Recent content from Chip Scoggins
Scoggins: Give us Gophers-Badgers on Dec. 19, Big Ten
Rather than play a Big Ten East Division team, the Gophers should be allowed to make up their canceled game with the Badgers instead.
Scoggins: Kicking in glass ceilings made for a November to remember
Girls all over this country were inspired when kicker Sarah Fuller took the field for Vanderbilt to open the second half of Saturday's game with another piece of sports history.
Scoggins: Canceled game cancels trip from Singapore (and other odd Axe stories)
University graduate Neil Mumm is among the fans who are missing the annual Paul Bunyan Axe rivalry this weekend. So is a guy who turned heads and found a new friend by walking into a bar with his own Axe.
Scoggins: Pitino has built strong U roster for strange season ahead
Add this to the list of unexpected things of 2020: Gophers men's basketball has a deep, stable roster.
Scoggins: When COVID hits college football, to play or not remains confounding
A controversial finish by the Gophers over Purdue overshadowed the main topic pregame: 22 players did not suit up, leaving them with only 61 scholarship players available. Is this worth it?
Scoggins: U's defensive drop-off was expected, but not this calamity
From 10th to 93rd in total defense. From 36th to 99th in scoring defense. This has been a staggering U-turn for the Gophers' defense in only one season.
Scoggins: Poised Cousins comes through and season feels relevant again
The maligned quarterback more than filled in the gaps on a night when other parts of the Vikings' game weren't as good as they needed to be.
Scoggins: Blown-out Gophers badly overmatched by Iowa
Outplayed and outcoached are just two words that apply to what transpired Friday night at TCF Bank Stadium, where the Gophers lost yet again to rival Iowa.
Scoggins: Ibrahim's relentless running traces back to one moment
Sophomore year in high school, his second game as a starting running back, facing one of the best teams in the state of Maryland. Mo Ibrahim remembers it vividly.
Scoggins: All that talk about not paying Dalvin Cook sounds silly now
A strong case can be made that Cook is the best all-around running back in the NFL. That's why the Vikings signed him to a big contract before the season started despite his injury history.
Scoggins: Don't let beating Packers fool you. Vikings should be active traders
The NFL trade deadline is 3 p.m. today and if the Vikings can move a veteran or two in exchange for draft picks, they should go for it. Trade veterans, commit to young players, stockpile draft picks.
Scoggins: Maligned Vikings defense comes through despite more trauma
Another batch of injuries during Sunday's game forced the Vikings to make some moves on defense that not even Mike Zimmer could have imagined.
Scoggins: A Packers week without intensity, animosity doesn't feel right
Remember when Packers week meant something? The excitement, the animosity, the extra significance of those two games each season?
D-II, D-III sports restart could rest on NCAA testing rules decision
If the NCAA mandates that colleges test athletes three times per week, Minnesota schools will need to figure our how to get access and pay for thousands of tests.
Scoggins: Things may get weird, but it's good to have college football back
Every scout team member is a potential starter. The No. 3 quarterback might be running onto the field at some point. It's not ideal, but this is what we wanted.
Scoggins: For starters, Gophers' defense, special teams weren't remotely capable
An overmatched defense and absurd special teams — caused by COVID-19 absences and injuries — turned a highly anticipated opener into a one-sided contest. Michigan's offense basically did whatever it wanted all game.
Scoggins: New faces, external factors bring uncertainty to U defense
Defenses in college football already play on a slanted field. How quickly the Gophers' new-look unit matures will determine whether P.J. Fleck's program takes the next step and wins the Big Ten West.
Scoggins: Gophers, Big Ten about to join football's season of chaos
"This is a completely different animal," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "It's preparing for ghosts, preparing for the unknown. You just have to be ready for it."
Chip Scoggins' 20 thoughts on the 2020 college football season
Welcome to the weirdest college football season on record.
Scoggins: What was Sid like? There's no simple way to answer
There is no adequate way to describe what it's like to work with Sid Hartman, but he was certainly a special colleague.
Scoggins: Vikings can't convert fourth down ... and down to defeat they went
The game offered a basket full of headline-worthy developments, but coach Mike Zimmer's decision with two minutes to play will receive the most scrutiny.
Scoggins: Kendricks is a rock in the middle of Vikings defense
Any down, any situation, Eric Kendricks is the rock in middle of Vikings defense
Scoggins: NFL's COVID outbreak inevitable, but a bubble is unrealistic
The weekend's on-the-fly schedule changes were an inevitable outcome in the precarious pursuit of playing a full pro football season, however crass that might sound.
Scoggins: Two plays from two special players lead Vikings to victory
Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson on Sunday gave the Vikings' offense life and got the team into the win column for the first time this season.
Scoggins: Record NFL scoring pace is foreign, unwelcome territory for Zimmer
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer dreams at night about winning games 13-10. But low scoring isn't realistic right now, meaning his teams will have to win shootouts until the defense gets healthy and more experienced.
