Minnesota adapted softball runs through Dakota County.

For the second straight season, Dakota United won both the PI and CI Division state titles, as the Hawks swept the championships again Saturday at Chanhassen High School.

PI DIVISION

The Hawks claimed their fifth-straight title via a 14-4 victory over Rochester. The program has now won 61 consecutive contests.

Dakota united is made up of Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Eastview, Farmington, Hastings, Lakeville North, Lakeville South and Rosemount.

On this year’s team are Sean Wilson, Bryce Andrews, Dominik Albus, Sammy Jordheim, Nick Smock, Bennett Herrmann, Will Warder, Dylan Burns, Chloe Shibata, Thomas Klobe, Ellie Deyo, Reece Martin, Ben Schussler, Jose Collado Baez, Laura Wagner, Liv Grossbauer, Jae Bahma and Cayden Needham.

CI Division

Dakota United got vengeance for an 11-8 season-opening defeat at the hands of New Prague with a 4-2 victory in Saturday’s final, largely thanks to the long ball and some sound defense.

The co-op is made up of Apple Valley, Eagan, Eastview, FIT Academy, Hastings and Rosemount.

On the Hawks roster are Chelsea Ludvigson, Max Pucci, Remington Benedict, Joshua Jackson, Malina Finch, Nolan St. Sauver, Jake Jackson, Myles Johnson, Logan Healy, Mustafa Adnan, Henry Eisele, Anthony Dyakin, Ada Kramer, Colin Price, Oran Hill, Makai Smith and Jacob Staats.

Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville beat South Washington county 9-8 in the third-place game.

MILWAUKEE – Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was plainspoken, with no real note of optimism in his voice, when he spoke about injured outfielder Byron Buxton prior to Saturday’s game, saying that like all players dealing with a potential concussion, they were taking things slowly, deliberately.

Before batting practice had ended at American Family Field, any lingering optimism had been replaced by the harsh reality of the current Twins injury report, to which Buxton was officially added on Saturday afternoon. After colliding with infielder Carlos Correa during a win in Baltimore last week, Buxton has now been added to the seven-day injury list. Correa went on that same list a day earlier.

As is the nature of dealing with concussions – which can impact a player for a number of days to a number of years, depending on the severity – Baldelli said the team is taking its time and doing things by the book.

“You’ve just got to be very thoughtful and aware and there’s a reason why this is the type of injury that we have these types of protocols for, and many, many steps and clearances that you have to go through,” he said. “’Cause there’s not an easy way to either diagnose and treat and monitor. You have to be thoughtful.”

Concussions are not a new thing for Buxton, 31, who has dealt with injuries throughout his career. He had appeared in all but three of Minnesota’s 2025 games prior to the collision with Correa, batting .261 with 10 home runs, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases.

With the Twins winning, despite the injuries, other players have talked about the roster being filled with players willing to do whatever is needed in desperate times.

“I think for us, it’s cliché as it sounds like, it’s just next man up,” said infielder Ty France, who missed a game last week after fouling a ball off his foot. “Losing those key pieces to your team, it hurts, but every single guy in here prepares as if they’re the main guy on this team. So they fill right in.”

France noted the Friday night major league debut of 30-year-old infielder Ryan Fitzgerald, who made the five-hour drive to Milwaukee from Des Moines, where he had been playing with the St. Paul Saints, to fill in at second base after the injuries to Correa and Willi Castro.

“Fitzy makes his debut and looks like he’s been here forever, so that’s one good thing about this group,” France said. “This clubhouse, you know, we’re here for each other, we’re here to pick each other up, and we’ve done a great job of that.”

Castro taking some time

Castro initially stayed in the game to play left field, after he fouled a ball hard off his right knee in the first inning on Friday. But he left the lineup shortly thereafter, allowing Fitzgerald to play in The Show for the first time.

In the clubhouse before Saturday’s game, Castro said the pain was intense immediately.

“I felt in the moment when I got I hit. I was very painful for a couple seconds,” he said. “But I got back up and was feeling fine. Then when I went back to play defense, that’s when it started getting tight and getting swollen. When I got back to the dugout, that’s when it started feeling a little funky and that’s when they decided to take me out.”

Taking Saturday’s game off, both Castro and Baldelli said they do not expect the injury to keep him out of the lineup for too long, and he could be available on an emergency basis if the Twins were to deal with additional injuries.

“I don’t think he’s going to be out there running around if someone got hurt in the second inning. I don’t think Willi is going into the game to finish the game,” Baldelli said. “But if other things happen in the game and he’s forced into being on his feet, that might have to be an option. We’re already short a player.”

Castro is batting .235 with two home runs and six RBI in 98 at-bats this season.

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Some 43 years after Bob Mould left Macalester College just short of graduating to focus on his band Hüsker Dü, he returned to the St. Paul school Saturday to receive an honorary degree and deliver the keynote address.

“It’s an incredible honor,” the 64-year-old told the cheering crowd. “This is all very surreal so hang in here with me, it’s a little crazy.”

