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.

City Fighter Seeks Bigger Spotlight

Posted on June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 by David Shama

Jamal James of Minneapolis is the No. 5 ranked middleweight by the WBC and is positioned for more notoriety. He headlines the July 13 pro boxing card at the historic Minneapolis Armory that will include nationally-televised bouts.

James, 25-1, fights Mexico’s Antonio DeMarco, 33-7-1, in a 10-round bout that will be seen on FS1. James has 12 career knockouts, DeMarco, 24. DeMarco is a former world lightweight champion.

James fights in both the welterweight and middleweight divisions. His bout with DeMarco is listed as a welterweight matchup, but middleweight is where he could make an even bigger name for himself. A local boxing insider emailed this prediction about James: “…Definitely in the global conversation for a title fight.”

The middleweight division is loaded with talent including WBA title holder Manny Pacquiao, 61-7-2. He fights Keith Thurman, 29-0, next month. IBF, WBO and WBC are other organizations where James might have a path to title opportunities.

Professional boxing has found a home at the Armory and continues to generate awareness in this marketplace. The building was once the site of Minneapolis Lakers and city high school basketball games. Renovated now and being used for corporate events and entertainment, three previous boxing cards have attracted announced attendances of 3,149, 3,320 and 3,417.

Attendance of more than 3,000 is expected again in July and as of late last week 1,678 tickets had been sold. Ticket prices range from $25 to $250, with the average at $115.

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions is the promoter for the July 13 card. PBC fights are seen on Fox and FS1, with recent cards being watched in approximately 1.5 million homes.

Boxing has been struggling for decades to regain its foothold with the American public. In the first half of the 20th century boxing was one of the most popular sports along with baseball, horse racing and college football.

Worth Noting

The Minnesota Wild’s 2019-20 regular season schedule was released today. The Wild opens the season in Nashville on October 3, the first of three straight road games. Minnesota has its home opener on October12, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild plays 17 of its first 26 games of the season on the road (October 3 thru November 30). The nine home games in October and November are the fewest in franchise history.

Charlie Danielson, the 25-year-old Osceola, Wisconsin native accepted a sponsor exemption into the 3M Open today. The Illinois alum and 2016 Big Ten Player of the Year recently qualified for the U.S. Open. The new PGA Tournament begins next week at TCP Twin Cities in Blaine.

The Twins, who split four games on the road with the Royals in their most recent series, hold the No. 3 spot in yesterday’s Yahoo.com power rankings of MLB teams, trailing the No. 1 ranked Dodgers and No. 2 Yankees.

Cbssports.com dropped the Twins from No. 2 to No. 3 in its rankings that came out yesterday. The Yankees are first, the Dodgers second.

The Twins, who start a home series tonight against the Rays, are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing by displaying a full-sized statue of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit at Target Field. The statue is accessible to all fans, and is located outside the Bat & Barrel entrance on the Delta SKY360° Club level.

A Forbes.com June 11 article lists the top 100 wealthiest athletes in the world, with $25 million the cutoff figure to be ranked. Lionel Messi, with $127 million in earnings in the last 12 months, leads the list. He is followed in the top 10 by Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Canelo Alvarez, Roger Federer, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. The top three in earnings are all soccer players, followed by boxer Alvarez.

The Timberwolves’ Andrew Wiggins is No. 91 with a reported $26.1 million in pay. He is the only Minnesota athlete to make the list.

Romain Metanire, the Minnesota United defender who will play in the July 31 MLS All-Star Game in Orlando, reportedly earns $305,000 in base salary, according to multiple news sources.

The United has seven of its next 10 matches in St. Paul at the much acclaimed Allianz Field that includes the Brew Hall with its many local beers. Unlike soccer venues in Europe, fans fan consume beer in the seating areas at Allianz.

Ex-Gophers Amir Coffey and Jordan Murphy will have tryouts respectively with the NBA’s Clippers and Timberwolves. They could eventually play in the NBA’s development league. During the 2018-19 season, players with G League contracts earned base salaries of $7,000, or $35,000 for five months.

Prior Lake five-star forward Dawson Garcia continues to attract impressive scholarship offers, with news yesterday Kansas hopes he will be part of its 2020 recruiting class.

Gophers’ football marketers are trying to improve ticket sales in 2019 after last season’s announced average attendance of 37,914 for seven home games. That figure was reportedly the lowest since 1992. Season tickets in 2019 are offered for as low as $35 per game. Mini-plans starting at $60 (three games) went on sale yesterday.

