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.

Don’t Bet on Long Term Sam Darnold Run with Vikings

Posted on October 15, 2024October 15, 2024 by David Shama

What’s that phrase, Vikings fans?

“Here today, gone tomorrow.”

Does that fit the future for quarterback Sam Darnold?

Darnold, on a one-year deal reportedly paying him up to about $10 million, is a golden boy in this town for his role in helping the Vikings to a stunning 5-0 start to the season. Although he didn’t dazzle in his last start (October 6 against the Jets before the team’s bye week), the 27-year-old journeyman has pumped new life into his career and a Vikings team that was expected to struggle and not make the playoffs.

Darnold’s early season production led to being named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September. He led the Vikings to their first 4-0 start since 2016. On the morning of October 3, he had completed 73-of-106 for 932 passing yards and 11 touchdowns in four games in September. He led the NFL in touchdown passes, percentage of touchdowns thrown per attempt (10.4%) and passer rating (118.9).

However, it’s questionable the Vikings, who have an NFC North Division showdown against the 4-1 Lions in Minneapolis Sunday, are interested in Darnold beyond this year. On the extreme of developments, that interest likely changes if Minnesota goes to and wins the Super Bowl in February in New Orleans.

J.J. McCarthy, injured and out for the season, will be ready in 2025. The Vikings’ No. 1 draft pick last April has yet to play in a regular season game but during the spring and summer he did a lot to impress head coach Kevin O’Connell.

O’Connell is a gifted quarterback developer who has had plenty to do with Darnold’s emergence. It was no accident how he referred to McCarthy around the time of the rookie’s right knee meniscus surgery:

“As our fans either have already come to find out or will in the future, this guy is so motivated and so dialed in. As excited as I was to draft him, he’s confirmed everything that I hope to see not only early on through training camp, but through his performance last Saturday (August 10 preseason opening game). Our fan base and everyone should just be excited about the fact that we’ve got our young franchise quarterback, I believe, in the building.”

“Franchise quarterback” says a lot.

Sam Darnold image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Not only do the Vikings believe in McCarthy’s talent but they know he is six years younger than Darnold and much less expensive. McCarthy, per Spotrac.com, will earn a base salary of $960,000 in 2025. If the Vikings have a big season in 2024 (they can even go 7-5 in their remaining games for a final record of 12-5), Darnold will play a significant role in their success and be positioned to command a huge pay raise from some team as a 2025 free agent.

The 15 top paid NFL quarterbacks this fall, according to Front Office Sports and USA Today, all earn $40 million or more. It could be a lock that Darnold, who at this stage of his career must capitalize on a first-ever breakout season, can demand and secure at least $30 million to $40 million for multiple years.

The Vikings will have significant salary cap space in 2025, but do they want to commit a large portion to Darnold, given his age, lack of success with other teams and McCarthy waiting on the bench? Probably not, with the front office wanting to use money in 2025 and beyond to strengthen other positions while knowing they already have some of the NFL’s more expensive talent including wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Darnold and his representatives, if not wanted here, will no doubt prefer a new team with similar resources to those in Minneapolis. That includes a coaching staff of exceptional teachers and play callers, and a group of talented receivers.

Hard to say where Darnold might land but the Rams could be ideal if 36-year-old QB Matthew Stafford decides to retire. He has made a lot of money, taken a lot of hits and has a Super Bowl ring. Head coach and QB whisperer Sean McVay, only 38, coached that Super Bowl team in 2022 with O’Connell as his offensive coordinator. If Darnold couldn’t play for the Vikings, McVay and the Rams with their gifted receivers, would be choice 1B.

U Football Recruiting Home Base Ranks Low in Big Ten

In the 247Sports composite college football recruiting rankings for the class of 2025, the Golden Gophers are in familiar territory. Minnesota, with 23 verbal commitments, is ranked No. 45, with 11 other Big Ten programs listed ahead of Minnesota including five in the top 15.

Having recruiting classes ranked in the upper 30s or in the 40s is common for the Gophers. College football recruiting authority Ryan Burns, who is based in Minnesota, was asked how fans should feel about the reality of University of Minnesota recruiting.

“I am not going to tell anybody how to feel. I just think it’s the reality of your recruiting base (state of Minnesota)…which in this in-state class doesn’t have a single four-star in it.

“You look at the state of New Jersey, for example. New Jersey has 20-plus kids that are higher rated than Minnesota’s top rated kid in the state. This recruiting base is not good. I continue to say they and Oregon are the two worst in the Big Ten and Oregon can buy whoever they want because they have Phil Knight’s money.

“So it’s kind of the reality of where they’re at, especially when you’re not winning consistently like they haven’t been here now for a couple of years. You kind of reap what you sew at that point.”

