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.

Extending Plays a Cousins Question Mark

Posted on September 5, 2018September 6, 2018 by David Shama

Kirk Cousins isn’t known as a scrambling quarterback but he did impact some plays with his running when he was with the Redskins. This Sunday he makes his regular season debut with the Vikings and the blockers in front of him will be a reorganized offensive line that at times will be unreliable.

That line is the biggest concern about the team’s chances of making a Super Bowl run. Leaky play by that unit will shorten opportunities for Cousins to find open receivers and score points.

The Vikings rewarded Cousins in the offseason with a three-year, $84 million free agent contract. Ironically, he replaces a quarterback whose strength often is using his legs to make plays. Case Keenum, the journeyman who became a star last season and helped the team to a surprising 13-3 record, certainly doesn’t have a golden arm but he can escape the pocket and throw passes and make runs when all hell is breaking loose.

In today’s NFL of imaginative defensive schemes and athletic pass rushers, quarterbacks are often under duress. If defenders aren’t throwing quarterbacks to the ground, they are at least hurrying their throws. Keenum often avoided problems last season but the Vikings decided to move on apparently because his arm isn’t the strongest, and perhaps concern that he was a one-year wonder.

The Broncos organization, led by Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, thought Keenum was worthy of a big free agent contract and the No. 1 assignment in Denver. The Vikings believe differently even if NFL sources might rate the collective skills and value of the two quarterbacks similarly.

Keenum is reportedly being paid $18 million this year by the Broncos. At $28 million per year Cousins will reportedly earn only about $5 million less than the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, who most everyone ranks as the first or second best QB in the world.

The Packers are the Vikings’ biggest rival in winning the NFC North Division and Rodgers is sort of a Cousins-Keenum combo. Rodgers has a marvelous arm but also the ability to buy time in the pocket with his feet and legs. He sometimes takes off toward the boundary ready to make a last second throw or run.

Cousins is experienced and smart, and can zip the ball long and short. He can find second and third options to throw to if given the time. There will be times—maybe too many if the reshuffled line is inadequate—that he will need to escape the pocket. That’s when the comparisons to Keenum will come, fair or not.

At the end of the season, though, the most meaningful comparison will be whether the Vikings match or exceed last season’s success that included one win away from earning their way to the Super Bowl. Different styles can spell success in the high pressure world of the NFL.

Starting on Sunday, Vikings fans will see whether Cousins can “scramble” away from the shadow of Keenum.

Worth Noting

The Vikings announced today that cornerback Jaylen Myrick, the former Gopher, has been signed to the practice squad. He was a seventh round draft choice of the Jaguars in 2017 and played five games with them last season before being released a few days ago.

Ticket King emailed customer contacts yesterday about tickets being available for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Warning to the defending NFC North Division champion Vikings: In 14 of the last 15 NFL seasons at least one team that finished last or tied for last in its division emerged the next season as division champions.

In the NFC North the potential team in 2018 is the Bears, who finished last in 2017 but have added star edge rusher Khalil Mack to join promising quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

It was a winning college football weekend several days ago for former Gophers assistant football coaches who worked under head coach Jerry Kill. Tracy Claeys, the new defensive coordinator at Washington State, helped the Cougars to an opening win over Wyoming, while Dan O’Brien, in his first game as head coach at St. Thomas Academy, directed a 50-7 victory over North St. Paul. Defensive coordinator Jay Sawvell is in his second season at Wake Forest and the Demon Deacons had a season opening win over Tulane. Matt Limegrover, an offensive assistant at Penn State, watched the nationally ranked Nittany Lions escape an upset against Appalachian State.

The Fresno State team that plays the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday night is coming off a 10 win season in 2017 and an opening 79-13 victory over Idaho last Saturday. The Bulldogs are one of the favorites to win the Mountain West Conference championship, and possibly be invited to a New Year’s Day bowl game.

Many Gophers football players sent individual notes of encouragement this summer to WCCO TV sportscaster Mark Rosen and his wife Denise who has been dealing with cancer.

After 15 seasons—separate stints of 11 and 4 years—Star Tribune Timberwolves beat writer Jerry Zgoda has decided not to continue with the assignment, opting instead for general assignments within the sports department.

Chris Hine will be the new Timberwolves beat writer.

The Minnesota United has a waiting list for season tickets as the club prepares to move into its new Allianz Field facility in 2019 after playing two MLS seasons at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus. Allianz capacity will be 20,000 including standing room for 600 fans.

The United’s last regular season game at the Gophers’ football stadium will be October 22. TCF Bank Stadium has a capacity of over 50,000 and the United is promoting setting a new single match attendance record for Minnesota pro soccer. The record was established over 40 years ago at Met Stadium for a Kicks game with an announced attendance of 49,572. See the promotion #50KToMidway.

Gophers volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon on what it’s like to have his undefeated team ranked No. 1 in the country this week: “It’s very similar to being No. 3. …”

McCutcheon remains hopeful boys’ volleyball in the state will eventually evolve from a club sport to being sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League. Over 40 high school teams with about 400 players played against one another last spring.

