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La Velle’s 3: Who will inspire us in 2023? La Velle E. Neal III gives us his three picks.

Welcome to 2023. What’s in store for Minnesota sports this year?

That question is equally exciting and unsettling. A year ago at this time, we didn’t know that a regime change would equate to a 12-4 record and a division title for the Vikings. Little did we know that the Timberwolves would make the playoffs, party like it was 1999 (or 2004), trade for Rudy Gobert in the offseason, and veer in the opposite direction in the new season. We didn’t know that the Lynx would stumble in Sylvia Fowles’ final season, or that the Minnesota Aurora would be a hit in their inaugural year.

And I didn’t know that I would end up in the same arena in Beijing as a tyrant who would invade Ukraine just days after the Winter Olympics.

There are many reasons to believe that this year will be more exciting than unsettling. That’s what I’m going with today, anyway: optimism, with the hope that you all get everything you want from your favorite sports teams.

I see potential sources of inspiration in many places in Minnesota sports. I see a phenom working on his inspirational comeback story for young athletes. I see a trio of hockey players working to become the best in the country. And I see a young pitcher ready to become a leader. Here are three picks of athletes who will inspire us in 2023 from the type with III in their name:

Paige’s comeback

You’ve heard of baby steps. See the article : Sony warns of weak PlayStation business as game sales continue to deteriorate. For Paige Bueckers, there are baby jumps.

Instead of aiming for another All-American honor on the court for the Connecticut women’s basketball team, Bueckers recently described her new challenges over the phone as she recovers from knee surgery. She focuses on strength training and pilates and meets with a nutritionist, breathing coach and performance-enhancement specialist while cheering on her fifth-ranked Huskies.

We’ll have to wait and see, but later this year Bueckers could produce one of the most significant comebacks of the year. Bueckers, a former Hopkins star and one of the most popular athletes in college sports, was recently cleared to graduate from flat-footed shooting to light rebounding.

“Now I’m almost five months out [from the injury], so I’m starting to jump a little bit on my jump shots, which is a big step for me.” the 21-year-old Bueckers said. “I just want to put the ball in the basket. If I can do that, I’ll be happy.”

It’s important for Bueckers to complete her rehabilitation and end a string of injuries and surgeries that began in April 2021 when she repaired joint damage in her right ankle and then suffered a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee while fielding the ball in December. The ACL tear occurred during the game on August 1st.

Bueckers was relegated to the Huskies’ unofficial assistant coach/support coach this season. She played Santa recently, as she and teammate Azzi Fudd gave teammates custom Bose headphones, thanks to one of her NIL (name, picture and likeness) contracts.

Meanwhile, her holistic approach to recovery continues. Her performance enhancement expert is Susan King Borchardt, who starred at Holy Angels before playing for Stanford. She played briefly for the Lynx, but thrived helping Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Tina Charles, Kelsey Plum and other WNBA stars.

“The first week after I tore it, before the surgery, was the worst,” Bueckers said. “Then I had surgery and I knew that from that moment on, every day that passed was one step closer to playing basketball again. That’s how I look at it. I’m just getting stronger and doing everything I can to make sure this never happens again.”

Sometime in 2023, Bueckers will make a highly anticipated return to the Huskies lineup, possibly during the team’s trip to Europe in August. Then she should be 100% healthy.

All you Lynx fans who were hoping Bueckers would just declare for the WNBA draft — where she’d probably be sitting there for Minnesota with the no. 2 on April 10 — you’ll still get to see her play in the city. The Gophers play host to the Huskies on Nov. 19.

Her resolve is questioned. Her faith was put to the test. But Bueckers remains positive.

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The best in college hockey

The Gophers men’s hockey team is 15-5 after coming out of the layoff and looks to bring the NCAA title back to Dinkytown for the first time since 2003. See the article : The Outlaws Season 2 and more air on Prime Video this week.

There is something old and something new in Bob Motzko’s front line of freshmen Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley and sophomore Matthew Knies. Many argue that it is the top line in college hockey; Snuggerud scored 12 goals and added 15 assists, Cooley had 10 and 15, and Knies had 11 and 11. Snuggerud and Cooley were the first picks in the NHL draft, while Knies, who played on the U.S. Olympic team at the Beijing Games, was the second round.

Go to the 3M Arena in Mariucci and watch these guys put on a show. They have a home and away series against St. Cloud State this weekend following the return of Cooley and Snuggerud from the world junior tournament in Canada.

