Olympics News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/olympics/ Minnesota sports, but different Tue, 20 May 2025 22:51:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Olympics News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/olympics/ 32 32 Justin Jefferson Wants the Olympics on His Resume https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/justin-jefferson-wants-olympics-gold-medal-flag-football/ Tue, 20 May 2025 22:51:42 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=63305 The Minnesota Vikings will soon take the field for training camp as they prepare for the 2025 NFL season. They now know both their opponents and when each of those games will take place. Justin Jefferson will quickly focus on developing a level of rapport with new signal caller J.J. McCarthy.

That doesn’t mean the best wide receiver in football isn’t interested in elevating his platform. The NFL is already America’s largest global game. The additional of flag football to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles can only grow the game further.

It’s uncertain how willing franchises will be to let their highly-paid stars compete outside of their contractual agreements, but you can bet many would love the opportunity.

Minnesota Vikings Justin Jefferson wants a gold medal

The Minnesota Vikings handed Justin Jefferson a four-year, $140 million extension prior to last season. He was worth every penny of that and is already arguably underpaid. It’s also a reason the team may be nervous about letting their star compete in flag football, but he certainly wants to.

Last season Jefferson put up 1,533 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings. He has surpassed 1,000 yards in each of his first five NFL seasons. That includes a 2023 campaign where he played in parts of just 10 games.

No wide receiver in NFL history has ever been better than Jefferson’s 96.5 yards per game tally. He is a two time 1st-team All-Pro, and has won the AP Offensive Player of the Year. At 25 years old, he’s already one of the best to ever play the game.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Reveal Summer Practice Partner

In 2028 Jefferson will be 28 years old. He will be in the final year of the recently signed extension with Minnesota, and likely looking for a longer term commitment. NFL owners recently voted to permit active players the opportunity to participate in the Olympics. It remains to be seen how willing they will be when the rubber meets the road.

Ideally by the time Jefferson and the Vikings have to make a determination on his Olympics participation the pairing will have a Super Bowl ring or two. Either way though, Jefferson is likely to still be a key cog in the Minnesota Vikings offense and they won’t want to lose him off the field.

The NFL currently parades around a flag football contest during the Pro Bowl Games. It’s almost sillier than the two hand touch that used to be played in pads. With the Olympics hosting the event the level of desire would seemingly be heightened.

Then again, assuming any other nation would compete with the United States in a sport like flag football is relatively comical. Maybe J.J. McCarthy participates too and the Vikings just use it as light work for early throwing drills.

]]> Tue, 20 May 2025 17:51:45 +0000 Minnesota Vikings Rudy Gobert Olympic Benching Shrouded in Mystery, Possible Lies… https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/minnesota-timberwolves-news/mn-timberwolves-news-rudy-gobert-benched-france-controversy-finger/ Tue, 06 Aug 2024 20:34:41 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=53489 Minnesota Timberwolves center, Rudy Gobert, has been a fixture of the French National Basketball Team for a long time. On Tuesday, he was removed from the starting lineup in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, under pressure from local fans.

Not long after, a finger injury was reported by multiple outlets, who also noted that surgery was required to fix the finger. Gobert didn’t start, but he did play three minutes in today’s game. France ended up winning in upset fashyion, over up and coming basketball power, Canada.

Rudy Gobert, Franch head coach at odds over benching

But in the hours since Gobert’s benching, and subsequent finger injury, were reported on (around 11:10 CDT), the real story behind what happened is shrouded in a confusing cloud of mystery.

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Ben Golliver (Washington Post) — who is on site in Paris — was told by the France head coach Vincent Collet that Rudy was benched because of “matchups”, not because of a finger injury.

At pretty much the same time, Jeff Zillgitt (USA Today Sports) was told by Gobert that his finger injury was indeed the main factor in why he was pulled from the starting five. Having fun yet?

Gobert didn’t even have surgery?

Good, because that isn’t where this detective case ends. Moments after, Sam Amick (The Athletic) listened to Gobert blame the finger injury for his reduced minutes, he walked over to France’s coach, who doubled down and added another layer of controversy.

Not only is Gobert lying about why he was benched, Collet claims, but he’s lying about the entire “surgery” angle. Rudy’s own head coach told reporters gathered that all he had done on his finger was an exam, which included an MRI. No surgery, though.

The French coach went on to explain that Gobert’s finger injury was a factor in why the 33-year-old center wasn’t in the starting lineup today, but not THE factor.

