Washburn High School four-star running back Jeff Jones is still verbally committed to the Gophers but there is no guarantee yet he will play for Minnesota, and Iowa State is a school of interest, too, according to Millers’ coach Giovan Jenkins.

“I would consider it a soft verbal,” Jenkins said about the Gophers.  “He (Jones) went to coach Kill and told him he committed too early.”

The Washburn junior first verbally committed to Minnesota coach Jerry Kill last year but since then realized he wants more time to decide on the college he will enroll at next year.  Jenkins told Sports Headliners on Saturday that Jeff’s father is “getting out of jail” and wants to be part of the recruiting process, so that is also a factor.

Jenkins believes Iowa State is a “soft” No. 2 behind the Gophers on the list of possible choices. “He likes the staff and proximity (of Ames) to Minneapolis,” Jenkins said.

In addition to Minnesota and Iowa State, Jones has offers from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan State, Syracuse and Wisconsin.  Although Wisconsin has a great tradition of running backs, Jenkins believes Jones is likely to choose Minnesota if he decides on a Big Ten school.

Rivals.com labels Jones a four-star prospect and ranks him No. 17 among running backs in the class of 2014.  Jenkins said Jones is a “once-in-a lifetime talent.”

The 6-foot, 190 pound prep is the first four-star running back to commit to Kill since he started coaching at Minnesota in 2011.

Jenkins described Jones as “big, strong, (with) excellent vision, great burst, very explosive — kind of a one-stop shop.”  But the coach said Jones has to determine how close he will come to fulfilling his potential.  If the desire and hard work are present, Jenkins projects Jones as a 220 pound runner in college.  “If he works hard, he could be the best at that level, too,” Jenkins said.

Jones has been a starter for Washburn since ninth grade and a major contributor to the Millers’ success.  In today’s world of transfers, Jones has been a target of other high schools.  “He gets approached every year,” Jenkins said.

Jones lives in the Washburn district and likes playing for the Millers.  He heard from former Miller David Gilreath that he regretted leaving Washburn for Robbinsdale Armstrong, according to Jenkins.  Gilreath is now in the NFL with the Steelers after a college career at Wisconsin.

“Everything he’s got (Jones), he’s got from Washburn,” Jenkins said. “He is a loyal kid.”

Worth Noting

Washburn coach Giovan Jenkins has two other players he expects will have college offers following summer camps, running back Raymonte Maynard and defensive end Clayton Burton.  Maynard could end up at a MAC or WAC school, according to his coach, while he identifies Burton as a “BCS kid.”

Bruce Feldman, writing yesterday for Cbssports.com, put Gophers defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman No. 2 on his annual college football “Freaks” list that recognizes players for their extraordinary athleticism.  Feldman wrote that Hageman can do a “360 dunk” and is the Big Ten’s most athletic defensive lineman.  “Not only does he have the 36-inch vert, but he also has bench-pressed 465 pounds and clocked an electronically timed 10-yard sprint in 1.57 seconds.  For comparison sake, no DT at this year’s NFL Combine jumped higher than 33 inches, and Terron Armstead, the offensive tackle who ran the blazing 4.71 40 at the combine, did a 1.64 in his 10.”

Former Vikings coach Bud Grant turned 86 on Monday.  Rick Reilly, writing for Espn.com yesterday, ranked Grant No. 11 on his list of the 20 greatest NFL coaches ever.

The basketball Gophers are looking at Rivals.com four-star center Dominic Woodson who no longer is committed to Baylor for next season.  Incoming Gophers freshman guard Daquan McNeil played with Woodson in 2011 at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vermont.

Quinton Hooker will be presented with the Mr. Basketball trophy on May 29 at an invitation only reception in Brooklyn Park.  Mr. Basketball chair Ken Lien will make the presentation.  Hooker, a shooting guard, scored 2,147 career points and will attend North Dakota.  He is the 39^th recipient of the award recognizing the best boys senior player in the state.

Last night’s NBA Draft Lottery telecast prompted memories from years ago when league commissioner David Stern mistakenly referred to the Minnesota Timberwolves as the “Minnesota North Stars” on national TV.

The Gophers baseball team plays its opening game in the Big Ten Tournament today against Illinois at Target Field, a facility Minnesota used for one game last year and the entire 2011 season.  How much of an advantage is that for the Gophers?

“None,” assistant head coach Rob Fornasiere told Sports Headliners.  “The tournament is wide open.  The league has improved so much the last five years.  Teams one through six are so evenly matched.”

The Gophers, the No. 4 seed, have lost six of their last eight games. “We haven’t hit or caught the ball very well (lately),” Fornasiere said.  “We’re second in the league in ERA but have struggled on offense all season.  We’re second to the bottom in hitting (average) and home runs.”

Fornasiere predicted the Gophers “will play hard” and be in close games during the double elimination tournament.  The Gophers’ pitchers in their first two games will be Tom Windle and DJ Snelten.  Fornasiere expects Windle will be taken in the first or second round of next month’s MLB amateur draft while Snelten will be among the first nine players selected.

Next year’s Big Ten tournament will be in Omaha before returning to Target Field in 2015.

A respected baseball source who has been involved with and followed major league baseball e-mailed Sports Headliners after reading Monday’s column about the length of MLB games.  He asked that his name not be used but wrote the following:

“MLB should demand that umpires enforce the rule of pitchers having to deliver the next pitch within 12 seconds of getting the ball back from the catcher with no runners on base, as it states in the rules.  The umpires never enforce this.  For example, (Jose) Valverde, the Tigers’ closer, takes about 30 seconds between every pitch, even with nobody on base.

“It’s a joke how umpires break up conferences on the mound:  They walk slowly out to the mound, tell them their time is up and then jog back to the plate to make it seem like they are hustling and that will speed up the game — which it doesn’t.

“They also need to cut down on players stepping out of the box after every pitch. Remember (Chuck) Knoblauch stepping out after every pitch and readjusting his batting gloves?”

