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.

If Not U, Jeff Jones Headed to Iowa CC?

Posted on May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 by David Shama

Jeff Jones, the nationally recognized Washburn High School running back who is arguably the prize recruit in the 2014 Gophers football class, could be headed to Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs.

Jones needs a higher score on his ACT test to be accepted by the University of Minnesota. He will take the test for a fourth time on June 14. Washburn coach Giovan Jenkins declined to specify what score Jones needs to become eligible to play for Minnesota this year.

“I honestly think he is going to get it (the improved score),” Jenkins told Sports Headliners. “He’s improved each time. He is confident he’s going to get it. He knows junior college is not where he wants to be.”

Jenkins said if Jones doesn’t qualify for admission to Minnesota he will need to spend two years at a community college and earn a degree to then have immediate eligibility at an NCAA program, presumably the Gophers.

Jenkins has spoken with Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier and is enthusiastic about the program that is annually a national power. Jenkins described the Reivers, who won the 2012 National Junior College Athletic Association championship, as a “great program” that has sent more than 20 players to Division I schools the last two years. “It’s definitely a program he (Jeff) wants to be part of,” Jenkins said.

But Jones, of course, would rather be a Gopher, fulfilling the commitment he made in February when he signed his national letter of intent binding him to Minnesota. Jones is the only Rivals.com four-star recruit in the Gophers 2014 recruiting class. He turned heads playing in the prestigious Under Armour All-America Game in Florida last January, gaining 72 yards and being named Team Nitro MVP.

In past years the best Minnesota football preps have chosen schools other than the Gophers so Jones’ commitment to play for his hometown team is viewed as a step forward for UM coach Jerry Kill.

In pursuit of a qualifying ACT score, the 6-foot, 200-pound Jones could take encouragement from former Washburn tight end Ra’Shede Hageman who didn’t become eligible to play for the Gophers until June of his senior year. Hageman became an All-Big Ten defensive lineman and was selected in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft by the Falcons.

Worth Noting

Iowa Western Community College’s Strohmeier has been head coach of the Rievers since 2008. He is from Watkins, Minnesota and played quarterback at Fergus Falls Community College and the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

Jenkins said Hageman has signed his contract with the Falcons and purchased a Porsche.

The Chanhassen house of former Vikings defensive end Jared Allen is for sale at $1.75 million, according to a Wednesday Bizjournals.com story by Jim Hammerand.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer after being asked yesterday if players attending the organized team activities are buying into a new coach and system: “I don’t worry about if they are buying in. My job is to coach them hard and try to get them to be the best players they can be. …”

Zimmer on what he’s seen from All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson: “Yeah, he looks great. He’s made some tremendous cuts, you’d have to ask him, but he seems excited to be here, about some of the things that we are trying to do with him and I think it’s only going to continue to get better.”

With reported trade rumors involving Kevin Love, it’s fair to wonder if the Timberwolves All-Star forward will participate as scheduled in the July 13 celebrity softball game at Target Field. The game is part of the MLB All-Star Game promotional activities and it seems likely Love, sure to be greeted by boos, will become a cancel if traded to another NBA club between now and July 13.

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino, who was hired about 14 months ago, will receive a raise and if the increase isn’t agreed to yet it will be soon. Pitino’s initial salary was set at $500,000, plus $700,000 of supplemental compensation.

Randy Wittman, fired as Timberwolves coach in 2008, is close to a contract extension with the Wizards.

The MIAC all-sports standings recognize an overall annual champion for each gender. For the seventh consecutive school year St. Thomas has finished first in both the men’s and women’s all-sports standings. St. Olaf and Saint John’s were second and third in men’s sports while Saint Benedict and Gustavus were runners-up in women’s athletics.

The St. Thomas men have finished first 28 times in 52 years, while the women have done it 23 out of 32 years. The Tommies have finished first in both genders 19 of the past 30 years, an indication of the many winning teams and seasons at the St. Paul school.

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Spurs’ Profile Opposite of Timberwolves

Posted on May 28, 2014May 28, 2014 by David Shama

The Spurs lost on national television last night to the Thunder in game four of the Western Conference playoffs. The best of seven games series will send the winner to the NBA Finals against the Eastern Conference playoff champion.

The Spurs are tied in their series with the Thunder and despite playing with an “elderly roster” might advance to the finals for a second consecutive season. The Spurs’ franchise is dramatically dissimilar to the Timberwolves.

