Author: David Shama

Too bad Cretin-Derham Hall didn’t make the boys’ state hockey tournament so that fans could watch Raiders defenseman Mark Alt who is expected to play college hockey for the Gophers.  Part-time New York Rangers scout Glen Sonmor raved about Alt during an interview earlier this week with Sports Headliners.

“I think Alt is going to be a whale of a player,” Sonmor said. “He’s a great athlete.  He’s a smart kid.  I’ve watched him play (and) for a big 6-3 guy he can shoot like hell.”

Sonmor considers Alt a pro prospect and a player who could be chosen in the first round of this year’s NHL draft.  Because of Alt’s potential in hockey, Sonmor hopes talk about attending Iowa and playing quarterback will not come about.  Alt’s father, John, was a first round draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs after playing at Iowa.

Two Gopher recruits who will be in the tournament playing for Minnetonka are forward Max Gardiner and defenseman Justin Holl.  The Skippers will be a favorite to win Class 2A but Hill-Murray might surprise.  The Pioneers have a balance of skills and wear opponents down with constant movement.  A team to watch now and beyond is Apple Valley with a roster full of underclassmen including freshman Hudson Fasching and sophomore A.J. Michaelson, both forwards.  Gophers recruit and Blaine forward Nick Bjugstad, the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, is a scoring whiz and will test Apple Valley tomorrow.

In Class 1A  Breck, with outstanding forwards and scorers Ty Fulton and Mike Morin, will be a favorite.  Mahtomedi goalie Brad Wohlers is terrific but his team doesn’t have a lot offense.

The Twins are expected to provide 7,000 to 8,000 tickets to construction workers involved with Target Field when the Twins play exhibition games April 2 and 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Selected guests will participate in activities like throwing out the first pitch and singing the national anthem.

This is the last season of Twins broadcasts on KSTP 1500 unless a new deal is reached.  It’s a good guess WCCO Radio will show interest in regaining the rights that KSTP has held for the last three seasons.

The Twins might lose a dozen wins this season if Joe Nathan can’t pitch, or if the franchise is unable to find an effective closer to replace him.  Management likes staying within the organization so look for the Twins to search for a possible Nathan replacement from among a few candidates including Jon Rauch, Pat Neshek and maybe even Francisco Liriano.

Minnetonka native Will Leer, the nephew of former KSTP TV reporter Robb Leer, is expected to run the 1,500 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Qatar this weekend.  Leer, who was an All-American at Pomona College in California, recently qualified for the USA indoor team.  Robb Leer said via email that his nephew didn’t begin running until his junior year at Minnetonka High School and that Will hopes to compete for the US in the 2012 Olympics.

Gophers coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners he expects Nick Tow-Arnett to “wow” NFL scouts today at the Gophers’ Pro Day on campus.  Scouts will be evaluating Gophers whose eligibility ended after last season and even though Brewster’s tight end wasn’t invited to the prestigious NFL Combine earlier this month he believes talent evaluators will be impressed with Tow-Arnett’s physical skills, versatility and intelligence.  “I think he’s a second day draft pick,” said Brewster who prior to the Gophers was the Denver Broncos’ tight ends coach.

Rumor NOT to be believed: Zygi Wilf will sell the Vikings and buy his home town New York Giants.

Unless the Gophers shock the college basketball world by winning four straight games in the Big Ten tournament starting with Penn State tomorrow night, Minnesota is headed for the NIT.  The NIT field will be announced early next week and the higher seeds usually host games unless there is something unusual such as a facility not being available.

The Denver Nuggets team that comes to Target Center tonight to play the Timberwolves has a chance to finish with the best record in the Western Conference.  The Nuggets, 42-21, have one of their best teams in franchise history and their record compares favorably to the Los Angeles Lakers, 47-18, and Dallas Mavericks, 44-21.

Coach Jay Pivec is job hunting after Minneapolis Community and Technical College ended the basketball program he led for 20 years.  His record there was 435-115.  He is part of the 2010 class for the National Junior College Athletic Association Basketball Hall of Fame.  Pivec’s skill set will result in success, whether his future is in basketball or a new career.

St. Thomas junior guard Tyler Nicolai, who led the Tommies to the regular season conference championship, was named the MIAC Player of the Year in a vote of league coaches.  In conference games Nicolai led the Tommies in scoring (13.8), steals (1.90), assist/turnover ratio (2.65) and field goal percentage (48.7 %).

Saint John’s junior wing Sam Blank was selected MIAC Sixth Man of the Year.  Blank finished fourth in MIAC games making 35 three-pointers with a 41.7% average.  Augsburg head coach Aaron Griess was chosen Coach of the Year.  Griess led the Auggies to their best single season win total since 1998-99.  Augsburg tied for second place in the conference with a 13-7 record.

If Lou Nanne needed a reminder about the importance of family, he got the message in recent weeks with the force of a hard check into the boards.  Two weeks ago the Minnesota hockey legend received a surprise telephone call regarding his son Michael, a Burnsville dentist.

“My daughter-in-law called and I thought she was talking about somebody else I knew,” Nanne told Sports Headliners. “She said, ‘Mike’s got a brain tumor.’  I said, ‘Mike, who?’ She said, ‘Your son Mike.’ ”

Nanne’s son recently had a brain tumor operation.  Unfortunately, the tumor wasn’t benign and Michael will need more medical care.

This week Nanne will be offering TV commentary for a 46^th year during the boys’ state high school hockey tournament and for the first time a grandson will be participating.  Marty Nanne’s son, Louie, is a freshman left wing for Edina High School.

Years ago Nanne’s grandchildren told him he had to continue with state tourney commentary until they were playing.  The arrival of young Louie is a milestone but grandpa won’t show him favoritism on the air.  “I’ll be excited inside but outside I’ll still have to do the job the way I do the job,” Nanne said.

Nanne will be providing color commentary on KSTC, Ch. 45 and he described his role this way: “Make the people understand what’s happening on the ice.  Try and paint a simple picture of how the game is being played.  What teams are doing right, what they’re doing wrong, what to look for and give them (the viewers) an understanding of play, how it’s going.”

He has several other grandchildren but said realistically two others probably could play on state tournament teams in the future.  He believes that may translate into his working perhaps another four tournaments on TV before calling it quits.