After signing a massive contract extension last summer that made among the highest paid players in the NFL, Justin Jefferson was voted a team captain by his teammates on the Vikings.

What did the standout receiver learn about himself stepping into that position?

“That I actually can do it,” Jefferson said with a smile on Monday afternoon at TCO Performance Center. “I had to learn to be vocal and know that I have some type of influence on this team.”

That influence has been on display this spring as Jefferson has been an active participant in organized team activities. Though the Vikings actually made it a point to ask him to be in attendance, Jefferson said he was always planning to be at the voluntary workouts.

“To build that connection with my teammates,” Jefferson said. “Especially with my quarterback.”

The fact that Jefferson has already started to familiarize himself with new starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy bodes well for the Vikings moving forward.

Not only does it help Jefferson learn what to expect whenever the ball is in the air, maybe more important, it helps McCarthy understand how much he can rely on his best weapon whenever he drops back to pass.

Just throw it up anywhere,” Jefferson said with another smile. “I’m going to go get it.”

That’s a common refrain Jefferson has used throughout his tenure, regardless of it’s been former franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins, journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold, or McCarthy taking snaps under center.

“It really doesn’t matter who’s throwing the ball,” Jefferson said. “As soon as the ball gets close to my face, I’m going to try to catch it.”

What’s the biggest thing he has learned about McCarthy so far?

“He definitely has an arm,” Jefferson said. “He can definitely zip it whenever he needs to.”

What’s the biggest thing Jefferson wants McCarthy to learn about him?

“The difference between me and another receiver is what I put on the top of my routes,” Jefferson said. “Just the flavor I have and the stride length that I have.”

There are certain routes, for example, that Jefferson might break off at a different depth than some of his peers

“All of that goes into it,” Jefferson said. “So the more we’re out here having those reps, the better we’re going to be.”

That’s why it was important for Jefferson to be an active participant in organized team activities.

“Just being here makes a difference,” Jefferson said. “It feels great to be around the team earlier than normal and carrying on that leadership role.”

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) takes part in drills during an NFL football team practice Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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With the Walter Cup staying in Minnesota for the second consecutive year, cries of “Break up the Frost!” surely have echoed throughout the PWHL in recent days.

And while that was not the league’s intention when it announced the addition of new teams in Seattle and Vancouver next season, it will be one of the results that come from the PWHL expansion draft, which will be held next Monday.

The original six teams are allowed to protect three players who are under contract for next season. Each teams will lose four players. The expansion teams also will have an exclusive window to negotiate with free agents on Wednesday through Saturday.

The six teams submitted their lists on Monday, and the lists will be made public on Tuesday.

“When they announced that teams can only protect three and they are going to lose four, our mouths dropped, because that’s a lot,” Frost coach Ken Klee said.

Teams have no choice but to role with the (gut) punches.

“We know we are going to lose four great players, and so is everyone else,” Klee said. “We have no idea how these new franchises are going to put together their team. Afterward, we’re going to look at what we lost, we’re going to have to add through the draft and maybe add through free agency.

“And promote from within; maybe some of our players can have a bigger role than they had this year.”

The Frost have 11 players under contract for next season. Taylor Heise surely will be protected, leaving Klee and general manager Melissa Caruso to choose two more among the likes of defensemen Lee Stecklein, Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson and forwards Grace Zumwinkle, Britta Curl-Salemme, Kelly Pannek and Kendall Coyne Schofield.

As for their goaltenders, Nicole Hensley is under contract for next season and Maddie Rooney is a free agent. There would appear to be a good chance that Rooney will sign a new deal with the Frost, which means at least one of them is a good bet to remain in Minnesota.

The Frost — as well as the other five original teams — will have to find a balance of protecting young players while also remaining competitive in the short term.

“The situation we are in with the league right is that there could be more expansion,” Caruso said. “So it’s almost like we are planning for very short periods of time right now, knowing that we are going to be experiencing change again in the next couple of years.

“We have some players who are toward the end of their careers and some who are just getting started. We’ll be approaching finding the best mix of those groups that will allow us to succeed next season.”

