Author: David Shama

Viking safety Darren Sharper will let the season play out before including Detroit’s wide receivers among the NFL’s elite but he told Sports Headliners about his respect for Roy Williams, Mike Furrey and Calvin Johnson.  “They’re a special group,” Sharper said.  “The fact there are different things they can do.  The size of the receivers. Their athletic ability.  It poses a challenge because when you have so many guys on the field who can catch the ball and do something with the football, you have to make sure you’re alert as a defensive player.”

When the Vikings play in Detroit on Sunday, they will see an offense that Sharper said will “definitely offer a test.”  The Lions use a varied offense with different looks under the direction of respected offensive coordinator Mike Martz, former St. Louis Rams coach.  “For me as a defensive back, he’s exciting to play against because you want to get a chance to be challenged in the passing game,” Sharper said.  “You want to get opportunities to make plays on balls, or be a factor. …”

Williams, 6-foot-3, made the Pro Bowl after his 1,310 yard, seven touchdowns 2006 season.  Furrey, 6-foot, led the NFC and was second in the NFL with 98 catches.

The 6-foot-5, 239-pound Johnson, the No. 1 overall pick in last spring’s NFL draft, was a two-time all-American at Georgia Tech where many observers rated him with the best and most explosive college receivers in memory.

The Lions have another newcomer in wide receiver Shaun McDonald who came from the Rams where he played for Martz.  In the Lions 36-21 opening day win against Oakland, McDonald caught six passes, the most on the Detroit team.  Furrey had five catches, and Johnson, Williams and running back Tatum Bell had four.

Spreading the ball around was quarterback Jon Kitna who completed 75% of his passes, (27 of 36) and three touchdowns.  He was six of eight in the fourth quarter as the Lions came from behind to win the game.  He finished first in the NFL last season in completions, second in attempts and fourth in passing.

Viking defensive tackle Pat Williams would like similar results Sunday to what he and his teammates did to Atlanta quarterback Joey Harrington.  Last Sunday the Vikings defense turned two of Harrington’s passes into touchdown interceptions and limited him to 23 of 32 passes and 199 yards.   “We gotta get pressure on him (Kitna),” Williams said.  “If we go out there early and get pressure on him…we can shake him up like we did last week.  It’s our game plan. …”

Sharper was asked if Johnson can be intimidated in his second NFL game (Williams and Furrey are expected starters with Johnson and McDonald coming off the bench).  “It depends on if a guy allows himself to be intimidated,” Sharper said.  “I don’t think because a guy is a young receiver you can expect to intimate him.  Any receiver who comes in there you want to let him know you’re there. You don’t want him to have the feeling that he can just go out and catch the ball and not have to deal with the ramifications of being in your area. …”

The Gophers figure to win Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic but the trip to south Florida may ultimately have a more important payoff for coach Tim Brewster and his staff.  The Gopher travel party was scheduled to fly to south Florida last night, choosing to arrive about a day early for a road game because Brewster and his assistants want to recruit high school players there.

Brewster regards south Florida and the Houston,Texas area as places with extremely large numbers of major college football prospects. Previous Gopher coaching staffs have recruited those areas with limited success.  “ I think without question the Houston area is in my mind the best area in America today as far as the number of football prospects in a city wide area,” Brewster said.  “It’s just phenomenal, and south Florida is obviously pretty good, too.  There are a tremendous number of football players in south Florida. They’re both areas where we are going to target recruiting extremely hard.”

Brewster said he hopes his 2008 recruiting class will have three or four players from the Houston and south Florida areas.  He already has a commitment from highly regarded receiver Eric Lair of Houston.

Florida Atlantic plays in the Sun Belt Conference.  The Owls had a 5-7 record last season.  This season the Owls defeated Middle Tennessee at home, 27-14, and lost to Oklahoma State 42-6 last Saturday in Stillwater.

Most of the Owls games are played in Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale with a capacity of about 20,000.  A source said 11,398 attended the Middle Tennessee game in Lockhart earlier this month.  NCAA rules allow a school to move one home game per season from its regular stadium to another venue and Florida Atlantic chose to play Saturday’s game with the Gophers in the 75,000 seat Dolphins Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins.

While Florida Atlantic isn’t an impressive name in college football, the Owls have chosen the Gophers and Dolphins Stadium as a showcase game. Some high school Floridians who are interested in the Gophers and Florida schools will be paying attention.

Brewster made it clear earlier in the week he’s making this a serious road trip, working the Gophers inside to simulate the heat and humidity of Miami where temperatures could be around 90 at game time.  He also announced a change in place kickers with freshman Eric Ellestad of Armstrong High School and junior Joel Monroe from Robbinsdale Cooper competing in practice this week to replace junior Jason Giannini of Canton, Ohio who missed three field goals last week.

The guess here is that the more experienced Monroe will replace Giannini.  Monroe will also continue as the kickoff man for the Gophers.

Minnesota Wild president and general manager Doug Risebrough is expecting the “most competitive” training camp in team history as veteran and young players try to earn a place on the final roster. The Wild open training camp today.

Rushford-Peterson will play its home football game tonight at Hopkins High School against Zimmerman and its freshman quarterback, Glen Bye.  The game was moved to Hopkins because of flooding in southeastern Minnesota.  Fans in the Rushford-Peterson area and elsewhere can see the game on the Web, www.CrystalClearWebcast.com. Bye, 6-1, 165, became Zimmerman’s top quarterback during practice last month and has passed for over 100 yards in his first two games, both losses.  “Glen has the tools to become a very good quarterback, possibly D1 (college Division I) material,” coach Dave Hamlin wrote via e-mail.  Rushford-Peterson is 2-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state among Class 1A schools by the Associated Press. Crystal Clear Sports is donating pay per view proceeds to Rushford-Peterson High School.

A source told Sports Headliners that fundraisers hope by next summer to have remaining fundraising down to only $5 million for the new Gopher stadium.  That amount would then be covered by a grassroots fundraising campaign, compared with the present campaign focusing on big donors for the stadium that opens in 2009.

The Gopher football team has now scheduled a game in Las Vegas against UNLV in 2010 with the Rebels coming here in 2013, according to Marc Ryan, Minnesota associate athletics director.  The two teams had been scheduled to play in Las Vegas next year with UNLV at Minnesota in 2009.

The Gophers and Florida Atlantic played in 2005 in Minneapolis. The two schools will meet tomorrow in Miami and have a third game here in 2008.  The Owls received $300,000 for the 2005 game, the Gophers get $150,000 for tomorrow’s game and Florida Atlantic will receive $150,000 for the 2008 game, according to Ryan.

Twins pitcher Boof Bonser was 4-1 at the end of May.  His record now is 7-12 with a 4.91 ERA.

Saint Mary’s Sarah Gardner and Carleton’s Heather La Chappele are the MIAC’s volleyball players of the week.  Eric Harris and Kali Griggs, both from Gustavus, were named golfers of the week.