In Thursday’s NBA player draft the Timberwolves will be wise if they emulate the values of the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs who emphasize players with character, defensive skills and willingness to pass the basketball.
The Wolves will host a free draft party for fans beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Target Center. TV broadcasters Tom Hanneman and Jim Petersen will host the party. Craig Smith,Wolves 2006 second-round draft choice, will provide draft analysis and sign autographs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. There will be prize giveaways, contests and games. The Wolves have the seventh and 41st overall picks in the draft.
The Sporting News ranks the Vikings guards and centers second best in the NFC. Among the top five guards and centers, the Vikings’ Steve Hutchinson ranks first and Matt Birk is third.
Including positions such as quality control/offense-defense, and strength and conditioning, Vikings’ head coach Brad Childress has 26 assistants. I believe Bud Grant coached with six assistants in 1976, the last season the Vikings qualified for the Super Bowl. During Grant’s tenure as Viking coach from 1967-1983 he had a total of 14 different men who worked as assistants.
Peter King of Sports Illustrated said the following about former Gopher running back Laurence Maroney who soon begins his second season with the New England Patriots: “There is no question that if he stays healthy, Laurence Maroney is going to be one of the 10 biggest offensive forces in the NFL this year.”
Toronto won its seventh straight game against the Twins last night. Pitcher Kevin Slowey, who started the game, is 2-0, with a 5.91 ERA in his last three starts. He has given up nine home runs in five starts this season including seven in his last three starts.
The Detroit Tigers come to Minneapolis for a three-game mid-week series July 17-19 that will impact the Central Division race. As of Monday, pre-sales of tickets were about 18,000 for each of the first two games and 26,000 for the third, according to Patrick Klinger, the team’s vice president of marketing.
The Big Ten Conference and the Big Ten Network announced that the University of Minnesota’s first two home football games, against Bowling Green on September 1 at 7 p.m. and Miami (Ohio) on September 8 at 11 a.m., will be televised by the Big Ten Network.