J.J. McCarthy certainly looks the part of a franchise quarterback. That much was apparent on Friday afternoon as McCarthy took the practice field at TCO Performance Center for the first time with the Vikings.

Not only did McCarthy look every bit of his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame, he showcased his arm talent, effortlessly zipping the ball around to his teammates.

Any nerves?

“I was more anxious than anything,” McCarthy said. “You’re just waiting so long to get back to real football.”

It helps that McCarthy has been tirelessly preparing for this moment. As soon as the Vikings selected him with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, he dove headfirst into the playbook in an effort to learn as much as he could. He also met with different members of the coaching staff over Zoom to go over everything before he arrived back in town.

That gave McCarthy a leg up on the first day of rookie minicamp.

“It didn’t feel like my first day,” McCarthy said. “I’ve been going over the offense for a long time.”

As much as McCarthy has made a concerted effort to learn the offense over the past few weeks, he also had some pre-existing knowledge going back to his formal interview with head coach Kevin O’Connell at the NFL Combine, as well as his private workout with the Vikings on his college campus in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“We spent a lot of time together predraft, and a real benefit of that is, in a lot of ways, a lot of things we’re talking about he’s not hearing for the first time,” O’Connell said. “That’s what I liked so much about the part of the process we went through predraft.”

There were still some highs and lows from McCarthy. He looked comfortable for the most part and made a handful of throws that even a seasoned veteran would’ve been proud of. He also threw an interception during the 7-on-7 portion that ended up being returned for a touchdown.

“I felt like I could fit it in there and force it,” McCarthy said. “At this level, they’re a lot faster, a lot longer. It’s great to learn now before the veterans get here. Hopefully won’t be in that situation anytime soon.”

Maybe the most important thing for McCarthy in the short term is continuing to give himself grace. He has a tendency of trying to learn everything all at once. He knows that isn’t in his best interest.

“I’ve fell victim to the paralysis by over analysis before,” McCarthy said. “I’m taking it slow incrementally, and they’re doing a great job of making sure that process is going as smoothly as possible.”

There will undoubtedly be some teaching points that O’Connell impresses upon McCarthy this weekend. That comes with the territory. That said, O’Connell noted that his main goal is making sure McCarthy is ready when the veterans return next week.

“He’s a process driven guy,” O’Connell said. “He understands that there’s a long road ahead of him. We’re just trying to make incremental gains that will be solidified as part of how he plays quarterback for a long time. I’ve been really impressed with him so far.”

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TORONTO — Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson insist that this weekend is business as usual as they square off against the organization that traded them as minor leaguers to Minnesota.

But it’s also a full circle moment, of sorts, for the two rookies, who came over together in a deadline-day trade for starter José Berríos in 2021.

These days, Berríos is thriving in Toronto — he has a 2.85 earned-run average and was recently named April’s American League Pitcher of the Month  — and Martin and Woods Richardson are establishing themselves as big leaguers.

“We’re really driven and focus on just getting better,” Martin said. “The goal, I would say for both of us, was never just to make it to the big leagues but to be there and be productive players and be able to produce and help this team win games. That’s the most important thing for us, and that’s the same approach we’re going to take coming into this weekend.”

Martin was drafted fifth overall by the Blue Jays in 2020, and Woods Richardson landed in Toronto in 2019 as part of a trade with the New York Mets in which pitcher Marcus Stroman went back to New York.

Though both were highly-regarded prospects at the time of the trade, it wasn’t a given they would both be producing for the Twins by now. Both endured their struggles in the minor leagues, and neither broke camp with Minnesota.

Martin was limited by injuries in each of the past two seasons, and some swing and approach tweaks the Twins made with him in 2022 to try to generate more power led to a dip in his production. A shortstop initially when he was drafted, Martin has settled in as a utilityman, playing mostly the outfield.

Woods Richardson finished last season in Triple-A with an earned-run average near 5.00, but some mechanical changes with his arm slot have helped boost his velocity, and he has stepped admirably into the spot in the rotation previously occupied by Louie Varland.

