Author: David Shama

Former University of Minnesota men’s tennis coach David Geatz has moved to Hong Kong.  “I am running the Hong Kong Country Club tennis program,” Geatz wrote via e-mail earlier this week.  “Hong Kong is an amazing place and I love it.  I also plan on traveling all over Asia to check out Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, etc.  The country club I work at is probably the nicest in Asia. …The program is very active with a lot of good players and I hope to develop the next Hong Kong Davis Cup team from our juniors.” 

Timberwolves president Chris Wright told Sports Headliners that Sunday’s sellout crowd at Target Center for the Wolves-Celtics game was the franchise’s fourth of the season, compared to just one last season.  The Wolves set a franchise record for group tickets at one game with 6,300 and Wright said 157 stand room only tickets were sold.  Impressive for a team that had lost six consecutive games, hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004 and was playing against the Celtics, losers of 17 straight. 

Wright said the Wolves sold 7,000 season tickets for the 2006-2007 season.  The first season in Target Center Center, 1990-91, the total was about 16,000. 

Clint Brewster is the only Gopher included in ESPN’s top 150 recruits (ranked No. 45).  ESPN.com reports the Denver quarterback’s offers included Illinois, Tennessee and South Carolina. 

The Indianapolis Star Web site reported last week that wide receiver Tray Herndon from Jacksonville had been expected to sign with Indiana but instead chose the Gophers.  Herndon was named to the Florida Class 2A all-state team. 

The Vikings are looking for season ticket buyers.  Two-thirds of all 2007 Vikings season ticket locations will have the same or lower price than 2006, with virtually all remaining locations increasing by about 2% to 4.5%, according to team management.  There will be 11 pricing options on season tickets, three more than last year.  Prices (including admissions tax) range from $99 (limited view) to $1,160.00. 

Over 4,000 upper level seats will be priced at $196.10 per seat for the season.   “We are excited about creating a wider variety of choices for our fans,” said Steve LaCroix, vice president of sales and marketing for the team. “Our $196.10 season ticket will be one of the lowest-priced season tickets in the NFL.”

Canterbury Park will open its 2007 live racing schedule on Saturday, May 5.  That’s the same date as the Kentucky Derby and local race fans will be drawn to the Shakopee facility by that event, too.  Total purse money for the 68-day meet will exceed $10.3 million.

Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat told Sports Headliners the county will decide “within a month” whether to proceed with condemnation or pursue another site for the new Twins baseball stadium. The land owners of the eight acre proposed stadium site near Target Center will not tell the county how much money they want for the site, according to Opat. 

The site has been appraised at about $13 million and the tax valuation is $8 million, Opat said.  He and Hennepin County Board Chairman Randy Johnson say they are frustrated with efforts to obtain a specific price from the owners.  Opat said the county never expected the land acquisition to be so “difficult” and it may make more sense to look for another site rather than invest time and money in condemnation proceedings. 

Opat described the possibility of searching for a new site as “exciting.”  He said possible sites could include the city impound lot and suburban locations such as Crystal and Eden Prairie.  

The upside of a new location would be a larger site than the current location.  Opat said HOK Sport, the project architectural firm, prefers to work with a 40, 50 or 100 acre site. 

Opat made it clear the county will consider another stadium site and the facility doesn’t have to be located within the city limits of Minneapolis.  Part of the stadium financing will come from dedicating .15% of the county sales tax to the project.   

The ballpark is targeted to open in 2010.  Not only is the stadium construction a major task, but so, too, is the adjacent infrastructure such as bridges, plazas and railroad tracks.

The site near Target Center has been hailed for its access to light rail and roads.  The proposed stadium will offer a view of the downtown skyline and its adjacency to the city’s bars and restaurants are considered a plus for fans attending games.

Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi was beaming and so were other athletic department officials at the McNamara Alumni Center on Wednesday night.  A wall-to-wall crowd in the building’s plaza area turned out to see new football coach Tim Brewster announce the Gophers’ recruiting class for 2007. 

Multiple sources estimated the crowd at over 2,000.  A prominent alum who has attended past recruiting day parties said the attendance was easily a record turnout, exceeding the previous high of 450 last year. 

After Maturi told the gathering the Gophers will make it to “Pasadena” for the Rose Bowl some day, he introduced Brewster who further energized the crowd, a group of various ages, many of whom were wearing Gopher colors.  “Who said there is no Gopher nation?” Brewster said to the crowd. 

Brewster introduced his assistant coaches, including tight ends coach Duane Lewis and defensive line coach Tim Cross.  They had the crowd rocking with a “whose house?” cheer.  The crowd replied, “our house!” 

Brewster detailed his new recruits with comments and video.  A total of 17 high school seniors and five junior college players make up the 2007 group that accepted Gopher scholarships.  Five of the players were added to the recruiting class by Brewster since he became coach about three weeks ago.  The remaining players were commitments gained by former coach Glen Mason and his staff. 

Brewster thought earlier in the week he had a sixth player, quarterback Travaris Cadet from Florida.  However, a source told Sports Headliners the Gophers couldn’t promise the athletic Cadet would play quarterback here so he signed with Toledo. 

Mason and his staff will ultimately be accountable for the quality of this recruiting class.  The group, typical of past Mason classes, isn’t highly regarded in comparison with other Big Ten Conference schools but predicting who will become standout college players is challenging work.  No one, for example, thought former Gophers Greg Eslinger, Mark Setterstrom and Laurence Maroney would become all-Americans. 

Among the more intriguing recruits are safety Curtis Thomas of Adline, Texas, quarterback Clint Brewster of Denver and “athlete” Harold Howell of Jacksonville, Florida.  All three are recruits Brewster rounded up in the brief time he’s been at Minnesota. 

A source said Texas coach Mack Brown regards Thomas to be among the best three prep safeties in the state of Texas.  Rivals.com ranked Brewster as the 17^th best pro style quarterback in the country but as the coach’s son playing a high profile position he will be a marked man by a fickle public and sometimes vicious local news media.  Tim Brewster told the crowd Howell, 5-8, 160-pounds, has 4.25 40-yard dash speed that he used to excel in high school as a defensive back, receiver and kick off/punt returner. 

Brewster and his staff have reputations as extraordinary recruiters and that label will be judged much more accurately next year and the year after.  What’s evident so far by Brewster’s whirlwind appearances in the metro area is that the new coach is determined to stop the exodus of high school players going to other schools (at least four quality recruits went out state). 

On a telecast of the Minnesota-Wisconsin basketball game last month Badger football coach Bret Bielema was talking about recruiting.  He made a statement that was enough to make the fur stand up straight on Goldy Gopher’s neck, referring to Minneapolis as part of Wisconsin’s “in-state” recruiting area. 

Brewster intends to stop that kind of talk.