I mean… I don’t want to pile on top of Rudy Gobert today. But this is not a good look, for a lot of reasons. What motivation would your own head coach have to throw you under the bus, in this situation, with a lie?

Related: When Will the Timberwolves Ownership War End? Put it on Your Christmas List…

In other words, one person has to be lying, in this scenario. It’s difficult to look at this situation without bias, and see Rudy as the truthful one. Lying about how your benching went down? Blaming a surgery that never happened. Is your ego that fragile? If so, it’s time for another darkness retreat, maybe two.

Related: Tyus Jones Had No Interest in Sitting on Timberwolves Bench

Man… that would be a cringe worthy look, especially given all the hate Gobert already gets. Then, France goes on to win, in large part thanks to him being pulled from the starting lineup. He played just three minutes and scored zero points. His replacements visibly dominated.

Could head coach Vincent Collet be to blame?

It is important to note that there has been controversy brewing within the French National Team, prior to today. Apparently, Gobert isn’t the only player (both old and young) who has been called out by head coach, Vincent Collet.

In all likelihood, this will go down as a blip on Rudy Gobert’s French National Team history, which is storied. The Olympics will come to a completion, and he will join Timberwolves training camp in a couple months.

This season, he will play a huge role in leading a very, very good Wolves team toward what they hope is a 2024-25 NBA Finals run. For the next week or two, though, handling the French media won’t be fun. Just be real, people.

]]> Tue, 06 Aug 2024 15:44:12 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves News Minnesota Timberwolves Steph Curry Pokes The Bear (Anthony Edwards) With Olympic Trash Talk https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/minnesota-timberwolves-news/steph-curry-smack-talks-anthony-edwards-olympics-ping-pong/ Sat, 27 Jul 2024 15:13:20 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=53207 Anthony Edwards and Team USA’s basketball squad have yet to compete in their first official 2024 Paris Olympics event. Our first chance to see Ant suit up for Team USA arrives Sunday at 10:15 am CST against Serbia on Peacock. This has given Edwards and his teammates plenty of time to mess around before the competition gets serious.

One player who’s also surprisingly making his Olympic basketball debut is Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who’s been injured and disinterested in the past. But with time running out on the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer’s career, Curry’s joining the crew this time around.

We’re glad he is because he’s already providing entertainment by talking some trash to Kermit Wilts Anthony Edwards. Except this time, it has nothing to do with their ability to play ball. Instead, Curry was trying to diss Edwards’ ability to play ping pong. But Ant, one of the most confident athletes we’ve ever seen, wasn’t having it.

Related: This Just In: Anthony Edwards Dominates in Water Too

Stephen Curry thinks Anthony Edwards would get smoked in ping-pong, Ant disagrees

We’ll let the video below do most of the talking, but notice how serious Anthony Edwards is throughout the whole clip. Ant, who appears to be getting interviewed, gets interrupted by Stephen Curry talking some smack.

Curry says something along the lines of, “Ant, they said they could smack you, 21-nothing.” Ant responded by being in disbelief.

Ping pong, water polo, basketball, it doesn’t matter. Edwards feels like he can take on the greatest athletes in the world. I don’t know about you, but we’d tune in to see the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar try his hand at ping pong.

Would he score a point though? That’s up for debate, but he doesn’t think so.

Related: 10 Greatest Minnesota Timberwolves Players Of All-Time

]]> Sat, 27 Jul 2024 10:21:03 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves News Minnesota Timberwolves Team USA Has to Fire Cheryl Reeve, Right? https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-lynx/minnesota-lynx-news/fire-cheryl-reeve-caitlin-clark-quotes-rumors-team-usa/ Mon, 15 Jul 2024 23:59:39 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=52938 The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics are right around the corner and this has to be the least hyped Olympics of my 35-year-old life. Even with the sports world sitting in offseason abyss purgatory, nobody is talking about Paris ’24.

You know what would have helped the Olympic hype train here in America, though? Caitlin Clark, the 22-year-old phenom Indiana Fever basketball player, who is single-handedly selling out NBA (not WNBA) stadiums days before she plays in them. Unfortunately, she wasn’t asked to be on the 2024 Team USA.

She’s not established enough, apparently. At least, that’s what the Team USA selection committee has claimed. Early on, the tried to argue that she wasn’t good enough yet. Of course, that argument that didn’t hold water long.

