FORT MYERS, Fla. — The wall of Byron Buxton’s gym at home in his native Baxley, Ga., received a new decoration this winter: the results of the 2025 American League Most Valuable Player voting. They show Buxton in 11th place, just two points away from what would have been his first top-10 finish.

It may not be the most aesthetically-pleasing décor, but it serves an important purpose for Buxton.

“I was pissed. I ain’t going to lie to you,” the Twins’ center fielder said. “You surprised yourself a little bit and thought you put yourself in a good position, and you didn’t. It’s fire.”

As Buxton prepares for his 12th major league season in a Twins uniform, he’s not shying away from the fact that the results of the voting weren’t the only thing he wasn’t particularly happy with this offseason. He also did not enjoy seeing his name in trade rumors following a season during which he had pledged his loyalty publicly to the organization that drafted him.

“If you know me and you know who I am, I don’t like my name being blasted around all the time,” Buxton said. “So this offseason for me was a little different — peaceful, but different.”

At the beginning of the offseason, the direction the Twins were going to take wasn’t fully yet known. Asked in September if he expected starters Pablo López and Joe Ryan to be on the roster in 2026, then-president of business and baseball operations Derek Falvey said it was his “hope” three times, but that it required some “ongoing conversations with ownership.”

It wasn’t until December that Twins officials started to publicly declare that they planned to hang onto Buxton, López and Ryan and build around them rather than continue to tear apart the club, putting trade speculation to rest.

That is something it seems as if Buxton would have liked to have heard earlier.

“All it takes is for somebody at the top to go to the media (and say) ‘We’re not trading you,’ ” Buxton said. “Trade rumors stop. Now, we don’t have those conversations. That’s how simple this could get. … It’s different. It’s different.”

Now, in camp, that’s behind Buxton and the Twins.

Buxton met up in November with new manager Derek Shelton in Jacksonville, Fla., about two hours from Baxley, and Shelton communicated to him that he was part of the team’s plans. New executive chair Tom Pohlad also paid him a visit.

The center fielder spent the offseason at home training, with some travel sprinkled in. A trip to Disney World was among the highlights. Buxton, who described himself as “not a rollercoaster person,” went on a Little Mermaid-themed ride with his youngest son, Baire, while the rest of the family hit up the more high-speed rides like TRON Lightcycle.

Right after he returned home from Orlando, Fla., he received a call from Mark DeRosa, the manager of the United States’ World Baseball Classic team. He jumped at the chance to join the team.

“To be able to have that opportunity, to be able to put that jersey on, finally, is something special,” he said.

To get himself ready for it, he said he started preparing probably a month earlier than normal. He’ll be gone for much of camp — the tournament runs from March 5-17 but teams congregate earlier to train together and play exhibition games. But when he returns, he will yet again be the heart and soul of the Twins’ roster.

“It’s very important to me that he is a Minnesota Twin. As important, it’s important to him,” Shelton said. “He said it publicly prior to me being here. He said it publicly after I got here. … We want him to be a Minnesota Twin. He made a commitment to the organization, and the organization made a commitment to him.”

MILAN, Italy — Sweden women’s hockey coach Ulf Lundberg has plenty of confidence in the challenge ahead.

In outlining how fearless his young and talented group has performed in going 5-0 to reach the semifinals at the Milan Cortina Games, Lundberg made a bold suggestion in preparing to face the top-ranked and tournament-favored Americans on Monday.

“(The Americans) are just human beings,” Lundberg said immediately following a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Czechia on Friday. “It’s a fantastic challenge. And I don’t really think that the U.S. team wants to meet us right now.”

While anything is possible in a one-game knockout, the Swedes beating the U.S. would represent a significant upset.

As for Team USA’s response to Lundberg’s comment, coach John Wroblewski said he’s eager and ready to play whoever is next.

“We’re ready to play against anybody, and we’re excited to play anybody,” he said. “I think that the hunger and the gamesmanship of which they’ve shown to persevere through the relegation pool is admirable. And of course we respect that.”

Defending Olympic champion Canada will play Switzerland in the other semifinal, with the winners advancing to the gold medal game on Thursday.

The tournament’s semifinal matchups are the same as the 2014 Sochi Games, when Canada went on to defeat Switzerland and then claim gold on Marie-Philip Poulin’s overtime goal in a 3-2 win over the U.S.

What’s different this time is the dominance the United States has shown in a tournament beginning to resemble more of a coronation for the two-time gold medal winners.

The Americans have won five games by a combined margin of 26-1, including a 5-0 victory over rival Canada. And they haven’t allowed a goal since Barbora Jurickova scored on a breakaway 8:37 into second period in a 5-1 win over Czechia in both teams’ tournament opener on Feb. 5.

