Author: David Shama

Kevin Constantine, head coach of the Wild’s Houston farm team, will likely have his name mentioned if Lemaire leaves Minnesota.  He favors a defensive style, too.

Starting on February 27, the Wild play 14 of its 18 games on the road through the end of March.

A benefit for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Scott LeDoux will be held on Friday, April 10 at Champions Event Center in Elko.  LeDoux, 60, one of the most prominent Minnesota boxers ever, recently confirmed he has the disease.  Former Vikings linebacker Wally Hilgenberg died from ALS and LeDoux is using Hilgenberg’s walker.  The former lead singers for Survivor, Santana and Totto will perform at the benefit, and a video tribute to LeDoux will be shown.  More at https://elko-speedway1.ticketleap.com/Rock-for-ALS-04-10-2009-07-00.

It’s worth taking seriously rumors Brett Favre could leave the Jets and quarterback the Vikings next year.  Favre undoubtedly can see the potential here and his role in filling the quarterback need.  Owner Zygi Wilf has shown he will spend money on personnel.

Twins pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Sunday with the major question whether Joe Mauer will be there and ready to workout next week.

Sid Hartman, talking on radio and TV this week, described steroid confessor Alex Rodriguez as a good person, noting that A-Rod responds to Hartman’s requests for charity items.

Glen Mason, the former Gophers coach, talking on the Big Ten Network last week to ex-Indiana coach Jerry DiNardo about Penn State’s Joe Paterno: “Can you imagine recruiting at 82 years old?  Who says recruiting is a young man’s game?”

Scout.com national recruiting authority Allen Trieu said on the network last week that Gophers recruit Kenneth Watkins, a defensive back from Detroit who was injured during his junior year, could be a “steal” for Minnesota.

The rebuilding Indiana basketball program signed more players (six) to letters of intent than any Big Ten school during the early signing period last fall.  The Hoosiers, 1-10 in the Big Ten, lost to the Gophers last night.

U sports historian Dana Marshall noted via e-mail that it was the Sporting News All-American team Trent Tucker was included on in 1982, a five-man group, not multiple teams. He also wrote that former Gopher Whitey Skoog is credited with being an early developer of the jump shot.  At the Indiana game Tucker’s jersey was retired along with four others previously recognized, Jim Brewer, Lou Hudson, Kevin McHale and Mychal Thompson.  Skoog, twice an All-American in the early 1950s, will be similarly honored at the Northwestern game on February 22.

The Wolves’ leadership can’t say it this way but the team wasn’t going to make the playoffs even with center Al Jefferson, and losing him will position the franchise much better in the draft lottery for next spring.  The team needs impact players at small forward and point guard, and maybe center if Nikola Petovic doesn’t come here from Europe and excel.

The 2009 Mr. Basketball winner will be announced after the boys high school tournament.  There will not be a banquet as in past years.

Augsburg senior forward Nate Alm had double-doubles in points and rebounds during all three games last week.  He totaled 55 points with 38 rebounds, and is the Co-MIAC Basketball Player of the Week along with Carleton senior forward Zach Johnson, the league’s leading scorer at 23.9 points per game as of Monday.  He scored 36, 23 and 24 points last week while coming within 28 points of the school’s all-time individual scoring record of 1,967.

Although the Twins apparently will open spring training next Sunday with similar personnel to last season, that doesn’t mean the franchise is without interesting storylines to follow while the team is in Florida and during the early weeks of the season.

The first focus could be on late inning relief pitchers Luis Ayala and Jose Mijares.  The Twins came close but couldn’t win the American League Central championship last season and a major issue was the absence of a reliable eighth inning reliever.  Pat Neshek, who had been up to the job in the past, pitched in only 15 games last season, none after May 8 because of his right arm injury.  He won’t be available in 2009 following surgery last year.

Ayala might be the best candidate to become a late inning hero, holding leads or keeping the Twins in games until super closer Joe Nathan enters in the ninth inning.  Media reports a few days ago had the 31-year-old right hander signing with the Twins as a free agent.

He’s an experienced relief pitcher whose signature pitch is a sinker.  He missed the entire 2006 season because of Tommy John elbow surgery, the same procedure that Neshek had.  While Ayala had a 3.19 ERA in 2007 with Washington, that number jumped to 5.71 last year pitching in the late innings for the Nats and the New York Mets.

Ayala blamed his problems in Washington on a divorce and an off-season incident where he was shot in the left arm, according to a story by MLB.com.  In New York he was troubled by a sore groin.

Mijares, a 24-year-old left hander, pitched minimal innings in 2008, his first in the major leagues, but was impressive.  His record: 1-0, 1.87 ERA, with five strikeouts in 10.1 innings.  Also important was giving up no walks.  Relief pitchers who can’t find the plate are usually headed for bad results, in a hurry.

The Star Tribune reported recently that Mijares quit his winter league team in the Dominican Republic.  Apparently he had a disagreement with his manager and that will only add to the focus on Mijares in Florida.

In earlier innings, when the Twins need a left handed arm to face a left handed batter, the Twins might turn to another 2008 newcomer who also impressed last season.  Craig Breslow, who the team acquired off waivers in the spring, was 0-2 with a 1.91 ERA.  Other early inning help may come from a group that’s been inconsistent in the past including Boof Bonser, Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain.

Except for Nathan, the bullpen looks like a project with pitchers who showed promise and disappointment in the past, with some interesting personalities (see Ayala and Mijares) who figure to make all of this a storyline to follow.