Clark has been mostly fantastic all WNBA season, so far. She is on pace to break just about every rookie record on the league’s books, and she’s only getting better with more experience.

Cheryl Reeve gets weird about Caitlin Clark (again)

Minnesota Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations, Cheryl Reeve, doubles as the head coach for Team USA. She does not appear to be a fan of Clark’s. One thing is for sure, she definitely does not like being asked about he. Cryptically tweeting about her on occasion? Now, that is different.

Prior to the Lynx playing the Fever on Sunday, and the PoBO got weird (again) when asked about Clark’s affect on the very large Target Center crowd, saying she doesn’t “give two shits” about the Fever having more fans than the Lynx. When asked if she gives one shit, Reeve doubled down. “Not even one shit”.

Alrighty then…

Reeve was also asked asked about Clark’s exclusion from Team USA. As noted above, she really doesn’t like questions about the 6’0″ former Hawkeye. Apparently, asking the head coach of Team USA about Team USA isn’t permitted when the Olympics are a week away, especially if it’s about “you know who”.

“Why the hell would I answer a national team question? I’m wearing Lynx. And I’m the head coach of the national team but I’m not the chair of the committee. Anybody want to venture into anything else?”

Cheryl Reeve (per ESPN)

Is Caitlin Clark good enough for Team USA? (Yes)

In 25 games this season, Clark is averaging 16.8 points, 7.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds, in 35 minutes per night. She’s 14th in the WNBA in points, 1st in assists, 9th in steals and 5th in minutes. She’s even top-15 in blocks and top-20 in rebounds.

Related: Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve Mad at WNBA for Spotlighting Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

Yes, her turnover numbers are super high (5.6 per game), but so is her usage. Indiana pretty much runs everything through her, at this point, just like Iowa did while she was in college. Caitlin is far and away the best player on the team, so it makes sense.

The young rookie phenom has played all of the hate off really well all season, and you can tell she is really starting to rub off on her teammates, who didn’t seem all that accepting of her early in the season. But it’s pretty clear she is starting to take all these unnecessary shots from Reeve personally.

Clark grew up a Lynx fan so she was asked if moving to No. 2 on the all-time WNBA rookie assists list at Minnesota meant more. She responded, “Not really… probably something I won’t remember. I don’t know, it’s cool…”.

Team USA needs to fire Cheryl Reeve

Look, Reeve’s hard-headedness and refusal to accept Caitlin Clark could have gone on for awhile and been forgiven. But after last night, there is not a world in which Clark and Reeve hold hands and sing Kumbaya on the FIBA or Olympic podium anytime in the near future.

If Cheryl thinks answering questions about Caitlin’s exclusion from Team USA is annoying now, wait until she gets in front of international reporters in Paris. There are going to be 10 questions about Clark, for every one question about anything else.

Related: Final Team USA Roster Proves Cheryl Reeve Hates Caitlin Clark More Than She Loves Women’s Basketball

Women’s basketball needs Clark WAAAAYYYYYY more than it needs Cheryl Reeve or the Minnesota Lynx. Maybe that’s why she is so upset. Either way, this ridiculous fued almost certainly ends in the 4-time WNBA champion no longer being head coach of Team USA, after these Olympics in Paris.

USA needs Caitlin Clark on its women’s basketball team and she needs to get along with the head coach of that team. Clearly, that isn’t going to be Cheryl Reeve.

]]> Mon, 15 Jul 2024 19:13:26 +0000 Minnesota Lynx News Minnesota Lynx Former Timberwolves Player Makes USA Olympic Team… for Volleyball https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/team-usa-volleyball-chase-budinger-timberwolves/ Wed, 05 Jun 2024 19:41:39 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=51751 Remember former Minnesota Timberwolves player Chase Budinger? Whether his name rings a bell or not, his post NBA retirement story is, not just remarkable, it’s made him an Olympian, something his basketball career never did.

This summer, at 36-years-old, Budinger will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as one half of a beach volleyball pairing, with his teammate, Miles Evans.

When Budinger retired from basketball in 2017, he did so with a clear purpose to devote himself to beach volleyball. Years later, that dedication has paid off. But it’s not like Chase was new to the sport of volleyball, when he started working toward this dream, post basketball retirement.

In high school, Chase was recognized as one of the nation’s top athletes, excelling in both basketball and volleyball. In fact, he thought very seriously about originally pursuing volleyball over basketball, but thankfully made the correct decision. His basketball career made him rich, allowing him to now be an olympic volleyballer.

