Minnesota Sports Roundup: Indians avoid sweep

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CLEVELAND - Cleveland's Casey Kotchman's walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th lifted the Indians to a 4-3 win over the Twins yesterday afternoon in Ohio.

Trevor Plouffe clubbed a solo homer and Denard Span added an RBI double for Minnesota, which took two-of-three in the series. Anthony Swarzak was charged with the loss. The Twins kick off a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers this evening at Comerica Park. Samuel Deduno is expected to toe the rubber opposite Rick Porcello in the opener.

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With about a dozen games left in another sub-par Twins season, it's also been a less-productive year of breaking bats. The DNR says 102 opposing players' bats were broken by Twins pitchers, which translates to 10-thousand-200 trees planted so far in Minnesota parks and trails. The "Break A Bat, Plant A Tree" program saw 160 bats broken last season -- and 180 the year before.

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LA's Candace Parker dropped 22 points and grabbed 11 boards as the Sparks spanked the Lynx, 92-76. Monica Wright posted 19 points off the bench in the loss. The Lynx continue a regular-season ending three-game road trip tonight against the Phoenix Mercury. They wrap up the regular season on Sunday at San Antonio.

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Single-game tickets for the Minnesota Timberwolves go on sale this morning at 10 a.m. The general public can purchase tickets through the team's website, via Ticketmaster, at the Target Center box office, or by calling 1-800-4-NBA-TIX. The Wolves will not be selling single game tickets to the home games against the Lakers, Thunder, Heat and Celtics. Tickets to those contests are only available through season or flex plan ticket purchases. Minnesota opens the home schedule on November 2nd against Sacramento.

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The Minnesota Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at Mall of America Field. The Vikes dropped to 1-1 on the season with a 23-20 loss at Indianapolis last weekend. They beat Jacksonville in Week One. Minnesota came away with a 27-24 win over San Fran the last time the two teams played in 2009. The 'Niners flexed their defensive muscle in a 27-19 win over Detroit this past Sunday night. San Fran allowed less than 300 yards and just one late touchdown against the high-powered Lions to improve to 2-0. Alex Smith threw for 226 yards and two scores, while extending his club-record streak to 216 consecutive regular-season passes without an interception. Kickoff is set for noon.

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The NFL is recognizing the contributions of late NFL Films president Steve Sabol at games around the league this week. According to NFL.com, a brief video tribute will be shown prior to kickoff at every stadium. Sabol passed away this week at the age of 69 after battling brain cancer.

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The Minnesota Golden Gopher football team welcomes Syracuse to TCF Stadium on Saturday evening. The Gophers improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season with a 28-23 victory versus Western Michigan last weekend They also have wins over UNLV and New Hampshire. Syracuse is 1-2 heading into the game.

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University of Minnesota football fans can help raise money for head coach Jerry Kill's charity at tomorrow's game against Syracuse. Kill, a cancer survivor, operates the "Coach Kill Cancer Fund," which helps cancer victims who need help covering various costs associated with getting medical treatment. Maroon wrist bands will be sold prior to the game near Mariucci Arena at the pregame party called "Block G." Wrist bands will also be sold at Gates A, B, D, and E at the stadium beginning when doors open at 5 p.m. The wrist bands say "Tackle The Tough Times." A donation of two-dollars is recommended for each bracelet, although fans can donate more if they so choose.

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