BEN JOHNSON – Page 11 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Diggs Deal Works Big Time for Vikings

Posted on November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 by David Shama

There is no second-guessing any more about the Vikings’ March 2020 trade that sent veteran big play wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Bills. Dissent was all but buried yesterday by the headline performance of second-year wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

The Vikings received draft choices in return for a disgruntled Diggs who didn’t want to be in Minnesota’s offense. Those draft choices gave the Vikings not only Jefferson, but potential significant contributors in safety Camryn Bynum and defensive end Kenny Willekes.

Jefferson, of course, is the prize and all he did yesterday was catch eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 34-31 win over the Packers. “…He loves to go out and compete,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said on KFXN’s postgame radio show. “He’s been catching the ball great and running good routes, and he just lives for these moments.”

Diggs and Jefferson are similar in stats this season. Jefferson has 63 receptions for 944 yards and six touchdowns. Diggs has 60 catches for 773 yards and six touchdowns. Jefferson has 17 plays of 20 or more yards while Diggs totals eight.

Not only does Jefferson have the edge in key numbers but at age 22 he is six years younger than Diggs. And he’s a bargain with a base salary of about $1.2 million, while Diggs costs the Bills over $12 million, per Spotrac.com.

Jefferson is also a happy camper with the Vikings who talks team, not just about himself. He likes this offense that helped pull the Vikings to a 5-5 record yesterday against the 8-3 NFC North Division leading Packers.

“I feel like this offense is tops in the league with him (RB Dalvin Cook) running the ball, and me, Adam (WR Thielen), K.J. (WR Osborn) catching the ball. We can go a long way,” Jefferson said. “I feel like it’s hard to stop all of us on this offense and it’s a great offense.”

Quarterback Kirk Cousins, of course, is a big part of the rejuvenated offense that has been so productive of late, and so is his offensive line. Cousins threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the win Sunday while the line, including guards Ezra Cleveland and Uli Udoh, and center Mason Cole had success handling Packers defensive tackle and play wrecker Kenny Clark.

Regular center Garrett Bradbury is back from COVID but it seems likely Cole continues to start.

Worth Noting

Vikings network radio analyst Ben Leber was critical of safety Xavier Woods’ performance against the Packers who passed for 385 yards. “No, he did not have a good day,” the former Viking linebacker said after the game. “There were a couple times where it looked like to me it’s simple discipline things where he just has wrong leverage. He is not understanding where his help is and it’s unfortunate for a guy that is such a veteran player, and he’s had a great season so far. …”

The pandemic, high ticket prices and the team’s slow start to the season has the Vikings running TV commercials for single game tickets for remaining home games.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said health issues shouldn’t sideline any of his starters for Saturday’s game against the Badgers at Huntington Bank Stadium.

However, defensive line depth is impacted with news Sunday that M.J. Andersen is leaving the team and today that Rashad Cheney is doing the same. Don’t be surprised if other players enter the transfer portal between now and Minnesota’s yet to be determined bowl game.

Quarterback Tanner Morgan, who lost his father about five months ago, has long received the admiration of his coach. Morgan has won more games (25) than any QB in program history and Fleck praises him for his talent, courage and leadership.

“I might be working for him someday,” Fleck said.

Analytics have made 3-8 Nebraska a slight favorite (about three points) over 9-2 Iowa for Friday’s key West Division game in Lincoln.

Ex-Gophers Thomas Barber and Justin Conzemius, along with a TBD Gopher assistant coach, will headline Friday’s Goal Line Club preview lunch of the Minnesota-Wisconsin game at Elsie’s in northeast Minneapolis. www.goallineclub.org/events.

The 4-0 basketball Gophers led by first-year coach Ben Johnson and top assistant Dave Thorson are playing with more togetherness than any Minnesota team in memory.

Former Twins Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva will know December 5 whether they are voted into baseball’s hall of fame. “Both should be in the hall of fame,” former Pioneer Press Twins writer Gregg Wong told Sports Headliners.

Kaat, 83, won 283 games during a 25-year career with the Twins and other MLB teams. For 16 consecutive seasons he was a Rawlings Gold Glove winner, and sometimes was both a pinch runner and hitter with the Twins. “Not a better all-around pitcher in the game,” Wong said in comparing how well Kaat stacks up with pitchers of the past and today.

