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.

TC MLS Franchise in Doubt Now?

Posted on May 20, 2016May 20, 2016 by David Shama

Dr. Bill McGuire isn’t sure he wants to pursue a new soccer stadium for Minnesota if state lawmakers don’t help with his plan. He also told Sports Headliners Wednesday Major League Soccer (MLS) may not allow him to start and operate a franchise in 2017 without the promise of a new stadium within a couple of years.

McGuire and St. Paul officials want to see the construction of a soccer stadium in the city’s Midway district. The facility could be the home for a MLS franchise by 2018 if the Minnesota Legislature approves an ongoing exemption from property taxes and a one-year exemption on sales tax for stadium construction materials. The stadium is to be privately financed but McGuire and St. Paul officials insist tax exemptions are necessary to make the facility a reality. Speculation has been the best chance for legislative approval will come by including the initiative in an omnibus tax bill but even that is uncertain so late in the session.

McGuire owns the Minnesota United franchise that currently operates in the (lower level) North American Soccer League. McGuire has invested considerable time and money working on a stadium and a move to the MLS. With no legislative approval yet and lawmakers adjourning Monday, McGuire was asked what happens to his aspirations if the St. Paul stadium deal isn’t approved.

“That would become very problematic on retaining the franchise for Minnesota,” he answered. “I think there would be a significant issue on that …”

The MLS, operating with 20 teams this season, has plans to add Atlanta and Minnesota in 2017. If the league sees no action from Minnesota for a new stadium, that could open the way for Sacramento to join the MLS with Atlanta next year, McGuire said.

The former UnitedHealth Group executive who bought the United soccer franchise in 2012 said the MLS “wants to bring teams in in pairs” and believes the league could drop Minnesota. McGuire said “I don’t know about that” when asked if he would pursue a stadium in the Twin Cities if no approval comes from the state before adjournment Monday.

If Minnesota does have a MLS franchise next year, McGuire will decide whether to have the team play at TCF Bank Stadium or Target Field. Because of so many Twins games, he said it’s more likely his club will play at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of Gophers football.

But that temporary home in 2017 is tied to the future of a new soccer stadium in St. Paul. McGuire said if the MLS isn’t in his future, he will continue with the NASL. The United plays its games this year at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

Worth Noting

Congratulations to Jay Pfaender who was honored at a Recognition Reception Tuesday at Drake Bank in St. Paul. The banking executive and former Mankato State tennis player has been a booster of volunteer organizations and a strong advocate for the city of St. Paul. The city proclaimed Tuesday “Jay Pfaender Mr. St. Paul Day.”

Timberwolves president Chris Wright said the franchise has sold about 350 full season tickets since announcing last month Tom Thibodeau will be the new head coach. The .647 winning percentage he compiled when he was the Bulls head coach ranks seventh in NBA history (minimum 200 games).

You can be sure a lot of University of Minnesota loyalists are upset that administrators at the school didn’t offer Jerry Kill a high-level position in the Athletic Department mentoring coaches and student-athletes. Instead, it was announced this week Kill will be working for the Kansas State Athletic Department as an associate athletic director. Former Gophers football captain Jim Carter emailed friends with critical words for the U including this: “Jerry Kill took a job with Kansas State. … The best thing that happened to Gopher football since Murray Warmath just headed off to Kansas!”

Joe Christensen reported in the Star Tribune Monday that Gophers redshirt junior Ryan Santoso will replace the departed Peter Mortell as the team’s punter. Santoso averaged 39.26 yards per punt as a high school senior in Pace, Florida. The 6-6, 245-pound Santoso was Minnesota’s field goal specialist last season.

Pete Najarian, the CNBC TV personality and former Gophers linebacker from Minneapolis who still makes his home in Minnesota, rearranged his schedule to speak to the CORES group last week in Bloomington. Among those in attendance were his parents and daughter Alexis who is on the track team at Nebraska.

CORES emcee Dick Jonckowski and wife Arlene celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary April 30.

Although the final date hasn’t previously been announced, a high school all-star football game featuring some of the state’s best seniors will start at 3 p.m. December 3 in U.S. Bank Stadium. A youth football clinic will precede the game. The game will be the first of its kind in the new stadium and is organized by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. The group is also sponsoring its annual all-star game in St. Cloud June 25, with participants who were prep football seniors last fall.

WCHA men’s commissioner Bill Robertson, whose career experiences include working for teams in Major League Baseball, the NBA and NHL, is someone new Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle should consider for a staff leadership position. Robertson, a St. Paul native, not only has an exceptional communications and marketing skill-set, but he also has extensive relationships in this area.

