Sports

The string of well wishers stretched from the alter to the front doors of the massive Cathedral of St. Paul Friday, everyone taking a turn at saying goodbye to a Minnesota legend. Herb Brooks, best known as the architect of the "Miracle on Ice" in which he coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to a startling victory, died Monday in a car wreck.
The Vikings are in training camp, the Twins are in a pennant race, and the Wild and Timberwolves are bullish on their upcoming seasons. But in a languid economy, some business people have wondered if the Twin Cities can financially support all four of its major pro sports teams. The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce put that issue before a panel of top executives from each of those teams Wednesday. The chamber heard a group that sounded optimistic about the chances of each team meeting its needs in Minnesota.
A funeral is planned Saturday in Minnesota for former U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks. Minnesota authorities are trying to determine what caused his minivan to spin out of control on an interstate Monday. Brooks was best known for coaching a young American team of hockey players to one of the greatest upsets in history, beating the mighty Soviets in 1980 at the Lake Placid Olympics.
This weekend marked Liberia's Independence Day. Liberians in Minnesota celebrated by hosting a soccer match at Blaine's National Sports Center. However, some Liberians have criticized the timing of the event.
He was a rough-hewn, undersized horse with a sad little tail and knees that wouldn't straighten all the way. At a gallop, he jabbed one foreleg sideways, as if he were swatting flies. Yet, Seabiscuit became a champion. We hear insight into the story and the book Seabiscuit: An American Legend. A movie based on the book opens Friday.
Socialists need exercise, too. It's a lot of work to smash capitalism, but it doesn't do much for the lungs or the legs. So a bunch of young socialists in Duluth get together to kick around a soccer ball. They call it, "Commie Soccer."
Golfers fear it, and experts say it can add five strokes to a player's game. We're talking about the yips. Rochester's Mayo Clinic is trying to find the cause, and held a special putting tournament Monday as part of the research.
Chicago is the center of the baseball world this week as the Major League All-Stars descend on U.S. Cellular Field home of the Chicago White Sox. For the first time, Tuesday's All-Star game will be more than just a mid-summer exhibition, with the winning team earning home field advantage for its league in the World Series.
We continue to talk with Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscut: An American Legend.
With his smallish stature, knobby knees, and slightly crooked forelegs, he looked more like a cow pony than a thoroughbred. But looks aren't everything; his quality, an admirer once wrote, "was mostly in his heart." Gary Eichten talks with Laura Hillenbrand, about the story of the horse who became a cultural icon in Seabiscuit: An American Legend.