Motzko was asked how they compare to the lines he has seen and coached.

“The best answer to that would be to bring them all back next year,” he said. “They’re building some chemistry. One with Knies, who’s in beast mode the whole time he’s working and competing. And the other two with a great level of competition. But it just doesn’t happen overnight. It has to come together.”

Snuggerud and Cooley had to adjust to college hockey as they adjusted to Knies, and vice versa. Knies said he learned to put the puck on Snuggerud’s stick and watch him shoot. With Cooley, he will move to open spaces and draw skaters to give his teammates room to operate.

“I’m a tough player who plays around the net,” Knies said. “I had to adapt a little bit, adapt to their style of play. But I think we succeeded.”

Snuggerud scored a hat trick in the third game of the season and never looked back. Cooley developed differently; entered the season touted as the most highly touted prospect in Arizona Coyotes history and got off to a slow start.

“Cooley came in with the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Motzko said, “and it took him a month and a half just to clear it. This last month [he’s] coming in, with a smile on his face, just playing for free, and it’s really started sputter.”

The Gophers have won eight of their last nine games, including one loss in overtime at Arizona State on Nov. 26. After that game, Sun Devils coach Greg Powers told the media that the Snuggerud-Cooley-Knies line was the best his team had faced in seven years as a Division I program.

There is a depth of quality behind that line as well. Several Gophers had the opportunity to sign with NHL teams and begin their professional careers. They decided to pursue the title together. As a result, these Gophers will likely be the best Minnesota team to watch later this winter.

“[It would mean] everything,” Knies said of winning the title. “That’s why you see guys like [Brock] Faber, [Jackson] Lacombe, [Ryan] Johnson out there. That’s why they’re all back. We have a special group.”

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The Joe Ryan Express

In 2021, the Tampa Bay Rays traded Joe Ryan to the Twins for half a season of Nelson Cruz. This may interest you : Collin Sexton deserves more than what the free agent market seems willing to pay him.

In 2022, Ryan was the Twins Opening Day starter.

In 2023, Ryan will be a staple in the Twins’ rotation.

Some would argue that Ryan has already accomplished that. But we don’t know how much better the right-hander can get, or if he can move the needle from staff ace to someone who would be the best pitcher on several major league teams. That would be progress.

His early work is encouraging. He has started 32 games since being traded to the Twins. In that time, Ryan is 15-9 with a 3.63 ERA over 173⅔ innings. Had this been done in one season, Ryan would have been considered the AL Rookie of the Year.

By comparison, Jose Berrios was 14-12 with a 5.42 ERA in his first 32 starts (148⅓ innings) with the Twins, and Kyle Gibson was 13-15 with a 4.82 ERA in 177⅓ innings.

“His ability to keep his power in these games, that’s been evident as the season has gone on,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Just the way he kept pitching. He kept getting stronger in these games and that really impressed me.

“This is something he can latch on to and make it part of Joe Ryan’s normal start. It just gets better and better as time goes on.”

Baldelli was knocked out for retiring pitchers early, but showed a willingness to prove to Ryan, 26, that he can go deeper into the game. Ryan finished strong, posting a 1.05 ERA over his last four starts last year. Baldelli controversially pulled Ryan after seven hitless innings against Kansas City on Sept. 13 to save him for the big start in Cleveland as the Twins clung to their postseason hopes. Ryan responded with 7⅔ shutout innings against the division champion Guardians. Of any member of the Twins rotation, Ryan will be the one to keep Baldelli from calling the bullpen.

This winter, all of the quality starting free agents signed with other clubs, while the Twins tried and failed to keep shortstop Carlos Correa. That leaves the Twins pitching staff with Ryan, Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, Josh Winder, Bailey Ober and Kent Maeda, who is back from injury. Who is safe from that group? Number 41. And that’s not bad.

“Joe is doing a lot of things that we already want him to do,” Baldelli said. “Some of them very natural. Some he picked up and figured out along the way. Does he come up with something unexpected that he’s tested himself that might be a good suggestion to add to his collection? That’s possible. Or he focuses on the details to take smaller points that contribute to higher production? Is it one or the other? Or both?

“He’s not a guy I wouldn’t say anything to because he’s a creative young man and I think he’s like that off the field. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he carries that onto the field and comes up with something new.”

The 2023 season should be the year Ryan shows how good he can be and become one of the better pitchers in the American League.

How did La Velle’s 2022 inspiration picks fare? Check out what he wrote a year ago to find out.

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