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.

Win Streak Makes Vikings Superstitious

Posted on January 4, 2013January 4, 2013 by David Shama

Vikings notes and quotes:

The Vikings have won four consecutive games and the streak has prompted superstitions at Winter Park. Fullback Jerome Felton, a Pro Bowl selection for 2013, told Sports Headliners the team has been eating the same lunch items each Friday during the winning streak that has the Vikings headed for a first round playoff game on Saturday night in Green Bay against the Packers.

The Vikings have been enjoying pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and other offerings provided by Brasa catering on Fridays. “They got the best cookies ever,” Felton said. “I think that might be everybody’s favorite.”

During the winning streak linebacker Erin Henderson has made a habit of Thursday lunches at Jimmy John’s. Defensive lineman Christian Ballard and wide receiver Jarius Wright have been letting their hair grow.

If the Vikings keep winning, Wright said he will avoid haircuts. “Yes, sir. I will just let it grow.”

Rookie placekicker Blair Walsh is one of the team MVPs. He has kicked an NFL high 35 field goals, ranks fourth in league total points with 141 and has 53 kickoffs for touchbacks, third best among all players. His .921 field goal percentage is the best in NFL history for a rookie kicker. Three times he’s been the NFL Special Teams Player of the Week.

Chosen last week for the Pro Bowl, Walsh said he can still improve. “I missed three kicks (this season) and you can always improve by not missing.”

Walsh made 35 of 38 field goal attempts and showed no signs of the mechanical issues that caused a poor season in 2011 at Georgia. He has the knowledge now to correct any problems that might occur again.

Walsh has no individual goals he is “shooting for” but said his technique and distance can get better. “Absolutely. I’ll improve from this year to next year.”

Center John Sullivan said the Vikings have an advantage over other teams when instead of punting the ball they can sometimes try Walsh on a long distance field goal. “Ten-for-10 on field goals (from) plus 50 yards is the best in league history. That speaks for itself,” Sullivan said.

Walsh made an impression even in training camp. “We knew what he was going to be able to do on kickoffs, especially in this division where you have so many dangerous returners,” Sullivan said. “That helps a lot. But I think he surprised everybody with his range on field goals, and the accuracy with which he’s hitting. So that’s a testament to how hard he works.”

Walsh replaced 15 year veteran Ryan Longwell who in a pro career playing for both the Packers and Vikings never had a season with total field goals and points the equal of Minnesota’s 2012 sixth round draft choice.

The Vikings have an extraordinary 2012 draft class that also includes starting left tackle Matt Kalil who like Walsh has been mentioned in All-Pro discussions. Kalil was a first round pick as was Harrison Smith who has helped upgrade the safety position. Cornerback Josh Robinson (third round) and wide receiver Jarius Wright (fourth round) are other major contributors.

The Vikings have remade their roster since 2009, the last playoff qualifying season. “A lot of new guys, new faces,” said Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf. “It’s the first time (in the playoffs) for a lot of them. We’re excited and I think we’re building something special here.”

Despite their contributions, none of the Vikings rookies will receive bonus money for their regular season performances. NFL contracts don’t allow such compensation in rookie agreements.

The team’s best player under 25 is Percy Harvin but the dynamic receiver, runner and kickoff returner hasn’t played since November 4 because of his injured ankle. Harvin, a fourth year player, reportedly has squabbled with former head coach Brad Childress and current coach Leslie Frazier. There’s speculation that with an expiring contract at the end of 2013, Harvin could be traded this off-season.

Wilf talking about Adrian Peterson who missed by nine yards breaking Eric Dickerson’s single season NFL rushing record of 2,105: “He’s a special person and a special player. We believe he’s one of the best, if not the best running back of all-time.”

Peterson will play in only the fourth playoff game of his six-year career tomorrow night in Green Bay. He’s ready and not kidding when talking about returning kickoffs if the Vikings need a late game score.

Peterson’s backup, Toby Gerhart, grew up as a Packers fan while living in California. Quarterback Brett Favre was his hero.

The December 31 issue of Sports Illustrated picks the Patriots to defeat the Packers in the Super Bowl next month. The Packers have won nine of their last 11 games.

Worth Noting

The No. 9 ranked (Associated Press) Gophers basketball team plays Northwestern at home on Sunday night starting at 6 p.m. Northwestern, 9-5 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten, is a popular choice to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten standings but Gophers guard Austin Hollins doesn’t expect Minnesota to have a problem being motivated.

