Sports

Wednesday, July 10, 2019 The Forum Section D

‘I feel like I cheated death’

Photos by Meagan Deanne / The Forum

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks left fielder Brennan Metzger (left) poses with coach Chris Coste on Friday, July 5, during an American Association baseball game
against the Milwaukee Milkmen at Newman Outdoor Field.

RedHawks outfielder recounts long road to Crohn’s diagnosis

By Eric Peterson RBIs through 49 games.
epeterson@forumcomm.com Metzger has been a fixture
Fargo in left field and at the top

W
hen he was 23 years
old, Brennan Metzger
remembered being in
a hospital bed and pondering
his mortality.
The Fargo-Moorhead
RedHawks left fielder was
going through what he
called the toughest stretch
of any part of his life on his
journey to a Crohn’s disease
diagnosis.
“Thinking back on it now,
I’m grateful to be here,” the
now 29 year old Metzger
said Tuesday afternoon at
Newman Outdoor Field. “I
feel like I cheated death.”
In his second season with
the RedHawks, Metzger
is one of the team’s best
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks left fielder Brennan Metzger swings Friday, July 5, during an players, batting .312 with
American Association baseball game against the Milwaukee Milkmen at Newman Outdoor nine doubles, four triples,
Field. five home runs and 22
of the F-M lineup, helping
the RedHawks climb to the
top of the North Division
in American Association
baseball this season.
F-M was scheduled to play
the Sioux City Explorers on
Tuesday, but the game was
postponed due to weather.
The game will be made up at
6:05 p.m. Wednesday, July
9, as part of a doubleheader
with both games scheduled
for seven innings.
“He wants to win so
he brings that winning
atmosphere,” RedHawks
manager Jim Bennett said
of Metzger. “He’s going to
play hard for you every single
game. So you always know
what you’re going to get.”
METZGER: Page D2

MINNESOTA VIKINGS
UND’s all-time leading
Weatherly helping scorer, former captain,
tackle unhealthy Johnson, dies at age 48
relationships By Tom Miller
Forum News Service
more importantly, a Hall
of Fame man. He will be
GRAND FORKS — Greg greatly missed.”
By Chris Tomasson basically him saying on Johnson, former Uni- Johnson went on to win
St. Paul Pioneer Press the message, ‘I play in the versity of North Dakota a silver medal in the 1994
When Katie Hood NFL for the Minnesota hockey captain and the Winter Olympics, play
arrived at her New York Vikings, I have a chance program’s all-time lead- 12 years in the NHL and
office one day in the fall to participate in the ‘My ing scorer, died Monday serve as the captain of the
of 2017, she was sur- Cause, My Cleats’ cam- in Detroit, according to Nashville Predators. He
prised to be greeted by paign. I wondered if you his hometown newspaper, played in 37 career NHL
a voicemail from an NFL would mind if I wore One the Chronicle-Journal of playoff games.
player. Love cleats,’ ’’ Hood said. Thunder Bay, Ont. In 2013, he was induct-
It was Stephen Weath- “It was such a funny call He was 48. ed into the UND Athlet-
erly. to get. You don’t expect Johnson, the only three- ics Hall of Fame. His 198
Hood is the CEO of the NFL players to call the time Hobey Baker Award career assists at UND are
One Love Foundation, an 1-800 number.” finalist in UND history, 30 more than any other
organization that pro- One Love is named for scored a school record 272 UND player in history.
vides tools to help edu- Yeardley Love, a young points in his four seasons Johnson was drafted by
cate young people about woman killed by an at UND (1989-93). the Philadelphia Flyers in
healthy and unhealthy ex-boyfriend as a stu- “The UND hockey fam- the NHL draft’s second
relationships, and the dent at the University ily is saddened to learn round in 1989, although
Minnesota Vikings’ of Virginia in May 2010. of Greg Johnson’s pass- he never played for the
defensive end was part Weatherly has been one ing,” UND coach Brad Flyers and was traded to
of an unhealthy rela- of approximately 20,000 Berry said. “Our heart-felt the Detroit Red Wings.
tionship that sent him trained facilitators for sympathies and thoughts He began his NHL career
into depression as a One Love since he was at are with Greg’s fami- with the Red Wings in
ninth-grader. Vanderbilt in 2015. ly and loved ones at this 1993-94. He also played
“We got a call into our Submitted photo difficult time. He was a
1-800 number and it was WEATHERLY: Page D4 Greg Johnson. Hall of Fame athlete and JOHNSON: Page D2
D2 Wednesday, July 10, 2019 Sports The Forum

