Author: David Shama

Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi answering a question on how well new football coach Jerry Kill, who last fall coached Northern Illinois to an upset win over the Gophers, will recruit: “He recruited well enough to beat us.”

Tracy Claeys, the Gophers new defensive coordinator, will be the speaker at the C.O.R.E.S luncheon on Thursday, January 13.  If Kill is in town, he will also speak. C.O.R.E.S members can make reservations by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S is an acronym for coaches, officials, educators, reporters and sports fans.

Brainerd football coach Ron Stolski, who is also executive director of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, emailed this about Kill: “It is a great hire.”

The association’s annual spring clinic will be March 31-April 2. www.mnfootballclinic.com

Former Gophers national championship football coach Murray Warmath’s 98^th birthday was yesterday.

Akron athletic director Tom Wistrcill, a former Gophers associate athletic director, was in town before Christmas to watch his Zips lose to Minnesota in a game that Akron received about $80,000 to play at Williams Arena.  Wistrcill said there are no immediate plans to schedule another game between the two schools.  Akron’s coach is Keith Dambrot who was LeBron James’ high school coach.

Akron is James’ home town and despite his defection from Cleveland to Miami, Wistrcill said James remains popular in Akron.  James’ relationship with Dambrot enabled the Zips to have a sponsorship with Nike.  James still works out during the summer at the Zips’ basketball court.

Former Gophers basketball star Clyde Turner runs his annual holiday basketball camp for youngsters starting today and continuing through Thursday at Farview Park in Minneapolis.

After the Vikings-Giants Monday night game in Detroit two weeks ago, interim coach Leslie Frazier attended a downtown 7 a.m. breakfast with community leaders who gathered to hear a year-end review about the Gophers and local pro teams.  Frazier didn’t arrive back in Minneapolis until about 3 a.m. that morning.

Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and wife Deanna flew to Milwaukee earlier this month to visit a five-year-old boy dying from cancer.  The youngster has been writing the number 4 backward and Favre has honored him by wearing a towel with a backward 4.

The University of Minnesota Duluth football program is the only one in Division II history to have two 15-0 seasons.  The Bulldogs won Division II national titles this year and 2008 with 15-0 records led by coach Bob Nielson.  If administrators at the local branch of the U are wise, they will consider Nielson, who has experience as an athletic director, as Maturi’s eventual successor in the Gophers athletic department.

No need to look twice but that was Ivy League Yale ranked No. 1 in college hockey last week.  Yale was No. 1 in the USAToday/USA Hockey Magazine men’s poll while the Gophers were unranked.

Instructive words from Wayne Gretzky directed at hockey crazed parents in last week’s The Fischler Report: expose your children to other sports.  “Especially the ages of 10 through 13,” Gretzky said in the report.  “You need a break from hockey.  It refreshes you.”

Ticket King notified potential buyers via email that tickets for $25 each were available for last week’s Wild-Calgary game at Xcel Energy Center.

With news this week about a collapsing roof and team, Sports Headliners is still in the mood to celebrate 50 seasons of Vikings football.  In September Sports Headliners produced 25 trivia questions to test your Purple knowledge, now we offer 25 more to total 50.

See how you do without consulting a friend or reference source.  Here’s how the grading goes:

Ring of Honor: That’s where you belong by answering 22 or more questions correctly.

Stellar performance: Answering 16 to 21 questions right is impressive.

Keep your horns: 12 to 15 correct answers means you’re still considered a Vikings fan.

Find the nearest research library: 6 to 11 right answers is a clear directive for more homework.

Become a Packers fan: Only 0 to 5 correct answers? Ouch!

Now it’s on with the questions in this section and the next.  Answers (no peeking ahead) in the third section.  Good luck.

1. Who is the only Vikings quarterback in memory to injure both himself and his running back on the same play?

2. What college or university had sent the Vikings the most players as they entered their 50th season in 2010?

3. What Vikings player was named to the most Pro Bowl teams?

4. Who was the quarterback that led the Vikings to their first Super Bowl?

5. Who was the Vikings player infamously known for this: “I play when I want to play.”

6. This Viking was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1986.  Who was he?

7. This former Vikings tight end used his name to enter the local sports bar and restaurant business.  Who is he?

8. In addition to the Metrodome, the Vikings have either played regular season or exhibition games in two other stadiums in Minneapolis.  What are those stadiums?

9. Prior to being named interim head coach of the Vikings, Leslie Frazier had last been a head coach of what college?

10. What year did Adrian Peterson lead the NFL in rushing?

11. What was the Vikings regular season record last year?

12. Where did Fran Tarkenton play college football?

13. Who is the former Viking now working as an ESPN in-studio college football host?

14. Who was Bud Grant’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction?

15. Kicker Fred Cox is the Vikings all-time leading scorer.  Who ranks second?

16. What NFL team did Brett Favre start his career with?

17. What team did the Vikings play against in their first regular season game ever at the Metrodome?

18. Who was the Vikings running back known as “Boom-Boom”?

19. In which of their four Super Bowl losses did the Vikings lose by the closest score?

20. Who was the Vikings coach that resembled actor Burgess Meredith?

21. Name the current Vikings player whose passion for cars is well-publicized.

22. Which was the only team to defeat the Vikings during the 1998 regular season?

23. The media has referred to this Vikings executive as “Remarkable Mike” and he executed the infamous trade that brought Herschel Walker here.  Who was “Remarkable Mike”?

24. This former Gophers quarterback, who later went into pro coaching, was twice cut by the Vikings after he tried to make the team as a defensive back.  Who was he?

25. Who is the former Vikings linebacker player now doing game analysis on the Vikings radio network?