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Vikings Carry ‘Chip on Shoulder’ Attitude

Posted on June 23, 2019June 23, 2019 by David Shama

Spend time around the Vikings this offseason and it doesn’t take long to pick up on expectations for an improved record in 2019. The Vikings were 8-7-1 last year and the whole organization is determined to have better results this fall.

An easy way to describe the club’s new attitude is “chip on the shoulder.” Reserve quarterback Sean Mannion, a third round draft choice by the Rams in 2015, signed with the Vikings in April and although new to the organization noticed the mindset of his new team.

“I think that would be an accurate way to describe it, for sure,” Mannion told Sports Headliners. “The big thing is just channeling that and focusing on your craft. Using that as motivation but not letting it become destructive. Letting it be something that motivates you to work on your skills, work on your abilities, and just continuing to grow as a player.”

After the Vikings finished spring practices, new assistant head coach Gary Kubiak acknowledged the determination starting quarterback Kirk Cousins has expressed to him. “That’s one of the first things that he said to me when we talked back a few months ago when I got here. He said, ‘Coach, I’ve had some good things happen in my career, and had some good numbers, but I want to win.’

“And that’s what we all want to do,” Kubiak said. “That’s what you’re searching for with your football team, and if you got people thinking that way, you got a chance to get there. …”

Even head coach Mike Zimmer, often a curmudgeon with his team and media, has expressed optimism about the Vikings having the potential for a big season. “I definitely picked up on that (optimism),” Mannion said.

The national perspective on the Vikings when they go through training camp in August likely will be that Minnesota is picked for second in the NFC North Division behind the Bears, last season’s champions. NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero told Sports Headliners “they (the Bears) come in as the favorites.”

The biggest question about the Vikings, per Pelissero, is just how fast the offense will come together. “It’s all about marrying the run and the pass,” he said. “Making those two things look the same (to defenses).”

Pelissero, who lives in the Minneapolis area, said the offense has “got the weapons” and will feature more play-action and bootlegs to make Cousins more effective in his second season with the Vikings. Cousins will need help, though, from a reshuffled offensive line that last season was subpar.

“Average (for the line) would be an improvement from where they were a year ago, frankly,” Pelissero said. “I am sure they are shooting for higher than average, but average would be workable from where they’re at.”

Worth Noting

The first of 16 training camp practices open to the public at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center in Eagan will be July 26. New this year is a policy that autographs will be available only to fans 18 and younger.

Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Wood gave the Timberwolves an A grade for drafting Texas Tech shooting guard Jarrett Culver who is considered a skilled offensive and defensive player. Writing last Thursday on SI.com Woo said, “This is strong value for Minnesota at No. 6 landing a player who you can argue for as the third best prospect in the draft.”

Did you notice Indiana’s Romeo Langford was the only Big Ten Conference player among the 15 lottery choices in last Thursday’s NBA Draft?

University of St. Thomas athletics director Phil Esten told Sports Headliners the school is in the early stages of “sorting all our options” regarding whether it will continue to compete in Division III, move to Division II or possibly make an eventual transition to Division I. The D-1 level requires a lengthy process and timeline including starting at D-2.

The Tommies must leave the D-3 MIAC after next spring. It’s way down the road speculation but if St. Thomas decided to pursue D-1 status for its athletics program, Allianz Field and Xcel Energy Center could be attractive homes for the Tommies football and basketball teams.

In this glutted sports market, the Tommies would be challenged to draw large crowds in both sports, but more so in football. With a capacity of about 20,000 at Allianz, St. Thomas football could attract larger crowds than some struggling D-1 programs have done over the years. For example, Akron, from the MAC, had average home attendance of 9,170 in 2014, per multiple reports.

With the high quality basketball played in the state, the Tommies could become competitive after a few years at the D-2 or D-1 levels. Men’s coach John Tauer is highly thought of and is capable of taking the Tommies beyond D-3 success that includes the 2016 NCAA title.

Tommies games at the Xcel Energy Center against regional and national teams with brand recognition might attract crowds of 10,000 or more. Ideal box office draws would include Notre Dame and Marquette.

Fan HQ is promoting the sale of Joe Mauer number retirement baseballs, with online ordering and then pickup at the Ridgedale store.

Twins Hall of Famer Kent Hrbek appears from 7 to 8 p.m. July 11 at the Eden Prairie Center Fan HQ.

