Nov. 20—This is it. Win and in. Lose and possibly (probably?) turn in your gear. For both the Jacks and the Fighting Hawks. Here are the keys to the game I’ll have my eye on at the Alerus Center.

1. Does Chase Mason play?

This could be his last chance. This was the first week since his injury that he actually practices in helmet and pads, but he was still limited (at least on Tuesday when I was there).

If doctors give him the OK he’ll be out there.

How well he’d play at this point, having taken a month away and with the season having fallen apart, is anyone’s guess, but at the very least you’d think he’d give the team a shot in the arm. And if he plays and plays decently would it improve the Jacks’ playoff resume?

2. Can the Jacks avoid disaster?

The best that SDSU has played in their four-game losing streak was at USD. They didn’t commit any catastrophic mistakes, they didn’t get destroyed by a more powerful team or embarrassed by an inferior one. They just lost to an evenly-matched team that was better than they were that day.

The other three were, of course, all disasters in their own way. NDSU outclassed them. Indiana State caught them sleeping. Illinois State showed up and had the win gift-wrapped and served to them on a platter.

There’s no guarantee that a clean game will result in a win for SDSU against the Hawks, as the loss to the Coyotes demonstrates. But it would give them a chance.

SDSU outgained Indiana State 2-to-1. They outgained Illinois State for the game and outscored them 21-0 over the final 2 1/2 quarters. They’ve done good things. For whatever reason, they haven’t been able to do them consistently without shooting themselves in the face.

If that trend continues on Saturday they’re gonna get trounced.

3. SDSU special teams

From the kick return touchdown against Indiana State to the miscues in the first quarter against Illinois State, this has been a problem.

And it hasn’t exactly been schematic. The punter has to catch a waist-high snap. A receiving tight end should be able to catch a pop-up kickoff.

When a fake punt works, don’t fumble the ball.

The Jacks don’t need their special teams to win them a game, but they’d have a better shot Saturday if they can count on special teams not losing them a game.

4. Can the defense step up?

The Redbirds pretty much went right through the Jacks on their first drive, then had short fields the rest of the first half on their way to a 35-0 lead.

The Jacks shut the Redbirds down admirably in the second half, but that had to at least be in part due to ISU playing conservatively with a huge lead.

SDSU’s defense has quietly been pretty solid for most of the season, with the exception of not being able to stop the Bison and getting run over by LJ Phillips of USD. But even when the defense has been good it’s kind of lacked for big plays. There haven’t been the kind of game-changing turnovers that can pick the team up when the offense is struggling. This week would be a good time for that to change.

5. Can the Jacks run the ball?

The Jacks rushing attack is broken.

Julius Loughridge hasn’t been able to find the second level. The freshmen show promise but lack the instincts (experience) to make things work without the offensive line dominating, and the offensive line isn’t dominating and is now banged up.

And guess who has the best rush defense in the Valley? That’s right, the Hawks, at 97 yards per game.

There’s really no better way to put this: The #605Hogs need to have their best game of the season on Saturday.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones appeared on the Thursday injury report.

After not being on the Wednesday injury report, Jones was listed as a limited participant on Thursday with a calf injury.

At this time, we are still in wait-and-see mode in terms of what this might mean — or might not mean — for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Early updates from Colts’ beat writers seem to be promising. ESPN’s Stephen Holder would post on X, “As of right now, I am not sensing any reason for alarm on Daniel Jones. There is obviously a lot of scrutiny of injury reports right now, so teams gotta be fully transparent. Let’s see what happens tomorrow (Friday).”

The Athletic’s James Boyd would post, “The Colts are just being extra careful/cautious regarding QB Daniel Jones’ calf, from what I’ve gathered. Plus, it’s paramount for NFL teams to be very transparent with all injuries — no matter how small or big.”

But with that said, any time a player pops up on the injury report midweek, the situation is worth monitoring.

Head coach Shane Steichen will speak to the local media on Friday, as he does each week.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback depth chart

• Daniel Jones
• Riley Leonard

The Colts are still without Anthony Richardson at this time as he remains on injured reserve, recovering from an orbital fracture.