Minnesota United
won’t hold back
against USL side
By Andy Greder
St. Paul Pioneer Press
ST. PAUL — How MLS
clubs approach the U.S.
Open Cup can be revealed
in their starting lineups.
In their opening
fourth-round match in
the national tournament
June 12 against Sporting
Kansas City, the Loons
revealed a desire to win
by starting top goal-
keeper Vito Mannone
and premier playmak-
er Darwin Quintero. But
they didn’t put it all on
the line, resting banged-
up defenders Ike Opara
and Brent Kallman.
For a fifth-round game
against defending Open
Cup champion Houston
Dynamo on June 18, they
reinserted Opara and top
central midfielder Jan
Gregus in a 3-2 win.
For Wednesday, July
10’s quarterfinal against
lower-level New Mexi-
co United, coach Adrian
Heath said he will put a
full, first-choice group
of 11 starters out at Alli-
anz Field. With this game
in mind, Heath used a
lineup of mostly back-
ups for a 3-2 win over
Montreal in MLS action
Saturday.
“The game is littered
all over the world with
the so-called smaller
club beating the big-
ger club because the
bigger club don’t treat
them with the respect
they deserve,” Heath
said Monday. “That’s
not going to happen. We
are going to put the best
team out we can.”
New Mexico, a startup
club in the USL Cham-
pionship division, has
already topped two MLS
sides on the road to
reach this stage. They
edged the Colorado Rap-
ids in penalty kicks in
the fourth round on June
13 and beat FC Dallas 2-1
in the fifth round on June
19.
New Mexico coach
Troy Lesesne said he has
seen an extra gear in his
players wanting to prove
they can hang with MLS
competition. “It means a
little bit more,” he said.
When Heath coached
Orlando City, he wel-
comed Lesesne to watch
a few training sessions
on two separate visits.
It was open-door access
that helped Lesesne form
his identity as a coach.
“Watching Adrian go
through his attacking
pattern play was one of
the biggest education
points for me,” Lesense
said.
Now, Lesense will be
tasked with stopping a
Loons attack that has
scored a staggering 20
goals in their past five
games in all competi-
tions. New Mexico won’t
be able to counter with
Kevaughn Frater, who
has scored four Open Cup
goals but is suspended
due to yellow-card accu-
mulation.
The Loons have only
lost once in 10 home
games this season, but
New Mexico is expect-
ed to bring about 300
fans, with approximately
180 coming on a char-
tered flight. That travel-
ing support is more than
double the next-highest
total at Allianz Field this
season, 135 brought by
the Seattle Sounders on
May 4.
Opara, who won U.S.
Open Cups with Kansas
City in 2015 and ’17, said
success in the tourna-
ment boils down to car-
ing.
“If you take it serious,
if you want to strive for
a trophy, it’s there for
the taking,” he said. “I
think the mindset of this
is it isn’t a gimme game,
or this isn’t a game for
development for some
guys; it’s a chance for us
to win something mean-
ingful.”
Minnesota, which
hasn’t won a trophy
since earning the North
American Soccer League
spring season champi-
onship in 2014, can now
see a title on the horizon.
An Open Cup champi-
onship would also mean
a spot in the CONCA-
CAF Champions League
and $300,000 in prize
money.
The Minnesota/New
Mexico winner plays
either Los Angeles FC or
the Portland Timbers in
the semifinals on Aug. 7.
Location will be deter-
mined in a draw Thurs-
day.
Four Eastern teams
are on the other side of
the bracket — MLS clubs
Atlanta United, Orlando
City, New York City and
another underdog, USL
Championship side St.
Louis FC.
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks left fielder Brennan Metzger high-fives teammates in the dugout during an American
Association baseball game against the Milwaukee Milkmen on Friday, July 5, at Newman Outdoor Field.
METZGER
From Page D1
Metzger had his large intestine
removed at the end of April in
2013, which proved to be the first
of six surgeries in less than one
year. Four of those procedures
