The Basketball Times released today their 2020-21 preseason Top-20 rankings and All-Americans at the Division II level. The Northern State men landed at No. 10, with Wolves junior forward, Parker Fox being named to the preseason All-American list.
 
Northern went 26-6 overall, prior to the early dismissal of the 2019-20 season due to COVID-19. The Wolves are the highest ranked NSIC member, joined by No. 13 Augustana and No. 19 Sioux Falls. In addition, regionally foe Northwest Missouri State sits atop the preseason list.
 
Fox is one of 24 student-athletes named to the preseason All-America list. The junior averaged 19.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season. He was honored as the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament MVP, in addition to being named to the NSIC All-Conference first team, D2CCA All-Region second team, and NABC All-Region second team.

Cody Larson of Warner high school won his third straight individual Class B cross country championship over the weekend.  He finished the race in 15:54.61.  Behind him was Bison’s Jonathan Burkhalter.  Bison would go on to win the Class B championship as a team. 

Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed forward Marco Rossi to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Rossi, 19, spent the 2019-20 season with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), totaling 120 points (39-81=120) in 56 games. He led all players in the Canadian Hockey League (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) in assists and points. The 5-foot-9, 183-pound native of Feldkirch, Austria, was named the OHL's Most Outstanding Player of the Year, just the second European import player to win the award and was named to the OHL First Team All-Star. He led the OHL with a plus-69 rating and ranked second in power-play assists (31). Rossi registered a point in 52 of 56 games played and tallied 47 points (21-26=47) during a season-best, 18-game point streak (Nov. 10-Jan. 10). He ranked second on his team in goals, third in shots (193) and fifth in power-play goals (7) and game-winning goals (5). The left-shot center was selected by Minnesota ninth overall of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft on Oct. 6. He became the second all-time Austrian-born player to be drafted by the Wild, last, Christoph Brandner in 2002 (No. 237) and became the fifth Austrian-born player selected in the first round of an NHL draft, joining former Wild player Thomas Vanek (No. 5, 2003), Michael Grabner (No. 14, 2006), Andre Burakovsky (No. 23, 2013) and Marko Dano (No. 27, 2013).

Rossi recorded 65 points (29-36=65) in 53 games with Ottawa in 2018-19. He led OHL rookies in plus/minus rating (plus-51), PPG (9) and power-play points (20), ranked second in scoring, T-2nd in GWG (5), third in assists and T-3rd in goals and shots on goal (165). He totaled 58 points (25-33=58) in 43 career games with GCK Zurich (Swiss-Jr.) over two seasons (2016-2018) and represented Austria at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2018 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. His father, Michael Rossi, was a defenseman who played 20 seasons of professional hockey in Austria from 1992-2011.

The Minnesota Vikings have traded defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens for draft picks.  Ngakoue was brought into Minnesota via trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars before the start of the regular sesso n.  In exchange Minnesota will get a 2021 Third round pick and 2022 conditional fifth round pick.  

The Vikings originally traded a 2021 second round pick and 2022 conditional fifth round pick to Jacksonville for the defensive end.  

A former front office member with the Rapid City Rush, an ECHL hockey team, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison after being found guilty of stealing $700,000 from the hockey team.  42-year-old Jennifer Durham pleaded guilty to tax evasion and two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced Monday.  Durham worked for the team from 2008 to 2019 and according to prosecutors began stealing from the company around February 2010.  An investigation was launched when new ownership of the team discovered quote “inconsistencies and irregularities” in some bookkeeping. 

A former front office member with the Rapid City Rush, an ECHL hockey team, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison after being found guilty of stealing $700,000 from the hockey team.  42-year-old Jennifer Durham pleaded guilty to tax evasion and two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced Monday.  Durham worked for the team from 2008 to 2019 and according to prosecutors began stealing from the company around February 2010.  An investigation was launched when new ownership of the team discovered quote “inconsistencies and irregularities” in some bookkeeping. 

The 9A playoff game North Border @ Warner, which will be heard on 105.5 Maverick FM has been postponed due to weather.  The game will now be Friday at 7:00 p.m.

