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.

Ali and Mackay: A Magical Relationship

Posted on June 25, 2014June 28, 2014 by David Shama

It was more than 50 years ago that Cassius Clay first won the heavyweight boxing championship. He later changed his name to Muhammad Ali and was admired by the world for his boxing prowess, showmanship, and views on racial and religious tolerance and justice. Retired since 1981 and slowed for decades by Parkinson’s disease, Ali remains “The Greatest” to millions of admirers including his close friend Harvey Mackay—the Minneapolis entrepreneur, best-selling business author, motivational speaker and former University of Minnesota golfer.

Ali and his wife Lonnie are the cover story for the June issue of the AARP Bulletin. A photo shows the “Champ” receiving a tender kiss on the forehead from his wife with this headline: “Caring for The Greatest, Lonnie and Muhammad Ali’s Brave Ordeal.”

The story is a lesson about love, compassion and devotion. Writer Jon Saraceno describes how Lonnie and her support team work to ensure the comfort and best possible outcomes for Ali who struggles with his speech and spends much of his time in a motorized chair. Part of Lonnie’s message, too, is how important it is for the caretaker to develop and maintain his or her own coping mechanisms.

“From my perspective, it’s the finest article I have ever read on the ‘Champ’ and his relationship with Lonnie,” Mackay told Sports Headliners. “It’s the best (article) of going into her heart and showing who she is. I think he (Saraceno) captured her magnificently.”

Mackay and his wife Carol Ann treasure their friendship with the Alis. Both couples own residences in the Phoenix area. Through the years they have shared many restaurant dinners and visits to each other’s homes.

“We go to each other’s birthday parties,” Mackay said. “Every other week we’re often with them. Lonnie is one of Carol Ann’s best friends.”

Mackay is on the board of directors of Celebrity Fight Night, a world-class annual event in Phoenix that has raised nearly $100 million for charities in 19 years, according to its website. The event draws a who’s who of names including Hollywood and sports stars, and annually honors Ali as the featured guest. Celebrity Fight Night has made the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute a significant recipient of the fundraising.

It’s been decades now since Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. The disease and his age (72) are more difficult opponents than he ever faced in the ring including Sonny Liston who Clay dethroned for the world heavyweight championship in February of 1964. “Yet, rarely does a whisper of complaint come from the man known as ‘The Greatest,’ “ Saraceno wrote.

“You just have to appreciate his guts,” Mackay said. “I marvel at his ongoing attitude and graciousness toward others.”

Mackay saw a trembling Ali light the 1996 Olympic Torch in Atlanta and knew this was an American hero he needed to meet. Mackay was researching and writing Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty, The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need.

Mackay long ago recognized the incalculable value of developing and maintaining relationships. He has an extraordinary database of names, phone numbers, addresses and profiles of people who are both close and casual acquaintances. In his Dig Your Well tutorial he tells how to get to know people, maintain relationships, ask for what you need, and “how to unlock any door…anywhere…at any time.”

His Rolodex is phenomenal but Mackay isn’t “The Greatest.”

“Nobody knows more people than he (Ali) does. I decided I had to meet him and do a chapter on Muhammad in the book,” Mackay said.

Mackay searched both his Rolodex and memory, recalling that Ali grew up in Louisville. Mackay knew former Kentucky governor John Y. Brown who was one of 17 financial backers of Ali early in the fighter’s career. Brown told Mackay he could help with an introduction because he knew Ali’s photographer and confidant, Howard Bingham.

Bingham set up an appointment for Mackay at the “Champ’s” 88 acre estate in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Mackay would spend eight hours interviewing Ali but before he went to Michigan he did his homework. His learned Ali loved magic and that the “Champ” performed some tricks himself.

Mackay was fond of magic, too, and knew a few tricks. “I went to a magician and brushed up on my magic before the trip,” Mackay remembered. “When I met Ali I not only did a magic trick for him, but showed him how it was done. It was something that turned him on.”