happened in a span of two weeks.
He was in the hospital for more
than 30 days at one point and for
more than 20 of them, he couldn’t
eat or drink anything.
“I’ve got these scars here that
will never let me forget,” said
Metzger, pointing to a seven-inch
scar that starts right below his
belly button. “It makes appreciate
a lot of the smaller things in life.”
Hours after his fourth surgery,
Metzger said his temperature
spiked and climbed to more than
106 degrees. Metzger was in and
out of consciousness since it was
post surgery.
“I remember waking up and
seeing two nurses in there,”
Metzger said. “All of a sudden,
there was just chaos going on in
my room.”
Medical personnel covered
Metzger with an ice blanket to
try to cool him down. He said he
eventually went into tachycardia
with his heart rate racing to around
180 beats per minute. As this was
unfolding, Metzger said he recalls
a moment when he looked into the
hallway where his saw his parents,
Stan and Debbie Metzger, and his
uncle, Dan Tait. He said his uncle
punched the wall.
Metzger said he later learned he
flatlined for a brief time. Doctors
BASEBALL
Meagan Deanne / The Forum
had used a defibrillator on his
heart to treat the racing heartbeat.
Metzger, who played baseball at
Long Beach State, was entering his
“I woke up the next day in the second season in the San Francisco
ICU,” Metzger said. “I was flatlined Giants organization in 2013. The
for about five minutes before they surgeries prevented him from
brought me back.” playing baseball for the entire year.
Metzger spent the entire month Metzger returned to the diamond
of May 2013 in the hospital and in the spring of 2014, playing in
his weight dropped from 190 to the Arizona League for the Giants.
110 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame. He joined the RedHawks prior to
During that time is when Metzger the 2018 season. Metzger said there
hit some deep valleys. This came are days where his energy is low
at a time when he was supposed due to Crohn’s, but he does his
to be starting his second season in best to persevere.
professional baseball. Every eight weeks, Metzger has
“I was thinking I might never to get three-hour infusions of
walk out of this hospital room medication for the disease. He has
again,” Metzger said. an infusion scheduled later this
After he left the hospital in early week at a Fargo hospital.
June of 2013, Metzger said he had “I feel just as good as I ever did,”
to use a walker at first as he tried Metzger said. “I have days where I
to regain his strength and gain feel like someone ran me over with
a truck. I’ve gotten used to dealing
his weight back. He was initially
with it all. I grind. I grind through
diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at
it.”
19 years old, during his freshman
However, Metzger said his
year at Long Beach State.
current health doesn’t even
Metzger started taking
compare to that stretch of six
medication for what was then-
surgeries with the final one coming
believed to be colitis and that
in February of 2014. Before his
helped manage his condition
fourth surgery, Metzger recalls
for the most part, he said. That
telling doctors he didn’t want them
changed in 2013 when there was to resuscitate him if something
a major flare up that led to the went wrong because he had grown
four surgeries in two weeks. The frustrated. Metzger said his mom
final three in that span were “lost it” and strongly intervened,
from complications for the first letting him know that was not an
procedure. option.
Months passed before the fifth “That’s when things got pretty
and sixth surgeries. After the final low for me,” Metzger said. “I was
procedure, he was re-diagnosed trapped. I was trapped in a hospital
to have Crohn’s disease in for 33 days. That was the toughest
September of 2014. Crohn’s is an stretch of any part of my life.”
inflammatory bowel disease of the Forum reporter Eric Peterson can be reached at
digestive tract. (701) 241-5531
SCOREBOARD

