Author: David Shama

Adam Weber is one of the Gophers leaders and was frustrated when he walked to the sideline near the end of last Saturday’s game against Northern Illinois, a third consecutive loss for Minnesota.  Waiting to provide encouragement was coach Tim Brewster, who despite being the target of “Fire Brewster” chants from the stands, was thinking about his quarterback.

“I feel bad for coach Brew as well,” Weber said.  “The one thing that is amazing is that he’s (got) very broad shoulders. …He’s a wonderful person and I am just fortunate he’s always had my back.”

The Gophers, 1-3, have given up 107 points in three consecutive losses.  Most of the points are the result of a troubled defense with tackling problems.  Linebacker Keanon Cooper said adjustments needed to perform better are simple but the defense must play together and execute.  “We know exactly what we have to do,” he said.

Project organizer Bruce Krinke reported via email that artist Ivan Whillock’ s bust of Gopher Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith is at a foundry and will be completed in about five weeks.  Plans are for the bust to be on display in Smith’s hometown of Faribault before it’s presented to the University of Minnesota.  Smith won the Heisman in 1941, helping the Gophers to a national championship.  He’s the only Gopher to ever win the award.

Despite the resurgence in St. Thomas football success in recent seasons, Saint John’s has defeated the Tommies 12 consecutive games.  The two nationally ranked Division III powers meet tomorrow in Collegeville.

Among those to follow in the game are two players from Saint John’s who were last week’s MIAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the week, senior quarterback Joe Boyle and sophomore defensive back Alex Powell.  Tommie All-American senior center Josh Ostrue will start his 38th career game on Saturday.  St. Thomas junior All-American wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel has scored 23 touchdowns in 27 games during his career, including at least one via pass, rush, lateral, punt return and kickoff return.

Saint John’s head coach John Gagliardi has 450 victories in 58 seasons with the Johnnies.  He is looking for career coaching win No. 475 tomorrow against St. Thomas.

“The Lindsay Whalen Story,” written by local author R.S. Oatman, will be in area book stores next week. The 170-page book tells of Whalen’s development from a young hockey player to a grown basketball legend.  Whalen, a native Minnesotan who has played for both the Gophers and Lynx, will have local book signings including on Thursday, October 7 when she will be at the Mall of America Barnes & Noble.

Former Wolves player and executive Fred Hoiberg, now head coach at Iowa State, will be among the speakers tomorrow at Tartan High School for the HoopsNet Twin Cities Basketball Coaches Clinic.  Also speaking will be new Dakota County Technical College coach Jay Pivec who is a member of the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame.

Dean Lombardi, the former North Stars executive and now Los Angeles hockey boss, deserves credit for helping make the Kings a 2011 Stanley Cup favorite.

Former Wild defenseman Willie Mitchell added depth to the Kings defense when he signed with the team this summer.

Ex-Wild and New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire, 65, is working for the Devils as a special assignment coach/scout, according to the The Fischler Report.

Newly signed Wild prospect Colton Jobke is a cousin of Mets outfielder Jason Bay.

The Wild were scheduled to leave for Finland immediately following last night’s preseason game against the Blue Jackets.  After a nine hour flight the team is scheduled to arrive in Helsinki at 4 p.m. Finland time.  The Wild will open the NHL regular season in Finland on Thursday, October 7.

Minnesota schools hold three of the first six spots in the AVCA Division II national women’s volleyball rankings.  The schools are No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State and No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul.  All are members of the NSIC.

There have been two extraordinary turnarounds of Big Ten football programs in the last 20 years.  Both happened in the coach’s fourth season.

Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez took over a Badger program in 1990 that had been 3-8, 1-10 and 2-9 in the three previous seasons.  By 1993 the Badgers were 10-1-1 and Big Ten champs.

Northwestern had been a punch line and punching bag for decades until Gary Barnett came along in 1992.  The three previous seasons the Wildcats were 0-11, 2-9 and 3-8.  By 1995 Northwestern had won the first of two consecutive conference championships.

At Minnesota the heat is on fourth year coach Tim Brewster who is off to a 1-3 start that includes losses to South Dakota and Northern Illinois.  His career record is 15-27.

