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.

Diggs Deal Works Big Time for Vikings

Posted on November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 by David Shama

There is no second-guessing any more about the Vikings’ March 2020 trade that sent veteran big play wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Bills. Dissent was all but buried yesterday by the headline performance of second-year wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

The Vikings received draft choices in return for a disgruntled Diggs who didn’t want to be in Minnesota’s offense. Those draft choices gave the Vikings not only Jefferson, but potential significant contributors in safety Camryn Bynum and defensive end Kenny Willekes.

Jefferson, of course, is the prize and all he did yesterday was catch eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 34-31 win over the Packers. “…He loves to go out and compete,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said on KFXN’s postgame radio show. “He’s been catching the ball great and running good routes, and he just lives for these moments.”

Diggs and Jefferson are similar in stats this season. Jefferson has 63 receptions for 944 yards and six touchdowns. Diggs has 60 catches for 773 yards and six touchdowns. Jefferson has 17 plays of 20 or more yards while Diggs totals eight.

Not only does Jefferson have the edge in key numbers but at age 22 he is six years younger than Diggs. And he’s a bargain with a base salary of about $1.2 million, while Diggs costs the Bills over $12 million, per Spotrac.com.

Jefferson is also a happy camper with the Vikings who talks team, not just about himself. He likes this offense that helped pull the Vikings to a 5-5 record yesterday against the 8-3 NFC North Division leading Packers.

“I feel like this offense is tops in the league with him (RB Dalvin Cook) running the ball, and me, Adam (WR Thielen), K.J. (WR Osborn) catching the ball. We can go a long way,” Jefferson said. “I feel like it’s hard to stop all of us on this offense and it’s a great offense.”

Quarterback Kirk Cousins, of course, is a big part of the rejuvenated offense that has been so productive of late, and so is his offensive line. Cousins threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the win Sunday while the line, including guards Ezra Cleveland and Uli Udoh, and center Mason Cole had success handling Packers defensive tackle and play wrecker Kenny Clark.

Regular center Garrett Bradbury is back from COVID but it seems likely Cole continues to start.

Worth Noting

Vikings network radio analyst Ben Leber was critical of safety Xavier Woods’ performance against the Packers who passed for 385 yards. “No, he did not have a good day,” the former Viking linebacker said after the game. “There were a couple times where it looked like to me it’s simple discipline things where he just has wrong leverage. He is not understanding where his help is and it’s unfortunate for a guy that is such a veteran player, and he’s had a great season so far. …”

The pandemic, high ticket prices and the team’s slow start to the season has the Vikings running TV commercials for single game tickets for remaining home games.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said health issues shouldn’t sideline any of his starters for Saturday’s game against the Badgers at Huntington Bank Stadium.

However, defensive line depth is impacted with news Sunday that M.J. Andersen is leaving the team and today that Rashad Cheney is doing the same. Don’t be surprised if other players enter the transfer portal between now and Minnesota’s yet to be determined bowl game.

Quarterback Tanner Morgan, who lost his father about five months ago, has long received the admiration of his coach. Morgan has won more games (25) than any QB in program history and Fleck praises him for his talent, courage and leadership.

“I might be working for him someday,” Fleck said.

Analytics have made 3-8 Nebraska a slight favorite (about three points) over 9-2 Iowa for Friday’s key West Division game in Lincoln.

Ex-Gophers Thomas Barber and Justin Conzemius, along with a TBD Gopher assistant coach, will headline Friday’s Goal Line Club preview lunch of the Minnesota-Wisconsin game at Elsie’s in northeast Minneapolis. www.goallineclub.org/events.

The 4-0 basketball Gophers led by first-year coach Ben Johnson and top assistant Dave Thorson are playing with more togetherness than any Minnesota team in memory.

Former Twins Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva will know December 5 whether they are voted into baseball’s hall of fame. “Both should be in the hall of fame,” former Pioneer Press Twins writer Gregg Wong told Sports Headliners.

Kaat, 83, won 283 games during a 25-year career with the Twins and other MLB teams. For 16 consecutive seasons he was a Rawlings Gold Glove winner, and sometimes was both a pinch runner and hitter with the Twins. “Not a better all-around pitcher in the game,” Wong said in comparing how well Kaat stacks up with pitchers of the past and today.