The 36th annual Hobey Baker banquet will be June 2 in St. Paul at 317 on Rice Park. The event will recognize 2016 Hobey Baker winner Jimmy Vesey of Harvard, and Legend of College Hockey award recipient Bill Selman. The banquet date was moved from May 26 to June 2 because the May date conflicted with Vesey’s graduation from Harvard.

Vesey has scored more goals, 56, than anyone in college hockey during the last two years. Selman is the only man to coach four different Division I college hockey programs (North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Louis University and Lake Superior State).

Several past Hobey Baker winners will attend the June 2 banquet including past Harvard winners Mark Fusco,1983; Scott Fusco, 1986; and Lane MacDonald, 1989. Also attending will be former winners Brian Bonin, 1996; Jack Eichel, 2015; Jordan Leopold, 2002; Andy Miele, 2011; Marty Sertich, 2005; and Bill Watson, 1985.

Birthdays: Ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant is 89 today. Former Twin Justin Morneau was 35 last Sunday and current Twins second baseman Brian Dozier turned 29 that day. John Anderson, who won his 1,200th game as Gophers coach earlier this month, was 61 Monday.

Canterbury Park’s live horse racing season begins tonight with an estimated $14.2 million in purses at stake this year, the most ever for horsemen at the Shakopee track. The live meet, 69 days in total, runs through September 17.

The Tapemark Charity Pro-Am June 10-12 at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul expects several past champions to compete next month. The field includes last year’s champion Ryan Helminen who three times has won the tournament. Seven-time champ Don Berry and four-time winner Dave Tentis will also play. Other past champions expected to participate are Craig Brischke, Gophers golf coach John Carlson, and Jeff Sorenson. Sammy Schmitz, who played in the Masters last month, will also be at Southview for the tournament. (See the ad on the right-hand side of this page for a link to more Tapemark information including the women’s event where two-time titlist Martha Nause is playing.)

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65 Years & Mays Memories Live on

Posted on May 18, 2016May 18, 2016 by David Shama

It will be 65 years next Tuesday that 20-year-old Willie Mays got the news he was leaving the Minneapolis Millers for the big leagues.

The citizenry here went into mourning after hearing about Mays’ promotion to the New York Giants. Even way back then some fans probably intuited that after 35 games with the Millers the shy young man from Alabama would one day be on the short list of baseball’s greatest players ever. But no matter the baseball intellect of a Millers fan, all who watched Mays knew they were looking at one hell of a player.

Playing for the Triple-A Millers in the American Association, Mays was already showing the five-tool skills that some baseball historians argue make him the best all-round player ever. Mays hit for average and power, could run down balls in the outfield like few before him or since, had a powerful arm to throw out base runners, and used his speed to steal bases, and turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples.

The “Say Hey Kid” had more than extraordinary skills, though. He played the game with flair, making basket catches with his glove, losing his cap while dashing around the bases, and sliding head first into a base or home plate.

Mays was pounding American Association pitching in his one and only spring in Minneapolis when the New York Giants, the Millers’ parent club, purchased his contract and ordered him to join their roster. Mays protested the promotion, unsure he was ready for the bigs.

I was too young to see Mays in Minneapolis and witness his call-up but I remember my uncle George sometimes told me a story that went something like this:

“Leo Durocher, the Giants manager, got on the phone with the worried Mays and told him to get to New York. Willie said, ‘But Mr. Leo, I don’t know if I can hit up there.’

“Durocher asked Willie what he was hitting in Minneapolis. Willie confessed he was batting .477.

“Durocher then told Willie he needed someone to play center field and Willie was so good in the field he didn’t care what Willie hit for the Giants.”

Millers’ fans and media took the news poorly about Mays heading to the majors—protesting that he wasn’t ready to play on baseball’s biggest stage. Why rush the young man and perhaps ruin his career by shaking his confidence if things initially didn’t go well?

Fans here were mad at the Giants including owner Horace Stoneham. Local baseball authority Dave Mona recalled the emotions in his 2008 book Beyond the Sports Huddle. “Finally, Stoneham bought space in the Minneapolis papers and ran an apology for taking Willie and listed reasons in his defense,” Mona wrote.

By season’s end neither the Giants nor Mays had any regrets about snatching the future Hall of Famer away from Minneapolis. Mays shored up the Giants defense, hit .274 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI, and was named National League Rookie of the Year. More importantly, the Giants won the National League pennant, winning an unforgettable playoff game against the Dodgers on Bobby Thomson’s home run—“The Shot Heard Round the World.”

Millers’ fans watched the debut season and no doubt took pride in knowing Willie was one of their all-time heroes. And for awhile during the 1950s it was more than a dream that Willie would one day return to Minneapolis—and not just for 35 games.

