Childress was enthusiastic about wide receiver Troy Williamson earlier this year but so far Williamson has nine receptions for 159 yards and one touchdown. “I was high on him,” Childress said. “You haven’t seen the production, but if you’re being honest, you haven’t seen the production out of the (entire) pass game. So he’s a hard guy to single out.”
The Gopher basketball program is second in all-time total NBA players among Big Ten Conference schools. Only Indiana with 51 tops Minnesota at 41 for producing NBA players. The Gophers are eighth in the country, trailing UCLA (70), North Carolina (69), Kentucky (65), Indiana, Duke (48), St. John’s (46) and Kansas (46).
Gophers’ coach Tubby Smith and public address announcer Dick Jonckowski have started a ritual. Prior to tip-off at each home game, Jonckowski, known for his funny stories, tells Smith a quick anecdote.
The 0-5 Timberwolves, back in Minneapolis after a two-game road trip, try for their first win of the season tonight against Sacramento, 2-5. Guard-forward Ron Artest will make his season debut. He has completed his season opening seven game suspension as a result of legal issues during the 2006-07 season.
The Minnesota Wild has the longest continuous sellout streak of home games in the NHL, 285. They are playing to 102 percent of capacity.
An NHL source said center Eric Belanger, defenseman Brent Burns and center Mikko Koivu have exceeded expectations so far for the Wild. Their contributions have been important to the team’s success and the Wild is currently three points behind first place Colorado in the Northwest Division.
If the Chicago White Sox sign Torii Hunter they help themselves and weaken a Central Division rival, the Twins. It wouldn’t be a mega surprise if Hunter ends up in Chicago, either with the White Sox or Cubs.
With a loss late last week to Whitworth University, the men’s soccer team from Gustavus was unable for the first time since 1993 to reach the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. Gustavus has qualified for five consecutive NCAA tournaments. The Gusties finished at 16-4-1 and over the years have won four of five MIAC post-season tournaments including this fall. Senior forward Mike Butterworth was named MIAC Player of the Year after leading the Gusties to a share of the regular season title.