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.

Big Stage for Tre Jones Tuesday Night

Posted on November 5, 2018November 5, 2018 by David Shama

Apple Valley’s Tre Jones will be on the biggest stage of his life tomorrow night when he makes his college debut in Duke’s game against Kentucky. The ESPN nationally-televised matchup of No. 4 Duke and No. 2 Kentucky is part of a network doubleheader Tuesday evening from Indianapolis that includes No. 1 Kansas and No. 10 Michigan State.

“It will be exciting, and I know he is looking forward to that,” Tyus Jones said about his younger brother who is following his path as a starting freshman point guard at Duke.

Tre and Tyus led Apple Valley to state championships. Tyus, in his one season at Duke, helped the Blue Devils to the 2016 national championship and was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

As for advice from older brother to younger bro, Tyus said: “Continue to be yourself but at the same time soak everything in just because it’s something (college) that will fly by. You’re also playing for the greatest coach of all time (Mike Krzyzewski). So he is someone that every single day he can teach you something new. So make sure you’re paying attention. …”

Tyus is in his third season with the NBA Timberwolves, and a West Coast road trip with the team won’t allow him to be in Indy for tomorrow night’s game. However, he is looking for an opportunity later to attend one of his brother’s games. “It’ll be tough but gonna make something work,” Tyus told Sports Headliners.

Tyus isn’t the only Wolves player interested in the Blue Devils-Wildcats game. Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns played for the Wildcats in the 2015 Final Four and knows about the rivalry of Duke-Kentucky, two of college basketball’s historic power schools.

Towns was asked about a possible wager with Tyus for tomorrow night’s game. He answered emphatically and said: “No, but I know for a fact that he better be ready for the trash talking that goes with that game. …”

Minnesota viewers of Duke-Kentucky will also have home town interest in the game because Reid Travis from Minneapolis plays for the Wildcats. The senior 6-foot-8 forward transferred from Stanford where last season he averaged 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds. He was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection.

Worth Noting

Tyus is a restricted free agent after this season. He has never played for another NBA team except the Wolves and realizes he is fortunate to be in his home state.

“You know, I’ve always said I’d like to stay here,” he said.

Jones, who has mostly been a reserve with the Wolves, said there were no talks about a new contract during the past offseason. “We’ll revisit it after the season…and try to get something done. So I know it’s not personal. It’s part of the business.”

Sports Illustrated’s college basketball issue that came out last week has only three Big Ten teams in its top 25—Michigan State No. 10, Michigan 18 and Purdue 20. The issue includes an eight-page feature on former Wolves assistant coach Eric Musselman whose Nevada team is ranked No. 6 in the nation just three-plus years after taking over the Wolf Pack.

The magazine reported Musselman earns $1 million per year, after starting at $400,000. Talk about a bargain.

JT Gibson, the 2015 Minnesota Mr. Basketball, is a redshirt junior guard on the Omaha team the Gophers host tomorrow night at Williams Arena. The former Champlin Park prep played in 31 games last season, started 12, and averaged 10.2 points per game. The Summit League Mavericks had a 9-22 overall record last season, 4-10 in conference games.

All 14 Big Ten teams have games from November 6-9. Minnesota’s second game of the season, November 12 at home against Utah, figures to be one of the most entertaining on the early schedule.

The football Gophers gave up 646 yards to a poor Illinois team Saturday while losing 55-31. A friend asked via text if Gopher teams coached by Tracy Claeys ever gave up that many yards. As interim head coach for six games in 2015, and then as head coach in 2016, the most yards was 506 versus Iowa in 2015.

Known for his defensive coaching intelligence, Claeys coached the Gophers to a 40-17 win at Illinois two years ago when Minnesota gave up 245 yards.

The NFL is moving the Vikings-Bears game November 18 in Chicago from a start time of noon to 7:20 p.m. The game will be telecast by NBC instead of Fox as originally scheduled.

The game’s winner could take a significant step toward winning the NFC North Division title. Pittsburgh at Jacksonville had originally been scheduled for the nationally televised 7:20 p.m. slot.

Bill Brown, the former Vikings fullback who died yesterday, played in the 1960s when NFLers helped support themselves and their families with offseason jobs. Brown was a substitute teacher in the Minneapolis school system.

Chad Beebe, the Vikings rookie wide receiver who made his NFL debut yesterday after moving up from the practice squad, is interested in a career in corporate communications if pro football doesn’t work out for him.

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Vikes’ Record Stirs Leadership Question

Posted on November 2, 2018November 2, 2018 by David Shama

The Vikings start the second half of their 16-game schedule on Sunday with a home game against the Lions. Minnesota’s 4-3-1 record is a disappointment to many observers, including perhaps team owners.

A Super Bowl favorite going into the season, the Vikings’ record doesn’t match the hype. Against the better teams on the schedule Minnesota has one win, two losses and a tie.

