Author: David Shama

St. Peter said a “few thousand” tickets remain for the franchise’s last game in the Metrodome, Sunday, October 4.  If the Twins “stay competitive” in the Central Division race, he expects total attendance of 2.4 to 2.5 million.

The Twins will announce their All-Metrodome team later this month.  The most obvious choice for the team will be the late Kirby Puckett who St. Peter describes as possibly the most popular athlete in Minnesota sports history.

The Twins rank highest at No. 23 among the four local pro sports teams in ESPN The Magazine’s Ultimate Standings article.  The July 13 issue of the magazine said: “Our standings rank all 122 MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises by how much they give back to fans for all the emotion, money and time fans invest in their favorite teams.” The Wild rank No. 66, the Vikings 89 and the Timberwolves 113.

The Xcel Energy Center is No. 1 in the best arenas/stadiums category.  San Francisco’s AT&T Park is second, Green Bay’s Lambeau Field third and Pittsburgh’s PNC Park fourth.

Among the criteria used in calculating an overall franchise rating is the “stadium experience.”  The Twins received a 114 rating, the Vikings a 117 in the baseball undesirable Metrodome.  Huh?  https://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=4297569

The Twins, who lost 4-3 to the Yankees last night, are 7-31 when they score three or fewer runs.  They are 6-18 vs. the American League East.

Bobby Keppel, who pitched 3.2 innings last night, has 11.1 scoreless innings since joining the Twins from Rochester in late June.

A couple dozen family and friends leave on Sunday for St. Louis to watch Joe Mauer in Tuesday’s All-Star game.  A family member said the 26-year-old Mauer isn’t dating but expects Mauer will be married by his 30^th birthday.  “He wants the stability,” the source said.

A crowd of more than 30,000 is possible for the first public scrimmage at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, August 22 starting at 3 p.m.  The event is open only to football season ticket holders.

A Goldy’s Locker Room store will be located at the main entrance to TCF Bank Stadium, at the corner of University Avenue and Oak Street. The store will be finished and open to the public by mid-August.  The store will offer the largest selection of Gopher sports products in the state, according to a news release.  Products will range from apparel, accessories and gift items to special collectibles and gameday novelties.

Lakeville South High School will be in the 16-team 7-on-7 High School Player Development National Tournament at Winter Park on Friday and Saturday.  The teams represent eight AFC and eight NFC franchises.  Hosted by the Vikings this year, the tournament is an annual event that started in 2004 as an extension of the NFL’s High School Player Development Program.

Wolves CEO Rob Moor and owner Glen Taylor will have input on final candidates for the coaching position, Moor told Sports Headliners.  David Kahn, new president of basketball operations, likely will have candidates for Moor and Taylor this month, but a coach won’t for sure be in place by August 1.

Moor clarified that under NBA rules the Wolves hold the NBA draft rights to first round pick Ricky Rubio for up to one year after he becomes available to them.  Rubio is presently not available because he’s under contract with his Spanish team.

Moor also said the Wolves have sold about 200 seats through new season ticket purchases since the NBA draft in late June.

Radio personality and public relations executive Dave Mona enjoys Irish music. He and wife Linda are planning an Irish music cruise to the Caribbean next winter.

Ugh.  I am trying to think of a synonym for ugh that’s appropriate for general audience readership.  Otherwise, you will be reading the word more than either one of us cares to see it.  The problem is I have been buying 2007 college football magazines, and Gopher fans please accept this as a warning: proceed with caution at your local newsstand. 

I have been devouring college football magazines since Eisenhower was in the White House.  The arrival of these publications on local newsstands in July and August has been a summer highlight for decades.  Long ago I realized that kind of like pro wrestling, many of the storylines are pure hype but who cares when team rankings, conference predictions, schedules and all-America teams pump you up like an over-time win against a bitter rival. 

From a provincial perspective here in Gopherland, this year’s crop of magazines isn’t one to save for the grandchildren.  In fact citizens of Gopher Nation should only read these publications if they have normal blood pressure and advanced training in anger management.   

So here we go–out with the truth, no matter how painful.  The Gophers who, despite returning 15 of 22 starters, are a popular choice to finish last in the Big Ten Conference.  They were 6-7 overall last season, 3-5 in the conference.  The publications don’t like the quarterback situation (no experienced returnee) and believe mastering the new spread offense will be a challenge.  Double ugh. 

Our hated rivals to the east (novices, listen up, we’re talking Wisconsin Badgers) have been darn good for some time, winning more games than any Big Ten school in the last three years, according to Street and Smith’s college football magazine.  Now the Badgers are supposed to be gaudy good as in ranked No. 3 in the country by Street and Smith’s, plus Big Ten favorites and contenders for a national championship.  

The Good Book says to love our neighbors.  I am not completely aligned with that but I do hope Iowa beats the brains out of Bucky this fall.   God knows, we love Iowa, right?

Even those mildly educated about college football magazines recognize the name Street and Smith’s.  I grew up on Street and Smith’s annual college football magazine.  Seems like I read it forward, backward and even upside down from the backseat of the car on family vacations.  Every year there was some highly hyped golden boy on the cover, more often than not from Ohio State.  For years the players posed wearing helmets with no face bar, and they looked weird even in the 1950s. 

Now take a deep breath and flash to the present!  Imagine the angst picking up a 2007 collector’s issue of Street and Smith’s with an Ohio State cover boy, sans face bar, whose name is James Laurinaitis.  Yup, that’s the kid from Wayzata High School who we thought was going to be a Gopher, who became a Buckeye and is now an all-America.  A junior all-America, no less.  Allow a quadruple ugh, please! 

Laurinaitis is kept company on pre-season all-America teams by tight end John Carlson of Notre Dame.  Yes, that John Carlson from Litchfield, Minnesota.

Done with the ughs.  Damn!