Wisconsin-River Falls football coach Matt Walker takes job at Drake

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After leading the Wisconsin-River Falls football team to the program’s first Division-III national title, Falcons coach Matt Walker is off to Iowa.

Walker accepted the job at Drake University in Des Moines, Drake announced Sunday night, shortly after Walker informed the Falcons football team of his decision.

Drake is a non-scholarship Division-I football team in the Pioneer League, the same FCS conference in which St. Thomas competes. Drake plays the Tommies in St. Paul on Nov. 14.

Drake has won each of the last two Pioneer League titles.

Walker earned Division-III national coach of the year honors after leading the Falcons to previously unthinkable heights last season, with Wisconsin-River Falls winning its first WIAC title since 1998 and making its first playoff appearance since 1996.

The head coach also led the quarterbacks room, where he guided senior signal caller Kaleb Blaha to National Player of the Year honors.

Walker was hired at Wisconsin-River Falls in 2011, and the program stuck with the coach through nine straight losing seasons to open his tenure.

A COVID “reset” year in which the Falcons didn’t play football in 2020 allowed for Walker and his staff to get bolder in its strategies, upping the pace of its offense to speeds not otherwise seen at the collegiate level. Since then, the Falcons have won seven-plus games each season, a stretch capped by the recent national title.

“I’m not sure there are words to properly explain how much I love River Falls and how much I appreciate everything it has given me and my family,” Walker said in a Wisconsin-River Falls release announcing his resignation. “I’ve given everything I had to UWRF and feel good about leaving it in a better place than we found it. None of this could have happened without great administrative leadership, my incredible coaching staff, and obviously our student-athletes. We have truly created a family here.”

In the Drake release announcing his hiring, Walker insinuated Jake Wissing, the Falcons’ defensive coordinator, is set to take the reins in River Falls.

“I cannot wait to be their biggest fan under the leadership of Jake Wissing, who was with me all 15 years,” Walker said in the Drake release. “He will do amazing things and I cannot wait to follow them on their quest for another national title.”

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Timberwolves smited by visiting 76ers

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Maxey had 39 points and eight assists, VJ Edgecombe made a career-high six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-108 on Sunday night to snap a four-game losing streak — all by double figures.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) shoots the ball against Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Maxey made 16 of 28 shots from the field and hit four of Philadelphia’s 21 3-pointers. Quentin Grimes had 19 points, which included five 3s, and seven assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 points and four steals.

Coming off a 126-111 defeat Saturday night at New Orleans, the Sixers were again without center Joel Embiid, who missed his third straight game since the All-Star break due to right shin soreness. Embiid also sat out three of the last five games going into the break with soreness in his right knee.

Minnesota had its three-game win streak snapped. Anthony Edwards scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half for the Timberwolves. Jaden McDaniels added 19 and Julius Randle scored 18.

Naz Ried (shoulder soreness) did not play for Minnesota, and Rudy Gobert served a one-game suspension for accumulating too many flagrant fouls. Gobert, the four-time NBA defensive player of the year, will be suspended two games for each additional flagrant foul this season.

Joan Beringer, a 6-foot-11 center, made his first career start for the Timberwolves. Picked No. 17 overall in the 2025 draft, Beringer had two points and three fouls in five first-half minutes. Ayo Dosunmu started the third quarter in Beringer’s place and finished with 12 points.

Grimes hit a 3-pointer and then found a cutting Adem Bona for a dunk before Maxey drained a fadeaway jumper and a 3 to cap a 10-2 run that made it 35-26 at the end of the first quarter. Philadelphia led the rest of the way.

Up next for the Timberwolves is a three-game road trip out west, beginning with Tuesday’s 9 p.m. contest at Portland. The game will be televised on Peacock.

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China, India among winners after US court blocked Trump tariffs

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By Malcolm Scott, Bloomberg News

In a swift reversal of fortunes, countries that had been hardest hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have emerged as the biggest winners from the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down his emergency levies.

China, India and Brazil are among those now seeing lower tariff rates for shipments to the U.S. after the court ruled on Friday that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose duties was illegal. While Trump subsequently announced plans for a 15% global rate, Bloomberg Economics calculated that would mean an average effective tariff rate of around 12% — the lowest since his “Liberation Day” tariffs were released in April.