Expect an announcement soon by the city and Timberwolves regarding a $100 million renovation of Target Center.

Former Wayzata High School tennis player Karl Gregor is the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year.  He is an assistant at Tufts.

I am back in a familiar spring habit regarding the Twins who after a laborious day at Target Field yesterday have now lost five consecutive games.  The first several games of the season I am locked in for all nine innings but by this time in May my interest borders on apathy.

Here’s the problem: not only are many games too dang long, but the Twins don’t win enough games and hit enough home runs (next to last in AL).  Translation: if the action isn’t compelling, then a three to four hour time commitment is often too much for me.

Major League Baseball knows despite the solid popularity of its sport, lengthy games are a concern.  Yeah, other entertainment like football and basketball have increased dramatically in game times over the years but baseball is more problematic because it’s a very deliberate endeavor and the season is the longest of any in American sports.

In the 1970s the average MLB game was two hours and 30 minutes, according to a July 27 story last year by Bleacherreport.com.  The article said since 2007 the average has not fallen below two hours and 50 minutes.  Twins games dating back to May 11 of this year have clocked in at 2:45, 2:55, 2:51, 2:44, 3:26, 3:24, 3:53 and yesterday’s 3:15 which was 6:15 if you count a three hour rain delay.

Now compare that with the game times for the 1965 World Series between the Twins and Dodgers.  Four of those seven games were played in less than two hours and 16 minutes.  The longest was two hours and 34 minutes.

Patrick Klinger was vice president of marketing for the Twins through last season and was asked about baseball’s slowdown.  “Twins games used to start at 8 o’clock on week nights back in the 60s.  Even when I was an intern with the Twins back in 1986, games started at 7:35.  Now they start at 7.  They take so long.”

What happened?  Innings breaks are longer to allow more TV commercials to pitch products and services, but the game has changed, too.  Years ago starting pitchers often finished the game, working all nine innings.  Now baseball has become a parade of pitchers.  Managers even change pitchers more than once in the same inning.  Add to that meetings at the mound between the pitching coach, pitcher, catcher and infielders.

Pitchers also work at various paces, including slow and slower while hitters can be cautious about looking over the pitches thrown at them.  Think about Joe Mauer who seldom swings at the first pitch.  Hitters often review five or more pitches before the ball goes into play.

MLB doesn’t want games played at a leisurely pace.  Umpires are instructed to do what they can to make sure games are played efficiently.  MLB obviously knows games lasting beyond three hours are a time commitment problem for fans including those attending a week night game.  And it’s more than a three hour commitment because fans sometimes arrive an hour or so before the game and travel time has to be added in as well.

“What we wanted to do (at Twins games) was to provide the very best entertainment experience possible,” Klinger said.  “We wanted people coming back often.  If there was a long game (that) kind of slogged along I am not sure that provided the best entertainment experience.  Are those people going to be as likely to return?”

Klinger said more likely to bring back the fans is a “good, crisp well played game” lasting about two hours and 30 minutes.  He suggested that template is likely to have fans saying, “You know what?  That was a lot of fun.  Let’s go back next week.”

Klinger wrote in an e-mail that technology at the ballpark has enhanced the entertainment experience and during long games made the trip to the stadium more fun for fans.  “Technology…now allows for huge video replay boards and social media opportunities inside the ballpark.  In addition, there is much greater attention being paid to pregame ceremonies, between innings entertainment and music.  It’s all designed to improve the in-ballpark experience by keeping fans engaged when the action slows.”

Klinger said complaints from fans about the length of games weren’t that numerous when he was with the Twins.  “We didn’t get a lot but it was something we were always concerned about because this is a society now that wants instant gratification,” Klinger said.  “Baseball is a deliberate game, and people’s attention spans aren’t maybe what they once were.  Too many other distractions.  We wanted to keep the game moving along. … Keep them (fans) interested and not looking at their cell phones, doing other things.”

Of course it’s not just the fans who attend games that baseball wants to attract.  Audience development means attracting new followers and turning casual followers into passionate fans.  “If there were ways to move it along, make it a little bit more dynamic, I think we’d pick up some fans,” Klinger said. “Too many people just sit in the stands (not engaged), or they try to watch a game on television and they think that it’s just too deliberate, too slow for them.”

Even Klinger, still a baseball fan after leaving the Twins and starting his own consulting company, knows his baseball focus is sometimes challenged.  “I find myself, frankly, sometimes sitting on my sofa flipping channels.  It’s so easy now with the remote control in your hands and a hundred stations or more on your television. There’s a break in the action, or if things are just deliberate, it’s so easy to hit a button and you’re watching something else.

“To flip to something else and then maybe flip back.  So staying focused for three, three and one-half hours on a game I think is a little bit harder than it used to be.    There are just too many options.”

Jerry Kill was out of state this week celebrating a daughter’s graduation from college, and also his 30^th wedding anniversary, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about the Gophers.

Kill and his staff finished their third spring practice at Minnesota last month.  The coaches inherited a dismal program on and off the field.  In 2011, Kill’s first season, the record was 3-9, last year it was 6-7.  Both seasons the Big Ten record was 2-6.

In the personnel department, the Gophers have lacked difference makers and depth at most positions.  That won’t change a lot until Kill and his staff have gone through several recruiting classes.  The 2011 class didn’t carry the Kill signature because of the short amount of time he had been at Minnesota.  The 2012 and 2013 classes are his responsibility but the impact of those players is in the developmental stages because of inexperience and the need for players to mature physically.

“We have a long way to go in our program — period,” Kill told Sports Headliners.  “We have to develop players at Minnesota.  We have to recruit.  Get…players who are going to play their tails off.  Have three or four difference makers on offense and defense.”

Kill expects to have difference makers next fall in defensive tackle Ra’Sheede Hageman, safety Brock Vereen and cornerback Derrick Wells.  “Hageman should be a first round (NFL) draft choice,” Kill said.

