The Gophers, 1-1, play their first Big Ten road game on Thursday night in Iowa City against Iowa, 1-1. The Hawkeyes lost in Columbus to Ohio State 68-65 last Wednesday and then beat Indiana in Iowa City on Saturday, 65-60.
Minnesota defeated Ohio State at home on Saturday, 68-59. The Gophers lost 70-58 on Wednesday to a Michigan State team that’s likely to win the big Ten championship.
If Tubby Smith is going to build a championship program at Minnesota he will have to deliver a team that can compete with the Spartans in rebounding. Annually one of the most physical and best rebounding teams in the nation, Michigan State out rebounded the Gophers by 22 in the game, with a 10 point edge in offensive rebounds.
Spartans’ coach Tom Izzo thinks Smith is “struggling” to find his best rotation of players. He likes junior college transfer Paul Carter, a forward, and thinks his playing time could increase for the Gophers.
The Gophers couldn’t defeat No. 15 ranked Michigan State but did beat No. 9 Louisville on December 20. Izzo said the Gophers could have beaten “any team” in the country that day.
The Gophers’ quick point guard, Al Nolen, was impressive against Michigan State and Ohio State. Izzo said Nolen “is as good as anyone” in penetrating near the basket.
For what it’s worth, there’s early speculation the Gopher football team won’t equal last year’s 7-5 regular season record. The most demanding nonconference schedule in years and adding Penn State and Michigan State to the Big Ten schedule while dropping Indiana and Michigan will be a challenge. Wins in the first two games, at Syracuse and home in the TCF Bank Stadium opener against Air Force, could set an early tone.
The MLB Network debuted last Thursday with a reach of approximately 450 million cable and satellite TV homes, according to a news release from major league baseball. This exceeds any previous cable TV launch by about 20 million. The network offers original programming, highlights, classic games and coverage of baseball events.
Minneapolis Lakers’ fan Dick Jonckowski said a book about Jim Pollard will be available for purchase later this year. Pollard’s wife, Arilee, will come to Minneapolis to help promote the book about Pollard, a hall of fame forward for the Lakers who helped Minneapolis win five pro basketball championships.
Patrick Reusse’s commitment to work seven days a week for KSTP Radio, including 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and his revised Star Tribune schedule going from three or four columns per week to two, only adds to speculation about the future of newspapers in this market.
Matt Leer, 18, the former Edina High School hockey player, was recently voted “most impressive rookie” by his teammates on the Northern Iowa Outlaws of the North American Hockey League, according to his dad, Robb Leer, the former KSTP TV reporter who now has a successful public relations agency in suburban Minneapolis.