Also on the practice squad at quarterback for the Colts is Brett Rypien.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Daniel Jones injury: Closer look at Colts’ quarterback depth chart

The ]

Beyond Torres, four other hitters would appear to warrant regular at-bats without much discussion: catcher Dillon Dingler, designated hitter/right fielder Kerry Carpenter, left fielder Riley Greene and first baseman Spencer Torkelson. What Detroit needs to figure out is which other hitters on the roster are worthy of everyday at-bats if Detroit wants to succeed in upgrading an offense that was not good enough down the stretch and into October. 

If Torres and Torkelson account for the right side of the infield, what does the left side look like? Does Colt Keith have the inside track on the everyday third base job, or would Detroit attempt another run at Alex Bregman in free agency after coming up short last offseason? Has Javier Báez — still owed $24 million each of the next two seasons — restored his stock enough to reclaim the starting shortstop job over 25-year-old Trey Sweeney, as he did in October? Where does that leave All-Star utilityman Zach McKinstry? And is there still room for the lefty mashing trio of Matt Vierling, Andy Ibáñez and Jahmai Jones?

While A.J. Hinch has proven his mastery of mixing and matching with his versatile position player group, it’s important for Detroit to identify more hitters who can shoulder everyday responsibility if its offense is to start resembling one capable of a deep postseason run. If none in the current group take the necessary leap in 2026, two candidates to do so could be on the way in the form of top prospects Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. Both had brilliant seasons and finished the year in Double-A. Had Torres departed, it’s possible McGonigle — a shortstop by trade who has also spent time at second base and most recently third base in the Arizona Fall League — could be competing for a starting job in spring training. That seems less likely now, though not impossible. Clark, meanwhile, is worth monitoring as a potential upgrade over center field incumbent Parker Meadows at some point next summer. 

Adding Shota Imanaga shouldn’t stop Cubs from looking to improve rotation, even with all eyes on Kyle Tucker

Imanaga took a winding road back to the Cubs’ rotation over the past few weeks, with Chicago first declining an existing option in Imanaga’s contract to keep him through the 2028 season for $57 million and Imanaga in turn declining a subsequent player option for one year, $15 million. With Chicago then extending the QO to Imanaga, it became more clear that the Cubs weren’t necessarily interested in moving on from Imanaga but rather retain him via a shorter commitment, striking the balance between valuing his present potential without investing heavily in what he might become as he enters his mid-30s. 

Across his first two major-league seasons, two things have become extremely evident regarding Imanaga: the dude knows how to pitch, and the dude is going to give up home runs. Those two truths paint the picture of a valuable regular-season rotation member but one who might not be an ideal go-to choice to start a postseason game.

Imanaga is a cerebral left-hander who throws a boatload of strikes and limits traffic on the basepaths, but his relative lack of velocity and north-south style of pitching makes him troublingly susceptible to the long ball. His return now gives Chicago the option to run it back with the rotation it finished 2025 with, as Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Colin Rea all remain under contract. It’s a unit built on filling up the strike zone, pitching to contact, and letting the elite defense behind them cook. Cubs starting pitchers ranked first in BB/9, 27th in K/9, and eighth in ERA, demonstrating that run prevention can be achieved sans strikeouts if you have the right defenders in place. 

[Get more Cubs news: Chicago team feed]

That said, there’s an argument that Chicago should still be pursuing rotation upgrades even with Imanaga’s return — perhaps a pitcher or two with more whiff potential. Backfilling a bullpen with three key contributors (Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz) possibly departing in free agency would seem to be more pressing.

