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.

Birthday Raves for Vikings DE Hunter

Posted on October 29, 2018October 29, 2018 by David Shama

Enjoy a Monday notes column on Vikings, Gophers and NBA newsmakers.

Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter turns 24 today and he is already a star. Teammate and safety Harrison Smith told Sports Headliners: “I mean that’s even better, how young he is—how much football he has ahead of him.”

An insider with the Vikings organization didn’t want his name printed but raved about Hunter who is the fifth player in NFL history to have 31 sacks before turning 24. The insider believes Hunter’s “potential is through the roof.”

Hunter was only 20 years old when the Vikings selected him in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. By the 2016 season he became the youngest player in Vikings franchise history to lead the team in sacks, coming up with 12.5. That total was the most by any NFL defensive end, and third highest in the league.

Hunter continues to improve and the Vikings continue to appreciate him, with the source above even referring to his Hall of Fame potential. And Smith added more praise,“Yeah, I mean he’s just constantly getting better, and he’s making the…plays for us.”

Through the schedule’s first seven games the Jamaican-born Hunter was the only player in the NFL to record at least a half sack in each game. He is tied for second in league sacks with eight.

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, who has ascended from a practice team player to a potential NFL MVP candidate, remains humble and well-liked by teammates, including tight end Kyle Rudolph who was joking about the Detroit Lakes native a few days ago.

“The only thing (change) that I’ve really noticed is he’s got a much more expensive backpack now,” Rudolph said. “He had kind of a cheap backpack and now he’s got a nice little compact backpack.”

Thielen’s contract reportedly runs through 2020 and pays him $19,246,000, according to Spotrac.com. With his record setting season and weekly heroics, that is a one-sided deal for the Vikings. But Thielen said last week no revised contract talks are being discussed now, or planned for after the season.

Vikings wide receiver Chad Beebe was an undrafted free agent this year, the same status Thielen had in 2013. Beebe told Sports Headliners he’s learned about improving his skills from being around Thielen and the veteran’s success story has motivated him.

“So I’ve appreciated him a ton,” Beebe said. “Being able to look at his story inspired me.”

That was Vikings general manager Rick Spielman at Friday night’s Minnesota-Indiana game, perhaps to watch Hoosiers senior safety Jonathan Crawford and Gophers offensive tackle Donnell Greene.

Former Viking Adrian Peterson had 149 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns in the Redskins’ 20-13 win yesterday over the Giants. Peterson, at 33 years and 221 days old on Sunday, was the oldest player in NFL history to have at least 100 rushing yards and both a rushing and receiving touchdown in a single game.

Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan, who threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Indiana, was named the Big Ten’s Co-Freshman of the Week today along with Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi.

Ryan Burns, the recruiting authority from GopherIllustrated.com, told Sports Headliners Minnesota is likely to make the recruiting of junior college defensive backs a priority for its remaining class of 2019 scholarships. That might mean both a safety and a cornerback.

During an interview Burns contacted Jason Clark, father of prep quarterback Jacob Clark, to check on a rumor that his son was being targeted to flip his commitment from Minnesota. Not true, Jason quickly answered.

The 6-5 quarterback from Rockwall, Texas is expected to enroll at Minnesota in January. Burns said it could be likely that Clark will be elevated from a three-star ranking to four by the time he joins the Gophers.

Although the Gophers ended a four-game 2018 Big Ten losing streak Friday night, the lack of wins hasn’t negatively impacted, according to Burns. The 2019 class is ranked No. 32 nationally in the team rankings by 247Sports.

Josh Richardson, reportedly part of the proposed trade deal between the Heat and Timberwolves that Minnesota rejected, is averaging only about three points per game fewer than Jimmy Butler (20.6) and is four years younger.

LeBron James, in town tonight with the Lakers to play the Timberwolves, made his NBA debut 15 years ago on this date, October 29, 2003.

It was the last Sundays in October that the Twins won their two World Series titles. October 25, 1987 and October 27, 1991 they won Game Sevens at the Metrodome.

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Must-Win for Football Gophers Tonight

Posted on October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 by David Shama

KFXN Radio’s Dan Barreiro asked for suggestions on air this week for a trophy to be awarded to the winner of the Minnesota-Indiana football game. How about the Splintered Crutch Trophy?

A fight broke out in Bloomington, Indiana near the end of the 1968 Gophers-Hoosiers game. Minnesota fullback Jim Carter took his helmet off and was swinging it as a weapon in the fight. “(It) kept people away from me,” Carter said yesterday.