With a look toward next season, Caruso said that the team would add more of a physical presence, which suggests that the rugged Curl-Salemme is someone the Frost would like to hold onto. Do they protect her over Zumwinkle?

Do they protect the veteran Stecklein over Thompson, who excelled in her first season?

“Anything can happen,” Stecklein said, “and I don’t think there is a wrong choice. Its’ so crazy to picture losing anybody. It will be a crazy time, but no matter what I am so lucky to have had these two years with the Frost.

“I would love to have more, but if it’s out west for me, that’s a great experience.”

Coyne Schofield, the team captain, led the Frost in goals (12) and points (24), but she’s 33 years old. She’s committed to play next season, and will know soon where that will be.

“I’ve been doing this long enough to know that you can only control what you can control,” Coyne Schofield said, “and not letting things that I can’t control bother me. Everyone’s a little bit stressed about what’s to come, whether it’s how it’s going to impact you, how it is going to impact your friend, how it is going to impact your team.”

A St. Paul man who threw a fatal punch outside an East Side bar following a birthday celebration was sentenced Monday to nearly a year in the workhouse and five years of probation.

Pheng Vang, 39, had pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to the sole count of first-degree manslaughter for throwing a single punch that killed Peter Nguyen, 38, outside the Far East Bar & Restaurant in the Payne-Phalen area on March 23, 2024.

Peter Nguyen, 30, of Coon Rapids, died March 23, 2024, after being found unresponsive on a sidewalk in the area of Arcade Street and Case Avenue. (Courtesy of GoFundMe)

Nguyen, of Coon Rapids, was found unresponsive on the sidewalk outside the bar at Arcade Street and Case Avenue just before 1 a.m. He died soon at Regions Hospital of a head injury.

Vang reached an agreement with the prosecution in March that included the 360-day sentence. His attorney, however, argued in court Monday that he should serve the time under house arrest.

“To put it bluntly,” Judge Edward Sheu said in handing down the sentence, “I don’t know how you can kill someone and not spend some time in jail.”

An 8½-year prison sentence was stayed as part of the plea agreement, which includes that Vang complete 100 hours of community service. The state and defense agreed Monday on the length of his supervised probation.

With Vang’s 16 days of custody credit, Sheu noted, and the state’s rule where offenders serve two-thirds of a sentence in custody, Vang will be in the workhouse for about 7½ months.

‘Terrible choice’

According to the criminal complaint, a witness told police that Nguyen “had some kind of issue with people who had been attending a birthday party at the bar” and was “squaring up to fight” with a man outside.

The witness said that another man, later identified as Vang, came up along the side of the man Nguyen was going to fight and struck Nguyen with his fist, causing Nguyen to fall to the ground.

Vang then left the area.

“He made the decision to sucker punch someone who wasn’t even looking at him,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Maureen Cleary said Monday in arguing against electronic home monitoring. “And, after that, he left immediately.”

Pheng Vang (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Vang was arrested 12 days after Nguyen’s killing. He told police in an interview he was starting to leave the bar when “an argument began to escalate” on the corner and that he walked up to defuse the situation. He said he punched Nguyen when Nguyen reached down to pick up a shot glass.

Vang’s attorney, Heather Sia of the St. Paul nonprofit Neighborhood Justice Center, said Monday in court that Nguyen was an aggressor and had “squared up” to engage in a fistfight with Colin Vue, Vang’s cousin, in the middle of the street. She said Vang acted in the defense of his cousin.

In her presentencing memo to the judge, Sia wrote that Nguyen had become intoxicated throughout the night resulting in a blood alcohol level of 0.17. She said he also had cocaine in his system.

“(Vang) wasn’t out there inciting people to fight,” Sia said. “He was actually out there trying to stop it. He made a terrible choice in the way that he tried to stop it.”

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Vang is known by his family and friends as a protector and peacemaker, Sia said. She noted how in 2013, Vang, at age 27, was seriously injured while fighting off a man who had stabbed, beaten and choked Vang’s girlfriend. The attacker was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Prosecutor Cleary acknowledged in court the defense’s claim of Vang being a peacemaker, that he tried to de-escalate the situation outside the bar.

