Author: David Shama

David Shama is a former sports editor and columnist with local publications. His writing and reporting experiences include covering the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Gophers. Shama’s career experiences also include sports marketing. He is the former Marketing Director of the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL. He is also the former Marketing Director of the United States Tennis Association’s Northern Section. A native of Minneapolis, Shama has been part of the community his entire life. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where he majored in journalism. He also has a Master’s degree in education from the University of St. Thomas. He was a member of the Governor’s NBA’s Task Force to help create interest in bringing pro basketball to town in the 1980s.

PAT Misses May Catch up to Vikings

Posted on November 20, 2022November 20, 2022 by David Shama

The 8-1 Vikings have won four of their games by four points or fewer. “Close shaves” are commonplace in the ultra-competitive NFL and there is reason for concern with kicker Greg Joseph.

Joseph missed four extra points last season and already has that many in 2022. His four misses are tops in the NFL, per Lineups.com. He has failed to convert an extra point in almost half the games so far including last Sunday against the Bills when the Vikings needed overtime to win.

A missed extra point can change the strategy of a game, forcing a team to deviate from preferred options and sometimes compounding a bad situation with poor choices. Missed PATs can also change a season or playoff success. How unfortunate for the Vikings if during this so far magical season things went south in the playoffs with a missed conversion that blocked their postseason path.

Joseph has been okay on field goal attempts, making 72.1 percent. He is a perfect 12 of 12 between 20 and 49 yards but just one of six from beyond 50. He has been mediocre on touchbacks, with 55.3 percent of his kicks not being returned.

Meanwhile the Raiders’ Daniel Carlson, the former 2018 Vikings fifth round draft choice who coach Mike Zimmer became impatient with after just two regular games and released, is a perfect 18 of 18 on field goals including five from 50 yards or more. He has missed one extra point.

Joseph, 28, signed with the Vikings as a free agent in the 2021 offseason and has made multiple NFL stops including game appearances with the Browns and Titans. He told Sports Headliners earlier this fall he hopes to keep playing well into his 30s: “Oh, I feel like I’m only gonna get better and better and stronger and stronger, which is exciting. I keep trying to reset my ceiling every year. So yeah, just excited. …”

Long snapper Andrew DePaola said he and Joseph and holder Ryan Wright are good friends. They will go out to dinner together, golf or shoot paint ball guns. Any miscues on the field are felt by all three, DePaola told Sports Headliners. “…It’s tough when things don’t work out the way you want them to,” he said.

DePaola also said Joseph has the following mental approach: “not too high, not too low, just try to stay in the middle and do our jobs the best we can.”

Vikings leader and safety Harrison Smith said teammates are supportive of Joseph, regardless of results. Smith also said, “Kickers, you don’t want to mess with them too much. Let them do their thing but definitely let them know we have their back.”

Worth Noting

Vikings left guard Ezra Cleveland talking about second year left tackle Christian Darrisaw moving toward the NFL elite at his position. “For sure, with the way he works and the way he has been playing. If he is not already there, then he is on his way.”

Cleveland said with the Vikings playing Sunday and then again on Thursday, players will need to start their recovery process sooner than in a normal week. Instead of Monday, body work will start Sunday night after the game at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Cowboys and in preparation for the Thanksgiving evening home game with the Patriots.

Cleveland said growing up his mom prepared corn beef and cabbage for Thanksgiving dinner. Last year he smoked his first turkey and probably will prepare another this week for his girlfriend and dad. “May be out-source the pie…or something. I don’t know how to make pie.”

Tight end T.J. Hockenson played against the Cowboys earlier this season before the Lions traded him to Minnesota. He said that familiarity with scheme and personnel could be helpful. He caught four passes for 48 yards in his team’s 24-6 loss to the Cowboys.

Smith said the feeling around this year’s team is unique to what he’s experienced before in his 11 years with the Vikings. “We feel good about what it takes to win when the time comes. It doesn’t mean we can’t play better, different spots here and there. …”

Smith on 32-year-old cornerback Patrick Peterson who had two interceptions and three solo tackles against the Bills: “He is running around like he’s a young kid. Looks explosive and springy and just ready for action.”

Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber on Twitter writing about his old team: “One very noticeable trait to this Vikings team is no matter what happens, there is no flinch… especially on defense. It’s all about lining up and playing the next play no matter what. Incredible.”

Golfweek.com reports Kirk Cousins and his wife have purchased a golf course in western Michigan near Holland. He and Julie have a home in the area, are familiar with the course and know the previous owners, per a November 10 online story in the Holland Sentinel.