Of course, the biggest question for Chicago this winter is simple: If the Cubs are willing to let Kyle Tucker walk, what is the pivot? It’s not quite the same situation as the Yankees with Juan Soto a year ago, but the Cubs will need to demonstrate a similar level of creativity to replicate Tucker’s WAR production. That doesn’t necessarily mean finding a right fielder to replace Tucker one-for-one, but it does mean adding more impact talent in other areas of the roster to put the team in a markedly better — or at least comparable — position to what it was a year ago. If the Cubs don’t, it’s going to be awfully difficult to envision picking Chicago in the NL Central considering how their rival’s roster 90 minutes north is shaping up. Speaking of …

Could bringing back SP Brandon Woodruff also keep Freddy Peralta off the trading block?

By far the longest-tenured Brewer with his time in Milwaukee dating back to being drafted in 2014, Woodruff’s run as the beloved frontman of the starting staff will continue for at least one more season. Woodruff’s return from shoulder surgery after missing all of 2024 was encouraging and strange, as he dominated as much as ever across 12 outings despite his velocity being nowhere near what it was at his peak. Add in a lat strain that put him back on the shelf for the end of September and the postseason, and it was an odd season to evaluate Woodruff as he rejoined a Brewers team that posted the best record in baseball before getting emphatically swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Woodruff’s return to the Brewers’ rotation initially sparked speculation that fellow frontline arm Freddy Peralta could be more likely to be on the move via trade in a similar fashion to Corbin Burnes two years ago entering the final year of his contact. But recent reports suggest Milwaukee is inclined to keep the duo together atop the rotation as it pursues a fourth consecutive division title.

[Get more Brewers news: Milwaukee team feed]

As far as the rest of the rotation is concerned, veteran left-hander Jose Quintana — who covered 131 ⅔ innings across 24 starts in the regular season — is a free agent, but Milwaukee seems well-positioned to backfill his innings with an exciting trio of righties in the form of Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick and Quinn Priester. Perhaps another Quintana-esque veteran arm could be worth pursuing as insurance for the uptick in workload for those younger arms — not to mention the durability concerns involving Woodruff — but Milwaukee would still seemingly be better served searching for offensive upgrades externally, particularly with how uninspiring its offensive output was in October. It’s not exactly obvious which positions would be ripe to level up in that regard (shortstop? Left field? First base if you don’t believe in Andrew Vaughn’s renaissance?), but expect the Brewers to be creative as always in finding ways to take this roster up another notch as they try to break through and reach the Fall Classic.

The ]

Beyond Torres, four other hitters would appear to warrant regular at-bats without much discussion: catcher Dillon Dingler, designated hitter/right fielder Kerry Carpenter, left fielder Riley Greene and first baseman Spencer Torkelson. What Detroit needs to figure out is which other hitters on the roster are worthy of everyday at-bats if Detroit wants to succeed in upgrading an offense that was not good enough down the stretch and into October. 

If Torres and Torkelson account for the right side of the infield, what does the left side look like? Does Colt Keith have the inside track on the everyday third base job, or would Detroit attempt another run at Alex Bregman in free agency after coming up short last offseason? Has Javier Báez — still owed $24 million each of the next two seasons — restored his stock enough to reclaim the starting shortstop job over 25-year-old Trey Sweeney, as he did in October? Where does that leave All-Star utilityman Zach McKinstry? And is there still room for the lefty mashing trio of Matt Vierling, Andy Ibáñez and Jahmai Jones?

While A.J. Hinch has proven his mastery of mixing and matching with his versatile position player group, it’s important for Detroit to identify more hitters who can shoulder everyday responsibility if its offense is to start resembling one capable of a deep postseason run. If none in the current group take the necessary leap in 2026, two candidates to do so could be on the way in the form of top prospects Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark. Both had brilliant seasons and finished the year in Double-A. Had Torres departed, it’s possible McGonigle — a shortstop by trade who has also spent time at second base and most recently third base in the Arizona Fall League — could be competing for a starting job in spring training. That seems less likely now, though not impossible. Clark, meanwhile, is worth monitoring as a potential upgrade over center field incumbent Parker Meadows at some point next summer. 