With the 2024 expansion of the Big Ten Conference, the league now has 18 schools. The arrival of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington means more programs to recruit against but also opens up recruiting opportunities in the talent rich state of California.

The golden state has been more on Minnesota’s recruiting radar of late, in part because the Gophers are expected to play one game on the West Coast in coming seasons. “You can sell them (recruits on) once a year we’re going to go back to where you’re from,” Burns told Sports Headliners.

It doesn’t go unnoticed that on the last two football Saturdays the Gophers have defeated USC and UCLA. The most recent victory was in Pasadena and Fleck, with his team having a bye on the schedule this week, is spending time recruiting in California this week.

Minnesota currently has three Californians among their verbal commits. “Without the Big Ten expansion, I don’t think Minnesota has anywhere near as close to as many commits as they have from the Pacific time zone,” Burns said.

The headliner of the recruiting class is quarterback Jackson Kollock from Laguna Beach who is a near four-star composite prospect. “His team in Laguna Beach is undefeated but a lot of it is because of Jackson Kollock,” Burns said. “Doesn’t have the greatest offensive line or pass catchers.

“I think he’s the most athletic quarterback you’ve seen (offensive coordinator Greg) Harbaugh recruit. He’s certainly more athletic than (present Gophers) Max Brosmer or Drake Lindsey. I don’t know if they will do too much with him in the run game, but he certainly has the athleticism to move.”

Kollock was committed to Washington until after last season’s playoffs when head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb left the Huskies. DeBoer is now head coach at Alabama and Grubb is the NFL Seahawks offensive coordinator. It’s a tribute to Kollock’s talent and potential those offensive gurus pursued him.

Daniel Shipp is a three-star recruit from Corona, California. “I am really a big fan of Daniel Shipp, who is their offensive line commit from Centennial High School out there in California,” Burns said.

“They took a chance on him as someone who tore his knee and missed most of his junior season. His early senior film has been pretty good, and they need tackle bodies in this program.”

The third California recruit is an exceptional wide receiver and another three-star player. “Someone from the all-name team, Legend Lyons, has been very prolific out there at Charter Oaks (Covina),” Burns said. He describes Lyons as ”a receiver who can really catch the football, which is something that this program needs.”

Verbal pledges can change but Burns believes their commitments are “solid” to Minnesota. “I am a big fan of those three guys out there.”

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Perich Teases at Becoming a Generational Talent for Gophers

Posted on October 13, 2024October 13, 2024 by David Shama

Seven games into his University of Minnesota football career, true freshman Koi Perich looks like he will become a generational football player in Dinkytown. He has set a standard for impacting games as a safety and punt returner that teases at a golden legacy he will leave behind at the U.

There he was in the Rose Bowl last night ending the game by intercepting a pass near his end zone as the Golden Gophers held off UCLA for a 21-17 victory. It was the second week in a row for such heroics, having ended the USC game with an end zone interception as Minnesota upset the No. 11 ranked Trojans in Minneapolis.

Perich had two interceptions last night. The first one was a turning point in the game after he intercepted UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers in the third quarter. It was a show-stopper pick with Perich laying out his body to catch the ball inside the UCLA 40-yard line. The Gophers, trailing 10-7, took advantage of the turnover and put together a short drive to go up 14-10 in the game.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

The Esko, Minnesota native is an instinctual player with superb athleticism. He is perhaps the most gifted player to come out of the state and play for the Gophers since Rochester running back Darrell Thompson set school records in Dinkytown more than 30 years ago. Perich’s talent can be mentioned in the same breath with two of Fleck’s most prominent players since 2017—wide receiver Rashod Bateman and safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Perich, who played sparingly early in the season, has won the punt and kickoff jobs, and is a regular presence at safety. He was chosen the National Freshman of the Week (Shaun Alexander Award) following the USC game. He had six tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in the game.

The week before, at Michigan, Perich burst on the college football radar with a team leading 108 all-purpose yards, 82 on punt returns and 26 on kickoff returns. One of those punt returns was for 60 yards and that set up a second half score in Minnesota’s bid for an upset win. Perich had teased his punt return talent with a 28-yard return against Rhode Island before the Gophers started Big Ten play.

Perich has become a target for opposing players when he is trying to return punts—and not always in a high character way. In the USC game a Trojan tackler picked up the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Perich and body slammed him to the ground in WWE style. That was an infraction and so, too, was last night’s incident when a UCLA tackler was penalized for targeting Perich.

So far nothing seems to rattle the precocious Perich who appears to take the good and bad in stride—with rock solid confidence and either a fiery expression or smile on his face. Among the moments that have made him beam was the crowd storming of fans at Huntington Bank Stadium after the Gophers stunned the Trojans.

