Author: David Shama

The Gophers football team began spring practice this week, the start of coach Tim Brewster’s fourth season.  The last two seasons the Gophers have been 7-6 and 6-7. Both years they played in the Insight Bowl where they lost to Kansas and Iowa State.  Brewster’s first year record was 1-11.

He understands the “urgency” of doing better, improving the record.  “We’ve gone to bowl games,” he said. “That’s been okay.  We want to take that next step.”

Most conversations with Brewster lead to discussion about a “great defense.”  He emphasizes that’s job No. 1 with his program and when the Gophers achieve that priority they might secure another Brewster goal, a Big Ten championship.

No one is saying 2010 will be a championship season but those close to the program are curious about whether Brewster’s defense will be the most athletic and perhaps best seen here during his four years.  The team’s spring game on April 24 (free admission and open to the public) will be an opportunity to watch junior defensive tackle Brandon Kirksey (maybe among the Big Ten’s best), defensive end Ra’Shede Hageman (high potential redshirt freshman) and junior linebacker Gary Tinsley who impressed in limited minutes last year.

They and others on defense will draw attention at the spring game but not like the quarterback competition between three year starter Adam Weber, sophomore MarQueis Gray and redshirt freshman Moses Alipate.  Whoever wins the job won’t have to be Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy or Tim Tebow.

“We’re not asking our quarterback to go win the game for us,” Brewster said.  “We’re asking our quarterback to make good decisions, run our offense and be a good game manager.”

The Gophers’ offense scored 29 points in the last three games of 2009.  Brewster said there won’t be any excuses made for the offense and he expects better results in 2010.  “…I certainly believe we will be (better) because we’ve got some guys on offense coming back that gives us a chance,” he said.

Those returnees include Weber and sophomore 6-4 wide receiver Da’Jon McKnight who has speed and the ability to jump.  Brewster said he’s challenged McKnight to become the offense’s “No. 1 receiver.”

If the offense is to improve, contributions will be needed from newcomers, too.  Brewster said 6-7, 240 pound junior college transfer tight end Tiree Eure has been “spectacular” during the winter conditioning program.

The University of Pittsburgh offense got a surge in productivity last season when freshman running back Dion Lewis broke school records and made All-American.        Brewster made reference to the Pitt star and wondered about his three incoming freshman running backs, Lamonte Edwards, Donnell Kirkwood and Devon Wright.  “It will be interesting to see whether or not one of those guys can come in and do the same thing for us,” Brewster said.

Brewster talking about quarterback MarQueis Gray whose fumble cost the Gophers a chance to kick the winning field goal in the Insight Bowl:  “He’s got to understand the No. 1 thing is ball security.”

Joe Mauer’s new contract of $184 million for eight years averages $23 million annually.  Minnesota’s 201 state legislators each receive $31,140 per year, or about $6.3 million collectively.  (But just remember the Twins catcher had a better year in 2009 than the lawmakers).

In mid-August the Rochester Red Wings (the Twins’ AAA farm team) will unveil a statue at Frontier Field of former player and manager Joe Altobelli.  He managed the Red Wings to a Junior World Series title in 1971 and later managed the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles.  He played 41 games with the Twins in their first season of 1961.

Sidney Ponson, who pitched for the Twins in 2007, is now 33 years old and recently signed a contract to pitch for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.

The Twins signed 30-year-old outfielder Charlton Jimerson who hit 21 homers last year in an independent league.  In 2001 he was the MVP of the College World Series while playing for the Miami Hurricanes’ national champions.  He’ll play at Rochester this year.

San Diego State assistant coach Brian Dutcher was scheduled in town this week to scout Winona 7-foot center Alec Brown, according to Mr. Basketball chair Ken Lien.  Indiana and Washington State have also contacted Brown who was on the top 25 list for the Mr. Basketball award.  The winner will be announced after the state tournament.

New Wild forward Casey Wellman, 22, grew up in northern California rooting for the San Jose Sharks, a team he played against on Tuesday in the third game of his NHL career.  Growing up one of Wellman’s favorite Sharks was Owen Nolan, 38, who he now skates with on the Wild.  Nolan has scored a goal in every current NHL arena except Boston, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

The 26^th Ted Brill Great 8 High School All-Star Hockey Festival will be at Wakota Civic Center in South St. Paul starting tonight and continuing through Sunday. The tourney showcases seniors looking for post-high school playing opportunities.  The players represent their high school sections on eight teams.  www.minnesotahockey.org.

FOX Sports North will televise NCAA tournament regional hockey games tomorrow beginning at 4 p.m. with the North Dakota versus Yale game and later Bemidji State versus Michigan beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Gustavus senior forward David Martinson is the American Hockey Coaches Association’s winner of the Sid Watson Award, symbolic of the nation’s best Division III men’s hockey player.  He helped the Gusties to a 20-7-2 record.  Martinson, the Player of the Year in the MIAC, was an All-American this season after leading the conference in scoring with 23 goals and 13 assists for 36 points.

Bethel’s Marie Borner is the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s National Indoor Track Female Athlete of the Year.  Borner won the NCAA mile for the second time in her career with a Division III season best clocking of 4:50.20.  She won MIAC titles in the mile and 1000 meters.

God bless the 32 teams representing the four classes in the Boys State Basketball Tournament that starts today and continues through Saturday when champions are determined in Class 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A.  The players and others in their inner circles will have memories lasting a lifetime.  But even by next year most Minnesota sports fans won’t have a clue who won and lost, nor will they know the heroes and the not so heroic.

It’s hardly news, just a disappointing fact that for years now the Minnesota Sate High School League’s boys tournament has had too many classes and teams.  If you’re not a player, coach, and parent or somehow personally involved, the tournament probably isn’t of much interest.

Passion and interest probably peaked 50 years ago when the Flying Dutchmen, from small town Edgerton, won the state championship.  Back then there was only one class and seldom, if ever, had there been such a small school versus big school frenzy as in 1960 when Edgerton, a town with a population of less than 1,000, beat Chisholm in the quarterfinals, Richfield in the semifinals and Austin in the championship game.

By 1971 the tournament was a two class show and in the 1990’s changed over to the four class format of today.  When decision makers handed down the verdict that teams from small towns couldn’t compete with big city rivals a lot more kids could say they played in the tournament and many more coaches could claim state titles on their resumes, but no one can argue the event is anything like it once was.

In the 1950s and 1960s the tournament was arguably one of the nation’s elite prep sports events.  The popularity and reputation of the one class, eight team, three-day tournament is legendary.

Tickets were hoarded by families who passed them from one generation to another.  Williams Arena was the tourney site and back then the building’s capacity was over 18,000.  Except for a morning consolation game, the tournament was sold-out.  I even remember sitting in Williams Arena with about 13,000 fans on a Friday morning watching two teams in a consolation game.

The games were televised live locally.  Interest in the tournament was so intense and demand for tickets so great that televising to the masses didn’t harm ticket receipts.

Minnesotans waited all year for the tournament.  For some it was the highlight of the sports calendar.  Comparable to Gophers football, bigger than college basketball including the 1951 NCAA tournament that didn’t even sellout at Williams Arena.  For many the tournament was more anticipated than the Twins and Vikings, both of whom arrived in 1961.

During tournament week Minneapolis newspapers dispatched writers and photographers to preview the tournament including visits to small towns whose high school teams had made local history and glorified the citizenry by earning a trip to the big city.  It was such publicity that created anticipation about whether David could beat Goliath in that year’s small schools versus large schools matchups.