Ali also performed magic for Mackay who detailed the experience in his networking book:

“As an audience of one, I was privileged to be entertained at a magic show, complete with sleight of hand, disappearing coins and hankies, and optical illusions. …

“ ‘Watch my feet,’ he said. He took three steps, turned his back on me and made himself appear to float three inches off the ground.”

That magical day years ago in Michigan was the beginning of Mackay’s relationship with “The Greatest.”

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Birthday Means Travel for Ex-Gopher

Posted on June 23, 2014June 23, 2014 by David Shama

Ryan Bingham doesn’t have much on Mark Dusbabek.

Bingham was the fictional character played by George Clooney in the 2009 movie “Up in the Air.” Bingham spent years flying to various cities where he informed workers their services were no longer needed—because the company brass didn’t have the guts to do it themselves.

Dusbabek, the Faribault native and former Gophers and Vikings defensive player, turns 50 today and he chuckled last week when a stranger compared his life with Bingham’s. It’s not that Dusbabek’s job is to terminate employees; the similarity is perpetual travel.

Today Dusbabek will travel from Hartford to Los Angeles on a plane, a place where he is more than comfortable. The Las Vegas resident spends 30 weeks a year travelling in the United States and internationally as a PGA Tour rules official.

He enjoys the nomadic life and offered no complaints about experiencing his birthday on the road. After his pro football career ended in the early 1990s he worked in finance but golf was never far from his mind. He wanted a job change and told Sports Headliners, “I always loved golf.”

So much so that Dusbabek wanted to develop a career in the sport. He didn’t expect a high paying opportunity to be handed to him, and it wasn’t. He spent a year as an unpaid volunteer working for the Southern California Golf Association.

Then came the opportunity to become a PGA Tour rules official. Dusbabek might spell opportunity in all capital letters. There are only 11 PGA rules officials and he earns a “comfortable salary” travelling to some of the most famous golf courses in the world.

How rare are openings for rules officials? “When people retire or die,” said Dusbabek who is now in his ninth year as a rules official.

The job title of rules official partially explains Dusbabek’s responsibilities. “Rules are probably about 10 percent of what I do,” he said. In addition to making sure tournament players know and adhere to rules, he assesses golf courses, works with tournament partners and sponsors, and may even “set holes one day.”

The PGA schedule starts in January and goes into December. That’s a lot of 14 to 16 hour days and doesn’t leave much time for Dusbabek to even play golf (seven handicap), or see his college-age daughter in California. But that schedule might take his mind off the aches and pains from his football career.

“I’ve had 17 surgeries. It gets a little worse every year,” Dusbabek said.

His career with the Gophers included two seasons playing for coach Lou Holtz in 1984 and 1985. The two reconnected several years ago and Dusbabek learned Holtz cared enough about him to be knowledgeable about his former player’s life.

Dusbabek, who has worked tournaments like the Masters and U.S. Open, admires Gophers coach Jerry Kill. Dusbabek is passionate about the best high school football players deciding to attend the University of Minnesota instead of going away to school. “It sounds great (leaving home) but what are you going to do afterword?” he asked while referring to the job opportunities in Minneapolis awaiting University of Minnesota graduates.

It’s going to take commitments by the state’s best players to turn the Gophers into a special program. Dusbabek knows too many of the elite players have left the state since his time at Minnesota. “Quite frankly, it pisses me off,” he said.

Worth Noting

When the Twins swept the White Sox yesterday it was their first four-game sweep since June 2-5, 2011 against the Royals. The Twins won 6-5 as Joe Mauer drove in two runs and had back-to-back RBI games for the first time this season.

Starting and winning pitcher Phil Hughes, now 8-3, lasted five innings and gave up five earned runs. Coming into the game the Twins’ collective ERA of 2.71 for starting pitchers was the fifth lowest in the American League since June 9.

