Category Archives: Sports

The NBA All Star game

By: Sema’Jae Tate

Team USA Stars

Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff

  • Scottie Barnes: Pts 19.3 AST 5.6 Reb 8.4
  • Devin Booker: Pts 25.2 AST 6.3 Reb 4
  • Cade Cunningham : Pts 25.3 AST 9.6 Reb5.6
  • Jalen Duren: Pts 17..7 AST 1.8 Reb 10.4
  • Anthony Edward’s: Pts 29.3 AST 3.7 Reb 5.2
  • Chet HolmGren: Pts 17.5 AST 1.6 Reb 8.6
  • Jalen Johnson: Pts 23.3 AST 8.2 Reb 10.6
  • Tyrese Maxey: Pts 28.9 AST 6.8 Reb 4.1

Team USA Stripes

Coach: Mitch Johnson

  • Jaylen Brown: Pts 29.3 AST 4.7 REB 6.9
  • Jalen Brunson: Pts 27 AST 6.1 REB 3.3
  • Kevin Durant: Pts 25.8 AST 4.4 REB 5.3
  • De’aaron Fox: Pts 25.8 AST 6.3 REB 3.8
  • LeBron James: Pts 22 AST 7.1 REB 5.8
  • Kawhi Leonard: Pts 27.9 AST 3.7 REB 6.4
  • Donovan Mitchell: Pts 29 AST 5.9 REB 4.5
  • Stephen Curry: Pts 27.2 AST 4.8 REB 3.5

Team World

Coach: Darko Rajakovic  

  • Victor Wembanyama: Pts 24.4 AST 2.8 Reb 11.1
  • Nikola Jokić: Pts 28.7 AST 10.7 REB 12.3
  • Luka Dončić: Pts 32.8 AST 8.6 REB 7.8
  • Pascal Siakam: Pts 23.7 AST 3.9 REB 6.7
  • Jamal Murray: Pts 25.7 Ast 7.6 REB 4.4  
  • Deni Avdija: Pts 25.5 2 AST REB 7.2
  • Karl-Anthony Towns: Pts 19.8 Ast 2.9 REB 6.7  
  • Alperen Şengün: Pts 20.7 Ast 6.3 REB 9.4  
  • Norman Powell: Pts 23 Ast 7.6 REB 3.6
  • Shai Gilgeous – Alexander (injured DNP): Pts 31.8 Ast 6.4 Reb 4.4
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (injured DNP): Pts 28 Ast 5.6 Reb 10

*Note: All player stats are season stats

The all star game is for players from other team to come together and play with each other. Although they’re having fun, they also play competitively to win. The games were very close and some players did better than others.

Stars vs World: This game was good with Stars on top and the score being 35 to 37.

Stars vs Stripes: Although Stars are coming off a win they were defeated by Stripes 40 to 42.

World vs Stripes: The Stripes were undefeated with coming off a win vs Stars and won against World 45 to 48. 

The championship was game Star vs Stripes with Stripes coming off two wins back to back. This game wasn’t close at all though with the score being 47 to 21 Stars for the win.

My feedback about the games is that the team World was terrible. They didn’t win one game, but overall, I liked the tournament set-up. My favorite player was Anthony Edwards, winning MVP with 32 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists winning the Kobe Bryant trophy. But somebody I also liked was Victor Wembanyama, even though team World didn’t win, Victor gave it his all.

Overall, the all star game was a 7.5 /10. 

Saint Paul Hockey Season

By: Frederick Gallatin

As hockey grew outwards into the suburbs, the Highland/Central Scots, fresh off a fourth place finish in Section 4A in 2025, were forced to look inward to replenish their forces for 2026. Their answer came in the form of the other Saint Paul Public Schools; Johnson, Como and Humboldt. Scots Hockey and their iconic red sweaters have taken up a new identity in Saint Paul Hockey and their royal blue and white uniforms. Looking to build off a promising 2025 campaign, 4th- year Head Coach Paul Ryan acknowledged in an interview that success would not come easy. Trying to compete in the State of Hockey’s stacked Section 4A would require discipline, hard work, and grit. Captained by Gavin Olsen, Max Karvonen, and Alex Robles, Saint Paul looked to defend home ice and represent the inner city at every opportunity.