The Gophers defeated No. 18 Michigan State on Monday in their first Big Ten game and Hollins likes the potential of his team. “I think the sky’s the limit. We have so many options. I don’t think there’s a drop-off when our bench comes in, and that’s tough for teams to play against. You’re wearing them down, wearing them down.

“You sub in and you’ve got the same intensity as you did with the first five. The depth really helps us. Everyone’s focused and that also helps.”

The 17^th annual Timberwolves Shootout will be Saturday at Target Center with four prep games including a 3 p.m. anticipated matchup between Tyus Jones and Apple Valley High School versus Rashad Vaughn and Robbinsdale Cooper. As of Wednesday, Jones was averaging 22.3 points per game and Vaughn 28 with a 51 point game recently. Both players are juniors. A $15 admission ticket also provides entrance Saturday night to the Timberwolves-Trail Blazers game.

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team, ranked No. 3 nationally by D3hoops.com, is 10-0. The Tommies are at home for a 3 p.m. game tomorrow against 8-0 Augsburg.

Ted Mondale, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, wants the new Vikings stadium to one day host the Big Ten championship football game. The first two Big Ten title games have been at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, a facility similar to the stadium being planned in Minneapolis.

Jason Zucker leads the Wild’s Houston Aeros minor league affiliate in points with 29 and goals, 15. Justin Fontaine, Brian Connelly and Mikael Granlund are next with 22, 21 and 20.

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Vikings Survey More Than PSLs

Posted on January 2, 2013January 3, 2013 by David Shama

The Vikings’ survey of season ticket holders regarding personal seat licenses has created a stir in the marketplace but there’s more to understand. Team spokesman Jeff Anderson said the survey will determine not only costs for personal seat licenses but also ticket pricing, and will measure interest in potential events at the new downtown stadium including professional soccer.

Stakeholders being surveyed include season ticket buyers, private suite holders and corporate sponsors. Anderson said surveying will continue into the fall, and the club is also using focus groups to obtain marketing information.

Personal seat licenses mean fans pay fees beyond the price of tickets for specific seat locations. Costs for licenses and pricing of tickets won’t be announced by the Vikings until 2014.

Ted Mondale, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, said the target date for opening the stadium is July 1, 2016. He plans to have several events (including a possible open house) in the stadium before the first Vikings’ preseason game in August. Those first events will be important to test stadium operations.

Mondale said it’s likely the Vikings will play the full 2014 and 2015 seasons at TCF Bank Stadium. That would make the 2013 season the last for the Vikings at Mall of America Field.

By mid-March the authority expects to determine what features, including a possible retractable roof, will fit into the $975 million stadium budget, and what ideas will be dropped.

Worth Noting

Although the Vikings had a sellout crowd of more than 64,000 at Mall of America Field on Sunday to watch the playoff qualifying win over the Packers, ticket demand was such that Mondale said perhaps 100,000 tickets could have been sold.

Give former Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema credit for his prediction about the team last summer. In a town of skeptics, Lurtsema said the Vikings, who were 3-13 in 2011, would have a 10-6 record and possibly make the playoffs. The Vikings won four consecutive games to end the season and finish 10-6.

Lurtsema believes the Broncos, 13-3 and winners of a league leading 11 consecutive games, are the best team in the NFL right now. He likes their defense and admires former Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker who has five touchdown catches in his last three games and a career best 13 for the season.

Coach Jerry Kill said the Gophers played their most “physical” game in his two years at Minnesota during the team’s 34-31 loss to Texas Tech at the Meineke Car Care Bowl last week. While disappointed with the loss, Kill was encouraged by the improvement of his team including on offense after the Gophers had struggled to score points in their last two regular season games.

Leading 31-24 late in the game, the Gophers took a gamble being in press coverage (no deep pass defenders) and gave up a touchdown to Tech that tied the score. The Red Raiders went on to kick the game winning field goal as time expired.

Tech’s unsportsmanlike penalties during the game upset Minnesota supporters. A Gophers fan who was in Houston for the game wrote an email to Sports Headliners that said in part:

“Fans after the game came to us…and apologized for their players’ behavior. The next day, when we were at a boardwalk park near Galveston, fans came up to us and said the same. I had one Texas Longhorn fan, who was at the game, come up to me and say they were rooting for Minnesota. They cannot stand TT. …”

North Dakota State announced yesterday that football coach Craig Bohl, who aggressively recruits Minnesota high school players, has signed an eight-year contract extension with the Bison from 2013 to 2021. Bohl’s base salary is $206,503 and the agreement includes language about annual increases, plus incentives such as compensation for winning the FCS national championship. Bohl will also receive three percent of gross tickets sales for Bison home games. NDSU plays Sam Houston State for the FCS national title on Saturday.

