Author: David Shama

Athletic director Joel Maturi will have an unusual amount of time to search for a new basketball coach at the University of Minnesota.  Dan Monson departed in late November when normally you expect to see a college basketball change in February or March.  Maturi’s research time will be more than ample to settle on selection criteria and review candidates including interim coach Jim Molinari. 

Former Gopher basketball coach Jim Dutcher, who has been a TV color commentator on Minnesota games for years, was asked about criteria.  A new coach, he said, should have a staff that can recruit nationally with success.  The coach should also come here committed to the University of Minnesota and not looking to use the job to move elsewhere. 

“You want a commitment, you want a solid staff, you want someone who can communicate with the fans,”  Dutcher said.  “Minnesota fans are pretty forgiving.  They just want a team that’s competitive.  They know they are not going to win the Big Ten (Conference) championship every year, or every other year. But they want to feel they (the Gophers) have a chance to win each time they walk out there.” 

Dutcher expects many qualified candidates to materialize.  “Big Ten jobs are select jobs in the basketball coaching profession,” he said.  “They’ll get a lot of very good qualified candidates that will be interested in this job.” 

Is there a reason the Gophers can’t be a top 20 program?  “Not that I know of,” Dutcher answered.  “Because of the recruiting area, you are probably not going to be up there at the top consistently but certainly there’s no reason why you can’t be in the upper division of the Big Ten. And the way that the post season tournaments are structured now, being in the upper division is going to get you in the post season tournament.  We saw the turnaround at Wisconsin (where the Badgers changed from a mediocre program to a consistent contender for the NCAA tournament). …”

Chester Taylor is the first Viking to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season since 2002.  He went beyond the 1,000 mark last Sunday against the Chicago Bears before injuring his ribs and leaving the game.  He has been a success story on an offense that collectively and individually has struggled. 

Taylor, acquired by the Vikings as a free agent before the season, has earned admiration both for results and efforts.  “I think the biggest thing that impresses me about Chester is just the fact he runs so hard,” said Viking center Matt Birk.  “He never shies away from contact.  He’s always willing to lower his head and get that extra half yard or yard. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first carry or the 30^th carry of the game for him.  He hits those holes.  I think he’s one of those guys, too, that is impressive as the game goes on.  He actually gets better and gets stronger.” 

Mewelde Moore has been a backup to Taylor.  “You don’t think he’s as strong as he is, and that’s one of those things where he is able to slide off tackles, make second efforts to get extra yards,” Moore said.   

Birk is in his ninth season with the Vikings and said Taylor compares favorably with the best running backs he has played with. “He’s a different type runner,” Birk said. “In the past we’ve had speed, sprinter type guys.  Chester, even though he’s got some speed as he’s shown like in Seattle when he took one 95 yards, he seems to be very comfortable running in between the tackles and grinding out those tough yards inside.” 

The last two Vikings to gain over 1,000 yards in one season were speedsters Michael Bennett in 2002 and Robert Smith in 2000.  In the Bear game Taylor set a new Viking single season record for number of 20 plus carries in games.  His ninth game broke Smith’s record of eight.

Taylor, who may not play in Sunday’s game against Detroit, ranks third among NFC rushers in total yards.  He is fifth among all rushers in the NFL.  His best previous rushing season came in 2004 with Baltimore when he gained 714 yards.

Dan Monson probably would still be coaching the Gophers if he had recruited more effectively.  What if Vince Grier, last year’s leading scorer at 15.7 points per game, had been joined in the starting lineup by former Minneapolis North star Kammron Taylor, a candidate now for all-Big Ten recognition at Wisconsin, and Patrick O’Bryant, the 7-footer from Blaine who was a No. 1 pick by Golden State in the 2006 NBA draft.

Interesting to see James Laurinaitis, the Ohio State sophomore linebacker from Hamel, Minnesota, win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s best defensive player.  The news pains Gopher boosters who recall Laurinaitis attending Minnesota’s spring game before his senior year at Wayzata High School and word was he would become a Gopher.  Laurinaitis could become the first player to ever win the Nagurski award three times. 

The Twins’ 6.7 season rating on Fox Sports Net ranked behind only the Red Sox, Cardinals and Tigers among cable TV ratings for major league sports teams in their markets this past season, according to Patrick Klinger, Twins vice president of marketing. 

Bill Robertson, Wild vice president of communications and broadcasting, reported recently via e-mail that the team’s jersey “continues to be one of the most popular in all of sports.”  Wild jersey sales are second only to the Detroit Red Wings among NHL teams. The Wild’s iron range red is the club’s most popular seller followed by the road white jersey and the green jersey. Through late November the top sellers among player jerseys were Derek Boogaard, Brian Rolston and Marian Gaborik. 

The club recently produced a Wild-themed Monopoly game that retails for $45. Minnesota is the first NHL club to produce the game and it’s sold exclusively at all Hockey Lodge locations.  

Guess who was Bill Fitch’s first ball boy with the Cleveland Cavs?  It was Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel.  Fitch coached the Gopher basketball team before leaving the University to coach in the NBA with the Cavs in 1971.