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.

Early Word: 10 Wins for 2019 Vikings

Posted on June 11, 2019June 11, 2019 by David Shama

The Vikings finish spring practices this week and Bob Lurtsema is ready to predict their 2019 regular season total number of wins.

The former Viking defensive lineman remains a close observer of the team. He is known for his accurate predictions about the Purple including a late April projection Minnesota would use its first round draft selection on North Carolina State center Garrett Bradbury.

What does Lurtsema see in his crystal ball for 2019? “Ten (wins) will be easy,” he told Sports Headliners. “Of course, it’s never easy, but you got your second-year with (quarterback Kirk) Cousins coming in there. I am guaranteeing 10.

“I look at it more toward the 11 mark than I do the nine mark because it takes a year for a quarterback to get in sync with his receivers. Not too many quarterbacks…(can get on) the same page like that.”

Lurtsema expects to see a revised Vikings offense featuring plenty of play-action passes to take pressure off Cousins, and also a much improved running game. The Vikings ranked No. 30 in rushing yards among NFL teams last season. “You’ve got to have a running game,” Lurtsema said.

A productive offensive line is part of the formula. Lurtsema approves of adding Bradbury and switching Pat Elflein, last season’s starting center, to guard. Overall, Lurtsema doesn’t see the offensive line unit as a weakness.

“It won’t be below par,” Lurtsema said after being asked to rate the o-line. “It will go up a little bit (from last year). Different coaches are coming in, a little more play action, (and also) how they are going to have their blocking schemes (revised).”

The Vikings disappointed last year, failing to make the playoffs after nearly qualifying for the Super Bowl the prior postseason. The team flopped in the final game, letting a potential win over the Bears get away, when the victory would have sent Minnesota to the postseason.

The Vikings’ effort wasn’t good enough against the Bears. “Had we won the last quarter…of that game we were in the playoffs, and they didn’t pick it up a notch,” Lurtsema said.

Will the Vikings be in the playoffs after the 2019 season? “Of course, I guarantee it because they learned so much from that (Bears game),” Lurtsema answered. “Coach (Mike) Zimmer even said some negative things in the paper about his players not picking it up that notch.”

Lurtsema emphasized that what championship teams do is deliver peak performance at the most meaningful times. Maybe the Vikings can fall in that category in 2019. Observers see a “chip on the shoulder” attitude coming out of spring practices led by a self-described grumpy head coach in Zimmer.

Zimmer has long been known for his defensive coaching IQ, but the Vikings slipped on that side of the ball last season, too. Word was other teams made adjustments to the defense’s way of doing things. Now Zimmer is adjusting in the offseason. “He has to,” said Lurtsema, who from the start has been a Zimmer admirer.

Worth Noting

With Mike McCarthy having been replaced by the Packers in the offseason, Zimmer, now in his sixth season with the Vikings, is the senior head coach in the NFC’s North Division. McCarthy lasted 13 seasons with the Packers.

Kevin Warren, the Vikings Chief Operating Officer who will become the sixth commissioner in Big Ten Conference history next year, is licensed to practice law in Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota and the District of Columbia. USA Today reported seven days ago that outgoing commissioner Jim Delaney will receive about $20 million in future bonuses.

Who replaces Warren as the organization’s lead executive for the business side of operations? Speculation about internal candidates could include executive vice presidents Lester Bagley, Steve LaCroix and Steve Poppen. Vikings real estate expert Don Becker doesn’t live in Minnesota but his name could come up in conjecture regarding Warren’s replacement.

It only takes a glance at the 2020 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame to be reminded that too few of the best prep football players from the state continued their careers at the University of Minnesota. On the ballot are two former Minneapolis area great players—wide receiver Marcus Harris who won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s premier receiver at Wyoming, and James Laurinaitis, three time All-American linebacker at Ohio State.

State legend Joe Mauer speaks to the Twin Cities Dunkers group on July 16. The Dunkers have been hearing from sports and other newsmakers since 1948.

Prep finalists for the Mr. Baseball and Ms. Softball awards have been announced with the winners to be named at a June 23 banquet at Target Field. Baseball finalists are Will Anderson, St. Michael-Albertville; Will Frisch, Stillwater; Drew Gilbert, Stillwater; Adam Mazur, Woodbury; Ben Pedersen, Marshall (Duluth); Trent Schoeberi, White Bear Lake; Evan Shaw, Fridley. Softball finalists are McKayla Armbruster, Faribault; Claire Bakkestuen, Forest Lake; Holly Blaska, Champlin Park; Tori Chute, Stillwater; Ava Dueck, Maple Grove; Olivia Hazelbaker, Farmington; Brianna Olson, Park of Cottage Grove.