Adding Shota Imanaga shouldn’t stop Cubs from looking to improve rotation, even with all eyes on Kyle Tucker

Imanaga took a winding road back to the Cubs’ rotation over the past few weeks, with Chicago first declining an existing option in Imanaga’s contract to keep him through the 2028 season for $57 million and Imanaga in turn declining a subsequent player option for one year, $15 million. With Chicago then extending the QO to Imanaga, it became more clear that the Cubs weren’t necessarily interested in moving on from Imanaga but rather retain him via a shorter commitment, striking the balance between valuing his present potential without investing heavily in what he might become as he enters his mid-30’s. 

Across his first two major-league seasons, two things have become extremely evident regarding Imanaga: the dude knows how to pitch, and the dude is going to give up home runs. Those two truths paint the picture of a valuable regular-season rotation member but one who might not be an ideal go-to choice to start a postseason game.

Imanaga is a cerebral left-hander who throws a boatload of strikes and limits traffic on the basepaths, but his relative lack of velocity and north-south style of pitching makes him troublingly susceptible to the long ball. His return now gives Chicago the option to run it back with the rotation it finished 2025 with, as Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Colin Rea all remain under contract. It’s a unit built on filling up the strike zone, pitching to contact, and letting the elite defense behind them cook. Cubs starting pitchers ranked first in BB/9, 27th in K/9, and eighth in ERA, demonstrating that run prevention can be achieved sans strikeouts if you have the right defenders in place. 

[Get more Cubs news: Chicago team feed]

That said, there’s an argument that Chicago should still be pursuing rotation upgrades even with Imanaga’s return — perhaps a pitcher or two with more whiff potential. Backfilling a bullpen with three key contributors (Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz) possibly departing in free agency would seem to be more pressing.

Of course, the biggest question for Chicago this winter is simple: If the Cubs are willing to let Kyle Tucker walk, what is the pivot? It’s not quite the same situation as the Yankees with Juan Soto a year ago, but the Cubs will need to demonstrate a similar level of creativity to replicate Tucker’s WAR production. That doesn’t necessarily mean finding a right fielder to replace Tucker one-for-one, but it does mean adding more impact talent in other areas of the roster to put the team in a markedly better — or at least comparable — position to what it was a year ago. If the Cubs don’t, it’s going to be awfully difficult to envision picking Chicago in the NL Central considering how their rival’s roster 90 minutes north is shaping up. Speaking of …

Could bringing back SP Brandon Woodruff also keep Freddy Peralta off the trading block?

By far the longest-tenured Brewer with his time in Milwaukee dating back to being drafted in 2014, Woodruff’s run as the beloved frontman of the starting staff will continue for at least one more season. Woodruff’s return from shoulder surgery after missing all of 2024 was encouraging and strange, as he dominated as much as ever across 12 outings despite his velocity being nowhere near what it was at his peak. Add in a lat strain that put him back on the shelf for the end of September and the postseason, and it was an odd season to evaluate Woodruff as he rejoined a Brewers team that posted the best record in baseball before getting emphatically swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Woodruff’s return to the Brewers’ rotation initially sparked speculation that fellow frontline arm Freddy Peralta could be more likely to be on the move via trade in a similar fashion to Corbin Burnes two years ago entering the final year of his contact. But recent reports suggest Milwaukee is inclined to keep the duo together atop the rotation as it pursues a fourth consecutive division title.

[Get more Brewers news: Milwaukee team feed]

As far as the rest of the rotation is concerned, veteran left-hander Jose Quintana — who made covered 131 ⅔ innings across 24 starts in the regular season — is a free agent, but Milwaukee seems well-positioned to backfill his innings with an exciting trio of righties in the form of Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, and Quinn Priester. Perhaps another Quintana-esque veteran arm could be worth pursuing as insurance for the uptick in workload for those younger arms — not to mention the durability concerns involving Woodruff — but Milwaukee would still seemingly be better served searching for offensive upgrades externally, particularly with how uninspiring its offensive output was in October. It’s not exactly obvious which positions would be ripe to level up in that regard (shortstop? Left field? First base if you don’t believe in Andrew Vaughn’s renaissance?), but expect the Brewers to be creative as always in finding ways to take this roster up another notch as they try to break through and reach the Fall Classic.

