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.

Garcia Big Ten Scoring Title? U Teammates May Hold Key

Posted on November 19, 2024November 19, 2024 by David Shama

The Golden Gophers’ Dawson Garcia enters tonight’s home game averaging 25.5 points per game for his 3-1 team. His average through four games is the Big Ten’s best.

Garcia, a senior, plays for a team that has struggled to score points and may do so all season. The 6-foot-11 center-power forward has scored 102 of Minnesota’s 158 points this season. The next closest scorer to him is guard Lu’Cye Patterson with 34.

Dawson Garcia photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

If the Savage, Minnesota native from Prior Lake High School wins the league scoring title after the 2025 season he will be the first Gopher to do so since Kris Humphries in 2024. Humphries, a high school All-American at Hopkins High School, led the Big Ten in both scoring at 21 points per game and rebounds, 9.5 (stats are league games only). He was the first freshman in league history to accomplish that.

Other Gophers who have won conference scoring titles dating back to 1948 are: Tom Kondla, Quincy Lewis, and Mychal Thompson (twice), per Sports-reference.com.

Will Garcia join the list? Probably not, according to a former major college basketball coach who spoke with Sports Headliners on condition of anonymity.

“It’s going to be hard. He’s going to face a double, triple team every game.”

The former coach is implying if Garcia’s teammates can consistently make shots and cause foes to pay for double and triple teaming Minnesota’s star, it’s a lot more likely Garcia can win the league scoring title (based on regular season conference and nonconference games).

The source is certainly an admirer of Garcia who averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last season. Garcia was second-team All-Big Ten as selected by the media and is now on national watch lists for postseason awards.

“He’s really a great player,” the former college head and assistant coach said. “He’s worth the price of admission.”

Garcia, listed at 234 pounds, is averaging a team-best 7.3 rebounds. He is unselfish and a good passer. He can score inside and out, including a pro range three-point shot. He’s making an impressive 57.1 percent of his threes.

“He’s (going to be) a pro player,” said the source. “He absolutely has NBA potential.”

Garcia’s mobility with and without the basketball fits the flexibility of today’s NBA that emphasizes position-less players who can handle the ball. A question about his pro future potential might be development of his lower body strength.

The Gophers have a rebuilt roster after a breakthrough 9-11 Big Ten record in 2023-2024 that followed two last place conference finishes under head coach Ben Johnson. Garcia is one of only two returning starters and Minnesota is a popular choice to finish near the bottom of the league standings.

“It’s going to be a struggle,” the former coach said about the team’s season outlook.

Minnesota plays its fourth nonconference game tonight against 3-2 Cleveland State. The Gophers, averaging a modest 64.5 points per game against so-so competition, are fortunate to have Garcia who initially spurned his hometown team coming out of high school and played at both Marquette and North Carolina.

With Name, Image and Likeness money reportedly involved, the Gophers lost two of their better starters via the transfer portal after last season. Point guard Elijah Hawkins is at Texas Tech and center Pharrel Payne plays for Texas A&M.

It’s believed Garcia is making six-figures via NIL at Minnesota, but he could have commanded more if not for his loyalty to the Gophers and his family.

Worth Noting

Hawkins has played in two of four games at Texas Tech, average 8.5 points per game and has a total of 16 assists. Another Red Raiders guard is Hopkins alum Kerwin Walton who started his college career at North Carolina. He made 47.8 percent of his three-point shots last season.

Payne’s playing time in four games has ranged between 17 and 24 minutes. He is averaging 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 82 total minutes.

Another transfer from last year’s team, forward Joshua Ola-Joseph who was a key reserve, is averaging 11.3 minutes in four games at Cal. He is 0-6 on three-point shots and is averaging 4.5 points per game and 2.5 rebounds.

Great news for the University of Minnesota football and volleyball programs, per Derek Burns from Dinkytown Athletes, the official Name, Image and Likeness collective of Gopher athletics. DA recently concluded its “million-dollar match campaign” with Mark Pearson’s Twin Cities-based financial services company, Nepsis.

“We did hit our number and went over slightly,” Burns told Sports Headliners Monday. Nepsis matched dollar for dollar donations, new memberships or upgraded memberships to DA through November 10.

While the DA president didn’t specify a dollar total, he said this was the most successful campaign ever for the collective which officially launched in September of 2022. DA will now target a similar campaign for February and March to benefit athletes in winter sports.

