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Vikings QB Roster: Can J.J. McCarthy Hold Off Carson Wentz?

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

J.J. McCarthy lost the starting quarterback competition to Kyler Murray last week. Now it’s fair to ask whether Carson Wentz will be Murray’s replacement if he is injured during the regular season.

The Vikings first preseason depth chart has McCarthy listed No. 2, with Wentz third and Max Brosmer fourth. In yesterday’s opening preseason game, Murray and first team offensive teammates played for the first nine snaps. McCarthy took over after that and played the balance of the first quarter and all of the second.

McCarthy completed four of seven passes for 34, with no interceptions. He had moments when he looked hurried and produced no points of what would be a 13-10 preseason opening win over the Giants in New Jersey.

Wentz seemingly had the better day, looking more composed, perhaps running the huddle and game plan more effectively. Certainly, his passing was superior as he completed nine of 14 passes including a one-yard touchdown throw to Myles Price in the third quarter that put the Vikings ahead to stay at 13-10.

J.J. McCarthy, Vikings QB, image by David Shama — J.J. McCarthy

There was speculation even before today’s game that Wentz may turn out to be head coach Kevin O’Connell’s preferred choice if Murray is sidelined. McCarthy may again lack consistency in passing and judgment this fall as he works to improve on year three in the NFL including last season when he was anointed as the starter but disappointed.

O’Connell could understandably prefer the 33-year-old Wentz to the 23-year-old McCarthy. Wentz joined the team just days before the season started last year. He showed in limited play, including starts, an ability to quickly understand the offense and make decisions while demonstrating a strong arm, toughness and leadership.

In 10 starts last season McCarthy threw 11 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions, with a passer rating of 72.6. In five starts Wentz had 6 TD throws, five interceptions and 85.8 rating.

Those stats are comparable but in a pinch this fall O’Connell might prefer a seemingly less risky decision by turning to Wentz. Especially in a year where it feels like the Vikings declared they need to make the playoffs and also made a offseason priority of tuning up the run game to take pressure off superstar wide receiver Justing Jefferson. A solid run game, coupled with a steady game manager like Wentz who can feed the vertical passing game and potentially create explosive plays, appears to be the bet if Murray goes down.

Worth Noting

Jefferson, who appears to be on a path to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, didn’t play yesterday. In his entire NFL career dating back to 2020 he’s never been used in an exhibition game and that won’t be risked in the remaining two games.

The only player, BTW, on the roster longer than Jefferson is offensive tackle Brian O’Neill who was drafted in 2018.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Drake Lindsey had some impressive long passes in the most recent Golden Gophers football practice the media was allowed to watch. Asked who might be No. 2 on the depth chart, head coach P.J. Fleck said on Thursday that Max Shikenjanski, redshirt junior from Stillwater, has excelled since August practices started.

“You know, he had a poor throw today, but it’s very rare for that to happen with indecision. .. But I thought he’s had a tremendous camp.”

Shikenjanski, who insiders believe is No. 2 on the internal depth chart, has only played briefly in two games in his Gopher career. He completed four of five passes for 80 yards and has an eight-yard touchdown run.

The Gophers will host a free admission practice starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium. The team’s 10 captains will sign autographs for 30 minutes after practice: Maverick Baranowski, Ashton Beers, Kerry Brown, Aidan Gousby, Greg Johnsn, Drake Lindsey, John Nestor, Anthony Smith, Jalen Smith and Darius Taylor.

The Twins, 60-64, have lost 10 of their last 16 games and look like they’re fading in the race to earn a wild card spot in the playoffs.

Baseball birthdays: Twins outfielder-infielder Luke Keaschall turned 24 yesterday, Twins World Series manager Tom Kelly 76.

Golden Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved speaks to the Twin Cities Dunkers on September 9 at Interlachen Country Club. BTW the late John Anderson, the beloved former Gophers baseball coach, spoke 20 times as the featured speaker at Dunkers. The most ever for the organization that began as the Minneapolis Dunkers in 1948.

Becker high school football coaching legend Dwight Lundeen enters his 57^th and final season this year leading that program. Son Matt, head football coach at Redwood Vallely in Redwood Falls, has written a tribute to his dad in the new book Success is Temporary. Impact is Forever. 57 Years of Impact.

“This book isn’t simply about football,” Matt Lundeen said in a news release. “It’s about the kind of legacy every parent, coach, teacher, business leader, and mentor hopes to leave. My dad has spent nearly six decades proving that success is temporary, but the impact we make on others can last for generations.”

The book retails at $17.99 and is available on Amazon.

Good quote for golf hackers like me: “The toughest course is the one between our ears.”

