Minnesota United at Houston Dynamo

When: 7:30 p.m. Central Time, Saturday

Where: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX

Stream: Apple TV – Free game

Radio: KSTP-AM 1500 ESPN

Weather: 87 degrees, dew point of 76 (miserably humid), 30% chance of rain

Betting line: Dynamo minus-150, draw plus-300, Loons plus-380

Series history: In mid-April, Minnesota controlled the game against Houston at Allianz Field, but the Dynamo walked away 2-1 winners. Prior to that game, the Loons had won seven consecutive games against Houston; Minnesota hasn’t lost away against the Dynamo since September 2020.

Form: Minnesota (8-9-5) extended its losing streak to a club-record six games with a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy last Sunday. Houston (8-7-6) had its game last weekend postponed due to Hurricane Beryl, but was on a six-game unbeaten run before losing at Real Salt Lake 10 days ago.

Storyline: Houston broke the bank to sign new forward Ezequiel Ponce from AEK Athens in Greece, a club-record fee that several news sources reported was in the range of $8 million. The Loons may be getting the Dynamo at the right time; Ponce can’t play until the transfer window opens on Thursday.

Quote: “I’m not going to give much air to the narrative that we only do the same thing week after week, because I think there are a lot of subtleties that really differ.” — Loons manager Eric Ramsay, explaining that his team isn’t wedded to playing with a simple back five on defense. The coach explained that even when his team defends with a back five, they often use their wingbacks such that they are attacking as if they were playing with four defenders, not five.

Absences: Dayne St. Clair and Tani Oluwaseyi (international duties) are out. DJ Taylor (hamstring), Wil Trapp (hamstring), Clint Irwin (groin), Moses Nyeman (ankle), and Hugo Bacharach (knee) are out.

Check-in: Michael Boxall was named to New Zealand’s Olympic team for the Paris Games this summer, and will depart following Minnesota’s home game on July 20th. According to the Loons captain, he wouldn’t have gone had Minnesota been playing MLS games during the tournament, rather than the Leagues Cup.

The captain has been to two previous Olympics with New Zealand, and says that the soccer teams get a different, less-enticing experience. “You’re not in the actual host city, you’re not really in the Olympic village, so you kind of miss out on that. You feel a little separated from it all,” said Boxall. New Zealand’s three group-stage games are in Marseille and Nice, which are 496 and 587 miles, respectively, from the Stade de France in Paris.

Projected XI: In a 5-2-3 formation, LW Bongokuhle Hlongwane, CF Teemu Pukki, RW Sang Bin Jeong; CM Robin Lod, CM Alejandro Bran; LWB Joseph Rosales, LCB Devin Padelford, CB Micky Tapias, RCB Michael Boxall, RWB Caden Clark; GK Alec Smir

Scouting report: Houston is signing Ponce in part because the Dynamo are having trouble scoring. Austin is the only team in the Western Conference with fewer than Houston’s 29 goals this season. The Loons, meanwhile, have allowed 16 goals in their six-game losing run, causing manager Eric Ramsay to say that his team needed to go “back to basics” defensively.

Prediction: Minnesota has been close to picking up points in several games during its losing streak, and the Loons finally pull it off in this one with a 1-1 draw.

Investigators believe a woman set up a man to be robbed at his St. Paul home and then served as a lookout in the area, according to a murder charge filed Friday.

Andrew Gutzman, 37, was found fatally shot in his South Como home the morning of July 5.

Andrew Gutzman (Courtesy of James Gutzman)

Gutzman’s ex-girlfriend told police she arrived at Gutzman’s home on Hatch Avenue near Chatsworth Street, and found him bloody on the floor. She ran outside and asked someone to call 911 because she didn’t have a cellphone. Officers were sent to the home about 7:30 a.m., and Gutzman was pronounced dead.

Investigators tracked Gutzman’s ex-girlfriend’s movements through surveillance video and eliminated her as a suspect.

They received Gutzman’s cellphone records and saw he received phone calls at 12:26 a.m., 12:54 a.m. and 12:58 a.m. on July 5 from a number associated with a woman, Sabrina Anne Martens, 27, of St. Paul.

Investigators determined that Martens advertised sexual services online and a phone number in the ad was the same one that Gutzman used to communicate with her on July 5, the criminal complaint said. Photos associated with the ad matched Martens.

On Wednesday, officers responded to Martens’ online posting and arrested her when she arrived. She wouldn’t talk to investigators about the text exchange that brought her to Gutzman’s home, “but she later said investigators knew her line of work,” according to the complaint.

Police asked Martens about a gun she’d reported stolen. She said she had a permit to carry, and she’d had people over to her apartment and a gun was stolen between May 30 and 31. She said it was the third gun stolen from her “because she surrounds herself with (expletive) up people,” the complaint continued.