The second game of the season, a 29-29 tie with the Packers, was a precursor to the frustration to follow. Rookie kicker Daniel Carlson failed the Vikings and their attempt to defeat their expected No. 1 rival in the NFC North when he missed three field goals on September 16.

While the Vikings did score a 23-21 road win over the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, Minnesota also has losses to two NFL powers, the Rams and Saints, and an inexplicable embarrassment against the Bills. In that September 23 home loss to the Bills, the Vikings looked unprepared and disinterested in a game that they were favored to win by more than two touchdowns.

As owners, the Wilf family has provided all the resources needed and asked for to help their football organization become elite. The Vikings play their home games in arguably the best football stadium in the country—U.S. Bank Stadium that opened in 2016. Their new practice and corporate headquarters in Eagan that opened this year is equally state-of-the- art. The Wilfs also okayed a guaranteed $84 million deal for new quarterback Kirk Cousins during the past offseason. The player payroll includes multiple Vikings earning more than $10 million per season. The team’s salary cap space is among the lowest in the NFL because of the owners’ willingness to pay top wages to players on the payroll now.

Owner and chairman Zygi Wilf is on record wanting to see his franchise in the Super Bowl. The Wilfs, including Mark Wilf who is an owner and club president, are football fans and that means they can get emotional about their team. They are also aggressive business people accustomed to success. These are serious folks and their patience with the organization’s football leaders presumably has limits.

The Wilfs acquired the Vikings in 2005. They hired now general manager Rick Spielman in 2006 and even then empowered him with major player personnel decisions. Spielman, with the Wilfs approval, made Mike Zimmer head coach in 2014. Front office executives and coaches in pro football often don’t achieve the longevity Spielman and Zimmer have earned in Minneapolis, but the Wilfs may eventually have doubts about their franchise’s leadership.

If the Vikings don’t make the playoffs after this season—or have an early exit from postseason competition—then what? Given the resources provided, and the expectations of a Super Bowl sooner rather than later, it seems fair to speculate that Zimmer and Spielman will be evaluated with discerning eyes the rest of this season.

Worth Noting

The eight teams the Vikings have played so far, including the 3-3-1 Packers, are a combined 29-32-1—with the parade led by the 8-0 Rams and 6-1 Saints. The remaining teams on the Viking schedule are a combined 24-19-1. The second half of the schedule includes another Packers game and two each with the Bears and Lions.

The Lions, historically inconsistent, have a 3-4 record, but with wins against the Packers and 6-2 Patriots who the Vikings visit on December 2.

Shannon Brooks ran for 154 yards last week against Indiana in his debut game of the season before injuring his knee. He isn’t expected to play for the 4-4 Gophers tomorrow against Illinois and his availability for the team’s other three remaining games is unknown. He is such a difference maker, Minnesota might not reach six victories and earn a bowl game invitation without him.

What were the preseason odds the Gophers would have to play this season without three of their best players because of injuries? Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is their premiere player, and two of the better running backs in the Big Ten are Brooks and Rodney Smith.

Two of the three leading Big Ten receivers in yards per game are Minnesota natives. Purdue’s Rondale Moore is averaging 107.8 yards in conference games, while Minneapolis native and Gopher Tyler Johnson is second at 104.8. Eden Prairie’s J.D. Spielman, playing for Nebraska, is third in the league at 104.0 yards per game.

Sports Headliners wrote last week about the 1968 Gophers-Hoosiers football brawl when Minnesota’s Jim Carter took off his helmet and used it as a weapon. Teammate and fellow running back Barry Mayer emailed a few days ago about the fight and couldn’t help needling Carter. Teammates wondered in the days after the brawl why Carter took his helmet off and exposed his noggin. Mayer joked that his friend apparently felt “he didn’t have anything to lose.”

Carter countered by saying via email “my noggin was already sore from blocking for Mayer—something he never did for me!”

Bert Blyleven, 67, announced on Twitter this week he will work a reduced Twins broadcast schedule in coming years—50 games as a Fox Sports North analyst in 2019 and 30 in 2020.

Max Johnson from Lakeville and Bowling Green State University is the Hockey Commissioners Association National Player of the Month . The 5-10, 183-pound forward tied for the NCAA scoring lead with 13 points in October, helping the WCHA’s Falcons go from unranked in preseason polls to No. 9 nationally following a 5-1-1 opening month.

It looks like a “make or break” season for the Wild’s Charlie Coyle, a hockey industry source told Sports Headliners. Coyle, now 26, is in his sixth season with the Wild and this fall has two goals and four assists in 12 games. He is talented enough to score 25 to 30 goals for a Minnesota team that needs scoring, per the source.