Oliva, also 83, had a lifetime batting average of .304 and is the only player in MLB history to win batting championships during his first two seasons. Oliva was a three-time American League batting champion and led the AL in hits five seasons. The Twins’ right fielder was a feared hitter who could hit pitched balls headed for the dirt into the seats.

Kaat and Oliva are part of a 10-person Golden Days Era ballot that includes Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Roger Maris, Minnie Miñoso, Danny Murtaugh, Billy Pierce and Maury Wills. Kaat, Oliva and Wills are the only ones still living. “Even better reason to get them in the hall of fame,” said Wong who is a hall of fame voter but not a member of the Golden Days Era Committee deciding the fates of the 10 ex-players.

Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the 16-member committee will be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and inducted in Cooperstown on July 24, 2022.

Wong and former Minneapolis Central High School football teammate Bill Forsyth recently had dinner and reminisced with their former coach, 93-year-old Chuck Elias. “One of the most enjoyable evenings of my life,” Wong said.

The 1963 Pioneers were undefeated and City Conference football champions.

Much anticipated in these parts is Patrick Reusse’s annual Turkey of the Year column in the Thanksgiving Day issue of the Star Tribune. Who wins in 2021? Rocco Baldelli and Mark Coyle could be contenders.

The Vikings don’t play on Thanksgiving Day in 2021 but they have taken a liking to such games, going 6-2 over the years. They have won three of the last four with two straight over the Cowboys and splitting two with the Lions.

The Gophers defeated the Badgers 14-0 in Minneapolis on Thanksgiving Day 1963. The game had been rescheduled from the previous Saturday because of President John Kennedy’s assassination.

Former KARE 11 sports anchor Eric Perkins is the latest “Behind the Game” guest of co-hosts Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson. Perkins is deciding on his next career move. The program is available for viewing on the “Behind the Game” YouTube Channel and via cable access throughout the state.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Beat the Pack Sunday? Read Here

Posted on November 16, 2021November 16, 2021 by David Shama

If on Sunday the Vikings can pull their season record to 5-5 with a home win over the 8-2 NFC North Division leading Packers, public momentum for sending Mike Zimmer to the unemployment line drops a few notches.

If by a miracle the coach eventually gurus his club to the playoffs, and then wins a couple of postseason games, let’s start a Zim for governor campaign. Maybe even send him directly to the White House.

As of today, Zimmer cronies have no plans to set up 2022 campaign headquarters downtown, or on the Iron Range where his persona is a perfect fit.

Amidst gloomy skies last week I predicted the Vikings to win in SoCal against the Chargers. Mostly I foresaw a desperately needed victory last Sunday because of the 3-5 Vikings’ slick running game and the Chargers’ flimsy ability to defend it.

The Packers look surprisingly improved on defense this fall, and the balance they have added to an always dangerous offense is why NFL.com has Green Bay No. 1 in its power rankings of league teams. The Packers shut out the Seahawks Sunday and in their last five games have given up just 58 points.

Dalvin Cook (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Something to watch for Sunday is if talented linebacker Rashan Gary’s hyperextended elbow allows him to play and help control Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook. Packer stud offensive tackle David Bakhtari might return after missing all of the season so far.

Put a question mark near Anthony Barr’s name, too. He missed the Chargers game and his presence is important if the Vikings are to slow Packer power back A.J. Dillon (about 250 pounds). More elusive runner Aaron Jones is injured and won’t play.

Zimmer is 6-7-1 in games against the Packers and Aaron (Houdini) Rodgers. “Our guys have to understand that this guy can make every throw,” Zimmer said Monday. “He can use his legs. He’s very, very smart. He can get them in a lot of good things (situations). So we’re gonna have to be tight in coverage but…we can’t give up big plays as well. They’re spreading the ball around a lot.”

Zimmer won’t pull his career record to .500 against the Packers on Sunday. Nope, not unless Rodgers develops COVID again. He was rusty in his return game last Sunday but the Vikings won’t see more of the layoff effect. At 37 he is playing cocky, looking like a sixth grader toying with fourth graders in a backyard football game. He is still the whole package including amazing elusiveness and poise.