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Vikings to ‘Cakewalk’ to 11-5 Record

Posted on September 3, 2018September 3, 2018 by David Shama

Bob Lurtsema is known for his accurate predictions about how many games the Vikings will win and lose each season. And despite what you might think, the enthusiastic ex-Viking has at least once not been optimistic enough about his annual projections.

Lurtsema forecast a 10-6 record last season but the Vikings did even better, going 13-3 and almost earning their way to the Super Bowl. With most of their players returning, it’s no surprise the high-spirited former defensive lineman is “excited for this year.”

The Vikings face a difficult schedule that includes early road games against the Eagles, Packers and Rams—all NFL powers. Still, Lurtsema is optimistic about the club that he remains close to and knowledgeable about. “I think they’ll have a cakewalk at 11-5,” he said.

That’s a forecast Sports Illlustrated likes, too, with the publication’s NFL preview issue predicting Minnesota will share the NFC North Division title with the Packers and then advance to the conference championship game before losing to the Falcons.

Concerns about the 2018 team? S.I., Lurtsema and just about everybody else is on the same page in asking how effective new quarterback Kirk Cousins and the evolving offensive line will be. Lurtsema also wonders about rookie placekicker Daniel Carlson who performed to mixed reviews in the preseason.

There’s no speculating about the defense, though. “Defense wins championships, you know that. Our defense is awful, awful, awful good,” Lurtsema said.

The 2017 Vikings had the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense in both yards and points allowed. That contrasted with one of the league’s worst defenses in 2014 when Mike Zimmer became head coach. Zimmer’s impact on the defense and the entire team has earned the highest respect from Lurtsema who played for Bud Grant, the legendary four-time Vikings Super Bowl coach.

Lurtsema refers to Zimmer as “Bud Grant the second.” Then he added, “Zimmer is a no nonsense guy like Bud and he will not tolerate mental mistakes or less than 100 percent effort on each and every play.”

Worth Noting

The 49ers, the team the Vikings open the regular season schedule against next Sunday, will be much improved, according to Sports Illustrated, with the magazine forecasting a 9-7 record after last season’s 6-10.

Former Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon, now with the 49ers, has a torn ACL and is out for the season.

Patrick Klinger & Company from St. Paul is bringing 49ers legend Joe Montana to the Morrie Miller Athletic Foundation Banquet in Winona next Saturday. The event raises money for Winona area youth athletics. Previous speakers include Mike Ditka, Rod Carew, Bud Grant, Tom Lehman, Paul Molitor, Lou Nanne and Bart Starr.

The Gophers’ Antoine Winfield Jr., who broke several tackles returning a punt 76 yards for a touchdown last Thursday night against New Mexico State, was named the Big Ten’s Co-Special Teams Player of the Week today. Michigan’s Ambry Thomas, who returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score against Notre Dame, was the co-winner with Winfield.

Big Ten football teams lost only one nonconference game on opening weekend but not all was glowing. The conference’s East Division is sometimes referred to as college football’s best division but Michigan lost to Notre Dame on the road, and Penn State and Michigan State struggled to win home games against opponents who were big underdogs.

True freshman walk-on quarterback Zack Annexstad didn’t throw an interception in his first game starting for the Gophers last Thursday night. At IMG Academy in Florida last year he beat out Artur Sitkowski who started Saturday for Rutgers and threw three interceptions in the Scarlet Knights’ easy win over Texas State.

Dick Jonckowski will sign copies of his new book It’s All About Me when he emcees the CORES lunch program September 13 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Gustavus Adolphus football coach Pete Haugen will be the guest speaker at the luncheon. For lunch reservations and other information, contact Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. Reservations must be made by September 10.

Dotseth noted that the University of Minnesota’s regular season opener and the Vikings’ last preseason game ended at the same time on Thursday night, even though the Viking game started an hour later. “When there was 2:04 left in the Viking game, there was 2:10 left in the Gopher game,” he wrote via email.

That was former Viking linebacker Ben Leber providing the TV color commentary on Fox Saturday for the California-North Carolina game .

David Gibbs, the former Gophers defensive coordinator, has the same title at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders lost their opener on Saturday to Ole Miss 47-27.

The Twins’ finished 14-14 in August, the third consecutive month the club was near .500. Minnesota’s record was 14-13 in July, 13-14 in June. The worst month so far was March-April when the Twins were 9-15.

The total handle for Canterbury Park’s popular Minnesota Festival of Champions yesterday was $1,005,728, the highest for the event since 1996 ($ 1,108,678). The Festival races are for Minnesota bred horses only.

A report from the National Sports Center in Blaine said sports events at the NSC generated more than $83 million in visitor economic impact. The report calculated spending from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

The report quantified economic benefits generated by visitors traveling more than 50 miles and staying overnight, and tracked spending in lodging, transportation, food and beverage, retail, recreation, business services, and venue rental.

