Author: David Shama

Joe Nathan’s future with the Twins seems uncertain after this season.  At 36 he’s yet to show his arm is healthy and his salary is a load on the budget-conscious Twins who have a reported payroll of $113,237,000, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts website.  Nathan earns $11,250,000 and is in the final year of his contract, according to Cot’s.  He is on the disabled list after pitching in 17 games with a 7.63 ERA.

Ex-Chaska prep Brad Hand was recalled by Florida earlier this week and pitched last night for the Marlins, giving up one hit over six innings in a 1-0 loss.  The Minneapolis-born left-hander was 7-1 with a 3.53 ERA at Jacksonville in the Southern League before being recalled.

Outfielder Paul Giel III is a third team National Junior College Athletic Association Division III All-American.  Giel played for Century College in White Bear Lake this spring and is transferring to Concordia, St. Paul.  He is the grandson of the former Gophers All-American baseball and football player.

Former Gophers center Joel Przybilla, 31, is successfully rehabbing his patella injury and awaiting contract offers.  The ex-Monticello prep only played in 36 games last season for Portland and Charlotte.  He finished up a five-year, $32 million contract, according to a Przybilla source.  Another of his former teams, Milwaukee, might be a fit for next season where starting center Andrew Bogut has been a disappointment.  Przybilla’s rebounding and shot blocking would be an upgrade for the Timberwolves too, but the price and commitment is probably too much for the local team.

Mr. Basketball Chair Ken Lien presented the Mr. Basketball Trophy on Sunday to 2011 winner Joe Coleman of Hopkins at his high school graduation open house.  (See photo).

New Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale was the 1976 Mr. Basketball winner after playing for Hibbing High.

Hopkins High School wide receiver Andre McDonald is rated among the top 20 prep senior wide receivers in the nation by Athlon Sports’ Big Ten football magazine.  McDonald has made a verbal commitment to play for the Gophers.  Minnetonka coach Dave Nelson is impressed with the 6-3 McDonald’s ability to catch the ball.  “He has size and great hands,” Nelson told Sports Headliners.

Nelson visits the Mayo Clinic in Rochester at month’s end for a checkup, but said his “health is great” after surgery earlier this year for prostate cancer.  Nelson will be in his 10^th season as Minnetonka coach this fall.

The 40^th Tapemark Charity Pro-Am starts Friday at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul.  Among those playing will be 2010 champion Ryan Helminen.  Other past champions in the field will be Mike Barge, Jeff Sorenson, Mike Zinni and Craig Brischke.  A Friday night event will recognize the Tapemark’s impact through the years on the benefitting agencies (Arc MN, Arc Greater Twin Cities, Children’s Home Society and Family Services, Dakota Communities, and ProAct).  Guitar player Billy McLaughlin will provide entertainment.  Tickets for Friday night are $25 each and can be purchased either at the door or in advance at www.tapemarkgolf.org.

Vikings’ head coach Leslie Frazier will give an inspirational talk to children, youth and families from North Minneapolis, an area hard hit by a tornado this spring.  The ticketed event ($30) will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15 at the Ukrainian Center in Northeast Minneapolis.  For more information, contact the Sanctuary Community Development Corporation, 612-339-1812, or www.sanctuarycdc.org.

Canterbury Park’s Summer School, a one night course for beginners and intermediates to learn more about horse racing and wagering, debuted last week.  The course is taught by track analyst Angela Hermann and others.  The next class is the night of Friday, June 17.

What if Ohio State had hired Glen Mason in 2001 instead of Jim Tressel?

Mason, who played at Ohio State and was once an assistant coach in Columbus, wanted to leave the Gophers and succeed Buckeyes’ coach John Cooper.  “If you go back and read the reports, it looked like the day before (Tressel was announced) that Mason was the leading candidate,” said Dave Mona who worked with Mason on WCCO Radio shows for several years.  “He would have been delighted if chosen.”

Mason’s friends know him as a coach who led programs for 21 seasons at Kent State, Kansas and Minnesota without NCAA penalties.  I asked Mason about cheating in college football years ago and he said, “I wouldn’t be able to look my son in the eye.”

Tressel resigned last week after months of controversy surrounding himself and several of his players.  Tressel admitted not notifying school administrators of NCAA violations involving his players and speculation is that rules violations may be more widespread during his coaching era than previously believed.

Ohio State’s and the NCAA’s investigation of the football program is ongoing.  Certainly the Buckeyes have been a success on the field under Tressel, winning nine of 10 games against hated rival Michigan, playing in eight BCS games and sharing or winning seven Big Ten championships, but Mason supporters will argue OSU would have been a winner and also on the straight-and-narrow had he become the coach.

Would Ohio State call Mason again?  Assistant coach Luke Fickell is the interim head coach for the season, but a coaching search is possible after the Buckeyes finish their schedule.  Mona believes Mason, 61, might be interested in the job.

“Glen certainly could be responsive to phone calls,” Mona said.  “I don’t think the loyalty to Ohio State goes away.”

Mason played reserve linebacker at Ohio State under legendary coach Woody Hayes, earning a letter in 1970.  He was an assistant coach in Columbus from 1978-1985. Every year Mason goes back to Columbus to play in the Jack Nicklaus golf tournament, an indication of his many ties and relationships in Ohio.

There is speculation, too, whether the Ohio State athletics director job will be open later this year.  Gene Smith will be under scrutiny as the investigation moves along.  Mason’s name might come up with an AD opening.

Gary Hohman, a former Gophers’ football player and friend of Mason for many years knows the Buckeyes will need the right kind of leadership in the months and years ahead.  “Integrity is the No. 1 thing that Glen Mason presents,” Hohman said.  “I think that’s something they’re looking for.”

The mess in Columbus changes the Big Ten landscape.  The OSU football program is expected to be penalized harshly by the NCAA with sanctions likely to include severe reductions in scholarships and bans on bowl games.

The Buckeyes will be knocked off their throne as King of the Hill in the conference.  Ohio State will be better than your average Big Ten team in coming years, but it’s difficult to imagine the Buckeyes being among the elite of college football.

That reality can be spun a couple of ways.  Ohio State’s fall is bad for a league that could only boast about the Buckeyes as a national superpower.  Talking about the passion and talent in the program Mona said, “There was almost a southern culture to it.”

Ohio State’s demise will create more parity in the Big Ten.  The Buckeyes will lose some games to teams that in the past were put in the win column before the season started.

Two of the programs that look ready to feast on the Buckeyes’ misfortune are Michigan and Nebraska.  The Buckeye haters in Ann Arbor will be partying all summer about the Ohio State scandal.  On the field, if new head man Brady Hoke can coach and find a defense, the Wolverines will soon be avenging those losses to the Buckeyes.  And perhaps in a big way.

Nebraska, winner of five national championships since 1970, begins its first football season ever as a Big Ten member later this summer.  “This is incredible timing for Nebraska,” Mona said.  “They have to be in rejoice mode.”

The Cornhuskers, who are drawing a whisper or two about a possible 2011 national title, can now move right to the top of the Big Ten football pile.  Ohio State, Wisconsin and other programs might not like it but that’s reality based on history and a loaded 2011 roster that includes dynamic playmaking quarterback Taylor Martinez and a stud defense.

With the Gophers playing in the Legends Division, and Ohio State a member of the Leaders Division, the two schools will meet infrequently.  The Gophers’ media guide lists schedules through 2014 but no games between Minnesota and OSU.

Ohio State has won 43 games, Minnesota seven in the rivalry that began in 1921.  The bully from Columbus might be scary good again before the next game rolls around.