Author: David Shama

The NCAA basketball tournament features parity but Kansas is a popular choice among expert sources to win the national championship.

Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher likes the Jayhawks as do CBS TV analysts Greg Anthony, Charles Barkley and Seth Davis. “They’re well coached, they’re well drilled, they don’t beat themselves,” Dutcher said about Kansas, 32-2.

Dutcher told Sports Headliners “if there’s a team in the Big Ten” with a chance to win the national title it’s No. 1 tournament seed Ohio State, but he said the Buckeyes’ close wins this winter over mediocre Northwestern indicate that an opponent able to run a slowdown offense can upset them.  Dutcher said that deliberate style gives the Buckeyes “fits.”

Asked to name a potential tournament Cinderella story, Dutcher talked about San Diego State, a 32-2 team and No. 2 West Region seed whose coaching staff includes his son Brian, a University of Minnesota graduate. Jim Dutcher said that while the Aztecs have a high seed and been ranked among the nation’s top 10 teams, there are college basketball observers who doubt the quality of teams from the Mountain West Conference.

The Aztecs’ reputation is not only questioned, but they have never won an NCAA tournament game.  “They’re kind of in the Butler category of a year ago,” Dutcher said.

Butler, from the low profile Horizon League, made it all the way to the national championship game as the 2010 Cinderella before losing to Duke.

San Diego State opens tomorrow against Northern Colorado, 21-10 and a No. 15 seed.  Dutcher told his son by telephone on Sunday that “you’ve got to overcome poor coaching and get them (the Aztecs) to Anaheim.”  Then Dutcher would travel from Minneapolis to see the Aztecs during the second weekend of the tournament.

Anaheim might be the site of a San Diego State versus Connecticut game as part of the tournament’s West Region.  Dutcher predicted the No. 3 seeded Huskies could be upset, though, by Missouri on Saturday of this week if both teams win opening games tomorrow.  He likes Missouri, a No. 11 seed, to possibly upset No. 6 Cincinnati tomorrow.

Former Canterbury Park executive John Harty is the new vice president of marketing for Ellis Park Race Course in Henderson, Kentucky.

The Twins’ second spring training game on FOX Sports North is next Monday against Pittsburgh beginning at 12:05 p.m. Minneapolis time.

There are 140 Division I teams out of 346 playing in post-season college basketball tournaments, including 68 in the NCAA field, plus 72 more in three lesser tournaments, the NIT, CBI and CIT.

With some lower quality teams being automatic qualifiers for the NCAA tournament after winning their conference tournaments, there are annually at least a few teams who don’t belong in the NCAA field, but former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher said the NCAA is “never about the best 68 teams in country.”

New Gophers coach Jerry Kill will allow the public to watch spring football practices.  March practices at the Gibson-Nagurski Complex will be on March 24 and 25 starting at 2:15 p.m., March 26 at 3:15 p.m., and March 29 and 31 at 2:30 p.m.

Recent Timberwolves acquisition Anthony Randolph, 6-11, 225, has impressive length, arm span and athleticism.  He’s mostly played center for the Wolves so far but could be a power forward and perhaps even small forward.

Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said don’t count on the 21-year-old Randolph gaining a lot of weight in the future to become a bigger center. “If you’re expecting him to put on 50 pounds of muscle that rarely happens,” Rambis said.

Rambis was not muscular as an NBA player either.  He said that while the Wolves want their players to be as “big, strong as possible,” the objective, too, is not to have  extra weight hamper their quickness and ability to run.

Former Gopher Kris Humphries has at least 15 rebounds and scored 11 points or more in each of his last three games for New Jersey, all wins by the Nets.

Hillary Boyce was second overall and Sarah Fleming third last weekend when the St. Olaf women’s Nordic ski team finished first among seven teams at the United States Collegiate Skiing and Snowboarding Association Championships.  St. Olaf was second in the Nordic men’s competition.

Registration for the 18th annual William A. Irvin 5K opens tomorrow. To register, runners should visit www.GrandmasMarathon.com.  The 3.1-mile run begins at 6 p.m. on June 17 in Duluth and is the first of three major running events during Grandma’s Marathon weekend.  Registration remains open for the 35th annual Grandma’s Marathon on June 18, while the entry process for the 21st annual Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon is closed.

Timberwolves’ owner Glen Taylor expects to lose $10 million to $15 million this season, another year of large losses for his NBA club.

Taylor told Sports Headliners the franchise has been losing that kind of money for the “last four years.”  He also said “probably 24 to 25” of the league’s 30 teams will have deficits operating this season.  “We fall into the middle, with 12 losing more and 12 losing less,” he said.

The Wolves haven’t played winning basketball in recent seasons including 15-67 last year and 17-51 so far in 2010-11.  Taylor knows that a winning team will boost ticket sales and other revenues, but there’s more involved as he looks to the future and his continuing commitment as the club’s majority owner.

The NBA and the players must make a new collective bargaining agreement after this season.  Taylor pointed out that many league teams are losing money and there’s a need to look at expenses including player salaries.

Taylor also talked about revenue sharing among league teams.  The NBA has limited revenue sharing and he recalled that the largest of monies ever divided was about $60 million.  That was split among 15 teams because in the league’s revenue setup not all teams qualify.  A larger future pot shared among more teams will presumably ease the finances of many franchises.

Closer to home Taylor has been talking with city officials about a major renovation of Target Center.  The building opened in 1990 and is already among the oldest in the NBA.  Locally the facility suffers in comparison to the Xcel Energy Center.

While it’s been suggested that the Wolves might move to St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, Taylor said no.  “I have a contract to play at the Target Center and plan to fulfill my contract obligation,” he said.

Taylor hopes Target Center renovations can be completed by the city-owned arena within the next several years.  The building hosts concerts, family attractions and other events.  “It won’t be fixed up (just) for Glen,” he said.

In the meantime, the Timberwolves do control the naming rights process for the arena and their deal with Target Corporation ends this year.  Taylor said Target, Sanford Health and other companies are interested in buying the future naming rights.