Scoggins: Victory in their grasp, Vikings throw it away
The Vikings on Sunday found a new way to lose as a slapstick finish wasted brilliant performances by Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson.
Scoggins: It's a lengthy to-do list for Zimmer, the Vikings' 'Fixer'
Mike Zimmer billed himself as a 'Fixer' when he was hired, and at 0-2 heading into Sunday's date with Tennessee this feels like a hefty repair job.
Scoggins: Letting U's Bateman play should be easy call for the NCAA
This isn't complicated: The Big Ten flip-flopped on whether it is safe to play football this fall. Why can't Gophers star Rashod Bateman do the same?
Scoggins: Zimmer on offense, 'Right now we're not very good at anything'
Kirk Cousins on Sunday finished with a 15.9 passer rating, the ninth-worst in team history. "It was just a poor day," he said. And it was. For him, his team, the whole operation.
Vikings fans find their way to Indianapolis
Plenty of Colts season-ticket holders who were able to score tickets to Sunday's game vs. the Vikings sold them on the secondary market. At a premium, in some cases. Capacity was capped at 2,500
Scoggins: Trip to sports cathedrals Wrigley, Notre Dame is lacking
The thrill of attending a sporting event is enhanced by the noise, the energy, the smells, the claustrophobic nature of fans cramming into a confined space. Remove all that and here's what it feels like.
Scoggins: Think Donaldson's ejection was funny? Think again
Josh Donaldson's post-home run antics Thursday were selfish, completely unnecessary and hurt the Twins' chances in a crucial game.
Scoggins: Big Ten made right call, but now the onus is on players
There's no wiggle room on personal responsibility if the season is to play out properly.
Scoggins: Streveler goes from Gophers transfer to NFL quarterback
The Gophers coaching staff had so little faith in Chris Streveler's skills that they ultimately moved him to wide receiver. Now he's Kyler Murray's backup with the Arizona Cardinals.
Scoggins: Big Ten's messy messaging case study in poor leadership
The Big Ten made a decision before it needed to, failed miserably in articulating why they made it and couldn't even agree on whether a formal vote had been taken.
Scoggins: Zimmer's defense gets failing grade in opener
The overmatched Vikings defense was ill equipped in every way to stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense.
Vikings' Mattison builds a 'hurdle wall' -- and keeps breaking through it
The "power of the collective" helped the second-year running back reach the NFL and become a role model in his California hometown. "Everything was always a learning situation," his mother says.
Scoggins: Home field advantage takes a big hit under NFL rules
No sport relies on fan noise to provide an advantage as much as football, and the Vikings will lose a big advantage when they play without fans at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Scoggins: Brightest spotlight shines on Cousins as he readies for Year 3
Kirk Cousins remains the most important player on the Vikings roster, evidenced by social media stampede following his actions on the field and off it.
Scoggins: Twins lose six in a row, and concern goes beyond quiet deadline
If big boppers in the lineup don't start big bopping again, this team won't contend no matter how the rotation fares.
Scoggins: Dylan died this summer and became 'a superhero'
How a 16-year-old student-athlete's decision to donate organs has improved the lives of more than 75 people.
Scoggins: Fumbles at NFL testing lab sends up signal of future chaos
This wasn't a harmless clerical error. Whatever happened, the lab sent the NFL into scramble mode and likely caused concern inside organizations that are trying to makes things work.
Scoggins: Warren, Big Ten fumbled everything but the decision itself
The new Big Ten commissioner failed on communication, failed on transparency and failed to bring people together.
Scoggins: Pad-on-pad football allows Vikings to clear big hurdle
The NFL can't relax its diligence in trying to manage this safely. But one practice in full pads under a warm August sun felt familiar and reassuring.
Scoggins: Pandemic took air out of Gophers just as going got good
The Big Ten began playing football in 1896. Of all the seasons to be postponed by a global pandemic, it had to be with the Gophers coming off a historic season. Now Saturdays in the fall will be silent.
Scoggins: Path forward has turned college football season into chaos
Athletes and coaches involved in all fall college sports deserve to know their fate. Keeping everyone in limbo isn't a plan.
Scoggins: Moving football to spring hurts in football-crazy Hutchinson
Spring football won't have the same aura towns like Hutchinson have come to embrace. It's still football, and that's better than nothing, but you can understand the disappointment players felt Tuesday.
Scoggins: Can the NFL really get through season without a bubble?
This is how the NFL intends/hopes/prays to make pandemic football succeed, in the absence of a bubble: The honor system and self-policing. How realistic is that?
Scoggins: Most entertaining hitters? Look at oldest and youngest Twins
Born 17 years apart, Nelson Cruz and Luis Arraez are also very different hitters who consistently deliver in their own way; one mashes, the other slashes.
Scoggins: White Sox 2020 season buzz looks legitimate
With a mix of young and veteran talent, the White Sox could contend in the AL Central for years.
Scoggins: Looking for a sure thing this uncertain season? Twins can still hit
A familiar theme emerged on Opening Day of the strangest season in the 60 years of the Twins' existence that allows for one definitive statement that promises to hold up.
