The Gophers split their series at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center over the weekend. The building was the site of Sonmor’s first WCHA game as Gophers coach in 1966. Back then the Bulldogs had a revered player in Keith “Huffer” Christiansen. Sonmor recalled going to the building the morning of the game and seeing that the playing surface was water, not ice. That led to this quip from Sonmor: “I’ve been told as far as I know, there’s only one guy who can walk on water and that’s ‘Huffer’ Christiansen.”
Sonmor describes sophomore forward Jordan Schroeder as the most “skilled” player among the Gophers. He thinks Schroeder, who leads the team with 19 assists and 27 points, will likely return next season rather than join the Vancouver organization that drafted him in the first round last June.
The Twins plan to announce the name of their official hot dog provider on March 8, according to Patrick Klinger, vice president of marketing. The Hormel-supplied Dome Dog won’t be continued at Target Field but Klinger expressed confidence the new offering will be popular with fans. That confidence comes from the franchise’s commitment to provide an extraordinary fan experience at the new ballpark including food offerings that will feature a Murray’s Restaurant steak sandwich, Kramarczuk’s sausages, pork chop on a stick, Walleye fingers and vegetarian selections.
Former Purdue and Timberwolf player Brian Cardinal said the Gophers Ralph Sampson III is a “talented player” and has improved from his freshman season but wouldn’t say that the 6-11 sophomore center will make it in the NBA.
A KARE 11 source predicted via email that Brett Favre’s upcoming appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday night will be seen by about 320,000 viewers in this market.
The MIAC led all NCAA Division III conferences in football attendance for the fifth straight season in 2009. The conference’s nine teams averaged 3,178 fans per game with 152,560 total attendees. The MIAC had four teams rank in the top 30 of Division III. For the 13th time in 17 years, Saint John’s was first in Division III attendance, averaging 8,208 per game and attracting 49,249 fans for six home games.
Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport will headline an exhibition on Saturday, April 10 at Eden Prairie High School as part of the Tennis Festival of the North weekend. The festival will be April 9-11 at the high school and includes on-court demonstrations, a vendor fair and other tennis information. Organizers hope the festival will become an annual event and expect this year’s activities to attract about 2,000 people, according to an email form Marcia Bach who is coordinating the festival for USTA Northern. www.tennisfestivalofthenorth.com.