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.

Shocker! Cam Christie First-Rounder…to Timberwolves?

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

When Golden Gophers freshman guard Cam Christie, who averaged 11.3 points per game last season, announced this spring he was exploring interest in being drafted by the NBA, Minnesota fans proclaimed this a too soon endeavor. The opinion from this keyboard was the smooth shooting 6-foot-5 Christie could be worthy of a second-round selection in the June 26 and 27 NBA Draft, and it was logical to declare his interest in turning pro.

Now the breaking news: Mock drafts this from FanSided and The Athletic have the NBA champion Celtics taking the 18-year-old on the 30^th and last pick of the first round. Yahoo can top that, predicting he will be selected by the Timberwolves with their No. 27 spot in the first round.

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” a former Big Ten coach told Sports Headliners. “He’s a good offensive player.”

Christie was second on the team in scoring to Dawson Garcia’s 17.6 points per game. Christie made .403 percent of his field goals, .393 of three pointers while playing in 33 games and being named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team.

As Christie has advanced through the pre-draft evaluation process, he has been a fast riser among prospects. “He’s a scoring threat and a guy that’s going to get better,” the authority quoted above said, not wanting his name published.

At less than 200 pounds, Christie needs to add muscle as he matures and that will help him defensively where he has the overall athleticism to defend successfully. But it’s his height, fluid shooting stroke, shot making skill at various distances and ability to drive to the basket that present an intriguing offensive package.

Given his youth and inexperience, Christie at best might play five or 10 minutes per game as a rookie. “He is not going to set the league on fire,” the source said.

Karl-Anthony Towns photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves.

That authority believes the Wolves need to help themselves in the offseason with additional scoring. He pointed out that when adequate production wasn’t there from Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels, the Wolves often had scoring problems. A bad offensive night from Towns, the team’s second leading scorer after Edwards, was particularly troublesome.

Management will have to figure out in the offseason how to produce more consistent offense, whether that comes from development of players on the current roster, acquisition of experienced scorers or via the draft.

Another obvious need is point-guard where starter Mike Conley is 36 years old. He played at a high level in the 2023-2024 breakthrough season for the Wolves but fewer minutes and susceptibility to injuries hangs over the future.

The Wolves, if they want to prioritize point guard in the first round, could target Marquette senior All-American Tyler Kolek. No guarantee he will be available at No. 27, but the 6-foot-1, 197-pound Rhode Island native is not projected to be a top 15 to 18 pick. He brings Conley-like qualities to the NBA including decision making, poise and pick and roll efficiency. He’s unselfish, tough and can make shots and passes under physical and mental duress.

The Wolves have the No. 37 selection in the second round and could further address their guard-wing needs as discussed with Christie and Kolek. A surprise availability for Minnesota might be uber-athletic scorer Terrence Shannon from Illinois. The 6-6, 219-pound Shannon can shoot outside, is a terrific slasher and has all the skills to be superb defensively. His off-court legal problems have been cleared up but would suspicious teams back off his first-round talent and let him slide into the second round?

That’s a long shot of Shannon being available at No.37. But raise your hand if you saw Christie being projected days before the draft as a first rounder?

Worth Noting

The Twins, 41-32 and 4.5 games behind the Guardians, have won eight of their last 10 games. Minnesota has a 39.6 percent chance of winning the AL Central and 78.7 percent likelihood of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs.

With Twins supporters still annoyed about the club not spending money last season to retain pitching ace Sonny Gray, ownership could juice positive feelings with ticket buyers if they acquire a solid pitcher or position player prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

Baseball’s better teams? Minnesota is a combined 1-16 against the Dodgers, Guardians, Orioles and Yankees. The lone victory coming over the Dodgers.

Twins great Joe Mauer will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum July 21 in Cooperstown, New York but sadly neither of the two men who taught him so much about baseball while growing up in St. Paul will be present. Grandpa Jake Mauer died in 2020, while Mauer’s dad, Jake Jr., passed in 2023.

It won’t surprise authorities familiar with corporate sponsorships if hometown Target doesn’t renew naming rights deals with Target Center and Target Field when they expire. Priorities and cultures change over the years.

Before the Twins’ baseball stadium was named, this writer’s idea was: Wheaties Field.

Athlon Sports College Football magazine, an early arrival on newsstands, names Golden Gophers senior tackle Aireontae Ersery to its second team All-American offense. Phil Steele publications has the 6-6, 325 pound Ersery on its All-American third team.