Offense receives most of the headlines in modern day football but Kill knows his program won’t continue improving without an impactful defense and solid kicking game that can help dictate field position and score points.  The Gophers particularly need better punting and in two seasons also haven’t shown the reputation to block kicks that earned Kill’s special teams so much praise when he coached at Northern Illinois.

“Again, we can’t correct everything in one year (one recruiting class),” Kill said.  “We haven’t been able to change a lot of things.”

Kill is looking for playmakers among his runners and receivers.  Players who can break open a game — and that subject prompts him to mention incoming freshman running back Berkley Edwards, talking about how the prep track star from Michigan can “giddy-up and go.”

The Gophers also need speed and playmaking at wide receiver. Kill is optimistic about the potential of a group he followed in the spring including Devin Crawford-Tufts, Derrick Engel, Isaac Fruechte, Jamel Harbison and KJ Maye.  Kill saw more playmaking among receivers in the spring than in the past.

Don’t be surprised if the Gophers’ passing game emphasizes the tight ends, too, a group that Kill is pleased with.  “Maxx Williams had a great, great, great spring,” Kill said.

The last spring practice was April 27.  Kill has had time to think about the 15 sessions in the spring that will help his team get ready for August practices and the first game against UNLV August 29.  “I feel good where we’re at,” he said.

Each practice was graded like a game.  “I think we accomplished everything we thought we needed to,” Kill said.  “We built some depth (and) got some young players to play.”

Dating back to the start of last season the Gophers have been impacted by injuries including more than a dozen surgeries.  Kill is hoping all of the injured will be ready by August 1 including key players like offensive tackle Ed Olson and defensive tackle Roland Johnson.

“We were playing kids not ready to play yet (which) is why so many injuries,” Kill said.  “We’ll be bigger and stronger.  When you win, you stay healthy.”

Despite having to play three quarterbacks and three centers last year, the Gophers made it to a bowl game for the first time since 2009.  That’s an unusual accomplishment in college football.

Fill in the blank if you know what Kill is thinking when he ponders a healthier, stronger, faster, experienced and talented team in the years ahead: _____.  Hint: the word begins with “W.”

Worth Noting

The Gophers have Ohio State on their football schedule in 2014 for the first time since 2010.   The Big Ten Conference announced 2014 schedules yesterday as part of its news about the West and East football divisions.  The Buckeyes will play in Minneapolis along with Iowa, Northwestern and Purdue.  Road games are Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin.  Divisional play begins in 2014 with teams playing against the other six teams in their divisions, plus two games each versus schools from the other division.

Former California and NFL running back star Chuck Muncie died this week.  He was the younger brother of Bill Munsey, the ex-Gopher who was an outstanding running back and defensive back on the Rose Bowl teams of the 1960s.  Both brothers were from Uniontown, Pennsylvania but spelled their last names differently.

Despite a .205 batting average, Twins slugger Josh Willingham has reached base safely in 31 of 33 games.  Willingham is hitting .135 in his last 10 games.

Joe Mauer has a 14 game hitting streak, the third longest of his career.  It’s his longest since May 5-21 in 2009 (also 14 games).  Twins teammate Justin Morneau has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 games and is hitting .368 during that period.

Pedro Florimon is four-for-four in stolen base attempts this season.  The Twins have 13 steals in 16 attempts since April 15.

Local author Jim Bruton said his new Bud Grant book, I Did It My Way, will be on sale in September.

Former Vikings running back Dave Osborn said the best NFL runner he ever saw was Bears’ legend Gale Sayers.

No doubt eyes rolled at the Seahawks offices when the NFL Network’s top 100 players program announced Percy Harvin at No. 90.  The versatile former Viking is among the league’s most dangerous playmakers and could certainly be ranked higher.  The rankings are determined by a vote of NFL players.

Former Minneapolis City Council member Denny Schulstad was an advocate for the Metrodome and he correctly remembers the building helped save the Twins and Vikings for this area while not costing the taxpayers “one penny” because the rent from the teams paid off the bonds sold to build the facility.  He wrote in an e-mail to Sports Headliners that while the Metrodome is labeled unattractive it has served the city and area well.  His comments included:  “It is the only facility in the world to have hosted a World Series (2), a Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four (2), and so many other world class events, from the Special Olympics to Scandinavia Today.”

A total of 29 All-State players are expected to participate in the 40^th annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game on June 29 at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud, according to an announcement made earlier this year.

The Saint John’s football team is scheduled to have two scrimmages on Saturday in Saskatchewan against the Regina Thunder, a member of the Canadian Junior Football League.

Did you know that among 1,000 NCAA schools only Division III St. Thomas and Division I Florida State have sent baseball and softball teams to the NCAA regional playoffs the last 10 years?

Canterbury Park opens its live horse racing season tonight, with the first of 69 dates this year — the most since 2006.  Purses are on the rise at the Shakopee racetrack.   In June last year Canterbury Park and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community entered into a cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement that will add $75 million to the horsemen purse structure over the 10-year life of the agreement.

The 2013 Canterbury Park promotional calendar will include a Memorial Day performance by “Human Cannonball” David “The Bullet” Smith Jr.  He will be shot out of a 34 foot cannon and land in a net.  “The Bullet” holds Guinness World Records for both the longest and highest distances a human has been shot out of a cannon — 193 feet, 8.8 inches and 77 ½ feet.

Lea Blackwell Favor, the former Edina High School all-state basketball player, takes over in June as the new executive director for the Fred Wells Tennis & Education Center in the Twin Cities.

The new Vikings stadium won’t have a retractable roof.  So what?  Get over it.

About one-third of the world’s population subsists on $2 per day, according to last Sunday TV’s 60 Minutes.  Don’t whine about not being able to accommodate a retractable roof in the $975 million budget.  That’s plenty of money to spend without adding on the retractable roof for another $25 to $50 million.

The design announced on Monday night detailed how part of the roof and huge pivoting doors will allow light into the building, providing the feeling of that long desired outdoor experience.  The stadium will have seven levels, seat 65,000 fans for Vikings games, provide close proximity to the field and be able to accommodate more types of events than any facility in the world, according to venue promoters.

