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.

Vikings to Evaluate WR Webb Differently

Posted on June 3, 2013June 3, 2013 by David Shama

As the Vikings practice this spring, Joe Webb will be evaluated differently than the team’s other wide receivers but it’s no cinch he will make the final roster in September.

Webb, 26, is trying to make the transition from NFL quarterback after three seasons. He has much to learn and George Stewart, the team’s wide receivers coach, admitted he views Webb differently. “Absolutely, and the reason being, it would be unfair to evaluate him as a receiver like I evaluate the rest of them because they’ve been receivers all their lives. Joe has been a quarterback.

“It’s like me trying to be a chef. It’s not going to work. I got to burn some stuff up (becoming a chef), but Joe he is going to help us. The question is a great question. A lot of people don’t see things in those eyes. …”

Webb won’t be returning to the quarterback position. “Absolutely (not),” Stewart said. “That’s the way coach Frazier has termed it. We moved him to receiver permanently. He’s not going back to quarterback as far as I know. He’s looking forward to it. He’s excited about the move.”

Although the football world knows Webb has great hands for receiving, and is tall at 6-4 and runs with speed and power, he has much to learn about his new position. Stewart deferred to head coach Leslie Frazier and general manager Rick Spielman when asked about Webb being on the team’s final roster.

“That’s not my job,” Stewart said. “That’s Rick Spielman’s job. That’s the head coach’s job. I am just going to coach him.”

Worth Noting

The Vikings continue with Organized Team Activities this week and next at Winter Park. The team also has its mini-camp in two weeks. Players report to training camp in Mankato on Thursday, July 25 with the first practice on Friday, July 26.

The Vikings were 3-13 in 2011 and 10-6 last season. Minnesota will again have one of the more inexperienced NFL rosters. Veteran linebacker Chad Greenway was asked how the Vikings can continue to improve. “Just growing up. We’re young and just maturing, and taking it to the next level. I think we can do that.”

Greenway is the No. 70 player in the NFL, according to a league player poll to determine the NFL’s top 100. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen is No. 60 on the list that so far has counted down to players 100 through 41 on the NFL Network.

The Vikings are working with Minneapolis officials to bring the 2018 Super Bowl here. A vote of NFL owners next spring is expected to determine the site, according to Vikings spokesman Jeff Anderson.

The new downtown football stadium is scheduled to open in 2016. Minneapolis hosted the 1992 Super Bowl and there is probably more acceptance now among NFL decision makers to play the big game in northern cities since Detroit, Indianapolis and metro New York have also been awarded Super Bowls.

The Twins will choose fourth on Thursday’s opening day of MLB’s amateur draft. Bleacherreport.com’s mock draft from last Friday has the Twins selecting outfielder Clint Frazier from Loganville, Georgia.

After yesterday’s 10-0 win over the Mariners, the Twins have won six of their last seven games and seven of the previous nine. Saturday’s comeback in the ninth inning from a 4-2 deficit was the kind of dramatic win that can give a team extra confidence. Ryan Doumit’s delivered the winning runs on Saturday in the 5-4 game and homered yesterday. Six of his last eight hits are for extra-bases.

Brian Dozier, Chris Hermann and Josh Willingham also homered yesterday. The Twins have hit eight home runs in their last four games.

Among the celebrities at the Bruce Smith Golf Classic at Faribault Golf Club on June 17 will be Gophers coach Jerry Kill and all-time leading rusher Darrell Thompson. The fundraising event honors Bruce Smith who won the 1941 Heisman Trophy playing for the Gophers. More information about participating in the golf event and attending the dinner is available by e-mailing Bruce Krinke, contact@fctv10.org.

The Big Ten announced the 2015 conference football schedule this morning. All league teams play eight games each before going to a nine game Big Ten schedule in 2016. The Gophers open league play in 2015 on October 3 at Northwestern.

Although the baseball Gophers aren’t participating in the 2013 NCAA tournament, Minnesota leads all Big Ten teams in appearances with 30. Michigan is second with 21 and Ohio State has 19. The Gophers last played in the tournament in 2010.

