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.

Looks Like Vikes Commit to Running Game Most in KOC Era

Posted on June 16, 2025June 16, 2025 by David Shama

Enjoy a Monday notes column.

The Vikings’ recent contract extension with backup tight end Josh Oliver adds to speculation the offense will be more committed to the running game than at any time in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s three previous seasons. Oliver is a superb blocker and superior with that skill to starter T.J. Hockenson.

Kevin O’Connell image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

According to Pro Football Focus, Oliver led NFL tight ends with a 74.2 run blocking grade in 2024 (minimum 50 percent block snaps played) and earned the fourth-highest grade during the 2023 season with a 73.9.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips has indicated there will be times the Vikings will have both Oliver and Hockenson on the field to add size and muscle. While the two could be in the game for blocking, Hockenson is one of the NFL’s most gifted big yardage receivers and could break off the line of scrimmage and run an explosive pass pattern.

The Vikings are expected to emphasize the run game to ease the transition and workload on new quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The 22-year-old, who missed his rookie season after injuring a knee, figures to hand the ball off on at least 50 percent of the snaps to his running backs.

That RB roster includes Aaron Jones, last year’s starter. The Vikings signed him to a multi-year contract in early March before he could hit free agency. He started all 17 games for the Vikings, with career highs of 255 carries, and 1,138 yards. He also had 51 catches for 408 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

In another March move that has potential to aid the running game, the Vikings worked a trade with San Francisco involving draft choices and Jordan Mason, the 49ers RB who led the team in rushing last season with a career-high 789 yards. Mason, who will be in his fourth NFL season in 2025, ranked sixth in the NFL in yards after contact per rush (3.62) according to TruMedia, and seventh in yards per rush (5.2). Among players with a minimum of 150 rushing attempts last season, he led the NFL in missed tackles forced at 37.3 percent, according to Next Gen Stats.

Look for times next fall where both Jones and Mason are on the field together, Phillips indicated recently. Maybe with two tight ends, too.

College basketball coaches are usually former players, but the Golden Gophers program is a bit different. Head coach Niko Medved is a former student manager under ex-head coach Clem Haskins at Minnesota in the 1990s. Medved assistant coach Aaron Katsuma and his director of scouting and analytics Drew Evenson are both former managers with the Gophers.

Ryan Saunders, the former Gopher player and Timberwolves head coach, is no longer an assistant coach with the NBA Nuggets. New head coach David Adelman, son of former Wolves head coach Rick Adelman, has reorganized the staff.

At 39 Saunders is probably open to taking a college coaching position for the first time in his career.

Saunders’ wife Hayley gave birth to daughter Grace Leigh on February 23. That would have been the 70th birthday of Ryan’s dad Flip Saunders, the deceased former head coach of the Wolves and a savvy point guard who was a Gopher basketball favorite.

Tim Connelly, the Wolves president of basketball operations, should have fans on the edge of their collective seats as to what’s next with the roster. Since being hired in the summer of 2022, he has pulled off dramatic trades that first brought Rudy Gobert here and later traded away Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Twins, 5-9 in June, have pitching problems that probably have already sunk their chances of winning the Central Division and threaten earning a wild card entry in the playoffs. The starting pitching rotation is troubled, and third baseman Royce Lewis is sidelined with yet another hamstring injury.

Staff ace Pablo Lopez is on the 60-day Injured List. His replacement, Zebby Matthews, is on the 15-day. Bailey Ober, a mainstay in the rotation with Lopez, Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack, is struggling with his mechanics.

The Twins were swept by the Astros over the weekend. Minnesota entered yesterday’s game with a staff ERA of 6.39 in June. That compares with 3.11 in May and 3.54 March-April.

Minnesota is 3-8 in its last 11 games, and 8-13 in the previous 21. At 36-35, the Twins are barely holding on to second place and are nine games behind the Central Division leading Tigers.

FanGraphs gives the Twins a 7.2 percent chance of beating out the Tigers but 42.1 percent likelihood of making the playoffs. That could be optimistic for a pitching staff down two starters and a bullpen that while elite has been taxed with a lot of innings already this season.

The way it looks now the Twins will have at least two representatives on the American League All-Star team for the July 15 All-Star Game in Atlanta. Center fielder Byron Buxton, 31, should be a starter because of his hitting, fielding and base running this spring. Reliever Johan Duran, 27, has saved 10 games working out of perhaps baseball’s best bullpen, and has a 4-2 record with a 1.64 ERA.

This would be Buxton’s second All-Star Game, having homered in two at bats as a reserve in 2022. Duran would be making his debut.

Buxton signed a seven-year contract for $100 million in December of 2021, according to MLB.com. That deal includes staggered bonus amounts if he places in the top 10 for the league MVP Award. He won’t win the award this year (would bring $8 million) but he receives $3 million for a finish between sixth and 10^th.

Duran is a steal for the Twins at a reported $4.15 million.

