Gophers Basketball – Page 100 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Football Revenue Tops Last Year

Posted on October 5, 2017October 5, 2017 by David Shama

The Gophers have already surpassed last year’s total for football ticket revenue, according to numbers provided Sports Headliners by the University of Minnesota Athletic Department.

A department spokesman reported via email “about $10.75 million in football ticket revenue” has been generated, approximately $3,000 more than the total for the entire seven-game home schedule in 2016. The $10.75 million figure was provided late last month after Minnesota’s first two home games this season. The total includes public and student season ticket revenues and single game sales for all seven home games in 2017.

It’s anticipated that no additional 2017 public season tickets will be sold because three home games have already been played. However, the student season ticket sales campaign started much later than the public sale this year and, according to athletic department spokesman Jake Ricker, more student sales are likely. Also, many more individual game tickets and resulting revenue will be generated in the days and weeks ahead.

None of the Gophers remaining games are sellouts, but capacity crowds are a possibility for the November 11 and 25 games with Nebraska and Wisconsin. Those rivalries are considered premium priced games and they attract thousands of Cornhuskers and Badgers ticket buyers. For the Nebraska game, prices start at $90 and go up to $235, while the range for Wisconsin is $80 to $210.

“We anticipate hundreds of thousands of additional dollars in football ticket revenue …over (last) year by the time this season concludes,” Ricker wrote in an email.

The Gophers had only one premium game (Iowa) last season. While the Nebraska and Wisconsin tickets are pricey, the Gophers did some price reduction from 2016 on early season home games this year, according to Ricker. He also said the cost for season tickets remained the same in 2017 as last year, with the athletic department nixing a long-planned increase in scholarship seating donations.

Although it’s apparent there is curiosity and interest among ticket buyers in new coach P.J. Fleck, the Gophers have been several thousand tickets short of selling out any of their first three games in TCF Bank Stadium.

The athletic department sold 21,985 public season tickets in 2017, 566 fewer than last year. Ricker said a larger base of season tickets partially carried over from 2015 into 2016 than was in place this year. However, the U sold 1,713 new public season tickets this year, compared with 776 in 2016. The total of new accounts is 688 versus 285 in 2016.

Student ticket sales for this year are at 5,964, down about 1,000 from 2016, but a few hundred more tickets could be sold.

Worth Noting

If the Twins dismiss Paul Molitor as manager—or ask him to make changes with his staff—Brad Mills might be a name to watch in Minnesota. The 60-year-old former Astros manager coaches for the Indians where he is highly regarded. He presumably is friends with Derek Falvey, the Twins baseball boss who was with the Cleveland organization until last fall.

After Tuesday night’s wild card loss to the Yankees, the Twins finished 0-4 in games this year at Yankee Stadium. For the season the Twins were 2-5 against New York and Minnesota also had losing records against other superior teams including the Astros, Indians and Red Sox.

Despite having four of five starters in their 30s, the Lynx brought the energy to win last night’s Game Five against the Sparks, earning the Minnesota franchise its fourth WNBA title in seven years. The 12-woman roster has five players with 11 years or more of professional experience. The titles are rewarding for a core group of players who have been together for years, and owner Glen Taylor whose other pro team, the Timberwolves, haven’t made the playoffs since 2004.

The NBA general managers’ survey was announced yesterday on NBA.com. The Timberwolves and Karl-Anthony Towns did well but a year ago the same experts predicted Minnesota’s Kris Dunn would be the league’s Rookie of the Year. This year 69 percent of the votes forecast the Wolves to be the NBA’s most improved team, while Towns was voted the player GMs most want if starting a franchise. He was also voted the league’s best center and most likely to have a breakout season.

Twelve former players from the WCHA are on NHL opening night rosters this fall including Minnesota State Mankato alums and forwards David Backes and Tyler Pitlick, who are with the Bruins and Stars respectively.

The Wild open tonight against the Red Wings in their new home, Little Caesars Arena, where Stubhub.com was listing tickets last night for over $990 each.

Case Keenum said this morning he doesn’t know if he or Sam Bradford will start at quarterback for the Vikings in Monday night’s game against the Bears.