Pro football is a spectacle well suited to indoor accommodations.  It’s a made for TV sport and NFL stadiums are giant TV studios.  Vikings fans will be cozy inside their new stadium with views of the downtown skyline and giant video boards to entertain themselves.  The purple-dressed throngs will be able to walk to the stadium in controlled climate comfort because of the skyway system linking to the facility.

From Detroit to Houston, the NFL has embraced the indoor football experience in multiple cities.  In Detroit the Lions play in a fixed roof facility and in Houston the Texans hardly ever play under blue sky despite having a retractable roof, preferring a climate controlled environment.

Instead of complaining about the absence of the roof, celebrate that this city and state has decided to build a state-of-the-art facility that will compare favorably to any in the world. This will be no built-on-the-cheap stadium like the Metrodome, a facility where tightwad politicians and administrators thought about not using air conditioning to save money.

Even when it was new, the dome with its Teflon coated roof, never won a beauty contest.  Shoulder pads are optional in the overcrowded concourses.  Visiting the restrooms is usually a tradeoff in missed game time.  Worst of all, a roof collapse always seemed a possibility.

The Metrodome did ensure the presence of the Twins and Vikings in Minnesota for more than 30 years.  In the 1970s both franchises wanted the downtown dome rather play in outdoor Met Stadium.  The Vikings particularly pushed hard for a dome.  Historians will remember there once were plans for the Twins to stay in Bloomington while the Vikings would move into a football only covered facility on the west side of downtown.  A parking ramp was to surround the exterior and daily revenues would help pay for the stadium.

The design detailed by HKS Sports on Monday night gave confidence to the notion that this new endeavor will be a world-class stadium.  There’s been a history here of building stadiums without a commitment to quality but that won’t be true of the Vikings’ stadium.  Both Met Stadium and the Metrodome were built with “what can we get by with approaches.”  TCF Bank Stadium and Target Field broke with that sorry mantra and the Vikings stadium looks like it will go a step higher.

The new stadium will host 10 or more Vikings games per year but it will also be a giant indoor park hosting high school and college baseball, saving the spring season in some years here in our bizarre climate.  There will be glamorous and not so glitzy uses of the facility ranging from Final Fours to neighborhood rollerblading, from rock concerts to conventions.  Yes, we might even see a bowl game here and certainly the stadium will host the Prep Bowl just like the Metrodome has for all these years.

A few years ago speculation was the Vikings were headed to Los Angeles.  But the Vikings will be playing in a new stadium in Minneapolis in 2016 and right now LA is still trying to figure out how to finance a pro football facility.  Not only that but LA’s baseball and college football teams play in old stadiums while here in Minneapolis our teams are in new facilities.

Maybe Hollywood is overrated.   Maybe like a retractable roof.

Quoting Vikings’ general manager Rick Spielman after a one-on-one interview earlier this week:

On Joe Webb playing wide receiver, not quarterback:  “We’ll look at a lot of different options.  Coaches will make that decision on where he finally ends up, but I know we’ll experiment and do a lot of different things. That’s why you’re in this offseason program now.”

Background: Webb, 26, has been practicing his catching skills this spring and is expected to play wide receiver in the team’s organized practices during May.  Although Webb has three seasons of NFL practice and game experience at quarterback, his size, 6-4, 220, and athleticism make him an interesting experiment at wide receiver, a position he played at times in college.  It’s an opportunity created too by the acquisition of veteran quarterback Matt Cassel who is the No. 2 quarterback now, not Webb.

Spielman on quarterback Christian Ponder who came out of a slump and helped lead the then 6-6 Vikings to a 10-6 record and the playoffs:  “We saw that last year (a step forward).  The biggest thing was for him to start out strong, to go through his slump…but to be able to come out of that and then lead us.  We had Adrian Peterson who had a phenomenal year, but give a lot of credit to Christian with what he was able to do through those last four games, especially two very tough places to go play on the road (St. Louis and Houston).”

Background: The Vikings like the presence of having nine year veteran Cassel around Ponder to help as a mentor.  Ponder is the team’s No. 1 quarterback and his continued development begins any list of whether the Vikings can win the NFC North, or even qualify for the playoffs again.

Spielman on building a championship team:  “We’re feeling we’re trying to do everything we think is right to bring in the right players.  We feel very confident and excited about the coaching staff, and with coach (Leslie) Frazier and everything they’re able to do and bring.  So just like everybody else, we’re definitely trying to build a championship team or else we wouldn’t be doing this.”

Background:  Spielman said this time of year every team in the NFL has championship ambitions and he’s right.  The Vikings haven’t won a division title since 2009 and bottomed out in 2011 with a 3-13 record.  The franchise has made astute draft choices to rebuild the roster and create competitiveness among players.  The Vikings have also given new contracts to retain core players in offensive tackle Phil Loadholt, wide receiver Jerome Simpson and linebacker Erin Henderson, although they did lose veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield this offseason.  But the Vikings are on the rise in accumulating young, talented players while keeping most of their best veterans.

Spielman on whether the political views of Chris Kluwe were a factor in releasing the nine year veteran punter:  “…I have the utmost respect for Chris and his outspokenness — that he has the courage to get out there and speak his mind.  That has nothing to do with the evaluation on what we’re trying to do as a football team.  So that’s two totally different, separate entities, and what he does outside of our building, more power to him. …That’s his right as a U.S. citizen.”

Background:  Kluwe’s replacement, 2013 fifth round draft choice Jeff Locke, will earn a lot less compensation than Kluwe, and that had to be a consideration by the Vikings.  The Vikings will also have a punter in Locke who is eight years younger than Kluwe.  At UCLA, Locke did his punting outdoors while Kluwe, playing at Mall of America Field and other domes, did a lot of indoor kicking.  In 2014 and 2015 the Vikings will be playing outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium.  Perhaps Locke gained favor for that reason, too.

