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Howie: Bulldogs, if you’re not buying in? Get off the bus.
Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Bulldogs, if you’re not buying in? Get off the bus.

Here’s a bottom-line truth fans remember: passengers ride. Bulldogs drive. And right now, this train’s stalled. The team, the fans, the entire program — everyone deserves better. Time to stop watching VHS tapes of 2019. Time to earn the sweater again.

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Sports Notebook

The HowieHanson.com is powered by Lyric Kitchen · Bar Claire Niksich buried an 62nd-minute goal off a feed from Eilee Gunderson to give Hermantown a 1-0 win over Two Harbors in a Lake Superior Conference girls soccer match Saturday night at Corey Veech Field at Centricity Stadium. Agates keeper Nadia

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Hermantown Sports Next Week

Monday Hermantown’s week begins with football underclassmen on display. The Hawks’ junior varsity face Duluth Denfeld at 5 p.m. at Corey Veech Field at Centricity Stadium. It’s a chance for younger players to get extended reps against a Hunters program that traditionally brings size and toughness. Tuesday

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Howie on Prep Football: Hermantown, Grand Rapids and North Branch heavy favorites to begin 2-0
Hermantown junior halfback Martin Sleen is expected to have a big game tonight against heavy underdog Proctor at Corey Veech Field in Hermantown. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie on Prep Football: Hermantown, Grand Rapids and North Branch heavy favorites to begin 2-0

It’s Week 2, and the Northeast Red feels like a carnival ride — loud, dizzy, and guaranteed to keep at least one team still winless before it’s over, as the Big 3 begin to separate from the pretenders.

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Minnesota Mile returns Friday

The HowieHanson.com is powered by Lyric Kitchen · Bar The Minnesota Mile will bring runners back to Enger Park on Friday evening, offering a one-mile showcase on Skyline Parkway with some of the best views in the city and the chance to support youth athletics. The event, capped at 600

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Howie: Neal Pionk and the Olympic dream

So here’s Neal Pionk, sitting in the back row of orientation camp, probably wondering if anyone will remember that winning hockey games requires more than highlight-reel goals and “branding initiatives.” If history holds, they won’t.

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Wilderness hire Larson as assistant coach

The Minnesota Wilderness named Craig Larson assistant coach Sunday, filling the spot vacated by Evan Alexius, who left for an NCAA job. Larson, a 30-year coaching veteran, spent the past three seasons with Aberdeen as scout and director of player personnel. He previously guided Northern Lakes to its first state

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Hermantown rolls past Denfeld in Northeast Red opener

“Overall it was a beautiful night for football … a big crowd, a new flag pole dedicated to a tremendous man and coach (former Hawks coach Gary Bowen) and a Hermantown win … really couldn’t ask for much more than that.” -- Hermantown Coach Mike Zagelmeyer.

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Gophers open with home win over undermatched Buffalo

Minnesota’s defense dominated from the outset, holding Buffalo to just 151 total yards and limiting the Bulls to 1 of 11 on third down. The Gophers forced six three-and-outs and kept Buffalo’s rushing attack under 40 yards.

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Howie: 2025 Spirit of Duluth tourney the first without Bill Oswald

This December, Bill Oswald's seat at the table will be empty, but his fingerprints will be on every shift, every goal, every frazzled parent clutching a cup of bad coffee. The Spirit of Duluth is back. It never really left. And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

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Howie: Thielen’s back

The real story is simple: the Vikings needed a guy who knows the offense and won’t panic on third-and-six. Nostalgia just happened to be the bonus prize.

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Prep Sports Notebook

Hermantown used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Proctor 4-0 in a girls soccer match Thursday night. The Hawks jumped out early with three first-half goals. Senior forward Brooke Wiese converted a penalty kick to open the scoring, and Claire Niksich followed by finishing a setup from Mya Gunderson. Bryden

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Howie: Hawks’ Sleen, Perich comparisons obligatory
Martin Sleen, 2024 season. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Hawks’ Sleen, Perich comparisons obligatory

This is precisely how the Koi Perich saga began. Esko’s Swiss Army knife was suddenly the kid everyone wanted to talk about, and before you knew it, P.J. Fleck’s staff was tripping over themselves to lock him down.

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