P.J. FLECK – Page 66 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

By Land or Air Cook in Vikings Plans

Posted on October 10, 2019October 11, 2019 by David Shama

A Thursday notes column with the focus on the Vikings and Golden Gophers football.

Dalvin Cook is second in NFL rushing yards with 574 yards. Twice he has totaled 21 carries in a game this season and two years ago he had 27 rushing attempts in the third game of his rookie year. Questioned yesterday if he could handle 30 carries as the team’s prominent runner and emerging main man on offense, Cook said he is ready to do “whatever the coaches” want.

Asked about 20-plus carries a game for Cook, head coach Mike Zimmer said Monday: “I want us to do whatever we have to do to win. I don’t really care how many carries he gets or how many times we throw the ball. It’s all about trying to do the best that we can do to win.

“When he has the ball in his hand, he’s very dangerous as you can see on that tape. There’s so many ‘wow’ plays when he has the ball in his hands that he can do so much damage. When we get the passing game going like we did yesterday (last Sunday) and him running, I think it’s a good mixture.”

Cook not only had 132 yards rushing on Sunday against the New York Giants but a career high 86 yards in pass receptions. He has rushed for over 100 yards in three of the team’s five games and was questioned about the possibility of going over the 100 mark in receptions for the first time as a pro. “It would be great,” Cook said.

The Eagles, who the Vikings play Sunday in Minneapolis, are the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense against the run, allowing just 63 yards per game. Philadelphia ranks No. 27 against the pass, giving up 271.2 yards. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and Cook figure to be main contributors to an offense that will balance the run and pass.

“For whatever reason he tends to make that first guy miss on the tackle,” Cousins said in evaluating Cook. “That’s the mark of a great running back. (I am) so encouraged to see the way he not only runs the ball, but you have to remember he catches the ball. It’s just as important that he’s effective there as well (pass receptions), and he has been. …He can still have the same effect after a catch as after a handoff.”

Cousins praised Cook as a player with stamina, someone who can handle a lot of carries and still perform. “He’s right back (running), again and again,” Cousins said.

Matt Birk told Sports Headliners his new Unity High School in Burnsville has 14 students enrolled and will grow in the years ahead. The former Viking center predicts his former team will defeat the Eagles by seven points Sunday.

Vikings defensive back Mike Hughes, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, has played in the last three games. He told Sports Headliners he is playing without a brace in both games and practices.

Former Viking Andrew Sendejo is listed as a second team safety with the Eagles defense, while ex-Gopher Craig James is a third team cornerback.

Looks like the 5-0 Gophers will be playing in temperatures in the mid to upper 30’s Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium against Big Ten West Division rival Nebraska, 4-2. The team has been practicing in cooler temps in its practice facility and using other ploys to prepare for the weather conditions, per head coach P.J. Fleck.

Gophers offensive left tackle Sam Schlueter, a redshirt junior from Victoria, Minnesota, has improved from being a marginal performer to outstanding. Fleck said Schlueter’s commitment and maturity in the process has been impressive.

“He’s been the (Gophers’) Offensive Line Player of the Week four straight weeks,” Fleck said. “This is a guy that needed some time off for a while a few years back, was going through some really tough times. It’s fun to watch guys like that go through that. That’s why you coach.”

Players on Fleck’s roster who aren’t seeing game action participate in Sunday scrimmages. Among those who are impressing the coach is 6-2, 310-pound freshman defensive lineman DeAngelo Carter from Leesburg, Georgia.

“If you look at the defensive line (among reserves), there’s a plethora of guys.” Fleck said. “DeAngelo, he is going to be a special football player. His motor never stops. His first step off the ball is scary quick and fast.”

Among the traditions of Gophers football are the Goal Line Club sponsored Friday lunch programs at Jax Café. This Friday the booster club has arranged for Minnesota defensive line coach Jim Panagos and former Gopher offensive lineman Tommy Olson to speak. More at Goallineclub.org.

Gophers basketball fans need encouragement this week after hearing redshirt junior Eric Curry has sustained another knee injury, casting doubt about his future availability with the program. But fans won’t find much to be happy about reading college basketball preview magazines.

