Author: David Shama

Jot down March 14, 2008 as the date Hoffarber Hysteria spread from Hopkins to Dinkytown.  That’s the date crisis-shooting 19-year-old Blake Hoffarber lofted a left handed semi-hook shot from about 15 feet into the basket as time expired to lift the Gophers to a stunning quarterfinal win over Indiana in the Big Ten Conference Tournament.  The dramatic finish came about three years after Hoffarber had somehow hit a clutch shot in the state tournament for Hopkins High School while sitting on the court, a miracle toss that sent the game into a second overtime and later won him an ESPY when he was barely old enough to drive

The latest sensational shot may mean more to the Gopher basketball program than almost anyone realizes.  The program that has spent much of the new millennium sliding into the low rent district of college basketball because a few individuals in leadership messed up badly, received  a heart transplant last year with the hiring of Tubby Smith.  His coaching, motivation and recruiting have Minnesota positioned for a move to the high rent district and Hoffarber’s shot could be a key stimulus to the recovery.

For one thing, Hoffarber Hysteria just might put the Gophers over the top in selling out Williams Arena next season.  The Gophers, within about 2,000 tickets of selling out this season, will be a hotter ticket next fall, fueled by Smith’s success in taking a 9-22 program, moving it to 20-13, and adding a top 25 recruiting class.  Hoffarber, a hometown kid, was already a crowd favorite but now he’s a bigger hero and another reason to buy tickets and perhaps, just maybe, see another miracle shot during his sophomore, junior or senior seasons.

For another thing, having a player like Hoffarber adds to a team’s confidence.  Everyone knows that late in a game when there’s a big shot opportunity Hoffarber is a solid bet (prayer?).  He won’t make every clutch shot and he could even fumble a play with a poor decision or bad luck.  But you know this: Hoffarber has a special confidence and ability to perform when others aren’t as capable.  That should add some swagger to the Gophers for the next three seasons.

Give Smith and his coaching staff credit, too, for drawing up the play that led to the winning basket.  Although Hoffarber reportedly wasn’t the first option, he went and got the ball.  Made the shot that lifted a program, put a little more gleam in the collective eyes of the Gopher Nation.  And give Smith credit, too, for having the confidence to put a walk-on, seldom used Travis Busch, in the game to heave the ball three-quarters of the way down court to Hoffarber.  (See YouTube, Blake Hoffarber).

The Gophers’ run in the Big Ten Conference tournament ended with Saturday’s 54-50 loss to Illinois.  Now they are headed into tomorrow night’s (Tuesday) home game in the NIT against Maryland and feeling better about themselves than anyone could have predicted after winning two games in the tournament.

In some major league baseball towns a losing record fuels speculation that the manager will be fired.  Not in Minneapolis, though, where the Twins have stuck with two managers since 1986 after Tom Kelly took over for Ray Miller during that season. There have been championship seasons and last place finishes but team ownership and management have employed just Kelly from 1986-2001 and Ron Gardenhire starting with the 2002 season.

Gardenhire has won four Central Division titles in six years.  Last year was his worst record, 79-83, and now with a starting pitching staff that could disappoint the 2008 season might be even darker.  Won’t matter, though; in good times and bad, the Twins stand by their man.

Gardenhire is second in seniority among American League managers to Mike Scioscia of the Angels, according to www.wikipedia.org.  Only Bobby Cox of the Braves and Tony La Russa of the Cardinals have managed teams in the National League longer than Gardenhire has been leading the Twins.

Team president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners it’s the philosophy of the Pohlad family ownership and top management to hire “good people,” provide support, and let individuals like Gardenhire do their jobs in successful and not so successful times.  Part of the mantra, too, is to hire and promote from within.  St. Peter said all the present Twins coaches, and Gardenhire, came up through the minor league system.

Gardenhire, headed into his seventh season, is tied for second in Twins’ managerial  longevity with Sam Mele.  Gardenhire is already second in all-time wins with 534. Kelly managed for part or all of 16 seasons under Pohlad ownership.  His overall record was 1,140 wins, 1240 losses.  Although he won two World Series championships, he lost more total games than he won, an indication of the organization’s patience.

St. Peter expressed admiration for what Gardenhire has accomplished since replacing Kelly who no longer wanted to manage. “He has in a very short amount of time developed a reputation I think as one of the game’s best managers,” he said.

An outsider is immediately impressed with Gardenhire’s upbeat and friendly personality, but there is a will and determination to win and do things correctly that is equally evident.  “I think his personality is…certainly somewhat fun loving, but at the same time he can be tough when he needs to be tough,” St. Peter said. “And he certainly demands that his players respect the game and play the game the right way.  And those are things that the Twins’ organization are known for throughout the game.”

Twins president Dave St. Peter said that during the last several years Tom Kelly has declined opportunities to discuss managerial jobs with other organizations.  Kelly is a special assistant to general manager Bill Smith.  Kelly’s responsibilities include visiting all the Twins’ minor league teams, evaluating players, coaches and managers, St. Peter said.

The Minnesota Wild players and coaches can only criticize themselves if they don’t make the playoffs.  With 10 games remaining on the regular schedule, all but one game is against opponents from their Northwest Division.  The lone exception is a game at San Jose on Wednesday night.

The Wild are at home tonight (Monday) against Colorado.  Then they have four consecutive games on the road, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.  Four of the last five games are at home with Edmonton, Vancouver, Colorado and Calgary before Minnesota closes the season at Colorado on April 6.  The Wild record is 11-9-3 against Northwest Division teams.

Wild forward Marian Gaborik, who scored his 200^th career goal in Saturday night’s win over Los Angeles, has 36 for the season and is tied for sixth among NHL leaders.

In a Sports Illustrated poll, NHL players chose Gaborik as the league’s best skater.  Scott Niedermayer of Anaheim and Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh were second and third in the poll published in the magazine’s March 17 issue.

Xcel Energy Center ends a busy run on Saturday that started on March 13. The facility is in use every night with hockey, lacrosse and music attractions.  Over 200,000 fans are expected with a potential economic impact in St. Paul of $2 million or more, according to sources.  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at Xcel last night.  Bon Jovi is entertaining tomorrow evening and Wednesday night.

Former Viking Mewelde Moore, now with Pittsburgh, will play a similar role with the Steelers as he did here, returning kicks and playing as a backup running back, according to the Sporting News.

Newly signed free agent Viking linebacker Derrick Pope is expected to be a reserve and special teams player, although the five-year NFL veteran did start a career high nine games for Miami last season.