Spielman on Kluwe punting outdoors and the decision on replacing him with Locke:  “I think he (Kluwe) can punt outdoors.  He’s just been a little inconsistent.  I know the way our roster is shaping up and understanding where we’re going to be two, three, four years from now, it was a unique opportunity to get a young punter. ..Just a little bit a part of our youth movement, and understanding the financial situation with Chris.  It’s just all purely based on football and trying to make the best football decisions you can make.”

Worth Noting

My reaction will be extreme surprise if plans announced next Monday regarding design of the Vikings’ stadium includes a retractable roof.  It seems improbable with the limitations of the $975 million budget — and now uncertainty regarding projected revenues for the state’s share of $348 million — that the project can include a retractable roof.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the Vikings and HKS Sports will announce details regarding design of the multi-purpose stadium Monday night at a MSFA board meeting at the Guthrie Theater. Expect the stadium plan to include creative ways to allow light into the building even though the roof will be fixed.

This week the Steelers signed veteran offensive tackle Guy Whimper.  Not exactly a made-for-Hollywood football name.  Vikings’ general manager Rick Spielman was asked light-heartedly if he would sign a player with that name.

“Actually he’s a very good player,” Spielman said.  “In our business we don’t pay very much attention to names.  We just pay attention if they can play or not.”

Schedulemakers from the two conferences sent the Gophers a message when the matchups were announced on Wednesday for next season’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The matchmakers don’t think the Gophers will be an exceptional team, and delivered the same message to Florida State, Minnesota’s opponent for the Tuesday, December 3 game at Williams Arena.

Not that Gophers’ season ticket holders aren’t at least somewhat appreciative to have a power conference team on the home nonconference schedule that is typically filled with the likes of American, Lafayette and Tennessee State.  It’s just that a yawn can be excused since the schools have played against each other four times (2-2) in the 14 year history of the Challenge.

The Gophers will have to become a Big Ten title contender to command a game against legendary ACC schools like Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse but even a game in 2014 against Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and North Carolina State would be more fun than another matchup against the Seminoles.

The surprising Twins, now over .500 with a 16-15 record, won three of four games in Boston this week and will play the Red Sox in Minneapolis May 17-19.

The Twins will see their former shortstop, J.J. Hardy, when they play the Orioles in a three-game series starting tonight at Target Field.  The Twins traded Hardy in 2010 and never have replaced his offensive production at shortstop.  He has six home runs this season, more than any Twins player.

The Twins have parted with several players in recent years who would be major assets to the club.  A list can start with outfielders Carol Gomez, Torri Hunter and Michael Cuddyer.  Gomez leads MLB in hitting at .386, Hunter is fifth in the American League at .344 and Cuddyer is among NL leaders at .319.

Former Twins’ first baseman David Ortiz has impressive numbers for the Red Sox in limited plate appearances (68), hitting .353 with a .662 slugging percentage. Wilson Ramos, who would give the Twins needed catching and bench depth, has often shown a good bat since joining the Nationals in 2011.

Collective earned run averages for Twins’ starting pitchers have ranked high this spring but ex-Twin Kevin Slowey has surprised with a 1.81 ERA and 1-2 record for the Marlins.

Productive moves by Twins’ general manager Terry Ryan in the last two off seasons have included adding pitchers Jared Burton and Kevin Correia, catcher Ryan Doumit, outfielder Josh Willingham, and 2012 draft choice Byron Buxton (outfield).  Ryan is rebuilding the club in his second tenure as GM.

Augsburg’s football team defeated a Canadian foe 78-6 in an exhibition game in Winnipeg last weekend.  It was the Auggies’ third international football game in school history having previously been to Canada and New Zealand.

The Hobey Baker dinner on May 22 at 317 On Rice Park in St. Paul is a near sellout.  The event will honor 2013 Hobey Baker winner Drew LeBlanc and Legend of Hockey recipient Jeff Sauer.  More at Hobeybaker.com.

Write down the names of well-known Upper Midwest businessmen T. Denny Sanford and Bill McGuire as potential Timberwolves owners.  Flip Saunders told Sports Headliners he contacted representatives of both men last summer about the Minneapolis-based NBA franchise.

At that time Wolves owner Glen Taylor was interested in identifying a majority owner for the club who would eventually take over for him.  Since then Taylor decided to remain in control but less than a year ago Saunders, then looking for his next basketball opportunity, made contacts with Sanford and McGuire representatives.

Saunders, a former NBA coach who last week was named by Taylor as the Wolves’ president of basketball operations, thought that Sanford and McGuire, both wealthy basketball fans, “would be good people” for the organization.  It might be that one day either or both are involved financially.

Saunders himself is now a minority owner.  “The reason I’ve invested is because I believe we’re moving forward,” he said.

Saunders didn’t barter his undisclosed minority share.  He paid cash and plans to buy more interest in the club some day.

The Wolves were devastated by injuries last season, finishing with a 31-51 record.  The club is much better than the record indicates with Olympian forward Kevin Love, promising point guard Ricky Rubio and other worthy players but Saunders knows he has plenty of work ahead in building a better roster.

“If I had to say a word, it’s going to be a process.  I am realistic.  I am not going to buy into it’s great and everything is rosy… (and) everything is ready built because there are 30 other teams in the league and a lot of those teams are saying the same thing.  So it’s a process but we have some pieces to put together.”

Worth Noting 

Good guy and former Gopher basketball player Larry Overskei is disappointed his nephew Chris Halvorsen, a non-scholarship player, is no longer on new coach Rick Pitino’s Minnesota team.  Halvorsen participated in a few workouts but since has been told the Gophers are going in a “different direction,” according to an e-mail Overskei sent at the request of Sports Headliners.

Overskei’s comments included this: “So now we have an ’M’ man, all-Academic Big Ten and graduating on May 10th with a degree in Bio-medical Engineering and he is told he is not wanted back for his last year of eligibility. GO FIGURE! Plus his uncle is a basketball alumni.”

