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Senior Nate Ricci started the annual Spring Game where he left off for UMD last year, leaping to catch a pass from John Larson for a 20-yard touchdown, despite Mitchell Johnson-Martin's aggressive defense. Photo credit: John Gilbert

The area college baseball and softball seasons are speeding toward their early conclusions at UMD, St. Scholastica and Wisconsin-Superior, but they had to grant space to the UMD football annual spring game last Friday at Malosky Stadium. They had over 1,000 fans show up on a beautiful spring day, and the Maroon beat the White in the modified-score battle, 14-7.

The primary concern most Bulldog fans had going in was who would replace four-year starter Drew Bauer at quarterback, and the game made it appear that all is well, and the Bulldogs might be in perfect position to stay at the top of their division in the Northern Sun Conference.

Maroon lineman Regis Henke gave it his best dive, but White freshman running back Austin Sylvester escape for a Spring Intrasquad gain.Photo credit: John Gilbert

John Larson is another freshman quarterback candidate.Photo credit: John Gilbert

Freshman John Larson opened up by firing a perfectly arched first-quarter pass from 20 yards out that became one of those plays where both receiver Nate Ricci and defensive back Mitchell Johnson-Martin made great impressions on the same play. Johnson-Martin was all over Ricci as the two went up for the ball at the right sideline in the end zone. Ricci came down with it for a touchdown, and a 7-0 White lead.

Ben Everhart tied it for the Maroons with a 63-yard pitch to James Conner in the second quarter. And Mike Rybarczyk, probably the early QB favorite, completed a big pass and then ran in for the winning Maroon touchdown.

As long as we're talking football, the NFL season opener at the Vikings new stadium already is going to command record quantities of interest. I think it's sad that Teddy Bridgewater might not be ready to play this fall, and that Adrian Peterson has been cut adrift by the Vikings.

That signals an end of an era, for sure. But wait! Adrian Peterson will be playing in the Vikings home opener. Only it will be against the Vikings. Peterson signing with the New Orleans Saints might be cause for Drew Brees to do a few cartwheels in glee. Brees is a great quarterback, and he'll be even greater if Peterson returns to form and can run wild for the Saints.

TWINS REMAIN PUZZLE

Ervin Santana continues to pitch like the Twins ace he is, but the rest of the team seemed to nosedive into collapse during a 2-7 homestand that made the team’s early hot start seem like a rumor. While Kyle Gibson can’t seem to get through opposing lineups more than once before getting lit up, the Twins hit the road with Phil Hughes offering scant hope for reversing things on the mound.

But Hughes pitched one of his best game in a couple years, and when the Twins fell behind 1-0 and then 2-0, they bounced back at Texas in a dazzling way. Three Twins walked to fill the bases, then Brian Dozier came up and rifled a double to the wall at Arlington, as all three baserunners raced home.

After Hughes managed to get through six innings, three relievers went an inning each and the Twins held on to win 3-2. The most heartening thing is that the team did it with pitching, defense, and tight execution. Who knows? Maybe the Twins will fall apart the rest of the road trip. On the other hand, we could settle for an 81-81 season if the victories were all that sort of artistic successes.

NASHVILLE-EDMONTON CUP FINAL?

The Stanley Cup Playoffs resume this week with the Western Conference’s top two teams — the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild — knocked out in the first round. That creates a wide-open scenario, with upstart Nashville facing the St. Louis Blues, and Anaheim taking on the Edmonton Oilers in the division finals.

In the East, Pittsburgh faces Washington in the TV dream series, while the New York Rangers face the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa knocked out Boston, and the Rangers outfought Montreal in first-round play, while Washington had to fight through five overtime games to subdue the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games, and Pittsburgh toppled Columbus in a hotly competitive series.

It would be outrageous to pick Nashville over St. Louis, especially now that Paul Stastny is back centering Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko on what is one of the most dangerous lines in hockey, but the Predators thoroughly outplayed Chicago and looked like valid Cup threats in the process, with Pekka Rinne even hotter than Blues goalie Jake Allen. Similarly, Edmonton looks splendid in the new orange uniforms, and they worked to knock off a powerful San Jose Sharks outfit, and I like the new Oilers over Anaheim.

If there’s a better first line than the Blues unit, it’s Niklas Backstrom centering Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie in Washington, where I like the Capitols to knock off Pittsburgh. Also, I picked Ottawa to beat Boston, so now I’m riding ace defenseman Erik Karlsson and the Senators to also knock out the Rangers.