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.

‘Wally the Beer Man’ Keeps Pouring

Posted on March 30, 2016April 1, 2016 by David Shama

“Wally the Beer Man,” 81, has been hawking beer at various Minneapolis and St. Paul venues since 1970, but something is different this winter and spring. When Wally McNeil returns to his Plymouth home from the Xcel Energy Center after selling beer at Minnesota Wild games, Joyce McNeil, his wife for 28 years, isn’t there to greet him.

Joyce passed away on January 25 at age 85 from heart problems. An empty house can’t be very welcoming to Minnesota’s favorite beer vendor. To help deal with sadness Wally has sold beer at almost every Wild game this season.

Wally and Joyce met while employed at Twin City Wholesale Drug. She worked in city desk sales; he was vice president of operations. They were married June 23, 1988.

Joyce wasn’t a passionate sports fan but attended games when Wally was selling beer in the stands. About 16 years ago Joyce and Wally got into horse racing ownership at Canterbury Park. The couple bought race horses with Canterbury owner Curtis Sampson. Over the years the McNeils owned more than a dozen horses but none more successful than Wally’s Choice, whose lifetime earnings at the Shakopee racetrack and elsewhere are the second highest ever for a Minnesota bred.

Wally’s Choice was inducted into the Canterbury Park Hall of Fame last year. Wally attended the ceremony but Joyce’s health kept her away. The Hall of Fame recognition brightened Joyce’s spirits. “She was excited,” Wally said.

During baseball season Wally will again be a celebrity beer seller at Sneaky Pete’s downtown and on special event dates at Canterbury Park he will also be selling beer. What’s his favorite brew?

“A cold one that somebody else pays for,” he answered.

Although he didn’t need the money and still doesn’t, Wally started selling beer at the Minneapolis Auditorium in 1970 for attractions like professional wrestling. He enjoyed being around people at various events. Customers liked him, too—drawn to his deep voice and friendly manner.

For decades part of the fun at a Twins game was buying a beer from Wally. His association with Target Field ended several years ago, though, after he and other beer sellers were targeted in a sting operation involving sales to underage drinkers. A Hennepin County jury found him not guilty, but Wally has chosen not to work anymore at Target Field.

Wally will turn 82 in August but has no plans to stop selling beer. He has no health issues after triple bypass heart surgery in 2009. “My blood pressure is 110 over 66,” he said.

Some Minnesota retirees move to Florida. Others sit in rocking chairs on their porches. Wally, a fit 6-2, 210 pounds, just keeps going as the king of Minnesota beer vendors.

“As long as the good Lord lets me,” he said. “One day at a time.”

Worth Noting

Former Gophers All-American safety Tyrone Carter is working with potential 2016 NFL draft choices including cornerback Rashard Robinson who Carter said is a first round talent but likely to be selected in the third round. Carter operates the Tyrone Carter Elite Training Schools in the Twin Cities and Robinson is from Carter’s prep alma mater, Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Robinson’s playing time at LSU was reduced because of a suspension for violation of team rules. The 6-3, 177-pound player is gifted but Carter said his pupil will not go in the first round because of his off-field “baggage.” Carter, who won the Jim Thorpe Award at Minnesota honoring the nation’s best college defensive back, said Robinson had the skills to also win the award. “He is a talented young kid for his size,” Carter said.

Varmah Sonie, who is from Burnsville and was a senior cornerback for Northern Iowa in 2012, is also receiving instruction from Carter. Sonie hopes to join an NFL team as a free agent. Carter is also working with former Gophers David Cobb (Titans running back) and Ra’Shede Hageman (Falcons defensive tackle).

An announcement soon seems likely that the Vikings will name Adrian Peterson, who led the NFL in rushing last season, as their 2015 MVP. The Vikings will honor team award winners in multiple categories including MVP at the Hilton Minneapolis April 17. That evening the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame hosts its 9th annual Minnesota Football Honors event. See the March 16 Sports Headliners for more about the event that also honors high school scholar-athletes.

