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.

Old School, New Start for Jerry Kill

Posted on March 22, 2018March 22, 2018 by David Shama

Beloved former Gopher football coach Jerry Kill started a new job at Southern Illinois a few weeks ago, but he has a new health concern. Kill, 56, talked to Sports Headliners by telephone this week from Carbondale, Illinois where he coached the Salukis to five FCS playoff appearances from 2001-2007.

Kill is about three weeks into his position as a special assistant to the Chancellor at SIU-Carbondale. His responsibilities include speaking on behalf of the school, increasing admissions and raising money from donors. “It’s a lot different (than) coaching football,” Kill said. “It’s a different pace.”

After 36 years of coaching high school and college football, Kill knew this winter he still wanted to work hard and help others but developments during the last six months convinced him and his family that the career path had to reroute from the profession he loves. As offensive coordinator at Rutgers last season, Kill had multiple seizures—more attacks from the Epilepsy that has targeted him for years. His body also took a severe blow after a sideline collision with an Eastern Michigan player during an early season game.

Kill, who resigned his position at Rutgers in December, has been told he is starting to lose short-term memory. He has experienced countless seizures since 2005, including those at Minnesota that contributed to his heartbreaking and unexpected resignation in mid-season of 2015. Those seizures have impacted Kill to the point where he now can’t make the kind of split-second decisions a coach must execute on the field during games.

“I can’t process like I used to,” Kill said. “In this job (at SIU) it’s good, because I got time to process.”

Medical authorities informed Kill and his wife Rebecca that it will be necessary to take future health precautions to give him the best chance of avoiding more short-term memory loss during the next five to 10 years. The information made it easier for Kill to decline recent football offers that would have involved him with recruiting or operations work, but not on the field Saturdays.

Despite his passion for football and developing young men, Kill knows the right decision was to accept the offer from SIU where he twice won national coach of the year awards and has long been familiar with the region and its people. The area has for years been the site of a family home. He and Rebecca have a residence on Lake Egypt, just a short drive from the Carbondale campus.

The house offers both recreation and peace of mind for Kill. He fishes and hunts there, and sometimes just sits back and enjoys the water and forest. “It’s just different,” Kill said about his new lifestyle that has him spending more time at home and not managing a college football program with all its demands.

But the story gets even better because grown daughters Krystal and Tasha live nearby. It’s been a long time since the family was in such close proximity, and now the group includes a three-month-old granddaughter—the first grandchild for him and Rebecca.

“Having those grandchildren, they’ll change your life,” Kill reflected. “No matter how bad things get…I can see her. If I am not close enough to her, I put her on FaceTime.”

Listening to Kill talk about enjoying life is reassuring to all his friends and admirers in Minnesota where he became one of the state’s most respected and popular coaches ever. He turned around a Gopher football program that was in dire shape by every standard when he arrived in Minneapolis in December of 2010. By the time he resigned as coach almost five years later he had led the Gophers to a January 1 bowl game for the first time since 1962. His 2013 and 2014 teams broke a losing streak against Nebraska that went back to 1960. Minnesota also defeated Michigan in 2014 for only the second time this century.

“Brick by Brick” was the program’s slogan and after two seasons Kill and his staff had the Gophers at .500 in Big Ten games. A year later Minnesota was 5-3, the program’s first winning conference record since 2003. He was named the 2014 Big Ten Coach of the Year.

But there was so much more to the success and the coach’s story. Players who were in freefall academically before Kill arrived improved their GPAs and started graduating. Off the field incidents involving misbehavior by players declined. Kill and Rebecca made a commitment to volunteerism in the community like few coaches ever have, including establishment of a fund to assist the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.

Before that Kill and Rebecca started a cancer fund in Illinois to assist low income families. “I enjoy helping people,” said Kill who beat kidney cancer years ago. “I have had a lot of people come up and say, ‘Hey, you helped me.’ “

The cancer and epilepsy funds benefit from sales of Kill’s 2016 book Chasing Dreams: Living My Life One Yard at a Time. His autobiography is written to not only generate monies but to inspire readers including those who face adversity such as cancer and epilepsy.

Now Kill is also trying to raise money for Southern Illinois. “We got a lot of work to do because in the state of Illinois there is not a lot of money (for colleges),” he said.

Well, the Salukis have got the right man to raise money. Kill is a legend in Carbondale and has been revered wherever he has been. No matter the obstacles, he will proceed diligently and deliver results.

“Brick by Brick.”

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Question Looms on Don Lucia Return

Posted on March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 by David Shama

Is Don Lucia going to resign, or soon be told to move on as Gophers men’s hockey coach? A University of Minnesota source told Sports Headliners recently he didn’t know if Lucia will be back next season.