Mark Madsen, in town earlier this week as an assistant coach with the Lakers, played for the Timberwolves from 2003-2009. The good-natured Madsen was one of the worst players but best human beings in franchise history dating back to 1989.

Happy birthday to Star Tribune sports columnist Michael Rand, a Grand Forks, North Dakota native who turned 42 on Tuesday.

It will be interesting to see who WCCO TV chooses to replace Mark Rosen next spring. Broadcast companies don’t pay as much compensation for news and sports anchors as in the past. The new person at WCCO might negotiate a deal north of $150,000 annually.

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Golden Gophers ‘Love Being Underdogs’

Posted on October 31, 2018October 31, 2018 by David Shama

Expectations among national media aren’t that optimistic for the Golden Gophers basketball team that plays a home exhibition game tomorrow night against Minnesota Duluth and then opens the nonconference schedule November 6 with a Williams Arena matchup versus Omaha.

Injuries and the suspension of senior center Reggie Lynch wrecked a potential top 20 ranked finish last winter. After a promising start, Minnesota ended 15-17 overall, 4-14 in Big Ten regular season games. The lingering disappointment of last season is apparently enough to darken the view by national media about the 2019 Gophers, with some predictors seeing a mediocre record ahead and no NCAA Tournament invitation.

Redshirt sophomore center Eric Curry countered that view. “We love being underdogs,” he said.

“Our goal is to win the Big Ten championship,” said sophomore point guard Isaiah Washington. “It’s nothing less than that.”

Michigan State, as usual, is the Big Ten favorite but Curry said his team isn’t intimidated by the Spartans. He believes the Gophers can make a “huge run in the (NCAA) Tournament.”

Minnesota coach Richard Pitino likes his team, too. Among reasons for his optimism is the roster’s versatility. He said redshirt senior center Matz Stockman is the only Gopher who can’t play multiple positions.

Coffey photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications

Junior Amir Coffey, who at 6-foot-8 appears to be emerging as the club’s starting point guard, can play three positions. A small forward and shooting guard in the past, Coffey has been impressing—even wowing—teammates in practice.

“He’s been amazing,” Curry said. “So unique that he can play three spots.”

Pitino, Curry and other Gophers talked to the media on Sunday. Then it was announced Monday Curry had surgery on his left knee, the same knee that caused him to miss all of last season following a more complicated surgical procedure. Expectations are it will be four to six weeks before he plays again.

Curry missed Sunday’s scrimmage open to the public because of swelling in the knee. Any long-term absence will not be good for the Gophers because he is a versatile scorer and passer, playing either center or power forward.

Pitino included defense when talking about Curry, explaining that the 6-foot-9 Curry does subtle things that are important. “We’re a much better team when Eric is healthy,” the coach said.

Curry said that in practices the top five players had been him, Coffey, senior forward Jordan Murphy, and senior Dupree McBrayer and freshman Gabe Kalscheur, who are shooting guards or wings in Pitino’s offense. Others who will play significant minutes include freshmen front courters Jarvis Omersa and Daniel Oturu, combo guard Brock Stull and Washington.

There’s proven talent in the group including with Coffey and Jordan who are on a short list of potential All-Big Ten players. By high school reputation there is promising talent, too, with Washington, Omersa, Oturu and Kalscheur. Oturu, who could be one of the Big Ten’s best freshmen, will have more opportunity early now with Curry sidelined. Oturu, 6-foot-10, has the potential to impact games on offense and defense while playing center.

The talent and depth could expand in the next couple of weeks if the Gophers receive a favorable waiver from the NCAA on combo guard Marcus Carr’s eligibility for this season. As a freshman last season at Pittsburgh he led the team in assists and steals, and at 10 points per game ranked third in scoring average. He and the Gophers are asking for eligibility this season, instead of having to sit out a year.

“Marcus plays like a veteran,” Pitino said. “He’s a fantastic competitor. He’s a special player.”

The Gophers’ backcourt depth might have taken a blow if rumors had proven true that Washington wanted to transfer after an up and down freshman season. The flashy point guard from New York City, who mostly came off the bench last season, denied the rumors were true.

“Oh, no,” he said. “I am just going to stay because I love the area, and I don’t think I got time to sit out a whole year and just waste time, so I’d rather just stay here and finish the job.”

Washington said he’s wanted to play in the NBA since he touched a basketball as a two year old and watched a game on TV. The fact is he is more entertaining than many players already in the pro league but he needs to be steadier in his play. “My biggest thing is improving on the defensive end,” he said.

The Gophers could prove talented, versatile, deep and even flashy this season with highlight reel plays by Washington, Coffey and others. If so, the wins will follow and so will the crowds at Williams Arena. The noisy and even intimidating home court advantage the Gophers have isn’t lost on the players.

“Oh, yeah, I see it coming,” said Omersa. “They’re going to come and watch.”

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