Before the Twins open their new ballpark in 2010, it’s likely that baseball will already have been played in the downtown facility. Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners that college baseball teams could help test out the new park prior to the first major league game.
Near the close of spring training some teams leave Florida or Arizona early to play final exhibition games. This year the Giants and Athletics will play in the Bay Area, and the Angels and Padres will also play exhibition games in California. The Royals will play in Milwaukee. St. Peter said for now the Twins like their model of staying in Florida right through spring training. The Florida weather is more reliable than other places, plus the Twins benefit from sold out crowds at spring training headquarters in Fort Myers, he said.
Prep basketball expert Ken Lien’s latest rankings of the state’s top 10 boys’ teams are: Hopkins, Osseo, Minnetonka, Shakopee, Stillwater, Wayzata, Cretin-Derham Hall, Crosby-Ironton, St. Cloud Tech and Tartan. Lien, chair of the Mr. Basketball program, compiles his top 10 based on who he considers the best teams regardless of school enrollment size.
From the braggadocios, look how great I am department comes this scene following the Celtics-Wolves game Friday night: Kevin Garnett grabbing his jersey, thrusting it toward the crowd as if to say, “Look at me and what I did!”
The annual Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic is scheduled for March 27-29 at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park and the Bierman facility on the University campus. Speakers will include head coaches Tim Brewster of the Gophers and John Gagliardi of Saint John’s. The clinic is a partnership between the Gophers and the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association. More information is available at www.mnfootballcoaches.com
A friend reported that former Gustavus Adolphus star Eric Butorac and his dad Tim watched from James Blake’s box seats at the Australian Open last week when Blake lost a quarterfinals match to Roger Federer. Eric and partner Kevin Ullyet lost in the third round of doubles at the open.