Note on the Target Field message board during Saturday’s game: If Mauer, the Twins $23 million hometown first baseman, wasn’t in baseball he would pursue a career as a carpenter.

Message board note No 2: White Sox first baseman and slugger Adam Dunn had a cameo role as a bartender in the acclaimed movie “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Former Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen wasn’t selected until the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft but there’s speculation he could become a starting safety next season for the Bears. ESPN.com reported last Thursday the Bears like what “they have seen from rookie safety Brock Vereen,” and that he’s been takings reps with the first team defense.

The June 23 issue of Sports Illustrated includes a story on the Big Ten with disclosure the 12 existing league members will each receive $44.5 million in annual revenue starting in 2017-2018—“Up from an already national-best $25.7 million last year, with TV accounting for a whopping $33 million of that.” Maryland and Rutgers, new members later this summer, won’t receive full shares until 2020-2021, the magazine said.

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AP Impresses Zimmer with Pass Catching

Posted on June 19, 2014June 19, 2014 by David Shama

It’s not fall but there is football news including from Vikings coach Mike Zimmer and also the Minnesota Football Coaches Association.

The Vikings ended their mini-camps today and Zimmer answered questions from the media including whether All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson is making good on his goal of improving as a pass receiver.

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen him drop one ball the whole time and that was probably yesterday, I think,” Zimmer said. “He catches the ball good. Obviously when he’s got the ball…he’s extremely dangerous.”

The new Vikings coach had seen tape of Peterson and realized how fast and powerful the dynamic running back is. But in the offseason practices Zimmer was surprised by Peterson’s pass catching and his ability to cut. “Some of the cuts he made are like, wow. Like some of the great backs that you’ve been around.”

Zimmer said he’s not announcing a date as to when he will choose a starting quarterback from the competition between Teddy Bridgewater, Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder. “I probably have a date in my mind, but I’m not going to tell anybody,” he said.

The team now has five weeks off before opening training camp on July 24 in Mankato. What are Zimmer’s plans?

“I’m going back down to my ranch in Kentucky for a little while, (also) probably stop in Dallas,” he answered. “Go see my parents down in Naples.”

The Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game dates back to the 1940s but this year’s June 28 game will be branded differently. The MFCA Tackle Cancer All-Star Football Game is the latest effort by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association to assist the Randy Shaver Cancer Research & Community Fund.

In January of 2012 leaders of the MFCA were having a meeting and Minnetonka High School football coach Dave Nelson spoke up about cancer, a health problem that is epidemic in America. He is a prostate cancer survivor.

At the meeting Nelson asked what others thought about helping KARE TV’s Randy Shaver who had started his cancer fund after battling his way through Hodgkin’s Disease. Nelson’s idea was to reach out to Minnesota high school football programs and encourage them to designate a home game to “Tackle Cancer” and raise monies for Shaver’s fund.

Ron Stolski, executive director of the MFCA, recalled it didn’t take long for the idea to click with association leaders. Nelson agreed to chair the MFCA’s “Tackle Cancer” Committee. “He’s just like a Bulldog when he gets on something,” Stolski told Sports Headliners. “He’s been on this for…two years.”

During the 2012 football season, the first year of the initiative, $120,000 was raised for the fund. Last year high school football programs generated $190,000, plus the Gophers promoted a “Tackle Cancer” game and so did MIAC schools. This year the Vikings will designate their September 28 home game against the Falcons to the cause.

Stolski said schools can take a simple or sophisticated approach to the “Tackle Cancer” project like placing donation buckets at the stadium or using more elaborate means. The initiative will be going on again this fall at Minnesota high schools but before that happens the all-star game, a week from Saturday at Saint John’s in Collegeville, will serve as the kickoff to the 2014 campaign.

Stolski is excited because the game’s purpose has always been to recognize outstanding graduating high school seniors and now the event will also help in the fight against cancer. “It (the game) helps to carry on a long tradition of recognizing in one final effort the best of our best,” Stolski said of the 88 players representing 83 schools who are grouped into North and South rosters.

