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.

Twins Kept the Faith in Signing Cruz

Posted on February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 by David Shama

The Minnesota Twins and free agent Nelson Cruz have agreed to a one-year contract keeping him with the team in 2021. The agreement culminates an off-season of speculation whether the 40-year-old DH would return to an organization he’s made a major impact on during two previous years.

“There has been an ongoing dialogue throughout the offseason,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners today while talking about negotiations. “We’ve always been optimistic that he was going to be a Twin.”

After last season both Cruz and the Twins expressed interest in renewing the relationship in 2021. “We take him at his word,” St. Peter said. “He’s told us… repeatedly, both last season and certainly through the off-season, that Minnesota was a very special place for him, and a place he would love to come back to.”

Twins management, though, had to consider the possibility a deal wouldn’t work out. Other personnel for DH were considered but Cruz was the target. “This was Plan A all along for us,” St. Peter said. “There’s certainly other players that potentially could have been acquired via trade, or what have you, but Nelson Cruz brings so much on the field. Maybe even more off the field in terms of the impact he has in our clubhouse, in our dugout, in our player development system and in our community. So he’s a huge asset for the Twins and we’re thrilled to have him as part of our organization.”

Dave St. Peter (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

The mutual respect between the organization and Cruz was pivotal in continuing the relationship. “He’s deserved of that respect,” St. Peter said. “I think Nelson has really appreciated being part of the Twins organization. …I think it’s somewhere he feels very comfortable, he feels very welcome. I think he feels very much a part of the fabric of the Twins organization and to some extent the fabric of the Twin Cities. He’s loved spending his last couple of years in Minnesota.”

Cruz is credited with making a major contribution to that environment in many ways including being a model for other players in taking care of his body. His disciplined approach to training and nutrition are well documented. “He is quite a physical specimen and is obviously in tremendous shape at the age of 40,” St. Peter said.

With experience has come wisdom including knowledge about pitchers and general expertise of his profession. “His baseball related intellect is elite,” St. Peter said. “He understands the game inside and out.”

Cruz was a major contributor at bat last season when the Twins won the AL Central Division. He won the 2020 American League DH Silver Slugger Award in a vote by AL coaches and managers. In 53 games he hit .303 with six doubles, 16 home runs, 33 RBI, 33 runs scored, 25 walks, a .397 on-base percentage, a .595 slugging percentage and a .992 OPS. He ranked third in league on-base percentage, fourth in OPS, fifth in slugging percentage, tied for fifth in home runs and was seventh in batting average.

Last year Cruz was honored with the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award at the ESPY Awards. He also received MLB’s 2020 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, an honor voted on by his peers for a player they “most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.”

Jim Dutcher Talks Gopher Road Woes

The Gophers basketball team is in a road funk, with a 0-5 Big Ten record. All losses have been by double-digit defeats and full of embarrassing performances. Next up is a game Thursday night at Rutgers, winners of three consecutive conference games and with a 6-6 league record, 10-6 overall.

It will be interesting to see what the energy and collective confidence is of the Minnesota players. Are things at the point where the Gophers have taken a hit to their confidence? “Oh, I think it has to,” former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners.

Minnesota built a double-digit lead in the first half of last Saturday’s game at Purdue. Early in the second half the Boilermakers took the lead and won 81-62. “Once they got caught by Purdue, the game was over,” Dutcher said.

Dutcher, who coached the Gophers to the 1982 Big Ten title and remains a close observer of college basketball, stresses defense is the key in winning road games. “They’ve just had too many defensive breakdowns on the road, where teams end up having big second halves,” he said.

In addition to improved defense, ask Dutcher how the Gophers can build confidence on the road and he suggests playing inferior road opponents. He isn’t joking and points out that unfortunately for the Gophers their January 20 game scheduled in Lincoln against Nebraska (0-5 in the Big Ten) couldn’t be played because the Cornhuskers were dealing with COVID-19.

Minnesota’s remaining road games are at Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana and Penn State. Maryland is 3-7 in league games but used physical play to dominant Minnesota at Williams Arena last month (63-49 win). Indiana is 4-6 in Big Ten games and defeated Maryland at home and top-10 ranked Iowa on the road. Penn State, 3-7 in conference games, is 5-2 at home.

