The exit of Eric Ramsay as Minnesota United’s head coach became official Sunday, and the Loons drew closer to naming current assistant coach Cam Knowles as his successor, a source told the Pioneer Press.

Ramsay leaves United to become the next head coach at West Bromwich Albion in the English second division. Since he was under contract for the 2026 MLS season, West Brom will need to compensate MNUFC for his services. Those terms have not yet been disclosed.

Knowles has been considered a frontrunner since Ramsay’s move to England developed late last week. The club said in a news release Sunday that it is “currently in the final stages of selecting its next head coach and will have more to share in the coming days.”

Knowles was the Loons’ interim head coach at the start of the 2024 season, when Ramsay was finishing up his time at Manchester United. Knowles shepherded the team through the first three games of that campaign, going 2-0-1.

Knowles then became an assistant for Ramsay for the past two seasons. Before that, the New Zealand native was the head coach of MNUFC2, the team’s developmental team in MLS Next Pro in 2022-23, with a record of 19-20-13. He previously spent nine years with the Portland Timbers.

Ramsay capped a highly successful two seasons with the Loons, including three semifinal appearances: the 2025 and ’24 Western Conference semifinals and 2025 U.S. Open Cup semi. Last season, the Loons set a club record with 58 points in a 34-game season.

“I’ll look back with nothing but fond memories and real pride in what we achieved together,” Ramsay said in a statement. “I’ve had the privilege of working with an outstanding staff and a talented group of players who have been honest, professional, and committed, all backed by the tremendous support of the Loons’ fanbase.”

Ramsay, who was the youngest head coach in MLS, has been routinely linked to other open positions during his time in Minnesota.

“From day one, we have supported Eric’s professional ambitions,” Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but success as he takes on this next opportunity. We are confident in the foundation in place and will continue to build with purpose and continuity moving forward.”

Loons assistant coach Dennis Lawrence will join Ramsay at West Brom.

The Loons’ first preseason training session will be Monday in Blaine and they will head to Irvine, Calif., for prep from Thursday to Jan. 24. MNUFC’s first game is Feb. 21 at Austin FC.

The Gophers added more running back depth with the commitment of Elon transfer TJ Thomas Jr., on Saturday night.

Thomas showed versatility in two years at the FCS level and the 5-foot-8, 190-pounder from Thomasville, Ga., will have two years remaining for Minnesota.

Across nine games in 2025, Thomas had 91 carries for 384 yards and six touchdowns, adding 15 receptions for 124 yards, 16 kickoff returns for 441 yards and two punt returns for 36 yards.

In eight games in 2024, the true freshman totaled 89 carries for 588 yards and five TDs, 13 catches for 108 yards and one TD, along with 12 kickoff returns for 245 yards.

Pro Football Focus gave Thomas good grades a season ago: 67.8 overall and 71.5 rushing. He played 315 offensive snaps in 2025.

Thomas is the 18th player to commit to Minnesota since the portal opened on Jan. 2 and the second running back after to-be redshirt freshman Jaron Thomas of Purdue committed on the first day.

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Minnesota Wild fourth-liner Ben Jones found himself in some unfamiliar territory late Saturday, as a crowd of media packed in around his locker stall for postgame interviews. The extra attention was warranted, as a few hours earlier, Jones had scored a goal in a NHL game for the first time.

It came in his 49th NHL game and less than 23 hours after he had been summoned from an Iowa Wild road trip in Arizona, making the trek halfway across the country to fill out the Minnesota line chart with second line center Joel Eriksson Ek unable to play.

“It was busy, but the best kind of busy,” said Jones, his postgame smile tampered a bit by the New York Islanders, who came back three times to beat the Wild 4-3 in overtime. “It would’ve been great to cap it off with a win, but obviously super excited to get the first one.”

And the fact that the scoresheet entry for that first one read, “Ben Jones from Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes” was perfectly appropriate as well. A little more than a decade ago, Jones and Hughes were youth hockey teammates in Toronto for a time.

“Quinn and I go way back. We played minor hockey together years and years ago,” Jones recounted. “He kept saying that he felt like he was going to be a part of the first one, and you know, he made it happen. So I was happy to see that.”

Jones joked that he had been saving up his goal celebration for 49 games, as he spent much of this season and last bouncing between Iowa and Minnesota. Even before he had gotten a puck with his name and the date emblazoned on it to keep forever, there were signs that Jones putting one in the net was an inevitability.

“He’s an extremely reliable player. He can come in and play that fourth line center role. He’s strong on faceoffs. His attention to detail is very strong offensively and defensively,” Wild coach John Hynes said before the Islanders game. “He does get a lot of scoring chances. …But the reason he gets those scoring chances is because he plays fast, and he understands the way we want to play and the areas you need to get to to get scoring chances.”