Street & Smith’s publication forecasts a 10th place finish and of course that was written before news concerning Curry, a 6-9 experienced forward expected to be one of the team’s better players. Lindy’s college basketball issue projects an 11th place Gopher finish in the 14-team Big Ten.

Wisconsin, with Minnesota natives Brad Davison and Nate Reuvers among the team’s key players, will finish fifth in the Big Ten, per Street & Smith’s. Lindy’s projects the Badgers seventh, with both publications predicting Michigan State and Maryland will be No. 1 and 2 in the league.

Kylie Miller, the Gophers volleyball transfer from UCLA, hasn’t played in a match since September 27 because of “medical issues,” Hugh McCutheon told Sports Headliners this morning. The coach said “it’s day-to-day” on her return to game competition.

John Gilbert, the former Minneapolis hockey writer now living in Duluth and still following the Gophers, refers to Minnesota’s Bob Motzko as a “great coach.” He thinks Motzko’s second season Gopher team will be improved after not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament last winter.

Years ago the Gophers won with a roster of all-Minnesotans. Gilbert believes a return to that policy would elevate the program’s success. “Make it the beacon where all the (Minnesota) kids want to go,” he told Sports Headliners.

It was 63 years ago this week that New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen threw the only no-hit perfect game in World Series history. On October 8, 1956 Larsen shut down the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0, in a game that lasted 2:06.

While MLB playoff games elsewhere have struggled to draw capacity crowds, the Twins’ attendance of 41,121 Monday night was a sell-out and the 11th largest ever at Target Field.

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Off-Season Questions for Twins to Answer

Posted on October 8, 2019October 8, 2019 by David Shama

The Twins earned their first division championship since 2010 this year and hit an MLB record 307 home runs. They also won 101 games, one short of the club record for a single season, but the Twins were dominated in the postseason by the New York Yankees.

What’s next for the local MLB organization? Here are 10 pressing questions the club faces in the coming offseason.

1. Does Derek Falvey remain the club’s front office leader? Speculation continues the Boston Red Sox have interest in the Twins 36-year-old chief baseball officer who grew up in the Boston area. Losing the “boy genius” to another organization would be a setback as the Twins try to address offseason needs.

2. Is the ownership and front office zealous enough to elevate this franchise to a place among baseball’s elite? Success doesn’t always follow money but the Twins had a modest payroll in 2019 and certainly could expand it in the offseason because of their ongoing personnel needs. First-year manager Rocco Baldelli and his staff look like an asset in helping the franchise acquire free agents. Baldelli, 38, is a calm, steady leader who has surrounded himself with knowledgeable instructors, and they have created a welcoming culture for players.

3. Can the Twins find two or three new quality starters? It’s been obvious all season the team needs a better starting staff. The need wasn’t addressed during the season and has to be at the top of the off-season to-do list. Falvey, or his successor, will have to shop outside the organization for pitching help.

4. Will the Twins find a staff ace? It seems like the franchise has been searching forever trying to find a “bell cow.” Fans want to anoint Jose Berrios but he only flirts with success so far. The absence of a No. 1 pitcher is a huge handicap in the playoffs (see Berrios’ failed effort last Friday in the opener against the Yankees), and during the regular season when losing streaks need to be stopped or a must win is needed.

5. Who are the free agents the Twins want to retain? DH Nelson Cruz will be 40 next July but management has a club option on his contract for next season and will almost certainly want him back after he hit 41 home runs and became a dominant leader during his first season in Minneapolis. After Cruz, the Twins will need to sort through a number of players on their last year of contracts including quality starter Jake Odorizzi.

6. Next year will the Twins be anywhere near the home run producers they were in 2019? The core of expected returning players will offer power again but it’s not likely the Twins can hit 307 home runs in 2020. Maybe not even close because the prediction here is the MLB commissioner’s office wants to manufacture baseballs for next season that are more pitcher-friendly than the “rockets” flying all over the country this summer.

