Sports Illustrated’s baseball preview issue picks the Twins for a fourth place finish in the AL Central Division. The magazine has Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago ahead of the Twins who were ranked as the 17th best team in the major leagues. SI’s top five teams: New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Boston, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
Both the Yankees and Red Sox make their only visits to Minneapolis early in the season. The Yankees are here April 9-11 while the Red Sox series is May 4-6. As of yesterday morning ticket sales were about 60,000 tickets for the Yankees series and 70,000 for the Red Sox.
Viking head coach Brad Childress visited coaching legend Murray Warmath, 94, at his residence last week. “Where do I sign up for 94?” Childress asked. He brought Warmath a Viking sweatshirt and visited with him for about two hours. Warmath was head coach of the Gophers from 1954-1971 and worked for the Vikings following his college career as an assistant coach and scout.
ESPN.com listed the best teams that never went to the Super Bowl. The 1998 Vikings, who scored an NFL record 556 points, ranked No. 1. The Vikings, 15-1 during the regular season, were upset by Atlanta in a home playoff game that could have sent the franchise to the Super Bowl for a fifth time.
Cole Aldrich of Bloomington Jefferson High School, bound for Kansas, was the only Minnesotan playing in Wednesday night’s McDonald’s All-American Game in Louisville. Aldrich is one of five finalists for the state’s Mr. Basketball Award. The others are Noah Dahlman of Braham, Blake Hoffarber of Hopkins, Trevor Mbawke of St. Bernard’s and Alex Rubin of Armstrong. The winner will be announced on April 29.
Jai Lucas, who also played in the McDonald’s game, hasn’t made a college choice and was considering Kentucky and Tubby Smith earlier this year. A true point guard, Lucas would probably help the Gophers win several more games next season if he comes to Minnesota. Lucas is from Bellaire, Texas and is the son of former NBA star John Lucas.