Vikes go to 4-6 Sunday and things will look more dicey for a gubernatorial run.

Worth Noting

Zimmer took a phone call from his friend Deion Sanders during yesterday’s news conference. Asked if Sanders and long time pal Bill Parcells are the biggest headliners in his contact list, Zimmer added Kenny Chesney. “I got a few,” the coach said.

Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins passed for 294 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 109.5 rating in the win over the Chargers. Cousins became the sixth player ever with at least two touchdown passes and a passer rating of 100-or-higher in seven consecutive road games.

Here is something Cousins doesn’t receive enough praise for: His durability. Dating back to playing with Washington in 2015, he has been in every regular season game but one.

Taylor Heinicke, the vagabond quarterback who was with the Vikings as an undrafted rookie in 2015, seems to have found solid ground in Washington where as the starter he led the team to a surprise win over the Super Bowl champion Bucs Sunday.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck gave no indication at his Monday news conference he intends to change starting quarterbacks. During practices backup Zach Annexstad receives significant repetitions but it doesn’t appear he will replace starter Tanner Morgan whose inaccurate passes have become a trend.

Fleck is loyal to Morgan and the two have been through a lot together. The coach values the redshirt senior’s skills in game management and not turning over the ball.

There are passing game issues at receiver, too, and sophomore redshirt WR Dylan Wright who showed playmaking ability earlier in the year is now used sparingly with indications he isn’t meeting expectations. “Guys earn their playing time,” Fleck answered briefly when responding to a question about Wright’s status.

Stats whiz Daniel House from the Gophers Guru website reports Minnesota ranks 116th in explosive plays out of 130 college football teams.

Fleck reported no significant injuries from the Iowa game, leaving the assumption everyone could be ready for Indiana in Bloomington on Saturday. “We came out pretty healthy.”

Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne, 80, enjoys part of the year at his condo in Florida that is just a few miles from the residence of former Gophers football coach Glen Mason, who is also back and forth between Minneapolis and the “sunshine state.”

The former North Stars president and GM remains captivated by second-season Wild forward Kirill Kaprzov. “He’s got skills very few players have,” Nanne said.

Nanne said the NHL Western Conference race is so tight with competitive teams. “It’s going to be crazy.”

The Wild? “They’ll definitely make the playoffs,” he said.

The Land O’Lakes Center for Excellence has many Gophers athletes walk through its halls every day. It’s a welcoming place where athletes greet and open doors for one another and visitors. On one wall are paper signs people have written about what it means to belong. (See photo).

The Wild, Wolves, Gophers hockey and basketball are facing ticket selling challenges. A hockey industry source said season ticket totals for the Wild and Wolves are unusually low at less than 8,000 each. Empty seats at Gopher hockey are some of the best in the arena. Gophers basketball is under 6,000 public season tickets.

With Stan Bowman out as GM for the 2022 US Olympic men’s hockey team it seems Wild boss Bill Guerin could move up from assistant GM.

The Wild can break series ties with rivals this week at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild face the Sharks (34-34-8 all-time) tonight and Thursday evening the Stars (33-33-13). The Stars game is a homecoming for defenseman Ryan Suter who is second all-time in franchise assists for the Wild, and second in points and games played.

Chris Wright, the recently retired United executive and before that president of the Timberwolves, will keep homes in Eden Prairie and Naples, Florida, plus visiting his 98-year-old mom in his native England.

Dave Mona, former co-host of the “WCCO Radio Sports Huddle,” will co-host with wife Linda a Fan in the Stands trip for the station and Holiday Vacations to Fort Myers to watch Twins spring training March 15-20.

Dick Jonckowski, Minnesota’s prominent master of ceremonies, emcees the Minnesota Old Timers Hockey luncheon at Mancini’s Char House November 22.

Lynx GM and coach Cheryl Reeve was the keynote speaker Friday at the annual meeting of the Twin Cities Compensation Network. Her comments included gender equity.

Comments Welcome

Gophers Need a Lift at Quarterback

Posted on November 14, 2021 by David Shama

It’s time for the University of Minnesota football coaches to consider replacing Tanner Morgan at quarterback. A struggling Morgan has been too inconsistent this season and he faltered again yesterday in Minnesota’s 27-22 loss to Iowa.

