Flip Saunders, let go earlier this year by the Wizards, remains interested in coaching again.  He’s had NBA head coaching jobs since 1995 with the Timberwolves, Pistons and Wizards, directing four teams to the conference finals in the last eight years.

Saunders, 57, told Sports Headliners the “right situation, right ownership” could put him back in the NBA.  He fondly remembers working for Glen Taylor, using the Timberwolves boss as the kind of owner experience he values.

What about college basketball for Saunders who lives with his family in the Minneapolis area?  “I don’t know.  My name is always brought up at Minnesota just because I am here,” Saunders said.

“Do I think I would be a good college coach?  Yeah, I say that because when I talk to (Michigan State coach) Tom Izzo, Izzo always tells me you’d be unbelievable in college because he sees when (and how) I talk to players, and be able to recruit players and do those type of things.

“Partly coaching, too is a lot (about) having knowledge.  When you’ve been an NBA coach and you’ve coached and you’re at 1,500 or 2,000 games, you’ve been through just about every situation.

“Again, it would have to be the right situation (college).  You just don’t jump in as far as anywhere.  I think right now I am more geared to being a pro coach.”

Saunders played for the Gophers and was later an assistant coach on Minnesota’s 1982 Big Ten championship team.  He was also an assistant at Tulsa and coached junior college basketball in Minnesota.  Speculation about him coaching the Gophers occurs when rumors start about Minnesota coach Tubby Smith being targeted for other college jobs.

When asked about the Wolves, Saunders believes the franchise’s priority should be to acquire or develop a guard who is a “flat-out shooter.”  He also said there’s probably not such a “game changer” on the free agent market this summer and the Wolves may instead need to develop two-year veteran Wesley Johnson, a player who averaged six points per game and made .389 percent of his field goal attempts last season.

Last year the NBA labor dispute delayed training camps and shortened preparations for the season.  Not a good thing for young players like Johnson.  “You’re hoping Wesley Johnson improves,” Saunders said.  “He shows signs.  You gotta judge him where he’s going to be after he goes through a training camp with Rick (Adelman). ”

The Wolves missed the playoffs last season and stumbled badly in the closing months after Ricky Rubio was injured.  Saunders said the team could improve in the near future but still not make the playoffs.  “Who you going to jump over?” he asked and then listed several strong teams in the Western Conference.  “They might get better—significantly—and they might be in the same spot they’re in, or maybe move up one or two spots.”

Saunders cautioned about expecting too fast a return to elite performance by Rubio who tore his ACL in the left knee.  It’s even too soon to predict when the 21-year-old point guard will play again.  Saunders is experienced with players who have severe injuries to their legs and shoulders.  “What I usually say is that when a guy comes back and starts playing, you’re going to know how he is a year from that time,” Saunders said.

Last season was Kevin Love’s fourth in the NBA and the Wolves forward established himself among the league’s best players, even finishing sixth in the MVP voting.  But Saunders won’t include Love among the league’s five best players yet.  Saunders quickly listed Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, then said Dwight Howard is probably his fifth player among the five best.

“I am never going to put a guy in the top five if he’s not in the playoffs,” Saunders said.  “I vote guys if their team wins.  There has to be something said for winning.  No matter what you have to do.  What he’s doing (Love) is he’s putting up top five numbers.  He’s putting up top 10 numbers.  He’s one of the top players in the world.

“When you talk top five, that’s a pretty elite group right now.  You’re talking guys that not only are they putting up numbers and that, but their teams are winning and usually winning pretty big.”

Saunders is working with the Celtics as an adviser during the playoffs. He’s reunited with Kevin Garnett who he coached 10 seasons in Minneapolis.  He regards the 7-foot Garnett as probably the most versatile player in basketball history.

Because of his association with the Celtics, Saunders wouldn’t predict who will emerge as Eastern Conference champions but he picks the Lakers to win the Western Conference.