Scoggins: Baldelli's Bomba Squad 2.0 is potent top to bottom, inside-out
Lineup options abound for the 2020 Twins. And it's a lineup that looks even more formidable than the one that launched an MLB-record 307 home runs and scored a franchise-record 939 runs.
Scoggins: Pandemic baseball is weird (but better than no baseball)
Chicago's Wrigley Field, a place revered for its rollicking party scene, was quieter than solitary confinement during Wednesday's game between the Twins and Cubs.
Scoggins: Vikings better not let Zimmer's contract be yet another distraction
What is the harm in adding two years to Zimmer's contract? From a purely business perspective, that equates to a severance package if ownership ultimately chooses a new direction, not an unbreakable marriage.
Live free, pitch free: Welcome to Sergio Romo's wacky Twins universe
Baseball scouts showed little interest in the Twins reliever out of high school or college because he's smallish in size with a fastball that lacks sizzle. Yet he's in his 13th MLB season with three World Series rings and an All-Star appearance on his résumé.
Scoggins: Tommies vs. Gophers? That's not what big move is all about
Division I makes sense for St. Thomas for a variety of reasons. So what impact will that move have on University of Minnesota sports teams? Very little, initially.
Scoggins: Leipold finally has his man in Russian star Kaprizov
The Wild's owner never reached a point where he thought Monday's franchise-altering development might not happen, but Craig Leipold admits he had moments of real concern.
Scoggins: Seeing will be believing when Loons kick off tonight
The seriousness and uncertainty of what's happening in the world and what's to come won't magically vanish, but the thought of being entertained seems awfully appealing right now.
Scoggins: Canterbury Park offers sports fans a glimpse of the future
Temperature checks, blocked-off bathroom stalls, hand sanitizer stations and, of course, masks are all part of allowing people — a few, anyway — back to watch.
Scoggins: There is no handbook for Twins' Baldelli in 60-game season
The 2019 AL Manager of the Year won't push too hard too fast despite the shortened schedule.
Scoggins: Positive tests dim hopes about the return to sports
The surge of COVID-19 cases in different states — including Florida, where the NBA, WNBA and MLS will be based — has cast new doubt about whether sports can pull this off.
Scoggins: Time for bold change among Minnesota's sports executives
Minnesota's sports leadership a largely homogeneous group of white people who run teams and programs that have a high percentage of athletes who are minorities. It's time to change that.
Scoggins: When (not if) Gophers test COVID-19-positive, listen to doctors
The coronavirus presents a complicated situation for universities as the fall approaches. No amount of health measures and protocols can eliminate risk entirely.
Scoggins: Baseball is redefining 'Moneyball' in the greediest of ways
The sport could have been the first back from the pandemic, but thanks to failed leadership and greed there's doubt it will be back this year at all.
Scoggins: Cook, Vikings should and will compromise on new contract
The Vikings will compromise. Cook will compromise. A summerlong staredown or threats of a training camp holdout are nothing more than Negotiating 101.
Becker wrestler doing well after heart procedure
After a medical emergency at the wrestling state meet, Brayden Weber has been cleared to resume physical activity and hopes to wrestle and play football again.
Scoggins: Boxing gym on Lake Street fighting for its neighborhood
In boxing, the fundamental objective is to knock down your opponent. At Circle of Discipline, a boxing gym on E. Lake St., the mission was just the opposite last week after the killing of George Floyd.
Scoggins: Young people need mentors like North's coach McKenzie
The legendary North High boys' basketball coach keeps replaying the video of George Floyd in his mind. "That could've been me. That could've been my son. That could've been any of my players."
Former Wild defenseman Mitchell still driven to succeed
Willie Mitchell, the tough ex-Wild player who appeared in 900-plus games over 15 NHL seasons, is now part owner of a resort on Vancouver Island.
Scoggins: Hope for college football, but there's still much to navigate
College athletes will start returning to campus for workouts in two weeks and universities increasingly have pledged to resume in-person classes this fall.
'Marvelous Mia' is all grown up, and back at Gophers games
As a 10-year-old with brain cancer, Mia Gerold formed a bond with the Gophers football team and former coach Jerry Kill. At 19, she has a new relationship with the U.
Scoggins: How the governor's IT guy ended up in charge of youth sports
Tarek Tomes' pandemic mission hits close to the heart.
Scoggins: Strange-looking baseball? It's better than no baseball at all
Reading through baseball's 67-page manual for starting the season is a blunt reminder that "Game on!" will be far more complex than simply telling fans to stay home.
Scoggins: U star Tucker said playing with Jordan a lesson in intensity
Former Gophers great Trent Tucker shared a locker room with Michael Jordan for one season, 1992-93, the final act of the Bulls' first championship three-peat.
Scoggins: If you don't want Gophers to cut sports, buckle up for changes
Mounting revenue loss will force athletic departments to make decisions they fear most. Do they maintain the same number of sports but reduce spending ? Or do they make the tough choice of elimination?