Chase Budinger’s basketball career included the Minnesota Timberwolves

In the 2009 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets picked Chase Budinger as the 44th overall selection. He quickly established himself as a reliable player, averaging more than 20 minutes per game throughout his three seasons with the team.

Related: Lore, A-Rod Targeting Farmers Market Location for New Timberwolves Arena

In the summer of 2012, Chase Budinger was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played three more seasons with the Timberwolves, averaging 9.4 points per game in his first season, which turned out to be his best with the team. After his stint in Minnesota, the Timberwolves traded him to the Indiana Pacers, where he played for a season. Budinger then signed with the Phoenix Suns, which marked his final full season in the NBA in 2016.

]]> Wed, 05 Jun 2024 14:41:43 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves Flight Upgrade For Olympic Curling Gold? Airline Says “No”; Good American Says “Yes” https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/uncategorized/flight-upgrade-olympic-curling-gold-airline-says-no-good-american-says-yes/ Tue, 27 Feb 2018 01:57:11 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=8424

For many Americans, one of the lasting memories from the 2018 Winter Olympics will be the U.S. Men’s curling teams first-ever gold medal performance.

With the Land of 10K lakes chomping at the bit to welcome the Duluth-based squad home, the champs flew Delta Air out of PyeongChang. Prior to departure, a request from USA Curling’s official Twitter account inquired about getting their seats upgraded.

Shooters are going to shoot. I love it. In my opinion, these boys earned a first class journey back to the United States. Plus, what’s the worst Delta can say? No? 

That’s correct:

Like the curling gold medalists did to Canada in their semi-final match, the airline shut them down. Per their spokesman, there were no seats available for upgrade. I’m not going to go after Delta on this one for two reasons. First and foremost, they can’t just magically create additional seats. Second of all, that’s the precedent that has been set forth by the world’s best curling team.

At least, as you can see from the below video, the airline did provide everyone on board with a pretty classy champagne toast:

Also, the company provided “VIP treatment” upon the Men and Women’s teams landing in the states.

While all of that is fine and dandy, the highlight of the voyage for Team Skip, John Shuster, had to have come from an individual by the name of Gary Balter.

What the 71st largest company on the Fortune 500 couldn’t get accomplished, the Florida resident could. The gentleman and scholar, that is Mr. Balter, gave up his first class seat for the Minnesota native and UMD alum:

How about the Minnesota Nice from the Florida resident? Good shit.

Thank you, Gary! You’re the real MVP.

What a storybook ending to a Cinderella story. Not even the creator of The Simpsons could have foreseen this final curveball.

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com

]]> Tue, 16 Apr 2024 03:52:04 +0000 Uncategorized Watch: Afton’s Jessie Diggins Gold Medal Cross Country Skiing Comeback https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/uncategorized/watch-afton-jessie-diggins-gold-medal-cross-country-ski-comeback/ Thu, 22 Feb 2018 15:43:53 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=8293

Preface: 

  • Jessie Diggins begins the below video in second place.
  • The announcer is electric. I recommend playing the clip with the audio on.

Gold! Game, set, and match. Sorry, Sweden.

What the Minneapolis Miracle was to Paul Allen, Jessie Diggins’ comeback victory was to that NBC affiliated announcer. I don’t want to take attention away from what the Afton, MN native, and Stillwater High School alum accomplished, but kudos to that guy.

Naturally, WAY more kudos to Diggins. The 26 year-old’s amazing come from behind victory in the women’s team sprint freestyle secured the first ever gold medal for U.S. cross-country skiing. On top of that, she and her teammate Kikkan Randall, are the first American cross-country skiers to reach the podium since 1976.

If you liked the first video, try this one on for size:

Stand up, Afton! Let’s go. Congrats to you and your hometown champion. According to the Pioneer Press, you aren’t wasting anytime preparing the celebrate:

To double down on positive Olympic news on this Thursday morning, the U.S. Mens Curling team beat the three-time reigning gold medal winners, Canada, early Thursday morning.

Like Diggins, that squad has Minnesota ties. Unlike Diggins, they have top-tier facial hair. #TeamShuster will now compete in the title match, and leave Pyeongchang with no worse than silver.

Let’s hope the fan-favorites can bring it home. Getting second place in these Olympics is a victory in itself, but there is just something extra special about getting first.

 

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com

]]> Tue, 16 Apr 2024 03:52:19 +0000 Uncategorized