The Redfield Pheasants vs. the St. Thomas More Cavaliers 11B first round playoff game scheduled for Thursday has been postponed.  The game will now be played Friday at 5:00 p.m. in Rapid City.  

Bellevue (Neb.) claimed the top spot in the 2020-21 North Star Athletic Association women's basketball coaches' preseason poll, the conference office announced Thursday.  The Bruins collected five first-place votes and 60 points in the poll.

Dakota State (S.D.) picked up two first-place votes and collected 58 points to finish second in the coaches' poll.  Viterbo (Wis.) earned the final first-place vote and recorded 46 points to finish third.  Valley City State (N.D.) finished fourth in the preseason poll with 40 points.

Mayville State (N.D.), who shared the North Star conference title for the second straight year with Bellevue last season with 11-3 conference record each, placed fifth in the preseason poll.  The Comets collected 27 points in the poll.

MSU qualified for the 2020 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Tournament and finished with an overall record of 25-6.  The Comets won the NSAA Postseason Conference Tournament last year, defeating the V-Hawks 74-70 in the championship game.

Dickinson State (N.D.) was sixth with 21 points.  Presentation (S.D.) and Waldorf (Iowa) are both tied for seventh after finishing with 14 points each.

Points are awarded on an 8-1 basis and coaches could vote for their own team.

Each NSAA members will be playing a total of 14 conference games this season, with each team playing home and away games during the conference season.

The NSAA conference season gets underway on Dec. 5 with four games on schedule, with traveling partners playing each other.  Bellevue hosts Dakota State, Waldorf travels to Viterbo, Mayville State welcomes Presentation and Dickinson State visits Valley City State.

The NSAA Postseason Tournament opening round is scheduled for Feb. 23.  The four opening round winners will advance to the 'Final Four' tournament to be held at Watertown Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D. on Feb. 27-28.

There will be a new format for this year's national postseason.  With all schools in one division, the North Star Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament's champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament's Opening Round scheduled for March 12-13.  The winner of the national tournament's opening round will advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa from March 18-23, 2021.

Here is the complete 2020-21 NSAA Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll:

Bellevue (Neb.) collected seven first-place votes and 57 points to secure the top spot in the 2020-21 North Star Athletic Association men's basketball coaches' preseason poll, announced by the conference office Thursday.  The Bruins had won five consecutive league title since joining the conference in 2015-16.  BU finished their 2019-20 season with an overall record of 24-8 and 13-1 record in North Star contests.

Mayville State (N.D.) earned the final first-place vote and registered 51 points to finish second in the poll.  The Comets won the conference postseason tournament for the third consecutive year, defeating Waldorf (Iowa) in last year's championship game.  MSU qualified for the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament and finished with an overall record of 24-5.

Valley City State (N.D.) placed third in the preseason poll after recording 44 points.  Waldorf was fourth with 41 points.  Dakota State (S.D.) edged Viterbo (Wis.) 27-26 to place fifth in the poll.  Dickinson State (N.D.) registered 23 points to finish seventh, followed by Presentation (S.D.) eighth with 19 points.

Points are awarded on an 8-1 basis and coaches could vote for their own team.

The NSAA conference season gets underway on Dec. 5 with traveling partners playing each other.  Bellevue hosts Dakota State, Waldorf travels to Viterbo, Mayville State welcomes Presentation and Dickinson State visits Valley City State.

Each NSAA member will be play a total of 14 conference game, playing seven home games and seven road games during the conference season.

The NSAA conference tournament opening round kicks off on Feb. 24.  The four opening round winners will advance to the 'Final Four' tournament to be held at Watertown Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D. on Feb. 27-28.

The NAIA national tournament will be in a new format this year, with all the schools competing in one division.  The NSAA's tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament's Opening Round on March 12-13, 2021.  The winner of the national tournament's opening round will move on to the final site in the NAIA National Championships, held in Kansas City, Mo. from March 18-23, 2021.

Here is the complete 2020-21 NSAA Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll:

Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed defenseman Ian McCoshen to a one-year, two-way contract ($700,000/$125,000) for the 2020-21 season.

