Author: David Shama

Former Gopher Dan Coleman told Sports Headliners earlier this week he’s been impressed with Kevin Love, the Timberwolves’ rookie who was chosen fifth in the first round by Memphis in last month’s NBA draft and then traded here.  Coleman and Love are teammates on the Wolves’ summer league team competing in Las Vegas this week.

Love, 6-10, has skills such as ball handling and passing that often are uncommon in bigger players.  Coleman has observed Love’s versatility that also includes rebounding and shooting.   “He’s just got a nice little package.” Coleman said.

The two are power forwards on the summer league team, a collection mostly of players who won’t be on the Wolves’ roster next season.  Love’s audition with the summer league version of the Wolves is to show just what he has and where he must fine tune.  Coleman, not drafted by NBA teams last month, is trying to show he’s deserving of making the Wolves’ roster or another team.

Love has had much more playing time than Coleman in the team’s games this week.  In the opening game Monday night Love led the Wolves in points, 18, and rebounds, 13.   He also had six fouls.  Wednesday night he had 18 points again, plus 17 rebounds.  Last night he came up with 26 points, 15 rebounds.  Three games, three double-doubles.

Coleman, 6-9, didn’t have eye catching stats or dominant games like Love in college who averaged 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds at UCLA, and threw impressive outlet passes to teammates on a regular basis. Love scored more than 20 points in 11 games and had 23 double-doubles on the season while setting UCLA freshman single-season records for points scored (681) and rebounds (415). But Coleman, who needs to add muscle, is a long 6-9 with quickness and the potential to play professionally some place next fall, perhaps in Europe.  “Yeah, I’ll play somewhere,” he said.

Coleman said he’s also been impressed with center Chris Richard, 6-9, 255, a player the Wolves drafted on the second round from Florida a year ago.  “Chris Richard is playing really well,” Coleman said.  “You don’t really know how big he is until you play him in person. …”

Gary McCord, whose influence with golf includes as a player, TV commentator, author and movie consultant, is concerned about a national economy he describes as a “recession/depression” and its impact on his sport.  McCord, in town to play in the 3M tournament for seniors, told Sports Headliners during an interview earlier this week that golf participation has been declining nationally for four years.

“Basically, golf is too expensive,” he said.  “It takes too much time. …We’ll get a lot of people on the fringes, especially during these economic times, (that) are going to be falling off.  Like everything else, it’s in a decline. …”

The future of the pro tours is a concern, too.  McCord said “we’re really going to find out what’s going on with contracts that haven’t been signed.”  All the weight of a slumping economy on ticket sales, sponsorships, and TV ratings is a challenge to the sports and entertainment industries including golf.

It’s a minus, too, for golf to have Tiger Woods sidelined.  Interest in watching golf on TV, particularly among casual fans, isn’t the same without Woods who won’t play again this year because of knee surgery.

“He’s the best I’ve ever seen,” said McCord who is 60 years old.  He expects Woods to break Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors titles if he stays healthy.

“There’s no question he’ll be good when he comes back,” McCord said.  “No question.  This is going to be quite a hurdle for him and his flow, as he is flowing very well to  overtake Jack.  I would say just a mental thing of waiting out a year and then wondering.  Wondering if his knee is going to be okay.  Wondering if he needs to change the way he goes about swinging a golf club with his left leg. …All the usual questions and the longer he stays out the more angst he’s going to get.”

McCord didn’t have a prediction as to who will win the 3M tournament that runs through Sunday.  How about him?  “I would be very surprised,” he answered. “Very, very surprised.  I haven’t played in four months.”

McCord said he’s heard from other players that the tournament galleries at the 3M Championship are “fantastic.”

Are the Twins talking trade with Seattle regarding third baseman Adrian Beltre who is hitting .259 with 16 home runs and 46 RBI?

Former KSTP news anchor Joe Schmit, now a local business executive, begins extensive chemotherapy next month for his cancer.  Joe told Sports Headliners he will have chemo for two-plus months as part of a two-year process to fight the cancer, a type of lymphoma.  His spirits are good and he’s leading a healthy lifestyle as he faces the lymphoma that was discovered earlier this year.

The Vikings return to Mankato next week for their 43rd consecutive training camp on the campus of Minnesota State University. The first practice is Friday, July 25 and  the majority of players arrive on Wednesday, July 23.

Gopher athletic director Joel Maturi said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle that he remains interested in scheduling future football games with Texas and Notre Dame.  He also confirmed last Sunday that preliminary planning about a new Gopher baseball stadium on the present stadium site could include a public entrance through center field.

Steve and Dorothy Erban’s Creative Charters based in Stillwater is featuring river cruises July 22 and 23 with Gopher football coach Tim Brewster.  More at www.creativecharter.com, or by calling 651-748-0080.

Stanley Cup champion Detroit will play two games at Xcel Energy Center next season, January 3 and February 21. Those games were announced yesterday along with the Wild’s complete 82 game regular season schedule.  The Wild will open the season at Xcel Energy Center for a fourth straight season, playing Boston on October 11. The Wild will play 18 games against Eastern Division teams, including one versus the Penguins and Sidney Crosby, in Pittsburgh on November 18.

Four MIAC women’s basketball teams were included on the 2007-08 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll announced this week. The top 25 recognizes teams nationally that carry the highest grade point averages for the season based on the nomination submitted by WBCA-member head coaches. Saint Benedict, coached by Mike Durbin, was the highest ranked MIAC team, finishing fifth in the standings with a 3.488 cumulative team GPA. Hamline, coached by Melissa Young-Kruse, had a 3.441 GPA and placed 11^th.  Augsburg, coached by Jennifer Britz, placed 18th with a 3.405 GPA, and Gustavus, coached by Mickey Haller, finished 25th with a 3.375 GPA.