Spring football continues this week for the Gophers with two practices open to the public scheduled at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. Practice tomorrow (Thursday) begins at 3:45 p.m. and activities Saturday start at 11 a.m. (A Gophers spokesman e-mailed that practice locations can be switched to TCF Bank Stadium. Fans can check for updates on Twitter @GopherFootball.)

The Wild, with five games remaining to make the playoffs, may catch a weary opponent tomorrow night at Xcel Energy Center when playing the Senators. Ottawa plays at Winnipeg tonight before travelling to St. Paul. The Wild have won six consecutive games after last night’s victory over the Blackhawks.

Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. will again honor his mom, the late Carol Fitzgerald, at an April 8 fundraising dinner and celebration at the Minneapolis Event Center (St. Anthony Main). His mom passed away in 2003 and the Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund was established to assist charitable causes important to her. Guests at next month’s Carol’s Night will include Fitzgerald and ESPN’s Josina Anderson. VIP ticket guests receive photo opportunities with Fitzgerald, the nine-time Cardinals NFL pro bowler. More information is available by calling 612-770-4575.

Monday’s announcement the Lynx will play a preseason game in Rochester on May 8 prompts speculation the WNBA team might play more exhibitions at the Mayo Civic Center in 2017 and beyond. The Lynx have a multi-year partnership with the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic. The Lynx haven’t played a game in Rochester since 2003 and no doubt will be interested in gauging fan response this spring. The defending WNBA champion team will play the Mystics in a Sunday game beginning at 4 p.m.

Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen joins commentators Dave Benz and Jim Petersen tonight on the Fox Sports North telecast of the Timberwolves-Clippers game from Target Center. Whalen is the Lynx franchise record holder in assists (1,072), and ranks third all-time in the WNBA for career assists (2,033). She is one of six players in WNBA history with 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. The Minnesota native starts her 12th WNBA season this spring, seventh with the Lynx.

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team will be honored for their NCAA Division III national championship prior to the Timberwolves game. Earlier this month the Tommies won their second national title in the past six years.

Bill Robertson, WCHA commissioner, e-mailed his league is represented by 33 current or former players at the women’s International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships that started Monday and continues through April 4 in Kamloops, British Columbia. Annie Pankowski from the Badgers and Lee Stecklein of the Gophers will compete for the United States and are among 11 student-athletes who played during the 2015-2016 college season. Pankowski will be a junior at Wisconsin next season, while Stecklein will be a senior at Minnesota.

Author Patrick Mader’s official book launch is tomorrow (Thursday) for “Minnesota Gold: Conversations with Northland Athletes Competing on the World Stage.” Mader’s book profiles 57 Minnesotans, including past Olympians, and details their lives and accomplishments. His event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at Braemar Golf Club in Edina, with a program at 7 p.m. Seven of the Minnesota athletes from the book are expected to attend: Trina Radke (swimming), Tami and Toni Jameson (team handball), Jim Mastro (wrestling), Mark Lutz (track), Van Nelson (track), and Janet Gerhauser (pairs figure skating). More at Patrickmader.com.

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All Eyes on Twins’ Byron Buxton

Posted on March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 by David Shama

With a dismal trial run at the plate in 2015, Byron Buxton is on the spot this spring with the Twins.

The club is all but begging him to win the center field job left open by the offseason trade of Aaron Hicks to the Yankees for catcher John Ryan Murphy. As of yesterday, Buxton was hitting .225 with no home runs and three RBI in spring training. He has struck out 12 times in 40 at bats. That’s similar to his initial big league production last season and not acceptable for a much hyped athlete who the Twins chose with the second overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

The Twins have been struggling for years to fill the position Kirby Puckett and Torii Hunter turned into a franchise legacy. Buxton, then 21, arrived in Minneapolis last season with fielding and base running skills to make him a highlights regular on ESPN’s SportsCenter, but at the plate he often looked clueless. He struggled to make contact with the ball in his MLB debut year, frequently fooled by both fast balls and breaking pitches. In 129 at bats he hit .209 and struck out 44 times. He hit two home runs with six RBI.