McCoshen, 25, recorded 12 points (2-10=12), 78 penalty minutes (PIM) and 80 shots in 63 games during the 2019-20 season with Springfield and Rockford of the American Hockey League (AHL). The 6-foot-3, 218-pound native of Anaheim, Calif., tallied a career-high three multi-point games last year, including his first career multi-goal contest on Feb. 15 vs. Cleveland. The blueliner owns 38 points (6-32=38), 166 PIM and 211 shots in 171 career AHL contests in four seasons with Springfield and Rockford (2016-20). The left-shot defenseman set career bests in goals (4), assists (12), points (16), plus/minus rating (plus-23) and shots (91) with Springfield in the 2016-17 campaign.

McCoshen has seven points (4-3=7), 33 PIM, 115 hits, 58 blocked shots and 41 shots on net in 60 career NHL games in three seasons with the Florida Panthers (2016-19). His seven career NHL points are all even-strength numbers and he ranks fourth all-time amongst Florida rookie defensemen in even-strength goals (3). The blueliner was selected by the Panthers in the second round (31st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut on April 6, 2017 vs. St. Louis and tallied his first career point (assist). He netted his first career NHL goal on Oct. 12, 2017 vs. St. Louis and registered his sole career game-winning goal on Nov. 10, 2017 at Buffalo.

He totaled 50 points (17-33=50), a plus-66 rating and 197 PIM in 110 contests with Boston College of the Hockey East in three seasons (2013-16). The defenseman served as an alternate captain and was named a Hockey East Second-Team All-Star during the 2015-16 season and helped the Eagles to win the Hockey East Regular Season Championship in 2013-14.

Class 11AAA
1. Roosevelt (18) 6-0 90 1
2. Brandon Valley 6-1 71 2
3. Harrisburg 5-2 51 3
4. Lincoln 4-3 37 4
5. O’Gorman 5-3 21 5
 

Class 11AA
1. Yankton (14) 8-0 86 1
2. Brookings (4) 8-0 76 2
3. Pierre 5-2 54 3
4. Sturgis 4-4 36 4
5. Mitchell 3-5 14 5
Receiving votes: Huron 4.
 

 Class 11A
1. Tea Area (18) 7-0 90 1
2. Canton 5-2 66 4
3. West Central 5-3 58 5
4. Dakota Valley 5-3 28 2
5. Dell Rapids 5-2 25 3
Receiving votes: Madison 2, Milbank 1. 
 

Class 11B
1. Winner (14) 7-0 86 1
2. Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan (4) 8-0 76 2
3. Sioux Valley 7-1 49 3
4. Mobridge-Pollock 7-0 27 5
5. St. Thomas More 6-1 26 4
Receiving votes: Elk Point-Jefferson 4, Lead-Deadwood 2. 
 

Class 9AA
1. Viborg-Hurley (18) 7-0 90 1
2. Lemmon/McIntosh 8-0 70 2
3. Hamlin 8-0 48 3
4. Platte-Geddes 8-0 44 4
5. Hanson 6-2 16 5
Receiving votes: Florence/Henry 2. 
 

Class 9A
1. Howard (18) 7-0 90 1
2. Canistota/Freeman 7-1 72 2
3. Warner 7-0 53 3
4. Wall 7-0 34 4
5. De Smet 6-2 17 5
Receiving votes: Philip 2, Chester Area 1, Ipswich/Edmunds Central 1. 
 

Class 9B
1. Wolsey-Wessington (18) 6-1 90 1
2. Langford Area 6-2 69 2
3. Herreid/Selby Area 7-1 51 3
4. Dell Rapids St. Mary 4-2 31 4
5. Kadoka Area 7-1 26 RV
Receiving votes: Alcester-Hudson 2, Faith 1. 