Ersery, who Athlon lists on its All-Big Ten first team, started all 13 games for Minnesota in his junior season. The AP named him first team All-Big Ten.

Gopher kicker Dragan Kesich, who is on the Phil Steele All-American fourth team, is first team All-Big for Athlon. The magazine, which rates the Minnesota offensive line the fourth best in the Big Ten, ranks the Gophers No. 55 in the nation, predicts they will finish 12^th in the Big Ten and projects a Guaranteed Rate Bowl matchup in Phoenix against Texas Tech.

Hazeltine National Golf Club, which hosts the U.S. Amateur August 12-18, has fulfilled the vision of more than 60 years ago that club founder Totton Heffelfinger and his colleagues had to bring the biggest of golf events to this area. Hazeltine has hosted every premier tournament of the PGA and USGA. It’s the only facility in the country to twice host the Ryder Cup (2016 and 2029).

Comments Welcome

Expanded Playoff Breath of Fresh Air for Gopher Football

Posted on June 17, 2024June 17, 2024 by David Shama

The University of Minnesota football team hasn’t won’t a Big Ten championship since 1967 and that’s not likely to change in the foreseeable future with the conference adding premier programs from the west coast to join dominant schools in place for decades like Michigan and Ohio State.

But there is a development that realistically could sooner or later juice the Golden Gophers program—the expanded college football playoff starting in 2024. The expansion from four to 12 playoff teams should put a smile on the face of every loyal Gopher fan. Now this program can potentially be nationally relevant without winning the league title.

“P.J. and I are very excited with the 12-game expansion,” athletic director Mark Coyle told Sports Headliners.

Head coach P.J. Fleck’s 2019 team went 11-2 including an Outback Bowl win over Auburn. That group finished tied for first in the Big Ten West Division standings. Minnesota was ranked No. 10 in the country by two polls following its bowl win.

That 2019 outfit exemplifies a Gopher team worthy of being invited to participate in a 12-team playoff. As a member of the Big Ten, the Gophers belong to a conference exceeded in prestige and reputation only by the SEC. Talk this spring is those two leagues could annually have four or even five teams each in forthcoming playoffs.

Athlon Sports College Football magazine, now on newsstands, offers a projected playoff bracket for 2024-2025 that has Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State from the Big Ten, with Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas from the SEC. The forecast is for a national title game between Georgia and Ohio State with the Bulldogs winning.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will evaluate teams including by their schedules. The SEC has an edge with its teams playing eight league games, while Big Ten programs play nine.

That difference gives Coyle pause when a visitor asks about Big Ten teams one day playing 10 conference opponents each year. The change would be appealing to fans and TV viewers, but Coyle said such a development becomes “tricky” in that an extra league game adds another loss for half the schools. “…You’ve got to win all of them (the full schedule) if you want to have a special year,” Coyle said during an interview in his campus office.

The Big Ten adds Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington this year, creating an 18-team league. The SEC expands to 16 teams with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas. Coyle said it’s going to require a couple of years to see how the committee evaluates the teams in the two conferences including wins, losses and strength of schedules.

The Gophers have a mix in quality of nonconference opponents through 2032 with college football kingpin Alabama at one extreme and Lindenwood, a program that became Division I last year, at the other. Other diverse future opponents include California, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwestern State and Rhode Island.

Coyle said Fleck is open to scheduling any school. “He never freaks out,” Coyle said about Fleck who has been leading Minnesota since 2017 and has a career third best Gopher winning percentage of .595 (among football coaches with 45 games or more).

What Fleck’s teams do on the field is critical to revenues for the self-supporting athletic department with 21 sports. The Gopher revenue streams from football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey include those they control directly such as ticket sales and fundraising. A jackpot is Minnesota’s share of TV and other revenue that comes from the Big Ten office, with USA Today reporting that in 2023 and 2024 a full league member received about $60 million.

Tony Petitti, who became Big Ten commissioner in 2023, has a career background in the business side of TV and Coyle raves about him. “He makes it clear that football is 90 percent of the revenue in the Big Ten Conference. The same thing with the SEC.”

Worth Noting

Coyle talking about men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko who took the Gophers to consecutive Final Fours in 2022 and 2023 after being hired in 2018: “The crowds are back. 3M Arena is hopping again.”

Bobby Bell, the greatest Golden Gophers football player I ever saw, turned 84 today. Bell was a two-time All-American tackle, Outland Award winner and Big Ten Conference MVP while leading the Gophers to a 22-6-1 record from 1960-1962.