With the Gophers leading 13-10 early in the third quarter, Morgan’s sideline pass to an open Chris Autman-Bell was too high, and the errant throw cost Minnesota a third down conversion. The Gophers punted to Iowa and the Hawkeyes scored on a 72-yard touchdown pass on their first play to take a lead they never gave up in the battle for possession of Floyd of Rosedale.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said at his postgame news conference the timing of the throw was early. “That was a critical play in the game,” said Fleck who is now 0-5 in the border rivalry with Iowa.

Morgan’s passes were off-target throughout the game, including balls that just sailed beyond his receivers. He completed 14 of 30 passes for 183 yards including a 68-yard strike to Autman-Bell for a fourth quarter touchdown.

Morgan had multiple near interceptions in the loss that knocked the Gophers out of a four-way first place tie in the Big Ten West Division. A short quarterback by Big Ten standards, Morgan’s passes are frequently tipped by defenders rushing toward him with raised hands in the air.

After the Gophers scored late in the fourth quarter on the Autman-Bell pass, they trailed 24-22. That set up a two-point conversion attempt where Morgan rolled to his right and threw toward the end zone only to have his pass knocked down.

In the closing minutes, behind by two points, Morgan and the Gophers had opportunities to change the score. Not a playmaker with his legs, Morgan couldn’t create extra yards, or time to throw the ball, when plays broke down.

It wasn’t just the quarterback who was inconsistent in the passing scheme. The receivers dropped too many passes, or didn’t make difficult catches, or even get open. That kind of performance has been another flaw in the Minnesota offense this season. The Gophers have nowhere near the receiving talent of two years ago when Morgan was so impressive throwing to all-conference playmakers Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman.

“You’d like to be able to see more completions, that’s for sure,” Fleck said. “Too many drops.”

The coaching staff’s responsibility is to provide more capable receivers than Minnesota has shown. That has to be considered a recruiting failure and it’s uncertain how the receiver roster gets fixed in the offseason.

The Gophers, 6-4 overall, 4-3 in Big Ten games, have remaining games at Indiana and home against Wisconsin. Then there will be a yet to be determined bowl game. Morgan is a wonderful person, terrific leader and outstanding game manager, but the present circumstances and timing provide an opportunity for a shakeup at quarterback.

Fleck has four scholarship quarterbacks behind Morgan who to his credit has helped win a lot of games since becoming the starter after the 2018 season was underway. Two of them, redshirt junior Zack Annexstad and redshirt sophomore Cole Kramer, have game experience.

Annexstad lost his job to Morgan in 2018 after he was injured. Annexstad has started seven games for Minnesota and has a stronger arm than Morgan. Kramer has been effective in the wildcat formation this season and has thrown two touchdown passes. He is the best runner among the quarterbacks and has exceptional on-field poise.

A change in the quarterbacks now could spark a passing game that has struggled in painful close losses to Bowling Green, Illinois and Iowa. A quarterback who could provide an occasional running threat in the option offense will make the superb running game even better. Ability to throw with more arm strength can get the ball down the field faster.

Indiana, 0-7 in the Big Ten, was a preseason top 20 team but has been hit hard by key injuries. Yesterday the Hoosiers lost 38-3 to mediocre Rutgers. Although the Hoosiers will try to rally for their final home game next Saturday, their win probability is about 20 percent. That’s a prime stage and opponent to give a start to Kramer or Annexstad.

A solid contribution from the quarterback and a Gopher victory improves the possibility of an upset against a hot Badgers team on a six-game winning streak. Although the Gophers have home field advantage, Minnesota has about a 30 percent likelihood of winning the game as things appear now.

If the Gophers change quarterbacks for the last three games of 2021 and his play elevates the offense that will be welcome news for next season. The development would set expectations for a much more balanced offense that is likely to include the return of All-American tailback Mo Ibrahim.

In yesterday’s game a sideline TV shot of Fleck showed him wringing his hands on a crucial play. At his news conference, the frustration of the loss was perhaps more evident than any time in his Gopher career. Being 0-5 against Iowa is painful.

Fleck’s record against his other border rival is 1-3. The coaches need to decide if another QB gives them a better path to making their record 2-3 against Wisconsin and again taking possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

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