Funding success is pivotal, Burns said, when Gopher programs approach the time they and other schools across the country compete for athletes in the transfer portal. Within a few weeks, for example, football and volleyball players will be making decisions on whether to enter the transfer portal and, if so, where to go. NIL resources will also be timely for retention of athletes.

The Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov, who is second among NHL players in points with 31, makes $9 million. Although he is playing at a league MVP level, his contract value doesn’t rank in the league’s top 30 highest paid players.

Kaprizov and goalie Filip Gustavsson, whose 2.08 goals against average is best in the league, are unrestricted free agents after the 2025-2026 season. Gustavsson is playing with a $4.1 million deal this season and next. Kaprizov’s contract remains at $9 million next season.

The Lions defeated the Jaguars 52-6 last Sunday, after the Vikings beat the Jags, 12-7 the week prior. The 9-1 Lions, who lead the 7-2 Vikings in the race to win the NFC North, have scored 35 points or more three times in their first 10 games. The only other clubs to do that since the late 1960s are the 1969 Vikings and 1973 Falcons.

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Twins Unknowns for 2025 Move into Historical Territory

Posted on November 16, 2024November 16, 2024 by David Shama

This is a historical offseason for the Twins, one with questions and uncertainties at a level not seen since more than 20 years ago when it appeared the franchise could dissolve via MLB contraction.

The fanbase is justified in scrutinizing the Twins on multiple fronts. These include ownership, front office leadership, personnel on the field and home options for watching games.

That’s a lot and the fanbase has patrons who are either angry, puzzled or apathetic about the franchise’s status. There are also customers who are pretty much on board no matter what’s going on because, win or lose, they embrace the nostalgia, charm and experience of the “grand old game” when played in Target Field—one of baseball’s great ballparks.

The Pohlads, to the applause of some fans, are exploring selling the franchise the family has operated since 1984. What interest and quality of ownership can the Pohlads attract? A new owner is always a roll of the dice for fans.

New ownership comes with no guarantee that things will be better than in the past— or even as good. Nor is there any certainty the best interests of fans will be a priority.

It’s believed the Pohlads will ask more than the $1.7 billion agreed upon by new ownership for the Orioles earlier this year. That doesn’t mean the Pohlads won’t settle for less but there’s certainly a bottom figure the family is willing to accept. And fans should be prepared to have them own the franchise indefinitely.

The average fan isn’t losing any sleep over who the next owner will be, but diehards are restless about the quality of the club that takes the field next season. The Twins looked like a certainty to make the playoffs last summer but plunged late in the season to a 82-80 record.

There were too many players who faltered in August and September. Their performances, whether veterans or inexperienced, raise questions going into 2025 as to whether they can perform well enough to help turn the Twins into a postseason club.

The Twins’ present roster doesn’t look complete enough as it is. Minnesota likely needs starting pitching help in the fourth or fifth spots, or both. Right-handed hitting from corner outfielders will also have to come from either another team or within the farm system.

Those personnel decisions will still receive attention from Derek Falvey, but newly promoted Jeremy Zoll now takes a larger role as the general manager. His success is needed to help shape whether the Twins can contend for a Central Division title in 2025. Fans wonder how he will do and also why former GM Thad Levine is no longer with the club.

Falvey will not only continue to lead the baseball department but also will head business operations replacing Dave St. Peter as president in 2025 as part of a gradual transition. Falvey has been president of baseball operations since late 2016 and the Pohlads think he can do both jobs. He is well liked within the organization and is a collaborator. St. Peter will stick around indefinitely as a consultant and point man on the pending sale of the franchise.

One question that fans feel is already answered is the 2025 budget to pay players which reportedly will remain about $130 million. That figure was down from a reported $156 million budget in 2023, cut at least in part because of declining local TV revenue.

For 2025 MLB will be taking over production and distribution of Twins games. A source told Sports Headliners he didn’t know how much less revenue this will result in for the franchise, but described it as significantly less than in 2023 and further back.

Fans will have to figure out what’s best for them regarding how to watch the team. Games will be available via television and streaming. New cable and satellite channels will offer games in the Twins’ market area. At least some subscribers will need to pay more than when the 2024 season began.

Some fans couldn’t watch games on cable for a couple of months this past season because of a contract dispute between Comcast Xfinity and Bally Sports North.

