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.
Many professional athletes are duds to interview. They speak in whispers, uttering clichéd responses. Sometimes they won’t even talk to the media. Not so with 6-foot-8, 310-pound offensive tackle Alex Boone who is in his first season with the Vikings after seven years with the 49ers.
Boone is a sportswriters’ dream, at times outspoken and usually entertaining. The tattooed Ohio State history major talked one-on-one with Sports Headliners about his wife Dana, their three young children, the world’s rhinoceros population, and even football.
How do you like Christmas shopping?
I hate it, so I let my wife do it.
What’s the most interesting gift your kids will receive for Christmas?
Alex Boone (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)
We got them little teepees that have lights on them so they can go in there and play, and be left alone, and stop bothering us.
How does your wife feel about the Vikings and Packers having a game on Christmas Eve day?
She’s pissed. But then again she really has no say, so I think she’s cool with it.
What was your reaction to having the zoo in San Francisco name a rhinoceros after you?
I was thrilled, ecstatic. Still am.
Why?
Because it’s a rhino. There are only 800 of them in the world—and one is Alex Boone. You’re welcome.
Why are you such an outgoing guy?
Because I just don’t care enough. I mean I care about everybody in this locker room. I care about football. I care about my family, and after that I have no cares.
Who could you beat in this locker room in a footrace?
Beat in a footrace? For sure (Brandon) Fusco. Definitely Berg (Joe Berger), probably Linval (Joseph). I mean I can beat a lot of guys in here. …I am faster than everybody.
What did you learn from your brother who served in the Marines Corps?
I learned that you gotta be very selfless in this world. You gotta be able to protect those around you.
What’s the wildest thing that has ever happened to you in football?
I was playing defense in high school and…some kid speared my elbow, and it completely dislocated it, popped it up the other side.
What was it like playing for coach Jim Harbaugh with the 49ers?
It was great. I love Jim. He’s awesome. Funny guy, (who) tells the truth all the time. He’s not afraid to hurt your feelings. True man.
Will the Vikings be one of the teams when Minneapolis hosts the Super Bowl in 2018?
You’re God damn right we will.
What’s your favorite Christmas dinner?
Ham, cheese potatoes, baked beans, cornbread…and lots of ice tea.
Vikings tough guy Everson Griffen voiced admiration for coach Mike Zimmer yesterday. Griffen, a seven-year pro, has played for a lot of coaches during his high school, college and NFL career. “He’s the most courageous,” the Vikings defensive end told SportsHeadliners yesterday. “He’s just a great coach to play for.”
Zimmer’s multiple eye surgeries this fall have stopped him from coaching in only one game, a loss against Dallas on December 1. Zimmer flew to Jacksonville last week and coached the Vikings to a 25-16 victory over the Jaguars. He has been wearing a patch over his right eye in practice this week but will coach against the Colts on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“It was hard not to have him on the sidelines for the Cowboys game,” fullback Zach Line told Sports Headliners. “It felt like things were back to normal when he was travelling with us last week.”
What was different when Zimmer didn’t coach in the Dallas game? “I think just having your leader there changes everything,” Line said. “He’s definitely the guy we look to on the sidelines and in the locker room at halftime.”
Griffen, a 2016 Pro Bowler known for his aggressive style, finds Zimmer inspirational. “He’s a tough guy. He loves the game of football. He was going to find any solution to get back on the field with us.” …
Sam Bradford (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)
Despite the team’s offensive line being in disarray because of injuries, and a running game that is among the worst in pro football, Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford has a career-best 98.2 passer rating. Bradford, 29, has thrown 14 touchdown passes and just three interceptions.
Bradford ranks eighth in the NFL in passer rating. In six of his 12 games his passer rating has been over 100. He’s given the Vikings their best passing season since Brett Favre’s lights-out 2009 season.