Halvorsen, 22, played in seven games for the Gophers last season and averaged  0.6 points per game.  The 6-8 former Henry Sibley High School graduate transferred to Minnesota from Valparaiso after the 2009-10 season.

Goalie Niklas Backstrom has missed all four Wild playoff games including last night’s 3-0 loss to the Blackhawks.  His unavailability for the team’s first playoff series since 2008 can’t be helpful for his future with the club.

Backstrom is an unrestricted free agent this summer.  At 35, he earns a reported $6 million in the last year of his contract.  A pro hockey source, speaking on condition of anonymity, speculated the Wild will let Backstrom go elsewhere and use Josh Harding and Darcy Kuemper in goal for 2013-2014.

Other Wild players with expiring contacts as unrestricted free agents are forwards Matt Cullen and Pierre-Marc Bouchard.  Both might be playing their final games this spring for the Wild, although the source said Cullen is especially valued for his attitude.  “He is a coach in the locker room,” the source added.

After last night’s game the Wild trail 3-1 in the playoffs and while “anything can happen” in postseason hockey the source also said Minnesota’s speed among its players is “not close to Chicago.”  “My observation is their depth and team speed needs to improve,” he added.

He predicted this summer the NHL will announce the 2015 NHL Winter Classic will be hosted by the Wild, with Target Field the more likely site than TFC Bank Stadium.

Sports Headliners reader Tim Hoff e-mailed that on a trip to Israel he and his wife unexpectedly saw Vikings’ owner Zygi Wilf.  “In Jerusalem we stayed at the Ramada.  While there we noticed Zygi Wilf in the lobby and were told he owned the Ramada.  During our stay we toured the Israeli Museum which features the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the King Herod display.  During the tour we were told one of the exhibits would soon be dedicated.  The Wilf name appeared on this exhibit.”

Former Viking running back Ted Brown, who was drafted out of North Carolina State, was announced yesterday by the National Football Foundation as one of 12 players named to the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame.

Saint Benedict’s first-year second baseman Kim Lidstone saw her near-season-long 31-game hitting streak come to an end last week — the longest since 2004 in NCAA Division III softball and tied for fourth longest ever.

Debbie Jones told Sports Headliners her son Tyus remains interested in the Gophers.  She also said the highly coveted Apple Valley junior point guard may choose a college as part of a group decision with Jahlil Okafor from Chicago and Justise Winslow from Houston.

Tubby Smith and his staff spent time pursuing Tyus but Smith was fired as Gopher coach in March.  During the search process for a new head coach it appeared Flip Saunders might succeed Smith.  Saunders, a former point guard who made a career coaching in the NBA, knows Tyus and local recruiting observers thought Saunders might win a recruiting derby for Debbie’s son who could be the best player nationally in the prep class of 2014.

With a new Gopher coach in Richard Pitino, who is only 30 with one year of head coaching experience, are the Gophers behind or ahead where they once were in the recruiting process with Tyus?

“I think they’re the same as they always have been,” Debbie said.  “Tyus has it narrowed down to seven schools and Minnesota is one of those seven.  They were there kind of regardless of who is coaching there.  I think the new coach, coach Pitino he’s reached out and we’ve had a number of conversations.  They’re still in the running.”

The seven schools are Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio State.  Pitino is no power coach like Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self, John Calipari, Tom Izzo and Thad Matta but the Gophers are the hometown team. Coach Scott Drew and Baylor in faraway Waco, Texas might seem like an unusual final seven choice.

On the Baylor staff is former Hopkins High School standout Jared Nuness, a distant cousin of Tyus.  He has long admired Nuness.  “It’s family and so you know…it’s a consideration,” Debbie said.  “It’s always nice to know somebody and stuff like that.”

Does Pitino’s lack of experience as a head coach work against him in eventually convincing Tyus to become a Gopher?  “Well, I guess it’s just something you take into consideration as he (Tyus) goes through this process and we’re looking at all the schools,” Debbie said.  “You kind of take everything into consideration.  I don’t know that that will be a determining factor but you consider all the things when you look at the seven schools.”

In the Rivals.com top 150 for the national high school class of 2014, Okafor, a center, is rated No. 1 while Tyus is No. 3 and Winslow, a forward, is No. 10.  If those three decided on the same university, boosters would immediately make airline and lodging reservations in Indianapolis for the 2015 Final Four.  How much credibility is there about a possible Tyus-Okafor-Winslow package?

“I know Tyus and Jahlil talk about it frequently and I really believe that that will happen,” Debbie said.  “Justise from Texas is another one — that they’ve talked about going somewhere together.  I do see that happening.  So as we get right down to it and taking some official visits, narrowing things down, I think it’s a real possibility.”

Worth Noting

Tyus Jones’ grandfather, Dennis Deutsch, may have a kidney transplant but must have more tests.  Deutsch and Tyus have a close relationship.

Will Rashad Vaughn, the shooting guard who is rated the No. 6 player in the country by Rivals.com for the class of 2014, play his senior year for Robbinsdale Cooper or go elsewhere? Perhaps to a prep school outside Minnesota?

Each Wild home playoff game is worth about $5 million to the franchise, according to a pro hockey source who asked not to be named.  The Wild hosts the Blackhawks tomorrow night for their second 2013 home playoff game.  Revenue sources include mostly ticket sales but also suites, merchandise and local TV broadcasts.

Another hockey source, FSN’s Kevin Gorg, said the key for the Wild to even the series at two games each tomorrow night will be for Minnesota to “slow down” the pace against the more talented Blackhawks.  Gorg said Wild veteran Pierre Marc-Bouchard probably played his best game ever for Minnesota in its win yesterday.

A Timberwolves’ official said new president of basketball operations Flip Saunders will be paid a “mid-market” NBA salary.  That might mean compensation in the range of $2.5 to $3.5 million.

Although Saunders has more than 13 years of NBA head coaching experience, he wasn’t hired as a potential emergency replacement for Rick Adelman if the 67-year-old Wolves’ coach abruptly decides to retire because of his wife’s health concerns.

