P.J. FLECK – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Ads, Interview & Golf Put KOC in News Prior to Camp

Posted on July 14, 2026July 14, 2026 by David Shama

The Vikings don’t open training camp until July 26 (rookies and quarterbacks) but head coach Kevin O’Connell is making news.

O’Connell will be filming TV commercials this week for Blaze Credit Union as part of his new endorsement partnership with the Minnesota-based, member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative. The ads will be seen around the time the Vikings’ regular season begins in September.

The coach will also make radio commercials and be seen on billboards. A Blaze spokesperson wrote that there is also a “charity component” to the partnership but no community events are scheduled yet.

“We chose to partner with O’Connell, because of his character and reputation,” Dan Stoltz, Blaze CEO and president, said in an announcement statement. “He is a genuine person who knows what it takes to lead both on and off the field. He treats every individual with sincerity and respect which aligns with Blaze to the core.”

Blaze (a Sports Headliners advertiser) is known for working with prominent and high character local sports figures including Brock Faber, Tony Oliva and Lindsay Whalen. Before leaving the Vikings, quarterback Kirk Cousins was a celebrity endorser for Blaze.

O’Connell was a guest last week on the “Dan Patrick Show” seen and heard nationally on TV and radio. He reiterated he’s not ready to commit to a starting quarterback in the competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy. He again stressed the goal of the competition for the job elevating the quality of quarterback performance on his team.

O’Connell is entering his fifth season as the team’s head coach. He pointed out on the show that in the two years his starting quarterback was able to play full seasons the team has won 13 and 14 games respectively in 2022 and 2024.

O’Connell is a high level amateur golfer and is back in town after participating in the American Century Champion Celebrity Golf Tournament at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort golf course in Nevada. He finished No. 81 among 90 entrants in the annual tournament that includes athletes and entertainers and ended Sunday, according to results from Nbcsports.com.

The Wild’s Matt Boldy was ninth in the field. Former Viking Adam Thielen tied for 16^th,, while another former Viking, Patrick Peterson, was 20^th. Minneapolis native and NFL great Larry Fitzgerald Jr. tied for 22^nd. Twins Hall of Famer Joe Mauer tied for 51^st.

Edina-born and former pro tennis player Mardy Fish won the tournament for a third time having previous triumphs in 2020 and 2024. He won $150,000 in the $750,000 tournament.

Worth Noting

Minnesota natives and pitchers Louie Varland and Max Meyer were chosen for the 2026 American and National League All-Star rosters respectively. They are first-time all-stars representing the AL Blue Jays and NL Marlins.

The most memorable year for native Minnesota All-Stars was probably 1985. St. Paul’s Paul Molitor, Jack Morris and Dave Winfield were chosen for the All-Star Game representing the Brewers, Tigers and Yankees respectively. Fittingly, the game was played at the Metrodome with the National League winning 6-1.

Derek Shelton, a coach for the American League in tonight’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia, is among the wagering favorites to win American League Manager of the Year. To do so the Twins, 48-49, will have to make the playoffs. No manager in either league has won the award since 2006 without skippering a postseason club.

Other betting favorites for the award include two Central Division rivals, Will Venable from the White Sox and Stephen Vogt (2025 winner) from the Guardians. Dan Wilson, the former All-American catcher for the Golden Gophers, is also a favorite for his work with the Mariners.

Wilson played for John Anderson, the now retired Gopher coach who will receive the prestigious Lefty Gomez Award next January from the American Baseball Coaches Association. The annual award is presented to an individual who has contributed significantly to baseball locally, nationally, and internationally.

Referred to affectionately as “14” by admirers (his unform number), Anderson was known for his success in not only winning games, but also the classy way he impacted the Gopher program including his players. He became Minnesota’s coach in 1981 and retired after the 2024 season as the winningest baseball coach in Big Ten history.

Anderson texted the following regarding the award: “Humbling honor that is an achievement by an army of people that contributed to the program’s success during my leadership of the Gopher baseball program. Nothing is accomplished by one individual. I am grateful for all those special relationships that I shared over the years.”

Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck speaks to the Capital Club on July 21 at Mendakota Country Club. Going into his 10^th season leading the Gophers, the personable Fleck is now the second longest tenured Big Ten coach at his school after Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (28^th season leading the Hawkeyes). For more information on the breakfast program, contact Patrick Klinger, patrick@agilemarketing.com

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Donations Saved Courageous Casey O’Brien’s Life

Posted on June 23, 2026 by David Shama

About two years ago beloved former Golden Gopher football player Casey O’Brien and his parents opted for a GoFundMe page to assist with costs from his long battle with osteosarcoma, a rare bone disease.