Michael Hsu, the former University of Minnesota agent, has long been an advocate for treating college athletes as employees. He looks more like a prophet all the time.

It appears as soon as 2025 college football players will be sharing in revenues at their schools. Last month the NCAA and Power Five conferences settled a pending lawsuit by allowing schools to directly pay its athletes in the future. Already in place is the practice of Name, Image and Likeness money that has lined the pockets of athletes from coast to coast.

Hsu, who told Sports Headliners he doesn’t receive compensation or expect it in the future for his advocacy on behalf of college athletes as employees, has been supportive of several litigations that challenged the old amateur college sports model. Defendants included the NCAA, Ivy League and Notre Dame.

“They (the lawsuits) basically say that college athletes are being misclassified as student athletes by these organizations,” Hsu said.

What’s down the road could be classification of athletes from revenue generating sports as employees by their schools. That, of course, includes Minnesota who by next year maybe sharing about $20 million in athletic department revenue. Hsu said schools don’t want athletes to be employees because as such that will entitle them to various rights and protections including health insurance.

Hsu, who lives in the Twin Cities area and is a Gopher fan, co-founded the College Basketball Players Association. That entity is dedicated to current, future and past college players and advocates for their rights including “health, safety and welfare,” per the CBPA website.

The Lynx, winners of three straight and having a 10-3 record, remain No. 2 in The Athletic’s latest WNBA power rankings. The Liberty, 12-2, is still No. 1 in the 12-team league.

2 comments

Vikings Must Count on KOC, Flores for Difference Makers

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

A common wagering figure this spring is the 2024 Vikings will win seven to eight games (7.5). That prediction is likely more acceptable in other parts of the country than in Vikings land where expectations are more like nine or 10 wins.

Still, only the giddiest of Purple fans—perhaps high on too much aquavit—will argue their favorites have an uber talented roster. The production from the all-important quarterback position is unknown, while the output from the interior offensive and defensive lines, edge rusher and cornerback group belong in the uncertainty category as well. Go ahead, too, and throw in speculation about the quality of the punting and kicking specialists where newcomers loom. And, yes, the schedule is challenging.

There are excellent playmakers at wide receiver, tight end and running back who play with two potential All-Pro tackles in Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw. Star power is lacking on defense where the unit’s biggest name from last season, pass rusher Danielle Hunter, left in free agency.

Scrutinize the roster and it’s evident if the Vikings exceed expectations the personnel will have to play beyond their potential. And that’s where head coach Kevin O’Connell, leading the offense, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores need to be difference makers.

There’s no questioning the coaching chops of either. In the two previous seasons leading the Vikings O’Connell proved his worth as an offensive schemer and play caller. Flores, in his first season leading the defense last season, lived up to his superb reputation after previous assignments as an assistant and head coach in the NFL.

Kevin O’Connell image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

With two unproven quarterbacks in Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy, O’Connell will need to be efficient in devising an offense that makes a defense think, without being too exotic. This offense could be run focused to the extent the quarterback is asked to throw 22 to 26 passes a game.

Power running with multiple tight ends and even two running backs might be how the Vikings often line up. The addition of running back Aaron Jones, the free agent signee who three times in seven seasons with the Packers rushed for over 1,000 yards, could see the Vikings use him as a bell cow softening up defenses before Darnold or McCarthy hit wide receivers Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison with a big pass play. Whatever the formation, with or without pre-snap motion, count on KOC to provide an edge in deception and play calling.

Variation of scheme and play calls are likely to be trademarks of Flores’ defense, too. It wouldn’t even be surprising if the unit lined up in a five-man front instead of a three. Flores’ blitzes will be part of the defensive package and expect him to mix his personnel to take advantage of individuals’ strengths and keep players fresh.

It looks like with the players the Vikings have added on defense in the offseason they will collectively be a faster unit than in 2023. That’s exemplified with new linebacker Blake Cashman, the 28-year-old former Gopher whose speed allows him to excel in pass coverage. Rookie Dallas Turner is 6-3, 247, but can motor and may make an impact next fall as a big play pass rusher.

When the Vikings open training camp late next month, the tutoring by O’Connell, Flores and the other coaches will begin as they work with a revamped roster that counts seven rookies and 12 key new NFL veterans. The time will go quickly and must be used wisely as the Vikings prepare for their regular season opener September 8 at the Giants.

A quote from O’Connell last week fit what lies ahead for the staff: ”…There’s an hourglass going for 32 teams the moment that we all come back to training camp and how we use that time—how we prepare the team, I’ve learned is a huge part of the early season.”