For the sixth consecutive season St. Thomas men and women finished first in MIAC all-sports competition. The placements are based on performances by conference teams in 22 sports. In the men’s final standings the Tommies finished ahead of Saint John’s, St. Olaf, Gustavus, Bethel, Concordia, Carleton, Augsburg, Hamline, Saint Mary’s and Macalester. After St. Thomas in the women’s standings are St. Olaf, Gustavus, Saint Benedict, Concordia, Carleton, Bethel, Hamline, St. Catherine, Macalester and Saint Mary’s (tied), and Augsburg.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien e-mailed that Lakeville junior shooting guard J.P. Macura now has a scholarship offer from Butler to consider along with others including from Kansas State and Boston College.

Phoenix rookie Brittney Griner, the first WNBA player to ever dunk twice in a WNBA game, will be at Target Center Thursday night for a game against the Lynx. Griner is only the third player to ever dunk in a WNBA game.

Registration for Grandma’s Marathon (Two Harbors to Duluth) is open through Friday. More than 17,000 runners are expected to participate in the June 22 event, the country’s 14^th largest marathon.

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Lurtsema: Grant Deserving of Top 10

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

Is Bud Grant the 15^th greatest coach in NFL history?

That’s what a group of voters including Chris Berman, John Clayton, Mike Ditka, Herm Edwards, Mike Golic, Bill Polian and Rick Reilly have decided. ESPN, in recognition of the late Vince Lombardi’s 100^th birthday, are counting down the 20 best coaches in NFL history and have the former Vikings’ head coach at No. 15. Grant is ahead of Tony Dungy, Mike Shanahan, Sid Gillman, Marv Levy and Hank Stram but behind Tom Coughlin and Jimmy Johnson. The remaining 12 coaches haven’t been announced.

Grant’s assignment at No. 15 won’t win popularity contests in the Northland including from former players like Bob Lurtsema. “That’s really, really low. He is without a doubt in the top 10,” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners.

Lurtsema also played for coach Don Shula, probably a cinch top-10 selection. Lurtsema said it’s “tight” when comparing Shula and Grant. The two coaches knew how to communicate with their players and get the best from them.

“Bud, all he had to do was look at you and you knew something was wrong,” Lurtsema said. “…And when Bud spoke, you hung on every word, man, cause what he was saying was true. Same with Shula.”

Lurtsema said the coach never spoke to him during his first days with the Vikings after leaving the Giants. Then after the first game Grant came up to Lurtsema and delivered an unexpected message: “He says don’t rock (back and forth) so much during the National Anthem.”

Great coaches sort through different approaches with their players. “I personally think a coach should know how to handle each individual, and not have a generic type talk,” Lurtsema said. “Like Allie Sherman (former Giants head coach) was just horseshit. He was just brutal but he had the horses with Sam Huff and those guys in the sixties. The players made Allie Sherman a winner but as far as being a coach, I wouldn’t put him in the top 100.”

Grant’s expectations included for players to focus on their jobs and make minimal mistakes. Focus during a game stimulated adrenaline and helped players block out distractions including cold weather, when Grant’s teams were often at their best.

“I bought into it (playing in the cold),” Lurtsema said. “Believe it, still believe it.”

It never seemed like there was any wasted energy or direction with Grant. He could get angry but mostly he was controlled no matter the situation. He just acted and looked like the town marshal, an authority who did his job and was watching to see how you behaved.

“His philosophy was he never cut anybody (from the team),” Lurtsema said. “Players cut themselves.”

Although Grant’s stoic image was deserved, those close to him saw his sense of humor. He enjoyed practical jokes including April Fools’ Day pranks at the Vikings’ offices when workers wondered if a reptile or other creature might pop out of their desk drawers.

Sid Hartman recalled in his book, Sid, how he and an auto dealership couldn’t figure out why his new car smelled so bad. “Finally they found a couple of decaying crows in the car,” Hartman wrote in his book. “It was no mystery where they came from. It had to be Grant.”

Grant was famous in Minnesota before he ever coached here but his tenure with the Vikings made him a legend. He was one of the Gophers greatest athletes and a key player on the 1949 team that almost qualified for the Rose Bowl. Grant played for coach Bernie Bierman, also a quiet, stern disciplinarian who won five national championships at Minnesota.

Grant played in the NBA for the world champion Minneapolis Lakers before coaching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League. His success in Canada was his ticket to the Vikings job in 1967. In 18 seasons his Vikings teams won 11 division titles, one NFL championship and three times were NFC champs. He has a franchise best record of 158-96-5.

His 0-4 record in the Super Bowls has cost him admiration and rating points in any national rankings of the NFL’s greatest coaches. Truth be told, Grant probably could have done a better coaching job in at least some of those Super Bowls. How could that not be true when his teams went to the big game four times and didn’t win? The Vikings sometimes seemed short on emotion in the Super Bowls and maybe lacked the fire of players on the other side.