Glenn Caruso (photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

Congratulations to St. Thomas for winning the Pioneer League football championship with a 8-0 conference record. The Tommies won a league championship in just their second year as an FCS program with about two-thirds of their 22 starters being Minnesota natives.

Tommies coach Glenn Caruso, who has led a remarkable transition from Division III to Division I, wowed a CORES lunch crowd earlier this month with his authenticity and commitment to his players. He wants his student-athletes to have different experiences and that’s why the Tommies will play a home-and-home against Harvard starting next year in Boston, with a return date in 2029 in St. Paul.

Caruso said wife Rachel has been cancer free now for five years.

Condolences to the family and many friends of legendary University of St. Thomas and Cretin Derham-Hall baseball coach Dennis Denning, 76, who passed away last week. St. Thomas men’s basketball coach John Tauer wrote this on Facebook: “Six state titles and two national titles pale in comparison to the indelible impact he had on all of us. He taught us to ‘Dare to be Great’ and it remains one of our program mantras.”

“The Amazing Hondo”, the popular magician and former St. Paul athlete, is among the many mourning the loss of Dennis. He emailed to share the news his former Winona State basketball coach Les Wothke and Dennis both passed away last Wednesday. Wothke, 83, took Winona to the NAIA finals in 1973 and 1975 and later was head coach at Army. “Losing two legendary coaches on the same day is something I shall never forget,” Hondo wrote.

Early season home results: Tauer’s Tommies defeated (on November 11) St. Francis of Brooklyn, 84-48, two days after the Gophers beat them, 72-54. Down the road a game between the two Minnesota Division I programs seems likely.

Don’t hold your breath, though, for a renewal of the St. Thomas and St. John’s football rivalry. FCS teams can’t play Division III opponents.

As of Friday, Ben Johnson’s Gophers had made .543 percent of their free throws in four games, ranking No. 339 in the country.

Tip of the cap to the Twins new uniforms with clean looks and various offerings. Just in time for holiday shopping.

The Athletics latest NHL power rankings have the Devils No. 1, the second-season Kraken No. 12 and the Wild No. 17 among 32 teams.

Dick Jonckowski emcees the Minnesota Old Timers Hockey Luncheon at Mancini’s Char House tomorrow (Monday, November 21). Former North Star and media hockey authority Tom Reid will be the main speaker.

Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury turns 38 November 28, while Golden Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck has his 42nd birthday November 29.

Comments Welcome

Redemption Time for Football Gophers

Posted on November 17, 2022November 27, 2022 by David Shama

What kind of statement will the Golden Gophers football team make in its last two regular season games of the year? The results of Saturday’s home game against Iowa and then November 26 at Wisconsin will say a lot about the program’s status.

The view here is it’s time for the Gophers to earn 2022 and historical redemption. Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck, who was hired in January of 2017, is 0-5 against the border rival Hawkeyes from Iowa. Worse, the Gophers haven’t defeated Iowa since 2014. That win was in Minneapolis and the last victory for the Gophers in Iowa City was 1999.

Floyd of Rosedale photo courtesy of Minnesota athletics communications.

There have been near misses for the Gophers in recent years but “what-ifs” won’t bring the famous bronze pig, Floyd of Rosedale, back to Minneapolis. Minnesota still leads the all-time series 62-51-2, thanks mostly to a stretch of dominance prior to World War II. But the 5-17 record of the new millennium gives passionate Gophers fans pain—hungry as they are for bacon, pork and ham.

Iowa won’t look much different on Saturday than in the recent past. The Hawkeyes’ defense (again) deserves mention with the best in the nation. Mostly a unit with developmental players, including Iowa natives, the Hawkeyes don’t beat themselves with mistakes and they stay true to their assignments. They’re a physical bunch that can knock the enemy on their collective butts and force turnovers.

As usual, Iowa plays for field position and boasts a great punter in Tory Taylor. College football rosters often have Australian punters these days (including Minnesota’s Mark Crawford) but Iowa’s Aussie is special. Taylor ranks third in the Big Ten with a 44.1 yards average for conference games and is deft at sending the football where he wants it to stop.

If you want to piss off Iowa fans, just bring up the names of offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz and quarterback Spencer Petras. Struggling offenses are nothing new at Iowa under Brian and there was an offseason fan petition supporting the dismissal of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s son.