St. Louis 9, San Francisco 4 67; Escobar, ARI, 67; Yelich, MIL, 67; 5
SOCCER
Saturday’s Results tied 62.

 Pittsburgh 12, Milwaukee 2

Professional
JOHNSON in first season in Nash-
ville in 1998-99. He was American League
East
From Page D1 Nashville’s captain from W L Pct GB
NY Yankees 57 31 .648 —
for the Pittsburgh Pen- 2002-06 — the second
Tampa Bay 52 39 .571 6.5
captain in franchise his- Boston 49 41 .544 9.0
guins and Chicago Black- Toronto 34 57 .374 24.5
tory. Baltimore 27 62 .303 30.5
hawks before playing his
Johnson is survived by Central
final seven seasons with W L Pct GB
his wife and two chil- Minnesota 56 33 .629 —
the Predators. Cleveland 50 38 .568 5.5
dren. Chi. White Sox 42 44 .488 12.5
After seven years with His younger brother, Detroit 28 57 .329 26.0
Nashville, Johnson signed Ryan Johnson, played Kansas City 30 61 .330 27.0
West
with Detroit in 2006 but 13 seasons in the NHL W L Pct GB
Houston 57 33 .633 —
retired before the season (1997-2011) with five Oakland 50 41 .549 7.5
when a preseason physi- teams. Ryan played at Texas 48 42 .533 9.0
LA Angels 45 46 .495 12.5
cal revealed a hereditary UND during the 1994- Seattle 39 55 .415 20.0
heart abnormality.
95 and 1995-96 seasons National League
He finished his NHL before turning pro.
East
W L Pct GB
career with 145 goals Ryan is now the Van- Atlanta 54 37 .593 —
Washington 47 42 .528 6.0
and 369 points in 785 couver Canucks’ senior Philadelphia 47 43 .522 6.5
career games, including director of player devel- NY Mets 40 50 .444 13.5
Miami 33 55 .375 19.5
a career-best 50 points opment. Central
W L Pct GB
Chi. Cubs 47 43 .522 —
Milwaukee 47 44 .516 .5
St. Louis 44 44 .500 2.0
TODAY’S LOCAL CALENDAR Pittsburgh 44 45 .494 2.5
Cincinnati 41 46 .471 4.5
Professional West
W L Pct GB
American Association Baseball LA Dodgers 60 32 .652 —
Sioux City at Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 7:02 p.m. Arizona 46 45 .505 13.5
WNBA San Diego 45 45 .500 14.0
Colorado 44 45 .494 14.5
Minnesota at Chicago, 7:30 p.m. San Francisco 41 48 .461 17.5
American Legion Baseball
Fargo Post 2 at Grand Forks, 5 and 7 p.m.
American League
Friday’s Results
Baltimore 4, Toronto 1
Perham at Moorhead, 5 and 7 p.m. NY Yankees 8, Tampa Bay 4, 11 innings
Boston 9, Detroit 6
LA Angels 5, Houston 4
TODAY’S TV Minnesota 15, Texas 6
Bicycling
Oakland 5, Seattle 2
Saturday’s Results
Tour de France: Stage 5, 6:30 a.m., NBCSN
Minor League Baseball
Minnesota 7, Texas 4
Baltimore 8, Toronto 1
Triple-A All-Star Game, 8 p.m., MLBN Tampa Bay 4, NY Yankees 3
Boston 10, Detroit 6
National Basketball Association Houston 4, LA Angels 0
Summer League Teams TBA, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 Seattle 6, Oakland 3
Sunday’s Results
Summer League Teams TBA, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 Toronto 6, Baltimore 1
Tennis Tampa Bay 2, NY Yankees 1
Wimbledon: Gentlemen’s quarterfinals Centre Court, 7 a.m., ESPN Boston 6, Detroit 3
Wimbledon: Gentlemen’s quarterfinals No. 1 Court, 7 a.m., ESPN2 Houston 11, LA Angels 10, 10 innings