At one point the online resource showed $394,328 in donations. It wasn’t an easy decision to ask for help, but it was the right one.

“For sure. No question,” said Casey’s father Dan O’Brien. “Experimental things that we’ve done are not covered by insurance and they’re expensive.”

The older O’Brien, the former Gopher football assistant coach/administrator and now athletics director at Saint John’s in Collegeville, expressed the family’s gratitude for donations in a phone interview with Sports Headliners.

“It was incredible. We’ve been able to do several things to keep him alive because of how generous people were to us.”

Now there is no need for a public appeal. “We’re good,” Dan said. “Insurance has been good.”

Casey, 27, has lived a remarkable and inspiring journey since he was diagnosed with his awful disease at 13 years old. He has consulted with countless medical people, endured more than 40 surgeries and beaten his rare cancer seven times only to see it return.

“There probably isn’t anybody that is walking around this earth that has had the same kind of battle that he’s had,” Dan said. “We (including mom Chris) know that. The doctors tell us there’s no script to follow with his situation.

“It’s an amazing story and he’s got an incredible will and fight. And he’s still on this earth for a reason, and we’re thankful for that every single day.”

Sports Headliners reported on Casey in April of last year. A new development in his saga was breathing issues. His lungs were and remain compromised by osteosarcoma.

Dan was asked to compare Casey’s overall health now with 14 months ago. “That’s a good question. I would say it’s probably a little bit better. …

“There’s one spot (osteosarcoma, right lung) that they’re tracking right now and we’ve actually got an appointment here in July that we go to Chicago and get a treatment done on that.

“But his biggest challenge still remains the breathing. His lung capacity is a challenge.

“He can work. He’s working full time for RBC as he was last year at this time. They’ve been fabulous to him.

“So, he’ll work at home in the morning and go to downtown Minneapolis in the afternoon. From that standpoint it’s good. He’ll exercise a little bit (there). They (RBC) have a nice fitness center that he’ll use.

“But he’s still very, very limited with the breathing and that’s our challenge right now is to try to figure out a way to improve his breathing.”

Casey, whose exercise routine includes using a treadmill, is a senior investment associate at RBC and enjoys his work. The position provides a “normalcy” to his life, Dan said. And on the personal side another positive is the home Casey purchased next door to his parents in Mendota Heights. The location gives him his own space but he’s also close enough to get help from his parents if need be.

Caleb Miley, a friend dating back to high school at Cretin-Derham Hall, is Casey’s roommate. His friends also include former roommates from the University of Minnesota. Hanging out with them is frequent and adds to the bright moments in Casey’s life that include spending time at the family cabin near Spicer.

Casey, a Carlson School of Management grad, was part of the U football program for four seasons as a placeholder. He played in two games during his career, including 2019 against Rutgers where he held the football three times on point-after touchdown kicks. Listed at 6-1, 185-pounds, he walked on at the U program and earned two letters before retiring from football at Minnesota after the 2020 season.

Casey counts former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill and current coach P.J. Fleck among his many friends and admirers. “Both of them are really important to Casey,” Dan said.

Kill, himself a cancer survivor, texted last year that “Casey is no doubt the toughest person I have ever met, period!”

Fleck offered this praise via email in 2025: “His story is one that has impacted a community and a sport. He has inspired countless lives and changed the way people look at cancer survivors.”

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Indiana Football Success Hangs Over Gopher Program

Posted on June 16, 2026June 16, 2026 by David Shama

Why can’t the football Golden Gophers duplicate the success of Indiana the last two seasons?

University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle hears that question from Gopher fans. Minnesota hasn’t won a national championship since 1960. The last Big Ten title was a co-championship in 1967. The Gophers have never been to the College Football Playoff.

Indiana had close to the worst reputation in major college before coach Curt Cignetti arrived following the 2023 season. After head turning success at James Madison and other lower-level programs, Cignetti told the world upon arrival in Bloomington: ”It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.”

And then he did.

The 2024 Hoosiers shockingly went 11-2 overall, 8-1 in Big Ten games. The “Miracle Man” delivered even more in 2025, coaching the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 record that included Big Ten and national championships.