Stoneham’s Giants, despite the box-office draw of Mays and having World Series teams in 1951 and 1954, weren’t successful in attracting fans. The Giants were New York’s third most popular team after the mighty Yankees and the Dodgers in Brooklyn.

Stoneham had his eye on a move to Minneapolis where his National League Giants would fill the area’s desire for big league baseball. The Giants purchased land west of downtown Minneapolis as a potential site for a new ballpark. Eventually leaders from Minneapolis, Bloomington and Richfield sold bonds to build Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, replacing ancient Nicollet Park where Mays and Millers teams had played for decades.

After Metropolitan Stadium opened, Stoneham sent his Giants here to play one or two exhibition games against the Millers. He was testing the public’s interest, and large crowds responded. Knowing and admiring many of the Millers players before they went to the big leagues, fans wanted the Giants in Minneapolis. No player received a louder roar of adulation from fans in an exhibition game at Metropolitan Stadium than Mays when he came to the plate.

Dodgers’ owner Walter O’Malley spoiled the dream, though, of the Giants coming here. O’Malley had spent years negotiating with politicos in Brooklyn over a new stadium to replace Ebbet’s Field. He wanted his Dodgers to play in Major League Baseball’s first dome. By 1957 O’Malley had enough of stalled out talks. He was in negotiations with Los Angeles officials and took his Dodgers to southern California starting with the 1958 season. Before he headed west he convinced Stoneham that San Francisco was the place for the Giants. Two teams on the West Coast made travel and costs much more efficient for all the National League teams. In California the Dodgers and Giants could also continue their historic rivalry.

The Giants to Minneapolis balloon burst! So, too, did the hopes of bringing back Mays to Minnesota. In a way it was also Willie’s loss.

Snooty San Franciscans looked at Mays and decided he was a product of New York. Fans wanted their own new hero and found him in 1958 with rookie slugger and first baseman Orlando Cepeda who had played with the Millers. Mays was often booed in his early years in San Francisco, while Cepeda was revered.

That may have hurt Mays but he likely was more bothered by the sometimes brutal cold and windy weather in the Giants’ home stadium. Candlestick Park winds blew balls back into play that right-hand sluggers like Mays hit hard enough to clear the fence.

Lord only knows how many more home runs Mays would have totaled had he played at Metropolitan Stadium with its normally clalm winds and friendly fences. Even after enduring much of his career at Candlestick, Mays ranks fifth in all-time major league home runs with 660.

The Mays total was also held back by missing almost two full seasons of baseball. In 1952 and 1953 Mays served in the Army. In the 1940s and 1950s it was common for players to have their big league careers interrupted by military service. The immortal Ted Williams, who played for the Millers in 1938, missed three seasons with the Red Sox during World War II and two more during the Korean Conflict.

Mays hit 41 home runs in 1954 after returning from the service. The next season he totaled 51, the second highest number of his career. In 1965, the year Mays played in the All-Star Game at Metropolitan Stadium, he had a career high 52 homes runs.

Mays turned 85 on May 6. Here’s an idea, Willie. Why don’t you hang around at least 10 more years. Then come to Minneapolis in May of 2026 and celebrate the 75th anniversary of your promotion from the Minneapple to the Big Apple.

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Fans Voice Gopher Basketball Concerns

Posted on May 16, 2016May 16, 2016 by David Shama

There has been so much controversy involving the Gophers’ basketball program during the last 18 months or so that even developments last week aren’t all that surprising. The last several days have been a trying time for coach Richard Pitino’s image—with media headlines last week involving the arrest of Gophers center Reggie Lynch, an Athletic Department audit revealing Pitino spent $175,000 beyond his allocated amount for private jet travel, and public remarks by University president Eric Kaler regarding how “profoundly disappointed” he is in the program.

Pitino, 33, was hired in the spring of 2013 by Norwood Teague, the now departed and infamous Gophers athletic director. Pitino was likely far down the list of preferred candidates because of his youth and inexperience as a head coach. He came to Minnesota after only one season as head coach for Florida International.

In Pitino’s first season of 2013-2014 the Gophers had a respectable 8-10 regular season Big Ten record. Minnesota didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament but did impress by winning five times in the National Invitational Tournament including the championship game in New York. That Gophers team appeared well coached and motivated, and with four returning starters teased fans’ expectations for the 2014-2015 season.

The Gophers flopped, finishing 6-12 in the Big Ten while losing many close games that reflected on players and coaches. More troubling, sophomore guard Daquein McNeil was kicked off the team after allegations of assaulting his girl friend.