The Gophers, 4-6 in league games and 11-6 overall, are part of a talented and deep Big Ten. Minnesota has impressive home wins, including over Big Ten title contenders Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State to boost its resume for an NCAA Tournament invitation. More success is a must. “They’re going to need some wins along the way, either now or in the conference tournament, because they’re not a lock to go to the (NCAA) tournament right now,” Dutcher said.

Even Minnesota’s best player and leading scorer, point guard Marcus Carr, is struggling on the road, with one of his most difficult games coming against Purdue. A candidate for All-Big Ten, Carr scored six points, making 2 of 13 field goals and going 0-5 on three-point attempts.

“He certainly looked like he wasn’t a very confident player at Purdue,” Dutcher said. “Got off to a bad start. To his credit he was trying to get everybody else involved, but everybody else wasn’t scoring. …He’s a quality player. He just, like the rest of the team, has not been a confident player on the road.”

Worth Noting

Todd Downing, the former Eden Prairie High School and Minnesota Vikings assistant coach, is the new offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. Downing also played for the Eagles and longtime coach Mike Grant, who texted congratulations. “I just said give it to the big boys,” Grant told Sports Headliners.

Grant anticipates Downing is excited about his promotion from tight ends coach to OC. “I’d be excited, too. It probably pays $1 million a year,” Grant said.

Anonymous hockey authority talking about physical foes and 5-9, 200-pound Minnesota Wild rookie Kirill Kaprizov: “Put him on a milkshake and double cheeseburger diet.”

Capital Club organizer Patrick Klinger is excited about upcoming speakers via Zoom on February 26 and March 11, with Kim Davis and Jason Wright respectively. Davis is Executive Vice president, Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs for the NHL. In 2012 she was profiled with First Lady Michelle Obama in Essence magazine’s “28 most influential Black women in America.”

Wright is the NFL’s first Black team president, serving in that role for the Washington Football Team. At age 38 he is the youngest team president in the league and only the fourth former player (four different teams) ever to serve in that position.

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Glen Taylor: No Interest in KAT Trade

Posted on February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by David Shama

Speculation persists the Minnesota Timberwolves might be trade partners in a deal involving their most valued player, 25-year-old former all-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT).

Even last off-season there were rumors the Wolves could part with Towns. Asked about the truth of those rumors, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said, “No, absolutely not. I don’t know where they (the rumors) would come from.”

Towns averaged 18.3 points per game and was NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2015-2016 season. He has averaged over 20 points per game each season since and in 2018 signed a five-year contract with Minnesota. “We’re building the team around him,” Taylor told Sports Headliners this morning.

Part of why Towns is targeted for trade speculation is the Wolves haven’t found much success on the floor, making the playoffs just once since he joined the team. Does Taylor know of Towns having a desire to play elsewhere?

“If anything he has indicated the opposite,” Taylor said. “He likes the coach (Ryan Saunders). He likes playing here and he’s just sorry he’s not out there playing.”

Because of COVID, Towns hasn’t played since January 13 but he will return soon. “I would think it would be this week, yes,” Taylor said. (Towns will not play in tonight’s game in Cleveland against the Cavs).

With COVID protocol and a wrist injury earlier, Towns has only played in four games for the 5-14 Wolves who are in last place in the Western Conference. The team has won two of eight games without Towns, including a 109-104 victory over the Cavs in Minneapolis last night.

The team record is a clear disappointment to Taylor who made it known before the season he expected the club to make the playoffs. “I just expected them to do better than they have,” Taylor said.

But despite the slow start, Taylor is still anticipating his team in the playoffs later this year. “I recognize that it’s going to be difficult, but on the other hand, there’s other teams that aren’t performing up to their expectations, too, and I guess we just gotta catch them.”

Taylor thinks the Wolves can have better results even without Towns in the lineup. “I don’t know why there’s this much difference (without Towns). There were some games we played pretty well. Almost all the games we lose, we go through a streak, maybe a quarter of the game, where we just have difficulty putting up shots, and I don’t know that you can tie that just on one person. There’s gotta be somebody else out there that can take the leadership role and…score during those difficult periods.”

Towns had a friendship with high scoring point guard D’Angelo Russell even before the Wolves acquired him last winter. The two haven’t played much together yet, nor have they seen many minutes with 2020 NBA first round overall draft choice Anthony Edwards, another gifted scorer. “Potentially we have some firepower there,” Taylor said. “We just gotta get them on the floor.”

Worth Noting

Word is the Minnesota Twins remain optimistic about signing free agent DH Nelson Cruz and free agent right-hand pitcher Jake Odorizzi. A source told Sports Headliners a Cruz deal could be for two years, the Odorizzi contract for one.

