Author: David Shama

How did the column assignment all start?  Walters was covering the Twins about 25 years ago when the sports editor asked him if he could also write a notes column once a week.  Several months later Walters agreed to leave the Twins beat and become a full time columnist.

Writing now for the Pioneer Press and the newspaper’s Website, Walters is reporting news most days of the week.  “This is all about energy, not ability, really,” he said.

Energy, competitiveness and willingness to do things like knock on doors in the middle of the night.  “You gotta be kind of nutty to do that kind of thing,” Walters said.  “You’re always snooping.  Your days are 24 hours.  You go to bed with a couple of phones next to your nightstand.  You’re always looking for news and you’re always on call.  You always want to write things that other people might not be able to get first.  You always want to be first with news.”

Once a pro baseball player, Walters sees similarities between the competitive drive needed in both athletics and reporting.  “It’s fun trying to get things in your column… that the other people have to repeat the next day,” he said.  “That’s the thrill of that, and that’s like having a big scoreboard.  Every day you can pick up the Minneapolis newspaper and other media…and the Internet, and all that, and you can look at it as a big scoreboard and you can say who won and who lost.  This is still for me a chance to be very competitive and I enjoy it.”

Walters grew up in northeast Minneapolis.  He was signed by the Twins after a tryout and had a short career as a pitcher in the organization including six games in the major leagues.

It was during spring training of 1969 that he got the Shooter nickname seen even today on his Internet column.  That spring Walters was throwing the ball past major leaguers including Detroit Hall of Famer Al Kaline who he struck out on three pitches.  Twins outfielder Bob Allison called him Big Shooter and St. Paul newspaper man Arno Goethel reported it back home.

When Walters realized his future wasn’t playing baseball, he pursued his other dream, sportswriting.  He graduated with a journalism degree from Minnesota in 1974.  “I’ve been able to do the two things I wanted to do ever since I was a kid,” he said.  “So, pretty lucky.”

As a youngster Walters delivered newspapers for the Minneapolis Tribune.  Before his customers received their papers, he had to read the sports news himself.  “I couldn’t wait to open up the package (of papers), sit on the corner and read the sports section,” he remembered.

When Walters was in grade school his parents gave him a portable typewriter for Christmas.  That typewriter launched his Neighborhood News publication.

Walters spent his summers playing baseball with a dozen or so other kids. After the games he would go home, write a story about them, and then make copies of the Neighborhood News.  His four younger siblings delivered the publication to the homes of kids who played in the baseball games.

Years later Walters found himself reporting on something far more important than sandlot baseball.  His investigative reporting and initial efforts contributed to the Pioneer Press winning a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the academic fraud in the Gophers basketball program in 1999.

That was serious stuff, but Walters recognizes that much of what he writes isn’t all that important.  Not compared with real life and the world’s problems. Yet he is grateful for a career that placed him in the company of so many interesting people including athletes he admires like Joe Mauer and Brett Favre, and also his own newspaper colleagues.

Among the characters he’s known is Don Riley whose popular sports column “carried the St. Paul newspaper for 40 years,” according to Walters.  Riley wrote a colorful, controversial column and he was as interesting away from the typewriter as he was in front of it.  “Everything you heard about him is generally true,” Walters said.

Riley wasn’t good at recalling names, even those of his newspaper colleagues.  “I worked next to Don Riley for 15 years,” Walters said.  “I was either Ace or Tiger.  I don’t know that he really knew my name.

“One day he (Riley) got on an elevator and was going down from the sixth floor of the newspaper (building).  The elevator stopped on the fourth floor and two people got on.  They both knew Riley but he didn’t know their names, and they didn’t know each other.

“So the elevator proceeded down.  These guys said, ‘Hi, Don.’ … Riley, feeling compelled to respond, said to them, ‘Hi, Ace.  Hi, Tiger.’  Then as the elevator went down, he said, ‘Ace, meet Tiger.  Tiger meet Ace.’ ”

Walters laughed, as he so often does, when telling that story and others.  Recognizing humor is a Walters’ habit and it helps him relax as does an occasional glass of wine and conversation with his wife, Dr. Paula Kelly, a local pediatrician.  The family also includes three children.

