Author: David Shama

Irondale High School’s Jimmy Gjere, about 6-7, 270-pounds, is another nationally regarded junior offensive tackle and he has verbally committed to the Gophers.  He and Henderson could be a huge coup for the Gophers.

Matt Stommes, a senior next fall from Richmond, Minnesota, has been an obscure contributor for the Gophers in the past but may well be the team’s starting left offensive tackle for the 2009 season.  Gopher coach Tim Brewster likes his potential.

Former starting offensive tackle Dom Alford is going to play left guard, likely on the first team.  Looks like Notre Dame transfer Matt Carufel will be at right guard with junior college transfer Jeff Wills at right tackle.

Wisconsin transfer Kim Royston is expected to ease the possible loss of Tramaine Brock who started for the Gophers last season at safety but is back in junior college trying to become academically eligible.

The Gophers, who begin spring practice on March 24, could have not only more talent, but also increased depth at some positions. Tight end looks like an example where Jeff Tow-Arnett, a pro prospect, will be the starter but redshirt freshman Eric Lair and incoming freshman Ra’Shede Hageman are exceptional prospects.

Brewster said the Gophers will be searching for a place-kicker this spring and likely beyond.  Four candidates will probably be competing in the spring including walk-ons.

New co-defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove is expected to impress with not only his coaching but recruiting.  Brewster said Cosgrove will recruit St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City.

Senator Tom Bakk (D-Cook) and Representative Lawrence Solberg (D-Grand Rapids) are providing the Vikings with advice on the stadium initiative.

Yahoo.com lists the Star Tribune No. 2 on a ranking of big city newspapers that could cease publication in the next 18 months, https://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090309/us_time/08599188378500

Twins left hander Francisco Liriano, who recently pitched four innings of no hit baseball in spring training, could be headed toward dominant performances reminiscent of 2006 before he hurt his elbow.  An impressive spring comes after a strong finish last season when his record in the last 10 games was 5-1 with a 3.02 E.R.A.  His season stats were 6-4, with a 3.91 E.R.A.

The Gophers helped themselves with a possible invitation to the NCAA basketball tournament with the win over Northwestern yesterday in the Big Ten tournament.  It can’t hurt that coach Tubby Smith is president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and has done a lot of relationship building over the years.

Former Timberwolf Christain Laettner, who playing for Duke made the never-to-be forgotten NCAA tournament shot to beat coach Rick Pitino and Kentucky, stars in a commercial for Vitaminwater, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFNSl4IFRfg&feature=bz301

Timberwolves rookie forward Kevin Love, who played one season at UCLA, attended his first NHL game on Tuesday night, watching the Wild against San Jose at the Xcel Energy Center. He was a guest of Wild executive Bill Robertson who is a UCLA basketball fan.  After the game Love received a locker room tour from Marian Gaborik.  FS-North filmed a segment for an upcoming Wolves show about Love’s Wild game experience. 

Ryan Wittman, the former Eden Prairie star, is a candidate for Ivy League Player of the Year after helping Cornell to a second straight conference title.  The Cornell junior was featured in a New York Times article, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/sports/ncaabasketball/27cornell.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

The Wild’s Houston farm team is 10-2-0 in its last 12 games, in second place in the AHL West Division, and center Corey Locke leads the team in scoring with 63 points.

Matt Lopes and Melissa Mackley, both from Gustavus, are the MIAC men’s and women’s Hockey Athletes of the Week.  Lopes made 17 saves in the Gusties’ 5-2 win over Hamline in the MIAC Playoff Championship game last week.  The win gave the Gusties, who are 17-10-0, an automatic entry to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993. They play tomorrow night at UW-Superior.

Mackley, a forward, scored two goals to help the Gusties defeat St. Thomas 3-0 to win the MIAC Playoff Championship game last week.  Gustavus, which won the MIAC playoff title for the sixth consecutive year, hosts UW-River Falls in a NCAA tournament quarterfinal game tomorrow afternoon. The Gusties have a 26-game unbeaten streak, the longest in collegiate women’s hockey.

A Vikings executive told Sports Headliners that owner Zygi Wilf “doesn’t have the heart” to move the team, but it’s a mistake for lawmakers to presume the franchise can continue here without a new stadium to replace the nearly 30-year-old Metrodome.  During an interview at Winter Park, Lester Bagley, the team’s vice president of public affairs, talked in detail about the stadium issue including his publicized criticism of Governor Tim Pawlenty for lack of leadership on the issue, and the need to recover lost revenue of $15 million or more per season if the Vikings temporarily play in the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium while their new facility is constructed.

The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which owns and operates the Metrodome, has joined with the Vikings in lobbying for a new retractable roof stadium that could cost about $1 billion.  Their position is that the facility will allow the Vikings to economically survive, present fans with a first class game experience, and provide a “rec room” type facility for community activities ranging from amateur sports to rollerblading, plus attract big time events such as NCAA tournament basketball and perhaps another Super Bowl.  In addition, stadium proponents argue that the construction and later the existence of the facility will provide jobs and economic stimulus to the economy.

An economic impact analysis of the new stadium, which will be located on the present Metrodome site, was conducted by Convention Sports & Leisure International for the MSFC.  Among the findings of the advisory firm:

.  Construction of the stadium will support approximately 13,400 jobs, including 8,000 tradesmen utilized during the building process.

. Over half the cost of constructing the new stadium, or $577 million, will be directed toward wages and salaries for construction jobs, and jobs supported in other industries as a result of related spending.

. The total economic output during construction is estimated at $1.35 billion. That number is representative of the cumulative effects of direct spending on construction-related expenditures, which equals $734 million, as it is cycled through the state’s economy.

. Annual direct spending of $145 million is estimated upon completion of the stadium. This represents spending by fans, the Vikings, their employees and players, visiting teams and the NFL relative to games and the operation of the stadium.

.  A new stadium will generate over $32 million per year in tax revenue including income and sales taxes.  Presently the Vikings alone are said to generate $18 million.

Minnesotans take various positions regarding the possibility of a new stadium including whether tax monies should be used to fund it.  The debate as to whether and how something should be done isn’t new because the Vikings started exploring the subject with government leaders in 1997.  In 2001 state politicians were presented with details about a $475 million retractable roof stadium, costing about half of what now is the projected cost.  What’s current is that the franchise’s Metrodome lease expires after three more seasons and there are only a couple of legislative sessions remaining to resolve the issue.

The Vikings are last in the NFL in team value, according to a forbes.com report last fall.  The website also said the franchise was last in 2007 gross revenues ($195 million) and described the team’s stadium deal as “one of the worst” in the NFL.  Bagley and additional sources report that Wilf and other partners have put in additional monies to operate the team since taking over in 2005.  Of better news for Wilf and his investors, though, is that according to Forbes the team is worth $839 million after being purchased from Red McCombs for $600 million.