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.

Tim Brewster Recruits U Target

Posted on August 2, 2013August 2, 2013 by David Shama

Although former Gophers head coach Tim Brewster is recruiting Jeff Jones, the four-star Washburn High School running back remains committed to Minnesota, according to Giovan Jenkins.

Jenkins said Brewster, now an assistant coach at Florida State, started recruiting Jones early this summer. Jenkins, who starts his fifth season as Washburn head coach later this month, told Sports Headliners he doesn’t think Florida State will be where Jones attends college.

“He is still staying with his commitment to Minnesota as we speak,” Jenkins said. “He just wants to go through his senior year with an open mind (about other schools). Coach (Jerry) Kill has done a great job in developing a relationship with him. I think Minnesota is a good fit for him.”

Jenkins, who thinks chances are good Jones will ultimately choose the Gophers, said Iowa State is probably No. 2 on the list of possible college destinations.

Jones has been a starter for the Millers since ninth grade. He is the only Rivals.com four-star commit the Gophers have so far in their class of 2014.

Jenkins has another outstanding running back in Raymonte Maynard who has a scholarship offer from North Dakota. Other mid-major programs are interested too.

The Millers have won 12 consecutive City titles. “I expect to win our 13^th straight,” Jenkins said. Washburn, 8-3 overall last season, begins practice on August 12 and has its first game against St. Paul Highland Park August 30.

Worth Noting

Apple Valley’s Tyus Jones, along with Jahlil Okafor from Chicago, and Justise Winslow from Houston, are three of the best senior prep basketball players in the country and they will visit Baylor in Waco, Texas over Labor Day weekend. It’s been known for some time that Jones and Okafor will likely play at the same college but because Winslow is from Texas there is a possibility all three will be at Baylor for the 2014-15 season. Jones has a strong relationship with Baylor director of player development Jared Nuness who is a distant cousin.

The TPC Twin Cities, site of this weekend’s 3M Championship, has “27 bodies of water,” according to the golf course’s website. Asked about a make or break hole, Nick Price said: “Seventeen is probably a pivotal hole, especially when they put the pin in the back left-hand portion of the green, and you have any kind of wind.

“Those last two holes with the water; they’ll get your attention. The eighteenth hole is always very tempting. It’s like a carrot in front of the donkey. You know if you can get it over the water you have a good chance of making birdie.”

Price, who in the 1990s won more PGA Tour tournaments than anyone in the world, is among the name players competing at the Champions Tour event in Blaine. He’s a fan of the TCP Twin Cities. “This is a really, really good golf course. It’s almost a perfect venue for us, the seniors, because it’s the right length. The guys love the golf course. That’s why you always get such a good field.”

The 3M is only Price’s third tournament since having tennis elbow surgery to remove scar tissue. This will be the first tournament where he’s been able to practice in advance, hitting 150 balls per day.

Price said seniors enjoy the notoriety of the Champions Tour. “When you get to 45, 46, your tenure on the regular tour is done. You’ve past your sell-by date.”

New Vikings backup quarterback Matt Cassel played first and third base in high school in California, and was drafted by baseball’s Oakland A’s. His mother, Barbara, is a set director in Hollywood.

Ryan Santoso, the Gophers freshman punter and kicker who is on scholarship, had 46 touchbacks in 48 kickoffs at Pace High School in Pace, Florida. Walk-on freshman kicker Justin Juenemann made 80 percent of his career field goal attempts of between 40 and 50 yards at Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, Kansas.

Gophers hockey coach Don Lucia plans to run in the Twin Cities Marathon on October 6 to benefit Defending the Blue Line, the nonprofit organization dedicated to financially helping children of military members participate in hockey.

Despite being in last place in the AL Central Division and losing four games in a row, the Twins are drawing near capacity crowds at Target Field. In yesterday’s 7-2 loss to the Royals, the Twins drew 35,448, their fifth crowd of over 35,000 in the last seven home games.

Twins batters struck out 30 times in the three-game series with the Royals. They have struck out 65 times in the last six games.

Scott Diamond, yesterday’s losing pitcher, is now 5-10 for the season and has lost four straight. After the game he and center fielder Aaron Hicks were optioned to Triple-A Rochester and outfielder Oswaldo Arcia was recalled from the Red Wings.

Justin Morneau hit his ninth home run of the season yesterday and No. 213 of his Twins career moving him within seven of Tony Oliva and No. 3 on the all-time Minnesota list.

The new Sanford Pentagon facility in Sioux Falls will host the preseason Timberwolves-Bucks game on October 10, and also a regular season college game between the Badgers and the St. John’s Red Storm on November 8.

The new Minnesota Poker Hall of Fame will be located at Canterbury Park. No inductees have been announced but the first honorees will be recognized on October 4 at the Shakopee gaming facility.

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Lurtsema Predicts 11-5 Record for Vikes

Posted on July 31, 2013July 31, 2013 by David Shama

Former Viking Bob Lurtsema, who remains close to the team, predicts Minnesota will finish 11-5 this season after a 10-6 record in 2012. Even rosier is Lurtsema’s opinion that before the Metrodome is demolished next winter, the last football event there could be the NFC Championship Game hosted by the Vikings who might need to win more than 11 regular season games to play in Minneapolis.