Next month Walters turns 63.  He loves his work and will continue his career for awhile.  “If I could write my column until 70 I would be thrilled because it’s a lot of fun,” he said.

That’s not to say he won’t write longer.  And why not?  He’s got all those “birdies” to help him.

More than 20 years ago on a spring afternoon Boston’s Larry Bird was so magnificent in a playoff game against Atlanta that it prompted CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger to remark, “Folks, you’re watching what greatness is all about.”  Today you can dust off the soundtrack of that comment and use it to describe the season that Brett Favre finished yesterday for the Vikings.

The Vikings, who had lost three of their previous four games, were desperate for a final regular season win to provide confidence and momentum for the playoffs ahead.  The team that had reached early December with just one loss saw its momentum and possible guarantees of home field advantage throughout the playoffs slip away with one-sided losses to Arizona and Carolina, and then an overtime defeat in Chicago.

Those losses weren’t on Favre, though, who played consistently, often brilliantly, throughout the 16 game schedule.  The offensive line abandoned him at times, his receivers occasionally dropped passes, and even the all-world running back Adrian Peterson gave away the Bears game with his fumble in overtime.

The defense also faltered during the year.  Injuries contributed to the problem but lack of performance did, too, including in the secondary where the Vikings broke down covering passes.

If any sport is a team game, it’s football.  But seldom (if ever) in Vikings history, has one player meant more to the team’s success.  Disappointed in the team losing three of its last five games and finishing 12-4?  Well, what do you suppose the record would have been without Favre?

Favre’s final seconds miracle pass to Greg Lewis beat San Francisco, 27-24.  He threw three touchdown passes (21 of 29 passing) as the Vikings won in a close game against Baltimore, 33-31.  It’s not likely, either, that without Favre the Vikings would have defeated Green Bay twice and almost rallied last week against the Bears who led 16-0 at halftime.

Then there was yesterday when Favre completed 25 of 31 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns before he went to the bench and ended his day in a 44-7 victory over New York, a must win game.  Favre had directed the Vikings to a 31-0 halftime lead, among the largest in franchise history.  Combining the second half of the Bears game and first half against the Giants, Favre had led his team to 61 points.

At age 40, Favre was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl, all with different teams.  His stats for the season were almost stunning.  He threw only seven interceptions, the best of his career as a starting NFL quarterback dating back to 1992.  His passing rating of 107.2 was also a career best, and only three previous times did he ever total more than the 33 touchdown passes of this season.

Remarkably, Favre played the entire season without being injured enough to miss time on the field.  He performed with passion, often displaying as much exuberance as teammates 15 years younger.  He worked the locker room and the sidelines developing rapport with teammates.

But it is on the field, of course, where he made his most important contributions.  Favre sees the game not only as a player, but also like a coach where his experience is so valuable.  Vikings head coach Brad Childress hinted at that last week when he said that Favre “had pretty good license to go back and forth” regarding changing plays.

In the game yesterday Favre threw a pass to Bernard Berrian who appeared not to have control of the ball before going out of bounds.  Favre hurried the team to the line of scrimmage so the Vikings could get off another play before there was time for a review of Berrian’s catch and a possible incomplete pass ruling by the officals.

Sometimes it was not only doing his job, but helping to transform others like wide receiver Sidney Rice from obscurity to the Pro Bowl roster.  But Favre has helped all the receivers and the Vikings have six players, including running backs, with 40 or more catches for the season.

What does that say about Favre and the offense?  “I think it speaks to both,” Childress said.  “It speaks to him being an equal opportunity thrower.  I think sometimes there’s a perception that he singles out Sidney Rice.  …As I always say, he (Favre) knows where all the bones are buried.”

Now Favre will take his old bones and try to help the Vikings to a playoff win in two weeks.  Win or lose, he’s already given this town a season long performance that people should describe for years to come as “what greatness is all about.”