After a slow start, Saint Paul headed down to Red Wing for a holiday tournament. Facing three upper-echelon MN Class A teams, Saint Paul played their best stretch of the year, taking down Mounds Westonka, Altoona, and Red Wing en route to the first championship trophy in SPH history.

As a first-year program, success was not at all guaranteed; the entire season would be an uphill battle.

Led by thirteen seniors, Saint Paul swept rival Saint Paul Academy in their two games played. At Drake Arena, home of the Spartans and their partners, Nova and Saint Agnes, Saint Paul won 8-1. Captain Gavin Olsen netted a hat trick, while Evan Shipp (2), Finn Warner, JoJo Cunningham (2), and Ian Wallace scored for Saint Paul en route to a statement win to start the new year.

At the end of January, Saint Paul hosted the Spartans for Senior Night. After a ceremony to honor the dedication of the thirteen players graduating in the spring, Saint Paul earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over SPA.

As the boys prepare for the gauntlet that is Section 4A’s playoff, questions have risen over the team’s future. Attempting to fill the skates of thirteen seniors is difficult, especially when seniors account for five of the team’s top six point scorers. The resurgence of Saint Paul’s JV team has brought anticipation for next year, as sophomores Antone Pearson, Wesley Rand, and Canaan Nonnemacher look to establish themselves on varsity next year.

Saint Paul (4-17-2) begins their first state title run at Aldrich Arena against the Osseo Orioles (11-12-2) next week. Keys to advancing to face Mahtomedi in the quarterfinals include strong puck control, effective communication, and well-organized special teams. Staying out of the box and making power plays count will greatly assist Saint Paul in extending their season.

Update: Saint Paul beat Osseo but then lost to Mahtomedi to end their season.

Sports schedule for: Feb 23-Feb 28

 ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 28
MONDAYFEBRUARY 23 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
7:00pm Girls Basketball Sections vs.South St. PaulSouth St. Paul High School
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 24  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
3:15pm Badminton Captains PracticeFieldhouse
B: 4:15pm JV: 5:30pm V: 7:00pm3:15pm | 8:30pmBoys Basketball  vs. Concordia AcademyConcordia Academy
7:00pm – 9:00pm Baseball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
WEDNESDAYFEBRUARY 25  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:30pm Boys Basketball vs. Como ParkComo Park High School
7:00pm Girls Basketball Section Quarterfinals 
7:00pm – 9:00pm Baseball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
THURSDAYFEBRUARY 26  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
    
FRIDAYFEBRUARY 27  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
3:15pm Badminton Captains PracticeMain Gym
B: 4:00pm JV: 5:30pm V: 7:00pm2:45pm | 8:30pmBoys Basketball vs. St. FrancisSt. Francis High School
5:00pm Adapted Floor Hockey State Tournament vs. BrainerdBloomington Jefferson High School (Gym C)
5:30pm – 8:30pm Boys Volleyball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
SATURDAYFEBRUARY 28  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
    

Review of the 2026 Super Bowl

By: Karl Salkowski

(Image Credit Unsplash)

This year, I was one of nearly 125 million people who tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. Super Bowl LX featured the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, two standout teams throughout the regular season. Ultimately, the Seattle Seahawks won the game 29-13, earning their second Super Bowl title. The game was played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. As predicted, the Seattle Seahawks dominated for most of the game, eventually leading 12 to 0 by the beginning of the 4th quarter.

