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.

Big Ten Analyst: U Progress Best

Posted on April 20, 2012April 20, 2012 by David Shama

Gerry DiNardo had high praise for the Gophers football program this week.

The Big Ten Network’s in-studio analyst, and former head football coach at Indiana and LSU, came to Minnesota’s campus earlier this spring and Tuesday night voiced this opinion on the Big Ten Football Report show:

“Big picture is this. A year ago I thought if you ranked the teams 1 thru 12 in spring practice, Minnesota would be 12^th. I don’t see it that way right now. I think Minnesota has made the most progress of any of the teams that we’ve seen from one spring to the next. …”

DiNardo said the Gophers are a different program under Jerry Kill who was hired in December of 2010 to replace Tim Brewster. “…The offense, the defense has changed, but more important I think the reason it has been such a good and tough transition is—and this word is overused—Jerry Kill has changed the culture. The way they do things. That was culture shock a year ago—man, have they come a long way in one year.”

Fans can make their own judgments tomorrow starting at 11 a.m. in TCF Bank Stadium when Minnesota plays its annual spring game. Most observers who have watched the program in recent weeks believe the Gophers are bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic and sure of themselves than the group that practiced last spring.

What does that mean for next fall? Probably a better team and more wins than in 2011 when Minnesota was 3-9. The 2012 schedule looks less formidable than last fall and anything less than a 4-0 nonconference start against UNLV, New Hampshire, Western Michigan and Syracuse will be a mild disappointment. If the Gophers can find two wins in an eight-game league schedule then Minnesota would have a 6-6 overall record and bowl eligibility.

Not only are Kill and his staff more settled in with themselves and the players, but the Gophers have a talented senior starter at quarterback. A year ago MarQueis Gray was trying to win the job but now he’s in the conversation about the Big Ten’s better quarterbacks.

Gray will need to be healthy and extremely productive for the Gophers to have a .500 season or better. A lot of teammates will have to step up, too, because despite the program’s progress there are many more questions than answers about this team.

Offense? Defense? Special teams? The Gophers have to improve all three units in the next 12 months if DiNardo is going to consider making the same pronouncement in 2013 he did this week.

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Persuasion Fails in Stadium Vote

Posted on April 18, 2012April 18, 2012 by David Shama

A legislative panel was told the Vikings are not “making money” and the state of Minnesota could make a $140 million profit from its stadium financing, but these and other arguments didn’t persuade the House Government Operations and Elections Committee to approve a bill on Monday night funding a new multi-purpose stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

The panel rejected the bill for a nearly $1 billion stadium by a 9-6 vote at the State Capitol in a meeting that Sports Headliners followed via Twin Cities Public Television. The vote may have ended hope during this legislative session for approving a new covered roof facility that would have the Vikings as its primary tenant, although Senate leadership could yet be heard from.

Among those voting no were two committee members from Minneapolis, Rep. Marion Greene and Rep. Frank Hornstein. They and the seven others who rejected the bill voiced numerous concerns and questions including why “billionaire owners” couldn’t fund part or the entire stadium project.

Committee member and bill advocate Rep. Terry Morrow said stadiums that base funding on private dollars have been financed in larger markets able to attract revenues through the sale of personal seat licenses in the facilities. In this market, consumers can’t support such a revenue stream, he said.

The majority of NFL stadiums and baseball parks are funded through public and private partnerships. Team executive Lester Bagley said the Vikings’ proposed stadium contribution of $427 million would be the third largest ever for an NFL franchise.

The Vikings have long argued their revenues are among the lowest in the NFL and remaining in the Metrodome isn’t an option. “The team is not making money,” said Ted Mondale, chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission.

The bill reviewed Monday night calls for $398 million from the state of Minnesota and also $150 million from the city of Minneapolis. Rep. Morrie Lanning, the chief author of the bill, said that after 30 years the state would make a $140 million profit because of income taxes received from the Vikings and visiting players. “This is a good deal for Minnesota,” he said.

Lanning said for seven years the Vikings have been before the legislature, and his bill was the best ever proposed. He also noted that the Government Operations and Elections Committee was where the bill stalled two years ago.

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Slugger Sano Potential Gold Glover

Posted on April 18, 2012April 18, 2012 by David Shama

Mention names of the Twins best prospects in the lower minor leagues and Miguel Sano could be the first player discussed. Sano hit 20 home runs last season for Elizabethon, the second best total in the Appalachian League. This spring, playing for Beloit, he leads the Midwest League with five home runs and is tied for the lead in runs batted at 14.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan told Sports Headliners that the right-handed teenage slugger is so strong he can hit balls to the opposite field over the fence, but more interesting was Ryan’s praise for Sano’s defensive potential. “Defensively he should be a Gold Glove type third baseman,” Ryan said. “It’s gonna be awhile before he develops into that type of a polished fielder. He makes careless errors.

“But he’s a big, strong kid. He’s 6-3, 235, 240, and he can put a (hitting) display on a particular night but there’s not enough consistency quite yet. There’s no doubt in our minds that he’s going to be a major league player.”

How soon?

“He’s 19. You’d probably say three years—hope that would be the case—but he’s only in low (Class) A,” Ryan said. “So he’s still gotta struggle through a little bit of those things at Beloit, Wisconsin. Getting used to playing in the cold weather is going to be a good thing for him because he’s never really played above Elizabethon, Tennessee and that was in the summer. …”

Ryan said the Dominican Republic native also needs to learn how to be a leader and improve his English. “There are a lot of things he needs to grasp before we can start counting him as a major league all-star guy.”

Ryan said Sano’s athleticism is impressive including in the field. “He’s got enough agility to play short. He’s got a rifle for an arm but the size that he carries is a little bit much for shortstop.”

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