Saunders coached the Wolves to the 2004 Western Conference Finals.  He also coached the Pistons to three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals.  He had an NBA worst 2-15 record when the Wizards fired him last January. “One thing the NBA will do is bring you humility,” he said.

There are no Gophers recruits or Minnesota natives among Rivals.com’s top 150 high school basketball seniors.  Listed from Wisconsin and Iowa are No. 13 Sam Dekker, Sheboygan, Wisconsin (college choice: Wisconsin); No. 34 Marcus Paige, Marion, Iowa (North Carolina); No. 45 J.P. Tokoto, Menomonee, Wisconsin (North Carolina); No. 50 Adam Woodbury, Sioux City, Iowa (Iowa); No. 100 Mike Gesell, Sioux City, Iowa (Iowa); No. 118 Phillip Nolan, Milwaukee (Connecticut); and No. 135 Kale Abrahmson, West De Moines, Iowa (Northwestern).

The Gophers are ranked No. 25 in ESPN.com’s preseason top 25 for college basketball teams.  Andy Katz predicts the Gophers can be a contender for a “top-four finish in the Big Ten.”

The Gophers play at Florida State on November 27 in the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The Big Ten looks like a basketball (not football) league in 2012-13.  Katz has Indiana No. 1 in the country with No. 5 Michigan, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan State also in his top 10.  Meanwhile Sports Illustrated’s online post-spring practice national top 10 lists only two Big Ten football teams, Wisconsin at No. 6 and Michigan State, No. 10.

Third baseman Danny Valencia, demoted by the Twins to Class AAA Rochester last week, is hitting .125 in 16 at bats for the Red Wings.

The Twins play only their fifth game of the season against a Central Division team when they meet the Tigers in Detroit tonight.  The Twins, who lost a two-game series to the Indians on Monday and Tuesday, are playing back-to-back series against Central Division teams for the first time this season. Minnesota plays about 50 percent of its remaining 2012 games against division teams.

Vikings All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson talking about wanting to be the best: “It’s just the way I’m wired.  I’ve been this way since I was young, since I started playing this game at age seven. I always wanted to be the best at whatever I did, whether it was sprints, lifting, whatever.”

The Tapemark Charity Pro-Am, known as the longest running charity golf event in the Upper Midwest, announced a new Women’s Pro-Am and Women’s Professional Championship earlier this year.  The women’s golf will be June 5 and 10, while the annual men’s Pro-Am will take place June 8-10.  www.tapemarkgolf.org

President Eric Kaler told Sports Headliners his new athletic director, Norwood Teague, will begin work in the Gophers athletic department two weeks earlier than planned.

Teague, who was announced as the successor to Joel Maturi in late April, was scheduled to begin duties July 1.  Instead, he will be working full-time for the Gophers on June 18.

Teague was able to leave his duties as athletic director at Virginia Commonwealth University earlier than expected.  “He’s eager to get going,” Kaler said.  “I think Joel is ready to make his transition, so it just seemed like a good thing to do.”

Teague will spend considerable time developing relationships inside and outside Gophers athletics.  He is expected to have a vision for University athletics that will include a business plan with major components such as renovation and development of facilities. “I think that sort of vision setting, as he gets a chance to settle in, will be an important part of his first year work plan,” Kaler said.

Kaler also said that after two months searching for a new athletic director Teague was definitely the person he wanted to hire.  “He was absolutely our first choice,” he said.

Sports Headliners asked Kaler to clarify if a long anticipated contract extension for basketball coach Tubby Smith was certain. “The correct takeaway is that we’re in negotiations with Tubby about a possible extension,” Kaler said.

Kaler also said “his own personal prejudice” is to renovate Williams Arena when the time is right rather than replace the 84-year-old building.  “It’s such an iconic building.  That building holds so many memories for so many people I would really like that we wouldn’t tear it down.  …We don’t have anything immediately going on with it.  It will be one of the many things that Norwood will have to dig into when he arrives.”