Super Bowl ads can cost anywhere from 8-10 million dollars for just a thirty second commercial. This is one of the biggest opportunities for large corporations to gain virality and visibility. Over the last few years, and especially this year, artificial intelligence has become one of the most common topics in these ads, with some commercials having been created completely with AI tools. These commercials tend to be some of the laziest and least creative, making the whole “watching experience” feel more corporate.

In my opinion, the halftime show was one of the highlights. Bad Bunny delivered an incredibly creative and powerful performance. In addition to singing some of his biggest hits, he sent a message of equality, identity, and belonging. This also marked the first halftime show to be performed almost exclusively in Spanish. It included many interesting set pieces, including over 400 people dressed in sugarcane costumes. He ended his performance by listing off all the countries that make up the Americas, ending off with the statement “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

Overall, I think this was one of the weaker Super Bowls, as the game felt slow and boring up until the fourth quarter. The Seahawks played incredible defense, with major players such as Kenneth Walker III, and kicker Jason Myers helping to lead to a decisive victory. The definitive highlight of the game for me was definitely the halftime performance. Although I am not really a fan of Bad Bunny, I have been following his music for a couple of years, and it is really cool to see him get the recognition he deserves. Ultimately, I think I would rate this Super Bowl a 7 out of 10.

Sports schedule for: Feb 16-21

 ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 16 – FEBRUARY 21
MONDAYFEBRUARY 16 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
    
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 17  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:30pm Adapted Floor Hockey SectionsHumboldt High School
7:00pm – 9:00pm Baseball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
7:30pm5:30pm | 9:30pmBoys Hockey Sections vs. OsseoAldrich Arena
WEDNESDAYFEBRUARY 18  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
B: 4:30pm JV: 4:30pm V: 6:00pm Boys Basketball vs. Como ParkHOME
7:00pm – 9:00pm Baseball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
THURSDAYFEBRUARY 19  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
5:00pmTBDBoys Hockey SectionsAldrich Arena
6:00pm4:00pm | 9:30pmBoys Swimming Section PrelimsArt Downey Aquatic Center
FRIDAYFEBRUARY 20  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
 2:15pm | 6:00pmWrestling Individual SectionsCretin-Derham Hall
B: 5:00pm JV: 5:00pm V: 6:30pm3:30pm | 8:00pmBoys Basketball vs. JohnsonJohnson High School
JV: 5:30pm V: 7:00pm Girls Basketball vs. Hope AcademyHope Academy
5:30pm – 8:30pm Boys Volleyball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
SATURDAYFEBRUARY 21  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
9:00am6:30am | 3:00pmWrestling Individual SectionsCretin-Derham Hall
1:00pm10:30am | 3:30pmBoys Swimming Section FinalsArt Downey Aquatic Center

History of rigging sports

By: Karl Salkowski

(Image Credit Unsplash)

On January 15th, 2026, 10 to 15 Division 1 basketball players were charged with conspiring to rig games. Many of the best college players would throw games while an outside group bet hundreds of thousands of dollars against them. Using this strategy, these players were able to make millions of dollars over the course of the season.

The United States government has attempted to make fixing games harder through legislation, including the 2019 Macolin Convention against manipulation and the 2020 Rodchenkov Act against doping in sports. Sports betting is a lucrative market, as gambling revenue was more than 11 billion dollars last year, up over 13%.

Fixing professional sports is nothing new; major scandals have been happening for centuries. One of the first notable examples was the 1919 Black Sox scandal. 8 Major League Baseball players conspired together to lose the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in order to receive a payout from a gambling syndicate. This destroyed professional baseball’s integrity and changed the way the sport was run professionally. All 8 players involved were banned from the sport for life, and this event led to many of the stricter rules in baseball.More recently in professional tennis, close to 200 players were proved to have participated in match fixing. In 2023, many lower level professional players would purposely manipulate scores and retire from the game early for betting purposes. Many of these players received fines or lifetime bans from the sport following the investigation.