Carter was doing okay until an injured Indiana lineman in street clothes came out on the field to get in on the action. The Hoosier swung a crutch at Carter, just missing his head and landing on a shoulder pad. The crutch splintered on impact and Carter speculated he could have been in “serious trouble” if the blow had been to his head.

Creation of the Splintered Crutch Trophy could put a little excitement into two programs that historically have struggled to win games. The last time the Hoosiers and Gophers won a Big Ten championship was 1967 when the two programs shared the title along with Purdue. Indiana hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1968. Minnesota last earned its way to Pasadena in 1962.

This fall the two teams find themselves in familiar positions in their Big Ten divisions. Indiana, 1-4 in conference games, is in next to last place in the East Division, while the Gophers, 0-4, are at the bottom of the West Division standings.

The Hoosiers are on a three-game losing streak, Minnesota has a four-game going. No surprise that a former Big Ten coach predicted this about tonight’s game, “It will be close.”

This is a matchup P.J. Fleck and his coaching staff badly need to win. The remaining schedule has Indiana, Purdue and Northwestern at home, with road games at Illinois and Wisconsin. The best opportunities for wins will be tonight and against hapless Illinois. If the Gophers can earn victories against IU and the Illini, and upset either Northwestern or Purdue, they will finish the season with an overall record of 6-6 and qualify for a bowl game.

There will be drama and judgment surrounding what Fleck and the Gophers accomplish between now and the last game of the season on November 24 against Wisconsin. The second-year coach won only two conference games last season but the scenario above delivers an improved 3-6 league record in 2018. The team’s overall record with three more wins will be 6-6, and a step forward from last year’s 5-7.

The Gophers need to restore confidence in themselves and their followers in the last five games of the season starting tonight at TCF Bank Stadium. Fleck’s image with fans and media will improve with a couple more wins, and provide more interest in the program going into 2019.

This is test time for the coaches and players. They need to rally after having the misfortune of losing some of their best players to injuries. Minnesota also has to recover from poor performances on defense when the unit has often looked under coached, confused and even disinterested.

The Gophers will have to pretty much inspire themselves tonight. The crowd will be small and while some loyalists will cheer for the Gophers like it’s a Big Ten championship game, there will be thousands and thousands of empty seats.

Ticket sales for 2018 remaining home games, and for next season, are part of what’s on the line for Fleck and the program tonight and in the weeks ahead. Attendance for 2018 home games could be the lowest at TCF since the stadium opened in 2009.

For Fleck this is an important time and an opportunity for momentum leading into 2019, when in his third year expectations will rightfully be greater than they have been.

Worth Noting

Kirk Cousins has been drawing notice for his pregame remarks to Vikings teammates but a lot of people have been following his verbal leadership skills since a famous speech he made in 2011. Representing the Big Ten Conference football players, Cousins made a speech at the league’s kickoff luncheon in Chicago that has become a YouTube favorite.

Cousins ranks fourth in the NFL with 2,162 passing yards and also fourth with a 70.0 completion percentage. He and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan are the only quarterbacks with at least 2,000 passing yards and a 70+ completion percentage this season.

When the national TV ratings come out for the week of October 28, it’s likely the Vikings-Saints game this Sunday night will be No. 1 for all programming.

The field reporter for the NBC televised game from U.S. Bank Stadium will be Edina’s Michele Tafoya.

Local NBA fans will see two of the league’s most intriguing players at Target Center before October ends. Tonight the Wolves play the Bucks with “Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo. LeBron James, considered the best player on the planet, is in town with the Lakers on Monday night.

Then on Wednesday popular former Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio and the Jazz play at Target Center.

The Minnesota-North Dakota U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game Saturday night from Las Vegas will be streamed on NCHA.tv, and seen on cable companies Charter, Comcast (999), Mediacom (MC22) and Midco.

Tickets have sold out for Lindsay Whalen’s debut game November 9 as the Gopher women’s head basketball coach. The Gophers haven’t announced a crowd of over 10,000 since January of 2007. Discounted single game tickets and the excitement about Whalen resulted in the sellout for the nonconference matchup against New Hampshire.

“Behind the Game,” the Twin Cities cable TV show co-hosted by Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson, regularly schedules sports newsmakers, with the latest guest former MLB umpire Tim Tschida. Tom Chorske, who played 11 seasons in the NHL and now is a hockey commentator on local TV, will be an upcoming guest. The Tschida program can also be viewed on YouTube.

