Amaya Battle is a meat-and-potatoes basketball player. The Gophers’ senior guard can fill up the stat sheet in a variety of ways — points, rebounds, assists and on the defensive end.

Off the court, the Hopkins High School grauate has fine-tuned reverse searing a ribeye steak to get optimal pinkness, and will pair that protein with a choice of starch and vegetable at one of her regular “steak night” dinners with teammates.

“Potatoes can come different ways like French fries, mashed potatoes, copped breakfast potatoes,” said teammate Tori McKinney. “That’s like Maya. She can do anything, whatever you’re needing, whatever you’re craving.”

Minnesota guard Amaya Battle (3) brings the ball into the offensive zone against Wisconsin forward Kyrah Daniels during the Gophers’ 83-60 victory Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. (Meghan Bielich/Gophers Athletics)

Battle and U legend Rachel Banham are the only two players in program history to register more than 1,000 career points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists. And Battle is the only active NCAA women’s player to eclipse 1,000 points, 700 boards and 500 assists. Her four-year career and the Gophers’ current season are coming to a crescendo.

With Battle as a team leader, Minnesota has won eight straight games and is ranked 23rd in this week’s Associated Press poll. The U have two tough Big Ten tests at Williams Arena this week: No. 10 Ohio State at 7 p.m. Wednesday and No. 18 Michigan State at 5 p.m. Sunday.

“Amaya has meant a great, great deal to our program,” third-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said last week. “She is someone that we rely on in so many different ways.”

Battle was one-fourth of the Gophers’ 10th-ranked national recruiting class in 2022. A year later, head coach Lindsay Whalen was let go while classmates Niamya Holloway had a freshman season ruined by a knee injury, Mara Braun had the next two seasons undercut by foot injuries, and Mallory Heyer transferred to Oregon before this year.

“A lot of ups and downs, a lot of change,” Battle said. “But, I mean, we’re still here and we’re at a good spot.”

Battle has been a reliable constant with a team-high 128 games played and has helped prime Minnesota for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018.

“You just kind of learn how quickly things can change and just not go your way, and just being able to take every moment and being in the precious present,” Battle said.

Gophers players endearingly call Plitzuweit by the nickname “Dawny P,” and one of her principles is to stay in the “precious present.”

Gophers point guard Amaya Battle dribbles the ball during Minnesota’s game against USC at Williams Arena on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 (Brady Paitrick / Gophers Athletics)

“That’s probably my favorite lesson, biggest takeaway I’ve taken from Dawny P and playing with her for these past three years,” Battle said. “It’s something that’s really impacted me, and I’ll definitely carry that with me for the rest of my life.”

Battle used that concept in a lighthearted way during the Gophers’ 91-85 win over then-No. 10 Iowa on Feb. 5.

“It was obviously a very intense game, but she just lightened up the mood by being herself,” McKinney said. “She was like, ‘Guys, I’m just having so much fun out here right now.’ We were like, ‘Wait, so are we.’ (But) we were still very locked in.”

Battle also pulls tips from her older brother, Jamison Battle, who went from George Washington to the Gophers to Ohio State and now plays with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. The DeLaSalle alum is averaging 3.1 points in 8.5 minutes across 39 of the Raptors’ 55 games this season.

“He’s in the league; he’s made it to the highest of highs, so he must know something,” Amaya joked. “… He’s always just a pretty calm and consistent player, so (I’m) just trying to take that from him, as well.”

Those steak dinners started randomly last year. Roommate Taylor Woodson is a regular, so is McKinney. Grace Grocholski and Mara Braun come from time to time. Annika Stewart was part of last year’s group until she graduated.

The cooking of the steaks has evolved to the reverse-sear method; that starts in a low-temp oven and ends in the stovetop pan. It is now served with garlic butter, a type of potato and a veggie side. Battle really likes zucchini, but it could be asparagus or something else.

“It’s pretty basic, but we hit all that we need,” Battle said.

McKinney thinks that undersells it. “It’s gotten so good,” she said.

The same can be said about Battle’s contributions on the court.

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By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ

MILAN (AP) — A 15th-century statue that once stood outside Milan’s iconic Duomo has found a new home.

The Bearded Saint with Book was recently restored under the “Adopt a Statue” program, launched in 2020 by the centuries-old institution that oversees the cathedral’s conservation. As of Feb. 13, it is on display at Piazzale Cadorna, behind a glass window at the headquarters of FNM, a Lombardy-based transport company.