“I think Flip would have the potential of finding us the right coach,” said Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor.  “That’s how I really have looked at it.  But at this point I have only looked at Rick as our coach.  I have a high degree of confidence that he is going to stay.  I didn’t ask Flip to come here because he could coach.  That was not part of my consideration.”

With a devastating run of injuries that turned the Wolves into a team that had a 31-51 record, the team’s TV ratings for 2012-13 averaged 2.2, a decline from 2.9 the previous season.  A Wolves’ spokesman emailed that information and said a playoff contending club could produce numbers two and three times the 2.2.

Vikings’ defensive tackle Shariff Floyd, the team’s first selection in the first round of last month’s NFL draft, said his sleeve length is 31 inches.  Draft observers have questioned his ability to pass rush because of short arms but Floyd told Sports Headliners that’s “not a factor at all.”

Floyd, 6-3, 297, has asked for help from retired Vikings’ defensive lineman Pat Williams who played at 6-3, 317.  Williams has agreed to mentor Floyd.

Cordarrelle Patterson, another of the team’s first round draft choices, said the playbook has already been more manageable for him than expected because he’s been given time to absorb the material and coaches have been helpful.  He’s open to whatever assignments the team gives him as a wide receiver, punt returner or kickoff returner.

Community involved former Viking and St. Paul native Matt Birk is the honoree at the annual Bobby Jones dinner tonight at Interlachen Country Club in Edina.

Murray’s Restaurant owner Tim Murray has another summer baseball trip planned with friends.  This year’s itinerary will feature games in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Paul Allen, the radio play-by-play voice of the Vikings, will speak to the C.O.R.E.S. group on Thursday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington.  Author Jim Bruton and former Viking Dave Osborn will autograph copies of Bruton’s book on the Vikings’ 50 greatest players.  Anyone interested in attending the luncheon and program should contact Jim Dotseth by Tuesday, dotsethj@comcast.net.

Allen is the track announcer at Canterbury Park where the Shakopee racing facility had an estimated 11,000 patrons on Saturday for the Kentucky Derby and set a simulcast wagering record of more than $1.61 million.  The previous record of $1.48 million was set in 2004 on Derby Day.

Lou Nanne doesn’t underestimate the importance of tonight’s second game between the Wild and Blackhawks in Chicago.  “I think it’s maybe the biggest game of the series,” he told Sports Headliners.

There are potentially six games left in the best of seven Stanley Cup playoff series but both teams will answer questions after tonight.  The Blackhawks, the No. 1 seed in the NHL’s Western Conference, had to work hard to win in overtime on Tuesday night in Chicago.  With the series moving to Minnesota next week for games three and four, will the Blackhawks feel more or less pressure tonight holding a 1-0 series lead?

The Wild stumbled late in the season, needing a last game win in Colorado to earn the No. 8 spot in the playoff seeding.  Did the ultra competitive 2-1 loss on Tuesday help or hurt the Wild’s chances to win tonight?  Did the result leave the Blackhawks confident or wondering if they might blow this series to the bottom seeded team that showed defense and energy beyond what they have expected?

Nanne is hoping for a seven game series but a loss tonight will have him thinking about a Chicago sweep, or eliminating Minnesota in five games.  “I am worried about that,” he said.

Nanne’s NHL experiences included playing, coaching and working in the front office for the North Stars.  He thinks Wild coach Mike Yeo told his team to play cautiously, hoping to avoid mistakes against the talented Blackhawks before the last game.  Nanne said if he were coaching he would take the same approach with the Wild tonight.

“I am sure he told them to play very tight, not open it up,” Nanne said. “Try and frustrate the Blackhawks and hope to get opportunities on their turnovers…to score on the occasional chance you might get.”

Nanne doesn’t minimize the possibility of a Wild win this evening.  “They proved they could play with Chicago, beat Chicago,” he said.

If the Wild don’t win tonight, Nanne won’t be receptive to suggestions the players choked.  After Minnesota lost 6-1 last Friday night at home to the Oilers in a game that had mega playoff pressure, there was speculation the Wild choked.

“I think that’s ridiculous,” Nanne said.  “Those statements are usually made by people who have never played sports.”

The next night the Wild met the challenge of qualifying for the playoffs by beating the Avalanche in Denver.  “In a tougher place to play,” Nanne said.

The Gophers and Iowa were the last two Big Ten teams to finish their spring practice schedules last Saturday.  Both are programs trying to establish themselves in the conference after 2012 seasons when the two teams had identical 2-6 records, but if there is a sharp contrast between the programs it’s with the coaching staffs.

The Hawkeyes have six new assistants on their staff since the 2011 season.  But the Gophers have the same core group, boasting a staff longevity that is unusual in college football.

Gophers’ assistant head coach and linebacker coach Bill Miller has worked for about a dozen head coaches and knows the staff loyalty to Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill is special.  Kill has seven assistants who have worked for him 14 years or more at Minnesota and previous head coaching stops, according to Miller.

“He treats them good,” Miller told Sports Headliners earlier this spring.  “He is a good man.  He’s a good guy to work for.  He’s sincere. … He’s a tell- it-like-it-is.”

Coaching relationships can be volatile but Miller said Kill, who has been the Gophers’ head coach for two seasons, doesn’t “threaten you with your job and things like that.”  “I guess I work harder for a guy that wants me to do well and treats me good, and then I don’t want to disappoint him.”

Miller described Kill as humble, organized and a tireless worker — someone who treats not only the coaches “great” but the players too.  That kind of leader makes recruiting easier and more successful, according to Miller.

“You can sincerely sell the farm for him and guarantee people that their son is going to be treated well when he comes here,” Miller said.  “They’re going to be disciplined and they’re going to do the right things.  The good players that I’ve been around in the last 35 years…they want that type of environment, that type of structure, and that’s what I think our staff gives them.”