Oliva, also 83, had a lifetime batting average of .304 and is the only player in MLB history to win batting championships during his first two seasons. Oliva was a three-time American League batting champion and led the AL in hits five seasons. The Twins’ right fielder was a feared hitter who could hit pitched balls headed for the dirt into the seats.

Kaat and Oliva are part of a 10-person Golden Days Era ballot that includes Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Roger Maris, Minnie Miñoso, Danny Murtaugh, Billy Pierce and Maury Wills. Kaat, Oliva and Wills are the only ones still living. “Even better reason to get them in the hall of fame,” said Wong who is a hall of fame voter but not a member of the Golden Days Era Committee deciding the fates of the 10 ex-players.

Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the 16-member committee will be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and inducted in Cooperstown on July 24, 2022.

Wong and former Minneapolis Central High School football teammate Bill Forsyth recently had dinner and reminisced with their former coach, 93-year-old Chuck Elias. “One of the most enjoyable evenings of my life,” Wong said.

The 1963 Pioneers were undefeated and City Conference football champions.

Much anticipated in these parts is Patrick Reusse’s annual Turkey of the Year column in the Thanksgiving Day issue of the Star Tribune. Who wins in 2021? Rocco Baldelli and Mark Coyle could be contenders.

The Vikings don’t play on Thanksgiving Day in 2021 but they have taken a liking to such games, going 6-2 over the years. They have won three of the last four with two straight over the Cowboys and splitting two with the Lions.

The Gophers defeated the Badgers 14-0 in Minneapolis on Thanksgiving Day 1963. The game had been rescheduled from the previous Saturday because of President John Kennedy’s assassination.

Former KARE 11 sports anchor Eric Perkins is the latest “Behind the Game” guest of co-hosts Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson. Perkins is deciding on his next career move. The program is available for viewing on the “Behind the Game” YouTube Channel and via cable access throughout the state.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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U Basketball Ticket Sales Take a Hit

Posted on October 27, 2021October 27, 2021 by David Shama

Interest in University of Minnesota men’s basketball has been trending down for years as fans watched a parade of coaches fail to develop winning Big Ten teams. Ticket sales generally have been declining for decades as the U falters in duplicating the success of its national power teams of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Following coach Richard Pitino’s dismissal in March, passionate and knowledgeable patrons salivated over thoughts of a blue ribbon hire like Brian Dutcher (couldn’t have been more transparent in his strong interest) and Eric Musselman, also a prominent college coach and native of Minnesota who knows the past glory of the program. Instead U president Joan Gabel made the abrupt and controversial hire of Ben Johnson, a Minneapolis native and longtime college assistant coach with no head coaching experience.

A lot of Gophers basketball fans feel anger and disappointment with Gabel’s decision. Adding to the gloom is the 2021-2022 team is predicted to be the worst in the Big Ten.

Ticket sales totals obtained from the U by Sports Headliners show a continuation of the long decline in interest. The U said 5,503 public season tickets have been sold, with the first official home game coming up November 9 against Kansas City. For the 2019-2020 season 6,805 tickets were sold for games at Williams Arena (capacity 14,625).

That’s about a 20 percent decline from 2019-2020. No figures for 2020-2021 are reported because the pandemic prevented fans from attending games.

The number of accounts holding season tickets is down from 2,396 to 1,949. A minimal number of new season ticket sales are expected to occur in the coming weeks and month.

Ticket totals through the decades were requested by Sports Headliners but information provided goes back only to the 2009-2010 season (the beginning of digital records). For that season 9,946 public season tickets were sold, the most on digital record in one year. Eleven years ago, for the 2010-2011 schedule, season tickets totaled 8,931.

It’s believed that decades ago over 12,000 public season tickets were sold in multiple years, and Minnesota (at least once) led the nation in average attendance per game. During the 1980s Gophers basketball was so popular its TV ratings were the best in Minneapolis for any local sports team except the Vikings, per former Minnesota coach Jim Dutcher.

