Author: David Shama

David Shama is a former sports editor and columnist with local publications. His writing and reporting experiences include covering the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Gophers. Shama’s career experiences also include sports marketing. He is the former Marketing Director of the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL. He is also the former Marketing Director of the United States Tennis Association’s Northern Section. A native of Minneapolis, Shama has been part of the community his entire life. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where he majored in journalism. He also has a Master’s degree in education from the University of St. Thomas. He was a member of the Governor’s NBA’s Task Force to help create interest in bringing pro basketball to town in the 1980s.

Sleeper Pick for Timberwolves at No. 17: Ryan Kalkbrenner

Posted on June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by David Shama

Who do the Timberwolves select at No. 17 of the first round in next week’s NBA Draft in Brooklyn? It could be a center and the suggestion here is a sleeper pick in 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner from Creighton.

There is speculation the Wolves could be interested in moving on from center Rudy Gobert, their soon to be 33-year-old center who is not only aging but carries a burdensome reported salary of $35 million for next season. The Wolves front office and ownership are sensitive to payroll and face an offseason where forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid can opt for free agency.

Edwards photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves

Finding a trade partner willing to take Gobert could bring future draft picks to the Wolves and/or add veteran talent to the roster. The dream acquisition, of course, is a deal perhaps involving Gobert and bringing Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant to Minneapolis. Such a move would give the Wolves two elite and difficult to defend scorers in Durant and guard Anthony Edwards.

After 12 NBA seasons, Gobert remains a game-changing defensive player and rebounder. This past season he was All-NBA second team defense. He’s a four-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Gobert has finished top 10 in total rebounds in nine of the last 10 seasons, leading the league twice in that period. This past season he averaged 12 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

The Wolves have no one on the existing roster who comes close to matching Gobert’s profile. But Kalkbrenner, who mock drafts project going later than No. 17, potentially does.

The two players have more in common than their height and weight (approximately 260 pounds each). This past season Kalkbrenner was named both the NABC National Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year. Four times in his career he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Kalkbrenner also avoids foul trouble. In his five-year career with the Bluejays there were only 13 times when he had four fouls in a game.

His senior season this is how he ranked nationally in top 50 categories: second in field goals made, third in total blocks, fourth in field goal percentage, fourth in blocks per game, 22nd in total points and 28th in total rebounds.

The 23-year-old was a second and third team All-American in 2025 after averaging 19.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.

Kalkbrenner reportedly also has soft hands, a key asset for a big man in grabbing the basketball. Combined with his height, that makes him an inviting target for lob passes.

And his offensive game in the NBA could include three-point shooting. In his two final seasons he made 37 of 115 attempts, or 32.2 percent.

Rudy can’t match that. He’s never made an NBA three-point shot.

Worth Noting

The Wolves have the first pick in the second round. They could bite on a point guard, perhaps combo guard Ben Saraf from Israel.

The first round of the draft is next Wednesday and begins at 7 p.m. Minneapolis time with ABC and ESPN televising. The second round starts at 7 p.m. Thursday with ESPN broadcasting.

General impression so far is Niko Medved is a popular hire as the new men’s Golden Gophers basketball coach. That won’t translate immediately into big crowds at Williams Arena, though. The Gophers might do well to see about a 2,000 sale increase in season tickets for the 2025-2026 home schedule. That could push the total into the 7,000 range.

Happy belated birthday to legendary Golden Gophers football player Bobby Bell who turned 85 yesterday.

The state Legislature didn’t finalize the new University of Minnesota Board of Regents members before it recessed this spring. The authority now falls on Governor Tim Walz who is expected to appoint four new regents to fill vacancies after the application process closes in early July.

Here’s hoping former Hormel executive and ex-U interim president Jeff Ettinger is interested now or in the near future.

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Looks Like Vikes Commit to Running Game Most in KOC Era

Posted on June 16, 2025June 16, 2025 by David Shama

Enjoy a Monday notes column.

The Vikings’ recent contract extension with backup tight end Josh Oliver adds to speculation the offense will be more committed to the running game than at any time in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s three previous seasons. Oliver is a superb blocker and superior with that skill to starter T.J. Hockenson.

Kevin O’Connell image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

According to Pro Football Focus, Oliver led NFL tight ends with a 74.2 run blocking grade in 2024 (minimum 50 percent block snaps played) and earned the fourth-highest grade during the 2023 season with a 73.9.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips has indicated there will be times the Vikings will have both Oliver and Hockenson on the field to add size and muscle. While the two could be in the game for blocking, Hockenson is one of the NFL’s most gifted big yardage receivers and could break off the line of scrimmage and run an explosive pass pattern.

The Vikings are expected to emphasize the run game to ease the transition and workload on new quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The 22-year-old, who missed his rookie season after injuring a knee, figures to hand the ball off on at least 50 percent of the snaps to his running backs.

