THE BUZZ Give the NFL credit for some deft sleight of hand. Attention has shifted from the Saints bounty story to the Peyton Manning story oh-so-seamlessly.
REMOTE PATROL The big schools take over the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday for the quarterfinals of the Class 2A boys' hockey state tournament. (11 a.m., Ch. 45).
Click pick Congratulatory Twitter messages from two Michigan football players to a recruit might amount to a secondary violation of NCAA rules.
STAR GAZING Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are on the cover of the latest SLAM Magazine in a similar pose to the one KG and Stephon Marbury were in back in the day.
FAST FACT Lionel Messi set a personal and Champions League record when he scored five goals for Barcelona in a 7-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
Michael Rand is the Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer. In 20 years covering Minnesota sports at the Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything.
mrand@startribune.com612-673-7564
This is a continuous service subscription that will automatically renew at the next rate after your initial rate and term shown here. After that term, your next rate is $3.79/week, billed in 13 week increments. Full terms and conditions presented prior to checkout. Cancel at any time.