The offensive line didn’t allow a sack in last Sunday’s win over the Jaguars. “Those guys played great last week,” Bradford said. “They went out there and they just blocked their butts off, both in the run game and in the pass game. I thought they did a great job, and I couldn’t be more proud of those guys. …” …
Don’t be surprised if 11-year veteran Chad Greenway waits until spring before deciding whether to retire. Expect a well thought out decision by the Vikings linebacker on whether to play another season. …
When the Vikings play the Colts Sunday it will be a homecoming for Minnesota native Joe Haeg who played high school football in Brainerd. The rookie offensive tackle and guard, a fifth round draft choice, has been a surprise starter for the Colts. …
The Christmas Eve day weather forecast in Green Bay is for a high of 36 and “snow or flurries possible,” according to Accuweather.com. The Vikings-Packers holiday game at Lambeau Field begins at noon. …
Jim Carter, who is a candidate to become a University of Minnesota Board of Regent next year, attended last Friday’s board meeting on the Minneapolis campus. Carter said “about 30” demonstrators wore “Fire Kaler” t-shirts and spoke critically of University president Eric Kaler, including his hire of former athletics director Norwood Teague. The police cleared the room and broke up the demonstration after a short while, according to Carter. …
Former Gophers football coach Jerry Kill has a book signing today at Barnes & Noble Nicollet Mall from noon to 2 p.m. Tomorrow he will be at Barnes & Noble Eden Prairie and Sunday at Barnes & Noble Mall of America—1 to 3 p.m. both days. He will be signing copies of his new book Chasing Dreams: Living My Life One Yard at a Time. …
Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle speaks to the CORES lunch group Thursday, January 12 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Vikings executive Lester Bagley talks to the group on March 9. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. …
Mark Ritchie said via email the Minnesota World’s Fair bid for 2023 will place emphasis “on all aspects of how we keep ourselves healthy, including sports, fitness, exercise and how we return to fitness if sick or injured.” The president and CEO of the Minnesota Expo 2023 project announced yesterday that his group has met the Bureau of International Expositions bid deadline. He also told Sports Headliners in an email the anticipated site for the fair will be on land between TCF Bank Stadium and Surly Brewing Company. Others competing to host the fair are Argentina, Brazil and Poland. …
Fans wonder about new 33-year-old Twins baseball boss DerekFalvey working with 60-year-old manager Paul Molitor. That’s a 27 year difference in age but when Falvey was in the Cleveland front office he collaborated with 57-year-old manager Terry Francona. Molitor has long been known for his high baseball I.Q. and that was developed because of his willingness to learn. Expect Falvey and Molitor to be curious about each other’s ideas this offseason. …
Until the Timberwolves pull toward a .500 record, legitimate questions will nag at the franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004. The Wolves have a talented young core of players but management hired a coach who made his reputation handling veteran players. In Chicago as head coach and Boston as a key assistant, highly regarded Tom Thibodeau was known for leading stingy defenses. He also had physical players—enforcer types—but the Wolves are a finesse team with some of their best players being stylish performers like Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and RickyRubio. …
Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, the deceased founders of the Timberwolves and the Northwest health clubs in Minneapolis, were tennis advocates including boosters of the Gophers program. A recognition plaque is on display at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center, and February 3 at the Gophers-Dartmouth match the contributions of Wolfenson and Ratner will be honored. …
Former Gophers guard Blake Hoffarber, who won a 2005 Best Play ESPY Award for his amazing three-point shot in the state tournament while in high school, is a business insurance risk consultant for Marsh & McLennan in Minneapolis. …
The Minnesota Wild and other sponsors will celebrate Girls Hockey Weekend Saturday and Sunday at Xcel Energy Center. NatalieDarwitz, the Olympic medalist and women’s hockey coach at Hamline, will say “Let’s Play Hockey!” at the start of the Wild-Coyotes game Saturday afternoon. There will be promotion of girls and women’s hockey at the game. Post-game, fans can attend a chalk talk featuring Darwitz and two other hockey authorities, LauraHalldorson and Kristen Wright. Hockey clinics for girls and women will be held on Saturday and Sunday. More at Wild.com/girlshockey. Darwitz also skated with the Wild at practice this morning, becoming the first female to suit up with the team.
Maybe there will be a silver lining to news that 10 Gophers football players have been suspended indefinitely as the team prepares for its December 27 Holiday Bowl game in San Diego. The presumption is those players won’t be available for the game but perhaps the other Gophers on the roster can use the adversity to focus more and perform better.
Four of the suspended players are defensive backs who have been key contributors: Ray Buford, KiAnte Hardin, Antonio Shenault and Antoine Winfield Jr. Their absence against a Washington State team with one of the nation’s best passing attacks would be a blow to Minnesota’s chances.
The Holiday Bowl is a prestigious destination and Washington State is a quality opponent, having finished second in the Pac-12 North Division standings. A win over the favored Cougars will boost the Gophers’ image and help build interest for next year’s team.
The nationally televised bowl game also provides an opportunity to impress high school players who the Gophers are recruiting. Minnesota’s 2017 recruiting class has so far been ranked toward the bottom of the Big Ten by media authorities. National Signing Day is February 1.
Gophers on the roster returning for next season can gain enthusiasm for winter workouts and preparations for spring practice if Minnesota wins its second bowl game in the last five years.
