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.

Worth Noting

Posted on August 27, 2012August 27, 2012 by David Shama

Ted Mondale, Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority executive director, will be the speaker on Thursday, March 14 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. NBA referee and Minnesota native Ken Mauer Jr. will speak at C.O.R.E.S. on Thursday, September 13. Anyone interested in more information can email Jim Dotseth at dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

The Vikings and Gophers will give local football fans a rare local football TV doubleheader on Thursday night. The Vikings play at Houston in their final preseason game starting at 6 p.m. and KARE 11 will televise. The Gophers open their nonconference season on the road in a 10 p.m. start against UNLV broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Vikings rookie offensive tackle Matt Kalil is relieved to have experience now in preseason games. He told Sports Headliners it was “nerve-racking” prior to the preseason opener against the 49ers but he was comfortable after the first play.

The Vikings offense is similar to what Kalil played in at USC but more sophisticated, he said. The Trojans, Kalil predicted, will probably win the national championship.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, 29, acknowledged he’s in his prime years after leading the team in tackles last season with 174 and playing in his first Pro Bowl.

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier recalled how substandard the secondary performed on last season’s 3-13 team. He said an opposing secondary coach even called to tell him “you guys have to address your secondary.”

“…It’s not a lot of fun, but I think we have addressed some of those issues this offseason and now if we can keep our guys healthy it should help us to answer some questions when we play opposing offenses,” Frazier said.

John Gagliardi is preparing for his 60^th season as Saint John’s head football coach. He needs 16 wins to reach 500 career victories (484-133-11). The Johnnies open their season on Saturday at home against Northwestern College.

Saint John’s will finish fourth in the MIAC, according to a conference coaches poll. St. Thomas is picked to win the title followed by Bethel, St. Olaf, Saint John’s, Concordia, Gustavus Adolphus, Augsburg, Carleton and Hamline.

Former Gophers captain and Roosevelt High School alum Mike Svendsen will be among those inducted into the Minnesota Old Timers Football Association Hall of Fame on September 18 at the Prom Center in Oakdale. Others being induced that evening are Bob Meslow, Tom Turk, Frank Seidel and Dick Walker, according to www.tommiesports.com.

Phil Esten, University of Minnesota Alumni Association president and CEO, will leave his position in October to become executive associate athletic director for advancement at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his alumni assignment, Esten was associate athletics director for the Gophers.

Based on sales at wnbastore.com, the Lynx’s Maya Moore jersey is the best seller in the WNBA. Teammate Lindsay Whalen’s jersey ranks No. 10 among league players. The Lynx are No. 1 in team merchandise sales.

Pearl Park Field No. 1 in the Washburn High School district has been renamed Harmon Killebrew Field. Improvements to the field have been made including new dugouts and a scoreboard featuring Killebrew’s name and No. 3 uniform number. Funding of $300,000 was provided by the Hennepin Youth Sports Program, and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Washburn has historically fielded some of the state’s better baseball teams.

Wild coach Mike Yeo and college coaches will speak at the first Herb Brooks Foundation Leadership Conference on September 15 at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The conference goal is to share with coaches from all levels of hockey what motivates players.

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Here’s Your U Football Predictions

Posted on August 24, 2012August 24, 2012 by David Shama

Sports Headliners evaluated the Gophers coaching, special teams, and offensive and defensive units. With 12 teams in the Big Ten Conference, a number of 1 through 12 was assigned to where those entities rank.

The Gophers (with a tweak of optimism) were given an overall No. 7 ranking (63 points divided by 9). That means Minnesota is projected as the seventh best team in the conference this fall.

Here’s how Sports Headliners arrived at that number:

Coaching: Former LSU and Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo, now working as an analyst for the Big Ten Network, said earlier this month Gophers coach Jerry Kill and his staff will consistently win games against teams with similar talent. That’s coaching, folks.

But until this staff, now in its second year at Minnesota, accomplishes more than last season’s 3-9 record Sports Headliners can’t vault the group near the top of the Big Ten coaching ladder. Let’s say Minnesota’s coaches are better than Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State and Purdue. Rank: 7.

Special teams: Kill is all-in about special teams and the results should be a team strength. Competition for assignments and team speed will help the Gophers in punting, kickoffs, field goals, coverages and returns.

The team’s punting was a nightmare last season but in practice this month four punters are trying to win the job. Also, placekickers Jordan Wettstein (six of six) and Chris Hawthorne (six of nine) combined for 12 field goals last season and have been competing in camp. Wettstein is a senior, Hawthorne a junior.

Troy Stoudermire holds the career Big Ten kickoff yardage return record with 3,102. He needs 315 yards to set the NCAA record.

Last season the Gophers blocked a punt and executed a key onside kick to help win games. With more experience, the Gophers figure to be even better in special teams—long known as an impressive part of the Kill resume. Rank: 6.

Quarterback: The Big Ten has lots of promising quarterbacks so it requires some faith in MarQueis Gray’s extraordinary athleticism to push him toward the top of the rankings. Even the casual fan knows Gray, who set school single game and season rushing records for a quarterback last year, must improve his passing in 2012.

