Rumors

Conley’s home was broken into on Sept. 15 when he was at a Minnesota Vikings game and jewelry was taken, officials told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Portis said his home was broken into on Nov. 2 and has offered a $40,000 reward for information related to the incident. The homes of Mahomes and Kelce were broken into within days of each other last month, according to law enforcement reports, and the NFL issued a similar warning memo to its teams this week. The NBA memo, relaying information from the FBI, said the theft rings “are primarily focused on cash and items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches, and luxury bags.”

Associated Press

“How it affected my family was the biggest part,” Randle told Andscape after the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 117-115 win over the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 24. “My oldest son was in school. He will be 8 in December. He’s been going to school with all his best buddies for 2½ years and they started school. That was tough for him. It was really the hardest part … “I broke the news to him by just being honest by telling him that I got traded to Minnesota. I told him this was going to be best thing for him, our family and me personally. I was trying to do little things to get him excited. He’s a big fan of [Minnesota Vikings wide receiver] Justin Jefferson. Then he got excited about Ant [Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards] and being around the team. A new house. You just have to find ways to trick him a little bit.”

Andscape

While Timberwolves guard Mike Conley was in Minneapolis for Sunday’s Minnesota Vikings home game, where he fired up the crowd before kickoff, his west-metro home was targeted by burglars, police said Wednesday. The break-in at Conley’s sprawling residence in Medina occurred mid-afternoon and was the second of three carried out that day by at least two suspects while the homes were unoccupied, said Police Chief Jason Nelson.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Minnesota Vikings: Minnesota Mike! @Mike Conley will sound the Gjallarhorn prior to #SFvsMIN.

Twitter

Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Reporting with @AdamSchefter : In a sweeping overhaul, Commanders owner Josh Harris has hired two prominent executives – former Warriors GM Bob Myers and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman - to assist his group in searches for a new head of football operations and coach.

Twitter

Former Vikings head coach Bud Grant has died at the age of 95, Minnesota announced on Saturday. Grant was a multi-sport athlete at the University of Minnesota, playing football, basketball and baseball for the Gophers.

wjbf.com

Minnesota Vikings owners Mark, Zygi and Lenny Wilf officially became owners of Orlando City Soccer Club on Wednesday after completing a sale — which includes the Lions, the Pride, Exploria Stadium and an academy system — from Flávio Augusto da Silva. Mark Wilf will assume the role of chairman and governor of the club. The purchase price was not disclosed, but reports from The Athletic place the transaction at $400 million to $450 million. The new ownership group includes a familiar name. The DeVos family, owners of the Orlando Magic, have purchased a minority stake in the soccer club from the Wilfs.

Orlando Sentinel

Keith Smith: Celtics injury report is lengthy for the Minnesota game on Saturday afternoon: Brown, Smart, Thompson, Walker, R. Williams - All OUT Fournier and Tatum - both probable.

Twitter

Sikka, who also directs the Timberwolves' COVID-19 procedures, pushed the Wolves to innovate on how to scout and analyze players virtually. For guidance, he connected with franchises in other sports that have drafted virtually. The Wolves spoke with the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Yankees, among others. They talked to one NFL team about how it handled trade scenarios, taking note of the rarity of zero trades in the first 13 picks of this year's NFL draft.

ESPN

The game matched a demo high in early Nielsen Live+Same Day ratings for the series and was even with Game 5. It had competition from NBC’s Sunday Night Football (3.2, 11.42M), which always dominates the night during the regular NFL season. Last night’s game, which saw the Seattle Seahawks pull out a 27-26 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, was down three tenths from last week.

deadline.com

Okogie has not even started his third season with the Wolves, and yet he has been perhaps the most active of the team’s players this summer. Okogie has found his voice in speaking up and participating in protests after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery was shot to death in Georgia, where Okogie was raised. He has partnered with Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph to get supplies to those in need after the riots ravaged businesses and the pandemic slashed jobs. His latest project is teaming up with Home Teams vs. Hunger, an initiative with the sports teams and media outlets in town partnering to raise money and awareness for Second Harvest Heartland and Minnesota’s five food banks.

The Athletic

The Wilf family, which owns the Vikings, was approached several months ago by a search firm looking for interested buyers, sources told The Athletic. Zygi and Mark Wilf have seen their initial $600 million investment explode with the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium, and a new television deal looming around the corner. The Wilfs are popular in the Twin Cities for their willingness to spend on the roster and a low-key public presence.

The Athletic

Jon Krawczynsky: Sources also tell @TheAthleticMIN that the Vikings ownership group very much wants the Wolves to stay in Minnesota. But the Vikings are not currently engaged on buying the team.

Twitter

The Wilf family that owns the Minnesota Vikings has emerged as a serious candidate to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves, NFL sources told ESPN. Only recently did the Wilfs emerge as one of the groups bidding to buy the NBA team in their city from billionaire Glen Taylor, sources said. There are several bidders for the team, including metropolitan New York real estate developer Meyer Orbach, who bought a minority stake in the Timberwolves in 2016. Former Timberwolves standout Kevin Garnett also said he is forming a group to try to purchase the team.

ESPN