Despite the disappointment of 2015, expectations remain high for Buxton. MLB.com placed him at No. 2 on its top 100 prospects list for 2016 and other authorities are also all in.

Buxton is even given a No. 47 ranking by Sports Illustrated in its March 7 article about the 50 MLB players with the most trade value (Twins right fielder Miguel Sano ranked No. 25 while the Angels’ Mike Trout topped the list).

SI wrote this about Buxton: “So ummm…mulligan? Buxton’s highly anticipated MLB debut was a bust.” The magazine said he has been “viewed by most as the best prospect in the game” and he could become an AL MVP candidate.

Health problems have slowed Buxton’s progress since the Twins signed him out of Appling County High School in Georgia. More injuries in 2016 will send the wrong signal about his future—and a worse indicator will be troubles at the plate. Yet this offseason Baseball America ranked Buxton the Twins’ best prospect in several categories including best hitter for average.

Buxton, who didn’t have enough at bats to expire his eligibility for American League Rookie of the Year in 2015, has a .301 lifetime minor league average. His stats include an impressive 2013 season when he hit .341 at Cedar Rapids and .326 with Fort Myers.

With his sensational fielding and base running skills, the Twins will drool over a Buxton who starts to approach .300 this year or next—and he better or the doubts about his hitting will be supported by facts.

Twins Notes

Miguel Sano (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

The Twins open the regular season in Baltimore a week from today and Buxton could be one of six new faces in the lineup from a year ago. Others look like shortstop Eduardo Escobar, designated hitter Byung Ho Park, left fielder Eddie Rosario, pitcher Ervin Santana and right fielder Miguel Sano.

The Baltimore game will be one of 150 FOX Sports North will telecast during the regular season. ESPN will televise the Twins game at Oakland May 30 while FS1 will carry Twins games May 14 at Cleveland and June 4 in Minneapolis against the Rays.

The Twins will play their sold out home opener at Target Field on April 11 against the White Sox. Twins legend Rod Carew will throw the ceremonial first pitch. Carew, who suffered a major heart attack and subsequent surgery last year, awaits a possible heart transplant. In January the Twins and the Carew family launched the Heart of 29 campaign designed to assist the American Heart Association’s efforts to raise funds and build awareness of cardiovascular disease.

The Twins have opened their regular season on the road in five of the last seven years. Minnesota has lost seven consecutive opening games.

The Twins had a bad start last year at 1-6 but earned a comeback season under first-year manager Paul Molitor. The team’s 83-79 record was a big improvement over four consecutive previous seasons of 90-plus loss records.

Minnesota finished second in the AL Central Division behind the Royals who were 12-7 in the season series against the Twins. The Royals won the World Series and are the preseason pick by many authorities to win the Central again.

Four passionate baseball fans and Sports Headliners readers offered predictions about the Twins and other teams. Three of the four forecast an 85-77 record while the fourth person, Bill Robertson, e-mailed that Minnesota will win “two to four more games than in 2015.”

Tim Murray has the Twins finishing third in the division behind the Royals and Indians while the others project another second place finish. Joel Shama, the most optimistic crystal baller, wrote the Twins “will snag a wild card.” Everyone predicted the Royals will win the division again.

Here’s how one fan summed up the Twins: “They still lack a true ace of the starting rotation and the bullpen is very shaky. It should be fun watching their hitters do damage to once ‘un-homerable’ Target Field.”

The Cubs and Blue Jays are popular choices by the predictors to play in the World Series. The group split two-two on whether the Cubs or Jays will become baseball’s 2016 champion.

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Confidence No Problem for Miguel Sano

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

What to know about Miguel Sano, the late Flip Saunders, and national championship pursuits tonight by the St. Thomas men’s basketball team and the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team. …

Sano has yet to play a full season in the majors but writers are learning the 22-year-old hitting phenom from the Dominican Republic is full of confidence. In July of last year he told Sports Headliners future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter he’s seen, and also said, “I can be better than Cabrera, I think.”

