Staff & Contributors

Marc Elliott

Marc Elliott is a free lance sports opinion writer. Elliott recently wrote “The Masked Fan Speaks” column for the Lake County News Chronicle for the past ten years.

Content By This Contributor:

Vikes Stadium Bill Showdown, Cup Tourney Closes In On Conference Finals, & The Mfan NHL Power Rank!

Marc Elliott

THE METROPLEX…. The HHH MetroDome opened its doors for the first time in April of 1982. I was at the first event to ever be held there, an MLB exhibition game between the Twins and Pete Rose’s Philadelphia Phillies. The Twins and the Vikings had both lobbied for a new stadium, with the Twins’ main push for a domed building based upon fan certainty that they could come to the ballpark and not be prevented from seeing a game due to a rainout or other weather event. The Vikes, I believe, liked it because the old Met Stadium had seen its better days and they could obtain a larger live audience with a new locale to play in.

The Wild Post-Season Wrap, Part Three; The Stanley Cup, Round Two; And The Mfan Cup Power Rank, The M5!

Marc Elliott

CANAL PARK… To say that injuries drastically altered the course of the Minnesota Wild’s season would be an understatement. The club dressed a record 47 different players over the past campaign. One injury in particular seemed to have a sudden effect on the team that they would not recover from. On December 13th the team was in Winnipeg and was in first place in the league’s overall standings. Late in the third period and down by a 2-1 score, the Jets’ Zach Bogosian checked Pierre-Marc Bouchard from behind, and PMB went into the boards face-first and went down hard.

Wild Season Wrap Part 2, Stanley Cup Tourney Rages On, And The Masked Fan Cup Power Rank, The M5!

Marc Elliott

SAWBILL LAKE…. Last week I was getting kind of emotional about the Minnesota Wild. First off, I love hockey like crazy and I’m a Minnesota guy, so there. Having an NHL club back in Minny has meant the world to me. Sure, it’s been 11 seasons of frustration, with one huge highlight in the 2003 Conference Finals, but my hopes for an eventual championship for the club are undiminished. This week, let’s look at some of the hard data from the season just concluded. With a mix of established veterans of varying degrees of success and some up-and-coming young talent, here are some important stats.

Minnesota Wild Post-Season Wrap, Part One, The Stanley Cup Rages Forth, & The Mfan Cup Power Rank, The M5!

Marc Elliott

CARLTON PEAK… The Minnesota Wild have concluded their 11th season of competition, posting a record of 35-36-1—or if you are like me and just want the W-L record in black and white, they went 35-47. They put on a surge of sorts going 5-5 in their last 10 tilts. However, I am saddened to report that they missed the playoffs once again. In fact, to be honest, after 11 seasons, the highlight list for the club is kind of a short read. Out of expansion teams that have come into the NHL over the past 15 years, the Wild and Columbus are the two that still seem to be finding their way.

News, Views And Wooooooooooooooooo! The Frozen Four, The NHL And The Mfan NHL M5!

Marc Elliott

SILVER CLIFF…. It’s two a.m. in the morning, and sitting around a nice little campfire atop this magnificent perch high above the majestic Gitche Gumee are myself along with the Grand Hockey Mystic, the Very Reverend Swami Puckta. I have been sipping some excellent, well, let’s call it “extract of cactus,” and the Swami—I’m not sure, but it looks like

Vikings Settle Stadium Issue And Agree To Pay All Construction Costs, NCAA Hockey Tourney & More!

Marc Elliott

THE METROPLEX… The Minnesota Vikings football club and the Minnesota state legislature have come to an agreement on a new stadium for the team. The new agreement calls for a stadium to be constructed on the latest popular site, which happens to be next to the current site of the HHH Metrodome. Since the early nineties, several sites have come and g

Manning To Broncos? NCAA Hockey Is Here! The Mfan Top 5 NHL Power Rank & More!

Marc Elliott

CLOQUET LAKE… Where would you rather be right now, northern Minny or south Florida? Since the weather is about the same as of late, I’ll take the peace and quiet of the good old North Star state any day of the week. As of Tuesday morning, it appears that all-world QB Peyton Manning is set to become a Denver Bronco. Well, that’s great. I have been to Denver several times and I really like it there. I wouldn’t mind spending a few years there, in fact. The beautiful Rocky Mountains are close by with plenty of outdoor recreation pursui

It’s State Hockey Tourney Time! Masked Fan Sports Shorts & Much, Much More!

Marc Elliott

LARSMONT… Just two summers ago, my son William, my little brother Tom Zamberletti and I went over to the St. Paul neighborhood where we grew up. A few years had passed by since I had been over there, and my son wanted to see where it was that we lived when we were younger. Not 200 feet off of West 7th S

Minnesota Wild Woes Continue Part One, And The Mfan Extra! Here We Go!

Marc Elliott

BILLINGS PARK…. I wrote back in October that I felt the 2011-12 version of the Minnesota Wild were going to finish in the 11th to 12th place neighborhood of the NHL Western Conference and I took a lot of heat for it. Lo and behold the club surprised everyone and in early December while Santa and the Elves were getting ready for a return engagement to your chimney, this team, yes this team, found themselves on top of the NHL points race. Then shazam! The hockey genie was put back into the bottle.

A Sports Legend Passes On: Joe Paterno Dead At 85.

Marc Elliott

SILVER CREEK… It is a sad and indifferent day in the world of sports, especially in the universe of college football. Some 74 days after being fired from a job he had worked at for 61 years, 44 of which he served as the head coach, former ...

Baseball Contract Madness

Marc Elliott

PARK POINT… Well, baseball fans, it’s done: the first major and idiotic contract of the free agent season has been signed, sealed, and delivered. The former St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Albert Pujols has signed a whopper ...

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