There certainly is a tradition to the All-Star game and this year’s event has players whose fathers and grandfathers participated. Michael Strand, a fullback from Barnesville High School who will play for the North, will be joined at this year’s game by his grandfather, Dick Strand, an Honorary Coach. Dick Strand, from Southland High in Adams, also coached in the 1984 all-star game. Bryan Strand, Dick’s son and Michael’s dad, coached in the game last year representing Barnesville.

Carter Thiel, a strong safety from Wheaton/Herman-Norcross playing for the North, has All-Star family connections, too. Tony Thiel Jr., Carter’s dad, played in the 1980 game as a strong safety from Battle Lake. Tony Thiel Sr., Carter’s grandfather and also from Battle Lake, coached in the 1978 game and was an Honorary Coach in 1991.

Worth Noting

The Gophers’ coaches and their most passionate believers won’t agree but don’t expect lofty predictions from most national media about Minnesota’s upcoming football season. Uncertainties at key positions like quarterback and a demanding schedule that includes games with Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin has magazines like Athlon Sports and Lindy’s Sports taking a cautious approach about the Gophers.

Minnesota’s record last season was 4-4 in the Big Ten Conference and 8-5 overall including a bowl game loss to Syracuse. Athlon predicts the Gophers’ 2014 record will be 3-5 in league games, 6-6 overall. Minnesota, according to the magazine, will tie for fourth place in the seven-team Big Ten West Division.

The Athlon write-up includes this quote from an anonymous rival Big Ten assistant coach: “They have a good offensive line and good running backs, but can they get the ball consistently downfield in the passing game?”

Lindy’s Big Ten publication ranks the Gophers eighth in the 14-team conference, ahead of Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers and Purdue. That places Minnesota fourth in the West Division. The magazine says the Gophers (who have gone from three to six to eight wins the last three years) continue to improve but “they’re still miles away in the depth department.”

Lindy’s has Minnesota offensive lineman Zac Epping and tight end Maxx Williams on its All-Big Ten second team offense. Defensive end Theiren Cockran is on the second team defense. David Cobb is a third team choice at running back and so too is punter Peter Mortell.

The NCAA has released average home attendances for the top 25 men’s basketball programs and nine Big Ten schools were included but not the Gophers who averaged 11,255 fans last season. Minnesota ranked No. 23 in 2013 with an average of 12,580. The Gophers led all of college basketball in attendance in 1975 and ranked third in 1972, second in 1973. Last season the Big Ten led the nation in average attendance for the 38th consecutive year.

Former Gophers football player Mark Sheffert, who writes for Twin Cities Business, has an intriguing headline on his June column: “Quitting to Win.” Sheffert writes that smart business leadership sometimes prompts the decision to “throw in the towel.”

Bill McGuire was approached in the past about Timberwolves ownership but told Sports Headliners this week it’s “not appropriate” for him to be involved with the local NBA franchise because of his ownership of Minnesota United, the North American Soccer League team.

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft will be Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The first round on June 27 will begin at 6 p.m. (CDT) and televised by NBC Sports Network. Rounds 2-7 will be on June 28 starting at 9 a.m. (CDT) and televised by the NHL Network. The Wild own eight picks in the draft including the 18th overall selection.

For all the talk about the Twins being improved over last season, Minnesota goes into tonight’s game at Target Field against the White Sox having lost five straight and with two more losses than a year ago. The Twins are 32-38 and 6.5 games out of first place compared with a year ago when Minnesota was 32-36 and 6 games behind.

Aaron Wiederhoeft from Prior Lake High School, who won the Jake Anderson Award for Minnesota’s best senior boys lacrosse goaltender, will play lacrosse at Lindenwood, a Division II school in Missouri. He plans to major in international business. What about a future in pro lacrosse, a sport that has modest salaries for players?

“Oh, well, maybe by the time I get there it will (pay better),” he said.

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