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Minnesota Twins Just Keep on With Surprising Good Vibes

Posted on June 21, 2026July 8, 2026 by David Shama

There’s an unexpected positive vibe around the Twins so far this season. At least there is in my head and that of acquaintances.

After the roster shuffling and gaffes of ownership in recent years, the bar for expectations was admittedly low going into the season. This spring the Twins are flirting with a .500 record and Wild Card spot in the playoffs.

Gasp.

With questions about the talent on the roster and unknowns concerning new coaches and manager Derek Shelton, it was easy to be pessimistic about the Twins last winter. The starting pitching has been surprisingly good and so, too, has the run scoring. The defense has been solid and sometimes spectacular. The preseason woebegone bullpen has been just that, but occasionally something better.

Check your pulse if you are not more interested in the Twins after last night’s 16-8 rout of the Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Byron Buxton hit a grand slam in a 10-run fifth inning and he’s now tied with Yordan Alvarez of the Astros for the American League lead in home runs with 24. Minnesota, 37-41 this season, has won seven of its last 10 games.

Shelton and staff have impressed. There’s emphasis on fundamentals and execution. It’s an exaggeration but it seems like the Twins have laid down more successful bunts in 78 games than they did in seven years under previous bench boss Rocco Baldelli.

Kudos to Shelton and the coaches including hitting coach Keith Beauregard for reviving the offense from last season. Only the Yankees with 388 runs scored have touched home plate more times than the Twins (384) among American League teams.

Pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant Luis Ramirez deserve kudos, too. Starters like Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, Bailey Ober and Zebby Matthews can deliver outstanding performances. Reliever Yoendrys Gomez has been a surprise in the bullpen, stingy with runs, and he leads the team with six saves.

Buxton, 32, is having a career season with home runs and remains a superb centerfielder. Another outfielder, Trevor Larnach, has been hot at the plate—and often the third outfielder is utility journeyman Kody Clemens who has sharpened his stick enough to hit third in the lineup.

Royce Lewis, the man of many stances, has returned from exile in St. Paul to make enough contact with the ball to raise his batting average to .200 and match his 200 pound frame. He may also have found a home at first base while valued young performers Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee play at second and third base respectively.

Then there are google guys, players you didn’t know about but are contributors to the spring vibe. Shortstops Tristan Gray and Ryan Kreidler have had their moments as have catchers Victor Caratini and Alex Jackson.

The Twins are playing without one of their key starters and veterans in catcher Ryan Jeffers. The injured Jeffers, along with Ryan and Buxton, are drawing trade speculation as the MLB August 3 Trade Deadline approaches.

Such rumors are partially fueled by ownership which has been unwilling in the past to pay pricy veterans. Burned by the past gaffes, fans are reluctant to embrace the Twins now. Parting ways with the team’s best veterans will only deepen the “wound.”

And oh, if the front office hadn’t traded away North St. Paul’s Louie Varland last season! He has 15 saves, with a 0.86 ERA for the Blue Jays. If he had remained a Twin, the club would likely have four or more wins.

Worth Noting

Murray’s restaurant owner Tim Murray, who has visited all the MLB stadiums, now gets his baseball travel fix going with friends every other year to World Series games. His favorite parks are Fenway, Wrigley and PNC. (Murray’s is a longtime advertiser of this space.)

Hats off to former Golden Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi and wife Lois for their volunteer role in hosting a hugely successful open house last week at Second Harvest Heartland in Brooklyn Park. Maturi is a board member for the food bank which is the second largest of its kind in the nation. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is also on the board.

Spanish playmaking guard Sergio de Larrea is the most speculated pick by the Wolves at No. 28 in the first round of Tuesday’s NBA Draft, per AI.

Don’t be surprised if Wolves assistant coach Michah Nori is the new head coach of the NBA Trail Blazers.

With a corporate naming rights deal, Williams Arena is now The Barn by Blue Cross and Blue Shield. No word I am aware of as to how or if the University of Minnesota will preserve the name of Dr. Henry Williams, the longtime namesake of the arena.

Williams coached Minnesota football from 1900-1921 and has the best football winning percentage in school history. He was 136-33-11 (.786) as coach of the Gophers, and his team won or shared eight conference titles.

Former Gopher football great Bobby Bell — Bobby Bell

Bobby Bell turned 86 last week. He terrified opposing offenses as a defensive tackle for Gophers teams from 1960-1962 that won a national championship and Rose Bowl. He should be on a short list of Gopher football legends deserving statues at Huntington Bank Stadium.

The football Gophers figure to have at least a couple thousand fans in Seattle for their September 26 game against Washington. A friend is asking if anyone knows of people selling individual boat tickets for “sail-gating” on that Saturday. Anyone who has a connection can email ds@shamasportsheadliners.com.