“He’ll hit .300,” Jake told Sports Headliners on Monday.  “Definitely.  I hope he hits 20 home runs and I hope he hits about 90 RBI.  I think he will.  I think he’ll have a good season from now on because he’s healthy.  He’s strong.  He has no pains.  No aches except the knee.  He’s ready.”

Mauer’s left knee was hit by a foul ball while catching in a game on April 30.  His grandfather said Joe had swelling and has not been able to place normal weight on his back foot while hitting, but Joe expected to return to normal during the team’s homestand that started Monday.

“He just got dizzy like he got a left-handed hook (from) a boxer,” Jake said.  “He just got staggered and it (the knee) swelled up.”

Jake is hoping Joe will have a May something like 2009 when his grandson hit 11 home runs with a .414 average and 32 RBI.  That kind of production would not only help Mauer reach his season goals, but help the run-hungry Twins create more offense.  Last night in a 5-0 win over the Angels Mauer had two hits in a game for the first time since April 29.

Jake is a former baseball player and passionate Twins fan.  “The Twins this year are feeble,” he said. “They cannot hit the ball. They have no pitchers that can go over seven innings.  Their bullpen is not bad.

“It doesn’t look good.  It really doesn’t.  I hope they beat last year’s standings as far as wins and losses.”

The Twins were 63-99 last season.  In 2012 they are 8-21 so far and Mauer told his grandfather players are stressed.  “He says, ‘Everybody is trying too hard.’  …They should try to do what they can do and that’s it.”

The Twins all-star catcher has to be frustrated with all the losing this season after playing on four division title teams.  “He wants to win the World Series so God damn bad,” Jake said. 

Jake Mauer’s poor eyesight caused him to retire this spring from selling his handicapping sheet at Canterbury Park.  He was a fan favorite at Canterbury for 28 years.

Ryan Doumit, who homered for the Twins last night, has 16 RBI in his last 17 games.

The C.O.R.E.S. group will host former Timberwolves, Pistons and Wizards coach Flip Saunders tomorrow at a luncheon in Bloomington.  Anyone interested in hearing Saunders should contact Jim Dotseth for more information, dotesthj@comcast.net.  (C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.)

Adrian Peterson and Vikings head trainer Eric Sugarman will meet with the media today to provide an update on the All-Pro running back’s injury rehab progress.

The Vikings didn’t have a better person on their roster than veteran place kicker Ryan Longwell who was cut from the team on Monday. His personality and leadership were special.

Vikings center John Sullivan vacationed this off-season for a second consecutive year on St. Barts Island in the Caribbean.  With veteran guards Anthony Herrera and Steve Hutchinson no longer on the roster, Sullivan, who starts his fourth season this year, will be counted on as a leader.

Vikings No.1 draft choice Harrison Smith was a business major at Notre Dame.  He told Sports Headliners he’s thought about opening a restaurant.

The St. Thomas spring football game starts at 1 p.m. on campus this Saturday.  The public is welcome and admission is free.  Among Tommies impressing in practices are three former Gophers: center Curtis James, fullback Willie Schneider and linebacker Harry Pitera.

St. Thomas recruits in the 2012 freshmen class include 15 players who will play in their state’s high school all-star games.  That includes several Minnesotans such as 6-8, 300 pound offensive lineman David Simmet from Hill-Murray.

The Gophers football game at UNLV on Thursday, August 30 will start at 10 p.m. Minneapolis time and be televised by CBS Sports Network.

Doc DelCastillo, a St. Paul native and former head coach at Alaska-Fairbanks, was named Hamline’s new hockey coach yesterday.  DelCastillo is a former assistant coach at St. Cloud State and Nebraska-Omaha. 

Eric Nelson and Larry Fitzgerald Sr. are hosting the weekly Fastbreak Sports Show on the Gameday Gold Radio Network.  It is also heard on www.bringmethenews.com.

