For the first time in nine years, the Minnesota Twins are hosting playoff games. Exciting news for players and fans, but also for employees of the Twins’ home, Target Field. I went to a recent Twins game to find out what a home game is like for Target Field’s meteorologist, head groundskeeper, and organist. 

It’s sunny and 75, and Mace Michaels gets to relax. He’s the meteorologist for the Minnesota Twins, responsible for advising teams and umpires about upcoming weather. 

Former New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera can add the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a list of accolades that includes the major league record for saves, five World Series rings, and the first unanimous selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame. At an award ceremony Monday, President Donald Trump praised Rivera’s faith and charity along with his dominance as a reliever despite throwing mostly one type of pitch.

Jon Peters, who in 1989 set the record for the most consecutive wins of any high-school baseball pitcher—51—gave pesky reporters a lot of God talk: “Anytime I felt that the media were getting too close … all I had to do was mention God, and you could see them step back.” Peters regularly thanked God during interviews, because he didn’t want the world to know that he was full of fears and had even attempted suicide.

One of the stars of the World Cup–winning U.S. women’s soccer team might have a future in the NFL. Carli Lloyd, a two-time FIFA player of the year, passed on an offer to kick for an unnamed NFL team in a preseason game this week but is seriously considering pursuing a career as a pro placekicker, her manager said.

Antonio de la Rosa celebrated his 50th birthday on a paddleboat in the Pacific Ocean. The Spaniard took 76 days to travel 2,500 miles from California to Hawaii for summer vacation. He arrived Saturday in Honolulu.

How did de la Rosa do it? The native of Valladolid, Spain, paddled eight to 10 hours a day while standing on a 21-foot-long, submarine-shaped vessel. He ate dehydrated food using heated water and sometimes fished. He slept at night but woke up hourly to check on his gear. At one point, Hurricane Flossie passed within 60 miles of him.

Andrew Luck said constant injuries have taken the joy out of playing professional football. “For the last four years or so, I’ve been in this cycle of injury, pain, rehab … and it’s been unceasing, unrelenting,” the Indianapolis Colts quarterback said following his team’s preseason loss to the Chicago Bears Saturday night. Luck struggled through the 2015 and 2016 seasons and missed the entire 2017 campaign with shoulder problems.

TV analyst and retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is taking the weekend off from broadcasting after a plane carrying him and his family crash-landed Thursday near Bristol Motor Speedway in eastern Tennessee. Earnhardt and his wife Amy, their 15-month-old daughter, their dog, and two pilots were able to walk away from the crash. “After being discharged from the hospital, we communicated with Dale and his team, and we’re all in agreement that he should take this weekend off to be with his family,” NBC Sports announced.