People walk near the “Bearded Saint with Book” at Milan’s Cadorna station at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

The program recruits donors — either companies or individuals — to fund restoration of a statue under a loan agreement that allows it to occasionally be displayed outside the Duomo.

“The uniqueness of this project is that statues that would otherwise remain in our deposits are restored and brought back to their original beauty,” the program’s project manager, Elisa Mantia, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “In that way, they can continue to tell the story of the Duomo even in places that are far from the monument.”

The “Bearded Saint with Book” is pictured at Milan’s Cadorna station at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

These agreements are in some cases granted for an initial one-year term and may be renewed. The initiative follows previous fundraising campaigns in which donors could adopt gargoyles or spires in exchange for inclusion in the Duomo’s donor register, where contributors’ names are recorded as part of the cathedral’s long history of support.

From storage to public display

The construction of the Duomo began in 1386, under the rule of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then lord of Milan, in collaboration with the city’s archbishop. The cathedral was built on the site of two preexisting basilicas and its completion took more than five centuries. One of its bronze doors was not installed until 1965.

Because construction spanned centuries, the Duomo’s statues were carved by artists from different regions and periods, resulting in a monument that reads as a timeline of evolving artistic styles.

The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, which oversees the cathedral’s conservation, has sought funding to restore statues removed over the centuries for maintenance or safety reasons.

“Culture can save the world,” Andrea Gibelli, president of FNM, said during a news conference on Feb. 13 to mark the unveiling of Bearded Saint with Book. “We want to spread the cultural riches we are fortunate to have, which are often overlooked or not fully appreciated.”

A view of Milan’s Duomo cathedral at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Other sculptures adopted under the program by different sponsors have included a 16th-century David, a depiction of Samson and the Lion, and a statue of Saint Matthew the Apostle.

While the number of adopted statues isn’t disclosed and not all are displayed in public spaces, Mantia said that her institution has preselected around 30 sculptures as eligible for restoration. Each case must be authorized by Italy’s cultural heritage authorities, as the process involves a formal loan agreement subject to conservation, insurance and transport regulations.

A view of Milan’s Duomo cathedral at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

“We usually select them because they are very beautiful and not so damaged that they would be unsafe to loan,” Mantia said.

Once a donor reaches out, experts like Mantia accompany them to the Duomo’s storage facilities to choose a sculpture. After it is selected, restoration typically takes between one and three months.

Centuries-old marble

Bearded Saint with a Book was originally displayed outdoors. Aside from a black crust from air pollution on its surface, it had no structural damages preventing its loan.

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“This often involves only surface finishing or an intervention with compresses or mechanical cleaning,” Mantia said.

The marble used for both the statues and the Duomo itself comes from the quarries of Candoglia in Italy’s Piedmont region. The same stone has been used since the late 14th century, under the supervision of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo.

“Beyond being the symbol of Milan, the Duomo is also a symbol of its history,” Mantia said. “It is a monument that grew together with the city, that tells within itself, in its statues and in the style with which it is decorated, the entire history of the city.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Years ago, I taught English as a Second Language at a pair of schools in Southern California that drew learners from around the world. The students were an absolute joy, enthusiastic about being in America and eager to learn all about our ways (and, especially if they were young men, maybe pick up a cool curse word or two they might not already be familiar with).

As one of the first Americans they got to know, I always felt a responsibility to be a good ambassador, aware that some of them would only be here for a short time and then go home to share their experiences with family and friends.

So I tried to be available to answer questions before or after class on a range of subjects, both linguistic and cultural, striving to be a welcoming host and an accurate provider of information. (Though I’ll admit one time, while stuck in LA traffic with a bus full of disappointed kids whose trip had provided no glamorous Hollywood experiences, I may have tried to boost morale by pointing out a bunch of incredible sites — Marilyn Monroe’s house! Steven Spielberg’s favorite restaurant! Eddie Murphy’s podiatrist! — we miraculously happened to be passing by … though how accurate these locations were I’ll leave to your imagination.)

Anyway, during my lunch breaks, I’d wander outside to a quiet spot to read before heading back to class. And for one seemingly endless stretch of weeks, I worked my way through the just-published “Infinite Jest,” David Foster Wallace’s 1,079-page behemoth.

Every day, I’d take the huge book, whose cover was decorated with fluffy clouds floating in a powder-blue sky, and pore over it, flipping back and forth from the main text to the 388 endnotes at the back (Pro tip: You need two bookmarks to read it), in hopes of finishing it before I retired.

