Minnesota Sports Roundup: Gopher football heading to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas

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MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota football team accepted an invitation to play in the December 28th Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas against Texas Tech.

The game will be played at Reliant Stadium in Houston and kickoff at 8 p.m. The Gophers finished the season with a 6-and-6 record, while the Red Raiders were 7-and-5. This is the first bowl game for the Golden Gophers since the 2009 season, when they played in the Insight Bowl against Iowa State. Minnesota and Texas Tech have previously played against each other in one bowl game. That was the 2006 Insight Bowl, which the Red Raiders won in overtime 44-41. That game marked the end of the Glen Mason era at Minnesota, as the long-time Gopher coach was fired two days after losing the game.

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Golden Gopher head football coach Jerry Kill says being invited to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas shows signs that his program is making the necessary steps in building toward success. Kill took over a program in 2011 that had won three games in 2010. His first year as Gopher coach in 2011 also saw three wins. That moved to six wins this season and pushed Minnesota into bowl eligibility. Kill says he is happy for the senior players on his team, for the university in general, and for his coaching staff.

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Northern Illinois did not waste any time in naming a new football coach to replace the departing Dave Doeren. Doeren, who led the Huskies to this year's MAC Championship and a berth in the Orange Bowl, is the new coach at North Carolina State. The new NIU head coach is Wayzata native Rod Carey. Carey played college ball at Indiana and got his coaching start as an assistant coach at Wayzata High School. He later was a graduate assistant on Glen Mason's staff at the University of Minnesota before getting full-time work at UW-Stout in 2000 as an assistant. He moved on to assistant coaching jobs at Illinois State and North Dakota, before joining the Northern Illinois staff as an offensive line coach in 2011. He was promoted to offensive coordinator during the 2012 season and was promoted to new head coach yesterday.

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The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team beaten on their home mat yesterday by No. 3 Oklahoma State 22-15. The Golden Gophers were competing without three starters Minnesota is now 6-1 on the season and will host Northwestern and Oregon State this weekend at the U of M Sports Pavilion.

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The top-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team skated by No. 10 Wisconsin 2-0 yesterday to remain unbeaten on the season and extend its NCAA-record winning streak to 26 straight. The Gophers are now 18-0-0 on the season and will visit Bemidji State this weekend.

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The Golden Gopher women's basketball team lost at No. 20 Kansas 65-53 yesterday afternoon. Lakeville native Rachel Banham scored 19 points in the loss. The sophomore guard added three assists. Minnesota has lost two straight and is now 6-and-3 on the season. Coach Pam Borton's team will host Denver University on Wednesday night.

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Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio practiced with the team yesterday at the Target Center and says his conditioning was good, but his legs were tired. He says he was thrilled to be back on the practice floor and his coach Rick Adelman says he liked what he saw. Rubio says he still isn't sure when he'll return to game action, but is hoping within the next two weeks. The Wolves practiced yesterday with Kevin Love and Andrei Kirilenko. Love has been dealing with flu symptoms, while Kirilenko has a sore back. Minnesota is at Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

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NHL labor negotiations will continue in New York tomorrow when owners and players meet at the bargaining table. Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr will not be present. The NHL has announced owners from the Penguins, Jets, Flames, Bruins, Maple Leafs and Lightning will be in attendance, but the NHLPA has not decided on its representatives. The lockout has already cost the NHL 422 games, the Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend.

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The Minnesota Twins are hoping to add some quality pitching arms at some point soon. The Major League Baseball Winter Meetings get underway today in Nashville, and that could be a place general manager Terry Ryan tries to accomplish part of that mission. Ryan added a young pitcher last week when he traded veteran outfielder Denard Span to the Nationals for prospect Alex Meyer. Meyer has not played in a big league game and likely will not see time in the Major Leagues this season, either.

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