Ryan, among the winningest pitchers in the majors this season, could also represent the Twins as a first-time member of the AL All-Star staff. Ryan, 29, with a 7-2 record and ERA of 2.93, is the club’s best pitcher with Lopez sidelined.

Sam Udovich, the Cretin-Derham Hall senior who recently won the boys’ golf 3A state tournament, will be on scholarship at TCU where the program celebrates its 100^th year in 2026.

Humor department: My friend Bob Klas remembered the late Murray Warmath’s take on golf. The Golden Gophers football coach said he’d do anything to improve, “except practice.”

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Guess Who Tops Favorites List of the Twins Last 25 Seasons

Posted on June 10, 2025June 10, 2025 by David Shama

The Twins are 25 years into the new millennium. It’s been a historic period in franchise history with the opening of Target Field, division titles and ending that infamous streak of 18 consecutive post-season losses.

To honor the 25 years, I am selecting two personal favorites from the era. One choice will be about as surprising as the sunrise tomorrow. The other might have you guessing for 10 minutes.

No one put his fingerprints on Twins history over the last 25 years like Joe Mauer. My other selection, Francisco Liriano, only teased at sustained superstardom for a brief time but he captured my favor forever.

Both players played major roles in the Twins extraordinary 2006 season. The Central Division champions had the American League MVP in Justin Morneau, batting champion in Mauer, Cy Young Award winning in Johan Santana, a sixth consecutive Gold Glove Award winner in Tori Hunter, and Liriano a lights out pitcher who might have been both the Cy Young winner and Rookie of the Year if not for late season arm trouble.

Liriano photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins

In one of the best trades in Twins’ history, general manager Terry Ryan had brought Liriano to the organization in a 2003 deal with the Giants that also obtained pitchers Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser for catcher A.J. Pierzynski. After the trade Ryan remembered “everybody raving about him (Liriano)” in the farm system.

Liriano pitched briefly for the Twins in 2005 and then was more than ready in the spring of 2006 when manager Ron Gardenhire put the left-hander in the starting rotation. “He never really skipped a beat from Triple-A to the big leagues,” Ryan told Sports Headliners. “He had velocity. He had control. He had command.

“He had the slider that was an out pitch. He had an excellent change up. You know with he and Santana, they both had those changeups—difference makers. So, he had a complete mix.

“He was a good athlete. He had a good makeup about him; nothing seemed to faze him. ….”

Liriano’s dominance from May until early August when he injured his arm was breath taking to watch. During that short stretch he was the best Twins pitcher in franchise history this observer ever saw.

The Twins were almost certain to win when Liriano went to the mound. He put together a streak of eight quality starts (per MLB.com) and was named to the American League All-Star team. Ryan referred to that magical run of 2006 as “phenomenal.”

Liriano was a strike out pitching machine, partially because of a nasty slider that Ryan described as unhittable while also praising the then 22-year-old’s velocity. “I don’t care if you’re left-handed or right handed (hitter), you couldn’t hit it. Because it had power and it had severe bite, and he could locate it, and he wasn’t afraid to throw it in any count.

“Whether he was two and one; three and one; 0-2, he’d throw it. He didn’t have any problem with location, complete confidence in an out pitch, especially with left handers where they didn’t stand a chance against that pitch.”

Liriano had a 1.96 ERA into August of 2006 but then hurt his arm. He made only two starts in the last two months of the season. Still, his season numbers were gaudy: 12-3 record, 2.16 ERA, 144 strikeouts in 121 innings with opposing batters hitting .205. In a full season it might have been Liriano, not Santana who won the Cy Young Award.

“Liriano and Santana were about as impressive a tandem on a starting staff as you could ever hope for,” Ryan said. “And there was no chance that we were going to go on any extended losing streak with those two guys on the staff. Because each time either one of those guys took the mound you had a pretty good feeling you had a very good chance of winning that game that particular night.”

Before Liriano got hurt it looked like the Twins had the makings of a future World Series champion. Perhaps even in 2006. Ryan described the loss of Liriano as “devastating” to that team. “When he went down it really set us back,” Ryan said.

Liriano missed the entire 2007 season after having Tommy John surgery in late 2006. He stayed with the Twins into the 2012 season before being sent to the White Sox. He had a quality 2010 season with the Twins winning 14 games and later in his career won 16 for the Pirates. But injuries plagued his career before officially retiring in January of 2022.

It seems like Joseph Patrick Mauer, born and raised in St. Paul, has been in the spotlight forever. At Cretin-Derham Hall in the late 1990s he was a headline maker on the local sports pages. He was terrific on the basketball court, a five-star college quarterback prospect and so coveted in baseball he became the first overall selection in the 2001 MLB Draft. The Twins chose Mauer over pitcher Mark Prior and it was a wise decision because spurning the local kid for a guy who had an okay career on the mound would have been a disaster.

