15.4 million) will have to take pay cuts to remain in Minnesota.
>> Justin Jefferson, after making four Pro Bowls, was not chosen this season. Against the Lions, Jefferson, under contract for $35 million a season, had four catches for 30 yards. If the Vikings cannot find a quarterback who can get him the ball, and Jefferson’s inconsistency continues, a Hall of Fame career that at one time seemed nearly certain could be in jeopardy.
>> Look for 6-2, 201-pound Wisconsin-River Falls senior QB Kaleb Blaha from Fridley to receive a free agent tryout with the Vikings.
>> It’s a long shot but certainly intriguing. If new Wild star defenseman Quinn Hughes and his brothers were to ultimately end up together in Minnesota, and not New Jersey, it could be because of local hockey relationships.
The Hughes family is from Michigan. Mother Ellen Weinberg-Hughes is a board member of the USA Hockey Foundation with Wild owner Craig Leipold, as well as Hubbard Media Group CEO Stan Hubbard from St. Paul. The Hubbard family also is a limited partner in the Wild.
Rather than Quinn joining brothers Luke and Jack with the Devils, as is often speculated, there’s a hypothetical out there that the brothers instead could eventually join Quinn in Minnesota.
Quinn Hughes, 26, is signed through this season and next season for nearly $16 million. Luke, 22, is signed through 2031-32 for $9 million a season. Jack, 24, is signed through 2029-30 for $8 million a season.
Quinn Hughes’ free agent market is expected to be at least $13 million a year over eight years. Insiders, though, say the Devils are confident they’ll be able to sign Quinn, who with Columbus’ Cale Makar is considered among the top defensemen in the NHL.
If the Wild determine that they can’t extend Quinn, though, they would face the dilemma of possibly having to trade him.
>> Generally, the best way to evaluate NHL trades is that the winner is the team that gets the best player. The Wild got the best player in its recent trade with the Canucks for Hughes.
>> Don’t be surprised if Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck, 45, who has a $7 million per year contract that runs through 2030 and whose team finished 8-5, soon receives another big pay raise. Fleck ranks 14th of 18 Big Ten coaches in annual compensation.
>> Despite recent Twins debt assistance from incoming limited partners, some highly successful finance people still wonder how the Twins can make money under their current economic model.
Meanwhile, new Twins limited partners George Hicks and his family, who co-founded Minneapolis-based Varde Partners, are regarded by financial world peers as “brilliant business guys.”
>> Gophers Big Ten men’s basketball leading scorer Cade Tyson (22.8-point average), a 6-7 senior who transferred from North Carolina, chose Minnesota over Iowa. “He’ll play professional basketball; it’s just a matter of where and what level and how long,” coach Niko Medved said.
>> Wisconsin junior Nolan Winter, son of ex-Gopher Trevor Winter, is averaging 14.1 points a game.
>> David Hopkins, fired by the Twins as hitting coach after the 2024, last season coached the Blue Jays to a major league-best .265 batting average and has been named Baseball America’s Coach of the Year. The Twins, meanwhile, finished last season batting .238, 22nd in baseball.
>> Baseball Hall of Fame ballots need to be postmarked by Wednesday. Admitted drug user Alex Rodriguez, the first-year Timberwolves/Lynx co-owner, is on the ballot for the fifth time. Last year, Rodriguez received 37.1 percent of votes. At least 75 percent is needed for election.
>> Ex-Twin Torii Hunter is on the ballot for a sixth time. Last year, he received 5.1 percent of votes. Players who receive at least five percent return to the ballot return the next year. Eligibility expires after 10 years.
>> It looks like a transfer portal market for University of St. Thomas’ star sophomore guard Nolan Minessale, if he chooses, will be at least $500,000 a season. He’s averaging 22.4 points and 4.1 assists a game.
>> Ex-Twin Nick Punto, considered for the Twins’ recent managing job, has become infield coach for the San Diego Padres.
>> Jackson McAndrew, the ex-Wayzata basketball star, will miss the rest of his sophomore season at Creighton after a prolonged foot injury.
>> Minneapolis Club professional Dan Simpson is retiring after 42 years in the golf business.
>> The Rate Bowl, in which the Gophers defeated New Mexico in overtime on Friday, was one of 49 football bowl games this season.
>> Some Vikings season ticket holders were getting just $50 on face-value $150 seats late on the schedule and are hoping to recoup losses by dumping them on Packers fans for the season finale in Minneapolis.
Overheard
Glen Taylor, when he owned the Timberwolves, on the recent front office return to the Wolves of Kevin Garnett, who finally will have his No. 21 jersey retired by the team: “For five different years I checked with him to see if he would be willing to do it, and he chose not to do it.”
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