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How P.J. Fleck Ranks with Big 10 Peers

Posted on October 24, 2018October 24, 2018 by David Shama

This space has provided power rankings of Big Ten football teams in the past, but today I offer my listing of the league’s 14 head coaches. Most readers will immediately wonder where Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck ranks. He checks in at No. 11 and here’s my capsule on the 37-year-old “Row the Boat” specialist:

About halfway through Fleck’s second year at Minnesota his record in conference games is 2-11. His only two wins came last season against two underwhelming teams, Illinois and Nebraska. In nonconference games his record is 6-0, with those victories earned mostly against inferior opposition. Give Fleck, his assistant coaches and players credit for impressive performances in wins over Nebraska and Oregon State in 2017, and this season’s victory against Fresno State.

Team defense is now in alarm status. The Gophers were outscored 70-0 in their last two Big Ten games in 2017. In their four conference games this year they are giving up 43.5 points per game including a 53-28 loss to Nebraska last Saturday.

Fleck has gone overboard in emphasizing how young his roster is but the starters on defense are primarily juniors and seniors. Despite their experience, Minnesota defenders are often out of position or nowhere to be seen, as they allow opposing offenses to break off long gains. Defensive coordinator Robb Smith, who according to a college football insider was forced out at Arkansas before being hired by Fleck, should be under scrutiny.

Fleck and staff have improved the offense, including by bringing in young talent such as true freshmen quarterback Zack Annexstad and wide receiver Rashod Bateman. Fleck has done well in national recruiting rankings and been tireless in talking about his vision to make the Minnesota program “elite.”

But the Gophers have to stop giving up easy scores and start winning conference games. The program was 5-4 in Big Ten games the season prior to Fleck’s arrival in January 2017. Minnesota had winning records in the Big Ten in two of the three seasons prior to Fleck being hired.

The conference totals on wins and losses say the program is going backward. It’s up to Fleck and his staff to soon change that.

In ranking all 14 Big Ten coaches (below) multiple factors were considered including not only wins and losses, and championships, but also the difficulty of their assignments. It’s not an even “playing field” when comparing resources at each of the Big Ten programs. Far from it. Among the most difficult jobs are Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern and Rutgers. Places of privilege include Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

1. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State. He is a taskmaster’s taskmater whose defenses have allowed the Spartans to overachieve and win for many years.

2. Urban Meyer, Ohio State. He won’t lead any popularity polls nationally, or in Big Ten country, but he’s won every place he has coached and is 77-9 in seven seasons with the Buckeyes.

3. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern. Historically not a program with great resources but Fitzgerald is a superb leader and coach who gets the most out of the Wildcats.

4. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa. There is a reason Ferentz has been at Iowa for 20 seasons. He and his staff are masters at identifying under the radar player talent and developing it.

5. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan. Harbaugh failed in three previous seasons to find a quality quarterback but the fiery coach has one now in Shea Patterson and the Wolverines’ coach could be on his way to a first Big Ten title.

6. Jeff Brohm, Purdue. Beating No. 2 ranked Ohio State last Saturday was no fluke. The second-year coach immediately improved a dreadful Purdue program in 2017 and is the real deal.

7. Scott Frost, Nebraska. He is 1-6 in his first season at Nebraska but he was 13-0 at Central Florida last season, and just as importantly comes from a gold-plated coaching tree that includes Tom Osborne and Bill Walsh.

8. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin. Chryst was given the keys to a national top program and in four seasons is 38-10 overall and 25-5 in league games, but the Badgers have occasionally stumbled including a surprise loss to BYU and poor performance against Michigan this year. Maybe he is more of a maintainer than a builder.

9. James Franklin, Penn State. Impressive recruiter who has helped restore the Penn State program but he couldn’t close out big home games this fall against Ohio State and Michigan State.

10. DJ Durkin/Matt Canada, Maryland. Canada is the interim coach with Durkin on administrative leave while the school investigates his program. What is certain is the Terps have recruited successfully the last few years.

11. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota. See comments at the top.

12. Tom Allen, Indiana. A coin flip in ranking Allen behind Fleck. The second-year IU coach is 3-11 in Big Ten games.

13. Chris Ash, Rutgers. He was smart enough to hire Jerry Kill as offensive coordinator for one season in 2017 but Rutgers is one difficult place to coach. In Ash’s third season he has yet to show a lot and is likely to go winless in the Big Ten.

14. Lovie Smith, Illinois. The Illinois job is deeper in resources than Rutgers but you wouldn’t know it looking at the mess Smith has contributed to in three seasons. The former Bears Super Bowl coach has a league record of 3-18.

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