The Capital Club, via Zoom, will hear from Dave St. Peter of the Twins and Mike Veeck and Derek Scharrer from the St. Paul Saints Thursday morning.

Because of the pandemic it’s uncertain when the Saints will begin their first season as a Twins Triple A affiliate. Twins fans are curious to see who among the team’s top minor league prospects will be on the Saints roster.

If shortstop Royce Lewis is in St. Paul, it’s a lock fans will flock to CHS Field. MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects, announced on Friday, ranks Lewis No. 17. The other Minnesota prospects on the list are outfielder-first baseman Alex Kirilloff, No. 26; outfielder Trevor Larnach, No. 80; and right-hand pitcher Jordan Balazovic, No. 97.

Former Gophers right-hand pitcher Max Meyer, now with the Miami Marlins, is No. 27.

Ex-Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario has reportedly signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Indians and he has a successful history at Progressive Field. As a visiting player he has a .353 average and 1.031 OPS, per a Friday MLB.com story. His 11 home runs, 12 doubles and three triples are career bests in any road stadium.

The current bid this morning was $270,000 on the Heritage Auctions website for a mint condition Topps 1954 Hank Aaron rookie card.

Minnesota (center Liam Robbins and guard Marcus Carr) and Illinois (center Kofi Cockburn and guard Ayo Dosunmu) are the only schools that have players who are top 10 candidates on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award and Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.

Harvey Mackay, the New York Times best selling author and former Gopher golfer, shared memories with Sports Headliners of his 32-year friendship with the late Larry King who died January 23. The famous talk show host interviewed Mackay many times about his business and motivational books, and the two formed a close relationship.

“Larry loved boxing and Muhammad Ali,” Mackay said via email. “He once wrote in his column in USA Today that meeting Muhammad was ‘the biggest thrill in my life … I couldn’t sleep last night … chills running up and down my spine.’

“One night I was having dinner with Larry in New York, and I brought Muhammad with me as a surprise. Suddenly a woman came up and said, ‘Oh, Mr. Mackay, I’ve read all your books … Can I have your autograph?’

“Larry went nuts and said, ‘Don’t you know who this is? This is Muhammad Ali. Don’t you want his autograph?’

“I looked at Larry and said you bit it hook, line and sinker. I paid her $50 an hour to come up and ask for my autograph. We were still laughing about that years later. But the point is don’t ever be boring. Don’t be predictable. Show some creativity with your friends and have some fun.”

Mackay’s latest book came out last month, “Getting a Job is a Job.”

Sign of the times: various online reports in the last few days have the NHL borrowing $1 billion to help its fiscally troubled franchises. In December the NBA reportedly borrowed $900 million to assist its franchises.

The prep Mr. Football Award winner will be announced February 21 via Zoom. The Vikings and Minnesota Football Coaches Association sponsor the Mr. Football Award and the ten 2020 finalists are: Shea Albrecht, Orono; Joe Alt, Totino-Grace; Cameron Anderson, Blue Earth Area; Trey Feeney, Moorhead; Nick Flaskamp, Minneapolis Southwest; Marcus Hansen, Waseca; Eli Mau, Chanhassen; Jake Ratzlaff, Rosemount, Garrison Solliday, St. Thomas Academy; Adam Tonsfeldt, Barnesville.

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Twins Hope for Fans at April Opener

Posted on January 27, 2021January 27, 2021 by David Shama

The Minnesota Twins 2021 home opener is scheduled for April 8 at Target Field against the Detroit Tigers. Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he is upbeat about the potential return of fans to home games after the pandemic made that impossible last year.

“We’re engaged in a conversation with the Governor’s Office and the Minnesota Department of Health about our potential of returning fans to Target Field here in April,” St. Peter said in Monday’s interview. “Additional conversations need to be had but in general we’re optimistic about our ability to return fans to Target Field. It’s to be determined whether that will be in April, or not. We’re working towards that.”

Nothing will be announced soon regarding fans back at the ballpark. “We’re several weeks away, maybe a month away from clarity in Minnesota and our ability to have fans,” St. Peter said.

The most exciting return, of course, would be April 8. “We’re shooting for opening day April 8^th but, again, the Governor’s Office, the Department of Health, they’re going to help guide us on this, and we don’t take anything for granted relative to the virus.”