Purdue has been promoting tickets starting at $10 for Saturday’s home game with the Gophers.

Gophers quarterback Conor Rhoda has rushed only nine times in four games for his 3-1 team. He mostly hands the ball to a running back on option plays and that’s with the approval of Fleck who is concerned that Rhoda stay healthy, playing a position where Minnesota has no one in reserve who has starting experience. Fleck said the mission is to “keep him (Rhoda) healthy, continue to get him to distribute the ball and continue to develop the other quarterbacks behind him.”

Those quarterbacks on the depth chart include true freshman Tanner Morgan who enrolled at Minnesota after the first of the year. A finalist for the prep Mr. Football Award in Kentucky as a senior last year, he passed for over 10,000 career yards in high school. “I think he’s getting a lot better,” Fleck said about the young quarterback who he wants to redshirt this season.

Rhoda has also been impressed with Morgan. “I’ve been around a lot of guys who have come in here as 17 year olds, leaving high school early and (I) know how difficult that can be. He’s grown so much just as a person since he got here, but so much as a player as well.

“I really think the sky’s the limit for him. He’s an incredibly intelligent person off the field and on the field. As long as he keeps working the way he’s working, who knows what he’s going to be able to do.”

The Gophers were among the national leaders in targeting penalties last fall, but not in 2017. Through four games Minnesota is the least overall penalized team in the Big Ten with 16 infractions. “I think we’re a very disciplined football team,” Fleck said.

The Gophers are about 14 months out from the basketball game they committed to playing in U.S. Bank Stadium in December of 2018. An announcement about their opponent has been anticipated for awhile and that could be indicative of not being able to secure a high profile team.

Free advice to the Gophers: schedule an annual nonconference game with either Iowa State or Northern Iowa. The Cyclones likely would have to be home-and-home but perhaps the Panthers would be willing to play at Williams Arena two out of every three years.

The 1982 Minnesota State University Moorhead cross country team, led by All-Americans Randy Goblirsch of Redwood Falls and Keith Haverland from Farmington, will be inducted into the school’s sports Hall of Fame on Friday. The Dragons won conference and district titles, before going on to finish 7th at the national meet. Gophers senior associate athletics director Marc Ryan was also a member of the team but missed the 1982 season because of mononucleosis.

Ryan was saddened this week over the death of music legend Tom Petty, who he saw perform at 25 concerts, in 12 different venues across six states. Most recently Ryan watched Petty in late June at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

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Big Ten Title Team to Motivate Gophers

Posted on September 28, 2017September 28, 2017 by David Shama

More than 35 players from Minnesota’s 1967 Big Ten championship football team will be in Minneapolis Friday and Saturday to celebrate their 50th anniversary. That was the last Gopher football team to win the conference title and new head coach P.J. Fleck values the link to the past.

“I think it’s incredibly important,” Fleck said Tuesday. “We talked to them (his players)…about embracing your past to create your future. We want to bring the championships back to Minnesota.

“That doesn’t happen overnight. I said that from day one in my press conference, and every time I’ve talked. …But the one thing I’ll say is, we want to make sure, when the 1967 team watches our game (Saturday), they’re inspired. It brings them back to their day.”

Fleck and some players will attend a reception for the 1967 alums on Friday night at TCF Bank Stadium. Lockers at the stadium will temporarily have nameplates with names of the ex-Gophers and a gift in each space.

Prior to Saturday’s 11 a.m. home game against Maryland the ’67 champions will hear Fleck’s pregame speech. Then between the first and second quarters the ’67 group will be recognized on the field.

Minnesota quarterback Conor Rhoda said he and teammates are grateful to have the legacy players back in town. The 3-0 Gophers, going into their opening Big Ten game against the 2-1 Terps, want to show their elders how much they’ve accomplished in the last eight months.

“Hopefully, we’re able to do that Saturday and be able to show them that this program has taken the steps to get back to how it was in the ‘60s when they won the championships,” Rhoda said.

