#University of Minnesota

Welcome to NHL 99, The Athletic's countdown of the best 100 players in modern NHL history. We're ranking 100 players but calling it 99 because we all know who's No. 1 - it's the 99 spots behind No. 99 we have to figure out. Every Monday through Saturday until February we'll unveil new members of the list. Brett Hull was just 21 years old and coming…

NEW YORK - Mohamed Ibrahim's final encore is upon University of Minnesota football fans - and it's setting up to be an historic finish. The sixth-year running back can break four major program milestones when Minnesota plays Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium at 1 p.m. Thursday. Ibrahim has been cresting Darrell Thompson's perches…

On Wednesday, news broke that Buffalo Bills pass rusher Von Miller had an "exploratory" knee scope. During the scope, the surgeon deemed the ACL torn, and that it would not be structurally sound without surgical intervention. The ACL has now been repaired, but Miller will be out for the rest of the season. What will the Bills need to do now without…

Chicago has fully embraced their rebuild with new general manager Kyle Davidson. That means their prospect pool will be a major focus of the team for the next few years. The jettisoning of young franchise building blocks such as Kirby Dach and Alex Debrincat at the draft is a prime example of that. Debrincat and Dach are just 24 and 21 years old…

Cole Koepke is in a very interesting spot as he settles into #4 in our Top 25 Under 25. The only players above him are the bonafide NHLers, and those directly below him are either the ones close to the league or are young prospects with the most value. That makes Koepke "best of the rest," a title the Lightning themselves are hoping he hits because…

How you feel about the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2021-22 is a matter of perspective. Sunny side up: it was the best, most memorable regular season in team history. Toronto smashed its single-season bests for wins (54) and points (115), and superstar center Auston Matthews rewrote the franchise record books. His 60 goals leapfrogged Rick Vaive's…

The Michigan State Spartans will face the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. Minnesota opened its campaign by dominating Western Illinois, New Mexico State, and Colorado at home. Prior to last week's road loss to Washington, Michigan State had victories over Western Michigan and Akron. Minnesota has been preparing…

From an NHL first-rounder to a potential top pick in 2024, America's top junior circuit has a lot to offer this year. As we speak, the USHL's annual Fall Classic is taking place outside of Pittsburgh as teams from America's top junior circuit shake off the summer rust and launch into another crucial development year. And, as always, there is a ton…

MINNESOTA -- It's hard to glean just how good the University of Minnesota football team might be after its nonconference schedule, but after three dominant wins, there are a lot of sources of encouragement. The sample size will continue to grow, as will the caliber of opposition starting this weekend. Minnesota (3-0) heads into the Big Ten opener…

The youth movement is in full swing in Buffalo, and general manager Kevyn Adams has a lot of future talent to sort through in order to build his team over the next few years. Names like Owen Power and Jack Quinn already have shown the value of a first-round pick, and players like Mattias Samuelsson and Jacob Bryson have shown how rewarding it is to…

But the major questions that will swirl around and shape the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2022-23 season are readily available to debate, even as we wait one more week for training camp to begin. Here's a glance at the big-picture storylines set to unfold over the winter and - maybe, just maybe - deep into spring. Will the double-down gamble on goaltending…

When discussing players entering the Hall of Fame, it is easy to get caught up in career resumes - an extensive laundry list of gaudy statistics, awards and accolades that each player achieved over the course of a long career. But there is also the impact on the game that goes beyond earning awards such as Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of…

TV: Big Ten Network -Mark Followill (PXP), Matt Millen (Analyst), Elise Menaker (Reporter) Streaming Link: Series: Minnesota leads 2-1(Minnesota won 48-10 in Minneapolis in 2018) Vegas betting line: Minnesota (-36.5) with an O/U of 53.5 Weather Report: 81 degrees with 10 mph winds out of the southeast with sunshine --- One of the fastest-growing,…