Author: David Shama

Among other players in the Gophers’ incoming freshman class is Edina’s Zach Budish who was injured this year and didn’t play for the Hornets in the state tournament.  An Edina High line of Budish, Marshall Everson and Anders Lee could have been remembered among the greatest in Minnesota prep history and helped produce a state championship.  Some Gopher fans wish Minnesota had found a way to bring all three to the U.

The Wild, three points behind in the race for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference, need a win against Calgary tomorrow night at Xcel Energy Center.  Calgary is in fifth place in the potential playoff lineup and is 3-0-2 against the Wild this season.  The Flames are 6-1-3 versus the Wild in the last 10 games.  The Wild have five regular season games remaining.

The Hopkins boys basketball team drew a lot of attention for its talented players and winning the Class AAAA state championship and being nationally ranked among the best prep teams.  Not mentioned often enough is the exceptional coaching staff headed by Ken Novak Jr.  In the state semi-finals, a poorly coached team could have been confused and lost the game when St. Cloud Tech played stall-ball and trailed Hopkins by one point at halftime, 16-15.  The Royals went on to win 55-36.

Long-time National Public Radio commentator and Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford was in town earlier this week.  He spoke to a breakfast group that included Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith and also was interviewed on air by Minnesota Public Radio’s Cathy Wurzer.

I believe a new state-approved metro area casino could be the funding source for a retractable roof Vikings stadium on the Metrodome site.  With tax revenues seemingly off-limits in these economic times, a casino might be more acceptable to both the legislature and public.  For sure, revenues would be targeted at needs such as transportation, or education, and not just the stadium.

Tony Spadafora, who for years has passionately studied the Vikings’ stadium dilemma, sent a letter titled “Zygi’s Pleasant Predicament” to more than 50 newspapers in the state.  Among his thoughts were the following: “…Zygi Wilf is cash flow poor, but equity rich. He won’t be able to keep the Vikings ship afloat much longer without a new revenue generating stadium. If a stadium deal that’s good for the Vikings and good for Minnesota isn’t agreed upon soon, Mr. Wilf will cash-in by unloading the team next year. The new Vikings owner will probably move the franchise to Los Angeles or elsewhere after the 2011 season when the Vikings Metrodome lease expires. A $1 billion selling price will net Mr. Wilf a $400 million ‘windfall’ profit from franchise appreciation alone. …”

Former Gopher football star Billy Bye is a 2009 inductee in the National High School Hall of Fame.  Bye, who won 21 letters in six sports at Thief River Falls High School and Anoka High School in the 1940s, will be one of 12 inducted into the hall of fame on July 1 in Chicago.  The hall of fame is a project of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Anoka’s DeWayne Johnson, Becker’s Dwight Lundeen, Verndale’s Mike Mahlen, Brigham Young’s Roger French, and the late Dave Hylla from Proctor are 2009 inductees in the Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame and will be recognized at a hall of fame banquet Saturday night at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic, with support from the Gophers, takes place today through Saturday at the Doubletree and on campus.  Among the clinic speakers will be St. Louis Park native and Montreal coach Marc Trestman, former Baltimore Super Bowl coach Brian Billick and Gophers coach Tim Brewster.

Brewster talking about his aggressive recruiting approach and willingness to pursue the best players in the country:  “To be quite honest with you, we’re recruiting anybody, anywhere, any time.”

Brewster also told Sports Headliners he likes the work in spring practice of redshirt sophomore place-kicker Eric Ellestad from Armstrong High School.  He’s trying to replace Joel Monroe on kickoffs, extra points and field goals.  Brewster said Dan Orseske from Chicago was the best high school punter in the country last fall.  He will be a freshman with the Gophers this summer and possible replacement for Justin Kucek who, like Monroe, has used up his eligibility.

For an inter-league road game, how can it be any better for local fans than the June 12-14 Twins dates in Chicago against the Cubs in historic Wrigley Field?

The Cubs will lose to the Yankees in the 2009 World Series, according to the Sporting News Magazine baseball preview.

Coach John Anderson’s Gophers baseball, 1-1 in Big Ten games, plays Ohio State tomorrow night and Saturday afternoon at the Metrodome, with a third game  scheduled outdoors starting at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday at Siebert Field.

Talk of building a structure to house a retractable roof on Target Field persists but has no fact.  “That falls into the category of urban legend,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners.  “For the 100^th time, we’re building an open air ballpark.”

St. Peter said the Target Field facility, which opens next spring, isn’t designed to accommodate a roof with existing technology.  He also said there are no plans to relocate the Hennepin County garbage incinerator that’s adjacent to the stadium and rumored to be the site for housing a retractable roof.

It’s too soon for the Twins to know the date of their regular season home opener in 2010 but they have requested major league baseball that the team open on the road.  It’s likely, according to St. Peter, that the Twins will play two exhibition games at Target Field against a major league team, probably Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3.

Those games will ease some demand for tickets to see the first regular season game in the 40,000 seat ballpark.  Single game tickets will be available for all three games, although the Twins haven’t announced an on sale date.

The Twins will sell a franchise record 15,000 to 20,000 season tickets in 2010, St. Peter said. Group sales will also lessen inventory for single game tickets throughout the 2010 season.  St. Peter expects about 11,000 season tickets to be sold in 2009, bettering the franchise mark of approximately 10,500 set in 1993.

A season ticket base of 15,000 to 20,000 will make the Twins about average compared with other franchises, according to St. Peter.  He also said the team has nine unsold suites at Target Field from an inventory of 60.