Author: David Shama

The Gophers, 1-1, play their first Big Ten road game on Thursday night in Iowa City against Iowa, 1-1.  The Hawkeyes lost in Columbus to Ohio State 68-65 last Wednesday and then beat Indiana in Iowa City on Saturday, 65-60.

Minnesota defeated Ohio State at home on Saturday, 68-59.  The Gophers lost 70-58 on Wednesday to a Michigan State team that’s likely to win the big Ten championship.

If Tubby Smith is going to build a championship program at Minnesota he will have to deliver a team that can compete with the Spartans in rebounding.  Annually one of the most physical and best rebounding teams in the nation, Michigan State out rebounded the Gophers by 22 in the game, with a 10 point edge in offensive rebounds.

Spartans’ coach Tom Izzo thinks Smith is “struggling” to find his best rotation of players.  He likes junior college transfer Paul Carter, a forward, and thinks his playing time could increase for the Gophers.

The Gophers couldn’t defeat No. 15 ranked Michigan State but did beat No. 9 Louisville on December 20.  Izzo said the Gophers could have beaten “any team” in the country that day.

The Gophers’ quick point guard, Al Nolen, was impressive against Michigan State and Ohio State.  Izzo said Nolen “is as good as anyone” in penetrating near the basket.

For what it’s worth, there’s early speculation the Gopher football team won’t equal last year’s 7-5 regular season record.  The most demanding nonconference schedule in years and adding Penn State and Michigan State to the Big Ten schedule while dropping Indiana and Michigan will be a challenge.  Wins in the first two games, at Syracuse and home in the TCF Bank Stadium opener against Air Force, could set an early tone.

The MLB Network debuted last Thursday with a reach of approximately 450 million cable and satellite TV homes, according to a news release from major league baseball.  This exceeds any previous cable TV launch by about 20 million.  The network offers original programming, highlights, classic games and coverage of baseball events.

Minneapolis Lakers’ fan Dick Jonckowski said a book about Jim Pollard will be available for purchase later this year.  Pollard’s wife, Arilee, will come to Minneapolis to help promote the book about Pollard, a hall of fame forward for the Lakers who helped Minneapolis win five pro basketball championships.

Patrick Reusse’s commitment to work seven days a week for KSTP Radio, including 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and his revised Star Tribune schedule going from three or four columns per week to two, only adds to speculation about the future of newspapers in this market.

Matt Leer, 18, the former Edina High School hockey player, was recently voted “most impressive rookie” by his teammates on the Northern Iowa Outlaws of the North American Hockey League, according to his dad, Robb Leer, the former KSTP TV reporter who now has a successful public relations agency in suburban Minneapolis.

Because of an injured back, quarterback Gus Frerotte didn’t start the last three regular season games of the year for the Vikings but he was the most important player in the locker room this season.  That’s the opinion of former Vikings’ assistant coach Dean Dalton who assisted Sports Headliners with identifying the team’s most valuable players, most improved, pleasant surprise, and best rookie and coach during the Purple’s 2008 season.

Frerotte, 37, began pre-season and the regular season as a mentor to 25-year-old Tarvaris Jackson.  Then he took over as the team’s starting quarterback after two games.  He helped the Vikings to eight wins in 11 games including at Detroit when he was injured and replaced by Jackson.  But Frerotte continued to be supportive of Jackson and a team leader.  Dalton, who now analyzes the Vikings and NFL in the media, said Frerotte’s attitude avoided a potentially “divisive” and dysfunctional locker room situation.

No surprise that Dalton likes Adrian Peterson as offensive MVP.  Peterson led the NFL in rushing with 1,760 yards.   “This team is not in a position to play for the playoffs without him,” Dalton said before Sunday’s win over the New York Giants.

Dalton is an admirer of team sack leader Jared Allen (14.5) but his choice for defensive MVP is tackle Kevin Williams.  He describes Williams as such a “force inside” that he makes Allen’s job easier and more effective at defensive end.

The special team’s MVP is kicker Ryan Longwell who won last Sunday’s game with a last minute 50 yard field goal against the Giants that made sure the Vikings qualified for the playoffs.  Longwell accounted for 127 points of the team season total of 379.  “Ryan Longwell is steady,” Dalton said. “He’s money. He gets a lot of points for this team.”

Jackson and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe are co-title holders for most improved.  Jackson threw seven touchdown passes and only one interception in the last three games of the season, all starts.  The Vikings won two of the three playoff drive games.

Dalton would like to see Jackson stop taking open field hits when he runs but he praised the “maturity and poise” shown by the 2006 second round draft choice.  “He’s the quarterback everybody wanted him to be right now,” Dalton said prior to Sunday’s game.

Shiancoe came to the Vikings as a free agent in 2007 and was a flop last season and for awhile this year.  He was dropping balls earlier in the season and not showing “courage” going over the middle of the field, according to Dalton.  But after awhile Shiancoe was used more on vertical patterns, started catching passes and did display courage in the middle of the field.  He caught 42 passes including seven      touchdowns compared with totals of 27 and one last season.  “I would say his blocking is adequate now where before it was poor,” Dalton said regarding another improved aspect of Shiancoe’s play. 

Bernard Berrian, the pricey wide receiver who came here as a free agent from Chicago, is Dalton’s most pleasant surprise pick.  Initially Dalton thought spending that money (reportedly $42 million) was a “big reach” but Berrian began to produce when Frerotte took over at quarterback.  His vertical speed (seven touchdowns) made the running game of Peterson and Chester Taylor better.

Tyrell Johnson is an easy choice as top rookie.  He was a capable replacement for Madieu Williams at free safety early in the season when Williams was injured.  Johnson, a second round draft choice, led a minimal rookie group comprised of six players.

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier did the best coaching job on the staff, Dalton said.  He also said the Vikings had a “bend but not break” defense that was efficient in limiting red zone scoring.  “They’ve been great at creating turnovers and if you give them the lead they’re monstrous,” Dalton said.  “Plus, they continue to be the best running defense in the National Football League.”

Grey Ruegamer is a benchwarmer for the New York Giants, a reserve guard and center, but that doesn’t mean he’s not interesting.  Ruegamer, whose uncle Bob Frisbee was on two Gopher Rose Bowl teams, played in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Vikings and later told Sports Headliners about his experiences castrating sheep with his teeth, and also saving toenails and calluses for pranks.

Ruegamer, 34, grew up in Las Vegas and while a college student a family friend with a sheep ranch needed help castrating lambs.  Make that castration in the Basque tradition of performing the procedure with one’s teeth.

Ruegamer said “obviously it’s not something you dream about doing in grade school as a profession” but his comfort level was enhanced because he was around animals as a youngster.  His father was a large and small animal veterinary, plus Ruegamer has rodeo experience.  “It (castrating sheep) wasn’t a shocker but seeing it done that way was a little bit of a shock,” he said.

Outgoing and friendly, Ruegamer has a deserved reputation as a prankster.  He was asked about his habit of collecting toenails.  “Well, you know that’s just a locker room secret,” he said.  “There’s toenails and calluses collected over the course of the off- season and season.  A lucky person at the end of the year gets it…”

The recipient might, for example, find a wallet sprinkled with toenails and calluses, courtesy of Ruegamer.  Imagine the lucky fellow’s surprise when going into the wallet to make a purchase and finding the goodies.

Ruegamer, who attended Arizona State and played in a Rose Bowl like Frisbee, has been with five NFL teams since coming into the league in 1999.  He won Super Bowl rings with New England and the Giants.  He said his uncle is a lawyer living in Phoenix.