Twins on the brink of elimination
NEW YORK -- Mark Teixeira got chills as Yankee Stadium roared and his teammates celebrated around him. Talk about a nice time for your first postseason homer. Teixeira hit a leadoff drive in the 11th inning to give New York a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night and a 2-0 lead in... (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Lady Devils sweep in volleyball
The Riverland volleyball team kept its post-season hopes alive with a three-game sweep of Minnesota West on Friday night. Riverland won by scores of 25-17, 25-18, 25-14, in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, South Division match. (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Riverland, Austin soccer teams fall
The Riverland Community College men's soccer team played against Hibbing College on Friday and lost 4-0. The final regular season game for the Riverland men is against Bismarck, N.D., College in Albert Lea this afternoon. (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Houston topples Lyle/Pacelli
HOUSTON -- Depleted in numbers but not in spirit, the Lyle/Austin Pacelli Athletics battled gamely on Friday night in a Southeast Conference game against the Houston Hurricanes. Lyle/Pacelli starting quarterback Carter Guthmiller was out of the line-up due to illness, so Brady Stier took over the... (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Rebels stay perfect with signature win
ADAMS -- Offensive weapons were on full display from both the Rushford-Peterson Trojans and Southland Rebels in Friday night's high scoring Three Rivers Conference, South Division game. The way this division battle started, it looked like a track meet as each team raced down the field for... (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Faribault runs over Packers
With all the homecoming distractions facing his football team, Austin High coach Tim Hermann was a bit concerned heading into Friday night's game against Faribault. Most of those concerns disappeared after a solid first half. (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Twins left with much to contemplate after loss
NEW YORK -- Joe Nathan won't admit it, won't give in to what sounds like an excuse, but the man is tired. You can see the fatigue in his body language and on his not-what-it-used-to-be fastball, and you could almost sense that he didn't have the stuff to sneak anything fast past Alex Rodriguez on... (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

One good half isn't enough for a Packers victory
Through two quarters, everything looked great for the Austin High School football team during its homecoming game Friday night at Art Hass Stadium. The Packers held a 20-15 lead over Big Nine Conference and Section One, Class AAAA rival Faribault. The offense was clicking, and the defense had... (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Ben Pherson -- Osier in the swing at Central College in Iowa
Austin High graduate Drew Osier is a member of the men's golf team at Central College in Pella, Iowa. Osier is a freshman for Central. Over the weekend, Osier competed in the Ryerson Fall Classic, an event hosted by Central at Bos Landen Golf Club. Central coasted to a first-place finish. Osier... (Saturday, October 10, 2009)

Twins give ball to Blackburn
NEW YORK -- If pitching in a Game 163 is like being the playoffs, maybe Twins righthander Nick Blackburn is one up on Yankees righthander A.J. Burnett. Blackburn has the benefit of pitching in a game with the season on the line, while Burnett will be pitching in a playoff game for the first... (Friday, October 9, 2009)

Lyle/Pacelli loses home regular-season finale
MANKATO -- The Austin girls lost a Big Nine Conference volleyball match in three games Thursday night to the Mankato East Cougars. Although the visiting Austin Packers were swept in this conference match, they had a chance to extend the evening in the third game. After identical losses of 25-16 in... (Friday, October 9, 2009)

Home regular season comes to close
Beating an old rival by a goal was a nice way for the Austin Packers boys soccer team to close out the home portion of their regular season schedule. Although they will play another home game in the section playoffs, Thursday night was the final home date for the Packers at Art Hass Stadium during... (Friday, October 9, 2009)

Splinter leads Packers
ROCHESTER -- The Austin High girls swimming and diving team lost 91-79 to Rochester Mayo on Thursday night in a Big Nine Conference dual meet. Although they lost this conference dual on the road, the Austin Packers stayed close to the Mayo Spartans on the scoreboard throughout the night. With only... (Friday, October 9, 2009)