Reporting from Winter Park:

Last season’s 3-13 record hasn’t lessened Phil Loadholt’s optimism about 2012.  “Our goal is to win the world championship,” the offensive tackle told Sports Headliners.

Such a statement may surprise outsiders but the off-season is a time of renewed optimism, particularly for players who have been taught since Pop Warner football to set goals and anticipate success.  Loadholt said having the Vikings participate in the next Super Bowl is  “definitely possible.”  His opinion is the team has the “right” talent and coaching staff to make that happen.

With no NFL labor strike preventing players and coaches from working together as training camp approaches, the Vikings won’t be at the disadvantage they were a year ago when they were learning a new offensive system under then new coordinator Bill Musgrave, according to Loadholt.  That’s another reason for his optimism.

The return of running back Adrian Peterson from an ACL injury will make a difference, too.  Like a lot of observers, Loadholt looks at Peterson’s physical gifts with wonder.  “I expect him to come back faster than anyone else (from the injury),” Loadholt said.

Loadholt was one of many veteran players watching last weekend’s Vikings Rookie Mini-camp at Winter Park in Eden Prairie.  There were ten 2012 draft choices, 15 rookie free agents, seven pre-draft signees and 39 pro-college tryout players listed on a roster provided to media.  There were 71 total players listed including a few being counted on in 2012 like first round draft choices Matt Kalil (offensive tackle) and Harrison Smith (safety), but the roster consisted mostly of long shots to make the team.

Brandon Fusco, a sixth round draft choice last season who did earn a 2011 roster spot, was one of the veterans who watched the drills at mini-camp.  He could be lining up at right guard next to Loadholt this season.  He told Sports Headliners as last season progressed, “the game slowed down” because his knowledge improved.  Now he’s more experienced and in his best physical shape ever.  “I feel a lot more confident I am the guy for the (starting) job,” he said.

Another second-year player, quarterback Christian Ponder, was at the mini-camp.  Coach Leslie Frazier said he liked having Ponder volunteer to watch Musgrave’s offense being installed.  “That’s a big deal because we’re counting on him from a leadership standpoint and you like the fact that you’re starting quarterback is a football junkie,” Frazier said.  “He would take the time to just watch and observe.  That’s encouraging.”

Kalil left USC after his junior season but said the decision to turn pro wasn’t a difficult one even though the Trojans could be the No. 1 team in college football next fall.  “I think I accomplished everything I wanted to at USC,” he said.

Vikings starting center John Sullivan said playing in a pro style offense and in “pressure games” at USC will help Kalil make the adjustment faster to the NFL.  Kalil agreed that the offense was similar to the Trojans but he’s learning different terminology with the Vikings.

Although the Vikings drafted Georgia kicker Blair Walsh in the sixth round, Frazier said it’s not likely the team will keep two kickers.  That means either Walsh or 15- year veteran Ryan Longwell will be responsible for field goals and kickoffs.  Walsh was a first team USA Today prep All-American.

Wide receiver draft choices Greg Childs and Jarius Wright have been friends since elementary school.  After playing football together at Arkansas, they have a chance to be teammates on the same NFL team.

“I know,” Frazier said. “…I was talking to them and it’s just amazing to go from elementary school, middle school, high school, college and then teammates in the pros.  What are the odds of that happening?

“They’re great friends as you would expect and tremendous players. They are reminding me, ‘Coach, we’ve always been winners. Everywhere we went.’ I said, ‘Hallelujah, we’ll take that. Bring some of that with you.’ We’re glad to have them and looking forward to seeing how they progress.”

Among the players on the mini-camp roster were several former Gophers including tight ends Tiree Eure and Nick Tow-Arnett, and wide receiver Da’Jon McKnight.  Two other ex-Gophers listed were defensive linemen Anthony Jacobs and Brandon Kirksey.

