Author: David Shama

There’s no doubt Joe Mauer and the Twins will one day look at moving the superstar catcher to third base.  At 26, there’s no chance of that happening next season but a Mauer move to third in 2010 could set up an intriguing infield.  Mauer at third, Orlando Cabrera at shortstop, Justin Morneau at first base and prize third base prospect Danny Valencia converted into a second baseman.  Then move sweet hitting Jose Morales (.343 average in 32 games with the Twins) behind the plate.

ESPN The Magazine’s August 10 issue claims Yadier Molina of the Cardinals is baseball’s best catcher but the publication also says Mauer is among the most difficult to steal bases on.

Former Minneapolis Lakers coach John Kundla, who won five pro basketball championships, was among a panel asked by the Sporting News magazine to rank the 50 greatest American coaches ever.  Former Gophers football player Bud Wilkinson ranked No. 29 because of his coaching career at Oklahoma, and Herb Brooks was listed at No. 50 in an article in the August 3 issue.  Brooks was a coaching genius and deserved a better listing than last after a career that included the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” and three national championships with the hockey Gophers.  Bud Grant, who coached the Vikings in four losing Super Bowls, and Tom Kelly, who won two World Series as Twins manager, didn’t make the list.  Top five were UCLA’s John Wooden, Green Bay’s Vince Lombardi, Alabama’s Paul Bryant, Los Angeles’ Phil Jackson and Miami’s Don Shula.

Official capacity for TCF Bank Stadium is 50,805.  All seven home games during the first season are considered sellouts but tickets are expected to be available on the Monday preceding some games.  That’s because visiting teams are allocated 3,000 tickets and not all schools are expected to use the full inventory.

A Gophers spokesman said 9,185 block M’s are displayed in various parts of the stadium.

The Gophers public relations department will, as usual, produce a printed media guide but Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin will have electronic versions only.  The NBA told its franchises they have the option for next season of electronic only, too.  The Timberwolves will opt for electronic only.

It was eight years ago this month that Vikings’ tackle Korey Stringer died from heatstroke complications.  His widow, Kelci, works with the NFL on a heat prevention illness program.

As of Wednesday, a Vikings spokesman reported single game tickets remain for all 2009 home games including Green Bay and Chicago.

Don’t be surprised if John David Booty becomes a serious option at quarterback this season for the Vikings.

A crowd of 15,000 or more is likely at Canterbury Park on Sunday for “Extreme Race Day.”  Back for a third consecutive year is camel and ostrich racing.  These are non-wagering races that have entertained past audiences as part of “Extreme Race Day” that also includes horse races featuring unusual matchups, surfaces and distances.   Gates open at noon with the first race at 1:30 p.m.

Ken Lien watched Kahalid El-Amin’s team win the Howard Pulley summer league playoff title last week and recalled that of all the Mr. Basketball winners through the years El-Amin had more “will to win” than any of them.  El-Amin, who won the award in 1997, went on to win a national title with Connecticut and has been playing overseas for years.  Lien is still a leader with the Mr. Basketball program.

Zach Parise, a native of Faribault and a former Shattuck-St. Mary’s star, is ranked No. 1 on NHL.com’s list of U.S.-born players.  In his fourth season with New Jersey, Parise finished third in the league with 45 goals and added 49 assists for 94 points in 2008-09.

The Houston Aeros, the Wild’s AHL affiliate, have announced Mark LeRose as the new assistant coach of the team.  LeRose, 39, is a native of Aspen, Colorado and has previous minor league hockey coaching experience.

Michael Forney, a Thief River Falls native, signed a multi-year contract with Atlanta.  Forney led the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League with 60 points (26-34-60) in 59 games in 2008-09.  Forney helped Green Bay win the Anderson Cup as regular season champions and led the team as it completed the biggest season turnaround in USHL history (50-point improvement in the standings.)

NHL coaches and former players will be at Saint Paul’s RiverCentre for USA Hockey’s 2009 National Coaches Symposium, August 12-15.  The event is part of USA Hockey’s Level 5 coaching certification – the highest level in its coaching certification program.  (See a list of speakers at https://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=CO_05&id=265846).

Tonight (Friday) the Lynx play at Target Center against former Gopher Lindsay Whalen and her Connecticut teammates.  Friday is Breast Health Awareness Night and the Lynx players will wear all-pink uniforms.  On Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Macy’s Rotunda of the Mall of America, the players will participate in a cancer fund-raising event, “Catwalk for a Cure.”  Their runway modeling will display the latest fashion in support of the Minnesota Lynx and Jean Stankoski foundations that help increase breast cancer funding and awareness in the state. There will also be an autograph session and silent auction on Saturday.  Ticket and other information about Saturday’s activities is available at 612-673-8400.

The opening of TCF Bank Stadium this summer will be remembered for 100 years or more.  In my lifetime the new football facility ranks near the top on a short list of extraordinary Gopher news.

Nothing surpasses the 1960 achievement of Minnesota’s last national championship.  When the Gophers played in back-to-back Rose bowls in 1961 and 1962, college football hysteria peaked in this town.  The Gophers split those two games, losing to Washington in 1961 but winning a revenge game the next year by beating and thoroughly dominating UCLA.

The 1967 season was the school’s last as Big Ten champs.  Then the most excitement in the program came 15 years later when the Gophers moved off campus into the Metrodome.  The facility put the Gophers in the newest stadium in the Big Ten Conference and placed spectators in a weather protected environment (not to mention plastic seats with backs instead of the wooden planks in Memorial Stadium).

In 1984, master coach and pitch man Lou Holtz took over as head coach.  Holtz created so much excitement and improvement in the program during his two years he still has Gophers fans wondering what kind of 10-year run Minnesota might have experienced if he had stayed here instead of leaving for Notre Dame.

The earlier part of this decade showcased a running game ranking among the better ones in college football history.  Characterized by both total rushing yards and spectacular runs, the Gopher teams that included center and Outland Trophy winner Greg Eslinger and running backs Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney provided hold-your-breath shows on Saturdays.

Last week I made another entry in the best memories file after touring TCF Bank Stadium.  I hadn’t been inside the now all but completed stadium for about a year.  Many times during the last 12 months, though, I admired the gorgeous brick exterior and welcoming archway entrances with the names of Minnesota’s counties.

Once inside, you hardly know where to look and what to admire next.  The planners (HOK Architects and U officials) have built a nearly $300 million stadium that seems like it should cost even more.  The grand designs like the stadium’s sightlines and intimacy are mission accomplished, but so, too, are the details.