Dunn's 2 HRs, 5 RBIs lead White Sox over Twins

MINNEAPOLIS | Last in the American League in hitting and scoring, the White Sox started to find some offense this week in Minnesota.

Sharp gets 2 goals as Hawks top Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. | The Blackhawks were beaten the last game in the corners, along the boards and by an overtime goal for the Minnesota Wild.

Zucker's goal gives Wild 3-2 win over Blackhawks

ST. PAUL, Minn. | Beating the Blackhawks usually requires a certain kind of performance: bruising, aggressive and unflappable.

Down 2-0 to Hawks, underdog Wild hope to rally

ST. PAUL, Minn. | NHL hockey was absent from Minnesota for seven years, and the upstart Wild stumbled through two rough seasons in their debut.

Mbakwe, Minnesota knock off No. 1 IU

MINNEAPOLIS | Indiana was starting to settle in again at No. 1 after weeks of shuffling at the top of the national rankings in this wildly unpredictable season of college basketball.

Illinois takes down No. 18 Minnesota 57-53

MINNEAPOLIS | Tyler Griffey capped a terrific week for Illinois with 16 points, and the Fighting Illini went 11 for 23 from 3-point range in a 57-53 win over No. 18 Minnesota on Sunday night.

Nelson, Minnesota cruise past Purdue

MINNEAPOLIS | Minnesota made a bold move to pull the redshirt off Philip Nelson at midseason and make the freshman their new quarterback.

Augustus, Lynx even series with Fever

MINNEAPOLIS | Seimone Augustus scored 23 of her 27 points in the second half to help the Minnesota Lynx surge past the Fever 83-71 on Wednesday night to even the WNBA finals at one game apiece.

Fever are 'here for real' with 1-0 lead on Lynx

MINNEAPOLIS | Midway through the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Minnesota power forward Rebekkah Brunson rose in the lane toward the basket with her team trying to mount a rally.

Minnesota, Northwestern try to get back on track

MINNEAPOLIS | The old adage suggests Northwestern won't be successful with Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian sharing time at the sport's most important position: "If you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one."

Tough tickets? Sometimes sold-out games aren't so

Sellouts in pro sports aren't always so.

White Sox whip Twins

MINNEAPOLIS | Chris Sale produced his usual strong pitching performance to help the White Sox win their fifth straight series against the Minnesota Twins.

Liriano, Twins top White Sox in Youkilis debut

MINNEAPOLIS | Francisco Liriano spoiled Kevin Youkilis' first game with Chicago, throwing a season-high seven innings to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 4-1 victory over the White Sox on Monday night.

Dempster sparks Cubs vs. Twins 8-2 in 8-inning gem

MINNEAPOLIS | In the last year of his contract with the languishing Chicago Cubs, Ryan Dempster is a prime candidate to be traded this summer.

Vikings in limbo and expansion not on NFL's radar

MINNEAPOLIS | The Vikings are embroiled in a fight for a new stadium that may jeopardize the franchise's 51-year tenure in Minnesota.

Bears hang on to beat Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS | First, Jay Cutler. Then, Matt Forte. Finally, Brian Urlacher.

Gray guides Minnesota past skidding Illinois

MINNEAPOLIS | MarQueis Gray has had a lot of learning to do in his first season as Minnesota's quarterback.

Mbakwe leads Minnesota over Fairfield

MINNEAPOLIS | Trevor Mbakwe had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, going 16 for 18 from the free-throw line to give the Gophers enough for an ugly 67-57 victory over Fairfield on Thursday night.

Hawks return to Minnesota, hoping to retrieve pig

MINNEAPOLIS | Iowa stepped in TCF Bank Stadium last November and discovered a Minnesota team determined to finish a dismal season in strong fashion.

Stewart gets 1-hit shutout

MINNEAPOLIS | White Sox rookie Zach Stewart took a perfect game into the eighth inning and finished with a one-hitter as Chicago completed a doubleheader sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 4-0 victory on Monday night.

Peavy tosses 8 shutout innings, Sox top Twins 7-0

MINNEAPOLIS | The White Sox haven't conceded the division race, during yet another mercurial season for temperamental manager Ozzie Guillen's team.

Complete games by both pitchers, Pavano twirls Twins past Sox

MINNEAPOLIS | Carl Pavano kept up his recent surge with a complete-game six-hitter for the Minnesota Twins in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Appeals court backs NFL, lockout remains in place

MINNEAPOLIS | The NFL's lockout stays, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. That means the league likely won't get back to business until next month and maybe for much longer.

NFL back in court, asks for lockout to be upheld

MINNEAPOLIS | Its players again barred from coming to work, the NFL told a federal appeals court Monday it believes the appeal over whether the lockout is legal can "readily be resolved" during the offseason.

Goodell: NFL preparing for every contingency

MINNEAPOLIS | NFL players urged a federal judge Wednesday to deny the league's request to essentially restore the lockout, saying their careers were at stake. Commissioner Roger Goodell, meanwhile, said owners were preparing for every contingency.