Texas 4, Minnesota 1, 11 innings
WNBA Oakland 7, Seattle 4
Minnesota at Chicago, 8 p.m., CBSSN National League
Friday’s Results
Milwaukee 7, Pittsburgh 6, 10 innings
TODAY’S RADIO Philadelphia 7, NY Mets 2
Atlanta 1, Miami 0
American Association Baseball Arizona 8, Colorado 0
Sioux City at F-M RedHawks, 6:40 p.m., 740-AM, 107.3-FM San Diego 3, LA Dodgers 2
Miami 5, Atlanta 4
NY Mets 6, Philadelphia 5
San Francisco 8, St. Louis 4
San Diego 3, LA Dodgers 1
Arizona 4, Colorado 2
Sunday’s Results
Philadelphia 8, NY Mets 3
Atlanta 4, Miami 3
Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 5
San Francisco 1, St. Louis 0
San Diego 5, LA Dodgers 3
Arizona 5, Colorado 3
Interleague
Friday’s Results
Kansas City 7, Washington 4, 11 innings
Saturday’s Results
Washington 6, Kansas City 0
Cleveland 7, Cincinnati 2
Chi. Cubs 6, Chi. White Sox 3
Sunday’s Results
Cleveland 11, Cincinnati 1
Washington 5, Kansas City 2
Chi. White Sox 3, Chi. Cubs 1
AL leaders
BATTING
Batter, G AB R H AVG
LeMahieu, NYY 81 336 65 113 .336
Brantley, HOU 84 333 48 108 .324
Devers, BOS 87 346 69 112 .324
Anderson, CHW 70 271 39 86 .317
Polanco, MIN 85 356 57 111 .312
Alberto, BAL 73 272 22 84 .309
Moncada, CHW 79 305 49 94 .308
Merrifield, KC 91 382 62 117 .306
Cabrera, DET 80 283 22 86 .304
Martinez, BOS 79 316 52 96 .304
HOME RUNS
Trout, LAA, 28; Encarnacion, SEA/NYY, 25;
Sanchez, NYY, 24; Bregman, HOU, 23;
Soler, KC, 23; Abreu, CHW, 21; Chapman,
OAK, 21; Kepler, MIN, 21; Vogelbach, SEA,
21; 3 tied 20.
RUNS BATTED IN
Trout, LAA, 67; Abreu, CHW, 66; Bogaerts,
BOS, 65; LeMahieu, NYY, 63; Santana,
SEA, 63; Devers, BOS, 62; Rosario, MIN, 60;
Soler, KC, 59; Sanchez, NYY, 57; 2 tied 56.
PITCHING
Giolito, CHW, 11-3; Lynn, TEX, 11-4; Ger-
man, NYY, 10-2; Morton, TB, 10-2; Odorizzi,
MIN, 10-4; Verlander, HOU, 10-4; Gonzales,
SEA, 10-7; Montas, OAK, 9-2; Cashner, BAL,
9-3; Rodriguez, BOS, 9-4.
NL leaders
BATTING
Batter, G AB R H AVG
McNeil, NYM 76 289 41 101 .349
Bellinger, LAD 88 318 70 107 .336
Blackmon, COL 73 315 67 104 .330
Yelich, MIL 82 304 66 100 .329
Arenado, COL 88 340 61 106 .312
Marte, ARI 87 354 58 110 .311
Freeman, ATL 90 356 69 110 .309
Dahl, COL 80 302 55 93 .308
Rendon, WAS 75 280 65 85 .304
Verdugo, LAD 86 274 34 83 .303
HOME RUNS
Yelich, MIL, 31; Alonso, NYM, 30; Bell-
inger, LAD, 30; Bell, PIT, 27; Renfroe, SD,
27; Moustakas, MIL, 25; Reyes, SD, 25;
Freeman, ATL, 23; Baez, CHC, 22; Muncy,
LAD, 22.
RUNS BATTED IN
Bell, PIT, 84; Bellinger, LAD, 71; Alonso,
NYM, 68; Freeman, ATL, 68; Arenado, COL,
PITCHING
Ryu, LAD, 10-2; Greinke, ARI, 10-3; Wood- 
ruff, MIL, 10-3; Strasburg, WAS, 10-4; Soro- Professional
ka, ATL, 9-1; Fried, ATL, 9-4; Scherzer,
WAS, 9-5; Gray, COL, 9-6; Buehler, LAD,
Major League Soccer
Eastern Conference
8-1; Nola, PHI, 8-2. W L T Pts GF GA:
Philadelphia 10 5 6 36 39 28
All-Star break D.C. United 8 5 7 31 25 21
Atlanta United FC 9 7 3 30 27 23
Montreal Impact 9 9 3 30 26 34
Standings/results/schedule New York City FC 7 2 8 29 30 20
New York 8 7 4 28 33 27
American Association
North Division
Toronto FC 6 8 5 23 30 33
