Minnesota Wild Zach Parise named captain of Sochi Olympic hockey team

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Minneapolis native Zach Parise has been named captain of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. USA Hockey announced Friday that Parise, a Minnesota Wild forward who served as an alternate captain for the 2010 Olympic silver medal-winning U.S. team, would be the captain for the 2014 squad which will compete in the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi, according to Dan Scifo of TeamUSA. “Los Angeles Kings’ captain Dustin Brown and Parise’s teammate, Minnesota Wild alternate captain Ryan Suter, were named alternate captains for the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team. Brown and Suter were alternate captains on the U.S. team in 2010. Brown has captained the Kings for six seasons, winning a Stanley Cup in 2012, while Suter has served as an alternate in Minnesota the past two years,” writes Scifo for TeamUSA’s website. Continue Reading

A new nickname for Minnesota’s new stadium

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The stadium formerly known as the “Hubert H. Humphrey III Metrodome at Mall of America Field” (HHH3M@MOAF) “Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome” (MOAF@HHHM) obviously screamed out for shorthand, or a nickname. So most of us just called it “The Dome,” much to the chagrin of the HHH3M@MOMAF MOAF@HHHM brand managers. Continue Reading

19 Minnesotans named to 2014 U.S. Olympic Team

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The United States Olympic Committee today announced the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team that will compete at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The 230-member team is comprised of 105 women and 125 men – the largest athlete delegation for any nation in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. The United States will be represented in all 15 disciplines across seven sports, and up to 94 of the 98 medal events that will be contested in Sochi. Nineteen athletes named to the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team hail from Minnesota, with the state’s representation second only to California’s 20 athletes. Eleven Minnesota athletes are competing in ice hockey, five are competing in curling, one in cross-country skiing, one in biathlon, and one in long track speedskating. Continue Reading

Chris Kluwe, the Vikings, and sports privilege

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Utah has gay marriage. Say no more. It’s officially over at the highest levels, folks. You can’t spend decades legislating and ordering equality from the chambers of congress, statehouses, and the benches of the high courts before, eventually, it becomes part of our culture to assume that the state and society supports equality even if an obnoxiously large minority of citizens does not. Struggle is followed by reluctant acceptance and regulation which is followed by shifting norms. What happens then is interesting: You have to shut up. STFU in fact. If you are really against equal rights you need to do so in your head and maybe in the privacy of your own home or some crappy bar you hang out in, but otherwise keep it to yourself and stop infecting the next generation. Then, eventually, inequalities can be addressed without as much public fighting. We are moving as a society into that STFU phase. Continue Reading

Winter in the Twin Cities: Outdoor fun

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The Christmas tree, lights, and tinsel may be put away, but Jack Frost is here to stay…for a while. The early arrival of frigid sub-zero temperatures this season have made parts of December feel a lot like January. But no, we’ve only just begun, folks.Maybe the old saying, if you can’t beat it, join it is the best mindset to adopt when battling winter blues and cabin fever. Why not add a bit of outdoor winter fun to your fitness and social routine? Bundle up and try something new!Below we’ve compiled a few outdoor winter activities in the Twin Cities (and beyond), from cross-country skiing and ice skating, to winter festivals and sled rallies, that provide an incentive to get out in natural light and engage the snowy landscape. Continue Reading

Project labor agreement for Vikings stadium build brings all-union job

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Work on the new $763 million Minnesota Vikings stadium — officially the “Minnesota Multi-Purpose Stadium” — will be an all-union job.Construction will involve an estimated four million work hours. At construction peak, some 1,300-1,400 workers will be on-site.The public authority which will own the stadium, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, required project contractor M.A. Mortenson Company to negotiate a “Project Labor Agreement” with the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council.A Project Labor Agreement serve a public purpose by ensuring that the work on the project continues on schedule without any labor disputes.The 14-page agreement, signed November 22, 2013 commits the unions to no strikes or slow-downs and commits the contractor no lock-outs during the construction of the stadium.The agreement also makes the job an all-union job by recognizing the jurisdiction of the two dozen Building Trades unions named in the PLA.Both parties to the agreement also commit to a grievance and arbitration process to resolve any issues or disagreements that may arise.“It’s the largest Project Labor Agreement in the history of the state,” said Dan McConnell, business manager of the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council.He noted that the Council has entered into many PLA agreements with Mortenson in the past, including for the construction of Target Field.The PLA commits both parties to use good faith efforts to meet the diversity goals for the project workforce established by the MSFA: 32 percent minority and six percent female.Building Trades unions are gearing up to meet the diversity requirements, McConnell noted, putting training programs and strong safety programs in place.The PLA is a win-win-win for the Building Trades, Mortenson, and the MSFA, McConnell said. “It’s going to mean the project will be done by good quality contractors and hard-working union men and women.”Ironically, McConnell noted, “the first PLA we ever did was with the Metrodome,” which will be torn down to make way for the new stadium. Continue Reading