Lucia’s future has been the subject of speculation among media and fans all winter. Randy Johnson’s Star Tribune story Sunday said Gopher athletic director Mark Coyle wouldn’t confirm last week whether Lucia will return. A GopherHole.com fan poll earlier this month reported 84 percent favored dismissing the coach, with 16 percent voting to retain him. While talking with several hockey sources in recent weeks, none dismissed the possibility of Lucia’s 19th season being his last.

Minnesota’s record of 19-17-2 (10-12-2 in the Big Ten) wasn’t deserving of an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Two of the last three years the Gophers haven’t qualified for the 16-team tourney that results in four schools qualifying for the Frozen Four in early April and ends with a national champion.

Mark Coyle (photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications)

Coyle and staff members are concerned about fan apathy. Seeing the vast number of empty seats this season at 3M Arena at Mariucci has been startling for a program referred to in the past as “Pride on Ice.” Tickets that either aren’t sold or go unused represent lost revenue to the Athletic Department. Apathy impacts multiple revenue streams including parking, concessions, arena signage and sponsorships.

“There’s concern right now with the lack of interest in Gopher hockey,” former U captain Casey Hankinson told Sports Headliners yesterday. “That’s more troubling to me than whether they make the postseason, or don’t make the postseason. Of course we always want that to be the case, but the old saying ‘Pride on Ice’ doesn’t seem to be there. I think all of us need to figure out how we get that back.”

Lost revenue isn’t something administrators can take casually in the financially challenged Athletic Department. The 25 sports with over 700 male and female student-athletes are highly dependent on just three financially profitable programs—football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey.

The Athletic Department knows the transition of Minnesota from the WCHA to the Big Ten Conference in 2013 was and continues to be unpopular with Gopher fans. Rivalries were impacted and scheduling of games, times, and TV coverage has become less attractive to many fans.

“…Games used to be on TV like clockwork every Friday and Saturday night,” Hankinson said. “Same time, same channel. Easy. Now they (the Gophers) are just too hard to find. There are just too many other things that are on top of people’s minds to go try to find them.”

The Gophers might have the highest priced tickets in college hockey and sometimes aren’t delivering a product justifying the cost. A program accustomed to competing for national championships hasn’t won an NCAA title since 2003. The Gophers’ record this season was two games over .500. A year ago Minnesota finished three games over .500.

It’s a grind being a head college hockey coach and at 59 maybe Lucia will ponder in the days ahead if he has had enough. The Grand Rapids, Minnesota native has been a head coach dating back to his start in 1987 at Alaska-Fairbanks where he stayed for six seasons before moving on to Colorado College in 1993. His first season with the Gophers was 1999-2000. Along the way he’s made a lot of friends and earned a reputation as an outstanding coach and classy person.

Lucia has one season remaining on a contract that officially ends April 30, 2019. That’s not a tenable spot for any coach when he or she deals with recruiting athletes and answering questions about a program’s future. Coyle can dismiss Lucia “without just cause” with 90 days prior written notice, according to the coach’s contract, and the University must pay a $315,000 buyout. It appears no final decision has been made by the University about Lucia who received a contract extension from Coyle in October of 2016.

Lucia is Minnesota’s all-time winningest coach with 457 victories. His 2002 and 2003 teams won consecutive national championships. His teams have won eight regular season conference titles and four postseason championships. He is a four-time conference coach of the year.

This past season ended badly for the Gophers who lost four games on consecutive weekends to Penn State, placing their NCAA Tournament hopes in some jeopardy. Then a couple of days ago the most improbable of developments occurred when six other teams won games that ended Minnesota’s hopes of qualifying for the tournament.

The surprise news about no postseason opportunity added to conversations about the program’s future. Lucia’s future is reportedly discussed even at Northern Michigan where fans are worried about losing Grant Potulny. The former Gopher captain and assistant coach under Lucia led the Wildcats to their most wins since 2006 this winter.

If Coyle decides to make a change it seems likely with the Gophers’ great hockey tradition there will be a push to hire someone with ties to the program like Potulny. Longtime assistant Mike Guentzel, who also is a former Gopher captain, will surely be considered, too, if there is a change. But for now it’s unknown as to who coaches Minnesota hockey next season and beyond.

Whether it is Lucia, or someone else, expectations will rightfully be high. “This should be a top four program nationally,” said a college hockey authority who asked that his name not be used. “It’s the best job in the country to recruit to.”

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Wolves Owner Fine with Wiggins

Posted on March 18, 2018March 18, 2018 by David Shama

After reading news media reports this month about Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves fans might be wondering about both the past and future of the team’s high-potential 23-year-old guard-forward.

Multiple websites last week reported Wiggins is unhappy about being a “third option” on the team after forward Jimmy Butler and center Karl-Anthony Towns. Until Butler was injured and sidelined in February, Wiggins was less a part of the offense than in the past when Butler was playing in Chicago for the Bulls. Speculation Wiggins might ask for a trade next summer is part of the “third option” story.

Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor spoke to Sports Headliners Friday about Wiggins. “He said he didn’t say it, and that’s the end of it for me,” Taylor said.

1500 ESPN reported on the “third option” story, and also earlier this month said there was reason to believe Taylor wouldn’t allow Wiggins to be included in the 2017 trade that sent Butler to the Wolves for Minnesota’s first round draft choice and guards Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. Station talk show hosts were critical of the possibility the owner overruled his basketball authorities in not allowing Wiggins to be included in trade discussions.

Taylor said he didn’t “recall” Wiggins’ name came up in conversations with Chicago. “If they asked for Wiggins, it probably never even got to me,” Taylor said.

Taylor has owned the Wolves since 1995 and watched a lot of basketball. He has his opinions about players. Would he nix a trade, or other potential personnel move the front office is promoting?

“Yeah, and I have in the past,” Taylor said. “…Sometimes coaches and GMs (general managers) fall in love with a guy and we really don’t need that guy.” (As an example, Taylor said there have been instances where he differed in acquiring a player because the skill set didn’t match the roster’s future needs.)

Wiggins is in his fourth season with the Wolves. A former overall No. 1 NBA draft pick, he is often targeted for criticism by media and fans who question the consistency of his effort during games, but not his talent. “I want him to play as hard as he can.” Taylor said. “Do I think that he can play better? I certainly do. He’s got a lot of potential. My expectation is he should do that (play hard) during the whole game.”

Taylor, though, didn’t single out Wiggins when first asked about effort, and he spoke about how coach Tom Thibodeau talks about the need for better work ethic by all his players throughout games. “It appears sometimes that they rest a little bit, they’re tired or something,” Taylor said. “If you’re going to be an elite player, there’s very little time to do that during the game. It’s kind of between games that you’re going to do that (rest).”

There’s opinion throughout the Wolves organization and elsewhere in the NBA that Wiggins’ basketball skills are so exceptional it’s difficult to define his limits. He is an extraordinary athlete and capable of becoming an all-star offensively and defensively.

Wiggins is averaging 17.9 points per game, third best on the team. He is often guarded closely and Taylor believes that creates the possibility of more offensive efficiency, emphasizing that his young star should drive more to the hoop. “I’d rather see him go to the basket and kind of open up that space,” Taylor said.

The Timberwolves made a mega commitment to Wiggins last offseason with a contract extension reported as five-years, $148 million.

Worth Noting

Butler had meniscus surgery on his right knee February 25. He was the team’s best all-around player, and fourth quarter closer, before injured. There are 12 games remaining on the Wolves’ regular season schedule and the team is trying to make the payoffs for the first time since 2004. When will Butler return?

“I don’t think I have anyone on the medical staff who has given me a date,” Taylor said.

Nemanja Bjelica, Butler’s replacement, has at times been impressive including 13 fourth quarter points in last week’s win against the Wizards. Bjelica becomes a restricted free agent in the offseason. Taylor is an admirer of the Serbian, but cautions, “We only have so much money, and we know we have Karl coming up,” he said.

Center Karl-Anthony Towns becomes a restricted free agent during the 2019 offseason. A potential top five player in the NBA, Towns will command a mega contract.

That was former Timberwolves assistant coach Eric Musselman, now head coach of Nevada, on live TV using the f-word in the locker room in celebrating his team’s opening NCAA Tournament win over Texas Friday afternoon.

Isaiah Washington (photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications)

It seems likely Gophers coach Richard Pitino will use his one remaining scholarship on a point guard. Theoretically that person could be a graduate transfer, junior college or high school player. Heading into next season Isaiah Washington is the replacement for Nate Mason at point guard, but Washington was unsteady as a freshman. Even if Washington improves, the Gophers need depth at the position.

It’s timely to follow Courtney Ramey, the Scout.com five-star prep point guard from Missouri who decommitted from Louisville earlier this winter. He had been recruited by Pitino’s father, former Louisville coach Rick Pitino, and could be interested in the Gophers.

Gopher women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings can achieve the biggest win in her four years at Minnesota tonight if the Gophers can upset Oregon in their second round NCAA Tournament game on the Ducks’ home floor. Minnesota is seeded No. 10 in the Spokane Region, Oregon No. 2. The Gophers have never won a second NCAA Tournament game under Stollings.

Stollings once told Sports Headliners she had simple tastes in celebrating a Gopher win: A trip to Taco Bell and a Mountain Dew.

Good news for the Shake Shack location at Mall of America? New Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins reportedly had a postgame win ritual of stopping at a Shake Shack in the Washington D.C. area, according to Vikings.com.

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