Barnett was asked by Sports Headliners if his success means any Big Ten program has the potential to be a winner.  “Well, I think that’s the message that comes across, but it wasn’t easy,” he said.  “I had a lot of sleepless nights and gut aches, but it came down to just a combination of kids and coaches.  We really were a tight knit group.  We had a special bond. …”

Barnett, 64, would consider coaching again at the “right” place.  These days he’s a color man on Sports USA for college football and was in Minneapolis earlier this month to work a Gophers game.

Barnett left Northwestern to become head coach at Colorado, a program he had known for several years as an assistant.  He had success coaching the Buffaloes but off-field problems forced him out.

What’s the right place?  He said it’s an institution where the athletic director, chancellor and president are supportive of athletics.  At Colorado, he said, the faculty set the tone for athletics.

Barnett said a football coach is in a “war” trying to win games and be successful in all the ways a coach must perform.  It’s vital that the coach like the people he’s working for and have their support.  “They’re (the administrators) in that trench with you,” Barnett said. “They’re not on the outside looking down saying, ‘Good luck.’…”

Is Minnesota a good job?  Barnett said this is a “great city” and he likes the facilities here, but then said, “Facilities aren’t the issue.  It’s the people that are in the facilities that generally decide whether or not you’re going to win.  I don’t know enough about the inner workings of the University…to be able to answer (whether Minnesota is a good job).”

How did Barnett turnaround a laughing stock program at Northwestern, the conference’s only private school and a laggard regarding facilities?  Well, he obviously had the support of the administration in various ways, but there’s more.

“We didn’t lose a player in those four years,” Barnett said. “They all stayed and they drank the ‘Kool-Aid’. …

“We addressed our problems.  We didn’t try to solve problems that would fit for another place.  We looked at what we were running into, and we prioritized things that we needed to work on and change, and we were able to do it.  And we sent a constant message.”

Although Barnett had extraordinary success in his fourth season he said it does take time for a new coach to put his system, players and coaches in place.  He believes it’s better to evaluate a coach in the fifth season.

“Around the fifth or sixth year you ought to be able to have an impact if you have done the right things, and kept the players and developed them, and those sort of things,” he said.  “You ought to be in a position to at least be in the upper division in the fifth or sixth year.  Fourth year I think is still probably a little early.”

The Northwestern program Barnett brought back to life is still successful.  The 4-0 Wildcats play the Gophers here on Saturday.

For years the Twins and their fans lobbied for a new stadium with a retractable roof but the record-breaking response this season to open air Target Field has muted the desire to watch baseball in a covered facility.

“We proved that outdoor baseball in Minnesota works,” said Patrick Klinger, vice president of marketing.  “I don’t know if I ever received a question more often than why not a roof, but since April 12 I don’t think I have heard that question asked.”

The Twins have sold out 74 consecutive games with all but one game not being a sell out this season.  They have had one game that had to be continued the next day, otherwise avoiding major problems with the weather.

The club has four remaining home games but has set a franchise record attendance of 3,063,327 million.  Part of the lure has been a winning team and outdoor baseball, but the stadium is special.

The ballpark is gorgeous and Klinger agrees that it couldn’t be such a looker if part of the facility included a place to house the retractable roof.  “No doubt it would be much more boxy,” he said.

Klinger said cooler weather isn’t likely to deter ticket sales for the playoffs.  “I think we will be fine,” he said.  “This is a state where we’re used to turning over a bucket (to sit on) and going (ice) fishing.”

He said 90 percent of season ticket holders exercised their priority to buy playoff tickets.  Other fans had an opportunity to enter a drawing to determine ticket buyers for American League division and championship series games, and the same system will be used for World Series tickets.  https://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=min&tcid=mm_min_sitelist

Klinger said there are no plans to add seats at Target Field for the playoffs. If the Twins reach the World Series there maybe fewer seats for the public because demand for press accommodations might result in outdoor seating for some media.

Nor are there plans to expand capacity (about 41,000) for next season, Klinger said.  The club is looking at other enhancements for 2011, although he said it’s too soon to reveal them.

“The Pohlad family is committed to making Target Field remain the best (venue) in the country,” Klinger said.