Author: David Shama

When the Gophers begin spring football practice on March 24, it’s quarterback MarQueis Gray who seems a sure bet to be the focus of media and fan attention.  He was the prize recruit in last year’s class of newcomers but wasn’t eligible to play in 2008.

Gray will be a freshman this spring and next fall.  Although the Gophers will have promising players in the recruiting class they announce today, part of national signing day across the country, none may make the impact next fall of Gray. Coming out of Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Gray was known for his passing and running.  He was ranked by rivals.com as the No. 3 dual threat quarterback in the country.

The No. 1 guy was Terrelle Pryor who became a starter for Ohio State last season.  Opinion is Gray will prove to be the superior passer in college.

Both because of necessity and talent, Gray won’t be redshirted in 2009 even though he could be, coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners.  Backup quarterbacks Tony Mortensen and Mike Maciejowski were seniors last fall and must be replaced.  That leaves Gray, redshirt freshman John Nance and walk-on Adam Lueck as the backups this spring for returning starter Adam Weber, the No. 1 quarterback the last two seasons.

Weber will be held out of contact this spring following surgery on his left shoulder.  “This is going to be a great spring for him (Gray) because Adam is going to be very limited,” Brewster said.  “He’s going to get all the first team snaps.”

Brewster anticipates this spring will prepare Gray to play and help the Gophers as the No. 2 quarterback next season.  Brewster said the offensive plan for each game will include Gray and that his young quarterback will take some snaps in place of Weber.

Brewster also said Weber could be “one of the better quarterbacks in the country” next season.  He expects Weber to be challenged by and benefit from working with new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch who is respected in the NFL including by All-Pro quarterback Peyton Manning of Indianapolis.

The Big Ten Network will have a Big Ten Conference Football Signing Day Special beginning at 3:30 p.m. today Minneapolis time.  The 90-minute program will feature video highlights of top recruits, university press conferences and interviews with Big Ten coaches.  Among those offering comments will be former Gophers’ coach Glen Mason and Scout.com national recruiting authority Allen Trieu. The show re-airs at 10:30 p.m. tonight, and 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Here’s advice about national football recruiting rankings: Don’t dismiss them, nor take them as gospel.  Mostly the schools that lead the rankings each year also annually have the better football teams.  This doesn’t mean other schools not rating high in the recruiting rankings won’t have powerful teams.  Just ask Michigan or Alabama, both of whom lost to the 2008 Utah Utes.  Boise State showed its might in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, upsetting Oklahoma.

Give Denny Green credit for drafting two of the NFL’s most explosive receivers in the modern era.  Green was the Vikings’ coach when the franchise chose Randy Moss with the 21^st pick in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft.  As Arizona coach in 2004, Green and the Cardinals took Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. with the third pick in the first round.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber talking about the Gophers’ unselfishness said he doesn’t think “they really care who gets theirs (acknowledgements).”

Timberwolves guard-forward Mike Miller told Sports Headliners he misses his wife and two children who remain in Memphis where he played last season.  Otherwise, he’s happy to be with the Wolves and in Minneapolis.

The Twins’ TV commercial that aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl can be seen on the team’s website, www.twinsbaseball.com.  The commercial is entitled “Trucks” and includes many Twins players such as Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span making deliveries to the Target Field construction site.

Sunday’s game was the most viewed Super Bowl of all time, besting last year’s record setter. The “M-A-S-H” series finale years ago remains the most viewed American TV program ever.

Baseball America has named Hamline’s Dan Kaczrowski, from St. Anthony, the preseason NCAA Division III player of the year, according to the MIAC Website, www.miac-online.org.  Baseball America includes him on its preseason All-American team at second base and rates him the No. 2 Division III prospect for the 2009 major league baseball draft.  Last season he hit .500 against MIAC opponents with 18 RBI and 24 runs scored.

An NHL insider told Sports Headliners he’s perplexed like the media and fans about why the Wild haven’t signed All-Star goalie Niklas Backstrom to a contract that will keep him here beyond this season.  Backstrom, who turns 31 on February 13, is in his third season with the Wild and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“I think they’re absolutely nuts if they don’t sign him,” the source said.  “I don’t understand it.”

Backstrom’s play has been a positive during a disappointing season so far for the Wild.  He’s tied for second in the league in shutouts with five and among the top five NHL goalies in save percentage, wins and goals against average.  He has 24 of the Wild’s 25 victories.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, thinks Backstrom might be the best goalie in the NHL.  He said a team like Detroit, looking for goaltending help, will pay market money or beyond to add a talent like Backstrom.

There’s an assumption the Wild don’t want to pay Backstrom $35 million or so for a multi-year deal, as sportsillustrated.com reported recently.  The Sports Headliners’ source, who has pro hockey coaching and front office experience, said the Wild’s strategy might be to save money on Backstrom and spend it on acquiring players who can add offense to a team that frequently struggles to score goals.

Presumably this means the goaltending job goes to 24-year-old Josh Harding who has played in only 11 games this season and just 50 during the last four seasons here.  His won-loss career record is 17-23, and he’s won a game this season. The source is skeptical about Harding being able to replace the talented Backstrom, saying “I wouldn’t count on that.”

The best move is to keep both players, he said, because there is “no place to be better fortified than in goal.”  But the Wild apparently think that at least part of Backstrom’s success is coach Jacques Lemaire’s defensive system that does produce low scoring games.

Other teams may see Backstrom, though, as a valuable addition as soon as the next few weeks, hoping to add him before the NHL trading deadline on March 4.  Backstrom could possibly help a team go deep into the playoffs, perhaps even winning the Stanley Cup.

The Wild, with a 25-21-3 record and 53 points, are 24 points behind San Jose, the leading team in the Western Conference.  The Wild are bunched with several teams trying to make the playoffs and there are some doubters including the NHL insider who doesn’t think they will qualify. The team’s chances of acquiring value in a Backstrom trade certainly appear better than moving former All-Star forward Marian Gaborik who has been injured and missed most of the season.

Gaborik may return to the Wild by mid-March but both he and the team are in challenging positions.  Gaborik has been injured so much during his career that the NHL source believes he will have to take a one year deal someplace else for next season to prove himself.

The source added that the Wild can’t “get anything now for him” and that Gaborik, after the strained contract negotiations, isn’t happy here.  When Gaborik becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer his career in Minnesota will be over, said the NHL insider.