JOTTINGS
• Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio is about to play in his second Olympics. He played in 2008 with Spain but missed the 2012 London Games after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that March. Current odds have Spain as the second favorite to win gold behind the United States.
• The NFL recently released a list of its bestselling players when it comes to league merchandise. If you want an indication that the Vikings are more of a team than a superstar, their No. 1 seller was Teddy Bridgewater at No. 44. Adrian Peterson was the only other Vikings player ranked on the list, at No. 48.
• Juawan Treadwell was all set to join the Illinois football team until the Gophers offered him a scholarship, and the fact that his brother Laquon Treadwell will be playing with the Vikings had the defensive back from suburban Chicago stop to consider the offer.
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• The Gophers football program has set a recent record for early commitments with 10 already for the Class of 2017.
• One reason the Gophers got a commitment from Javan Hawes, a three-star receiver out of Tyrone, Ga., is because his grandmother lives in Minneapolis.
• Apple Valley guard Tre Jones, the brother of Tyus Jones, was recently ranked the No. 54 boys' basketball recruit in the country by ESPN for 2018.
• Alex Kirilloff, the high school outfielder selected 15th overall by the Twins in this year's draft, is off to a fantastic start at rookie league Elizabethton. The 18-year-old entered Saturday hitting .358 with six doubles, four homers, 19 RBI and 19 runs scored in 27 games.
• A.J. Pierzynski was back in town last week with Atlanta, nearly 13 years after the Twins traded him to San Francisco. Three of the four players in that trade — Pierzynski, Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan — are still in the majors today. Atlanta is the seventh team of Pierzynski's big-league career, which began with the Twins in 1998.