Another name of local interest was Minneapolis native Marcus Fitzgerald, brother of Cardinals All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr.  Marcus is 26 and although out of football for awhile is trying to make a pro roster as a wide receiver.  His dad, Larry Sr., said Marcus has been working as a social media consultant.

Rick Spielman has worked in the NFL for 22 years but the “best owners” who have employed him are the Wilf family.

The Vikings general manager told Sports Headliners that Mark and Zygi Wilf have impressed him with their commitment to the organization and willingness to learn. In a word, the Wilfs want to win.

“They’re willing to do whatever they have to do from their end to make that happen,” Spielman said. “They believe in the direction we’re going right now.  How we’re building this roster.  How we will continue to build this roster, and they’re just very, very supportive of what transpires as we go forward.

“Just being able to speak with them almost on a daily basis—or every other day basis—it’s not ownership that’s absentee. They want to know what’s going on. They want to know why we’re doing this or doing that, so they understand it as well.”

The Wilf’s involvement includes sitting with Spielman during the NFL Draft each year including the 2012 selections last week.  Spielman said it’s “exciting” to have the NFL’s “best owners” in the room with him.

“They are front and center every year.  They are very passionate owners but they also give you the sense that they don’t interfere.  They put you in charge because they ultimately believe you are going to do the right things for the organization, but they are very, very supportive.  They enjoy the draft very much.”

Part of Spielman’s philosophy in shaping the roster is to look for more than physical ability.  He wants players with high football intelligence.  That’s particularly an asset for what Spielman describes as the middle of a team.

Spielman believes he has the right football intelligence in new draft choice Harrison Smith at safety, along with inside linebacker Chad Greenway, center John Sullivan and quarterback Christian Ponder.  “The middle of that football team from the safety to the linebacker to the center to the quarterback, those are the ones that are making all the calls and adjustments during the games,” Spielman said.

Ponder, a rookie last season, had his progress interrupted by the labor dispute that prevented players from working with coaches during the off-season.  Spielman expects improvement from Ponder in 2012.

“We’re looking for strides every year,” Spielman said.  “Different quarterbacks hit it at different times. I know Christian has been working extremely hard since we’ve been allowed back in the building (Winter Park).  He came back in great shape.  He’s out there throwing with our receivers.”

How good can Ponder become?  “Time will tell,” Spielman said.  “We have a lot of faith in Christian and his ability to be our franchise quarterback.”

Adam Weber said he’s being given an equal opportunity in Denver to demonstrate his value as a backup quarterback to Peyton Manning.  The former Gophers quarterback is starting his second season with the Broncos and is confident in his abilities.

“I do know what I am doing,” Weber told Sports Headliners when asked to describe his strengths.  “I am a smart quarterback, can move the ball and create plays when they break down.  I am trying to be the best I can be.”

Weber, who signed last season with Denver as a free agent, worked while in college at a passing camp headlined by Manning.  He describes Manning as one of the first players to practice, last to leave, and a “good person.”

Weber said that with Manning’s pass-first approach and determination to throw long, this could be a “big season” for former Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker.  This will be Manning’s first season with Denver and Decker’s third.   “I think all the wide receivers are excited,” Weber said.

Peyton’s brother, quarterback Eli Manning of the Super Bowl champion Giants, hosts NBC TV’s Saturday Night Live this Saturday night.  Peyton has also hosted SNL.

Sports industry experts might be startled by the lack of knowledge some Minnesota legislators have displayed during the Vikings stadium debate this spring.  What’s also alarming is you can be certain some legislators aren’t too savvy on other issues that also involve policy making.

Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners he understands his replacement, Norwood Teague, will be on campus for a “couple of visits” before taking over full time in early July. Teague’s pre-July work is expected to include meetings with Maturi and Gophers associate athletic directors, and also major donors and backers of the program.

Maturi said he has no announcement yet on a major Gophers home basketball game for the 2012 nonconference season.  Nor is there any final word on coach Tubby Smith’s possible contract extension.  “You know as much as I do,” Maturi said.