7. Is there any reason the 2020 Twins won’t have a roster again featuring personnel who can play many positions? The 2019 team had more players capable of playing various spots than any Twins club dating back to the franchise’s start in Minnesota in 1961. That’s a huge plus because it allows the organization to carry a max number of pitchers and allows Baldelli to move players around when injuries occur. It’s a long list of versatile Twins including Marwin Gonzalez, Ehire Adrianza, Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco, Willians Astudillo, Mitch Garver, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario.

8. Can the Twins have a season without losing a key contributor to suspensions for violating MLB drug policy? Michael Pineda might have been pitching better than any of the Twins starters when he was suspended in September for the rest of the season. With Pineda available the Twins could have started him instead of former Uber driver Randy Dobnak in last Saturday’s blowout loss to the Yankees. In 2018 the Twins began the season without Polanco who was suspended for 80 games. That was a significant loss for a team that earned its way into the playoffs the prior season.

9. Can Byron Buxton have a healthy season in 2020? His acrobatics in center field are worth not only the price of a ticket but at least a couple of wins per season to the Twins. But Buxton’s resume has numerous entries detailing his injuries and missed games, with the latest setback a left shoulder subluxation that placed him on the 60-day injured list in September, making him unavailable for important late season games and the post season.

10. Will Miguel Sano keep his weight under 300 pounds and avoid off-field incidents? Sano, 26, has the potential to be the long-term captain of the Bomba Squad, and perhaps become the franchise’s greatest home run hitter after Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. But Sano’s weight and conditioning rightfully worry Twins fans. He is advised to avoid carbs, get his entertainment at daytime yoga sessions, and perhaps avoid the party life.

Worth Noting

Tracy Claeys acts on his convictions. He resigned a few days ago from his defensive coordinator’s position at Washington State, saying in a Tweet last Friday there was disagreement about “solutions” to the Cougars defensive woes. In his last days as Golden Gophers head coach in 2016 he backed his players instead of the University of Minnesota administration who had suspended some of them.

Cougars head coach Mike Leach hired Claeys in 2018. He told the Spokesman Review in an online story Saturday that “…I thought last season was as good a job by any defensive coordinator (as) I’ve ever had.”

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said on his KFAN Radio show today that his top three running backs, Shannon Brooks, Mohamed Ibrahim and Rodney Smith, are expected to be available for Saturday’s game against Nebraska. Offensive tackle Daniel Faalele, who had to leave last Saturday’s game with Illinois, is also expected to be available.

Fleck said on WCCO Radio Sunday that freshman linebacker Donald Willis likely won’t play beyond the four games he has already participated in to protect his redshirt freshman status. Game action is ahead, though, for freshman linebacker James Gordon, Fleck said.

The Vikings defeated the Eagles, 23-21, last season in Philadelphia, and the rematch is Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Last Sunday against the New York Jets the Eagles became the first team in NFL history to record 10 sacks and score two defensive touchdowns in a single game (winning 31-6).

Several Vikings players, including Everson Griffen and Marcus Sherels, will visit The Richard M. Schulze Family American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Tuesday evening. Players will serve a meal to and spend time with residents and caregivers.

Another indication of volleyball’s success and popularity at Minnesota is tickets are sold now on Stubhub.com. As of yesterday, tickets started at $39 for home matches later this fall with Big Ten powers Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Bill Guerin, the Wild’s new general manager, has Minnesota connections including team executive Mike Modano who he played with on American teams competing internationally. Guerin’s first pro coach was the late Herb Brooks, first with the Utica Devils and then the New Jersey Devils in the early 1990s.

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Gopher Catalyst: Illini Loss in 2018

Posted on October 1, 2019October 1, 2019 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column:

The Golden Gophers are 7-1 since last year’s embarrassing 55-31 loss to a bad Illinois team on the road. Minnesota has also won six straight games dating back to last season and that includes road wins over Wisconsin in 2018 and at Purdue last Saturday.

The last time the Gophers won six straight was during the 2003-2004 seasons. Minnesota’s overall records during those years were 10-3 and 7-5; with 5-3 and 3-5 totals in Big Ten games. Off to a 4-0 start this season, coach P.J. Fleck got his first opening conference win in three years against Purdue.