Rosemount sweeps boys, girls cross country invitational
OWATONNA -- The Austin Packers boys and girls cross country teams competed in the Ev Berg Invitational on Thursday. Rosemount won the boys meet and Owatonna was the runner-up. The Austin boys finished 11th out of 14 teams in the event run at the Brooktree Golf Course. (Friday, October 9, 2009)

Pacelli runners set personal records
LEWISTON -- The cross country runners from Austin Pacelli competed in the Ole Olmstead Invitational on Thursday. Plainview-Elgin-Millville won the boys meet run at the Lewiston Country Club. New Prague took the top spot in the girls meet, while the Pacelli Shamrocks had an incomplete team score in... (Friday, October 9, 2009)

Nothing goes right for Twins' lefties
NEW YORK -- Ron Gardenhire threw a couple of lefties at the New York Yankees and nothing went right. Before it gets too late, his Minnesota Twins better find someone who can stop the Bronx Bombers -- no matter which side they pitch from. (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Shamrocks' season ends in second round
ROCHESTER -- The Austin Pacelli girls tennis team lost to top-seeded Rochester Lourdes on Wednesday in the second round of the Section One, Class A team tournament. The Pacelli Shamrocks dropped all of their matches against the Lourdes Eagles in the 7-0 loss. The section defeat ended the Shamrocks... (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Athletics face state's defending champs
The road doesn't get any easier for the Lyle/Austin Pacelli football team on Friday night as it seeks to end a three-game losing streak. Although it's a scenic ride into the Root River Valley along the way to the football field in Houston, the Lyle/Pacelli Athletics have a major challenge ahead of... (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Southland, Rushford-Peterson both ranked in state polls
It's homecoming week for the Southland Rebels and they'll celebrate by hosting another tough Three Rivers Conference opponent for Friday night's game. Rushford-Peterson has been one of the most dominant teams over the last dozen years with a trio of Class A state championships during that span. The... (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Packers get section rival on homecoming
For the third week in a row, the Austin High football team will play a homecoming game. Finally, it's Austin's turn to host. The Packers will play Faribault for their annual homecoming contest at 7 p.m. Friday. (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Early lead fades for Lady Devils
ROCHESTER -- Solid play at the net by the Riverland hitters on Wednesday night made it a close volleyball match with Rochester Community and Technical College. The visiting Lady Blue Devils of Riverland won the first game 25-17. Unfortunately for the visitors, the RCTC Yellowjackets protected their... (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Spotlight -- Lisa Johnen, Pacelli High School
Lisa Johnen Girls Tennis Pacelli High • Johnen, a a junior singles player, had a perfect regular season record and is now 12-1 overall on the season. • Arrived just in time for the start of fall practice as a foreign exchange student from Germany and has been the No. 1 singles player all... (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Austin sports calendar
THURSDAY High School Boys Cross Country Austin at Ev Berg Owatonna Invitational (Brooktree Golf Course), 5 p.m. High School Girls Cross Country Austin at Ev Berg Owatonna Invitational (Brooktree Golf Course), 5 p.m. (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Yankees await new Central Division champions
MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire had a panicked question for bench coach Steve Liddle in the 12th inning Tuesday night, as he watched Alexi Casilla stroll to home plate against Tigers closer Fernando Rodney. (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

Austin girls hockey coach holds camp
Austin High girls hockey coach Denny Bray will hold a day camp this weekend at Packer Arena. Denny Bray's Day Camp will be held on Saturday from 12:15-to-1:45 p.m. "This camp is open to all girls in Austin who are interested in playing hockey," coach Bray said of the event. "The girls from the... (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

Jason Feldman -- Wild have to fight for first win of the season
ST. PAUL -- One left jab turned boos into roars. It turned jeers into cheers. It turned a stagnant Minnesota Wild team into the free-wheeling offensive dynamo it was promised to be when Todd Richards was hired as the team's second-ever head coach on June 16. (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