Sano spoke about what kind of batting numbers he could achieve in a full season in a March 8, 2016 article by Tom Verducci of Si.com. He told Verducci, “I don’t know, but if I stay healthy I feel like I have a chance to be something like the MVP and win the Triple Crown, and I can be on the All-Star team.”

In 80 games and 279 at bats last season Sano had a .269 average, with 18 home runs and 52 RBI. Sano obviously believes those are numbers he can build on this season and during his career.

Twins president Dave St. Peter views the young slugger’s confidence as a positive. “He obviously has a long way to go to get to his full potential but he’s a talented player,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “He has all the attributes on the field that you would expect out of some of the better players in the game, in terms of being able to hit for power and command of the strike zone.

“I think getting back on the field defensively is going to be important for him in terms of his career. We certainly thought that was a critical thing in the offseason to move him into a position (on the field). …We’re counting on him to take that next step. We’re hopeful he’s going to be a positive force for our club for a long, long time.”

Sano, a third baseman and shortstop in the minor leagues, was mostly a designated hitter for the Twins last season. In spring training he’s learning to play right field and that’s a process. “The best thing is he’s had a great attitude about it and he’s attacked it,” St. Peter said. “He’s been a good student, asking questions, learning from mistakes. I think having Torii Hunter (retired Twins right fielder and now an instructor) in camp the first couple weeks was a huge benefit to Miguel.”

Sano is 6-4, 262-pounds but St. Peter said there are no concerns about running down balls in the outfield. “He runs fine. Running isn’t going to be the issue for him. It’s going to be how long it’s going to take for him to master (outfield) routes and play those balls that are hit right at him. We want to make sure that we give him time for the transition, but we’re optimistic that he is going to be fine in right field.”

St. Peter believes Sano can become exceptional in the field. “We think the athleticism is there for him to be a very good outfielder. The only thing holding him back is inexperience.” …

Saunders died a few days before the Timberwolves started the 2015-2016 season but the impact of his personnel decisions is evident this winter. Owner Glen Taylor hired Saunders about three years ago to turn around a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004. In a short time Saunders rebuilt the roster with young talent that has yet to win consistently, but the club shows promise of eventually making deep runs in the NBA playoffs.

Only point guard Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic remain from the team’s 20-man training camp roster in the fall of 2012. Six players remain from the 15-man roster the Wolves had opening the 2014-2015 season. In addition to Rubio and Pekovic, those players are Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and Andrew Wiggins.

As president of basketball operations in May of 2013, Saunders inherited Rubio and Pekovic. This season the Wolves’ starting lineup has often consisted of Rubio and LaVine at guards, Dieng and Wiggins at forwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns (drafted last June) at center. Muhammad, a forward, plays major minutes off the bench.

Jim Dutcher said Saunders, who played and coached for him with the Gophers, could see potential in players that others missed. “…His ability to foresee what a player could be, not what he was necessarily at the time,” Dutcher said.

Flip Saunders (Photo courtesy of Timberwolves).

In Saunders’ first NBA draft he made a trade with the Jazz that allowed the Wolves to acquire both Dieng and Muhammad. He got two No. 1 draft choices by sending his initial first round pick, Trey Burke of Michigan, to Utah. Dieng didn’t have eye-catching scoring numbers in college but at power forward for the Wolves he makes contributions the subtle observer doesn’t always see. Muhammad’s flashy talent was obvious at UCLA but some experts doubted his character. Dutcher said Saunders believed with maturity and the right coaching Muhammad could help the Wolves.