For Asia, Morgan Stanley economists say the weighted average tariff rate will fall to 17% from 20%, with average levies on goods from China declining to 24% from 32%. Relief may be temporary as the Trump administration seeks to impose sectoral and economy-specific duties to rebuild its tariff regime.

Still, “the peak level of uncertainty on tariffs and trade tensions has passed,” Morgan Stanley economists led by Chetan Ahya wrote in a note.

The new across-the-board levy effectively resets the playing field for America’s trade partners. For the likes of China, which also saw a 10% fentanyl tariff scrapped by the courts, exports now face less punitive rates. Losers include economies including the U.K. and Australia that had negotiated lower levies of 10% under the old “reciprocal” framework.

Senior U.S. officials are pressing partners including the European Union and Japan to stick to commitments they made in earlier negotiations. They also sought continuity in the one-year truce with China, with Trump planning to soon visit Beijing for a meeting with President Xi Jinping. China, in the midst of a long holiday, has yet to officially comment on the Supreme Court decision.

“We want to make sure that China is complying with its part of the deal,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News Sunday. “So that means they continue to buy the products they said they would buy.”

Canada and Mexico had also faced fentanyl-related levies, so they win out as those no longer apply. If exemptions under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement remain in place, they’ll emerge in a “very favorable position,” BE analysts Nicole Gorton-Caratelli, Chris Kennedy and Maeva Cousin wrote in a note.

The new 15% levy leaves countries with the earlier 10% rate worse off, with Australia and the U.K. in that position. Meantime, those that previously had what was then a competitive 15% level applied on their exports — such as Japan — have now seen that advantage stripped away.

Even as the court ruling adds a fresh layer of uncertainty, analysts are pointing to the resilience of global commerce over the past year and the relatively minor shift in the overall average tariff rate to suggest the near-term effects may prove limited.

Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. including David Mericle estimate that the combination of the Supreme Court ruling and the newly announced Sec. 122 tariff will reduce the increase in the effective tariff rate since the start of 2025 from just over 10 percentage points to 9 percentage points.

“Imports from countries that will experience meaningful tariff reductions from the latest policy changes are likely to pick up in coming months,” the economists wrote. “But the impact on GDP should be largely offset by increased inventory accumulation and consumption, reduced imports from other countries through which trade had been rerouted, and small reductions in imports from countries whose tariff rate has risen.”

____

(With assistance from Swati Pandey.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Gophers women’s basketball: Spartans get payback with win at Williams

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jalyn Brown had 20 points, Kennedy Blair scored 18 and No. 18 Michigan State put an end to No. 23 Minnesota’s nine-game winning streak with a 75-61 victory on Sunday night.

Gophers guard Brylee Glenn looks for a passing option during Sunday’s loss to Michigan State at Williams Arena. (Photo by Brady Paitrick)

Brown made 8 of 14 shots with two 3-pointers and both of her free throws for the Spartans (22-6 overall, 11-6 Big Ten). Blair made 6 of 9 shots and went 6 for 6 at the foul line, adding eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Freshman reserve Amy Terrian sank three 3-pointers and scored 11 for Michigan State. Grace VanSlooten had 10 points and six rebounds.

Tori McKinney made five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 29 for the Golden Gophers (21-7, 12-5). Amaya Battle totaled 11 points and seven rebounds. Sophie Hart pitched in with 10 points and nine rebounds.

McKinney hit two 3-pointers and scored eight by the end of the first quarter to help Minnesota build a 16-10 lead. McKinney had half of Minnesota’s 36 points by halftime and the Golden Gophers saw a 10-point lead shrink to two.

The Spartans trailed by eight after a McKinney 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but Terrian and Brown had 3-pointers in a 12-1 run over the final four minutes and Michigan State took a 58-49 lead into the final period. Minnesota got no closer than six over the final 10 minutes.

Michigan State shot 55.6% from the floor to Minnesota’s 33.3%. The Spartans bench outscored the Golden Gophers reserves 24-2.

Up next

Minnesota: At Illinois on Sunday in a regular-season finale.

Michigan State: Hosts No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday to close out the regular season.

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