Mould’s speech followed several others — including a surprise appearance from Sen. Amy Klobuchar who called Mould “a trailblazing guitarist and songwriter and a major part of why the Twin Cities has become an epicenter of alternative music” — as well as a brief chant of “Free Palestine” from graduates and a performance of Hüsker Dü’s 1985 single “Makes No Sense at All” by student band She’s in Shambles.

Macalester president Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera introduced Mould and told the crowd: “Hüsker Dü showed bands of their generation and those who followed that there was no set road map to follow from punk, that the only charges were to be true to yourself and ethical in your engagement with the world. With your trademark wall of sound, your remarkable trajectory has continued for more than four decades.”

Mould began by telling students that in 1995, he gave the opening speech at the music industry convention South by Southwest and that he felt like he failed as he hadn’t prepared enough for it. “So I’m going to try again because this is what we do in life. We take chances and we try to make good on past mistakes, so this is my next shot.”

Life is like a song with verses, choruses and bridges, Mould said.

“The verse is the part of the song where the writer defines the time, the place, the characters and the story,” he said. “The chorus is the mantra, it’s the part of the song that we sing together. We share the moment, we share the feeling and we support each other. And if that chorus is good, it will stick in your head for the rest of your life.

“And then there’s the bridge. The bridge of a song is a surprise, a departure, a challenge, to twist the melody, to shift to the rhyme, it’s a turn of the story. And in a way, leaving school is like the bridge of a song, into the unknown. And that can be scary or it can be a great opportunity, and oftentimes it’s both.”

From there, Mould talked about growing up in the small New York town of Malone.

“When I was a kid, my parents ran a mom-and-pop grocery store and my sister and brother and I stocked the shelves and ran the cash register. But I grew up in a chaotic home, a violent home, and music was my escape,” Mould said as tears welled in his eyes. “I was fascinated by music. I was fascinated by melodies and words and the people who sang them and it was magic … I also knew that I was different. I realized early on that I was queer.

“As time went on, I knew I needed to leave my hometown and I needed to find a place that could nurture my heart and soul and spirit. I needed to move to a big city, a place where I might find community, a place where I could sing my chorus. Luckily, someone here at Mac thought it was worth taking a chance on me.”

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Mould spoke about receiving an underprivileged student scholarship and moving into Macalester’s Turck Hall, which he said felt like the United Nations compared to his hometown.

“There was ambition in the air and it was inspiring,” he said. “The small-town life I’d known for 17 years was instantly replaced by a multicultural, highly educated, very progressive urban environment. I quickly realized I needed to let go of whatever biases had littered my youthful thinking because in cities like St. Paul and colleges like Macalester, we learn to be tolerant, we learn to share space and resources and we learn from our differences, and those qualities are especially important in this American moment as those in charge try to marginalize other cultures and culture itself.”

Mould admitted his spent more time on his music than he did his studies, but said Macalester taught him the skills of debate and the value of critical thinking. He also spoke about his early days in Hüsker Dü and the “reciprocal generosity” of the burgeoning punk rock scene.

“When a touring punk band arrived in the Twin Cities, we were there to help them. Anything from lending equipment to making sandwiches or offering up a floor to sleep on, we were happy to help. We traded phone numbers and addresses with the hope that maybe someday, if we were lucky, we would get to tour and we might become part of this new network of outsiders,” he said.

After Mould’s junior year, he hit the road with Hüsker Dü. He returned to the college that fall, but despite guidance from his adviser, he dropped out before graduating. Hüsker Dü broke up 1988, but Mould went on to form another trio, Sugar, in the mid-’90s and has enjoyed solo success for decades.

“I didn’t make it across that particular bridge,” he said, “but Macalester had prepared me for the next bridge, which was getting my band off the ground, hustling 7-inch singles for gas money, fixing blown-out tires stranded in the middle of a blizzard, even getting held up at gunpoint by a club owner for T-shirt money. Macalester taught me how to deal with all kinds of adversity.”

Mould told the students to take pride in the small victories, but remember no victory is permanent, and to champion critical thinking and “always use your bulls— detector.”

“In closing, I’ve got to ask the graduating class of 2025, are you ready for the future? Are you ready to change the world? Are you ready to protect our democracy? Are you ready for the old guy to wrap it up? The world is yours. Thank you very much.”

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A year ago, Anthony Edwards was asked to sum up what happened in Minnesota’s blowout Game 5 loss at the hands of Dallas to end the Timberwolves’ season in the Western Conference Finals.

“Luka,” Edwards said, referencing Luka Doncic by first name only. “It’s that simple. He hit like three shots from the logo, pretty much. Nothing we can do about it.”

Indeed, Doncic splashed a number of kill shots early that evening at Target Center that sapped the life from Minnesota and effectively ended the series on the spot. There is a powerless feeling that overcomes a team when an opposing player hits a series of difficult shots for which there is no defense.

It breaks your spirit.

Fast forward to the 2025 postseason, and the Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference Finals – the first team to repeat the achievement in consecutive seasons since 2019 – in large part because the soul crushee has become the crusher.