Miller was first employed by the Gophers in 1986 when John Gutekunst took over as head coach succeeding Lou Holtz who in 1984 and 1985 ignited a passion for football in Dinkytown not seen since.  The Gophers had about 56,000 season ticket holders after Holtz worked his magic with state football fans.

Miller, who came back to the Gophers a couple of years ago after multiple coaching stops elsewhere, saw that fan support in the 1980s and sees it happening again.  “They’ll support somebody that puts a good product out there.  I guarantee you we are putting a good product out there, and it’s gonna get better and better and better.  If it doesn’t, hey, they’ll fire us just like they fire anybody else.”

The Gophers apparently will minimize the number of hits their quarterbacks will be exposed to next fall.  “I think there’s a lot of the quarterback run game that we kind of got rid of,” Philip Nelson said.

Fewer hits on Nelson and his backups can mean less chance of injuries.  The Gophers have minimal game experience at quarterback.  As a freshman, Nelson started seven games last year in relief of injured quarterbacks MarQueis Gray and Max Shortell.

Behind Nelson now on the quarterback depth chart is redshirt freshman Mitch Leidner and true freshman Chris Streveler.

The rushing game responsibility will focus on the running backs.  Nelson was encouraged by the Gophers’ rushing game in the Meineke Car Care Bowl loss to Texas Tech and sees the performance as a predictor of success in 2013.  Running backs Donnell Kirkwood and Rodrick Williams were the team’s leading rushers in the game with 77 and 60 net yards, part of a team total of 222.  “I think our running game will be tremendous this year,” Nelson said.  “No doubt about it.”

In Big Ten Conference games last season the Gophers ranked No. 9 in rushing at 127.2 yards per game.  Minnesota is counting on an improved offensive line and better performances by the running backs including incoming freshman breakaway talent Berkley Edwards to inflate the rushing stats this fall.

Coach Jerry Kill knows that a better rushing game will buoy his young quarterbacks, causing defenses to respect both the run and pass. “You help quarterbacks by running the football,” Kill said.

After 15 spring practices that ended with last Saturday’s spring game, Nelson is the starting QB but with emphasis on constant competition and evaluation there are no guarantees.  “Somebody has to take Philip’s job (for there to be a change),” Kill said.  “Right now it’s his job.  Somebody has to take it.”

Kill is confident about his quarterback roster.  “I feel very good about that position,” he said.

The coach said it’s too soon to decide if Streveler will be redshirted.  The Illinois native enrolled in school last winter to participate in spring football.

The Gophers were 6-7 overall, 2-6 in the Big Ten last season including the bowl loss.  Nelson believes the team is much improved on both offense and defense.  How many games can the Gophers win?

“I think we can win them all, to be honest with you,” Nelson said.  “We’ve got a great squad.  As long as we stay healthy we’ve got a pretty dangerous team.”

Worth Noting

Former Gopher Adam Weber is with the NFL Bucs where he expects to compete against three or four other quarterbacks for a roster spot.  The last two seasons Weber has been on practice squads with the Broncos and Bucs where he earned about $100,000 per year.

Under league rules, a player can only spend three years on a practice squad so this is a big year for Weber.  “I am tired of being on the practice squad,” Weber told Sports Headliners.  “I want to play.  I want to be part of a team.  I want to help a team win.”

Weber said it’s a misperception that while offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch was coaching Weber at Minnesota his throwing mechanics were messed up.  “No, not at all.  I owe a lot to Jedd Fisch.  He showed me a lot of things of what it takes to be a quarterback. …I wouldn’t even be where I am at if it wasn’t for Jedd.”

Weber, 25, did color commentary on the radio broadcast for the Gophers’ spring game last Saturday.  He’s undecided about post-football plans but broadcasting might be a possibility.

Former Vikings’ defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema, who is a sharp talent evaluator, labeled Vikings’ fourth round draft choice Gerald Hodges “the one to watch” and a “sleeper.”  Hodges is a former college safety turned linebacker and Lurtsema likes the field awareness and speed of the ex-Penn State player.

Hodges talking about what it was like to play for coaching legend Joe Paterno:  “It was a blessing.  It was like being coached by — not a God because no one is higher than God — but it was like being coached by a legend while he was still coaching. That was a blessing to even be in his hands.  He was more of a father figure than I would say coach.  He taught a lot (about) football, but at the same time, he taught us a lot about how to be a man and how to show respect.”

The super-prep foursome of Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones, along with Houston’s Justise Winslow, and Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander, both from Chicago, are talking about attending the same university starting in 2014-15, according to a Sunday story from the Courier-Journal.com.  The Louisville newspaper’s website story said the four high school juniors are talking about winning a national championship together.

Chris Monter, the local basketball writer, was asked last weekend how strong he thought the long-held plan was of Jones and Okafor attending school together.  “I would be surprised if it didn’t happen,” Monter said.

University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler is impressed with what he’s hearing about new basketball coach Richard Pitino.  “Everybody I’ve talked to is excited about his energy, excited about the people he’s brought so far, and I am looking forward to him having a good run at Minnesota,” Kaler told Sports Headliners.

Flip Saunders was a hometown favorite among fans for the job but turned it down.  Kaler wouldn’t elaborate on discussions with Saunders.   “I haven’t and don’t intend to make any comments about the coaching process selection.  I think we wound up with a really super guy and we’re focusing on his success.”

An athletic department spokesman e-mailed that “102 new deposits for season tickets” have been accepted since Pitino’s hiring.

St.   Thomas ranked No. 11 nationally in the unofficial winter Division III Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings released last week.  Other MIAC schools in the top 50 were St. Olaf at No. 31 and Gustavus Adolphus, No. 37.  Concordia, Carleton and Saint  John’s also placed in the first 100.

Eleven of the MIAC’s 13 schools ranked among the leading 213 schools in the standings — second most for any Division III conference.   The Learfield standings measure each institution’s combined performance at national championship tournaments and events.  The final standings for school year 2012-13 will be announced June 6.