After yesterday’s 1-0 win over the Indians, the Twins are 49-1 when leading after eight innings.
Catcher Joe Mauer has the best percentage in the American League for throwing out runners attempting to steal bases. He’s 14-28 on the season.
Santana slump: Johan Santana, the Twins Cy Young award winning pitcher is 0-3 in his last four starts with a 4.85 ERA. In those four appearances he’s given up five home runs and now has allowed 29 homers during the season (in Santana’s career his season high for home runs is 29).
I don’t know how much more Minnesota can do for New England. We’ve got the Boston area covered in four sports with our former stars: Randy Moss and Laurence Maroney (Patriots), Kevin Garnett (Celtics), David Ortiz (Red Sox), and Manny Fernandez (Bruins).
St. Louis, with Marc Bulger and backup Gus Frerotte, might have the best quarterbacks in the NFC. Frerotte played with the Vikings from 2003-04. The Rams are in town Friday night to open the Vikings pre-season schedule. Sporting News ranks the Rams quarterbacks No. 1 in the NFC followed by the Eagles, Saints and Cowboys. The Viking quarterbacks drew a No. 16 ranking, last place.
The exodus of writers at the Star Tribune includes sports writers Pam Schmid, Jay Weiner and Steve Aschburner, all of whom accepted buyouts. Gopher basketball beat writer Jeff Shelman has switched from sports to news. The Gopher assignment is currently open. Star Tribune space devoted to sports has declined this year.
Fans of the 1986 Boston Celtics NBA championship team recall that Hall of Famer Bill Walton wore jersey No. 5. That’s Kevin Garnett’s new number with the Celtics.
Tim Brewster hosted a senior night for his players last Saturday at Jax Café. Speakers scheduled were former Gopher football players Billy Bye, Desi Williamson and Lee Hutton.
About 35 former Gopher teammates attended Charlie Sanders‘ induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend, according to John Bell Wilson. Wilson, a long time Gopher booster and former basketball manager, said there are 241 players in the Hall of Fame including six former Gophers, Bronko Nagurski, Bud Grant, Leo Nomellini, Bobby Bell, Carl Eller and Sanders.
Wyatt McCoy, the Mounds View eighth grader who won the state high school class AA singles tennis title last spring, is recognized for his accomplishment in the current issue of Sports Illustrated. The magazine reported in its Faces in the Crowd section that McCoy is the first eighth grader “in the 79 year history” of the Minnesota tournament to win the singles championship.