The success of the Spurs and failures of the Wolves is a tale told in numbers and about people. The Spurs have been in the playoffs for 17 consecutive seasons. The Timberwolves haven’t been to the postseason since 2004.

The Timberwolves’ first season in the NBA was 1989-1990. Since then the franchise has only once advanced to the conference finals. That was in 2004 and was preceded by seven years of first round playoff exits. During the period from 1999-2014 the Spurs won four NBA titles. The most recent championship was in 2007, but last year the Spurs led the Heat 3-2 in the finals only to lose the last two games.

The Spurs’ “Big Three” consists of power forward Tim Duncan, 39, shooting guard Manu Ginobili, 36, and point guard Tony Parker, 32. Duncan was on the first Spurs title team in 1999 with superstar center David Robinson, long ago retired. Despite becoming an elite team after that first title the Spurs kept excelling in the draft and on the court. Ginobili was a second round choice, the 57th player selected in the draft. Parker was the team’s No. 21 pick in the first round.

But the Spurs’ draft expertise hardly stops there. The Spurs have accepted for years that their “Big Three” is aging and with declining skills the remaining roster had to step up. The club’s personnel decision makers, starting with coach Gregg Popovich, have built a deep roster with players possessing complementary skills and a team-first approach.

The starters include 22-year-old small forward Kawhi Leonard, a rising star with rare athleticism and a pair of the largest hands in the NBA. The Spurs found Leonard available in the 2011 draft after 14 other players were taken ahead of him in the first round including Derrick Williams who the Timberwolves selected with the No. 2 selection.

Starting center Tiago Splitter was the No. 28 pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. Along with Splitter, Duncan, Leonard and Parker, the Spurs have shooting guard Danny Green as their fifth starter. Another late first round or second round pick? Nope. The Spurs acquired Green after the Cavaliers gave up on him.

The Spurs have been committed to finding players with varied approaches including high interest in players from other nations. Nine players on the roster are from foreign countries including key reserves Ginobili, small forward Marco Belinelli, forward-center Boris Diaw and and guard Paddy Mills.

Popovich is an extraordinary teacher and motivator. He’s been exerting his will over the Spurs franchise for 18 seasons. How good is he at passing judgment on personnel, developing players, and making the right moves during practices and games? Good enough to be the longest tenured coach with one franchise in not only the NBA, but also the NFL, NHL and MLB. Meanwhile, the Wolves have gone through five coaches since Popovich took over the Spurs.

Starting to get the idea the Spurs are extraordinary at finding and developing talent despite rarely having a lottery pick, or even late mid-round pick? Now compare the Spurs with the Timberwolves who have owned six top 10 picks in the draft since 2008, and in 2009 even had four selections during the first round. The results? Not a single winning season during that time period and only two lottery draft choices remain on the roster, power forward Kevin Love and point guard Ricky Rubio.

Since Love joined the team for the 2008-2009 season, the Wolves haven’t even been close to a .500 season record except for 2013-2014 when the club finished 40-42. According to numerous reports, Love is so frustrated with losing he wants to be traded. While the Wolves’ All-Star wants out, the Spurs’ “Big Three” have stayed so long in San Antonio they are legends and their careers aren’t over.

The Spurs almost defy logic with their success and are searching this spring for another NBA title. The Wolves are occupied with other searches like trying to figure out either how to keep Love (he becomes an unrestricted free agent next year) or score big by trading him for draft choices and players. And apparently trying to find a coach after Grizzlies’ coach Dave Joerger said he will stay in Memphis instead of coming home to Minnesota, his native state.

Decisions about Love and the new coach will be led by Flip Saunders, the Wolves’ second year president of basketball operations. Down in San Antonio things aren’t in such disarray. Not only has Popovich been around a long time but general manager R.C. Buford has been with the Spurs since 1994. This spring he was named NBA Executive of the Year. It’s been a good spring for rewards because Popovich was named NBA Coach of the Year (twice in the last three seasons).

The Spurs? Remarkable.

The Wolves? Not so remarkable.

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Final Four Next ‘Win’ for New Stadium?

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

This week’s announcement that the 2018 Super Bowl will be played in Minneapolis makes it even more likely the new downtown multipurpose stadium opening in 2016 will attract major events ranging from Final Fours to concerts to perhaps national political conventions, sources told Sports Headliners.

