Minnesota Sports Roundup: Gopher football looking to beat Michigan at home for the first time since 1977

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MINNEAPOLIS -- For the 99th time in the historic rivalry, the Golden Gopher football team entertains Michigan tomorrow.

The winner of the game gets the "Little Brown Jug," which is the nation's oldest, on-going rivalry trophy. Michigan currently owns the trophy and has dominated the series since the late 1960's. The Golden Gophers have not beaten Michigan at home since 1977, and have won only two road games since then. Minnesota won in Ann Arbor in 1986 and 2005. Overall, Michigan leads the series against Minnesota 71-24-3 This Saturday's game kicks off at 11 a.m. at TCF Bank Stadium.

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Tonight is the night Minnesota Timberwolves fans have been waiting for for a long time. It is opening night, as Minnesota entertains Sacramento in NBA basketball at the Target Center. The Kings are 0-1 on the season after a Wednesday loss in Chicago. The Wolves will play the game without Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, each out with injuries. Tonight's contest is set to start at 7 p.m. at the Target Center.

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The University of Minnesota men's basketball team raced past Minnesota State-Mankato 81-56 in an exhibition game at Williams Arena last night. Golden Gopher sophomore Joe Coleman of Minneapolis scored a game-high 21 points in the win. he was the lone Minnesota player in double figures. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Zach Romashko of Blaine, who came off the bench to net 18 points; and New Prague native Conner O'Brien who chipped in with 13. Minnesota led by as many as 34 points. Gopher forward Trevor Mbakwe of St. Paul scored four points and had three rebounds in 11 minutes of action. Mbakwe is coming off of a severe knee injury last year and also had some legal issues over the summer.

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The 2014 NCAA men's ice hockey West Regional will be hosted by the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The NCAA made the announcement yesterday. 2014 will mark the fifth time in six years the Twin Cities will be part of college hockey's premiere event. Ticket packages for the two-day event will go on sale in the fall of 2013.

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The Minnesota Vikings will have one final full practice late this morning at Winter Park and then it will be fine-tuning the rest of the weekend, as Minnesota visits Seattle for a Sunday afternoon NFL football game. The Vikes are 5-3, while Seattle enters the game with a 4-and-4 mark. The Seahawks are, however, 3-0 at home, where they enjoy the label as one of the NFL's loudest stadiums. Kickoff for the NFC showdown on Sunday is set for 3:05 p.m.

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The Miami Marlins have a new manager. Former Twins catcher Mike Redmond, who also spent time on the 2003 World Champion Marlins team was given a three-year contract to manage the team in south Florida. He spent the last two years managing in the minor leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays. Redmond replaces Ozzie Guillen, who was fired after one season.

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The state's inaugural wolf hunting season opens this weekend (11/3) and opponents are still crying foul. The group Howling for Wolves claims the Minnesota DNR used an emergency rule-making process for the hunt to avoid public comment. Spokeswoman Dr. Maureen Hackett says she's especially opposed to the trapping of an iconic legacy species in Minnesota. The Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals denied a motion by Howling for Wolves and another group to stop the first-ever wolf hunt. The Appeals Court said the groups did not demonstrate that the wolf population would be harmed.

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