LaVine was a one-and-done freshman at UCLA in 2013-2014 and Saunders liked what he saw. “Probably biggest one (of Saunders’ personnel moves) was LaVine, a nonstarter in college and he takes him with their No. 1 choice because he could see his athletic ability,” Dutcher said. “He could say, ‘Hey, if we can refine his game, this kid is going to be a player.’ ”

After Saunders’ first year or so with the Wolves it became apparent All-Star forward Kevin Love didn’t want to be part of the franchise long-term. Saunders negotiated a deal in the summer of 2014 with the Cavs sending Love to Cleveland and bringing Wiggins to Minneapolis. Wiggins had been the overall No. 1 NBA draft choice earlier in 2014 and in his first season with the Wolves became NBA Rookie of the Year.

Dutcher believes Saunders’ easiest move was acquiring Towns. Known for their awful luck in the draft lottery, the Wolves finally won the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick last year. Dutcher believes it was “pretty easy” to take Towns instead of Jahlil Okafor, another big man hyped before the draft and eventually taken third overall by the Sixers. He refers to Towns as the “cornerstone” of Minnesota’s youthful team. “He is a high character kid who is only going to get better,” Dutcher said.

The Wolves’ record is a dismal 22-46 but there is too much young talent not to dramatically improve that record during the next couple of seasons. Saunders, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and saw his health quickly deteriorate, died at age 60. Dutcher said his friend’s efforts with the Wolves “were finally about to be rewarded.”

More importantly, Dutcher said, Saunders’ death is for the many people who loved him a “tragedy that is hard to deal with.” …

Salem, Virginia is about a three hour drive from the campus of Christopher Newport in Newport News, Virginia. St. Thomas coach John Tauer knows CNU will have a supportive crowd when the two teams play in a Division III Final Four semifinal game tonight in Salem.

Tauer, though, didn’t seem concerned earlier this week when talking to Sports Headliners. The Tommies advanced to the Final Four last Saturday in Rock Island, Illinois where Augustana, a physically imposing team and ranked No. 1 in Division III, had a home court advantage.

“Their crowd was as wild as any one that I’ve ever seen,” Tauer said. “Our guys certainly rose to the challenge. You can worry about all those factors in a national tournament. The reality is I am much more concerned trying to get our guys ready, and prepared to play an outstanding team. The crowd is the crowd. That’s fun for everybody but the reality is what’s going on inside the court is what we try to focus on.”

The Tommies (28-3) and CNU (30-1) play tonight at 6:30 p.m. (central daylight) after the semifinal game between Benedictine (31-0) and Amherst (25-6). The winners play for the national championship Saturday night. Tonight’s games are streamed live on NCCA.com. The championship game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Tauer, who has a 126-22 record in five years as the Tommies’ head coach, is now in his fourth Final Four. He played in one final, was an assistant coach on the UST national title team of 2011 and was head coach for the Tommies in the 2013 Final Four.

Last year’s team was 24-4 and its wins included a victory over eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point. With four of his top six players returning, Tauer knew his team could have another high success season. The Tommies not only have talent but experience with four of their major contributors being seniors.

This week Tauer was named West Region Coach of the Year by D3Hoops.com. Senior center Ryan Saarela (second team) and senior forward Taylor Montero (third team) were named All-Region.

Both players are Minnesotans, as are all but one of the 17 players on the roster. Tauer said the talent pool of Minnesota high school basketball is impressive and that’s a reason why he stays close to home in recruiting. Logistics and budget are factors too. “I don’t have a private jet (for recruiting),” he said. …

The Gophers women’s hockey team (33-4-1) plays the Badgers (35-3-1) for a sixth time this season when the two teams meet tonight starting at 6 p.m. (central daylight) in a national semifinal Frozen Four game in Durham, N.H. The Badgers have won three games, the Gophers two this season, and the winner tonight advances to the NCAA national title game Sunday that begins at 1 p.m.

The defending national champion Gophers are in their fourth consecutive Frozen Four. Minnesota is trying to win its seventh national championship and third back-to-back title.

The other Frozen Four teams are Boston College (39-0) and Clarkson (30-4-5). The two semifinal games and Sunday’s title game will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

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