Worth Noting

Espn.com posted a story this week about the NFL’s highest paid players and the list included two Vikings and two others with Minnesota ties. Categories used were three-year average (APY) compensation and guaranteed money.

Viking wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s new deal has him at $35 million APY and an NFL record of guaranteed money for a non-quarterback—$110 million. Viking T.J. Hockenson, who agreed to a new deal last summer, is tops among tight ends in guaranteed money at $42.5 million and third in APY at $16 million.

Former Gopher All-American Antoine Winfield Jr., playing for the Bucs, is No. 1 among safeties with $21.03 million APY and $45 million guaranteed. Minnesota native Frank Ragnow, playing for the Lions, is tops among centers in both APY at $14 million and guaranteed money, $42 million.

The highly respected Phil Steele Publications has seven Golden Gophers among its college football preseason honorees. Offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery is a third team preseason All-American, while kicker Dragan Kesich made the fourth team.

Both Gophers are first team All-Big Ten selections along with wide receiver Daniel Jackson. Defensive lineman Danny Striggow and cornerback Justin Walley are second teamers, with linebacker Cody Lindenberg on the third team and punter Mark Crawford the fourth team.

Ryan Burns, the Gopher football authority from GopherIllustrated, counts cornerback transfer Ethan Robinson from Bucknell among new players he will analyze this fall. Burns told Sports Headliners Robinson had “copious amounts of opportunities” from other schools including USC.

Robinson will be a senior and figures to start with Walley, a three-year starter and senior. Burns said the potential is present to have “two play making corners there that’s going to help you immensely.”

Greg Gagne, son of former Gopher great and legendary pro wrestler Verne Gagne, is a partner and co-founder of PowerTown, a company producing “original collectible wrestling action figures comprised of legends of the sport from the past eight decades,” per the website. Greg wrestled for his father’s American Wrestling Association years ago and gained tag team wrestling fame with fellow Minnesotan Jim Brunzell. https://powertownwrestling.com/

Former Gophers public address announcer Dick Jonckowski reports he has been cancer free for about 18 months. He has battled and overcome non-Hodgkin lymphoma three times, and celebrates his 81^st birthday in October.

Jonckowski was honored earlier this year by the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association with its distinguished service award for his many years promoting the sport including as the public address voice at state tournaments.

The Twins could use a right-handed hitting corner outfielder as they try to overcome a disappointing start to the season and chase the Guardians in the race to win the Central Division title. Ironically, 29-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder Brent Rooker is in town with the lowly Athletics, and he is a club leader in home runs with 13 and 41 RBIs. The Twins drafted Rooker in 2017 but gave up on him after the 2021 season. Before the MLB trade deadline on July 30, he will be rumored to join a contending club.

Luis Arraez, the former Twin leading MLB in batting average at .329, can become the only player in the modern era to win three batting titles with three different teams. With Minnesota, Arraez won the American League championship in 2022, topped the National League last season with the Marlins and could lead that league again playing for the Padres.

Meanwhile, pitcher Pablo Lopez, who came from the Marlins in the Arraez deal, is struggling and not producing numbers like a staff ace. Lopez is 6-6 with a .533 ERA. In his last seven starts he is 3-4 with a 6.34 ERA.

The club’s best starter in 2024 is Joe Ryan, 5-5 and 3.24 ERA. In his last seven starts he is 4-3 with a 2.98 ERA.

Can’t beat these baseball names for pitchers: Scott Blewett and Janson Junk are two names brought to attention by friend Dave Mona. Blewett is one of the Saints’ better relievers with a 3-2 record and 2.41 ERA. Junk is also a reliever and the Brewers recently optioned him to their Nashville farm team after compiling a 9.00 ERA in three games and five innings.

That was Minnetonka High School graduate and Kansas senior Gunnar Broin impressing at the U.S. Open yesterday with a two-under 68 that enabled him to make the cut in Pinehurst, North Carolina. After two rounds he is in contention to finish as the low amateur. He played in the 2023 North and South Amateur at the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club so he is familiar with the course.

It was sad to hear of Jerry West’s death this week. The NBA icon was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1960, shortly before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. West teamed with Elgin Baylor, who got his start with the Lakers in Minneapolis, to form one of the most prolific scoring duos in NBA history.

The Lakers picked up their legacy of great teams in Minneapolis after their move to California. During the 1960s their playoff games were sometimes televised back to the Twin Cities by owner Bob Short who used his trucking company, Admiral Merchants, as a sponsor.

Comments Welcome