NFL: No legal ground for court to halt lockout

MINNEAPOLIS | The NFL asked a federal judge Monday to keep its lockout in place, claiming there are no legal grounds to stop it while accusing the players of trying to manipulate the law with a bogus antitrust lawsuit.

Brady, Manning, Brees file antitrust suit

MINNEAPOLIS | Star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are among the players who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL on Friday to prevent a lockout.

Toews scores again, Blackhawks beat Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. | Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews each scored in the second period, and the Blackhawks stretched their winning streak to a season-high five games with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night.

Twins and Thome agree to $3 million contract for 2011

MINNEAPOLIS | Designated hitter Jim Thome and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract.

Hoffarber, Minnesota take down No. 8 Purdue, 70-67

MINNEAPOLIS | The Minnesota Golden Gophers were eager to prove they belong in the headlines for beating top teams, not simply for trouble off the court.

Favre doesn't practice, ruled out for Monday

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. | Brett Favre won't play in Minnesota's game Monday against the Bears.

Turco bounces back for Hawks in win vs. Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. | Though Chicago has started slowly after several changes to last season's championship roster, the Blackhawks still know how to find that winning edge.

Favre has stress fracture; playing status unclear

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. | Brett Favre's ironman streak has endured a litany of injuries and even a pair of premature retirement press conferences.

Pavano beats Sox with complete game

MINNEAPOLIS | Carl Pavano didn't even need to plead his case to stay in the game. His performance was argument enough.

Twins end White Sox's nine-game winning streak

MINNEAPOLIS | Having tripped and fallen behind in the race, the Minnesota Twins started the second half with an important series against the division-leading White Sox — with the packed new ballpark adding to the excitement.

Twins pick up Pavano in win over White Sox

MINNEAPOLIS | The Minnesota Twins have more power hitters and a higher-profile lineup since an exasperated Ozzie Guillen first labeled them "The Piranhas" four years ago for their pesky style.

Kelley leads Nebraska past UCLA 83-70, to Sweet 16

MINNEAPOLIS | Though Nebraska has never before been part of the women's basketball elite, the Cornhuskers have consistently faced opponents hungry and eager to knock them from their perch this season.

Hummel hurts knee in Boilermakers' win

MINNEAPOLIS | Keaton Grant's jumper with 7.7 seconds left lifted No. 3 Purdue past Minnesota 59-58 after losing star Robbie Hummel to a knee injury in the first half Wednesday night.

Vikings' NFL playoff voyage continues

MINNEAPOLIS | "This is what I came back for."

Bears thrashed by Favre, Vikings' air attack

MINNEAPOLIS | Minnesota's recruiting pitch to Brett Favre was heavy on the no-pressure part: just steady the offense, let the running game and defense do most of the work, and join in the fun.

Favre leads Vikings past Cutler, Bears 36-10

MINNEAPOLIS | Brett Favre passed for a season-high 392 yards and three touchdowns, and the Minnesota Vikings intercepted Jay Cutler twice in a 36-10 victory over the Bears on Sunday.

Vikings prepare to host struggling Bears

MINNEAPOLIS | Bernard Berrian is making the most money among Minnesota's receivers. Yet he's the one Vikings pass catcher for whom Brett Favre's arrival hasn't paid off.

Twins deny Tigers, Granderson AL Central title

MINNEAPOLIS | Alexi Casilla singled home the winning run with one out in the 12th inning and the Minnesota Twins rallied past Detroit 6-5 in the AL Central tiebreaker Tuesday night, completing a colossal collapse for the Tigers.

Wirt's Jaymar Johnson returns two punts in Vikings' win over Packers

MINNEAPOLIS | Brett Favre proved to the Green Bay Packers he has plenty of fire left inside, and in his right arm.

White Sox rally in ninth for wild win

MINNEAPOLIS | Twice, Joe Nathan and the Minnesota Twins were one strike from finishing a three-game sweep of Chicago and all but burying the White Sox in the AL Central race.

White Sox rally in ninth for wild win

MINNEAPOLIS | Joe Nathan gave up back-to-back home runs to Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko with two outs in the ninth inning, and the White Sox got to Minnesota's four-time All-Star closer to win 4-2 on Wednesday.

White Sox rally in ninth for wild win

MINNEAPOLIS | Joe Nathan gave up back-to-back home runs to Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko with two outs in the ninth inning, and the White Sox got to Minnesota's four-time All-Star closer to win 4-2 on Wednesday.

Guillen insists White Sox haven't given up as club loses again to Twins

MINNEAPOLIS | Over the last month, the White Sox committed to more than $100 million in future money by adding an elite starting pitcher and an accomplished everyday outfielder.

What retirement? Favre coming back with Vikings

Brett Favre's latest retirement lasted all of three weeks.

Sox lose again at Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS | Glen Perkins was frozen for several seconds, arms at his side as he stared at Paul Konerko's homer sailing into the seats before angrily returning his attention to the mound.