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 October 29, 2010November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Gophers interim coach Jeff Horton was asked if upsetting No. 10 ranked Ohio State tomorrow would get him the job on a permanent basis: “No, not unless a lot of people turn it down in front of me, and when I say a lot, that’s a long list.”

Former Hamline head coach Dick Tressel is still coaching the running backs for brother Jim Tressel, the Ohio State coach who is third in all-time wins with the Buckeyes.

Ohio State, 3-1 in the Big Ten, doesn’t play Michigan State, 4-0 in the conference and 8-0 overall. The Buckeyes are hoping for a Michigan State loss at Iowa tomorrow because after that the Spartans’ remaining games are against Minnesota (1-7), Purdue (4-3) and Penn State (4-3).

The Gophers basketball team opens with a home exhibition game against Northeastern State on Tuesday night. Then Minnesota plays a second exhibition game (Winona State) on Monday, November 8 at Williams Arena. A University of Minnesota source told Sports Headliners the Gophers will pay less than $10,000 each to the opponents.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith said yesterday at the Big Ten media gathering in Chicago the league is “by far the best in the country.” He also said his team has a chance to be “very competitive.”

The Timberwolves coaches and players should be demanding better execution and effort tonight on defense when the team plays regular season game No. 2 against Milwaukee at Target Center. The Wolves’ interior defense and overall ability to make defensive stops was poor in their opener on Wednesday night against a mediocre Sacramento team without its best player, Tyreke Evans.

New England has the NFL’s highest scoring offense at 29.5 points per game. The Vikings have the second ranked defense giving up 95 points in six games.

Patriots reserve offensive tackle Mark LeVoir is a Minnesota native who attended Eden Prairie High School.

The Wild recalled forward Casey Wellman from Houston yesterday, giving Minnesota three rookies on the roster. The others are defensemen Clayton Stoner and Justin Falk.

Wild veteran forward Martin Havlat, 29, acquired in 2009 to ease the goal scoring loss of Marian Gaborik, is without a goal after nine games.

While goal scoring will likely be a challenge for the Wild, the goaltending could be a strength with Niklas Backstrom, a veteran who takes a dedicated approach to his profession. Backstrom ranks seventh among NHL goalies in goals against average, 2.09.

An NHL source said Pierre Marc-Bouchard, recovering from a concussion, is expected back in the lineup soon. He’s been skating a lot in practice with the team.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in this week’s The Fischler Report that Winnipeg “might make sense as a possible destination” for the Coyotes if the team relocates from Phoenix. In 1996 the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix.

Minnesota State High School League executive director Dave Stead will be the speaker at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon on Thursday, November 11 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. C.O.R.E.S. organization members can make reservations by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. (C.O.R.E.S. is an abbreviation for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans).

The MIAC cross country championships are tomorrow afternoon at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul. The Hamline men’s team is the defending champ and the Pipers hope to win their third MIAC title in six years. St. Thomas’ Ben Sathre and Concordia’s Tom Sederquist are among the favorites in the individual competition. Carleton is the defending women’s champion and the Knights’ roster includes All-American Simone Childs-Walker and Taylor Ffitch.

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Favre Household: Two Heroes Live There

Posted on October 27, 2010November 4, 2011 by David Shama

R-e-g-r-e-t-s. Jenn Sterger’s last name spelled backward comes out like that.

Brett Favre’s name doesn’t spell hero as easily these days. We’ve known for awhile there were a couple of heroes in the Favre household, but as of late Deanna Favre has been deserving of more applause than her famous husband.

Sterger’s allegations that Favre sent her inappropriate messages and photos when both were employed by the New York Jets has triggered coverage on gossip and sports pages this month. Favre has admitted to the messages but not the photos, according to Fox Sports.

The situation has put a focus not only on the Vikings quarterback but his household this football season. Wife Deanna has been mostly silent but said on national TV she’s relying on her faith during the latest ordeal with her husband.

She is a devout Christian and relies on prayer and friends when problems arise. “When I need prayer, I’ve got a team of prayer warriors,” she writes in her 2007 book Don’t Bet Against Me.

Through the years Deanna’s faith has been tested not only by her husband, but by breast cancer. In the book she recounted Favre’s partying, struggles with alcohol and the pain killer Vicodin.

Deanna wrote in her autobiography: “One night I walked into a room and heard Brett talking on the phone to a woman I had discovered he’d been calling. ‘That’s it,’ I told him. ‘I don’t deserve to be treated like this.’ ”

That was back in Green Bay during the mid-1990’s when Favre and Deanna were in a long term relationship but not married. It was also a time when Favre was struggling with Vicodin and also drinking too much. “The Brett I knew was quiet, this Brett was a party boy who stayed out all night with his friends,” Deanna wrote in the book.

In 2004 Deanna was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is not only a breast cancer survivor but a dedicated spokesperson about the disease. She is the founder of the Deanna Favre HOPE Foundation. As one of the nation’s leading activists in speaking about the disease, she appeared recently on Good Morning America as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Deanna has faced down adversity not only with cancer and in her marriage but also with family deaths. Her brother Casey was killed in an accident on almost the same date she was diagnosed with cancer. A year before she helped Brett manage the death of his father.

The Sterger episode is the latest chapter in adversity. No matter how the Favres resolve it, don’t bet against Deanna emerging as a hero.

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Worth Noting

Posted on October 27, 2010November 4, 2011 by David Shama

After six games last season the Vikings were 6-0 but on Sunday they play at New England with a 2-4 record. Last year was Favre’s first with the Vikings and he had one of his best seasons ever, 33 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. After six games this season he has thrown 10 interceptions and seven touchdown passes.

In Sunday’s 28-24 loss at Green Bay, Favre threw three interceptions including one returned from a touchdown. After the game coach Brad Childress was asked on KFAN Radio by Greg Coleman if the 41-year-old Favre “still has what it takes” to play in the NFL.

“He has what it takes,” Childress said. “He needs to play within our system. That’s the biggest thing.”

The Vikings have an emerging superstar in second-year kickoff returner and wide receiver Percy Harvin. After being chosen NFC Player of the Week a week ago he followed up with another high impact game against Green Bay. He is averaging 27.1 yards on kickoff returns and leads the team’s receivers in receptions (25), yardage (289) and touchdowns (three).

The Patriots have an undersized third-year running back named Danny Woodhead who was undrafted coming out of Chadron State in Nebraska. He’s reportedly shorter than 5-9 but has 165 yards rushing on 30 attempts so far in his busiest NFL season yet.

New England is 5-1 and the franchise has won three Super Bowls since 2000. Vikings veteran placekicker Ryan Longwell was asked if there’s extra excitement about going to play against the Patriots.

“Yeah, they’re probably the model for what every franchise wants to be for winning Super Bowls, and winning multiple Super Bowls in a short period of time,” he said. “Any time you go play teams like that, coaches like that, or places like that, it’s certainly a challenge but it’s certainly more rewarding if you can pull off a victory.”

Longwell talking about whether winning or losing the week before impacts the next game for the Vikings: “I don’ think we put much stock into wins and losses going into the next game because each game is a clean slate. You can’t let it affect you whether you won or lost the week before. …”

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