Todd Klingel, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the new stadium’s image is now enhanced because the “biggest event” is coming here. Dave Mona, the local public relations executive who was involved with the successful bid to bring the 1992 Super Bowl to the Metrodome, said concert promoters are attracted to the “hottest places” when booking tours. Bill Lester, former executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission that ran the Metrodome, said the 2018 announcement will be a “catalyst” for world-class events—possibly the Democratic National Convention.

“With the exception of the Olympics, nothing exceeds the Super Bowl in terms of eyeballs to watch it on TV and impact, and (the) buy-in you get from the corporate community and the public sector,” Lester said. “There’s nothing quite like the Super Bowl.”

Lester said the Democratic party likes stadium venues for its conventions and former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak was interested in bringing the big event to the dome. Varied events could come to the new stadium with Lester recalling the dome even hosted the Alcoholics Anonymous convention.

Earlier this year the NCAA announced Minneapolis as one of eight cities who are finalists to host the men’s basketball Final Four between 2017-2020. The Metrodome hosted two Final Fours, plus regional tournaments—with the city and its boosters receiving considerable approval by NCAA officials.

The new stadium, with the Vikings as the anchor tenant, is expected to be among the best covered facilities in the country and will meet the NCAA Final Four requirement for 60,000 seats or more. With an attractive downtown, and a region able to provide the NCAA-required 10,000 or more full-service hotel rooms, Minneapolis looks like a lock to have one or more Final Fours in the next 10 years.

The Big Ten Football Championship Game started in 2011 and has been played each year at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Minneapolis promoters are expected to make a determined pitch to have the game played here, perhaps in alternate years with Indianapolis. “I’d be very surprised if that didn’t also come our way,” Klingel said.

Lester is optimistic, too, and remembered inquiring about the football game and also the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament for the Metrodome. The new stadium also might consider a made-for-TV basketball game involving the Gophers and an opponent like Louisville matching Richard Pitino against his father Rick Pitino—a potential box office hit.

Another high profile event target for the new stadium is expected to be the national championship college football game. The game has never been hosted by a northern city and that could give Minneapolis an edge in eventually winning a bid.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority is close to choosing a stadium operator from a small candidates list of private management companies. Klingel expects an announcement “within 30 days.”

Among the operator’s responsibilities will be staffing, security, marketing and booking events for the new facility. “I don’t think there’s any question the operator will bid for everything that is biddable,” Mona said.

Mona, though, joked not to expect another Super Bowl soon. He predicted the big game could return in 2044, noting it will be 26 years from the 1992 Minneapolis Super Bowl to the 2018 game.

Klingel said there isn’t a precise figure regarding the economic impact to Minneapolis and region for the 2018 game. Indianapolis and New Orleans, the two cities that finished behind Minneapolis in the 2018 bidding for the Super Bowl, were using figures of over $300 and $400 million respectively, he said.

“Maybe it’s worth $75 million,” Klingel said, trying to be conservative. “Who doesn’t want it? It more than pays for itself.”

Super Bowl Notes

New Orleans, 10 times the Super Bowl host, had never lost in the bidding process before this week. The 2018 game was to help celebrate the 300th anniversary of the city. Rod West, a New Orleans Super Bowl presenter to the NFL in Atlanta, said he was “shocked” in a Times-Picayune online story by Larry Holder posted on Tuesday.

Holder wrote that since 2004 eight cities with new stadiums, including Minneapolis, have all been successful in being rewarded with a Super Bowl in voting by NFL owners. Among those stadiums is Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, site of the 2012 game.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay talked about the competition of Minnesota’s new stadium in a Wednesday online story by Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. “It’s always tough when you’re going up against someone that is building a new stadium,” Irsay said. “It’s not by rule but by tradition that they get awarded one. Minnesota, like us, received that kind of unwritten award of the game. It was tough competition, particularly with that factor in play.”

Don’t count on the Vikings playing in the 2018 game. Not only will the Vikings have to improve a lot, but since the first Super Bowl in 1967 only one team has played in its hometown area. In 1985 the San Francisco 49ers played the Miami Dolphins in Palo Alto, California.

Retired coach Bud Grant, who turned 87 on Tuesday, led the Vikings to four Super Bowls including the last one in 1977 against the Oakland Raiders in Pasadena, California.

Grant has been holding a three-day garage sale that ends at noon today at his Bloomington home, according to the website Gsalr.com. The website refers to “Vikings stuff” but also describes hunting and fishing items.

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