That RB roster includes Aaron Jones, last year’s starter. The Vikings signed him to a multi-year contract in early March before he could hit free agency. He started all 17 games for the Vikings, with career highs of 255 carries, and 1,138 yards. He also had 51 catches for 408 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

In another March move that has potential to aid the running game, the Vikings worked a trade with San Francisco involving draft choices and Jordan Mason, the 49ers RB who led the team in rushing last season with a career-high 789 yards. Mason, who will be in his fourth NFL season in 2025, ranked sixth in the NFL in yards after contact per rush (3.62) according to TruMedia, and seventh in yards per rush (5.2). Among players with a minimum of 150 rushing attempts last season, he led the NFL in missed tackles forced at 37.3 percent, according to Next Gen Stats.

Look for times next fall where both Jones and Mason are on the field together, Phillips indicated recently. Maybe with two tight ends, too.

College basketball coaches are usually former players, but the Golden Gophers program is a bit different. Head coach Niko Medved is a former student manager under ex-head coach Clem Haskins at Minnesota in the 1990s. Medved assistant coach Aaron Katsuma and his director of scouting and analytics Drew Evenson are both former managers with the Gophers.

Ryan Saunders, the former Gopher player and Timberwolves head coach, is no longer an assistant coach with the NBA Nuggets. New head coach David Adelman, son of former Wolves head coach Rick Adelman, has reorganized the staff.

At 39 Saunders is probably open to taking a college coaching position for the first time in his career.

Saunders’ wife Hayley gave birth to daughter Grace Leigh on February 23. That would have been the 70th birthday of Ryan’s dad Flip Saunders, the deceased former head coach of the Wolves and a savvy point guard who was a Gopher basketball favorite.

Tim Connelly, the Wolves president of basketball operations, should have fans on the edge of their collective seats as to what’s next with the roster. Since being hired in the summer of 2022, he has pulled off dramatic trades that first brought Rudy Gobert here and later traded away Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Twins, 5-9 in June, have pitching problems that probably have already sunk their chances of winning the Central Division and threaten earning a wild card entry in the playoffs. The starting pitching rotation is troubled, and third baseman Royce Lewis is sidelined with yet another hamstring injury.

Staff ace Pablo Lopez is on the 60-day Injured List. His replacement, Zebby Matthews, is on the 15-day. Bailey Ober, a mainstay in the rotation with Lopez, Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack, is struggling with his mechanics.

The Twins were swept by the Astros over the weekend. Minnesota entered yesterday’s game with a staff ERA of 6.39 in June. That compares with 3.11 in May and 3.54 March-April.

Minnesota is 3-8 in its last 11 games, and 8-13 in the previous 21. At 36-35, the Twins are barely holding on to second place and are nine games behind the Central Division leading Tigers.

FanGraphs gives the Twins a 7.2 percent chance of beating out the Tigers but 42.1 percent likelihood of making the playoffs. That could be optimistic for a pitching staff down two starters and a bullpen that while elite has been taxed with a lot of innings already this season.

The way it looks now the Twins will have at least two representatives on the American League All-Star team for the July 15 All-Star Game in Atlanta. Center fielder Byron Buxton, 31, should be a starter because of his hitting, fielding and base running this spring. Reliever Johan Duran, 27, has saved 10 games working out of perhaps baseball’s best bullpen, and has a 4-2 record with a 1.64 ERA.

This would be Buxton’s second All-Star Game, having homered in two at bats as a reserve in 2022. Duran would be making his debut.

Buxton signed a seven-year contract for $100 million in December of 2021, according to MLB.com. That deal includes staggered bonus amounts if he places in the top 10 for the league MVP Award. He won’t win the award this year (would bring $8 million) but he receives $3 million for a finish between sixth and 10^th.

Duran is a steal for the Twins at a reported $4.15 million.

Ryan, among the winningest pitchers in the majors this season, could also represent the Twins as a first-time member of the AL All-Star staff. Ryan, 29, with a 7-2 record and ERA of 2.93, is the club’s best pitcher with Lopez sidelined.

Sam Udovich, the Cretin-Derham Hall senior who recently won the boys’ golf 3A state tournament, will be on scholarship at TCU where the program celebrates its 100^th year in 2026.

Humor department: My friend Bob Klas remembered the late Murray Warmath’s take on golf. The Golden Gophers football coach said he’d do anything to improve, “except practice.”

Comments Welcome

Guess Who Tops Favorites List of the Twins Last 25 Seasons

Posted on June 10, 2025June 10, 2025 by David Shama

The Twins are 25 years into the new millennium. It’s been a historic period in franchise history with the opening of Target Field, division titles and ending that infamous streak of 18 consecutive post-season losses.

To honor the 25 years, I am selecting two personal favorites from the era. One choice will be about as surprising as the sunrise tomorrow. The other might have you guessing for 10 minutes.

No one put his fingerprints on Twins history over the last 25 years like Joe Mauer. My other selection, Francisco Liriano, only teased at sustained superstardom for a brief time but he captured my favor forever.

Both players played major roles in the Twins extraordinary 2006 season. The Central Division champions had the American League MVP in Justin Morneau, batting champion in Mauer, Cy Young Award winning in Johan Santana, a sixth consecutive Gold Glove Award winner in Tori Hunter, and Liriano a lights out pitcher who might have been both the Cy Young winner and Rookie of the Year if not for late season arm trouble.