In a group email sent by Maturi this week to Gophers supporters, he reported that 413 Gophers student-athletes have been honored for maintaining a 3.0 cumulative GPA during their careers.

If you keep a Big Ten football calendar, circle Saturday, September 1 for the game in Arlington, Texas between defending national champion Alabama and Michigan.  Other Big Ten nonconference games that day include Boise State at Michigan State, and Iowa at Northern Illinois (Soldier Field, Chicago).  The Gophers open their schedule on August 30 at UNLV.

The Big Ten has announced kickoff times for two of the Gophers conference games.  The September 29 game at Iowa starts at 11 a.m. Minneapolis time.  The October 13 game at home against Northwestern also begins at 11 a.m.

The Twins have the No. 2 pick in next month’s MLB amateur draft.  Mark Appel, a junior pitcher at Stanford, has to be one of the prospects the Twins have under review.  He’s 6-1 this year with a 2.73 ERA and struck out 81 batters in 79 innings.

Not only do the Twins have the worst record in Major League Baseball at 6-18 but their Rochester Triple-A farm team is off to a slow start at 10-16.

Second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka continues to struggle at Rochester hitting .203 with no home runs and three RBI.  Joe Benson, considered one of the organization’s better outfield prospects, is hitting .186.  Starting pitcher Scott Diamond is 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA.  He’s tied for the league lead in wins.

Drew Butera, who the Twins recalled from Rochester this week, led all Twins catchers in games caught last year, 93.  He threw out 20 base stealers last season, ninth most in the American League.

If you only reserve your money and emotions for winning teams, then invest in the Lynx.  That’s the advice of Sports Headliners after contemplating likeability rankings of the major local pro sports franchises along with the Gophers.

Season outlooks for Minnesota teams are often dreary as real estate values.  The April start by the Twins is the latest evidence of our “Losers Club,” but as we look toward the next 12 months we aren’t without hope.

Here are Sports Headliners’ rankings as to who is most and least likely to make us happy:

Love those Lynx.  The 2011 WNBA champs brought the first pro title to town since the 1991 World Series Twins.  The Lynx opened training camp last Sunday and have their star players returning, including three who will play for Team USA in the Olympics.  Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen are winners, and that’s what these rankings are all about.  No guarantees but it will be no surprise at all if the Lynx win the WNBA title again.

The hockey Gophers played in the NCAA semifinals where they lost to eventual national champ Boston College.  Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson had a great season but is a senior and will have to be replaced.  If the Gophers don’t see young talents like Nick Bjugstad leave for the pros during the off-season, or somehow experience other important personnel losses, Minnesota might be even better next winter than last.  The Gophers could certainly start the season ranked among the top college hockey teams in the country.

Before Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio tore his ACL and was sidelined, the Wolves were approaching unprecedented recent popularity.  Injuries later hit other teammates and the team’s collapse was as attention demanding as the wonderful start to the season led by Rubio and star forward Kevin Love.  What’s next for this franchise isn’t easy to answer.  Rubio might not be the same player next season as last, and the complementary pieces to Rubio and Love aren’t in place yet.

The Gophers basketball team looks good on paper.  We’ll wait and see how they look on the court in February before moving them higher in the rankings.  Academics, off-court behavior issues and injuries have wrecked past Tubby Smith teams.  Like their predecessors, this Gophers team will not be deep in talent but Minnesota does have three exceptional starters in forwards Rodney Williams and Trevor Mbakwe, and point guard Andre Hollins.  Pray for good fortune.

Jerry Kill has more admirers than any coach or manager I can remember who won just 25 percent of his games in a first season.  Maybe all these admirers know something.  I think they do.  Kill’s second year team could win half its games and earn a bowl game invitation.  More important, the Gophers just might look pretty good even in games they play against the better teams in the Big Ten.  Put your money and emotions on Kill’s Gophers in 2014 and 2015.