Ryan said the Twins might have scouted Mauer more than any prospect he knows of. “…I think we got a lot of things right on him. His make up was phenomenal. Tremendous athlete. He had a desire (to excel). He was a quiet leader.

“His demeanor was unbelievably calm. Those types of guys, they had that low pulse. They don’t get overreacting. They don’t get over excited. They just go about their business.”

By 2004 Mauer was the team’s starting catcher and taking the first steps of a legendary 15-year career in the majors, all with the Twins. The 6-foot-4, left-hand hitting Mauer won three American League batting titles, five Silver Slugger Awards and was the 2009 AL MVP Award. His production that year was the stuff of baseball immortals, hitting a career-high 28 home runs along with a .365 batting average and best-ever 96 RBI.

A Sports Illustrated cover boy, he is the only AL catcher ever to win a batting title. Six times he was named an AL all-star.

Mauer was a superb catcher superb catcher who showed off a quarterback’s arm in targeting base runners. His marvelous athleticism made him capable of even catching a foul ball behind his back or reaching behind the protective netting to snag a ball. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner as a catcher and probably deserved to win one after moving to first base late in his career.

“He was probably one of the greatest athletic catchers that came a long in the game,” Ryan said.

Mauer was voted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2023. The ultimate post-career honor came in 2024 when he was a first=ballot selection for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Ask Ryan how special Mauer was and you will hear about the man as well as the player. “Well, he’s a Hall of Famer for a reason. He’s got tools. He’s got makeup. He’s a great teammate.

“Great human being. He was raised well and. …And he hasn’t changed. I’ve been around him quite a bit since he retired, and he hasn’t changed at all”.

Mauer is a legend and he’s one of us. He put his stamp all over the first 25 years of the new millennium and we’re all the better for it.

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Even in Spring College Football Magazine Brings Excitement

Posted on June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 by David Shama

At the Walgreen’s checkout line on Friday, I was surprised to see a college football magazine for sale. I almost gagged at the price of $14.99 but simultaneously fell into a state of ecstasy.

Everyone should have something that takes them back to their favorite childhood endeavor. At the top of my list is and was searching the magazine shelves at a pharmacy or bookstore for the first college football publication of the year.

I couldn’t resist buying Athlon’s magazine, even at a ridiculous cost of $16.27 including tax. Don’t tell Athlon but $22 is probably my ceiling.

Years ago, it was usually Street & Smith’s that was out first. It was a comprehensive national preview, and you didn’t need a small loan to buy it.

Steet & Smith’s magazine hit newsstands in August. Decades ago, the college football season didn’t start until mid-September or later in the month. Now the preview publications will be out in June, partially because the season starts in late August.

As a youth, I was waiting for the Gophers’ return to Big Ten glory and national championships. That’s what my elders talked about, the great legacy of Minnesota football. I rushed to the store with anticipation that a Gopher player might be a magazine cover boy. Couldn’t wait in the 1950s and 1960s to see if Minnesota was forecast among the nation’s elite.

Nowadays, I still get excited about buying and reading the magazines, but with tempered expectations, of course. Yes, I am ready for whatever fortunes are forecast for the Maroon and Gold, but I am also curious to see what the Big Ten and national landscape is supposed to be.

Know that Athlon lists Minnesota No. 42 in its 2025 rankings of 136 college football teams. Matthew McConnaughey’s Texas Longhorns are No. 1, and the Golden Flashes of Kent State are No. 136.

Athlon predicts Minnesota will finish 11^th in the 18 team Big Ten Conference. That’s not a lofty forecast but the magazine thinks the Gophers can have a winning season and forecasts a postseason appearance against the Big 12’s Baylor Bears at the Rate Bowl in Phoenix.

Bears beware! The Gophers have won eight consecutive bowl games, including six straight under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

I do have something else Gopher fans can strut about. Sophomore safety and wunderkind Koi Perich is an Athlon third-team defense All-American and first team All-Big Ten. As the magazines come out and national award candidates are announced, the preseason recognition will mount for the Esko, Minnesota native who figures to impact games this fall as a defender, special teams player and even offensive threat.

Fleck will be in his ninth season leading the Gophers program. His best season was in 2019 when the Gophers finished 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll.

The notion from some skeptics endures that Fleck will use the Gopher job as a stepping stone. Athlon reinforced that with a quote from an opposing Big Ten assistant coach.

“…It’s no secret Fleck wants to be at a high-end, title contending program,” he said anonymously. “This doesn’t look like a ’19 season on paper, but if they win nine games or so, he’ll be on the hunt to move.”

I am going to sign off now and get back to devouring Athlon’s pages. Doesn’t everyone want to know what awaits not only the power conference teams but also the likes of Kennesaw State, Old Dominion and Liberty (not the insurance company).

If you see an older guy with a stack of magazines at Barnes & Noble any time soon be sure to lend a hand. Or maybe a couple of bucks. This stuff is expensive!

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