Liriano photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins

In one of the best trades in Twins’ history, general manager Terry Ryan had brought Liriano to the organization in a 2003 deal with the Giants that also obtained pitchers Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser for catcher A.J. Pierzynski. After the trade Ryan remembered “everybody raving about him (Liriano)” in the farm system.

Liriano pitched briefly for the Twins in 2005 and then was more than ready in the spring of 2006 when manager Ron Gardenhire put the left-hander in the starting rotation. “He never really skipped a beat from Triple-A to the big leagues,” Ryan told Sports Headliners. “He had velocity. He had control. He had command.

“He had the slider that was an out pitch. He had an excellent change up. You know with he and Santana, they both had those changeups—difference makers. So, he had a complete mix.

“He was a good athlete. He had a good makeup about him; nothing seemed to faze him. ….”

Liriano’s dominance from May until early August when he injured his arm was breath taking to watch. During that short stretch he was the best Twins pitcher in franchise history this observer ever saw.

The Twins were almost certain to win when Liriano went to the mound. He put together a streak of eight quality starts (per MLB.com) and was named to the American League All-Star team. Ryan referred to that magical run of 2006 as “phenomenal.”

Liriano was a strike out pitching machine, partially because of a nasty slider that Ryan described as unhittable while also praising the then 22-year-old’s velocity. “I don’t care if you’re left-handed or right handed (hitter), you couldn’t hit it. Because it had power and it had severe bite, and he could locate it, and he wasn’t afraid to throw it in any count.

“Whether he was two and one; three and one; 0-2, he’d throw it. He didn’t have any problem with location, complete confidence in an out pitch, especially with left handers where they didn’t stand a chance against that pitch.”

Liriano had a 1.96 ERA into August of 2006 but then hurt his arm. He made only two starts in the last two months of the season. Still, his season numbers were gaudy: 12-3 record, 2.16 ERA, 144 strikeouts in 121 innings with opposing batters hitting .205. In a full season it might have been Liriano, not Santana who won the Cy Young Award.

“Liriano and Santana were about as impressive a tandem on a starting staff as you could ever hope for,” Ryan said. “And there was no chance that we were going to go on any extended losing streak with those two guys on the staff. Because each time either one of those guys took the mound you had a pretty good feeling you had a very good chance of winning that game that particular night.”

Before Liriano got hurt it looked like the Twins had the makings of a future World Series champion. Perhaps even in 2006. Ryan described the loss of Liriano as “devastating” to that team. “When he went down it really set us back,” Ryan said.

Liriano missed the entire 2007 season after having Tommy John surgery in late 2006. He stayed with the Twins into the 2012 season before being sent to the White Sox. He had a quality 2010 season with the Twins winning 14 games and later in his career won 16 for the Pirates. But injuries plagued his career before officially retiring in January of 2022.

It seems like Joseph Patrick Mauer, born and raised in St. Paul, has been in the spotlight forever. At Cretin-Derham Hall in the late 1990s he was a headline maker on the local sports pages. He was terrific on the basketball court, a five-star college quarterback prospect and so coveted in baseball he became the first overall selection in the 2001 MLB Draft. The Twins chose Mauer over pitcher Mark Prior and it was a wise decision because spurning the local kid for a guy who had an okay career on the mound would have been a disaster.

Ryan said the Twins might have scouted Mauer more than any prospect he knows of. “…I think we got a lot of things right on him. His make up was phenomenal. Tremendous athlete. He had a desire (to excel). He was a quiet leader.

“His demeanor was unbelievably calm. Those types of guys, they had that low pulse. They don’t get overreacting. They don’t get over excited. They just go about their business.”

By 2004 Mauer was the team’s starting catcher and taking the first steps of a legendary 15-year career in the majors, all with the Twins. The 6-foot-4, left-hand hitting Mauer won three American League batting titles, five Silver Slugger Awards and was the 2009 AL MVP Award. His production that year was the stuff of baseball immortals, hitting a career-high 28 home runs along with a .365 batting average and best-ever 96 RBI.

A Sports Illustrated cover boy, he is the only AL catcher ever to win a batting title. Six times he was named an AL all-star.

Mauer was a superb catcher superb catcher who showed off a quarterback’s arm in targeting base runners. His marvelous athleticism made him capable of even catching a foul ball behind his back or reaching behind the protective netting to snag a ball. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner as a catcher and probably deserved to win one after moving to first base late in his career.

“He was probably one of the greatest athletic catchers that came a long in the game,” Ryan said.

Mauer was voted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2023. The ultimate post-career honor came in 2024 when he was a first=ballot selection for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Ask Ryan how special Mauer was and you will hear about the man as well as the player. “Well, he’s a Hall of Famer for a reason. He’s got tools. He’s got makeup. He’s a great teammate.

“Great human being. He was raised well and. …And he hasn’t changed. I’ve been around him quite a bit since he retired, and he hasn’t changed at all”.

Mauer is a legend and he’s one of us. He put his stamp all over the first 25 years of the new millennium and we’re all the better for it.

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