“That was awesome,” Perich said a week ago. “There was a part where I was in the middle and I don’t know who lifted me up, but I could just see everybody on the field at the same time. That was one of the coolest moments of my life.”

Perich, who has already endeared himself to countless Gopher fans and sent them shopping for his merchandise (https://athletesthread.com/collections/koi-perich), didn’t arrive on campus until June. His learning curve has been fast and his production proved why most every college football program in the country wanted him.

Perich, though, was loyal to Minnesota. He believed in head coach P.J. Fleck who has sent not only Winfield to the NFL, but also 2023 All-American safety Tyler Nubin. “I trusted him for what he has done,” Perich said.

It also didn’t take long for Fleck to believe in his teenage star. “He’s a great football player and he’s just scratching the surface,” Fleck said recently. “He really is special in the way that he approaches the game.

“I’ve always said what I love about Antoine Winfield Jr. is there was always a smile on his face. What I love about Tyler Nubin is there was always a smile on his face.

“There is always a smile on this kid’s face. Not only there’s a smile on his face, there’s always hope in his eyes.

“And he’s the hope. He’s the solution. He’s the confidence. He’s the reason like that’s always in his eyes and it doesn’t matter what he’s doing.”

Along with Perich’s talent and confidence comes a ferocious will to win. “You want to go play him in pickleball, good luck… .He’s one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met, but you saw that. And that’s why everybody in the country wanted them (him).”

The Gophers are 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in Big Ten games. They have too often been mediocre, including on offense but guess who might—sooner or later—take some snaps on that side of the ball? Yup, the playmaker from up north. With Perich, opponents don’t know what’s coming next.

Wild’s Owner Talks Schedule, Expectations, Kaprizov

The Wild plays at Winnipeg tonight as part of an October schedule that has Minnesota on the road for the remainder of October. The Wild opened the regular season with home games last Thursday (3-2 win over the Blue Jackets) and Saturday (5-4 shootout loss to the Kraken).

In a recent interview with Sports Headliners Wild owner Craig Leipold said he takes his input from the players and coaches and that they are embracing the schedule that has them on the road for seven games this month. “…Let the players bond together and spend more time together, and feel like they’re a team, is really an advantage that we think we have,” Leipold said.

Here is a brief Q & A from an in-person conversation with Leipold who has owned the franchise since 2008.

What are you most excited about as the season starts up?

“I want to get the bad taste of last season out of my mouth. I don’t want to think about the problems our team had last year (including missing the playoffs). Our team is better than that. I am anxious to see the team back on the ice. I am very excited about the way that they’ve been practicing in preseason.”

NHL media authorities are unsure if the Wild can make the playoffs.

“I think that’s fine. I think that’s probably accurate right now. I say we are a playoff team. I get my read a lot from (GM) Billy (Guerin). Billy agrees this team is a playoff team. We should be in the playoffs. We expect to be in the playoffs and if we’re not we’ll be very disappointed.”

What are the strengths of this team?

“Everything kind of builds around (forward) Kirill Kaprizov. He is a special player. I think our first line is going to be really strong.

“We have practiced the penalty kill very hard. Our power play was in the top 10 last year. I think we’re going to be better this year. Preseason, our first line power and second line power play did fantastic.

“But we all know that’s preseason. I like our team. I think we’re going to be a grindier team, made of grinders, and I think we lacked a little bit of that last season.”

Kaprizov has two more years remaining on his contract and there is already speculation about his long term NHL home. The Wild will retain him, right?

“Ultimately that’s going to be Kirill’s decision, but we think we’re going to have a very compelling case. First of all, we own his rights for two years. We’re excited about that. He’s excited about being here.

“You know, I guess it is the down side of having a marquee player like this is that it gets people talking a lot about, what if you lose him?

“Well, we haven’t been thinking about that except for the fact that we’re not going to lose him. We’re going to make sure that this is where he wants to be. He will see that this is a team he can win (with) here, in this market. And as I’ve stated before, nobody is going to outspend us when it comes to Kirill.”

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What to Know After Viking Close Call in London Today

Posted on October 6, 2024October 6, 2024 by David Shama

Cheerio, London. The Vikings hung on to defeat the Jets today, 23-17, and keep their season record perfect at 5-0. Here’s what to know:

On a day when the offense was too often MIA, the defense and rookie kicker Will Reichard carried the crew.

QB Sam Darnold was off on his throws and the Minnesota running game went south after RB Aaron Jones had to leave the game in the first half with a right hip injury. Jones had seven carries for 29 yards rushing while Ty Chandler, his sub, ran 14 times for 30 yards.

Jones, who caught one pass for 24 yards, will ideally heal up during the bye week on the schedule that has the Vikings not playing again until October 20 in a NFC North showdown against the Lions. The Vikings aren’t even close to being as dynamic without the 29-year-old Jones who joined the team as a free agent last off-season.