One day, as I came back inside, a student stopped me, clearly moved by something.  I was, he told me seriously, a good person.

Figuring this was a prank — there were some hilarious kids, among them — I brushed it off with a joke.

No, I’m serious, the student told me. We see you out with your book, thinking and studying. Every day, you go out and read your bible. So good.

Yes, I go out and …wait, what?

Then I understood: the blue sky, the fluffy clouds, the sheer heft. All those weeks of me inside the book’s dense pages, they’d thought I’d been studying the Bible.

I’d spent 12 years in parochial school, so you’d think I would have made the connection sooner. But to be fair, the King James edition is actually shorter (at least in some editions).

I was sorry to burst his biblical bubble, but I think some of the kids now felt more at ease coming to me with their questions about profanity and its proper usage.

Thirty years later, “Infinite Jest” has become something of a holy text to some, as well as a range of other things to others: a late 20th-century classic; a misogynistic signifier of toxic masculinity; or a novel whose legacy and reputation have been tainted by reports of abusive, controlling behavior toward women by its author, who died by suicide in 2008.

In a new introduction to the anniversary edition, Michelle Zauner, bestselling author of “Crying in H Mart” and the singer and songwriter of Japanese Breakfast, doesn’t shy away from its complicated legacy, as well as why she might have been chosen to write the new introduction.

“I’m sure Little, Brown was aware of the slight incongruity of their selection, and perhaps hoped I might assist in assuaging the unfair, outsize connotations of what it means to be a David Foster Wallace reader, which, at its worst, has come to signify misogyny, and at its best, someone who’s just slightly annoying.”

Sally Kim, the president and publisher of Little, Brown and Company, had this to say to us about the book, via email:

“We deem books ‘classics’ for various reasons, but ‘Infinite Jest’ endures because it’s so singular, it didn’t abide by the rules of its time, and it’s as living and breathing now, and ever evolving, as it was when it was first published,” she said. “What a joy and privilege to watch so many readers continue to engage so fully with the book, 30 years later, and for it to continue to be a tremendous part of Little, Brown’s publishing program.”

SEE ALSO: 27 independent press books to add to your 2026 TBR list

While declining to respond to a question about Wallace’s personal behavior or the book’s perceived popularity among a certain type of toxic male, Little, Brown did connect me with someone who’d played a role in the book’s genesis.

Michael Pietsch edited “Infinite Jest,” which, when you consider all that text and all those endnotes, seems nearly as gargantuan a feat as writing it. Pietsch responded to my questions about the book via email.

Q. Other good books came out 30 years ago, but not all of them have had the staying power of this novel: Why are we still talking about “Infinite Jest” now?

Excellent books are published every year, but only a tiny few are part of popular discussion three decades later. “Infinite Jest” is one of those rare books because it addresses a giant and timeless question: how can we deal with the pain life brings to each of us and the loneliness of being human. It’s a book that delivers huge emotions and big ideas, in an enormously entertaining form, that makes people want to talk about what they’ve experienced in reading it.

And it was extraordinarily prescient! In writing about some of the main ways people escape pain—through entertainment, alcohol, drugs—it conjured a world very much like today’s. It has a U.S. that has annexed Canada and Mexico, with environmental toxicity and drug addiction run rampant, an entertainer President, and a video entertainment so endlessly compelling that people never look away from their screens. Opioids, Trump, TikTok, more …

Q. Its size and density were a source of discussion 30 years ago when I read it, but our attention spans have been eroded over the ensuing decades: How has that altered how we read and see the book?

The current media environment makes books like “Infinite Jest” more valuable than ever, a kind of necessary alternative. They are immersive, enormous, and deep, a one-to-one mental communion between the reader and the writer that becomes a huge part of who you are.

Q. Do you have any particular favorite moments from the book? 

Hundreds! Today I remember one character’s litany of “exotic little facts” learned at Boston AA, including “That sometimes human beings have to just sit in one place and, like, hurt. That you will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do. That there is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness. “

Also, I remember laughing uncontrollably the first time I read a scene in a halfway house where raw-nerved, newly sober addicts bring complaints about their fellow residents to the house supervisor. The complaints magnify all the kinds of minuscule human horrors that they’ve spent years evading and now have to learn how to deal with. Re-reading it makes me laugh every time. Page 176, check it out.