The NBA is standing firm on a controversial offensive foul that directly impacted the end of the New York Knicks’ win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The Knicks escaped with a 113-111 win over the Mavericks after Brandon Williams’ game-tying layup was waved off due to a hook on Knicks guard Landry Shamet.

In the Last Two Minute report, the league’s assessment of the officiating in the final minutes of close games, the NBA said officials correctly called the foul on Williams, which came with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. The call essentially secured the two-point victory for the Knicks, leaving Dallas stunned.

However, the NBA did say officials were wrong on an earlier foul. With seven seconds left on the clock, Mavericks forward P.J. Washington was called for a personal foul on Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, which the league said should not have been ruled a foul.

Robinson missed both of the free-throw attempts, so the call did not have an effect on the final score.

Robinson was not the only player struggling from the free-throw line: The Knicks went 1-of-6 on free throws in the final 22 seconds of the game, wasting several chances to seal a win over the Mavericks. Jalen Brunson split his free throws in the final seconds, giving Dallas a chance to tie the game with a layup instead of a 3-pointer.

In the postgame news conference, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd praised center Dereck Lively for successfully running the play and called the foul on Williams a “tough call.”

The loss pushed Dallas to 4-12, with the team playing without rookie Cooper Flagg for the first time this season. Flagg was ruled out of Wednesday’s game with an illness, but is available for Friday’s NBA Cup game against the New Orleans Pelicans at home.

The NBA is standing firm on a controversial offensive foul that directly impacted the end of the New York Knicks’ win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The Knicks escaped with a 113-111 win over the Mavericks after Brandon Williams’ game-tying layup was waved off due to a hook on Knicks guard Landry Shamet.

In the Last Two Minute report, the league’s assessment of the officiating in the final minutes of close games, the NBA said officials correctly called the foul on Williams, which came with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. The call essentially secured the two-point victory for the Knicks, leaving Dallas stunned.

However, the NBA did say officials were wrong on an earlier foul. With seven seconds left on the clock, Mavericks forward P.J. Washington was called for a personal foul on Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, which the league said should not have been ruled a foul.

Robinson missed both of the free-throw attempts, so the call did not have an effect on the final score.

Robinson was not the only player struggling from the free-throw line: The Knicks went 1-of-6 on free throws in the final 22 seconds of the game, wasting several chances to seal a win over the Mavericks. Jalen Brunson split his free throws in the final seconds, giving Dallas a chance to tie the game with a layup instead of a 3-pointer.

In the postgame news conference, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd praised center Dereck Lively for successfully running the play and called the foul on Williams a “tough call.”

The loss pushed Dallas to 4-12, with the team playing without rookie Cooper Flagg for the first time this season. Flagg was ruled out of Wednesday’s game with an illness, but is available for Friday’s NBA Cup game against the New Orleans Pelicans at home.

With MLB’s non-tender deadline set for Nov. 21, the Mets are set to release one of their depth relievers.

According to The Athletic’s Will Sammon, the Mets are planning to non-tender LHP Danny Young, making him a free agent.

Young, 31, appeared in 10 games for the Mets this season before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May. Sammon reports that Young started throwing recently and is on pace to return at some point in the first half of the 2026 season.

The Florida native was not arbitration-eligible and was set to make about $820,000 in 2025, according to Spotrac. 

The southpaw was drafted in the eighth round by the Blue Jays in 2015 but didn’t appear in the majors until 2022 with the Mariners. That season, he made just three appearances between Seattle and the Braves. He then made eight relief appearances with the Braves in 2023 before going down with an injury. He elected free agency that offseason and the Mets signed him to a minor league contract in 2024. 

In his first season with the Mets, Young pitched to a 4.54 ERA across 42 relief appearances. 

Young may not be the only player to be non-tendered by Friday’s deadline. There are nine arbitration-eligible players on the Mets’ roster, including Tylor Megill and David Peterson.