The basketball Gophers are No. 9 in the latest Associated Press college basketball poll, but more importantly boosted their reputation as a Big Ten title contender after winning the conference opener on Monday against Michigan State, 76-63. Minnesota’s defense shut out the Spartans (No. 18 A.P.) the last 4:05 of the second half to break open a close game.

The Gophers’ next four games are Sunday at home against Northwestern, then January 9 and 12 at Illinois (No. 11) and at Indiana (No. 5), and January 17 in Williams Arena versus Michigan (No. 2). If the Gophers are 4-1 after the first five games, they will deserve to be in the conversation about the league’s best teams.

The Timberwolves play Utah tonight, the team’s first trip to Salt Lake City this season. Jazz fans are known for their passion and basketball IQ. “It is a tough place to play,” said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. “They’re a big team also. Their strengths are the same as Minnesota’s. They try to pound the ball on the inside to (Al) Jefferson and (Paul) Millsap. They’ve got some big guys that they play there. I think it will be a great matchup.

“I like this team right here (the Wolves). I love the way Rick (Adelman) coaches. Once they get everybody healthy and knowing exactly what they’ve got, I think you’ll see them make a little move and go on a little run.”

Wolves forward Andrei Kirilenko, who played 10 seasons with the Jazz, returns to Salt Lake City for the first time in an opposing team’s uniform. Former Wolves starters with the Jazz are Jefferson and Randy Foye.

Adelman said he isn’t surprised by the back spasms that kept Rick Rubio out of Saturday’s game with the Suns, referring to his point guard having played only five games so far this season, and “this is his training camp.”

Kevin Love, whose setbacks have included a broken hand, made eight of 20 field goal attempts and had 23 points on Saturday night in the win over the Suns. He hasn’t been playing at the level of last season, and his field goal percentage of .358 compares with .450 for his career. His three point field goal percentage is .233 versus .355 for the career.

Prior to Saturday night’s game against the Suns, Adelman was asked when Love might return to last year’s form. “I don’t have a very good feel for that. Historically he’s been a very good shooter. He’s just down this year and he’s gotta stay with it. You’re going to go through tough periods and he’s going through one now.

“Sometimes you gotta experience that to understand what you have to do. Maybe try to do a little bit more, run the court…get some easy baskets. I don’t have much doubt that if he stays with it, if he does the extra shooting on the side, and he continues to just be aggressive in taking the shots he’ll be fine.”

Brent Haskins, pro personnel scout for the Suns, said his dad, former Gophers basketball coach Clem Haskins, remains active on his farm in Kentucky and was in Minnesota recently to have his knees examined. The older Haskins, now 69, had knee replacement surgery about 15 years ago.

In his position with the Suns, Brent Haskins scouts college, minor league and NBA talent, and offers possible trade scenarios for the franchise. He lives in Minnesota.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Wolves are one of several NBA teams asked to play on Christmas Day in 2013 because of Love, a former Olympian and all-star, and the team has a roster of international players headlined by Rubio.

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U Needs to Rock ‘The Barn’ Monday

Posted on December 30, 2012December 30, 2012 by David Shama

The Gophers open their Big Ten basketball season tomorrow afternoon in Williams Arena against Michigan State and the Minnesota players hope to have the “Barn” rocking with support.

“The Barnyard is always behind us come Big Ten play,” forward Rodney Williams told Sports Headliners earlier this month. “We’re ready. We’re gonna put on a show for them (the fans). Hopefully they can be that sixth man for us.”

Williams is one of college basketball’s dunk-masters. He knows his slams can ignite the crowd and figuratively shake the pillars in the 84-year-old arena.

“The louder they (fans) get, the more tough it’s going to be on other teams,” Williams said. “Let’s hope I can get a dunk (on Monday) that’s going to shake the pillars.”

Minnesota is 12-1 and ranked No. 11 in the country by the Associated Press. Michigan State, just like the Gophers, has thoughts of finishing near the top of the Big Ten standings. The Spartans, 11-2 and No. 19 in the A.P. poll, are 17-2 against the Gophers in the last 19 games. The last Minnesota win in Williams Arena came in 2006.

Tubby Smith, who began coaching the Gophers during the 2007-2008 season, has only one win over the Spartans (2010 Big Ten Tournament). But this year’s group could be his best team at Minnesota, and Williams said the Gophers believe in themselves.