Bill Robertson, commissioner of the Twin Cities-based WCHA, was pleased that two league alums, David Backes and Colton Parayko, played for the Bruins and Blues respectively in the Stanley Cup Finals. Backes is from Minnesota State, while Parayko is an Alaska Fairbanks alum.

Congratulations to tennis achievers Hugh Cutler, Larry Sundby, and Tom and Tim Wynne, on their induction into the USTA Northern Section Hall of Fame. USTA Northern, based in Bloomington, is a nonprofit and one of 17 sections of the United States Tennis Association that is dedicated to the growth and development of tennis.

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Timberwolves, Wild Need Draft Buzz

Posted on June 20, 2019June 23, 2019 by David Shama

The Timberwolves and Wild need to stir up excitement amongst their fan-bases during the next three days.

The Wolves have the No. 11 and No. 43 selections in Thursday’s NBA Draft that consists of two rounds. The Wild has eight selections, including the No. 12 overall, in the seven-round NHL Entry Draft that starts Friday evening and concludes Saturday.

Neither franchise made the playoffs last spring. Fan outlooks right now for next season can probably be fairly characterized as “ho-hum.”

A Twin Cities sports marketing authority, who didn’t want his name identified, has heard both the Wild and Wolves have concerns about season ticket renewals and new sales. The Wild needs box office buzz and hopes to obtain it in the free agent market this summer. NHL franchises, including the Wild, are more dependent on gate receipts than the NBA with its larger TV revenues. The Wolves have a superstar and ticket draw in All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, but need more stellar personnel to become a factor in the talent-heavy NBA Western Conference.

The Wolves, according to the marketing authority, are interested in moving up in the draft and could offer the gifted but so far under-achieving Andrew Wiggins, who has played his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota but is still only 24 years old. Interestingly, this week Nbadraft.net’s mock draft had the Wolves using both their draft choices on small forwards, the same position Wiggins plays.

The website’s speculation Minnesota will draft North Carolina’s Nassir Little and Oregon’s Louis King could fit in with conjecture about parting with Wiggins. Taking Little and King would also make sense if the Wolves choose to play the 6-foot-8 Wiggins exclusively at shooting guard next season. The position switch could take advantage of his height against smaller defenders—posting up, or easily shooting over them.

This will be the Wolves’ first draft directed by new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas. He is expected to shape and direct the organization in a strong manner, and there certainly could be major reshuffling of not only the roster but support positions, too.

This week Wild general manager Paul Fenton leads his second draft for Minnesota. The expectation is the Wild will be determined to add goal scorers in the draft and free agent market in the coming days and weeks, although there is some thought Minnesota might use its first draft choice on goalie Spencer Knight, a Connecticut native.

The club has many needs but probably should prioritize goal scorers in the draft who can contribute within a couple of years. Ideally, whoever Minnesota selects in the first round will cause some anticipation among fans who know fortunes can change quickly in the NHL—most commonly within a couple of years, but perhaps sooner.

That was substantiated dramatically by the Blues this year, who went from being one of the NHL’s worst teams to Stanley Cup champs within a matter of months.

Worth Noting

The Wild will hold a development camp for draft choices and other prospects in the organization from June 25-28 at its practice facility in downtown St. Paul. The June 25 and 27 practices (start at 9:20 a.m.) are open to the public with free admission at the TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center.

Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub in St. Paul is the Wild’s official viewing party location for the draft on Friday night. NBC Sports Network televises the first round beginning at 7 p.m.

Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne said yesterday on Dan Barreiro’s KFAN Radio show he would be cautious about trading Wild forward Jason Zucker, who he predicts will score 25 to 35 goals next season.

Sports Headliners is told Mike Modano, the retired NHL star who has joined the Wild as an executive advisor, is assisting the franchise with ticket and sponsorship sales.

The Timberwolves host a free draft party tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cargo inside Target Center. Josh Okogie, last year’s No. 1 draft choice, is scheduled to attend. ESPN will televise the draft.

Canterbury Park holds its Mystic Lake Derby on Saturday, offering a $200,000 purse that is the largest of the season. The field includes filly Spectralight who was bred in Ireland and has raced exclusively in Italy, but is based now at Canterbury Park.

Former Golden Gopher great Bobby Bell, the two-time All-American tackle on Minnesota’s only Rose Bowl teams, turned 79 on Monday.

The average base player salary is $345,867 in soccer’s MLS, according to the Major League Soccer Players Association.

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