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‘Brutal’ Waiting on Tiger for 3M Open

Posted on June 9, 2019June 9, 2019 by David Shama

Hollis Cavner runs the 3M Open and just like other Minnesota golf fans he’s anxious to know whether Tiger Woods will play in the new PGA Tournament July 1-7 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.

“He does not tell anybody until the Friday before,” Cavner said in an interview with Sports Headliners. “He never commits. It’s just the way he is, except for the majors. He commits to the majors. It’s brutal having to wait.”

Cavner has a home in Jupiter, Florida. That is the area where the 43-year-old Woods, who has earned a spot on “golf’s Mount Rushmore,” also resides. The Woods is the name of Tiger’s restaurant in Jupiter where Cavner is a customer.

“Go to The Woods and you run into Tiger quite a bit,” Cavner said. “He’s…very friendly (and) says ‘hi’ to everybody. It’s kind of cool to go to his restaurant and see him.”

Of course, Cavner’s patronage of the restaurant and friendly relationship with Woods won’t guarantee an appearance at TPC Twin Cities. The 15-time majors champ has long been unpredictable as to the tour events he stops at and with a history of physical issues he can be more selective than ever now while choosing to focus on the biggest of challenges like The Masters which he won in April.

The 3M Open already has commitments from some of golf’s biggest names including Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Koepka is the No. 1 player in the world, having won four majors in less than two years and setting scoring records.

“It’s incredible,” Cavner said. “There’s a ton of buzz about Koepka. He’s a phenomenon. You think about it, nobody has done what he has done (of late). The only person who has done anywhere close to that is Tiger.”

Mickelson at almost 49 years old is in the late stages of a brilliant career that includes winning five majors. He will be a favorite to watch along with players such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Day and Patrick Reed. Minnesotans Tom Lehman and Tim Herron will also participate.

The 3M Open replaces the 3M Championship, the senior tournament played for years at TPC Twin Cites. Cavner, whose Pro Links Sports company manages PGA Tournaments and corporate golf events, said the course setup at TPC will be much more challenging than in the past when the 3M Championship was planned as “a birdie fest.”

“This is going to be set up a lot more difficult,” Cavner said. “A lot longer.”

3M Open organizers are looking for birdies but also “train wrecks,” Cavner said. There are going to be par fours of over 500 yards and also water challenges.

What about the greens? Cavner predicted they will be solid for putting. “I think we have the best greens around,” he said.

There was no spectator admission charge for the 3M Championship but there is for the new tournament. Yet, Cavner predicts attendance will double the old tournament total, with the final number of fans expected to be in the 180,000 to 200,000 range. Whether Woods plays, of course, will be a significant factor.

Cavner said some ticket packages are sold out and he estimated the total presale at 25,000 to 30,000. His staff has been working for months in organizing details for the 3M Championship.

The work and scope of the new tournament dwarfs Minnesota’s past pro golf experience. Cavner said his staff is working “daylight to dark” with arrangements for the 3M that will command over 46 hours of live TV coverage on the Golf Channel and the CBS Network, plus international coverage.

“I laughed about it the other day. Last year the media center for the 3M Championship was the size of where we feed the media this year,” Cavner said. “Our media center is four times the size (of last year).”

Cavner has a seven year commitment from the PGA for the 3M Open that can prove again Minneapolis-St. Paul is an exceptional golf town after wowing media and players with support of past events like the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship. (Up next is the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship that begins June 18 at Hazeltine National.)

For Cavner, who was behind the Minnesota senior stop that started almost 30 years ago, these are exciting times. “I think this will probably be the most excitement of any of our events just because of how long it took to put it together, and it’s 28 years now. We’re very excited.”

Just imagine how excited Cavner will be if he receives good news from Tiger on Friday, June 28—just days before the tournament starts.

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Wolves Rosas Watch Offers Intrigue

Posted on June 6, 2019June 6, 2019 by David Shama

It’s going to be an interesting June and summer observing new Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.

Rosas is on record about being aggressive and creative in running the Minnesota NBA franchise that has one playoff appearance since 2004. “One thing I’ll bring from Houston is we’re going to question the norm with everything that we do,” Rosas said at his news conference last month.

By reputation and appearance, Rosas is a confident and determined leader. “He thinks he is the smartest guy in the room,” said an NBA source who asked that his name not be used.

Northing wrong with being the “brightest bulb” in the organization, but that indicates Rosas is likely to have his imprint all over a franchise which again missed the playoffs in 2019. The source mentioned above and others believe Rosas, the former Houston Rockets vice president now in his first all-powerful assignment leading an NBA club, will be giving strong direction to everyone with the Wolves including 33-year-old head coach Ryan Saunders. It’s expected Rosas will have plenty to say about who are Saunders’ assistant coaches with vacancies already in place.