Worth Noting

St. Peter, who announced this week he is transitioning from Twins president to an advisory role, is a Horatio Alger story. The University of North Dakota alum had a humble start in the Twin Cities including internships with the NHL North Stars and the Twins. He impressed Twins leaders early on, including when he managed the team’s pro shop in Richfield in 1991. Eleven years later he became the franchise’s fourth president.

St. Peter’s legacy includes his leadership in the drive to build Target Field, now recognized among the premier baseball stadiums in the country. Just his knowledge of stadiums seemingly positions him as a potential consultant to cities hoping to attract a MLB franchise.

The 7-6 Timberwolves are 4-1 when Anthony Edwards scores 30 or more points. He had 36 in last night’s overtime win against the Kings in Sacramento.

Gopher forward Parker Fox, now in his eighth season of college basketball, is worth a listen on Mondays in the 11 a.m. hour when he joins the Paul Allen program on KFNX-FM.

A Sports Headliners reader emailed to report that among those witnessing last Wednesday’s 14-point first half debacle by the basketball Gophers at Williams Arena was Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle. The Gophers, 2-1, lost 54-51 to North Texas, 3-0.

Jamal Mashburn Jr., who played one season for the Gophers and three at New Mexico, is in his final year of college eligibility at Temple where after four games the 6-2 guard is averaging 23.5 points per game.

The Minnesota Old Timers Hockey Association holds its annual November luncheon November 25 at Mancini’s Char House in St. Paul. Minneapolis native, former Gopher and ex-Red Wings player Reed Larson will be the speaker, with Dick Jonckowski the emcee.

Jonckowski, who turned 81 last month, no longer drives because of family concerns but gets rides from others and is still working events. Don’t bother to ask for the Polish Eagle’s email address, he’s never had a computer and doesn’t plan on buying one.

Erich Martens, executive director of the Minnesota State High School League, is the latest guest on “Behind the Game.” Martens talks about the MSHL providing a fun, fair and safe environment for all concerned including athletes and coaches. Co-hosts are Patrick Klinger and Dave Boden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57tys0YUBHY&t=22s

Longtime professional wrestling fans were saddened to learn of Al DeRusha’s passing away at age 88 earlier this month. The Twin Cities native made a living behind and in front of TV cameras promoting shows for Verne Gagne (AWA) and Vince McMahon (WWF). A career highlight was DeRusha’s 2015 induction into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Carson Hansen, who was the A.P. Minnesota Player of the Year when he was at Lakeville South, leads the Iowa State Cyclones in both rushing yards, 495, and touchdowns, eight.

Chase Thompson, at 6-8 among the tallest quarterbacks in Minnesota prep history, is one of 10 finalists for the Mr. Football Award that will be announced December 15. The Alexandria athlete has committed to Clemson’s basketball program. He is the younger brother of former Gopher basketball player Treyton Thompson who is now at Stetson.

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Indiana Hoosier Envy? Go Ahead Big Ten Football Fans

Posted on November 11, 2024November 11, 2024 by David Shama

The Indiana football team has cast a shadow over much of the Big Ten this fall. The Hoosiers are historically among the most putrid of college football programs but not in 2024 with their 10-0 record, shot at a Big Ten championship and in solid contention for a spot in the 12-team college football playoffs.

Their success stands in contrast to not only the school’s bottom-feeding past but many other Big Ten programs who seldom deliver elite results including top 10 national rankings. Among those programs are the Golden Gophers who ironically won their last conference championship in 1967 when they finished in a three-way tie for the title with the Hoosiers and Purdue. That was Indiana’s last league title, too.

What’s happened at Indiana? The Hoosiers’ surreal success has been fueled by coaching, player transfers, health and scheduling. Those are the reasons the Hoosiers are a lofty No. 5 in the Associated Press national college football rankings.

First-year head coach Curt Cignetti, 63, is extraordinary. The college football world is seeing what others observed when Cignetti was on a smaller stage at places like James Madison. He is a football savvy, confident, demanding, ambitious and determined leader who refuses to accept the expected and knows how to deliver the results he wants.

Cignetti and his staff have taught their players to execute assignments with consistency and at a high level. Mistakes, including turnovers, are minimum. The Hoosiers also play with purpose and robust energy. They sometimes also play with an edge in strategy provided by their coaches, including when they successfully disguise the pre-snap intentions of their defensive linemen.