1D Jason Feldman--Wild have to fight for first win of the season
ST. PAUL -- One left jab turned boos into roars. It turned jeers into cheers. It turned a stagnant Minnesota Wild team into the free-wheeling offensive dynamo it was promised to be when Todd Richards was hired as the team's second-ever head coach on June 16. (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

Twins pull off a great escape
MINNEAPOLIS -- Frank Viola was part of the all-Metrodome team that was honored Sunday. He stuck around to visit friends and take in Tuesday's tiebreaker game between the Twins and the Detroit Tigers. (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

Favre's ability, presence immeasurable
MINNEAPOLIS -- Vikings coach Brad Childress has been loath to call Brett Favre the final piece to his team's puzzle since the quarterback arrived at Winter Park on Aug. 18. But with the Vikings undefeated through four games for the first time since 2003, that seems to be a fitting characterization.... (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

Austin sports calendar
WEDNESDAY Junior College Volleyball Riverland at RCTC, 6:30 p.m. THURSDAY High School Boys Cross Country Austin at Ev Berg Owatonna Invitational (Brooktree Golf Course), 5 p.m. High School Girls Cross Country (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

Wild rally, win in overtime
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Andrew Brunette came up with a dramatic kind of "welcome home" gift for his new coach in the Minnesota Wild's first win of the season. With Todd Richard coaching his first NHL regular season game in his home state, Brunette's power-play goal in overtime lifted the Wild to a 4-3... (Wednesday, October 7, 2009)

Packers get blanked by Scarlets
The Austin Packers girls soccer team lost 6-0 to Mankato West on Tuesday night at Art Hass Stadium. The loss kept the Packers winless on the season in Big Nine Conference play. Austin fell to 0-8 in conference games this season. (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

Shamrocks tennis wins section opener
OWATONNA -- The Austin Pacelli girls opened the team portion of the Class A, Section One tennis tournament with a 5-2 victory over Shattuck-St. Mary's of Faribault on Tuesday. The Pacelli Shamrocks were without junior co-captain Steph Kocer at the No. 4 singles spot. Despite the absence of one of... (Thursday, October 8, 2009)

It was Favre's night to shine
MINNEAPOLIS -- Brett Favre was clearly uncomfortable this week with all the attention on this reunion, trying to downplay the significance of playing the Green Bay Packers and stumbling through denials that his main motivation to unretire last year was revenge. (Tuesday, October 6, 2009)

Austin sports calendar
TUESDAY High School Boys Soccer Austin at Mankato West, 7 p.m. High School Girls Soccer Mankato West at Austin, 7 p.m. High School Girls Tennis Austin at Lakeville South, (Section 1AA) WEDNESDAY Junior College Volleyball (Tuesday, October 6, 2009)

Blue Devils rally against Crossroads College
It was a spirited battle in the rain on Monday afternoon between Crossroads College and the Riverland men's soccer team. The Riverland Blue Devils scored three goals in the second half to erase an early deficit in the game at Wescott Field. The visitors from Crossroads then scored on a late penalty... (Tuesday, October 6, 2009)

Packers seventh in conference tennis meet
ROCHESTER -- After a rainout over the weekend, the Big Nine Conference girls tennis meet was finally completed on Monday at the Rochester Outdoor Tennis Center courts. Rochester Mayo had a resounding day in taking first-place in the conference meet. Rochester Century was a distant second with 53.... (Tuesday, October 6, 2009)

Packers seventh in conference meet
ROCHESTER -- After a rainout over the weekend, the Big Nine Conference girls tennis meet was finally completed on Monday at the Rochester Outdoor Tennis Center courts. Rochester Mayo had a resounding day in taking first-place in the conference meet. Rochester Century was a distant second with 53.... (Tuesday, October 6, 2009)

Klock scores three goals in shutout
ROCHESTER -- A high-scoring offense led the Austin Packers boys soccer team to its eighth win in the last nine games. Goals were scored in profusion by the Packers on Monday in an 8-0 romp over Schaeffer Academy. The Packers scored three goals in the first half and never looked back in the... (Tuesday, October 6, 2009)