Darnold, who threw one interception and completed 14 of 31 passes for 179 yards, faced a Jets defense that specializes in pass coverage. Jets head coach Robert Saleh, a defensive guru, had his team using schemes to not only challenge Darnold but provide sticky coverage on Viking receivers including superstar Justin Jefferson who was limited to six receptions despite frequent targets.

Kevin O’Connell image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

After the game Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell said during his news conference heard on KFAN Radio in Minneapolis that his defense “was lights out” when picking up the team as needed. That was exemplified in the closing minutes of the game when the Jets, trailing 23-17, were driving for a potential winning score and extra point. Twice the Vikings put pressure on quarterback Aaron Rodgers before Minnesota corner Stephon Gilmore intercepted a game-ending throw near the Viking 10-yard line.

The Vikings defense, known for disguising its intentions, dominated the Jets in the first half (leading 17-7 at the break) before Rodgers had success with quick throws for short gains as New York scored three points in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth.

Still, the Vikings leave London giving up a total of 76 points in five games—an average of 15.2. That’s the best in the NFC.

The offense produced one touchdown with the defense being able to match that thanks to outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel’s 63-yard interception for a score in the first quarter. Reichard, the rookie kicker from Alabama, produced Minnesota’s first points of the game with a 54-yard field goal, then followed that up with field goals of 51 and 43 yards in the fourth quarter. For the season he is a perfect nine of nine.

It’s not too soon to speculate Reichard could turn out to be the franchise’s best kicker ever and was more than a smart move by Minnesota drafting him in the sixth round last spring.

No one, at least externally, saw the Vikings’ fast start to the season coming. And they’ve done it against two teams, the 49ers and Texans, who rank with the better clubs in the NFL.

Other than the Jones injury today and worry about his health going forward, the Vikings have been fortunate with injuries. Before leaving for London last week tight end Johnny Mundt told Sports Headliners something Vikings fans will like:

“I just think we’re a special team. Got the right DNA of a championship team. As long as we can keep healthy and keep doing what we’re doing I think there’s a lot of positive things that we’ll achieve.”

Reeve Looks Like Hoops Genius Again

The Minnesota Lynx had a 19-21 regular season record in 2023 and were eliminated in a first-round playoff series. After that president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve had a decision to make about the 2024 team, along with team owner Glen Taylor.

The choice was trying to build an immediate winner or have a 2024 record that would position the club for higher draft choices. “And together we decided we were going to go for the winning,” Taylor told Sports Headliners.

Minnesota finished the regular season at 30-10, the most victories in franchise history. The record was also the second best in the league, trailing only the 32-8 New York Liberty. As of today (Sunday), the No. 2 playoff seeded Lynx are up 2-1 in the best of five semifinals series against the Sun. The teams play in Connecticut today and if a fifth and deciding game is needed it will be Tuesday evening in Minneapolis.

A series win would send Minnesota to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2017 with a chance to win the franchise’s fifth league crown. All under Reeve who has a gift for identifying talent and coaching those players to success.

Reeve transformed the 2024 Lynx roster by signing key free agents Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith, re-signing forward Bridget Carleton, and trading for valued reserves Natisha Hiedeman and Myisha Hines-Allen. Minnesota led the league in assists per game (23.0) and three-point percentage (38.0%) with three players in the top 10 for three-point field goal percentage: Bridget Carleton (44.4), Cecilia Zandalasini (44.3) and Kayla McBride (40.7). Defensively, the Lynx held opponents to a 41% field goal percentage, best in the league.

Late last month the WNBA announced Reeve as the league’s Coach of the Year (fourth time) and Basketball Executive of the Year (second). She is the first coach in league history to receive the Coach of the Year Award four times and is only the second person to be selected for both awards in the same season.

Taylor hired Reeve in 2009, partly at the recommendation of Bill Laimbeer who was head coach of the WNBA’s Detroit Shock. Reeve was the team’s general manager and an assistant coach.

“She has asked in all these years to report directly to me which has been fine…and we work together I think very well, and she’s got real good results and so I am very supportive of her,” Taylor said.

Taylor said Reeve “is all business” when they talk which is fine with him because he appreciates the efficiency. Reeve is on a multi-year contract that reportedly pays her $700,000 annually. Taylor said she has never “threatened” to leave and the two have been able to agree on contracts. “I just talk to her, and we get it worked out.”

With more opportunities for women in men’s professional sports front offices, it’s not wild speculation to think Reeve could receive an NBA offer. Taylor said it hasn’t been that direct in their conversations, but he thinks Reeve has implied “she could do that if the opportunity came.”

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