Right now the Gophers are favorites in their next four games, including this Saturday at home against 2-2 Illinois. The favorite label changes almost for sure when Big Ten power Penn State comes to Minneapolis November 9. After Illinois the Gophers face Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland.

No team in the country runs slant patterns better than Minnesota does with its outstanding wide receivers. That’s what former Minnesota coach Glen Mason said on BTN Saturday after watching the Gophers gain 396 yards passing in their 38-31 win over Purdue, with a lot of yards coming on slant patterns.

Minnesota had four touchdown receptions from wide receivers in the game, with two by sophomore Rashod Bateman and one each from sophomore Chris Autman-Bell and senior Tyler Johnson. Fleck, who saw his Gophers score two touchdowns on plays following timeouts he called, said on his KFAN Radio show this afternoon that Bateman and Autman-Bell run about 22 miles per hour.

Minnesota sophomore quarterback Tanner Morgan is the Big Ten’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week after setting a single game conference record for passing completions. He was 21 of 22, a .955 percentage, the most in league history for any quarterback with 13 attempts or more.

The Gophers had issues with missed tackles in the Purdue game and Fleck said on the radio there was an emphasis on correcting the problem in practice today.

It will be interesting to see if the Gophers Athletic Department offers any more $10 flash sale tickets for home games. That seems unlikely for the Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin games but possible for Maryland and perhaps Penn State. A flash sale resulted in 7,150 tickets being sold for the home opener against South Dakota State.

The Nutrition Center at the Gophers’ Athletes Village is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A variety of breakfast and lunch items is offered for about $11 per person.

Congratulations to Bob Stein and Alan Page on being selected for the Sports Business Journal list of the 100 most accomplished NFL alumni for what they achieved in their post-football careers. Stein, the former Gophers All-American defensive end who played for four NFL teams including the Minnesota Vikings, was a driving force as CEO for the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves and prior to that was a sports attorney. Page, the former Vikings defensive tackle and league MVP, is a retired state of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice who has devoted much of his life to community causes and last year was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.

BTN covers Big Ten Men’s Basketball Media Day Wednesday including the news conference by Minnesota coach Richard Pitino starting at 8:30 a.m. from Rosemount, Illinois.

Sales of the new Goldy Gopher book (What Should I Be When I Grow Up?) has already resulted in $1,500 being donated to the Goldy Gopher Enhancement Fund at the University of Minnesota. Goldy’s Locker Room has partnered with Karen Kaler (wife of former U President Eric Kaler) to publish the children’s book featuring Goldy Gopher, with proceeds benefitting future Goldys.

The book, which follows the popular mascot on a journey around the University as he explores various fields of study, is exclusively available at Goldy’s Locker Room stores throughout the Twin Cities and online at goldyslockerroom.com. “Contributing to the mission of Goldy Gopher and the student athletes who make up the Spirit Squad is important to us. After all, Goldy is the face of our brand,” said Ron Leafblad, President and CEO of Gold Country.

Prep football coaching milestones: Marc Franz, Rogers, and Brian Remick, Red Lake County, won their 100th career games last Friday. Franz’s career record is 100-60 in 17 seasons as head coach at Rogers High School. Remick is 100-91 in 20 seasons as a head coach, including 12 at Red Lake County.

The Twins rank No. 5 in a Usatoday.com power rankings story about the 10 MLB playoff teams. Ahead of the Twins in the article posted yesterday are the Astros, Dodgers, Yankees and Braves.

When the Twins open their playoff series Friday against the Yankees in New York they face a team that defeated them four of six times during the regular season. The most memorable game might be the extra inning 14-12 Yankees win at Target Field July 23 that lasted five hours. There were six home runs in the game, with three travelling over 400 feet including a 457 blast by Minnesota’s Miguel Sano.

The Twins depart for New York on Wednesday and will work out at Yankee Stadium Thursday afternoon.

Twins president Dave St. Peter talking about the joy this year’s team brought to owner Jim Pohlad: “Jim…at his heart is a fan.”

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