“That’s very realistic (hosting the title game),” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners. “You gotta realize when they were 6-6 last year they (the players) came together. That’s only the second time in Minnesota Viking history that they won the last four games.”

The Vikings won those regular season games before losing to the Packers in the playoffs, and giving Lurtsema confidence about continued improvement by Minnesota is the attitude of the players. “A lot of times you can preach and preach and nobody listens. But they’re listening now and they came together, and they believe in themselves. …They have that self-motivation.”

Two years ago Lurstema predicted the Vikings would win “five or six” games. They won three. Last July he told Sports Headliners 10-6 was going to be the record and the team’s first playoff appearance in three years was possible.

Now, Lurtsema said, the Vikings could not only finish with an 11-5 or better record but have at least a share of the NFC North title. “Yup. I know I bleed purple…but I am a realist.”

Lurtsema almost gushes about the team’s offense, “There’s not a negative.” He said fans are down on quarterback Christian Ponder but criticism was too harsh last season because “he didn’t have any receivers to throw to.” That situation changes now with a healthy Jerome Simpson and the acquisition of Greg Jennings, both talented veteran wide receivers.

Lurtsema likes the total package of the offense including tight end Kyle Rudolph, running back Adrian Peterson and an offensive line that impressed last season, but on defense he thinks the Vikings are more suspect. He frets about how effective both the defensive line and secondary will be.

Worth Noting

Lurtsema believes it’s time for starting cornerback Chris Cook, now 26 and heading into his fourth NFL season, to reward the Vikings for their patience with him. Two years ago Cook missed much of the season because of domestic violence charges. Although he was later acquitted, the incident was a setback to his career.

“Chris Cook has got to be awful, awful good,” Lurtsema said. “They (the organization) stuck with him. The players didn’t like that a couple years ago, when they paid his salary and (he) took up a roster spot. Players weren’t real happy about that at all. …I think all the coaches saw how good he really is.”

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier joins Steve Forbes, Rudy Giuliani, Larry King and other speakers on August 27 at the Minneapolis Convention Center for the “Success 2013 Minneapolis” motivational event, according to full page ads appearing in the Star Tribune. Frazier’s talk is titled “How to Lead Your Team to Victory.”

As a group the Gophers linebackers roster is inexperienced with only two seniors, one junior and 10 freshmen and sophomores but coach Jerry Kill is “optimistic” about the potential. “Athletically we’re gifted there,” Kill told the media yesterday.

Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” on Sunday that junior college transfer linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who will have three seasons of eligibility with the Gophers, turned down offers from Texas and Kansas State after deciding not to attend Tennessee following a coaching change there last fall.

Kill said yesterday that highly publicized freshman quarterback Chris Streveler will work at wide receiver and QB when practices begin later this week. “Chris is a pretty intelligent guy,” Kill said about learning both positions.

Sophomore quarterback Philip Nelson thinks wide receivers Isaac Fruechte and Derrick Engle could be two of his best targets in the deep passing game. The Gophers’ first practice will be on Friday in preparation for their opening game against UNLV August 29 at TCF Bank Stadium.

Marcus Fuller, the Pioneer Press Gophers basketball writer, said on 1500 ESPN Monday he believes Rashad Vaughn is the most likely to attend Minnesota of the 2014 prep big three of Tyus Jones, Travis Reid and Vaughn. My opinion: there is no better than a 25 percent chance the Gophers will have one of the three commit to Minnesota.

As of now there is no Upper Midwest plan to televise the Gophers game at New Mexico State in Las Cruces on September 7. The game is scheduled to be televised in parts of the Southwest including Comcast in New Mexico and Fox Sports Net Houston.

In its updated rankings of prospects, MLB.com has Twins minor leaguers Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano ranked No. 1 and 3 among all players in major league systems. But Twins fans may want to hold back the enthusiasm for awhile because becoming successful in the big leagues takes time. Before the season Oswaldo Arcia was rated the organization’s fifth best prospect while Aaron Hicks was No. 6. Arcia, after two trials with the Twins, is back at Triple-A Rochester while Hicks is hitting .194 for Minnesota despite being the regular center fielder.

Nice to see Minneapolis receive attention in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game Logo unveiled yesterday depicting the downtown skyline. Hennepin County made the public financing possible to build Target Field.

The economic impact of the All-Star Game was $191.5 million in New York this year and $60 million in Kansas City in 2012, according to Rhett Bollinger’s 2014 logo story yesterday on Mlb.com.

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Quarterbacks Youth Not Concerning Kill

Posted on July 29, 2013July 29, 2013 by David Shama

There are seven quarterbacks listed on the Gophers roster as the team prepares to open practice on Friday and all are freshmen or sophomores. Only one, Philip Nelson, has game experience playing for Minnesota.