New England 6 8 5 23 22 36
FM RedHawks 32-17 - Orlando City SC 6 9 4 22 27 27
St. Paul 32-18 .5 Chicago Fire 5 8 7 22 31 29
Winnipeg 28-21 4 Columbus Crew 5 13 2 17 17 30
Chicago 25-22 6 FC Cincinnati 4 13 2 14 18 44
Gary
Milwaukee 20-29 12
21-26 10 Western Conference
W L T Pts GF GA:
South Division Los Angeles FC 13 2 4 43 50 16
Cleburne 27-22 - LA Galaxy 11 7 1 34 26 22
Kansas City 25-23 1.5 Seattle Sounders 9 5 5 32 29 25
Sioux Falls 25-24 2 Minnesota United 9 7 3 30 36 29
Sioux City 24-24 2.5 FC Dallas 8 7 5 29 29 25
Lincoln 23-27 4.5 San Jose 8 7 4 28 30 30
Texas 10-39 17 Houston Dynamo 8 7 3 27 28 25
Monday, July 8 Real Salt Lake 8 9 2 26 25 29
Winnipeg 7, St. Paul 6 Portland Timbers 7 8 2 23 26 28
Kansas City 5 7 7 22 29 34
Sioux Falls 11, Texas 2
Tuesday, July 9
Vancouver FC 4 8 8 20 22 31
Colorado Rapids 5 10 4 19 29 38
Sioux City at FM RedHawks (Postponed) NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
Chicago 10, Gary 0 for draw.
Sioux Falls 12, Texas 1 Friday’s Games
Lincoln 9, Winnipeg 2
Cleburne 9, Milwaukee 1
New England Revolution at D.C. United,
6 p.m.
St. Paul 10, Kansas City 5 Los Angeles FC at Houston Dynamo, 8 p.m.
San Jose Earthquakes at LA Galaxy, 10 p.m.
Wednesday, July 10
Saturday’s Games
Sioux City at FM RedHawks, 7:02 p.m.
Gary at Chicago, 5:05 p.m. (DH)
St. Paul at Kansas City, 7:05 p.m.
Columbus Crew SC at Orlando City SC,
6:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at Montreal Impact, 6:30 p.m.
Winnipeg at Lincoln, 7:05 p.m.
Texas at Sioux Falls, 7:05 p.m.
FC Dallas at Minnesota United FC, 7 p.m.
Cleburne at Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m.
FC Cincinnati at Chicago Fire, 7 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at Vancouver White-
caps FC, 9 p.m.
Philadelphia Union at Real Salt Lake, 9 p.m.
BASKETBALL Colorado Rapids at Portland Timbers, 10
p.m.
 Sunday’s Games
Atlanta United FC at Seattle Sounders FC,
2:55 p.m.
Professional
Women’s National Basketball Association New York City FC at New York Red Bulls,
5:30 p.m.
Eastern Conference
Washington
W L Pct GB
9 4 .692 —
Connecticut
Chicago
9 5 .643 0.5
7 7 .500 2.5
TENNIS
New York
Indiana
7 8 .467
6 9 .400 4
3

Atlanta 3 10 .231 6 Professional
Western Conference WTA Tour
W L Pct GB Wimbledon
Tuesday
Las Vegas 9 5 .643 —
Minnesota 8 6 .571 1 London, England
Singles
Los Angeles 7 7 .500 2
Seattle 8 8 .500 2 Quarterfinals
Barbara Strycova, Czech Republic, def. Johan-
Phoenix 6 6 .500 2
na Konta (19), United Kingdom, 7-6, 6-1.
Dallas 5 9 .357 4
Serena Williams (11), United States, def.
Saturday’s Games
Minnesota 74, Connecticut 71
Alison Riske, United States, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Elina Svitolina (8), Ukraine, def. Karoli-
Sunday’s Games na Muchova, Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-4.
Las Vegas 90, New York 58 Simona Halep (7), Romania, def. Zhang
Los Angeles 98, Washington 81
Chicago 78, Dallas 66
Shuai, China, 7-6, 6-1.
Phoenix 65, Atlanta 63
Tuesday’s Games Email scores and results to sports@
Dallas 74, Los Angeles 62 forumcomm.com