It’s all but certain that whenever fans return, the number of attendees will be restricted. “Whether that’s at 10 percent, 15 percent, 25 percent, again, that’s to be determined,” St. Peter said. “But I think it’s safe to say we will crawl before we walk, we will walk before we run relative to the number of fans we allow into the ballpark at any given time.”

Vaccinations and “herd immunity” are expected to help ease the COVID-19 virus as the year progresses. MLB hopes the number of fans attending games will increase during the season as safety measures evolve. Still, it will be a cautious road ahead and difficult in multiple ways including financially for MLB franchises who claim total debt was in the billions of dollars last year. “There’s no scenario we (the Twins) will not lose money in 2021,” St. Peter said.

Twins pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training in Fort Myers February 17, with a workout the next day and the balance of the roster checking in a few days later. Personnel will have daily COVID testing, wear masks and social distance. At the club’s CenturyLink Sports Complex spaces are being modified for clubhouse use as part of the effort to distance players. There will be other policies, St. Peter said, for dining and use of facilities like the weight room.

In the past fans have visited the complex, including for an annual open house and watching workouts. Because of the pandemic, access will be restricted to game days at Hammond Stadium.

Tickets for Twins spring training games are expected to go on sale soon but St. Peter believes capacity will likely be limited. Restrictions on the number of fans who can attend each game are expected to be in place throughout the spring training schedule.

The Twins won their division last year, took a quick exit from the playoffs and have the same ambitious goal again—earn their way to the World Series and a possible championship for the first time since 1991. “We like our club a lot,” St. Peter said. “We think we’re really well positioned for success in 2021. But we’re always looking for more pitching, and clearly there are a lot of good players on the board, both pitchers, and position players and bats.

“So we fully expect we’re going to add additional talent here before spring training. The way we approach it, we don’t necessarily think about it as one option. There is always a variety of plans and you can improve your club a lot of different ways.”

The Twins and many MLB clubs have been mostly quiet with offseason moves. Trades are possible, but most interesting is what St. Peter refers to as a “historic” number of free agents available on the market. “We’ll look to take advantage of that,” he said.

Multiple online sources yesterday said acquisition activity is heating up for the Twins, reporting the club has agreed to a $10.5 million deal with free agent Andrelton Simmons. He’s a proficient and versatile infielder who will impact the Minnesota defense including at shortstop.

Minnesota’s highest paid player Josh Donaldson ($92 million) was injured much of last season, his first with the team, and didn’t see the field in the playoffs. The Twins were 19-9 with him in the lineup, 17-15 without him during the regular season, per a December 16 MLB.com story. The slugging third baseman could be the team’s MVP in 2021.

“He’s a great player,” St. Peter said. “He makes us better defensively. He obviously makes us better offensively. We need to keep him on the diamond and I know Josh feels that way as well. We’re optimistic that he will be ready to go. …”

Another veteran the media and fans will scrutinize is bullpen closer Taylor Rogers whose ERA increased from 2.61 in 2019 to 4.05 in 2020. “All his metrics were really good, some of it I think was (bad) luck, to be frank,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter admires Rogers for more than his pitching skills: “High character, really smart, great teammate, cares about people in the community. So yeah, we’re thrilled to have him in a Twins uniform.”

Worth Noting

Triple A teams like the St. Paul Saints are scheduled to open their seasons in April when the big league clubs start. Because of the pandemic, though, start dates could be adjusted.

A Collegefootballnews.com story this week ranks the 14 Big Ten football teams 1-7 in each division. The Gophers are No. 2 in the West behind Wisconsin. Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, Nebraska and Illinois follow. Ohio State is No. 1 in the East, followed by Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, Michigan State, Rutgers and Maryland.

Adam Mayer, the former Gophers wide receiver, is living in the northern California Bay Area and involved with finance and accounting recruiting. Dad Barry Mayer, the ex-Gopher running back, is mostly retired after a sales career in California and back in Minnesota substitute teaching K-12 and presenting for the Positive Coaching Alliance.

Commercials for this year’s Super Bowl are $5.5 million per ad, and down from $5.6 million in 2020, according to the Tuesday Front Office Sports email newsletter.

The newsletter also reported the NCAA’s year-end August 31, 2020 financials showed a $56 million loss for the organization and less than half of the $600 million in planned distributions was sent to Division I conferences.

The prep Mr. Football Award winner is usually announced in December at a banquet but the 2021 recipient will be revealed April 21 via Zoom. The award is sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and Minnesota Vikings.

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