On Saturday, with Minnesota pressing the Islanders in the offensive zone early, Hughes fed the puck to Faber, who zipped a pass toward the net where Jones was waiting to redirect it low past New York goalie Illya Sorokin.

While Hughes rightly gave Faber primary credit for the play, he smiled at the opportunity to be there for an old youth hockey teammate from years ago. On their Toronto U16 team from the 2014-15 season, Jones and Hughes are among five players from that squad to play in the NHL.

“I think Brock made that play, and Jonesy was in the right spot,” Hughes said, after assisting on all three of the Wild’s goals on Saturday. “Life works like that. It was a weird one. I had a feeling that would happen, something like that.”

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By JAKE COYLE, Associated Press

The Golden Globes bill themselves as Hollywood’s booziest bash. This year, is anyone ready to party?

Political tension and industrywide uncertainty are the prevailing moods heading into Sunday night’s 83rd Golden Globes. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros.

A celebratory mood might be even more elusive given that the wide majority of the performers and filmmakers congregating at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, oppose the policies of President Donald Trump. Likely to be on the minds of many attendees: the recent U.S. involvement in Venezuela and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But through their ups and downs, the Globes have always tried to put pomp over politics. Host Nikki Glaser has vowed as much.

“You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela,’” Glaser told The Associated Press earlier in the week, referring to her comedy-club warm-ups. “People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”

Glaser, a comic known for her roast appearances, has promised to go after A-listers in her second time hosting.

“We’re going to hit Leo,” Glaser said. “The icebergs are coming.”

Here’s what to look for at this year’s Globes:

How to watch and stream the Globes and red carpet

The Golden Globes kick off at 8 p.m. EST on CBS while streaming live for Paramount+ premium subscribers. E!’s red carpet coverage begins at 6 p.m. EST.

The Associated Press will be have a livestream show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern with a mix of stars’ arrivals, fashion shots and celebrity interviews. It will be available on YouTube and APNews.

Could Warner Bros. own the night if not itself?

The overwhelming Oscar favorite “One Battle After Another” comes in with a leading nine nominations. It’s competing in the Globes’ musical or comedy category, which means the drama side might be more competitive. There, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” are all in the mix.

But thus far, “One Battle After Another” has cleaned up just about everywhere. Much of Paul Thomas Anderson’s cast is nominated, including DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from “One Battle After Another.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

If it and “Sinners” take home the two biggest prizes, it will be a banner night for Warner Bros. even as its future hangs in the balance. The studio has agreed to be acquired by Netflix is a deal worth $82.7 billion. Movie theaters have warned such a result would be “a direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theaters around the world.”

The merger awaits regulatory approval, while Paramount Skydance is still trying to convince Warner shareholders to accept its rival offer.

How might the top acting awards go?

After an audacious promotional tour for “Marty Supreme,” Timothée Chalamet is poised to win his first Globe in five nominations. In best actor, comedy or musical, he’ll have to beat DiCaprio, a three-time Globe winner, and Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).

In best actress, comedy or musical, Rose Byrne is the favorite for her performance in the not especially funny A24 indie “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” One prominent nominee in the category, Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked: For Good”), won’t be attending due to her schedule in the West End production “Dracula.”

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from “Wicked for Good..” (Universal Pictures via AP)

Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) is the clear front-runner in best actress, drama. In the star-studded best actor, drama, category, the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) may win over Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”) and Joel Edgerton (“Train Dreams”).

In the supporting categories, Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård come in the favorites.

Who’ll give the most memorable speech?

The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals.

But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can really boost an Oscar campaign. Last year, that seemed to be the case for Demi Moore, who won for “The Substance” and gave the night’s most emotional speech. Mikey Madison (“Anora”), however, scored the upset win at the Oscars.

This image released by A24 shows Timothée Chalamet in a scene from “Marty Supreme.” (A24 via AP)

A few potentially good moments this year went instead in a Golden Eve ceremony earlier this week. There, the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett honorees, Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker, accepted their awards.

One to watch, if he wins, will be the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. His revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident” is up for four awards. Panahi has spent most of his career making films clandestinely, without approval of authorities, and was until recently banned from leaving the country. Last month, he was sentenced to a year in prison, which would be only his latest stint behind bars if Panahi returns home to serve it. This week, protests over Iran’s ailing economy have spread throughout the country in a new test to Iran’s leaders.

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What to look for in the TV and podcast categories

For the first time, the Globes are trotting out a new podcast category. The nominees are: “Armchair Expert,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “SmartLess” and “Up First.”

In TV, HBO Max’s “The White Lotus” — another potential big winner for Warner Bros. — leads with six nominations. Netflix’s “Adolescence” comes in with five nods.

But the most closely watched nominee might be “The Studio.” The first season of Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: “I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.”) “The Studio” is up for three awards, giving three chances for life to imitate art.