Investigators showed Martens a photo of a purple Ford Fusion taken from surveillance video by Gutzman’s home and she said it was her car, but she said she had let a friend drive it. She wouldn’t give the friend’s name.

A cellphone analysis of Martens’ phone also showed it was in the area of Gutzman’s address between 1:09 a.m. and 1:43 a.m. on July 5.

Martens was booked into the Ramsey County jail, where phone calls are recorded. She talked to her brother, telling him, “I didn’t kill anybody.” When he asked what she was doing, she said, “I was just hitting some licks. I was just trying to get some money,” the complaint said of a recording. “Hitting licks” means committing robberies.

On Marten’s cell phone, investigators found a text conversation with another person between 1:15 a.m. and 1:42 a.m. on July 5. Martens texted, “His whole house is empty. He’s moving.” Soon after, Martens sent a text saying, he had “a lot of meth. I can run with that. But idk (I don’t know) about the weed,” the complaint continued.

At 1:32 a.m., Martens told the person she was texting with, “Start walking to the door he getting in the shower ima snatch and run.” Two minutes later, she said she was going to walk out and wrote, “just come in,” the complaint continued.

The complaint doesn’t indicate who shot Gutzman, and police said Friday their investigation continues.

An autopsy found Gutzman died from a distant gunshot wound to the head and neck.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Martens with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

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There is a moment early in the Netflix series “Receiver” that perfectly captures the essence of Vikings star Justin Jefferson.

Not long after suffering a hamstring injury during an early-season home game against the Kansas City Chiefs last fall, Jefferson is filmed in the driver’s seat of his Maybach SUV, the sun shining on his face as he navigates the back roads near TCO Performance Center in Eagan.

Not only does the clip offer a look into the early stages of the recovery process, it provides some insight into who he is at his core.

“No one in this game could ever tell me to not play or to tank the season or to do any of that other stuff because I’m not that type of person,” Jefferson said. “I want to play. I love the game of football. I want to be the best, so in order for that to happen I’ve got to be out there.”

Not once did Jefferson think about sitting out. Never mind what some talking heads were suggesting he should do with a lucrative contract extension looming. He made it his mission to get back as soon as possible, and eventually, he did, eclipsing 1,000 yards for the 2023 season despite playing in only 10 games.

A large portion of Jefferson’s story arch in the Netflix series is centered on him working his way back from the hamstring injury. You see the tenacity with which he approaches the toughest stretch of his career. He’s determined to get through it for his teammates, as well as for himself.

His journey throughout the recovery process is backdrop. Whenever he’s on the screen, however, Jefferson shows that he’s so much more than that.

There are hilarious moments. Like when he gushes about his alter ego “Jets” in front of a mirror while laying himself in jewelry. Or when he declares his love for candy during a tour of his house that would have been worthy of an MTV Cribs feature once upon a time.

There are endearing moments. Like when he teaches rookie receiver Jordan Addison some tricks of the trade on the sidelines. Or when he serves as the biggest cheerleader for franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins after he ruptures his Achilles tendon.

There are heartwarming moments. Like when he interacts with his parents John and Elaine, who he so clearly adores. Or when he talks about his older brothers Jordan and Rickey and how proud he is that they can live vicariously through him.

He’s just a good dude.

All of it leads up to Jefferson returning to the field in a Dec. 10 road game against the Las Vegas Raiders. His comeback is shortlived as he’s crushed while hauling in a pass over the middle. He’s seen coughing and spitting blood on the sidelines, and is rushed to the hospital via ambulance.

Many thought that would be enough for Jefferson to shut it down. Nope. Not a chance.

“I want to be out there competing and fighting every single play,” he said. “I’m going to push through it regardless and just try to suck it up.”

After finally catching his stride, Jefferson finished the final month with a combined 30 receptions for 476 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He capped that stretch with an exclamation point — 12 catches for 192 yards receiving and a touchdown in the season finale. He did everything in his power to will the Vikings into the playoffs and came up just short.

“The times that I was out there on that field making plays, I was pretty good,” Jefferson said. “The (team’s) record doesn’t say so, and that’s the frustrating part about it. Individually I did good and still the outcome is bad. It’s like, ‘What more can I do?’ ”

The fact that Jefferson is asking himself that question says everything that needs to be said about him. He’s the ultimate competitor, and the Vikings are lucky to have him.

The penultimate scene of the Netflix series “Receiver” is perfect. It shows Jefferson signing his historic 4-year, $140 million contract extension. He cheeses as he puts pen to paper on a deal that will effectively achieve generational wealth for him and his family.

It’s a fitting way to end it because Jefferson is worth every penny. The peek behind the curtain only reaffirmed that.

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