Part of ticket sales this fall includes mini-plans (combining multiple games together). The U reported 370 total tickets sold so far, adding such sales will increase when the season begins in November. For the 2019-2020 season, tickets sold in mini-plans totaled 1,970.

The current student allotment for season tickets is sold out at 2,105—that figure contrasts with a total of 1,332 two years ago. The record (dating back to 2009) for student season tickets is 2,199 for the 2013-2014 season.

The U said there have been no changes in the pricing of either public or student tickets from 2019 to now.

A crowd of 7,000 to 8,000 is expected for a November 1 exhibition game at Williams Arena against Concordia-St. Paul (tickets start at $5), with similar announced attendance likely for Kansas City November 9, according to the U.

Announced average per game attendance has declined in three out of the four most recent years. Only once in that span have the Gophers averaged over 11,000 per game. In 2019-2020 the average was 10,232, the lowest figure since 1970-1971.

Worth Noting

It was 30 years ago today the Twins won the 1991 World Series, defeating the Braves 1-0 in Minneapolis behind the seventh game pitching of series MVP Jack Morris.

Former Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz is the winner of the 2021 Roberto Clemente Award. The annual honor goes to the MLB player who best represents the game on and off the field.

Kyle Rau, the former Gopher star, and Nick Swaney lead the Iowa Wild (3-1-0-0) in scoring with five points.

Word is secondary ticket sellers are offering seats at $6 each for Saturday’s Gopher game at Ryan Field in Evanston against the host Wildcats. Crowd support is minimal most seasons for the Wildcats and when there is inclement weather the stadium is all but empty. See the adjacent photo taken prior to the second half kickoff of the 2017 Minnesota game at Ryan Field.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck likes what he sees from veteran quarterback Tanner Morgan but knows his receivers need to play better. “Tanner is playing better than he was at the beginning of the year,” Fleck said. “Our catch radius has to continue to improve which I know our guys have accepted that challenge. …”

Fleck talking about booing fans in the closing minute of the first half in last Saturday’s home game against Maryland when patrons wanted the Gophers to pass the football: “…I don’t have a chance to explain it to everybody over the intercom exactly what I am thinking in the final 40 seconds of the half. They just have to trust me that we’re going to do the right thing and go score points.”

As of yesterday morning Mike Nowakowski from Ticket King said the least expensive ticket for Sunday night’s Vikings-Cowboys game at U.S. Bank Stadium is $175 (upper level corner location). On the 50-yard line lower level club seats were selling for $799 and on the upper level at midfield the price was $250.

Nowakowski also said demand is picking up for the November 6 Illinois-Gopher game at Huntington Bank Stadium. The stunning Bowling Green loss, he said, was a major hit to Gopher sales this fall.

Former Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson, inducted in August into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will be honored at Sunday night’s game. He speaks to the Twin Cities Dunkers Friday.

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen admits there are times during games when players on the sidelines don’t do as much as they could to create energy for one another. “…I am literally pointing all of the fingers right at myself because I have a habit to kind of go into my own little zone and to just kind of focus on the next play, right?”

Legendary ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant, 94, is articulate as ever but deals with a painful back.

Mike Grant, Bud’s son, has his Eden Prairie Eagles chasing a 12th state football title but injuries have been a challenge including to four-star Golden Gopher recruit and defensive lineman Trey Bixby.

Eden Prairie defeated 6A power Stillwater last week whose junior quarterback is Max Shikenjanski, son of former Gophers basketball center Jim Shikenjanski.

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U Goal to Lead League in ‘High Fives’

Posted on October 20, 2021October 20, 2021 by David Shama

New University of Minnesota basketball coach Ben Johnson puts his team in front of a Williams Arena crowd for the first time in less than two weeks when the Golden Gophers play an exhibition game against the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul.

The November 1 game will provide first impressions of a roster with two returning players from last season. That total of two comes with an asterisk. Senior redshirt forward Eric Curry, who has struggled through injuries during his college career, is back and available for limited playing time but junior forward Isaiah Ihnen is out for the 2021-2022 season with a knee injury.

This Gopher team is not only new to the fans but also to themselves. The arrival of 13 new players with different backgrounds, skill sets and personalities makes Johnson’s crew among the most transitional in the college basketball world.