“I give them a lot of credit,” Coyle told Sports Headliners. “It’s the most unique thing that I’ve seen in college athletics.”

Cignetti has a gift for watching tape and evaluating players, and he’s a tireless worker who sets the highest standards for execution and performance. He brought a boat load of older players to Bloomington via the transfer portal, mostly three-star recruits in high school, and went out and beat the blue bloods of college football with their four- and five-star rosters.

Now the transformation is complete. Elite players want to wear the IU uniform. Name, Image and Likeness money is pouring in to pay players. The stadium is sold out. “Coach Cig” has a new contract that averages $13.2 million per year through 2033. And, oh yes, Indiana is among the favorites to win the next College Football Playoff and the national championship.

Coyle is proud of his program under head coach P.J. Fleck who starts his 10th season at Minnesota in late August with a home game against Eastern Illinois. “I could not be more pleased with the progress we’re making with our football program, and we continue to expect to build it and compete at a high level,” Coyle said earlier this month.

What about the Indiana comparison? “It can be done here (Indiana like success),” Coyle said.

Fleck’s best season was in 2019 when the Gophers finished 11-2, including an Outback Bowl win over SEC bully Auburn. That team was ranked by the Associated Press at No. 10 in the country. It was the program’s highest ranking since 1962.

COVID hit the college football world in 2020, and programs lost momentum like Minnesota and Michigan who finished with 3-4 and 2-4 records respectively. Since then, Fleck has won eight games or more four times including bowl victories.

Throw out the records of Big Ten schools from the West Coast who didn’t join the conference until 2024, and Minnesota has the fifth best overall winning percentage (61.54) in the league dating back to the 2021 season.

Fleck is 24-21 in conference games during that period of 2021-2025. League games are challenging as shown by the mediocre results of Minnesota coaches over the years including national title coach Murray Warmath who in 18 seasons was 65-57-4, per AI.

Only four teams qualified for the playoffs in 2019. Now 12 can and the 2019 Gophers almost assuredly would have received an invite if that number of slots were available back then.

Why can’t the Gophers get back to the 2019 level? “I promise you it’s something he (Fleck) and I talk about every day,” Coyle said. “And we want to do everything we can, given the opportunity, to have those special seasons because it’s a different world.”

Gopher athletic director Mark Coyle — Mark Coyle (photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications)

Coyle said that 2019 team won some close games that were part of the success. Tight outcomes on the scoreboard can be caused by the bounce of the ball, the absence of injured players, or an official’s judgment. Those are factors that can make a difference between an 8-4 regular season and 10-2.

The “different world” Coyle mentioned is how unexpected and high-level success can translate into selling out Huntington Bank Stadium. How season ticket sales can increase the following year. How ancillary income like merchandise sales and concessions can improve. How donations to the University, including for athletics, can explode. And how NIL giving can help prompt even more success on the field.

Prognostications about the 2026 Gopher season is more of the recent past: A similar success standard of around 7-5 or 8-4 overall and .500 play in the Big Ten. Another bowl game but not a CFP invite.

Coyle, of course, favors talk of expanding the number of teams in the playoffs to 24. That could mean an 8-4 or 9-3 Minnesota would be playoff bound. And Coyle loves the idea of Novembers that have the Gophers in the hunt for a postseason invite. “Once you get to the CFP, anything can happen,” he said.

Fleck has said participating in the CFP is now the program’s goal. Coyle believes the Gophers can break through and part of what gives him optimism is how others regard Minnesota football as a “tough out.”

“What I mean by a tough out is that people don’t want to play us. I can tell you when I talk to football coaches in the Big Ten and I talk to ADs in the Big Ten, people do not want to play Minnesota. I think we’re very close. We are a tough out for people.

“People don’t win games. People lose games, I really believe that. P.J. talks about that, I talk about that. And again, I think we’re incredibly close to having success that our fans want.

“But again, it’s kind of amazing to me because when I got here 10 years ago, people said if you just win in football, we’re all in. We’re winning (with) the fifth best winning record in the Big Ten. … We’re having success. We need to continue to build that success.”

Fleck’s Minnesota record of 66-44 (including seven bowl wins) puts him fourth in program history in overall victories. He’s also fourth at Minnesota in Big Ten wins (39) and fifth in games coached (110). His overall win percentage of .600 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games.

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