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Give U Credit for Impressive Opener

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

Here’s what was learned from Minnesota’s 48-10 season opening win over New Mexico State last night at TCF Bank Stadium:

The Golden Gophers were impressive. Don’t be lazy in evaluating this game by dismissing Minnesota’s performance because it came against a poor team. After two games, including a 29-7 loss last Saturday to Wyoming in Las Cruces, the Aggies are living up to their reputation as a college football bottom-feeder, but there was still a lot to like about how the Gophers played.

Start with the effort. The Gophers were motivated for four quarters. Offense, defense and special teams were mentally sharp. Instead of buying into the nonchalance the fan base had about the Aggies, the Gophers came to play and avoided mental lapses in effort and execution.

Second-year coach P.J. Fleck preaches “the ball is the program.” Quarterbacks Zack Annexstad and Tanner Morgan, playing in their first college games, didn’t throw one interception. Minnesota had one fumble, a first half miscue by Annexstad, that set up a short drive and lone touchdown in the game by the Aggies.

Annexstad was 16 of 33, with two touchdown passes. He threw with occasional accuracy and played with poise in his debut as a true freshman and walk-on quarterback. Fleck even said after the game that Annexstad reassured him on the sideline things would be okay after the quarterback fumbled the ball.

Minnesota had 227 yards passing last night—rare air compared to the failed passing attack in 2017. Annexstad’s touchdown passes were to junior wide receiver Tyler Johnson who showed an elusiveness that could put him in consideration for All-Big Ten honors this fall.

Encouraging also was the pass catching performance of true freshman wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who could be the best of a boatload of newcomers on offense, defense and special teams. He had five receptions in the game as did Johnson who totaled a team-leading 100 yards in catches. Redshirt freshman Chris Autman-Bell had four receptions and showed Minnesota has potential depth and quality with its wide receivers roster.

It’s difficult to judge an offensive line’s performance during live game action. After coaches study film, evaluations become much more precise, but Minnesota’s unit must have been doing more than a little right because the Aggies didn’t have a single sack and the Gophers rushed for over 300 yards led by Rodney Smith’s 156 on 24 carries.

Redshirt freshman right guard Blaise Andries pancaked an Aggie tackler on Minnesota’s second touchdown of the game. Andries helped create a nice lane for Seth Green to run nine yards into the end zone in the second quarter sending Minnesota ahead 14-10.

The use of Green showed creativity by Fleck and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. If the Gophers have a category labeled “utility players” then the redshirt sophomore from Woodbury is near the top of the list. He is a former quarterback converted this year to tight end and then to wide receiver. Last night near the goal line Fleck twice sent him in the game to replace Annexstad and both times he ran for touchdowns.

Zack Annexstad photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications

Look for more Green in the running quarterback role throughout the season. It probably won’t be long before in spot situations he will be told to pass the ball, too. But make no mistake, Fleck is committed to Annexstad as his No. 1 QB.

Giving Antoine Winfield Jr. the punt return job is another move by the coaching staff to be creative and place playmakers in situations where they can contribute. Winfield, who hadn’t returned punts since high school, not only looked confident all game making the right decisions but in the second quarter he broke several tackles in returning a punt 76 yards for a touchdown.

Winfield is a difference-maker at his safety position, too. He is part of a secondary that could be better than anticipated, partly because of true freshman cornerback Terell Smith who impressed last night. The Aggies picked on him without much success.

Smith had eight tackles, tied for the team high with senior linebacker Blake Cashman who could be headed for a special season. Cashman contributed one of the defense’s four sacks—not an insignificant total for a team that struggled last season to put pressure on quarterbacks.

Defensive tackle Sam Renner, a redshirt junior, blocked a punt in the third quarter that was recovered by the Gophers and led to a field goal. The blocked punt and Winfield’s punt return for a score were only part of an impressive night by special teams.

Redshirt senior Emmit Carpenter kicked field goals of 27 and 24 yards and showed a strong leg on kickoffs. Redshirt junior punter Jacob Herbers averaged 41 yards per punt, with a high of 51.

The Gophers were sharp on punt and kickoff coverage. One reason was the speed of Minnesota’s players. Fleck and his staff have improved the overall speed on offense, defense and special teams. The Gophers can run and that’s one of the prerequisites for winning in today’s college football.

After the game Fleck let it be known there was much about how his team played that he viewed as positive. He also sets a high bar for his team. “It’s very, very difficult to exceed my expectations because the minute you’re getting close…they immediately go up,” he said.

The Gophers have 11 more games to go and the opposition will become more difficult. That starts with the September 8 game against Fresno State, one of the best teams from the Mountain West Conference and led by an exceptional coach in Jeff Tedford. But for one game the Gophers started the right way, delivering a performance exceeding expectations based on the team’s inexperience.

The Gophers have 113 players on their roster and 60 of them—or 53.1 percent—are true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Those are the highest numbers in the country among major college football programs.

Youth wasn’t the storyline last night. How well the Gophers played was.

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