My late father was in the Army during World War II. He was stationed in Panama and liked to quip: “The enemy never took the Panama Canal.”

Happy Father’s Day!

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U AD: Golden Gophers in Good Spot in Rev Share, NIL

Posted on June 10, 2026June 10, 2026 by David Shama

When it comes to pay-for-play for University of Minnesota athletes in five sports, athletics director Mark Coyle likes where his program is.

Power Four conference schools like Minnesota had a capped revenue sharing amount of up to $20.5 million to pay athletes in the school year ending this month. The U chose to not only disburse that revenue share money (in undisclosed amounts) to football, men’s and women’s basketball, hockey and volleyball but also funded new scholarships in multiple sports including gymnastics, softball and soccer.

In the new fiscal year starting July 1, the revenue share money allowed for major Division I programs is $21.3 million. What’s new at the U this year is not only the 4 percent escalation, but also revenue share money will not be tapped for scholarships. Instead, Coyle said, fundraising is generating money for scholarships.

Athletics directors and coaches at power conference schools don’t divulge how much annually is allocated with revenue sharing and Name, Image and Likeness money to pay athletes. However, Coyle said the Gophers are in a good spot including with NIL which is separate from rev sharing and typically involves outside parties paying players for things like endorsements and personal appearances.

“I feel like we have put ourselves in a position where we can be very competitive with our peers in the Big Ten and be able to compete at the highest level,” he told Sports Headliners recently.

There are places like Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas Tech, where exorbitant amounts of money via revenue sharing and NIL reportedly pay football and men’s basketball players, but compared with all its peers in the Big Ten, Coyle is convinced the Gophers are not an “outlier” in being able to compete for player talent in those sports and others.

“…We are in a very competitive spot in terms of rev share dollars for our sports. Our coaches are not running here (to his office) sayin, ‘Oh, my gosh, I need more rev share money.’ They’re very competitive to our peers in the Big Ten. And that makes me feel good because we’re giving them a fighting chance.”

Relative to NIL, Coyle said “fans have been awesome” in helping fund that initiative that pays players for endorsements and personal appearances. Again, comparing with peers, Coyle said in NIL the Gophers are “very, very competitive too.”

Dinkytown Athletes, the official Gopher collective as an independent third party, has played a key role in generating NIL money and disbursing it to Gopher athletes. (DA is a Sports Headliners advertiser.)

The Wisconsin legislature this year approved funding to help UW Madison annually with costs for its athletic facilities. The Badgers will receive a reported $14.3 million. With this newfound money, the athletic department will have more flexibility in how it budgets dollars including for Olympic sports.

Coyle said the U hasn’t pursued similar legislation and that any initiatives would have to be in alignment with the overall plan of the University in working with the State of Minnesota Legislature.

Worth Noting

Niko Medved, Gophers hoops coach, photo by David Shama — Niko Medved

Niko Medved’s Golden Gophers basketball team began summer workouts this week with small group activities and on-court team play. The NCAA allows eight weeks of practice which will take the Gophers into July including a Fourth of July break.

Medved told Sports Headliners he anticipates an hour per day, four days a week of practice with his roster. He said the roster of players is healthy, in contrast to the past season and offseason last summer.

The Gophers were 15-18 overall last year and 8-12 in Big Ten play. Returning players are Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin and Grayson Grove., who all started over 20 games. Kai Shinholster averaged 13 minutes a game as a reserve. Transfers are: Kyan Evans, Winters Grady, Nolan Groves, Malick Kordel and Malachi Palmer. Freshmen are: Nolen Anderson, Cedric Tomes, Chadrack Mpoyi and Blake Nixon.

Medved is pleased with his returning core and newcomers. “We’ve got more size, depth and length all the way across the board.”

With the announcement of a game November 6 against St. Thomas, Medved is looking for one more game to complete his yet to be announced nonconference schedule. He has been looking for a Power 4 opponent and has interest in a home-and-home series.

Nothing has been announced, but a guess is Minnesota is paying the Tommies a guarantee of between $80,000 and $95,000 for their game at Williams Arena.

Lynx guard Olivia Miles is the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for games June 1–7. The only other Lynx players to win the award are Seimone Augustus – June 5, 2006, and Napheesa Collier – August 26, 2019.

Collier is the only remaining player on the roster from 2019. She remains sidelined after ankle surgery earlier this year but upon return will form a high scoring duo with Miles who had a game-high 24 points last night in a 100-76 win by the 10-2 Lynx over the Wings from Dallas, 7-4. It was Miles’ sixth-straight game with 15+ points and 5+ assists, tying Caitlin Clark for the second-longest streak by a rookie in WNBA history.

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