Minnesota Sports Briefs: U women's hoops loses to Illinois

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MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota women's basketball team lost a game to Illinois last night 91-86 at Williams Arena.

Golden Gopher star guard Rachel Banham of Lakeville netted 37 points in the defeat, moving into the 1000-point club for her career. The sophomore playmaker became the 21st player in Gopher women's program history to surpass 1000 points, and the third fastest. The Gophers dropped to 13-8 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten. Minnesota hosts Michigan on Thursday night.

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The Golden Gopher men's basketball team will host Nebraska tonight at Williams Arena for an 8 p.m. game. Minnesota dropped in both the national media and national coaches poll. The Gophers fell from 12th to 23rd in the media rankings and from 14th to 24th in the coaches ratings. Minnesota has lost four straight games after a 15-1 start put them as high as No. 8 in the polls. The last Gopher win came on January 9th at Illinois. Nebraska enters tonight's game with an 11-10 overall record. There are still tickets remaining for tonight's game.

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U Minnesota's football team has reportedly landed the all-time leading receiver from California. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports Drew Wolitarsky has committed to Minnesota. The 6-foot-3 senior from Canyon County, California, broke the state receiving records for yards and receptions. He had 89 catches for 1,275 yards and 15 touchdowns this past season.

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The Baltimore Ravens are in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII. The team arrived yesterday afternoon after departing Baltimore earlier in the day. Before heading to New Orleans, the city of Baltimore held a send-off rally for the team with thousands of fans turning out on a chilly day at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The 49ers arrived in New Orleans on Sunday. The two teams will square off this Sunday in a battle for the Lombardi Trophy at the New Orleans Superdome.

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As Super Bowl week begins in New Orleans, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's approval rating is taking a hit. In a recent "USA Today" poll of 300 players, 61-percent said they disapprove of the job Goodell is doing. Most of the criticism centered around his handling of the Saints' bounty scandal and the overall increase in fines.

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Tiger Woods is the champion of the Farmers Insurance Open. He captured his 75th career PGA Tour victory with a four-shot win on Monday. Woods dropped four shots over his final six holes to close with an even-par 72 in the final round, which was completed Monday after play was suspended on Sunday due to darkness. Woods finished the tournament at 14-under 274. He earned his eighth career win at Torrey Pines, giving him the most victories at any one venue in PGA Tour history. Tim Herron and Donald Constable, both Wayzata natives, missed the cut in this tournament.

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