The Americans have shown no fear against anyone.

“We have one goal in mind, and that’s to bring home a gold medal,” defender Megan Keller said. “So whoever’s in our way, we’re going to focus on ourselves.”

Four years after Canada dominated in winning gold at Beijing, the U.S. has raised women’s hockey to another level with a multi-faceted attack that overwhelms opponents in waves and features a swift, playmaking group of defenders driving the offense.

The U.S. has four players in the tournament’s top 10 in points, with three of them defenders, including Caroline Harvey, who leads all players with nine points (2 goals, 7 assists).

Wroblewski’s biggest fear is overconfidence.

“There needs to be a lot of respect for the treachery and how fragile it is between success and not. You can’t take anything for granted,” he said. “It’s really good to have confidence, because confidence is earned. But we’ve got to make sure that these one-game sets, they’re volatile. … We’re nowhere near the end.”

The Swedes are on the rise under Lundberg and feature a young, brash, talented core that includes seven players still competing at the U.S. college ranks. Much like the U.S., Sweden won five games by a combined margin of 20-2, but had a comparatively easier schedule in the Group B bracket.

The team now has a chance to earn its third Olympic medal and first since winning silver in 2006, when Sweden upset the U.S. in the semifinals.

Lundberg’s confidence reflects that of his players, who’ve been instilled with the vision of being honey badgers.

“The honey badger is chasing lions and elephants and everyone away. And they are scared of the honey badger because he or she has a totally (fearless) mentality,” Lundberg said. “And so we need to have that (fearless) mentality, because in Sweden we’re a little laid back and humble. But in the game of hockey, you have to take the lead.”

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — If it seems like the Twins have been adding another reliever to the mix every day, well, that’s not too far off.

The Twins’ front office has spent the first few days of camp addressing holes in the bullpen, bringing in left-hander Anthony Banda in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Liam Hendriks, Julian Merryweather, Andrew Chafin and Cody Laweryson on minor-league deals with invites to major league spring training.

Notably, they’ve added a veteran presence to a group that at one point seemed as if it would skew much younger.

The 37-year-old Hendriks began his major league career in 2011. Chafin, 35, debuted in 2014,and Banda, 32, has spent parts of nine seasons in the majors. That’s in addition to Taylor Rogers, whom the Twins brought back in on a one-year deal in January.

“I love the fact that they’ve all pitched in big games and they’ve pitched in the ninth inning,” manager Derek Shelton said. “They pitched in high-leverage on really good teams, championship teams, World Series games.”

Both Hendriks and Rogers were all-star closers — Hendriks in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and Rogers in 2021 — and Banda, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers, has pitched in each of the last two World Series, giving the Twins valuable past experience to draw upon.

Though the recent additions are not guaranteed to make the team out of camp, having that type of major-league knowledge around is a value to the group as a whole and to the stable of young relievers the Twins have in major league camp.

“The fact that they’ve been there and young guys that are in (the) back end of the bullpen can ask them about situations or ask them about things that happened, there is no better coaching that will happen than player to player or peer to peer,” Shelton said. “When players coach themselves, it’s vital.”

For Banda, getting designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Feb. 6 was “a blindside,” the reliever said. As players began reporting to spring training, Banda was still sitting at home “getting antsy” as he waited to find out where he would end up. He wound up with the Twins after a trade for international bonus pool money.

“It was a roller coaster for sure,” he said. “But hey, new chapter, new opportunity.”

Opportunity is what the Twins’ bullpen has provided a number of relievers since last season’s trade deadline sell-off, and now, there are a bunch of veterans trying to make the most of that opportunity. And notably, some of those veterans, like Hendriks and Chafin, are known for having big personalities.

“I think that’s really important when you’re adding a different subset of personalities into a group,” Shelton said. “I think it’s good for our young players.”

Briefly

One reliever no longer in camp is Jackson Kowar, whom the Twins picked up as a waiver claim at the beginning of the month. Kowar was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Banda and then traded to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations. … All players have reported to camp and on Monday, the Twins will host their first full-squad workout.  … The Twins started live batting practice on Sunday. Starter Joe Ryan, who is headed to the World Baseball Classic later this spring, threw three ups. New first baseman Josh Bell hit a home run off Zebby Matthews.

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Abbey Murphy could have left the University of Minnesota last spring with a degree and a job waiting for her in the PWHL. Instead, she’s back with the Gophers chasing an elusive national title as a graduate student.