CLASS AA
1. O’Gorman (12) 16-0 60 1
2. Washington 11-3 47 2
3. Huron 11-3 32 3
4. Watertown 11-2 29 4
5. Brandon Valley 10-3 12 5

CLASS A
1. Sioux Falls Christian (12) 22-0 60 1
2. Dakota Valley 11-3 48 2
3T. Madison 11-4 26 3
3T. Hill City 22-2 26 4
5. Winner 13-4 16 5
RECEIVING VOTES: R.C. Christian (22-4) 2; Parker (12-7) 1; Aberdeen Roncalli (15-3) 1

CLASS B
1. Northwestern (12) 20-1 60 1
2. Warner 15-1 47 2
3. Chester Area 16-2 37 3
4. Bridgewater-Emery 16-2 14 RV
5. Faulkton Area 11-5 12 5
RECEIVING VOTES: Colman-Egan (16-3) 7; Hitchcock-Tulare (12-3) 2; Elkton-Lake Benton (17-4) 1

Legendary Minnesota sports columnist Sid Hartman passed away Sunday at the age of 100.  Hartman died Sunday surrounded b y his family according to his son Chad Hartman. Even at the age of 100 Hartman continued to write three columns a week for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and served as a co-host for the “Sports Huddle” every Sunday on WCCO-AM out of Minneapolis with co host Dave Mona.  Hartman also served as the first general manager of the Minneapolis Lakers NBA team in the late 1940s to 1950s.  

The NCAA has announced the Frozen four, the final four for men’s hockey championship will return to the twin cities in 2024 and be hosted by the Xcel Energy Center.  The NCAA also announced the women’s Frozen four will be hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena in 2025.  The Golden Gophers have not won a NCAA championship in hockey since 2002, when they did so at Xcel Energy Center with a  4-3 overtime win over Maine.  The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs have won two recent championships at the X in 2011 and 2018. 

The South Dakota High School Activities Association is looking into a way to better even out 11AAA football records and possibly adding an additional seed to this year’s playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Several games did not get played as schools would move to remote learning and cancel activities to try and mitigate COVID spread in their communities.  So far eight of the 10 11AAA schools have lost football games due to COVID-19. 

This change may be made in all classes with the purpose of an extra seed to play in the event that one of the playoff qualifying teams cannot play due to COVID-19. 

According to the Athletic, an online sports publication, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is not expected to play Sunday against the Falcons after suffering an injury during Sunday night’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks.  According to the publication, Cook suffered an adductor strain.  The Vikings enter the bye week following the Atlanta game and will reevaluate his status following the break. 

The New York Jets have released running back Le’Veon Bell.  The announcement was made Tuesday night.  Bell signed with the Jets as a free agent in 2019, but was often disgruntled during his time in New York and sought a trade before the ultimate decision was made to cut him.  Bell is not subject to waivers due to his status as an NFL veteran and will become an unrestricted free agent today at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. 

The Bennett County vs. Mobridge/Pollock football game scheduled for this Friday has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.  Bennett County announced the cancelation.  Mobridge/Pollock activities director Troy Stenberg says the school does not have any plans at the moment for a weekend football game.  Mobridge/Pollock is ranked fifth in the state and are looking to enter the post-season undefeated at 7-0. 

CLASS AA
1. O’Gorman (14) 15-0 70 1
2. Washington 10-3 53 2
3. Huron 9-3 39 3
4. Watertown 9-2 32 4
5. Brandon Valley 9-3 14 5
RECEIVING VOTES: Aberdeen Central (11-5) 2

CLASS A
1. Sioux Falls Christian (14) 19-0 70 1
2. Dakota Valley 9-3 55 2
3. Madison 10-2 40 4
4. Hill City 18-1 22 RV
5. Winner 11-3 15 5
RECEIVING VOTES: R.C. Christian (18-2) 6; Parker (12-7) 1; Garretson (13-3) 1

CLASS B
1. Northwestern (14) 16-1 70 1
2. Warner 12-1 55 2
3. Chester Area 15-2 41 4
4. Ipswich 16-2 22 NR
5. Faulkton Area 10-4 9 3
RECEIVING VOTES: Bridgewater-Emery (14-2) 7; Colman-Egan (13-3) 3; Elkton-Lake Benton (14-3) 3

Class 11AAA
1. Roosevelt (18) 5-0 94 1
2. Brandon Valley (1) 5-1 76 2
3. Harrisburg 5-1 58 3
4. Lincoln 3-3 33 4
5. O’Gorman 4-3 24 5

Class 11AA
1. Yankton (15) 7-0 91 1
2. Brookings (4) 7-0 80 2
3. Pierre 4-2 56 3
4. Sturgis 3-4 39 5
5. Mitchell 3-4 19 4

Class 11A
1. Tea Area (19) 6-0 95 1
2. Dakota Valley 5-2 74 2
3. Dell Rapids 5-1 56 3
4. Canton 4-2 38 4
5. West Central 4-3 20 RV
Receiving votes: Milbank 1, Madison 1. 