Minnesota won its first two playoff series each in five games, setting itself up well in terms of maximum rest and minimum wear and tear ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday in either Denver or Oklahoma City.

After Minnesota dispatched the Lakers in Game 5, the superstar guard strutted through the hallways of Crypto.com Arena shouting “Ant-Man, Batman, Superman, Wolves in five.”

Fitting. As Minnesota’s sailing has only been this smooth in these playoffs because, whenever Minnesota has found itself in danger, Edwards has put on his cape and come to the rescue with heroic 3-balls.

Which, yeah, is otherwise known as “hero ball.” But that word often carries a negative connotation. For Minnesota this postseason, perhaps “savior ball” is a better term.

Trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter of Game 4 against the Lakers, Minnesota was staring down a 2-2 tie with the series heading back to Los Angeles for Game 5.

Edwards had other ideas.

On the first possession of the final frame, Edwards held the ball 28 feet away from the hoop with Doncic, of all people, directly in front of him. After a brief hold, the guard decided to rise and fire.

Splash.

Minnesota was now within seven, but only briefly. Austin Reaves answered with a triple of his own on the other end of the floor. No matter, Edwards came down on Minnesota’s ensuing possession, came off a high screen and again shot over the outstretched arm of Doncic.

Same result.

Minnesota was still down seven with fewer than eight minutes to play when Edwards sized up Reaves on the perimeter. He took a hard step at the Lakers guard before executing his go-to, step-back jumper. Reaves delivered a commendable contest.

It didn’t matter. The Wolves were within four, and Target Center was rocking. Minnesota went on to win the game to effectively end the series.

Fast forward to Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, which was tied 1-1, and a Steph Curry-less Golden State team was fighting tooth and nail to claim a contest to re-claim the series lead and buy time for Curry to get healthy.

Golden State led by six with 10 minutes to play, and Minnesota couldn’t buy a bucket for much of the night. This specific possession was going no better for the Wolves. Edwards came off the screen with the shot clock dwindling. Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski switched onto Edwards and removed his air space to force Edwards to take a prayer with the shot clock set to expire.

He drained it.

That shot gave Minnesota life. Three minutes later, the Wolves were down one. Edwards caught the ball at the top of the floor with Gary Payton II guarding him closely. Yet Edwards didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately rising for the shot when he touched the ball.

Good again, this time giving Minnesota a lead it never relinquished.

Credit to the Warriors, they came back out in Game 4 and gave it another honest effort in the first half in an attempt to stay in the series. Again, Golden State out-played Minnesota for much of the first half, and had a five-point lead to show for it with seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Edwards dribbled down the floor, crossed over Payton and shot from roughly 30 feet over the arms of Payton and Draymond Green as the buzzer sounded.

You already know how this story ends.

The shot brought Minnesota within two at the half, and the Wolves ran the Warriors out of the building coming out of the break.

Edwards has always sensed the moments when his team has needed a boost. This year, he’s armed with a lethal 3-point shot capable of delivering whenever called upon.

“We’re lucky with him,” Wolves coach Chris Finch admitted.

Because there simply aren’t many players capable of hitting the shots Edwards takes. Per NBA.Com data, players across the league are shoot 25% on “closely” guarded 3-point attempts in these playoffs, where a defender is within two to four feet of the shot taker.

Edwards is 8 for 18 – 44.4% – on such attempts. The rest of the Wolves are 0 for 13. The 23-year-old is Minnesota’s only real option when it’s in a tight spot and needs points in bunches to create the mere chance for a comeback.

And Superman is hopping into the booth to answer the call every time the phone rings in these playoffs with zero hesitation.

“Just trusting the work, man. I trust myself. And I tell (my teammates): ‘It’s time. It’s time for that,’” Edwards said. “So, they already know. They know what it is. When I get in that mode, get me the ball. Try to get me open. I tell them all the time, ‘You set a good screen, we gonna score. I promise you.’”

Rudy Gobert was sitting next to Edwards at the press conference table when the topic was discussed, and he noted it’s a balance in his mind. He’s a believer in team basketball, with the right play being the pass to the open man. There have been times in the past where Edwards’ forced shot attempts have been a cause for frustration for Finch and fellow teammates.

But they’ve all appreciated how the young guard has been more deliberate about picking his spots of when to swing for the fences this season.

And when he’s squaring it up and tallying far more home runs than strikeouts, there is little about which to complain.

“He’s such a unique scorer and high confidence player,” Gobert said. “Sometimes, you’ve just got to let him do his thing. Sometimes, he’s going to make it, miss it, but you’ve got to let him do his thing.”

Especially in the playoffs, where defenses are all carrying out intensely-detailed gameplans with maximum effort. There will be many possessions where, try as you might, you aren’t going to generate anything resembling a good shot.

It’s a near requirement to have a cheat code player who’s always holding a get out of jail free card in his back pocket to win your team the games in which the chips seem to stacked heavily against you.

“Everybody needs one of those guys, or multiples of those guys,” Finch said. “This time of the year, sometimes it just comes down to that.”

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