The Wild has off-season personnel acquisition intentions like the Wolves.  The franchise had a fast start under first year coach Mike Yeo who looks like the right guy on the bench for this team.  But the Wild faded miserably during the season and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.  Too many injuries and too few goals.  This is a franchise that has shown it can draw fans, but not win many games.  We’re waiting.

Maybe it’s the optimism of the off-season and the glitz of last week’s NFL draft, but we’re nudging the Vikings ahead of the Twins in the rankings.  Yeah, the 3-13 record of last season will be remembered for a long time but this club has some playmakers.  Like they say, on a lot of Sunday afternoons running back Adrian Peterson or wide receiver Percy Harvin can be worth the price of admission.  And don’t you just feel better about yourself when Jared Allen does his calf-roping celebration after another franchise record  sack?  Come on downtown to see the Vikes before they head west.  (Just kidding. I think).

It’s not all bad news about the Twins.  I am still smiling after that acrobatic double play turned last week by shortstop Jamey Carroll and second baseman Trevor Plouffe against the Red Sox.  New left fielder Josh Willingham can even hit balls over the fence at anti-home run Target Field.  So far the starting pitching is probably the worst in the franchise’s 51 season history but there’s a way around that.  The Sports Headliners method is to watch the half innings when the Twins bat.  When the Twins pitchers are throwing, tune in the Golf Channel.  Both your mood and golf swing will improve.

In recent espn.com power rankings for MLB, the NBA, NFL and NHL, the Twins are No. 30, the Wolves No. 22, the Vikings No. 31 and the Wild No. 25 in their respective listings. The NFL has 32 teams, the others 30 each.

The Vikings roster lists 11 rookies and nine other players who could be in their first NFL seasons if they make the 2012 team.  The roster has 19 players beginning their second NFL seasons, six starting the third year and eight in the fourth.  There are also six fifth year players, four sixth year, four seventh year, two eighth year, three ninth year and one player each heading into 10, 12, 14 and 16 years of NFL experience.

Vikings players are participating in their offseason conditioning program today, and on Friday the team opens its Rookie Minicamp.

The Gophers MarQueis Gray, a senior, may earn Big Ten post-season recognition this fall but he’s one of nine returning starting quarterbacks in the conference so he will have a lot of experienced competition.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien, who is also the Mr. Basketball chair, emailed that Lakeview Christian Academy junior guard Anders Broman has received scholarship offers from several schools including Holy Cross and Ohio.

Royce White is preparing for the NBA draft in Ames, Iowa and still attending classes at Iowa State, according to his grandfather Frank White.  The younger White is lifting weights, doing yoga and receiving instruction from Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, the former Timberwolves guard and executive.

Frank coordinates the Twins Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program that is part of Major League Baseball’s international RBI organization.  White said Target Field will host the RBI’s World Series on Sunday, August 5 with boys’ championships being decided in ages 13-15 and 16-18.  The latter championship will be televised on the MLB Network.

The ninth annual Harmon Killebrew Classic, a two-day event June 27-28, will benefit the Twins Community Fund and Miracle League of Minnesota.  Former Killebrew teammates Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Frank Quilici are involved.  A dinner and auction will be held inside Target Field beginning at 6 p.m. on June 27.  A celebrity golf tournament at the Legends Golf Club in Prior Lake will take place June 28.  The public can find more information at www.harmonkillebrewfoundation.org.

Bill “Moose” Skowron, who played on the great Yankees teams of the Mickey Mantle era, died last week at age 81.  He was a former resident of Austin, Minnesota.

The Timberwolves Luke Ridnour is one of six finalists for the NBA Sportsmanship Award.  A vote by NBA players will determine which player they believe displays the best on-court sportsmanship.

Canterbury Park, whose live racing season opens on May 18, will be busy Saturday with Kentucky Derby wagering.  Races from Churchill Downs begin at 9:30 a.m. Minneapolis time and lead up to the Derby at 5:24 p.m.