Four Minnesota teams with Olympic experience have qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, including East Metro-based women’s squad, Team Peterson.

Team Peterson qualified by being one of the top three U.S. teams in the world rankings, No. 31 overall. The comprises sisters Tabitha Peterson and Tara Peterson, who grew up in Burnsville and cut their teeth at the St. Paul Curling club, as well as Cory Thiesse, Vicky Persinger and Taylor Anderson-Heide.

The Trails are scheduled for Nov. 11-16 in Sioux Falls, S.D., and feature four men’s and four women’s teams. The winning men’s and women’s teams will represent the U.S. at the Olympic Qualification Event in British Columbia, Canada, Dec. 6-19, where they will compete for the final two berths in the 2026 Games.

Duluth-based Team Shuster earned its berth last spring by winning the 2024 U.S. men’s nationals and finishing in sixth at the 2024 world championships. Skip John Shuster was part of teams that won an Olympic gold medal in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and a bronze medal in Torino, Italy, in 2006.

Team Peterson competed in the 2022 Beijing Games and in Pyeongchang, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.

Also qualifying from Minnesota were men’s sides Team Dropkin (Duluth) and Team Dropkin (Chaska).

— John Shipley

College football

Gophers Perich, Smith named to Lott watch list

The University of Minnesota football players Koi Perich and Anothony Smith were named to the watch list for the Lott Trophy, which is given to the nation’s top defensive player that exhibits IMPACT (integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and tenacity) on and off the field.

Perich was a second-team All-American defensive back last season as a freshman. Smith, a redshirt junior defensive lineman was all-Big Ten honorable mention last year.

Baylor football player Foster dies from gunfire

Baylor defensive lineman Alex Foster died early Wednesday after he was found with multiple gunshot wounds in a car in his Mississippi hometown, the Washington County coroner’s office confirmed to The Associated Press. He was 18.

The shooting was part of a “surge in violent crimes” that Greenville Mayor Errick D. Simmons said in an address threaten the community. Simmons said the city issued a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to curb the violence, which has included multiple shootings and “senseless killings.”

The Mississippi Clarion Ledger first reported Foster as being the victim of a shooting in Greenville after Baylor announced without a cause that Foster had died.

WNBA

Collier named conference player of the week

Lynx forward Napheesa Collier was named the Western Conference player of the week on Wednesday.

It’s the eighth time Collier has earned the award in her career, the second most for any Lynx player.

Collier started the season averaging 29.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks in 35 minutes per game this season.

NHL

Oilers’ Hyman likely to miss rest of playoffs

The Edmonton Oilers will likely be without hard-hitting forward Zach Hyman for the remainder of the playoffs because of an undisclosed injury to his right arm, coach Kris Knoblauch announced Wednesday.

Without providing details on the nature of the injury, Knoblauch said Hyman was scheduled to have surgery and was “most likely done” for the remainder of the postseason.

Hyman, who leads the NHL playoffs with 111 hits, was hurt midway through the first period of a 4-1 win over Dallas in Game 4 of the Western Conference final series on Tuesday night. The injury occurred at Edmonton’s blue line, when he out-stretched his arms to brace for what appeared to be a glancing hit from Stars forward Mason Marchment.

NFL

Patriots’ Diggs seen in troublesome video

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Wednesday that he is aware of a video that showed receiver Stefon Diggs passing a bag of pink crystals to women on a boat. Vrabel declined to comment on whether he has spoken to Diggs about it.

“It’s something that we’re aware of,” Vrabel said. “Obviously, we want to make great decisions on and off the field. … The message will be the same for all our players, that we’re trying to make great decisions.”

An NFL spokesman said the league would not comment. Diggs’ agents did not immediately respond to a text from The Associated Press requesting comment.

Diggs, who has been linked to hip-hop star Cardi B this offseason, is shown in a video on social media talking to three women on a boat before he produces a bag of pink crystals.

Harbaugh says cutting Tucker was ‘complex’

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was available to local reporters Wednesday for the first time since the Ravens announced May 5 they were releasing kicker Justin Tucker. The five-time All-Pro kicker had been accused by over a dozen massage therapists of inappropriate sexual behavior, according to reporting by the Baltimore Banner. The NFL said it would investigate, but it’s not clear when that process will conclude.

“It was a complex decision-making process, and I’m a part of it,” Harbaugh said, adding that owner Steve Bisciotti, president Sashi Brown and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome were involved in the move, along with general manager Eric DeCosta.

Harbaugh added: “I think if you step back and take a look at all the issues and all the ramifications, you can understand that we’ve got to get our football team ready, and we’ve got to have a kicker ready to go. That was the move that we decided to make, so in that sense, it’s a football decision.”

BRIEFLY

Minor league baseball >> The St. Paul Saints continued their road series with a 5-2 win against Omaha on Wednesday. Simeon Woods Richardson (2-) allowed two runs in six innings for St. Paul. Matt Wallner homered again during his rehab stint.

— From news services