Last season he threw eight touchdown passes and the same number of interceptions. Now a senior, Gray understands the Gophers system and how to read defenses better than last year, his first full season as a starting quarterback.

Kill has confidence in Gray and there’s no doubt he’s the team’s preseason choice for MVP. Sports Headliners wants a seat on the Gray bandwagon while noting if the Gophers lose him because of injury…well, their season looks grey. Rank: 5.

Running backs: When DiNardo was in Minneapolis to evaluate the Gophers for the Big Ten Network he spoke bluntly about the running backs. The pronouncement: no one in the group scares opponents.

It’s hard not to nod in agreement with that statement, and passionate Gophers fans will argue Minnesota hasn’t had a big time talent at running back since Gary Russell was finishing his brief career here. During the coming season Kill will provide playing time to at least a couple of running backs, perhaps several.

The by-committee approach is one Kill used at other schools where he’s coached. That could change some day if the Gophers find another Laurence Maroney or Marion Barber III, but for now the running back unit doesn’t look like a strength. Rank: 9.

Wide receivers & tight ends: The Gophers had 10 receptions for touchdowns last season. Returning players accounted for only three. Senior wide receiver Brandon Green caught one touchdown pass and senior tight end John Rabe had two.

Kill told Sports Headliners earlier this year the Gophers have to find receivers who can “go make a play.” That sometimes means a difficult catch or a long run after a reception. Rabe figures to start at tight end but who will get the most playing time at the other receiving positions is puzzling.

This much is for sure: most of those who will make big plays for the Gophers catching the ball will be freshmen and sophomores. There’s talent in the group but until proven differently skepticism is justified. Rank: 8.

Offensive line: If the Gophers are to eventually approach the success of Wisconsin or even Iowa, this unit needs to become a program strength. State of Minnesota high school programs should be able to mainstream promising offensive linemen to Dinkytown, guys at least good enough for Kill and staff to bulk up and coach up to a high level.

The line will be better than a year ago with young talent starting to mature. The unit’s star likely will be junior left tackle Ed Olson. Kill has told Sports Headliners Olson could experience a “breakout” season.

The Gophers have a half dozen or so freshmen, sophomore and junior candidates who could factor into contributing to an improved offensive line. The opinion here, though, is the line is at least one year away from being outstanding. Rank: No. 7.

Defensive line: Let’s count the seasons the Gophers have had poor defensive line play and the pass rush was…well, what pass rush? Never mind. I don’t have time to count that high.

The Gophers defense gave up 31.1 points per game last season. That ranked 11th in the Big Ten and the performance of the defensive line was part of the problem. This season’s unit will be more experienced and has a potential star (a rarity in recent program history) in defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman. The redshirt junior from Minneapolis could be difficult for opponents to block and may become one of Minnesota’s most dominant linemen in years.

Kill will play numerous linemen in games to keep them fresh. At least some look like they bring special skill sets like pass rusher Theiren Cockran and hard working former walk-on Cameron Botticelli. Kill has achieved success at other schools with a strong defense and this year’s version could be much improved. Rank: No. 7.

Linebackers: Kill talks about having only 10 seniors on the roster but this is a unit with experience. Senior linebackers Keanon Cooper, Aaron Hill, Mike Rallis and Spencer Reeves have 45 career starts.

But perhaps the star of the unit could be James Manuel, a junior and converted safety. Two years ago during August practices then head coach Tim Brewster was excited about Manuel. In Manuel’s first two seasons he started only three games but the player Brewster described as “a man” at 19 years old is talented.

Can the unit make a lot of big plays for the Gophers game-by-game? We’ll see. Rank: No. 8.

Defensive backs: The Gophers secondary produced only four interceptions last season, and like the other parts of the defense the tackling was inconsistent. But this could be one of the most improved units on the team in 2012.

Kill can start two senior cornerbacks in Stoudermire and Michael Carter. Junior Derrick Wells has been converted from cornerback to safety and before August practices started, Kill mentioned Wells among potential key contributors on the team.

There’s more good news, too, with the addition of three junior college transfers in the secondary. They provide needed depth, experience, athleticism and speed. Rank: 6.

Conclusion: If Gray plays in all 12 games and the Gophers don’t have an epidemic of injuries overall, Minnesota could win five to seven games. A 3-1 or 4-0 record in nonconference games looks probable. Then two or three wins in the Big Ten is realistic. Expect the Gophers not only to improve on last year’s 3-9 record, but to be more competitive and perform better throughout the fall than they did from game 1 through 12 in 2011.

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Shortell Feels on ‘Different Level’

Posted on August 21, 2012August 23, 2012 by David Shama

When cramps forced quarterback MarQueis Gray to the sidelines in the Gophers opener last year against USC, true freshman Max Shortell had to enter the game in the fabled Los Angeles Coliseum. Shortell would later start two games for the Gophers.

