Midweek Stock Report: Ricky Rubio is a magician
Every Wednesday, FOX Sports North takes a look at which athletes' stock is trending up and whose is trending down.
In other words, who is making dazzling passes to the paint heating up, and who is cooling off.
With that in mind, let's take stock of the local sports scene.
Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves guard
Those of you who were cheering for that long-rumored Derrick Rose trade can sit right down, because Ricard Rubio Vives is a magician. He broke his own franchise record Monday night, dishing out 19 assists in the Wolves' win over the Washington Wizards. And that shooting problem? He went 8-for-15 from the field against the Wizards, and is shooting 45 percent from the floor since the All-Star break.
Terence Newman, Vikings cornerback
Newman is fully immersed in the ring-chasing phase of his career, and he doesn't care who knows it. The NFL's elder statesman re-signed with the Vikings on Tuesday, a day after coming clean to Sirius XM about his intentions. “The only reason I’m playing the game right now is because I want a ring," he said. It's the sort of thing you can say when you're the NFL's second most-difficult corner to throw on, per Pro Football Focus, at 38 years old.
Eric Staal, Wild forward
The Wild are mired in a late-season slump, but Staal is turning back the clock with the playoffs looming. He recently crossed the 20-goal threshold for the 10th time in his 13-year NHL career, and may have enough juice left to score 30 for the sixth time after racking up four goals in three games last week.
Tyler Sheehy, Gophers forward
Sheehy was named the Big Ten's Player of the Year this week and a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award after leading the conference with 52 points. He's a long shot for the Hobey with Northeastern's Zach Aston-Reese and New Hampshire's Tyler Kelleher up 11 points in the national scoring race, but would become the first Gopher to win the award since Jordan Leopold in 2002 if he can pull off the upset. He can't, but he would be.
Adalberto Mejia, Twins pitcher
Trevor May's season-ending injury adds more intrigue to the Twins' starting rotation, and Mejia made his bid for the No. 5 spot Wednesday. He fanned eight batters in 3 2/3 innings of work while allowing four hits.
USA Hockey
Gophers alums Amanda Kessel and Hannah Brandt joined other members of the U.S. women's national hockey team Wednesday in calling for a boycott of the upcoming world championships in a bid to resolve their wage dispute with USA Hockey. Kessel, Brandt and the rest of the team are currently only under contract in Olympic years, and are seeking a contract that covers all other years as well. It would be a significant blow to the tournament -- and USA Hockey's reputation -- if the defending champs were to miss a chance to repeat.
Devan Dubnyk, Wild goalie
For the first time this season, Dubnyk's Vezina Trophy candidacy is in serious jeopardy. Dubnyk was yanked after the Chicago Blackhawks scored on their first two shots on goal Sunday, and allowed four goals on 40 shots in a loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby has overtaken Dubnyk with a 2.03 GAA and eight shutouts, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky now leads the NHL with 37 wins and the Ottawa Senators' Craig Anderson has drawn level with a .930 save percentage.
St. Cloud State men's hockey
The Huskies are done for the year after suffering a two-game sweep at the hands of North Dakota in the first round of the NCHC playoffs. SCSU battled back from a two-goal deficit Friday only to fall 5-2, then traded goals with the Fighting Hawks in an OT thriller Saturday. The Huskies seemed to have UND's number after Jon Lizotte and Nick Poehling scored back-to-back goals late in the third period, but a fluky goal in overtime ended the series, and the Huskies' season.
