Author: David Shama

The Wild likely will fall into the “No” categories regarding a trade this week, and qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but long term Glen Sonmor likes what he sees.

The NHL trading deadline is Wednesday and Sonmor, who used to scout for the Wild and before that made a career of coaching in the pros, recognizes both the difficulty of making trades and also the Wild’s personnel needs.  “Everybody (in the NHL) could use a couple more goal scorers,” he told Sports Headliners.

He is impressed with the franchise’s new leadership, coach Todd Richards and general manager Chuck Fletcher, both in their first seasons here.  “They have good guys in charge but it will take awhile,” Sonmor said.

The Wild resume play at Calgary on Wednesday.  The Wild’s record is 30-27-4              and the team probably won’t make the playoffs unless the right mix of factors occurs including goalie Niklas Backstrom playing extraordinarily.  The Wild’s 64 points ranks 13^th among 15 Western Conference teams.

But because hockey fans here are so knowledgeable, Sonmor expects the public to remain patient with the new regime.  The “P” word isn’t heard so often with the Gophers, though.  Sonmor, who does radio commentary on the team’s games, has watched the Gophers struggle each of the last three seasons, but remains a coach Don Lucia supporter.

The Gophers have a disappointing record of 16-16-2 overall, 11-13-2 in the WCHA.  Last season Minnesota didn’t qualify for the NCAA tournament for only the second time in Lucia’s coaching career with the Gophers that began in 1999.  The Gophers were 17-13-7 overall, 12-11-5 in the WCHA.  Lucia, who coached the Gophers to national championships in 2002 and 2003, also had a disappointing record two years ago, 19-17-9 overall, 9-12-7 in league play.

Sonmor is aware of speculation about Lucia’s job security.  He said Lucia has a “tremendous” overall record and the criticism “boggles” his mind. “I don’t think there will be a change,” he said.

The Gophers split their series at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center over the weekend.  The building was the site of Sonmor’s first WCHA game as Gophers coach in 1966.  Back then the Bulldogs had a revered player in Keith “Huffer” Christiansen.  Sonmor recalled going to the building the morning of the game and seeing that the playing surface was water, not ice.  That led to this quip from Sonmor:  “I’ve been told as far as I know, there’s only one guy who can walk on water and that’s ‘Huffer’ Christiansen.”

Sonmor describes sophomore forward Jordan Schroeder as the most “skilled” player among the Gophers.  He thinks Schroeder, who leads the team with 19 assists and 27 points, will likely return next season rather than join the Vancouver organization that drafted him in the first round last June.

The Twins plan to announce the name of their official hot dog provider on March 8, according to Patrick Klinger, vice president of marketing.  The Hormel-supplied Dome Dog won’t be continued at Target Field but Klinger expressed confidence the new offering will be popular with fans.  That confidence comes from the franchise’s commitment to provide an extraordinary fan experience at the new ballpark including food offerings that will feature a Murray’s Restaurant steak sandwich, Kramarczuk’s sausages, pork chop on a stick, Walleye fingers and vegetarian selections.

Former Purdue and Timberwolf player Brian Cardinal said the Gophers Ralph Sampson III is a “talented player” and has improved from his freshman season but wouldn’t say that the 6-11 sophomore center will make it in the NBA.

A KARE 11 source predicted via email that Brett Favre’s upcoming appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday night will be seen by about 320,000 viewers in this market.

The MIAC led all NCAA Division III conferences in football attendance for the fifth straight season in 2009. The conference’s nine teams averaged 3,178 fans per game with 152,560 total attendees.  The MIAC had four teams rank in the top 30 of Division III.  For the 13th time in 17 years, Saint John’s was first in Division III attendance, averaging 8,208 per game and attracting 49,249 fans for six home games.

Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport will headline an exhibition on Saturday, April 10 at Eden Prairie High School as part of the Tennis Festival of the North weekend.  The festival will be April 9-11 at the high school and includes on-court demonstrations, a vendor fair and other tennis information.  Organizers hope the festival will become an annual event and expect this year’s activities to attract about 2,000 people, according to an email form Marcia Bach who is coordinating the festival for USTA Northern.  www.tennisfestivalofthenorth.com.

Royce White will meet with coach Tubby Smith next week to explore returning to the Gophers basketball program, according to White’s grandfather.  The older White told Sports Headliners he and his grandson will have a meeting with Smith but as of last night the date hadn’t been determined.

“We’re going to sit down with Tubby next week and have a conversation,” Frank White said.

Royce White was the state’s Mr. Basketball last year and his arrival at Minnesota as a McDonald’s All-American was highly anticipated but he dropped out of school a few weeks ago after never playing in a game during the 2009-10 season.  Smith disciplined him for incidents at the Mall of America and on the University of Minnesota campus.

What’s the specific purpose of next week’s meeting?  “To talk about possibilities of Royce getting back in school,” Frank White said.

Has his grandson changed his feelings about the University?  “…I think Royce has some concerns that don’t have anything to do with the basketball team,” Frank White said.  “I think he’s confused about some of the frustrations that he’s had with the (University) police department and maybe how he was treated in the laptop situation (on campus).  I don’t want to speak for him but I am sure that’s part of what he’s concerned about.”

White is a 6-7 freshman power forward that most observers agree would have helped the Gophers who are struggling through a below .500 season in the Big Ten Conference and appear to have little chance of making the NCAA tournament.

Multiple sources have said White excelled in academics during last semester at the University.  “Royce is a very smart kid,” his grandfather said. “Royce is not going to have any problems with education and learning.  Royce’s challenges might be a little bit more in terms of being disciplined enough to be organized and take care of business.

“I would hope that Royce really takes a look at what he’s lost this first year.  And what he loves, and who he associates with.  I think Royce would tell you that he’s learned from the mistakes he’s made.”