This roster is loaded with players who before transferring to Dinkytown were members of mid-major and lower division college programs. The collective talent, judged by past performances, looks modest. As expected, media forecasts have Minnesota finishing last in the Big Ten standings.

For the Gophers to win games, Johnson preaches unselfishness to his players. They have to sacrifice on the court for one another. Do the little things and the most important ones to make the whole better than the parts. Be a unit that plays with a togetherness the opponent can’t match.

“We need to be a team of all teams,” Johnson said. “We need to lead the league in high fives and butt slaps.”

Johnson’s roster has eight seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen. That maturity could result in a buy-in all season to what Johnson and his staff are teaching and asking of the players.

The coach knows his team must not only be selfless, but also imposing. “We’ve gotta be the toughest team, especially this year. We don’t have a lot of room for error. Our mental toughness, our physical toughness has got to be on point.”

If the players are to perform the way Johnson intends for them, it will help if they like one another. He said the “chemistry,” including off the court, is there. The players are bonding. “Their personalities all meshed,” he said.

Johnson and his assistants are determined to have both player and team development be core values in their program. They want to see and for fans to witness the improvement of the team and individuals.

Playing together, toughness and improvement are to be bedrocks of the new program. “When fans walk away from Williams Arena, we want them to know what Minnesota basketball is all about,” Johnson said.

Worth Noting

Johnson talking about assistant coach Dave Thorson: “He is going to have a heavy voice in what we do defensively.”

Lindy’s college basketball magazine is among the media predicting a slow start to the new Gopher basketball era. “Ben Johnson’s dream job in his hometown should come with some grace from the fans,” writes Lindsey Willhite.

Lindy’s top 100 prep seniors for the class of 2022 includes at No. 63 Gopher commit Braeden Carrington of Park Center. Other Minnesotans on the list are No. 15 Michigan State commit Tre Holloman from Cretin-Derham Hall and No. 96 Boston College commit Prince Aligbe from Minnehaha Academy.

A tweet yesterday responding to a GopherHole post that Johnson’s team isn’t ranked in the AP preseason top 25: “Also, water is wet.”

The 3-0 Wild has only nine players on its roster who were with the club at the beginning of the 2019 season, including Joel Eriksson Ek who had the winning goal last night in overtime against the Jets. GM Bill Guerin, hired before the 2019 season, has reshaped the team and apparently the culture.

Owner Craig Leipold credited the fans for the energy that helped the Wild to the 6-5 win in front of a raucous crowd. He said that’s “the best marketing” the club could have.

Leipold on whether his team can go undefeated in the 82-game regular season: “I don’t think so.”

The Timberwolves open their season tonight at Target Center against the Rockets and it looks like two overriding elements will determine whether Minnesota can make the playoffs for only the second time since 2004. The Wolves core players have to avoid long stretches without being sidelined. Second, this team must go from being one of the NBA’s worst defensively to at least mediocre.

Set the ceiling for wins at 45.

The public will take a wait-and-see approach. “They’re tackling people to come to games,” a sports executive said Monday.

From the Nobody Asked Department but. …James Franklin will be the next head football coach at USC. Joe Brady will take over at LSU.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins passed for 373 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 112.6 rating in Sunday’s 34-28 overtime win against the Panthers. He now has 20 career games with at least 300 passing yards, three touchdown throws and a passer rating of 110-or-better. That surpasses the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers (19 games) for the most such games by a QB in his first 10 NFL seasons.

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen said his superb TD catch at the pylon Sunday was in the same space of the Carolina stadium end zone where he dropped a ball in 2017.

Amani Hooker, the Titans safety from Park Center, returned from the injured list to play in Monday night’s upset win over the Bills. The 2019 fourth round draft choice is considered a potential star in Nashville.

With Billy Beane and Theo Epstein reportedly turning down the opportunity to lead the Mets, have to wonder if Twins boss Derek Falvey will receive an inquiry.

Minnesota youth of the 1960s loved the Twins but many worshipped Mickey Mantle and rooted for him when the great center fielder came to Met Stadium with the Yankees. If still alive, the Mick would be 90 years old today.

Danny Olsen, a Huntington Bank communications leader, is also an assistant boys basketball coach at Eastview High School.

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