Early season offensive production was low even by Iowa standards. The Hawkeyes relied on two safeties and a field goal for points in their season opener, a 7-3 win over South Dakota State. A week later Iowa managed a single offensive touchdown in a loss to Iowa State and even last month the offense was awful in losses to Illinois and Ohio State.

In the last three games Iowa has made strides and totaled 81 points in wins over Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin. Iowa’s young offensive line has shown improvement, allowing Petras more time to throw and opening holes for gifted freshman runner Kaleb Johnson.

The Gophers can thump their collective chests over their defense, too. Minnesota ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring defense (16.3 points) for league games, while Iowa is fifth (18). Iowa is giving up 289 yards per league game, Minnesota 318.4, placing both programs among conference leaders. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, like Iowa counterpart Phil Parker, is a gem.

Who wins Saturday? The Gophers could be too emotional for this game at Huntington Bank Stadium and not stay true to their assignments and abilities. But home field and the crowd should be an advantage. If the crowd is at its noisy best, that could cause the Iowa offense to be confused when Petras and the Hawkeyes call signals and attempt to run plays.

To win, the Gophers will need to find their often missing passing game. Minnesota’s quarterback (either Tanner Morgan or Athan Kaliakmanis) will have to make clutch throws to loosen up the Iowa defense. But even with timely and accurate passes, is the suspect Minnesota receiving group going to get separation from defenders and consistently catch balls? Then, too, the offensive line will have to play at its highest level of the year to pass protect the quarterback and provide All-American tailback Mo Ibrahim occasional daylight.

If the Iowa defense forces the Gophers into turnovers and scores off them, it’s all but certain Fleck goes to 0-6 against the Hawkeyes. But in dreary November, why not be an optimist and predict the Gophers’ defense forces Iowa into mistakes and the Minnesota offense is just good enough in a 16-10 win bringing Floyd of Rosedale home.

Redemption road will then present the challenge of defeating Iowa and Wisconsin in the same season for the first time since 1990. Fleck’s teams have won twice against Wisconsin, most recently in Minneapolis last year.

The Gophers will not have a gimme task in Madison. Not with interim coach Jim Leonhard hoping to get the head job permanently and having a roster of players (presumably) all in on the former Badger defensive coordinator. A Wisconsin native who played for the Badgers, nobody has to give Leonhard a history lesson about another famous travelling trophy, Paul Bunyan’s Axe that annually goes to the winner of the Gophers and UW game.

The Badgers’ defense will challenge the suspect Minnesota passing game and if the Gophers have to rely just on Mo, the Axe could be residing in Madison for the next 12 months. The Wisconsin offense is similar to the Gophers, led by superb tailback Braelon Allen but unable to sustain a top passing attack with inconsistent quarterback Graham Mertz. The Badgers are 5-5 overall and 3-4 in conference games.

The Gophers, 7-3 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten games, will write a fulfilling script if they can finish the season with two wins. Fleck and Henry Williams are the only Minnesota football coaches to twice win nine games. Six Big Ten victories would match last year’s 6-3 record and be one win shy of Fleck’s 7-2 mark in 2019. Going 9-3 overall and 6-3 in the conference would boost Fleck’s record at Minnesota to 44-26. That’s a winning percentage of .628 that would rank third among all Gopher head football coaches who coached 45 games or more.

Expectations before the season were that it was finally time for the Gophers to win their first West Division championship. The talent appeared sufficient and the division competition mediocre, but a three-game conference losing streak in October was a major blow, although mathematically the Gophers are still alive in the race.

Illinois, Purdue, Iowa and Minnesota all have the same conference records as they compete for the West Division championship. Unlikely as it may seem, the Illini, Boilermakers and Hawkeyes could all lose a game before the regular season ends. Illinois and Purdue hold wins over Minnesota, and so any tiebreakers in the division standings with the Gophers will go to the Illini and Boilers.

None of the teams in the West, including the title contenders, will be remembered as great teams stocked with future pros. The Athletic’s Chris Vannini offered a ranking this week of major college football’s 131 teams and the list included No. 27 Illinois, No. 30 Minnesota, No. 40 Iowa, No. 41 Purdue and No. 54 Wisconsin.

Long suffering Gophers fans sometimes feel the program that once specialized in Big Ten titles and national championships is just never going to win the West. Well maybe the ghost of Bernie Bierman will hex the Hawkeyes, Badgers, Illini and Boilers, and inspire the Golden Gophers. Wins over Iowa and Wisconsin, and a first-place finish in the West, would be the ultimate Redemption Road for the Gophers.