As sports betting is becoming more and more accessible, there becomes more of an incentive for players to rig games. For the most part, players with lower salaries are more susceptible, as the money is more impactful. This has caused fixing college games to become all too common in the last few years. Even with the strict punishments and the laws in place to prevent it, fixing sports games will only happen more and more often. Not only does rigging games harm the integrity of these sports, but also the betting market.

Sports schedule for: Feb 9-13

 ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 9 – FEBRUARY 14
MONDAYFEBRUARY 9 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
3:45pm2:10pm | 5:00pmNordic Ski JV ChampionshipsHyland Lake Park
4:30pm Adapted Hockey vs. RobbinsdaleArmstrong High School
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 10  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
JV: 4:30pm V: 6:00pm Boys Basketball vs. WashingtonHOME
WEDNESDAYFEBRUARY 11  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
Girls: 11:00am Boys: 12:15pmBus Leaves Tuesday at 3:45pmNordic Ski State MeetGiants Ridge
JV: 4:30pm V: 6:00pm Boys Basketball vs. Higher Ground AcademyHOME
JV: 4:30pm V: 6:00pm Girls Basketball vs. FridleyFridley High School
THURSDAYFEBRUARY 12  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
Boys: 10:00am Girls: 11:00am4:30pmNordic Ski State MeetGiants Ridge
JV: 5:30pm V: 7:30pmJV: 3:15pm V: 5:15pm | 9:00pmBoys Hockey vs. IrondaleBlaine Super Rink
FRIDAYFEBRUARY 13  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
    
SATURDAYFEBRUARY 14  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
9:00am6:30am | 3:00pmWrestling Team SectionsHarding High School
B: 10:00am JV: 10:00am V: 12:00pm Boys Basketball vs. MahtomediHOME
11:00am7:15am | 1:30pmGymnastics SectionsNorth St. Paul High School
JV: 12:00pm V: 2:00pm9:30am | 4:00pmBoys Hockey vs. New UlmNew Ulm Civic Center

Sports schedule: Feb 2-7

 ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 2 – FEBRUARY 7
MONDAYFEBRUARY 2 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:00pm Varsity Girls Basketball vs. Community of Peace AcademyHOME
7:00pm5:30pm | 8:45pmBoys Swimming vs. Humboldt / WashingtonHumboldt High School
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 3  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
9:00am Nordic Ski Section ChampionshipBattle Creek
4:30pm Adapted Hockey vs. BrainerdHumboldt High School
WEDNESDAYFEBRUARY 4  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:30pm Adapted Hockey vs. OsseoMaple Grove Junior High
B: 5:00pm JV: 5:00pm V: 6:30pm3:30pm | 8:00pmBoys Basketball vs. HardingHarding High School
5:00pm3:30pm | 7:00pmBoys Conference DivingHumboldt High School
JV: 5:00pm V: 7:00pmJV: 3:20pm V: 5:00pm | 9:00pmBoys Hockey vs. HopkinsHopkins Pavilion
5:00pm and 6:15pm Wrestling Triangular vs. North Branch and North St. PaulHOME
6:00pm Gymnastics Twin Cities MeetHOME
THURSDAYFEBRUARY 5  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
JV: 4:30pm V: 6:00pm Girls Basketball vs. New Life AcademyHOME
JV: 5:00pm V: 7:00pm Boys Hockey vs. Mound WestonkaCharles M Schulz Highland Arena
FRIDAYFEBRUARY 6  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
5:00pm2:30pm | 8:00pmGirls Individual Wrestling SectionsSouth St. Paul High School
6:30pm Boys Swimming  Conference ChampionshipsSt. Catherine University
SATURDAYFEBRUARY 7  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
9:00am6:30am | 3:00pmGirls Individual Wrestling SectionsSouth St. Paul High School
B: 10:00am JV: 10:00am V: 11:30am Boys Basketball vs. CentralHOME
7:30pm Girls Hockey Sections vs. WoodburyM Health Fairview Sports Center