Tracy Claeys
Gophers coach Tracy Claeys has at least one financial incentive as he prepares his team for the bowl game. His contract stipulates he receives a $50,000 bonus if Minnesota defeats an opponent from the Pac-12, Big 12, ACC or SEC in a bowl game. He has already earned a $50,000 bonus for winning five Big Ten games this year, and $75,000 for leading his team to this bowl game.
There is speculation Claeys will receive an extension on the contract he accepted late last year that turned his status from interim head coach into full-time boss. Claeys has two years remaining on that deal. Perhaps there will be an increase in not only the number of years, but also the compensation for Claeys who earned a $1.4 million salary this season. Certainly a Gophers’ win in the bowl game against 8-4 Washington State will add more luster to the coach’s resume.
Claeys coached the Gophers to a 5-4 league record, 8-4 overall. The schedule of opponents was the easiest in years and the public didn’t get excited about the team. The Gophers averaged 43,814 in seven home games, the lowest attendance since moving into 50,805 seat TCF Bank Stadium in 2009. Claeys has incentives in his contract that pay him $75,000 if home attendance averages 49,000 or more. He earns $50,000 if attendance is 47,000 or more.
Worth Noting
Claeys has received a verbal commitment from Southwest Mississippi Community College quarterback Neil McLaurin. Claeys’ philosophy is not to recruit junior college players unless there is a definite need and an opportunity to play. That might make McLaurin the favorite to replace senior Mitch Leidner, jumping ahead of redshirt sophomore Demry Croft, and redshirt freshmen Seth Green and Mark Williams.
The LIU Brooklyn team that plays the Gophers tonight at Williams Arena is 7-3 and wins include a 74-73 victory over St. John’s. The Gophers, 10-1, defeated 5-6 St. John’s 92-86 at Williams Arena last month.
Minnesota received six votes in this week’s A.P. top 25 rankings, four more than Michigan State, the Gophers’ opponent in their Big Ten opener on December 27. The 7-4 Spartans rank No. 43 and the Gophers No. 47 in the Kenpom.com advanced analysis ratings.
Before legislation was passed in 2012 approving a Vikings stadium to replace the Metrodome, the NFL told governor Mark Dayton all bets were off if the state didn’t come up with a new facility. Dayton revealed that Sunday on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle program and said the NFL talked about the Vikings franchise becoming a “free agent” for relocation if a new stadium wasn’t approved.
Minnesota connections: St. Charles-born Brad Nessler will succeed Duluth-born Verne Lundquist next year on the CBS TV SEC game of the week. The 76-year-old Lundquist told a national television audience last Saturday Nessler will take over for him with play-by-play, although Lundquist will continue work at golf’s Masters and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2017.
Hugh McCutcheon
The Gophers volleyball team plays Stanford in a NCAA Final Four match tomorrow night in Columbus starting at 6 p.m. Coach HughMcCutcheon’s team is a big story locally and it will be interesting to see if the TV ratings in Minneapolis-St. Paul are the largest in any U.S. market on Thursday night. The match will be televised on ESPN2. The other Final Four teams are Nebraska and Texas.
The Gophers opened their 2016 season against Stanford in Palo Alto, winning 3-1 on August 27 and then losing by that score August 28. Gophers sophomore Samantha Seliger-Swenson had 17 digs in the loss. She is the Big Ten Setter of the Year.
McCutheon’s wife, Elisabeth “Wiz” Bachman, is from the Bachman family that has owned Minneapolis-based Bachman’s since 1885. She is a former Olympic volleyball player.
Former Henry Sibley hockey coach Tom Serratore, has his Bemidji State team at 13-5-2 and ranked No. 15 nationally in the latest USCHO.com poll. “He’s doing as good a job as any coach in college hockey,” a WCHA source told Sports Headliners.
Serratore, now in his 18th season at Bemidji, has one of the nation’s best goalies in junior Michael Bitzer from Moorhead who is third in the country in save percentage at .938, according to USCHO.com.
The 9-5-2 Gophers are No. 10 in the USCHO.com national poll. Minnesota doesn’t play again until December 30-31 when the Gophers host the 26th annual Mariucci Classic.
Former Gophers football coach Jerry Kill has a book signing today at Barnes & Noble Nicollet Mall from noon to 2 p.m. Tomorrow he will be at Barnes & Noble Eden Prairie and Sunday at Barnes & Noble Mall of America—1 to 3 p.m. both days. He will be signing copies of his new book Chasing Dreams: Living My Life One Yard at a Time. …