“They’re both contributing at the major league level. I think they’re both gaining comfort at this level, on this team as guys that are ready to come in and not just be here but produce,” manager Roccco Baldelli said. “To see two guys come over and get them in a trade and then see them here helping us win games and playing important roles, it’s what you’re looking for.”

Coming off the best outing of his career — six scoreless innings of one-hit ball with eight strikeouts — Woods Richardson will start on Saturday in the middle game of the series against Toronto,

He’s viewing it as just a normal game.

“He’ll take some great at-bats,” Woods Richardson of Martin. “I’m going to go out there and execute as best as I can, and the cards will fall where the cards fall.”

Sausage crosses the border

Rest assured, Twins fans: the team’s rally sausage, an enclosed piece of meat that they’ve been toting around for good luck, has gone international.

While there were some concerns that the Twins may not be able to bring into Canada the slab of meat — which they tap in the dugout before at-bats and throw to each other after home runs —  the team was able to pass through customs with it.

The sausage even took an excursion on Friday, journeying to the top of the CN Tower, the 10th-tallest freestanding structure in the world, with members of the Twins’ content team.

Twins tease new uniforms

The Twins are one of the few remaining teams in Major League Baseball who have yet to debut their City Connect uniforms.

Now, there’s a date for that — and a little teaser video, too.

The Twins posted a graphic on social media confirming that they will launch their new jerseys on June 10. They will first wear them on June 14 when they play host to the Oakland Athletics.

There’s sound accompanying the graphic they posted with water and bird noises, perhaps suggesting that the jerseys could somehow incorporate lakes and loons.

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The Legal Marijuana Now Party will no longer be recognized by Minnesota as a major political party following a Friday ruling by the state Supreme Court.

Now the state is left with two major parties with automatic ballot access — the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and the Republican party. That’s down from four just two years ago.

Justices of the high court unanimously rejected an appeal from the pro-marijuana legalization party to stop a petition by the DFL to strip them of their major party status.

As a result of the ruling, Legal Marijuana Now will no longer be granted automatic ballot access, so their candidates will have to gather signatures in order to appear.

Court agrees party failed to meet standards

In their ruling, justices agreed with the DFL, who had argued the legalization party had failed to meet major party standards set by Minnesota law, including having a statewide central committee that’s ultimately under the control of a statewide convention — a new rule the state adopted last year.

“The LMNP has failed to articulate any burden, much less a severe burden, upon its associational rights that is specifically created by the requirements,” justices wrote in their opinion, rejecting the party’s claims the law violated its Constitutional rights.

The DFL filed a petition to strip LMNP’s major party status in February. Party leadership said they were pleased with the court’s decision to uphold a court referee’s March ruling in their favor.

“Major party status comes with major party responsibilities, and only the Minnesota DFL and Minnesota GOP have consistently met that standard,” DFL Chairman Ken Martin said in a Friday statement.

New rules for major party status

Legal Marijuana Now Party Chairman Dennis Schuller said the DFL was “frightened and trying to eliminate” his party, and alluded to a potential action in federal court.

Legal Marijuana Now became a minor party in 2014 and gained major party status in 2018. Another pro-legalization party, Grassroots – Legalize Cannabis Party, enjoyed major party status but lost it after failing to meet the 5% statewide vote threshold in 2022. Minnesota legalized marijuana in 2023.

Last year DFL and GOP lawmakers passed legislation to create new rules for major party status in Minnesota.

Opponents at the time, including former Gov. Jesse Ventura, who won as a third-party candidate in 1998, said the change would shut out alternative voices in state politics. The spiritual successor to Ventura’s Reform Party persists today as Minnesota’s Independence Alliance Party, albeit in a significantly diminished form.

Supporters said the changes would help combat electoral “shenanigans.” In the past, the GOP has been accused of backing “spoiler” candidates to siphon votes from Democrats, including those running for the legalization parties.

Since LMNP is no longer considered a major party, they will have to collect petition signatures during the candidate filing period between May 21 and June 4. The deadline for presidential candidates is Aug. 30.

Secretary of State Steve Simon’s office said the party will have to file notice that it no longer meets the requirements.

Legal Marijuana Now joins Grassroots – Legalize Cannabis, the Independence-Alliance Party and the Libertarian Party as the state’s fourth recognized minor political party.

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