“Peacemakers do not throw punches,” Cleary said. “And while what happened that night was tragic and unforeseen … he did intend on punching him. He did intend on getting involved. He did make those choices. And those choices cost Peter his life.”

By MARTHA BELLISLE

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction to stop Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from killing a collective bargaining agreement for Transportation Safety Administration workers.

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U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman of Seattle said in her order that an injunction is needed to preserve the rights and benefits that TSA workers have enjoyed for years while being represented by the American Federation of Government Employees.

In their lawsuit, Pechman said, the union has shown that Noem’s directive to end the agreement “constitutes impermissible retaliation against it for its unwillingness to acquiesce to the Trump Administration’s assault on federal workers.” It also likely violated due process and AFGE is likely to succeed in showing that Noem’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” she added.

“Today’s court decision is a crucial victory for federal workers and the rule of law,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a release. “The preliminary injunction underscores the unconstitutional nature of DHS’s attack on TSA officers’ First Amendment rights. We remain committed to ensuring our members’ rights and dignity are protected, and we will not back down from defending our members’ rights against unlawful union busting.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kipnis declined to comment on the judge’s ruling, according to Emily Langlie, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office.

AFGE had entered into a new, seven-year collective bargaining agreement with agency last May, but Noem issued a memo Feb. 27 rescinding that agreement. One week later, TSA informed the union about Noem’s directive, saying the contract was terminated and all pending grievances would be deleted.

AFGE filed a lawsuit against Noem, claiming the move was retaliation against the union for pushing back against the Trump administration’s attacks on federal workers. AFGE had filed a separate lawsuit Feb. 19 against the Office of Personnel Management to stop the firing of probationary workers. A judge issued a temporary restraining order Feb. 27 stopping the firings — the same day Noem issued her memo.

Abigail Carter, representing AFGE during oral arguments before Pechman on May 27, said Noem’s move was retaliation and a violation of the union’s First Amendment right to protected speech and its Fifth Amendment right to due process.

“The administration has made it clear that if you don’t disagree with it politically, you and your members can keep your rights, but if you do disagree, you lose them,” Carter said. She also argued that the collective bargaining agreement was necessary because TSA workers are not covered under the federal labor-management code. The agreement protects them from dangerous working conditions and unreasonable hours.

Kipnis denied the retaliation claim and said it was simply a difference in management styles.

Pechman questioned that contention. Not all unions are banned by the administration, Pechman said, only the ones oppose the administration.

“Isn’t this a pattern that you see?” Pechman asked Kipnis. “Attorneys who take opposition stances get banned. Those who don’t, don’t have those restrictions. Isn’t this the pattern that the White House has set up?”

Kipnis said tension between unions and management are common and this conflict doesn’t signal a violation of the workers’ First Amendment rights, but instead reflects a confrontational relationship.

But Pechman wasn’t convinced.

Previous TSA managers have found unions to be beneficial and renewed their contracts for years, she said. They found they made a happier workforce, and “they wanted their employees to feel that they were well-treated,” she said. What has changed is this administration’s attitude, she said.

To that, Kipnis replied: “Or you could characterize it as a different management style. The former administration apparently saw that as a better way to do business. … But this administration sees a different way of doing business. And the same statute affords them the same amount of discretion.”

Pechman said she understood that the administration has the right to exercise that discretion, “but to abruptly cancel doesn’t seem well reasoned, so I’m having trouble with that.” She also noted, “But why the United States gets to back out of contracts that it’s made is harder to accept.”

In Monday’s order, Pechman said TSA workers would suffer “irreparable harm” without the injunction, noting that if they lose their collective bargaining agreement, they will lose the benefits it provides.

“While the loss of money alone does not show irreparable harm, the total harms here are more than monetary,” Pechman said. “They include the loss of substantive employment protections, avenues of grievance and arbitration, and the right to have a workforce that can unite to demand benefits that might not be obtainable through individual negotiation.”