Grant retired after the 1983 season but was convinced to return as head coach after Les Steckel’s disastrous 3-13 record in 1984. Lou Holtz had taken over as Gophers coach in 1984 and had the Vikings on the run in a popularity contest for Minnesota’s favorite football team.

The presence of Grant gave the Vikings not only credibility and popularity, but a better season at 7-9. Since 1986 the Grant name mostly surfaces in connection with the famous coach’s outdoor adventures. He retired more than a quarter century ago to hunt and fish in various parts of the United States and world. He’s had fun doing it, and if you know Grant he hasn’t spent time worrying about his place in coaching history.

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Greenway: Henderson to be ‘Great’

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

Opinion, news and notes from Chad Greenway, Rene Pulley and Joel Maturi.

Chad Greenway said after practice this afternoon at Winter Park he expects Erin Henderson will be “great” at middle linebacker during the 2013 season. Henderson is moving from weakside linebacker to middle linebacker and the transition will be among the most scrutinized Vikings moves between now and the end of the season.

Greenway said learning pass coverage responsibilities will be a challenge but Henderson has “great instincts.” Greenway, the Vikings’ Pro Bowl strongside linebacker, will be surprised if Henderson doesn’t play well. “He’ll be on it and will be great,” Greenway said.

Henderson, 26, knows there are doubters but said he isn’t upset with them. “It doesn’t anger me. I can’t get mad at people for having their opinions and having their beliefs and how they view things.”

Henderson has been dedicated to his conditioning during the offseason. He knows he will be on the field for three downs at a time and doesn’t want a lack of conditioning to interfere with his “technique.”

Greenway, 30, said his offseason included activities to make him more effective within the “10-yard box” that he so often plays in during games. “Worked on little things that can make my game a lot better. Just balance, footwork.”

Youth basketball authority Rene Pulley told Sports Headliners prep point guard Tyus Jones is already an extraordinary player. “He is like a pro now,” said Pulley who is executive director and CEO of Howard Pulley Basketball.

The Apple Valley High School junior is a target of new Gophers coach Richard Pitino, along with Robbinsdale Cooper shooting guard Rashad Vaughn and DeLaSalle forward Reid Travis who are other members of the state’s super class of 2014. Pulley said it’s difficult for a young coach at a new school to recruit against coaching legends like Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.

Pulley doesn’t know if the Gophers will land any of the Big Three but Vaughn might be the most likely to play at Minnesota. “He has always wanted to embark on his own trail,” Pulley said. “Since the U is down on talent, he could trail blaze.”

Former Gopher Rodney Williams, trying to interest NBA teams, was scheduled to workout for scouts today at Target Center. Pulley has observed the high potential, low performance four-year career of Williams at Minnesota.

“I think he was way under his potential, and I am not placing blame anywhere,” Pulley said. “He has the athleticism of the LeBron Jameses, Kobe Bryants and Michael Jordans. He can be a very fantastic player.”

Pulley expects his Pro City League at the High Performance Academy in Eagan to begin its schedule in late June. Jones, Travis and Gophers players are among those expected to participate. As in the past, the public is welcome.

Joel Maturi has spoken to new Texas Tech basketball coach Tubby Smith. “He feels good about another opportunity,” the former Gopher athletic director told Sports Headliners.

How does Smith feel about his six seasons at Minnesota and being let go in March? “He has nothing but good things to say about Minnesota,” Maturi said.

Although Smith was a national championship coach at Kentucky, he struggled at Minnesota winning just one NCAA Tournament game and had a losing record in the Big Ten. Maturi, who hired Smith, declined to talk about why he believes the coach wasn’t more successful here. “I have my own feelings but I don’t want them in print,” Maturi said.

Smith will have a more difficult time winning at Tech than he did at Minnesota. The Red Raiders were 11-20 overall, 3-15 in the Big 12 Conference last season, and counting Bobby Knight employed five head coaches since 2007.

Smith has been a head coach at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and now Texas Tech. In a mid-May story by the Amarillo Globe-News he was asked how the Tech job compares to the others. “It’s tough. This is probably the toughest,” he said.

Smith has yet to complete his staff and recruiting seems to be off to a slow start. Former Gopher assistant Joe Esposito, who has connections in Texas, is on the Tech staff.

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