“No team intimidates us,” Williams said. “We’re not worried about them (the Spartans). We’re worried about what we gotta do. …”

Williams predicts success against the Spartans despite past history between the two teams. “They got the best of us in past years but I think this year is a little different. We got a team that we can count on anybody on any given night. We got depth. I think we’re just more team oriented this year. I know we’re definitely ready for the 31^st.

The Gophers, who finished 10^th in the Big Ten last season but did win four games in the post-season NIT, have a talented starting five in Williams, forward Joe Coleman, center Trevor Mbakwe, and guards Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins. The reserves include players with starting experience. The Gophers are also an athletic bunch who can attack offensively, pressure defensively and swarm the boards for rebounds.

MSU coach Tom Izzo has made a reputation for boot camp toughness including an obsession for rebounding. Derrick Nicks and Adreian Payne are among the Big Ten’s leading rebounders this season.

Williams said the Gophers will be ready to match effort with the Spartans on the boards. And Minnesota will need to impress defensively, too, since MSU is known for shutting down opponents.

Austin Hollins believes the Gophers made their defense better during the 13 nonconference games. “Our defense got a lot better. Keeping the same intensity on defense throughout the whole nonconference schedule is huge. We always stress that coming out (for the game), getting up in their face, making it hard for the offense to run their plays. Making it hard for them to do anything and just forcing turnovers, and I think that’s one of our strong points. We really improved there.”

Hollins said the Gophers are “not going to do everything right” but he thinks the team is ready for the Big Ten schedule. And Williams considers Monday’s game a first step for a team that includes among its goals winning the conference title and playing in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s huge,” Williams said. “It’s the first game of the conference play. Rankings don’t usually mean much, but it’s two ranked teams going against each other. It’s gonna be huge for us to get that first win in the Big Ten so we can move forward and go on from there because we’ve got big goals for the season. Getting that first win is gonna be huge.”

Vikings & Other Notes

The loudest crowd of the season is almost a certainty at Mall of America Field this afternoon. The hometown Vikings can qualify for the playoffs by defeating the rival Packers in the final regular season game of the year for Minnesota, and Adrian Peterson needs 208 more yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards. Mall of America Field is among the loudest stadiums in the NFL and “crowd noise can definitely throw off communication” for the opposing team, said Vikings running back Toby Gerhart.

The Vikings encourage fans to wear purple and will place “rally towels” on every seat in the stadium—the first for that promotion since a playoff game against the Cowboys in January of 2010. Target HQ Tower, the Lowry Avenue Bridge and the 35W Bridge are lit in purple at night this weekend as part of a Minneapolis show of support for the Vikings franchise.

Peterson was held to 86 yards rushing last week by the Texans. “Obviously they closed us down in the run game but then again I look at the film, it was several plays where I was just a tackle away from taking it to the house,” Peterson said. “Ultimately, when you look at it, it seems like they did a better job than I really feel like they did.”

Peterson talking about breaking Dickerson’s record today: “Deep down inside I feel like I’ll get it.”

In one word, how he describes his running style: “Vicious.”

Despite Peterson’s success, no players from the Vikings offensive line were chosen for the Pro Bowl. Selections for the post-season all-star game are made by fans, NFL players and coaches. There’s justifiable criticism that voters aren’t knowledgeable, and it’s a popular allegation in Minnesota after Vikings center John Sullivan was passed over for the Packers’ Jeff Saturday who hasn’t been starting for Green Bay. Sullivan was named a Pro Bowl alternate.

“He (Sullivan) had a heck of a year,” Gerhart said. “It’s a shame that we didn’t have any offensive line guys make it, especially Sully our leader. When Adrian puts up that type of a season—he’s a heck of a player—but it’s not all on him. Those guys up front are what’s gonna get a play going.”

Former Gophers national championship football coach Murray Warmath, who died in 2011, would have turned 100 last Wednesday.

The December 31 issue of Sports Illustrated predicts Alabama will defeat Notre Dame 23-16 in the BCS national championship game on January 7.

The Timberwolves have sold 10,000 season tickets, the franchise’s largest total since the 2004-2005 season, according to club executive Ted Johnson. A second consecutive Target Center sellout crowd watched the Wolves defeat the Suns last night, 111-107.

Ricky Rubio missed the game because of back spasms. Coach Rick Adelman is hopeful the point guard will return for Wednesday night’s game at Utah.

The Wolves, 14-13, are off to their best start since having the same record in 2005-2006.

The Tapemark Charity Pro-Am for women will be Tuesday, June 4 and Sunday, June 9. The men’s event will be June 7-9. The golf tournaments raise funds for Minnesota nonprofits serving people with developmental and learning disabilities.

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