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Posted August 2,
2006
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Pro Bowl Receiver’s Purple Roots Run Deep
Prep school, college and
now the NFL has taken Minneapolis’ Larry Fitzgerald far from
home. Still, Fitzgerald spent the off season here before heading back
to Arizona to play for the Cardinals and former Viking coach Denny
Green. In a summer interview Fitzgerald said “Minneapolis is always
home. I will be here from April to the end of July every year.”
Fitzgerald grew up on the
south side of the city and through his sportswriter father Larry
met Green. It was the elder Fitzgerald who asked the coach if his son
could be a Vikings ball boy. In that role young Larry received a
tutorial on being a receiver from Vikings receivers including Cris
Carter. Randy Moss helped, too, but Fitzgerald said Carter
had the most impact noting that Carter was more vocal and instructive.
Fitzgerald learned his
lessons, applied his natural gifts, starred at Holy Angels and the
University of Pittsburgh, and made the NFC’s 2006 Pro Bowl roster as a
wide receiver after his second season with the Cardinals. He has three
more years on his contract with Arizona. And then?
“I hope in the next few
years I can work out an extension with the Arizona Cardinals,”
Fitzgerald said. “That would be great.”
The Vikings? “If that’s
what happens I would be more than happy to play at home,” he said. “I
have been a huge Vikings fan since I was a child. That would definitely
be a dream come true for me but I am enjoying my time in Arizona with
coach Green. He’s a great coach and great man. . . I love playing for
him.”
Fitzgerald’s dad, and his
mom Carol, who passed away a few years ago, insisted that Larry
adopt a humanitarian view toward life and be involved with community
work. “I have a big heart,” Fitzgerald said in thinking about his mom.
“ If I see someone struggling or in need I am never gonna let that go.
I am going to go out there and help somebody because it’s kind of the
way my mom was. Even if she did not have the resources she would find
somebody who did to help people out in the community.”
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"I
have been a huge Vikings fan since I was a child. That would definitely
be a dream come true for me but I am enjoying my time in Arizona with
coach Green. "
Minneapolis’ Larry Fitzgerald
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Wally’s World
Wally’s Choice,
with over $427,000 in career earnings, is closing in on Blair’s
Cove’s all-time record of $533,528 for Minnesota bred race horses.
Owned by Wally and Joyce McNeil, and Canterbury Park
Board Chairman Curtis Sampson, the horse will race at Canterbury
Park on August 20 and September 3, and in November will race in
Oklahoma. Wally, known to many as “Wally the Beerman,” said if
his horse remains healthy the earnings record may well be broken before
the year ends.
Involved with ownership
for 11 years, McNeil said there was no predicting Wally’s Choice would
be such a success story. “You never know with any horse how good it’s
going to be. He’s got a big heart (Wally’s Choice is a come from behind
performer). He’s one of those freaks, a once in a lifetime type of
horse.”
It’s a crap shoot to
predict whether a horse will become a winner but Wally’s Choice’s
granddad, Storm Cat, sure has credibility. The Kentucky based
Storm Cat earns $500,000 when he sires a live foal.
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Photo credit: Beth
Rutzebeck, Canterbury Park
Wally's Choice |
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Bronko and Darrell Gopher Greats
A rivals.com fan poll
asked respondents to select the greatest football players at various
colleges. With 83 percent support Bronko Nagurski was easily the
popular choice among former University of Minnesota players. Darrell
Thompson was a distant second with less than 20 percent support.
Thompson, the Gophers
all-time leading rusher in career yards, mentioned many past Gophers who
might have drawn support, including Kent Kitzmann from Thompson’s
home town of Rochester. “It’s amazing that people would think of me,”
Thompson said.
Kitzmann rushed 57 times
in one game for the Gophers as they defeated Illinois in 1977.
Kitzmann and Thompson are among the school’s famed running backs
including Laurence Maroney, Marion Barber (father and
son), Paul Giel, Bob McNamara and Heisman Trophy winner
Bruce Smith (the subject of a Hollywood movie).
As for Bronko, he merely
made all-American at three positions, end, tackle and fullback. In 1929
he was named all-American at both tackle and fullback, becoming the
first player to ever achieve that distinction.
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Bronko Nagurski |
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Extra Innings
Thompson said the Gophers
have had “Cadillac” runners in the past but now with Maroney and Gary
Russell gone since last season, and Barber having left for the pros
after the 2004 season, the talent level has obviously dropped. ...
Russell is not playing this season but will he enroll at Minnesota in
January to regain his eligibility? ...
Matt Spaeth
has been named a second team pre-season all-American by Street and
Smith’s college football magazine. ...
Sports Illustrated was
here to write about Joe Mauer
for the current issue cover story. Coverage included a stop at
Canterbury Park where Joe’s grandfather
Jake sells his tip sheet. ...
You wonder how long Mauer
will be a catcher. With the physical demands of catching, his
effectiveness as a hitter probably could be extended by moving to
another position. With his athleticism and size, he might be a
nice fit at third base. ...
Maybe pitching phenom
Matt Garza will join the Twins this season but it’s no secret the
team seems concerned about moving him to the majors when in 2006 he has
already pitched at three minor league levels including AAA. “One thing
you don’t want to do is hurt his arm,” manager Ron Gardenhire
said on his WCCO Radio show.
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Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins
Joe Mauer |
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