The Celtics’ Kevin Garnett has purchased a home in the Boston area for about $4.5 million, according to a Timberwolves source.
MarQueis Gray of Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis has been chosen as one of the quarterbacks for the East team in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday, January 5 (NBC TV). Gray is undecided about his college choice, according to rivals.com, but has the most interest in Minnesota and Oregon. Tim Brewster’s son, Nolan, is one of the nation’s best prep safeties and the Denver star is still committed to Texas, according to rivals.com. Don’t be surprised, though, if Nolan commits to Minnesota before national signing day on February 6.
In a ranking of the NFL’s best quarterbacks last week, espn.com listed Tarvaris Jackson No. 26, one spot after Rex Grossman of Chicago and six ahead of former Viking Daunte Culpepper. The first five were Tom Brady of New England, Peyton Manning of Indianapolis, Brett Favre of Green Bay, Tony Romo of Dallas and Ben Roethlisberger of Pittsburgh.
The Minnesota Vikings selected their sixth annual all-state high school football team last week and will honor the group at halftime of the Vikings-Bears game tonight (Monday). In addition to the 30 players selected to the team, Dave Dose of Glencoe-Silver Lake was named the Coach of the Year. The Vikings will award Dose a check for $2,000 toward his football program. Wide receiver Michael Floyd of Cretin-Derham Hall was named Minnesota’s Mr. Football and will be an honorary captain for the game.
WCCO Radio’s contract with the Minnesota Wild ends after this season but the station’s senior vice president and market manager Mary Niemeyer said renewal negotiations are “moving forward at a fast pace.” WCCO has six more years remaining on its agreements to broadcast Gopher football, hockey, and men’s and women’s basketball.
Niemeyer said the station had increases in audience share during the prime time hours of 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. last spring and summer, despite not broadcasting Minnesota Twins games for the first time since 1961. Share increases were in both 25-54 year old adults and 35-64, she said.
Sports remains a staple at WCCO and last year the station started programming devoted to NASCAR. NASCAR programming will start up again in the winter with shows on Fridays at 11 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.
Canterbury Park will host Claiming Crown on Saturday, August 2, the eighth time in 10 years the Shakopee race track has been the site of the nationally known race. Claiming Crown was held in Henderson, Kentucky last year and Philadelphia in 2002. Claiming Crown has attracted several of Canterbury’s largest crowds including 13,922 in 2000, 12,788 in 2004 and 11,644 in 2006.
Peter Johns, former marketing director of the Xcel Energy Center, has been named chief officer of marketing and event development for the Minnesota Thunder and Lightning soccer teams.