Looking back at last year, Shortell said he realizes how inexperienced he was. If called upon to replace Gray this season he will be much more comfortable.

“Last year I was almost just trying to make it through,” he said last week. “This year I feel like I am on a whole different level.”

Shortell, who completed 26 of 54 passes while throwing two touchdown passes and two interceptions, acknowledged that for a backup quarterback to watch from the sidelines in games not knowing when he will play presents a challenge.

“It’s hard the whole game to be focused (while) on the sidelines,” he said. “Coming into the game you know you’re not going to play but you have to be in every snap all week mentally. You have to be prepared to play.

“As far as staying loose on the sidelines, that’s really hard to do. Especially when it’s cold out. …It’s real tough just to be waiting.”

Gray is a senior and could be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Shortell’s playing time might be even less than last season when he participated in eight games.

“I hope I can play,” Shortell said. “I hope I can push MarQueis and step in when I need to.”

Shortell said the Gophers offense, now in its second season with a new coaching staff, is “light years” ahead of where it was in August of 2011. “We’re making plays that we just missed last year. In games we just missed plays and now out here on the practice field we’re making these plays.”

Gophers football notes and other items:

A priority for the Gophers in practice during August is special teams. Coach Jerry Kill and his staff came to Minnesota from Northern Illinois with a reputation for producing results with special teams. Minnesota won only three games last season but the recovery of a fourth quarter onside kickoff was a big play in a 22-21 win over Iowa and a fourth quarter blocked punt turned into a touchdown produced the final Gophers points in a 29-23 victory against Miami (Ohio).

Punting, kickoffs, coverages and returns receive Kill’s attention and it’s a good bet the Gophers will turn another game or two their way in 2012 with special teams. “I think you always win in the kicking game,” Kill said last week. “If you go look at NFL—at college football—the good teams gotta be good on special teams. Because you’re gonna win some games on special teams, or you gonna lose some games. And we’ve spent a heck of a lot of time on trying to win, and we’ve always been pretty good at it everywhere we’ve been. …”

Look for Kill to announce his starters for the UNLV game (August 30) in six days or so. Regardless, in certain position units like the defensive line Kill will play subs, not just starters, in game action.

Sports Illustrated’s college football issue ranks Alabama No. 1 with two Big Ten teams in the publication’s preseason top 10—No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 8 Michigan State. Other Big Ten teams in the top 25 are No. 13 Michigan, No. 19 Nebraska and No. 22 Ohio State. The magazine lists seven Heisman Trophy favorites including Michigan’s Denard Robinson and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball.

The Universityof Minnesota Alumni Association is partnering with Creative Charters to promote a fan trip to the Gophers-UNLV game in Las Vegas. The alumni association is also promoting a tailgate party before the game with a discount available for early registration. More at www.minnesotaalumni.org

Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said yesterday that backup quarterback Joe Webb looked better in his second preseason game than in the first. The coach said Webb is making progress including understanding defenses.

“Well, Joe is making strides every day,” Musgrave said. “The other night he missed on a couple throws that he would like to have back, but he did some good things for us too. He made some plays with his legs when we spread him out and got everybody out of the backfield. That is definitely one of his strengths.”

Fritz Waldvogel, the former St. Thomas star, has scored 27 touchdowns in nine games playing in the German Football League, according to www.tommiesports.com.

Gophers assistant coach Saul Smith told Sports Headliners Maurice Walker, who missed all of last season, is healthy and playing summer basketball. Smith said the Gophers need the 6-10, 289-pound Walker’s presence in the low post. “We’ll need him in Atlantis,” Smith said about the November 22 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas where the Gophers will play Duke.

Smith’s dad, Tubby Smith, starts his sixth season at Minnesota this fall. Saul said this could be the best Gophers team so far but Minnesota “will have to prove it” in the Big Ten.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that DeLaSalle forward Reid Travis, ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 31 player nationally in the prep class of 2014, has been offered a scholarship by Boston College.

Lien also reported that Cooper guard Rashad Vaughn said Baylor, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas are showing strong interest in recruiting him.

ESPN ranks Vaughn the No. 12 prospect in the class of 2014 while Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones is No. 2.

NBC’s coverage of the USA men’s gold medal basketball game had 12.5 million viewers, while the USA women’s title game had 10.2 million, according to NBA.com.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor left the states last week for China to participate in a mission with the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

The St. Cloud State men’s basketball team will play an exhibition game on November 2 at Michigan State. Kevin Levandoski, a 6-1 sophomore guard from Appleton, Wisconsin, is on the Huskies roster and is MSU coach Tom Izzo’s nephew. Levandoski suggested the game to Izzo, according to online reports.

About.com ranked the greatest baseball players of all time last week. Among catchers, the Twins Joe Mauer didn’t receive a mention among the top 15. Harmon Killebrew ranked No. 6 among first basemen and Jim Thome No. 10.

The Gophers volleyball team is ranked No. 16 in the country in a preseason poll by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. In a poll of Big Ten coaches Minnesota is picked to finish No. 4 in the league with Nebraska the title favorite.

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