There were a lot of reasons for her decision, Murphy said during an interview with the Pioneer Press in January, the most important of which was the fact that she is happy — likes her teammates and coaches, likes being a student.

United States’ Abbey Murphy, right, checks Finland’s Julia Schalin during a preliminary round match of women’s ice hockey between the United States and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

“You’re only in college once,” she said. “I was lucky enough to have another year of eligibility; I was lucky to be able to make that decision.”

Recent changes in NCAA rules help, as well — Murphy has deals with athletic clothing business UNRL and vitamins and supplements company Metabolic Elite, according to her Instagram account — and, she said, there isn’t a better place than the UMN to get ready for the Olympics.

“Training staff and facilities at the U are incredible,” Murphy said. “I don’t think there’s anything out there and that comes close. College is just a very unique position now, all this stuff they’re allowing us to have. I feel really good here, especially with the training and coaching staff.”

Through preliminary play, Murphy, 23, had a goal and five assists heading into Monday’s semifinal matchup between Group A winner Team USA (5-0) and Group B winner Sweden (5-0), which features Gophers blue liner Josefin Bouveng. The winner of Monday’s games will advance to the gold medal game on Thursday; the loser will play for bronze, something the U.S. hasn’t done since 2006 in Torino.

Three of Murphy’s assists came in the Americans’ 5-0 rout of defending champion Canada and the U.S. went 4-0-0 in the annual rivalry series with Canada last fall after beating the Canadians in the IIHF world championship.

“I think our team is hot right now,” Murphy said before leaving for Italy. “And that’s a fun way to look at it.”

Murphy has been a Team USA staple as far back as her U18 days in Evergreen Park, Ill., and has won her share of gold medals, including IIHF championships in 2023 and 2025. In Murphy’s previous Olympics, 2002 in Beijing, the U.S. came home with silver after losing to Canada in the final.

Gophers forward Ella Huber, left, celebrates with teammates after a goal by Abbey Murphy (center) in Minnesota’s 3-2 NCAA regional victory over Colgate on March 15, 2025, at Ridder Arena (Brad Rempel / Gophers Athletics)

“I’ve learned a lot of things from playing in the Olympics and in college,” Murphy said. “I’m faster and stronger, things like that. My brain’s faster; I’m thinking the game on a higher level and it’s fun. I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to win and be productive.”

In 26 games with the Gophers this season, Murphy has 36 goals and 61 points and has tied Ohio State coach Nadine Muzzeral for the program goals record with 139.

Murphy, 23, is one of four Gophers in Italy — Bouveng, Nelli Laitinen (Finland) and Tereza Plosová (Czechia) are the others — and it hasn’t been easy for the U. In four games without them, the third-ranked Gophers are 1-3 with a victory over top-ranked Wisconsin.

“There is certainly a presence about Murph, right?” coach Brad Frost said after the Gophers’ split with Wisconsin. “There’s a confidence and a swagger; she’s earned that because she’s proven that she can do the things that she does.”

Murphy is joined by former teammates Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle on the U.S. roster. It’s Zumwinkle’s second Games, and Heise’s first. Both Heise and Zumwinkle are playing for the Frost in the PWHL, and Heise was the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner as the best college player in 2022.

But neither won a national title, something the Gophers haven’t managed since 2016. Murphy has one more chance when she and her teammates return from Italy for the stretch run.

“I’ve always wanted to win one. It’s always in the back of my mind,” she said. “But if we don’t in the end, I won’t regret it. I’ll be gone for a month, it’s a little bit weird, but I trust they’ll get the job done and we’re gonna come back to set it up for the (WCHA) playoffs. I’m really for it.”

In the meantime, it’s gold on Murphy’s mind. Her experience with this particular team — which includes Olympic veterans such as Lee Steclein, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Kelly Pannek — has been unparalleled, she said.

“We have a coach (John Wroblewski) we trust. Every little thing he does is for a reason, and this team was put together for a reason,” Murphy said before leaving for Italy. “It’s our job to put our heads down and work. It’s been an absolute blast, a heck of a ride.

“We’ve been here for a common goal, and that was to get ready for the three training camps and the rivalry series. We had a job to do, and these games have been incredible. You play with whoever and adapt. These are the best players in the world. It’s quite incredible. We’re really confident in where we stand, and we’re not really satisfied at all.”

ON A ROLL

The U.S. women have outscored their Olympic opponents 26-1 so far. Here is how they won Group A and earned a spot in Monday’s semifinal against Sweden:

United States 5, Czechia 1

United States 5, Finland 0

United States 5, Switzerland 0

United States 5, Canada 0

United States 6, Italy 0

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