St. Thomas will start five native Minnesotans when the Tommies play in a Division III Final Four game tonight against Middlebury (Vermont) in Salem, Virginia. While the Gophers are mediocre, other Division I, II and III schools have success with Minnesotans including the 28-3 Tommies.
St. Thomas starters are Tyler Nicolai from Hopkins, Alex Healy, White Bear Lake, Teddy Archer, DeLaSalle, Tommy Hannon, Cretin-Derham Hall and Anders Halvorsen, Henry Sibley. Among the reserves is former Cretin-Derham Hall athlete John Nance who transferred to St. Thomas from the Gophers where he was a quarterback on the football team.
During the last three seasons the Tommies’ 81-8 record is the best in Division III basketball. Head coach Steve Fritz is 592-246 (.705) in 31 seasons, winning 16 regular-season MIAC titles and 10 MIAC playoff titles.
Fritz’s lead assistant is Johnny Tauer. In 1994 Fritz coached Tauer, then a 6-5 junior forward from Cretin-Derham Hall, in the Final Four. The Tommies (24-7) finished fourth in the tournament.
The Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s clinic is still open for registrations. The March 31-April 2 clinic, with headquarters at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park, will have four featured speakers, Gophers coach Jerry Kill, Wyoming coach Dave Christensen, Vikings assistant Fred Pagac and Brainerd prep coach Ron Stolski. www.mnfootballclinic.com
The Twins didn’t provide financial figures but spring training in Fort Myers is a plus for the franchise’s business operation. It was a wise decision when years ago the franchise moved its spring training camp from Orlando in central Florida to Fort Myers near the Gulf of Mexico where thousands of Minnesotans vacation and other natives of the state have relocated.
Luke Hughes, who is trying to make the Twins’ roster as a reserve infielder and leads the team in spring training home runs and RBI, didn’t have an impressive 2010 Venezuelan Winter League season. He hit .196 in 51 at bats. Hughes, only the eighth Australian ever to hit a home run in the majors, had 15 home runs with New Britain and three with Rochester in 2008 for his best single season home run total in U.S. pro leagues. He has five this spring.
Outfielder Jason Kubel, who is batting .441 this spring, is playing for a better contract in 2011. This is the last year of his deal with the Twins and his batting average slumped from .300 in 2009 to .249 in 2010.
Ten finalists were announced last night for the Hobey Baker Award recognizing college hockey’s best player: Cam Atkinson, Boston College, Carter Camper, Miami of Ohio, Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth, Matt Frattin, North Dakota, Andy Miele, Miami of Ohio, Gustav Nyquist, Maine, Chase Polacek, Rensselear, Justin Schultz, Wisconsin, Paul Thompson, New Hampshire and Paul Zanette, Niagara. Connolly (Duluth) and Polacek (Edina) are Minnesota natives. The award winner will be announced on April 8.
The latest issue of The Fischler Report includes an article saying that “reportedly” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has signed a five-year contract extension. The newsletter praises him for doing a “remarkable job over nearly two tumultuous decades.”
Houston Aero Jed Ortmeyer, who skated in three games with the Wild this season, was nominated for the Fred T. Hunt Award given to the AHL player that best exemplifies sportsmanship, determination, and dedication to hockey. The Aero forward has a rare blood disorder that makes his blood clot too easily and requires taking blood thinners before playing, creating a higher risk of injury.
The Wild signed German goalie Dennis Endras to a contract for next season. He was MVP of the 2010 IIHF World Championship where he had a 4-2 record with a 1.15 goals against average and a .961 save percentage.
St. Olaf won the President’s Cup recently for first place finishes by the men and women in combined Nordic-Alpine skiing. The Oles finished ahead of such schools as Boston College and Colorado College in national championship competition.