Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 12.15.25
Cancer is the worst. Hold your family and friends close these next few weeks. The Takeout will run Mon-Wed-Fri this week before its annual two-week holiday hiatus.
Hockey is the smallest world. My daughter's arch-rival tap dancer from Arkansas (they face off every year in Branson) happens to be the nephew of a hockey player on my first ever team, the 2001-02 Louisiana IceGators.
Hughes Scores in Debut as Wild Routes Bruins 6-2
Quinn Hughes made quite the splash.
Forty eight hours after the Wild landed the perennial Norris Trophy candidate in a stunning trade with Vancouver, Hughes scored in his first game in forest green, a 6-2 win over the Bruins at Grand Casino Arena yesterday.
The win marked the Wild’s fourth straight. They’ve got the fourth most points in the NHL; but of course two of the other three are in their own division.
The give up was huge. Marco Rossi, Zeve Buium, Liam Ohgren and a first-round draft pick. I’m on board, as many fans are, of taking a wait and see approach, considering some of this franchise’s other big trades in “win now” mode netted Martin Hanzal and Cam Barker.
This team has never been gifted with many offensive forwards, so to give up on Rossi, a guy who can score 25-30 goals in this league, is a huge risk. Mats Zuccarello is out…the Wild has a LOT of guys banged up…they’re playing five or six AHL forwards a night. Come playoff time it’s much easier to shut down one or two lines, so the Wild must do something with that before the trade deadline (which is still three months away).
The risk is also that this trade is for a season and a half of Hughes, guaranteed. He’ll become a free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season. Now, the Wild can give him a better deal than anyone else because they’ll own his rights, but they’d better do some winning. Hughes’ Canucks went to the post-season just twice in his six full seasons there.
Minnesota is 16-3-1 since Nov. 1, including 10-0-2 at home.
Wolves Continue to Roll Without ANT
The Wolves won for the seventh time in eight games last night, steamrolling who else but the Kings 117-103 at Target Center in their second straight game without Anthony Edwards (injured foot). Minnesota also played the second half without Rudy Gobert (expectant father).
Minnesota hasn’t exactly played many world beaters in this 7-1 stretch, but they’re winning convincingly save for an ugly three-point collapse against the Suns last week.
Julius Randle had 24 points and nine rebounds. Bones Hyland scored 18 and added five assists in the starting role in place of ANT.
The Wolves are 17-9 and are firmly entrenched in the top six, as the class of the Western Conference has begun to separate itself from the rest.
Minnesota hosts Memphis on Wednesday.
Vikings Put Cowboys on Brink of Elimination
If you’re not going to make the playoffs, the next best thing is to end the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff hopes.
The Vikings won their second straight game, 34-26, in Dallas last night to essentially end the Cowboys’ playoff hopes.
J.J. McCarthy threw for 250 yards and two scores, and C.J. Ham scored a touchdown on his first carry of the season for Minnesota, which improved to 6-8 and has a good chance to win a third straight this Sunday at the Giants.
Gopher Hoops
The Gopher followed up their win over No. 22 Indiana with a blowout loss at No. 6 Purdue, before routing Texas Southern 89-53 yesterday at The Barn. They play two games over the holiday break, both non-conference home tilts starting Sunday against Campbell. Minnesota is 6-0 at home.
The 8-3 Gopher women have continued to beat up on inferior opponents, winning two straight against Alabama A&M and Wyoming by a combined 162-78 margin. They’re at Drake on Sunday.
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