McNeil is one of many players who have left Pitino’s program for various reasons. Character issues and questions have been raised about multiple Gophers, including departed players and those still on the roster. Lynch was arrested for suspicion of sexual assault last week and later released from jail, but an investigation is ongoing. This winter three players, including Kevin Dorsey who has now left the program, were suspended for an alleged off-court incident for which no charges were filed.

Observers are left to wonder what kind of individuals Pitino and his staff are recruiting? What kind of judgments are players and coaches making?

Pitino’s team last season had a 2-16 Big Ten record, the worst in school history. Certainly Gophers fans are entitled to expect better results from someone who is paid $1.6 million annually. He is also a coach who leveraged a $400,000 raise after the disappointing 2014-2015 season. That raise happened under Teague’s watch who also put in place a $7.1 million buyout in Pitino’s contract last summer. The buyout amount decreases over time and is currently at $5.7 million.

The University is accountable for such foolish contract maneuverings. But public expectations of school leaders have been minimal in the face of actions that include the hiring of Teague, careless spending in the basketball program including an overseas trip publicized in Sports Illustrated, and double-booking TCF Bank Stadium for a football camp and Drum Corps International event on the same day. Expectations, though, were raised by last week’s hiring of Mark Coyle as the new Gophers athletic director. Coyle has extensive and accomplished work in college athletics including with the Gophers years ago.

Last week I emailed about 20 passionate Gophers basketball fans to gauge their concerns. I asked the following two questions:

What is your assessment of the men’s basketball program?

What, if anything, should the Athletic Department and the President’s office do right now about the program?

The first response came from someone who decades ago provided corporate support to the program. Still a follower of the program, his frustration was obvious in his brief response: “A ‘basketball program’ does not exist. President and AD should renegotiate Pitino buyout, (and) then do it.”

Another email responder also described his emotions. “I’m embarrassed by the basketball program and ashamed to discuss it with friends from other states. I never thought this could happen to the University of Minnesota. Even when the football team had several terrible seasons we weren’t embarrassed by the behavior of the team members.

“The basketball team has the lowest GPA of any Gopher sport and way too many scandals. …Obviously, Kaler should never have approved a $7 million buyout that was negotiated by a failure of an athletic director. This is a disgrace and I’m ashamed of my beloved University.”

Brad Ernst has been a season ticket holder since 1978 and he, too, wants Pitino gone now. “(The) team seems clueless about how to play and act. Staff seems clueless about what to teach and whom to recruit. …I would like someone from the Athletic Department to call me, and try and convince me why I should entertain renewing my season tickets.”

Ernst’s friend John Wagenaar read the comments above and responded this way: “I don’t for one minute think Pitino can clean up his huge mess, and (he) will only contribute to it as time goes on. Cut your losses and blame it all on that…(former) AD you hired. I think the players have very little respect, affection or loyalty for their coach.”

Gophers fan Tom Klas recognizes the realities of the current program but took a supportive position on the coach. “Richard Pitino appears to be a good person, and he may know the mechanics of basketball very well, but he hasn’t established himself as being someone who can find those individuals who are capable of being standout basketball players who can behave well and face the rigor of university level academics.

“He is in that…position of having to find individuals who are mature and who can play basketball at the top level of Division I competition, while simultaneously making the basketball program competitive again. Should he be allowed to continue to coach? Absolutely.”

Former Gophers basketball player Larry Overskei, who believes the program is in a state of “shambles,” was a season ticket holder for almost 40 years. He gave up his tickets awhile back because of frustrations with the loyalty (donor) program and seat locations. “We have better coaches at the high school level in Minnesota than Richard Pitino. …In all fairness…he is in over his head. Our Athletic Department performed a huge disservice to our loyal fans and the fans of the state of Minnesota. We are told to be patient. Patience when we cannot even beat South Dakota and the likes.”

Another former Gopher player asked that his name not be used but he too wrote a critical response. He believes Pitino’s communications need improvement. “His pure coaching skills may be adequate but the way he interacts with people leaves much to be desired. First, he doesn’t seem to have empathy for his players. If you watch a Michigan State game you see a mutual admiration, and respect between players and coach (Tom Izzo). We do not have that.

“Next, all successful big time coaches have an excellent rapport with their alumni and booster clubs. Richard couldn’t find 15 minutes to greet our past players at last year’s alumni lunch, and hasn’t been to any similar events I have attended. The Golden Dunkers (booster) group, which is made up of businessmen and past players, has supported and interacted with every coach I know of since for sure 1970. Richard has not been to one meeting, nor sent an ambassador from the team as far as I know.”

There were other email responses, too, including one that suggested the failures of the basketball program are symptomatic of the University’s wish to de-emphasize athletics. I am not sure about that, but I do know there is a crisis in public confidence about basketball in Dinkytown. My in-box supports that view.

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