Q. What do you hope readers will take away from the book now?

That there are ways of getting outside yourself that enrich you rather than depleting you. Connecting with other people, hard though it can be, is the best. And reading a great novel is another. = )

MILAN — Marie-Philip Poulin won’t dispute how good the Americans have looked in romping through the women’s hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Games. And Canada’s captain will readily acknowledge her team has yet to come close to playing its best.

What matters to Poulin is an opportunity to play in a one-game showdown with the gold medal on the line on Thursday.

United States’ Abbey Murphy (37) celebrates after scoring a goal against Sweden during the second period of a women’s ice hockey semifinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

“Obviously, we know they’re a talented team, a skilled team. They’ve had a lot of success this year, obviously against us, and we’re all aware of that,” Poulin said. “For us as a group, it’s going to be all about us, all about our heart and everything we’re going to put on that ice.”

The U.S. and Canada will face off for Olympic gold for a seventh time since women’s hockey debuted at the 1998 Nagano Games in a rivalry between the sport’s two global powers that never gets old.

And this time, the Americans are the favorites.

The U.S. clinched its berth with a 5-0 win over Sweden in semifinal play on Monday. And the defending champion Canadians followed with Poulin scoring twice to set the Olympic career goal record in a too-close-for-comfort 2-1 victory over Switzerland.

For the Americans, it didn’t matter who they faced in a tournament they have dominated by going 6-0 and outscoring their opponents by a combined margin of 31-1.

“We’ve played them quite a few times, so obviously, won’t be surprised,” Olympics veteran and Roseville graduate Lee Stecklein said. “Whoever we face, we’ve got to be ready for that challenge.”

Goalie Aerin Frankel stopped 21 shots for her third shutout of the tournament, and the Americans blew the game open with Gophers wing Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hayley Scamurra scoring on consecutive shots over a 2:47 span late in the second period. Cayla Barnes opened the scoring. Taylor Heise, a former Gophers star from Lake City, also scored.

The U.S. has yet to trail or be tied after 0-0 and is in position to become the third women’s team to do so over the entire tournament, joining Canada in 2006 and 2010. The Americans also extended their shutout streak to 331 minutes, 23 seconds, going back to Czechia’s Barbora Jurickova beating Frankel on a breakaway in the second period of a tournament-opening 5-1 win.

“I think we’re looking incredible. The whole tournament we’ve really been consistent,” Scamurra said. “I don’t even think we’re at the peak, but I think our peak is getting that gold medal in hand for sure.”

The Canadians’ performance has been left open to questions and concerns.

Aside from eking out a win over Switzerland, the defending Olympic champions dropped a 5-0 decision to the U.S. in the preliminary round — an outing Poulin missed because of a right knee injury.

The outcome marked the first time Canada has been shut out, and was its most lopsided loss in Olympic play. The Americans also hold the edge by having won seven straight dating to beating Canada twice at the world championships in April.

“I personally love the underdog mentality,” Canadian defender Renata Fast said.

United States’ Taylor Heise (27) celebrates after scoring her side’s second goal during a women’s ice hockey semifinal game between the United States and Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

“There’s been a lot of noise on the outside, but there has been tons of belief in the locker room and we’ve gone through a ton of adversity this year,” she added. “This is the moment we have been fighting for, to play for gold. And no better matchup than to play Team USA. I’m so excited, and excited to see the fight that this group brings.”

Against Switzerland, Poulin opened the scoring 1:49 into the second period by skipping a shot from between the circles that bounced and banked in off goalie Andrea Braendli’s stick. She made it 2-0 some 6 minutes later by converting a rebound.

Poulin now has 20 career Olympics goals and broke the record of 18 held by former teammate and Hockey Hall of Famer Hayley Wickenheiser.

Now it’s on to the gold medal game with U.S. seeking its third title after winning in 1998 and 2018. The Canadians are looking for their sixth.

“Nothing matters. It’s the gold medal game,” Heise said of a potential rematch against Canada. “Obviously, I’m going to say we’ve done great and we’ve had great success. You want to take that confidence and motivation, but you want to move forward. We’re going to look for us and we’re going do what we need to do on Thursday and hopefully come out on top.”

It could very well be the last meeting between the two teams’ long-time stars, five-time Olympians Poulin, nicknamed “Captain Clutch,” and U.S. captain Hilary Knight, who already has announced these will be her final Games.

Sweden and Switzerland will play for bronze in a rematch of their meeting at the 2014 Sochi Games. Switzerland won 4-3 to win its first and only women’s hockey medal. The Swedes are seek their third Olympic medal, and first since winning silver at the 2006 Turin Games after upsetting the U.S. in the semifinals.

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