Class 11B
1. Winner (16) 7-0 92 1
2. Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan (3) 7-0 79 2
3. Sioux Valley 6-1 55 3
4. St. Thomas More 5-1 32 4
5. Mobridge-Pollock 7-0 24 5
Receiving votes: Elk Point-Jefferson 3.

Class 9AA
1. Viborg-Hurley (19) 7-0 95 1
2 Lemmon/McIntosh 7-0 74 2
3. Hamlin 8-0 52 3
4. Platte-Geddes 7-0 44 4
5. Hanson 6-1 17 5
Receiving votes: Deuel 3.

Class 9A
1. Howard (19) 7-0 95 1
2. Canistota/Freeman 6-1 76 2
3. Warner 6-0 54 3
4. Wall 6-0 36 4
5. De Smet 5-2 22 5
Receiving votes: Ipswich/Edmunds Central 1, Philip 1.

Class 9B
1. Wolsey-Wessington (19) 6-1 95 1
2. Langford Area 5-2 71 2
3. Herreid/Selby Area 6-1 44 4
4. Dell Rapids St. Mary 4-2 40 3
5. Alcester-Hudson 5-2 23 5
Receiving votes: Kadoka Area 12. 

Minnesota Twins shortstop Jose Polanco underwent successful ankle surgery last week, the second offseason in a row he has went under the knife for his ankle.  Polanco is 27 years old and had a mild bone spur and small bone chip addressed while in surgery.  Polanco will begin physical therapy to rehab his ankle next week and according to the Twins organization, it expects Polanco to be ready for treaining camp which starts with spring training in four months. 

Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has re-signed goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen to a two-year contract (two-way contract for $700,000/$250,000 in 2020-21 and one-way contract for $750,000 in 2021-22).

Kahkonen, 24, went 25-6-3 with a 2.07 goals-against average (GAA), a .927 save percentage (SV%) and seven shutouts in 34 games with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season. He led the AHL in wins and shutouts and ranked fourth in GAA and SV%. Kahkonen was the winner of the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as AHL's outstanding goaltender and named to AHL's First All-Star Team. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound native of Helsinki, Finland, allowed two goals or less in 22 of his 34 contests and was named Goaltender of the Month for February.

Kahkonen made 32 saves to earn a 3-2 win in his NHL debut at New Jersey (Nov. 26) to become the sixth goalie to win his NHL debut with Minnesota. He made 44 saves in his second NHL start, a 4-2 win at Florida (Dec. 3), to set a franchise record for saves in a game by a rookie goaltender and became the fifth goalie in franchise history to win his first two games. Kahkonen went 3-0-1 in first four NHL starts to become second goalie in team history to begin his career with a four-game point streak (Ilya Bryzgalov, 7-0-3). He posted a 3-1-1 record with a 2.96 GAA and a .913 SV% in five starts with Minnesota.

Kahkonen went 17-14-8 with a 2.78 GAA and a .908 SV% in 39 games during his rookie season in 2018-19 and led the AHL with six shutouts. He is 42-20-11 with a 2.45 GAA, a .916 SV% and 13 shutouts in 73 career AHL contests with Iowa. Minnesota selected Kahkonen in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He will wear sweater No. 34 with Minnesota.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat Sunday night in game six of the NBA finals to win the championship series.  The final was 106-93 and LA won the series in six games.  With the win the Lakers franchise ties the Boston Celtics for most league championships at 17.  For Lakers star LeBron James he won his fourth NBA championship, first since 2016 and was named Finals MVP for the fourth time as well.  With the NBA season coming to an end Sunday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves are now technically on the clock as they hold the first overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft which is scheduled to take place Nov. 18^th.