Author: David Shama

President Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners it’s costing $10,000 per day to heat the new Twins’ stadium so that construction can continue during the cold weather in January.

He expects Joe Mauer to be ready for the start of the season but wouldn’t say if Mauer will participate in the opening of spring training work next month in Florida.  Mauer’s long term health isn’t an issue following kidney surgery, according to St. Peter.

The contract of the Twins’ catcher runs through 2010 and as the team does with all of its players there are ongoing discussions, St. Peter said.  He believes Mauer wants to remain with the organization.

Even though this is the Twins’ last season in the Metrodome and the Gophers will not play any more football in the facility, the stadium can operate in the future on revenues from the Vikings and other events, according to Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission since 1987.  Lester said the stadium commission expects to have $11 million in reserves by year end and is mandated to have at least $6 million.  If a new Vikings’ stadium is built on the Metrodome site the commission will operate that facility, Lester said.

Purdue coach Matt Painter believes seven or eight Big Ten Conference teams may be chosen for the NCAA tournament.  He’s also impressed with Gopher freshmen and big men Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III who are struggling with consistency.  “They’re going to have their day,” Painter said.  Painter considers Gophers’ point guard Al Nolen the “fastest guy” in the Big Ten.

The Gophers, who beat Indiana at Bloomington yesterday, are at home against Illinois on Thursday night but then play four of the next five games on the road: at Michigan State and Ohio State, home against Indiana, and then at Penn State and Michigan.

Randy Wittman is relaxing and has time to watch daughter Lauren, a senior at Eden Prairie High School play basketball, according to a friend of the former Timberwolves coach.

A poll of Minnesota Wild fans likely would show they are more upset about the team not signing NHL All-Star game goalie Niklas Backstrom to a new contract than they are about management not coming to an agreement with franchise wing Marian Gaborik.

Following last weekend’s All-Star break, the Wild resume play tomorrow night at home against Toronto with a 23-20-3 record 49 points, fourth in the Northwest Division and tied for ninth in the Western Conference.  Last season Minnesota was 28-19-3, with 59 points at the All-Star break and leading the Northwest Division (third in the Western Conference).

Center Mikko Koivu has more than doubled his production from last season, scoring 46 points (13 goals, 33 points) compared to his 20 points (seven and 13) last year at the All-Star break.

Former Burnsville football player Larry Norton told Sports Headliners he hopes to play guard for Miami in a new startup league, the United National Gridiron League.  Norton played offensive tackle collegiately for Syracuse.

Diehard Wolves fans look in the mirror and answer this question:  Can you praise Kevin McHale for his coaching?

McHale critics (are there any other kind?) are looking at an unexpected reality.  The Wolves’ failed personnel man has improved the team since moving from the office to the bench, replacing Randy Wittman as coach in early December.  After inheriting a five game losing streak that became 13, the Wolves have won eight of their last 12 including a streak where they won five straight.

McHale’s coaching and his players’ efforts have made the Wolves entertaining instead of unwatchable.  Not only are results better but so, too, is the karma.  These guys actually enjoy playing and keeping company with one another.  Smiles and backslaps are in; frowns and bad body language are out.

McHale thinks basketball should be fun and he coaches that way.  He’s encouraged his players to see the possibilities, not the doubts.  He’s found a receptive audience with a group of probably the best human beings in the 20 year history of the franchise.

The Wolves have a 13-27 record going into tonight’s home game with New Orleans.  The record was 4-15 when McHale took over.  With about three months remaining in the season the Wolves are more than half way to last year’s win total of 22.

Among NBA teams this month only the Orlando Magic with an 8-1 record have fewer losses than the 7-2 Wolves.  NBA.com has the Wolves No. 20 in its 32 team power rankings, ahead of teams considered better before the season like Toronto.

The resurgence has happened because the coaching and playing is better, but also the schedule has been easier.  During the 13 game losing streak the Wolves had a seven game stretch where they played San Antonio twice, plus Cleveland, the Lakers and Houston once each.  Since January 1, the schedule has had the Wolves playing six of eight teams with less than .500 records and four of them (Golden State, Memphis, Oklahoma City and the L.A. Clippers are 17 games or more under .500).  Give the Wolves credit, though, for defeating teams in January who like themselves are not among the NBA elite.

The team still has plenty of flaws including defensively.  The resurgent play has been mostly fueled by better offense producing 100 points or more in eight of the last 12 games.  Other problems include being undersized at the center and power forward positions, plus too many inconsistent performances by starters and subs.

For whatever weaknesses in personnel the Wolves have, the former vice president of basketball operations (that’s McHale) must take responsibility.  But give him credit for A+  coaching in his short term on the bench and he’s brought talented players like center Al Jefferson, guard Randy Foye and forward Kevin Love to the roster.  Plus, the tinkering he did during the last off-season to improve the locker room chemistry has been a winner.

McHale, who dislikes the NBA travel schedule, is seeing plenty of the road in his new role.  If he wants the job for next year, he’s off to the kind of start that definitely commands a second look.  Speculation is owner Glen Taylor won’t invite him back to the front office.

How strange will it be if come April, Wolves fans are howling in protest because the front office didn’t bring McHale back for another season?

Bob Lurtsema, a member of Zygi Wilf’s advisory board, believes the Vikings will obtain state backing for a new stadium within two years, but even if the team has to remain in the Metrodome he doesn’t think the franchise will relocate.  During an interview earlier this month with Sports Headliners, Lurtsema, speaking for himself and not the Vikings, said Governor Tim Pawlenty is “behind” a new stadium.

“He can’t push it just by himself,” the former Viking and local businessman said.  “Of course, he’ll have to have a little financial justification to the public on how it’s going to be paid for.

“Everybody knows that taxes right now are out of hand and who knows what’s going to happen next year?  But we’ve got to maintain first class facilities because that’s why your 3M’s stay here.  All your major corporations come here because they have football, basketball, baseball. They have all these different things for their employees…”

In 1984 the Colts unexpectedly deserted Baltimore for Indianapolis, a move that still reverberates with negativity.  It was an outcome the NFL won’t forget and Lurtsema  believes Vikings fans are beneficiaries of Baltimore’s disaster.

“I think the National Football League learned from the Baltimore Colts moving to Indianapolis that the rivalries that you have, that you created over the years, you can’t eliminate those,” Lurtsema said.  “The Vikings, the Bears, Packers, Lions (those) rivalries, that’s history.  Don’t take history and try to change everything over. …”

Lurtsema also talked about when the Cleveland Browns franchise relocated to Baltimore after the 1995 season and became the Ravens, with the name Browns retained for the expansion franchise that came later to Cleveland.  The Browns’ team colors and records were also retained for Cleveland, not Baltimore.  “Baltimore shouldn’t be the Ravens,” Lurtsema said.  “It should be the Indianapolis Ravens and the Baltimore Colts.”

Lurtsema admires Wilf, the Vikings’ owner.  “I love Zygi and what he’s done here as far as opening up his checkbook to coach (Brad) Childress and bring somebody in like a Jared Allen (All-Pro defensive end) who not only played unbelievable but he picked up the play of the other three defensive linemen,” Lurtsema said.  “Because if you look at the stats, you can see how many more tackles they had, how many more hurries they had…”