Comments Welcome

QB Kirk Cousins’ Image Changes in 2022

Posted on November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 by David Shama

Kirk Cousins is on a historic personal path in 2022. The Vikings’ quarterback is being viewed as a winner after a past of mostly mediocre results by teams he led in Washington, D.C., and Minnesota.

The 8-1 Vikings are off to a start unlike anything Cousins has experienced since he became a regular in Washington in 2015. That season the Commanders finished the season 9-7. Cousins’ next two seasons in D.C. saw the Commanders go 8-7-1 and 7-9. A hefty free agent deal (reportedly three years, $84 million) brought Cousins to Minnesota before the 2018 season where he has been part of teams with records of 8-7-1, 10-6, 7-9 and 8-9-1.

That’s a cumulative record of 57 wins, 54 losses and one tie as an NFL starting quarterback dating back to 2015. Cousins also has a 1-2 playoff record with the Commanders and Vikings.

At age 34, in his 11th year in the NFL, Cousins is gaining ground in the public view as a winner and even being mentioned as a potential NFL MVP. He is flourishing in a quarterback friendly environment unlike anything he has experienced before as a professional.

Cousins is making both routine and difficult throws that have the Vikings headed to their first NFC North championship since 2017. He has been primetime this season leading the Vikings to comeback wins, with the most recent Sunday’s game for the ages overtime victory against the Bills in Buffalo.

Cousins’ performance and leadership has been questioned in the past but he’s answered critics by thriving under new head coach Kevin O’Connell who is known as a quarterback whisperer.

Cousins’ disconnect with previous head coach Mike Zimmer is well documented but now the veteran has found a productive relationship with O’Connell whose skills include superb play-calling and creativity in adjusting offensive schemes. O’Connell said Monday, while praising Cousins, that his quarterback has been tasked with a new system this year and “we’re asking a lot out of him.”

Putting labels on football players is dicey business. For critics to label the Cousins of the past something other than a winner really depends on perspective. Just being able to quarterback an NFL team year after year can be viewed as enough to gain respect with fans and media. Cousins has been a regular starter for the last eight seasons and along the way earned a reputation as a top 12 to 15 pro quarterback.

Not bad. But the 2022 version of Cousins looks better than ever and he is surrounded by coaches and players that can do their share of the heavy lifting. Whether it’s the phenomenal WR Justin Jefferson, the explosive RB Dalvin Cook, the improved offensive line or timely playmakers on defense, the vanquishing Vikings are far from a one-man show.

Give the Vikings credit for winning seven consecutive games since losing to the Eagles on September 19. But four of their eight wins are by four points or fewer and their schedule has not been daunting. Their nine opponents have a cumulative record of 42-43. Only three opponents, the Eagles, Dolphins and Bills, have winning records.

And that stat brings up one of the beefs that has dogged Cousins’ quarterback career. He has long been criticized for his performance against teams with a winning record.

He has lost about two-thirds of such games as the Vikings’ quarterback (per Fanduel), but in fairness remember that football is a team game and a lot can go into outcomes and records (Rams QB Matthew Stafford won a Super Bowl last winter after a dreadful record of wins and losses with the hapless Lions). If the Vikings finish with a gaudy regular season record and make a deep playoff run, even that Cousins wrap of not beating teams with winning records will lose some of its sting.

Cousins believes lessons from the past help his leadership now. “…Sometimes when you’re not winning, those are the times where you have to come in with a smile on your face, upbeat, still bring energy, make sure practice is still fun,” he said. “That’s really, I think, the test of leadership, is when it’s not easy to do things, that you still bring energy and focus and preparation. And so, certainly, when you’re winning, there’s a little more wind at your back, but you can’t really let it change the way you approach things and not ever get too high or too low.”

Worth Noting

Former University of Minnesota and Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz talking about Harvey Mackay’s 90^th birthday: “He doesn’t count his years. He makes his years count.”

Mackay hosted a birthday celebration in Phoenix last weekend. Mackay, the Minnesota-born, UM alum and New York Times best selling author, is close friends with Holtz who coached the Gophers in 1984 and 1985 before going to Notre Dame and winning the 1988 national championship.

“The Amazing Hondo,” St. Paul’s John Hughes, is a Mackay favorite and he entertained with his magic tricks at the birthday celebration. Hondo, 70, is still playing recreational basketball in the Twin Cities with pals including Dennis Fitzpatrick, the former St. Thomas star.

Hughes took his nickname years ago from legendary Celtics great John “Hondo” Havlicek.

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