The Wolves are No. 29 among 30 teams in the power rankings, according to https://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2010&week=0.
A campus basketball source said if the Gophers played a game now the starting lineup might be guards Al Nolen and Lawrence Westbrook, center Ralph Sampson III, and forwards Damien Johnson and Colton Iverson. The Gophers open with an exhibition game at home on November 5 against Minnesota Duluth.
Lynx guard Renee Montgomery has her own website, www.reneemontgomery20.com. Included on the site are video and written blogs updating fans on her experiences in Lithuania. Lynx forward Charde Houston is off to a 6-0 start for Tarbes, a team in the French League. The 6-foot forward is averaging a league-high 20.5 points per game.
Alex Daniels, who started his career at Minnesota and played both offense and defense, is a defensive tackle for No. 7 ranked Cincinnati (USA Today poll). He had a team season high four sacks for the Bearcats earlier this month against Miami of Ohio.
Gophers quarterback Adam Weber is a close friend and roommate of wide receiver Eric Decker who will miss the remainder of this season because of a foot injury. Weber said yesterday at a news conference that he will do his best to be supportive of his friend but won’t pretend to know the disappointment that Decker is experiencing. Decker, whom Gophers coach Tim Brewster describes as the “best wide receiver period” in the country, was named one of 10 semi-finalists on Monday for the Biletnikoff award honoring the nation’s top college receiver.
Brewster said it hasn’t been determined if Decker will need surgery on his foot. If so, there’s no chance of Decker participating in a bowl game. Otherwise, he could be back for a bowl game if the Gophers earn an invitation. Da Jon’ McKnight replaces Decker with Ben Kuznia being his backup.
The Gophers (4-4) might face a somber group of Michigan State players on Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium. The Spartans lost to Iowa on the final play of the game last Saturday but the odds-makers must think they will be okay because MSU (4-4) is about a touchdown favorite to beat Minnesota.
The Gophers’ game on Saturday against Michigan State begins at 7 p.m. Brewster said he loves night games, describing the atmosphere as “electric.”
Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice has 312 reception yards in the last two games, the fifth best two-game total in franchise history. No NFL receiver has more yards than Rice the last two weeks.
Rice and running back Adrian Peterson (687 yards) have produced 1,232 yards. That’s the best receiver-runner combo in the NFC.
The Vikings have the best defense inside the 20 yard line in the NFL, allowing opponents to score 27.8 percent of the time.
Two Minnesota schools are ranked in the top 10 of this week’s top 25 American Football Coaches Association poll. Minnesota State Mankato (9-0) is No. 4 and Minnesota Duluth (8-1) ranks No. 6.
The 2009 World Series teams, the Yankees and Phillies, have payrolls of $201,449,189 and $113,004,046, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts web site. The Twins 2009 payroll was $65,299,266. More at https://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/.
George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees in 1973 for about $10 million. They are now valued at $1.5 billion, according to. https://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/33/baseball-values-09_The-Business-Of-Baseball_Value.html.
Fifty years ago the 1959 World Series between the Dodgers and White Sox went six games, ending on October 8. If the 2009 World Series lasts seven games, the final game will be played on November 5.
Kevin Mulvey, who the Twins traded to Arizona last summer for Jon Rauch, pitched in six games for the Diamondbacks in September including four as a starter. He was 0-3 with a 7.04 ERA. Rauch, at 6-11 the tallest pitcher in major league history, was impressive in limited relief for the Twins with a 5-1 record and 1.72 ERA.