Fans might fret about the inexperience and lack of depth but not coach Jerry Kill. “We talk a lot about the quarterback position. That doesn’t concern me right now,” Kill told Sports Headliners.

“I feel good about where we’re at. I feel good about Philip. I feel good about Mitch. They’re young. They’re smart kids. They represent us well and that’s what we need to be successful. Now we gotta build the rest of the team and that’s more of a concern than quarterback is right now.”

Nelson is the starter and Mitch Leidner, a redshirt freshman, is No. 2. Kill, who likes the talent of Nelson, Leidner and other quarterbacks, isn’t discounting the importance of the position in rebuilding a program with only four Big Ten wins in the last two seasons.

“I don’t think anybody can win without a quarterback, no matter what system it is,” Kill said. “You look at the NFL teams that are winning, they’ve got the best quarterbacks. You look at college football, the ones that win they’ve got the best quarterbacks. When Wisconsin (historically great running teams) was really good, they had the best quarterback. …

“They (quarterbacks) come in all shapes and sizes. We’re blessed right now. We got some good young players.”

If not for injuries to other players, Nelson would have redshirted last season. Nelson started the last seven games and while he was inconsistent he did lead the team in total offense with 1,057 yards including eight touchdown passes. Fans didn’t realize the athletic freshman, who rushed for 184 yards during the season, was faster than senior starting quarterback MarQueis Gray.

Kill doesn’t second-guess Nelson losing a season of eligibility because the former Mankato West quarterback couldn’t be redshirted. “I don’t have any regrets whatsoever. It puts him farther ahead. It puts our football team farther ahead, and it helped us in a situation (where) we were injured up in that position at the time. In a lot of ways we didn’t have a choice but I think it worked out very well.”

Kill has started young quarterbacks at other schools where he coached including Southern Illinois. “The only way you can learn is to go out and play. You’re going to make some mistakes and then you’ve got to move on to the next play. We’ve never hesitated (about youth). I started a redshirt freshman when I was as Southern Illinois. Started four straight years. If kids’ got abilities you don’t hold them back.”

Despite the inexperience on the quarterback roster, Kill doesn’t simplify the playbook for his young students who are expected to execute what is given to them. “It’s not that we need to put any more (plays) in and all that stuff. We gotta execute what we’re doing and doing it well.”

Worth Noting

Brad Salem, son of former Gophers head coach Joe Salem, is the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at Michigan State. Brad’s recruiting interest includes the state of Wisconsin, and Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio said, “We think we found a little bit of a niche.”

The Spartans’ roster includes former Wayzata High School receiver A.J. Troup, a sophomore who has yet to play a game for MSU. He caught a game winning 46-yard touchdown pass in the spring game but recently suffered a knee injury and is out for the season.

Brad’s brother Tim Salem, a former Gophers quarterback, is the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Illinois.

Former Viking Bob Lurtsema has said tight end Kyle Rudolph was “the steal” of the 2011 NFL draft. Rudolph impressed in his first two seasons with the Vikings including his Pro Bowl MVP performance last winter, and he can improve more.

“Kyle developed from year one to year two and we are looking for another jump both in the run game and the pass game from Kyle,” said offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. “From all indication he is poised to do that. He has had a terrific spring, he is a little heavier than he has been, but that is good weight. He is definitely stronger and you know we pride the tight ends to be a big part of the running game and he did that last year. He is ready to do it again.”

Musgrave answering a question about how much better the offensive line might be in 2013 after helping Adrian Peterson almost break the NFL single season rushing record last year: “It would be hard to ask them to be much better in the running game. They (also) did a nice job pass protecting last year. We do want to minimize our sacks and stay out of those long yardage situations.

“It’s a terrific group. It is fun to have (injured center) John Sullivan back; he is really the stabilizer. Matt Kalil (rookie tackle last season) has fewer unknowns than 12 months ago so we are excited about that crew.”

Zach Line is a rookie free agent running back from SMU who is on the Vikings roster trying to make the team, and watching his pursuit of a pro career is writer Jenny Vrentas, according to the July 29 issue of Sports Illustrated. She will stay with the Line story this year even if he is out of football and “working at a CVS,” Peter King reported in the magazine while previewing features for the new Monday Morning Quarterback website that will be “under the Sports Illustrated umbrella.”

King’s tour of NFL training camps will include an August 12 stop in Mankato to view the Vikings. Based on previous dining experience, he praises Jake’s Stadium Pizza in Mankato. “One of the best meals on the camp trip, by far,” he wrote.

The St. Thomas football team, with 15 of 22 starters returning from last year’s school record 14-1 team, is ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls by both D3football.com and the USA Today Magazine Division III preview. The Tommies, winners of 33 consecutive regular season games, are second in the polls to Mount Union. Bethel is No. 8 in the D3football.com poll and ranked No. 6 by USA Today.

The field for the 3M Championship, scheduled now through Sunday at the TPC Twin Cities, will include Champions Tour rookies Rocco Mediate, Colin Montgomerie and Steve Elkington, plus Tom Lehman, Fred Funk, Nick Price and other fan favorites, according to 3mchampionship.com.

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