Coaches, of course, no matter how gifted, can’t win without talent. The Hoosiers, although not loaded with four and five-star recruits, have players who are physically and mentally able to perform at a high level in their systems. Offense, defense and special teams, it’s evident that the Indiana coaching staff found players who fit what they demand.

Indiana has 28 players who transferred into the program for the 2024 season, per 247Sports last week. Many of them are key contributors and came from a lower level of college football including James Madison where the Cignetti-led Dukes of 2023 went 11-2. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who was at Ohio U, is the marquee transfer name and is even a dark horse candidate to win the Heisman Trophy.

Rourke, who is one of the few Hoosiers likely to be drafted by an NFL team next spring, hurt his right thumb in the October 19 Nebraska game. He missed the second half of the game, and the following week was out against Washington. In Rourke’s absences the do no wrong Hoosiers didn’t flinch behind the play of backup quarterback Tayven Jackson.

After surgery, Rourke came back to help keep the Hoosiers’ Hollywood story rolling. His injury is one of the few significant ones sustained by the Hoosiers. The team lost left guard Drew Evans last week for the season due to an Achilles injury, but the roster has been remarkably healthy. Player availability, or durability as coaching legend Bud Grant used to say, is so significant in determining outcomes of games and Indiana has been fortunate.

Fortunate, too, has been the schedule that included nonconference cream puffs Charlotte, FIU and Western Illinois. The Hoosiers play No. 2 ranked Ohio State in Columbus on November 23 but overall their Big Ten schedule has been friendly. They don’t play the league’s two other top teams, undefeated Oregon, ranked No. 1 in the nation by the A.P., and once beaten Penn State, ranked No. 4.

But give the Hoosiers credit for manhandling most of their opposition. Until last Saturday’s 20-15 win over defending national champion Michigan, Indiana’s narrowest victories were a pair of 14-point triumphs over Maryland and Washington.

Indiana’s record last season under Tom Allen was 3-9 overall, 1-8 in conference games. The Hoosiers’ success is the best story in college football this fall but it’s not the only one of “Davids” rising up against “Goliaths.”

Vanderbilt is a graveyard for college football but has commanded respect this fall with its 6-4 record including an upset of then No. 1 ranked Alabama on October 10. The Vandy revival is led by quarterback Diego Pavia, a transfer from New Mexico State who happened to land in Nashville along with Jerry Kill who is a senior advisor and chief consultant to head coach Clark Lea.

Colorado, nationally ranked and 7-2 on the season, has been transformed from one of the nation’s worst programs by coach Deion Sanders’ obsession with the transfer portal. The 2024 Buffs have a nation-leading 49 transfers, per On3.com.

The transfer portal has brought more parity to college football. Immediate eligibility at a new school is appealing to players who might be sitting on the bench at a traditional powerhouse school, or players who want to try competing at the Power Four level.

The portal brought Max Brosmer to Minnesota after his All-American quarterback career at New Hampshire. Brosmer’s performance this fall has him in the discussion of the better quarterbacks in Gopher history. And he’s not alone on the list of Minnesota transfer contributors including defensive back Jack Henderson, cornerback Ethan Robinson, running back Marcus Major and wide receiver Elijah Spencer.

Revenue sharing with players is on the horizon, likely to come next year. Speculation is Power Four schools will have budgets to pay players in the range of $20 million. A chance to play right away via the portal and make more money will give the Indianas and Minnesotas an opportunity to acquire talent that was unlikely years ago. (And traditional have nots who can provide significant Name, Image and Likeness rewards for players will only strengthen their ability to recruit personnel.)

A jump in collegiate football parity has arrived and should continue indefinitely. The Big Ten football standings show that. The Gophers, 4-3 in league games, sit in a traffic jam with 10 other teams that have three or four losses.

Minnesota, winners of four straight before a disappointing loss at Rutgers last Saturday, has two games remaining and a muddled outlook regarding a bowl destination. Fans cringe at the thought of returning to Detroit but in the unpredictable world of college football something better may await including Charlotte, Nashville or Florida.

Indiana has certainly proven how wacky things are. Upon arrival in Bloomington after being hired, Cignetti boldly listed a few programs that suck, including Michigan. The Wolverines may have used that as motivational bulletin board material last week but once again the clock didn’t strike midnight for the “Cinderella Hoosiers.”

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