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Severe weather around here seems to be more and more prevalent, seems to start earlier and earlier every year and seems to be getting more and more severe. Here are is how you and your family can be prepared for the storm and know exactly what to do when the skies turn cloudy and the weather turns bad.

The Gopher men's basketball team plays the University of Washington tonight at around 8pm in the NIT tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York. Minnesota is 22-14 while Washington is 24-10. The Gophers are coming off a win over Middle Tennessee State last Wednesday while Washington beat PAC 12 rival, Oregon to advance to the NIT semifinals.

The Twins indicated on their website that Justin Morneau continues to see time at designated hitter instead of first base to reduce the wear and tear on Morneau's body. Justin Morneau has a history of concussions and his doctors told him that he's more likely to get a concussion if he is worn down. The Twins arn't taking any chances by putting Morneau in the field over the past 2 weeks.

The Twins lost 10-4 in Fort Myers, Florida to Tampa Bay 10-4 Monday afternoon. Scott Baker made his first appearance in more than 2 weeks and allowed 7 hits and 7 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings to take the loss. He had missed time with right arm tendinitis. Ryan Doumit hit a homerun with 2 RBIs and Brian Dinkleman went 2-2 with a run and 1 RBI.

The Vikings have signed free agent cornerback Zack Bowman to a 1-year contract. Bowman was a starter last season with the Bears in Chicago. He had 15 tackles in 16 games in 2011 with no interceptions for the Bears. Bowman was a 5th round pick by Chicago in 2008.

The Granite City Lumberjacks downed the North Iowa Bulls 3-2 Sunday night at Sports Arena East in Sauk Rapids to advance to the NA3HL Final Four in Geneva, Illinois next weekend. Peter Lindblad scored 2 goals and Matt Grove had 26 saves for Granite City. The Lumberjacks win the series 2 games to 1.

The Gopher men's hockey team defeated North Dakota 5-2 in the NCAA Tournament West Region Final at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Sunday afternoon. Minnesota scored 3 2nd period goals. Taylor Matson scored the game-winning goal for the Gophers.

The Timberwolves won 117-100 at home over Denver Sunday afternoon. Kevin Love led the Wolves with 30 points and 21 rebounds and Luke Ridnour added 25 points for Minnesota. The Wolves played without J.J. Barea (thigh contusion) and Nikola Pekovic (bone spurs in right ankle). Pekovic is likely out until at least Friday.

The Minnesota Wild lost 3-0 to Washington Sunday afternoon. Minnesota is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with the loss. Mathew Hackett had 20 saves for Minnesota and Alex Ovechkin had a goal and 1 assist for Washington. The Wild played without Matt Cullen (broken finger), Niklas Backstrom (lower body injury), Matt Kassian (strained groin), Jared Spurgeon (concussion) and Justin Falk (leg injury).

The Twins lost 9-2 to St. Louis Sunday afternoon. Former Twin Kyle Lohse threw 6 innings with 2 earned runs allowed to get the win. Brian Duensing allowed 3 hits and 1 earned run in 1 inning to take the loss. Nick Blackburn threw 5 innings with 2 earned runs and Luke Hughes was 2-3 with 2 RBIs for the Twins.