The Wolves have an NBA All-Star for the next 10 years in 23-year-old versatile center Karl-Anthony-Towns who impacts games at both ends of the floor. Despite a heavy payroll expected to pinch NBA salary cap restrictions, the rest of the team’s roster is nothing special and includes liabilities.

Rosas has personnel work to do starting with the June 20 NBA Draft where, other than center, the Wolves can benefit from selecting potential contributors in the first and second rounds. Rosas is known for his analytics background and maybe that experience will help him identify undervalued talent when the Wolves draft at No. 11 and No. 43 in the first and second rounds respectively.

Rosas’ expected aggressive style may result in draft night trades that could see his club changing positions in the selection process. Also, trades involving existing NBA players seem more than a possibility as the weeks progress from summer toward fall. It’s certainly plausible the club wants to move mediocre veterans Jeff Teague and Gorgui Dieng, who are among the more expensive players on the payroll.

After Towns, the Wolves have the most contract money tied up in 24-year-old Andrew Wiggins who was the first player chosen in the 2014 NBA Draft. Wiggins has been mostly disappointing during his Wolves career but the trade market might be too limited and club officials still too intrigued by his potential for Minnesota to give up on him this summer.

A smart move by coaches could be to give Wiggins a long look in training camp and early in the season at shooting guard. He has often been a small forward in his Wolves career but at 6-foot-8 and with superb athleticism, he might effectively exploit smaller defenders at shooting guard. The NBA mantra is take advantage of individual mismatches and the Wolves could be sitting on an opportunity with Wiggins who also needs to become more aggressive on the floor.

Almost six years ago the Dallas Mavericks hired Rosas as their general manager, reporting to the team’s head of basketball operations and owner. A few months later Rosas went back to the Rockets for reasons that are mostly unknown other than reportedly having differences with the Mavericks top decision makers.

This time there is no one above Rosas in the basketball department. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, one of the real gentlemen in the NBA, is most likely an easier guy to work for than flamboyant Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Still, the brief 2013 tenure of Rosas in Dallas just adds a bit of intrigue to the Rosas watch in Minneapolis this summer.

Worth Noting

A CBSsports.com article yesterday said an “advanced computer model” forecasts “under 9 wins” for the Vikings next season. The offensive line is seen as a major liability.

Timberwolves reserve forward Anthony Tolliver will be inducted into the Creighton University Athletics Hall of Fame August 24 in Omaha.

Mark Lundgren, the former Golden Valley football coach, remembers attending college at UMD when the Green Bay Packers trained there. After practice a crowd of young fans were waiting for the Packers players, hoping for autographs. Lundgren said a couple of the pricier Packers avoided the kids but not classy quarterback Bart Starr who spent about two hours greeting them and giving autographs. Starr, who died last month, was a hero’s hero—a great player, a better person.

University of Minnesota athletics director Mark Coyle, speaking at a Gopher fan event this week, said his program is No. 6 in the current Directors’ Cup standings that each academic year ranks the top performing NCAA sports programs across the country.

Talking at the same event, basketball coach Richard Pitino said the Gophers program hasn’t had a player drafted by the NBA since 2004. “We don’t want to be known for those records,” Pitino said.

Pitino is optimistic about his incoming recruiting class and said it’s been ranked as high as fourth best in the Big Ten. Among those getting attention is Isaiah Ihnen from Germany who is ranked a top 100 player. “I think if Isaiah were in the States he would probably be more like a top 50 recruit,” Pitino said. “That’s how talented he is.”

The Gophers have one more scholarship available for next season and speculation is it could go to North Texas transfer Ryan Woolridge, a guard who as a junior averaged 11.7 points, six rebounds and five assists last season. He would be expected to provide immediate impact next fall.

Paul Bunyan’s Axe was on display at the fan event held at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. The Gopher football team defeated Wisconsin to win the rivalry trophy last fall for the first time since 2003. It was also Minnesota’s first victory in Madison since 1994.

The Badgers have been among the elite programs in the Big Ten for years and when Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck spoke to the crowd at the Arboretum he made a bold statement about the surprise win in Madison. “Because that game, in my opinion, set the entire tone for the next two, three decades of Gopher football,” said the 38-year-old coach whose team beat the Badgers 37-15 and then defeated Georgia Tech 34-10 in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Fleck has verbal commitments for future recruiting classes that he referenced in front of the fans including the 2021 group that lists 247Sports four-star quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis from Illinois. That three-man 2021 class has been ranked so far as No. 4 in the nation by 247Sports.

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