The 1967 group was the last of coach Murray Warmath’s championship teams from that decade. He has passed away and so has most of his staff, although former assistant Mike Reid will attend the reunion. Deceased players include Mike Condo, Ron Kamzelski, Charlie Sanders and John Williams.

Worth Noting

Fleck has travelled to high school games in the metro area via helicopter. Rhoda said the expense of using a helicopter sends a message. “For those kids that he was out recruiting it would show how important they are to him and how badly he wants them,” Rhoda said.

Fleck said a helicopter allows him to use his time efficiently. He not only wants to see players but engage with coaches and fans at high school games. “The more places we can see, the more benefit we have,” he said.

Rhoda talking about second team quarterback Seth Green, a redshirt freshman who so far has minimal college game experience: “He’s got all the skills in the world.”

It would be interesting if either Iowa or Wisconsin tries to hire popular former Gophers linebackers coach Mike Sherels. He isn’t coaching now but has a great reputation in the state of Minnesota where both the Hawkeyes and Badgers recruit.

The Vikings and Lynx games were both televised in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market last Sunday afternoon. How did TV audiences in the 18-plus category compare? The Vikings telecast averaged 665,500 viewers, the Lynx 40,700.

Profootballfocus.com gave third-year cornerback Trae Waynes the fifth highest grade among Vikings after last Sunday’s win against the Bucs. The former 2015 first round draft choice has been known for his inconsistency.

“Trae seems to be getting better all the time,” said head coach Mike Zimmer. “I think he’s starting to develop more confidence. There’s still things he needs to work on, but he’s got such great athletic ability that he just needs to continue to use it. Sometimes he overthinks a little bit—just go out and play.”

Zimmer, known for his defensive coaching, can appreciate the seven interceptions the Lions have in three games. “They do a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback,” he said. “They play tight in coverage. They are very well coached scheme-wise—fundamentally sound and they are around the football so they end up getting a lot of picks.”

The Lions and Vikings are both 2-1, and Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium is probably anyone’s guess as to the winner. The Lions won both games last season.

Despite starting quarterback Sam Bradford missing two games, the Vikings have the third most passing yards through three games in franchise history. They have 882 yards, compared with 982 in 2004 and 988 in 1981.

After last Saturday’s “Holy Grail” game won by St. Thomas, the D3football.com national rankings have the Tommies No. 3 and Saint John’s ninth.

The Twins, who play their final regular season game on Sunday, have four players with 20 home runs or more. If Max Kepler hits one more home run to total 20 he will make the 2017 season only the third time in club history five players have reached that level. Brian Dozier (33), Miguel Sano (28), Eddie Rosario (27) and Eduardo Escobar (20) are the 2017 home run leaders.

Gophers sophomore basketball forward Eric Curry, who had successful reconstructive knee surgery September 20, is on crutches and attending classes, but will miss the upcoming season.

The 35 players expected at Big Ten Media Day October 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York will include Gopher center Reggie Lynch and guard Nate Mason. Lynch was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season, while Mason was All-Big Ten.

Condolences to Gophers center and Norway native Matz Stockman, the Louisville transfer, who lost his father Eirik last summer. Stockman, who is redshirting this season, returned home to Norway for awhile because of his father’s death.

Athlon’s college basketball magazine ranks Rochester John Marshall’s Matthew Hurt the No. 5 prep player nationally in the class of 2019. Because his brother Michael is already on the team, the Gophers might be favorably positioned to land Matthew.

Kevin Burleson, who played guard for the Gophers from 1999-2003, is an assistant coach for the NBA Rockets.

Mike Hastings is among the best coaches in men’s college hockey so it wasn’t surprising this week when both a coaches poll and media poll ranked his Minnesota State team most likely to win the WCHA’s regular season championship in 2018. His teams have won 122 games, the fourth most nationally, since he took over the program for the 2012-13 season. Bemidji State was voted No. 2 in the polls.

The WCHA offices are based in the Twin Cities and the men’s administration is led by commissioner Bill Robertson, a former executive with the NHL Wild.

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Twins Future Excites Dave St. Peter

Posted on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 by David Shama

Dave St. Peter runs the Twins with steady emotions. The club’s president is not about hype, or deep despair. He’s seen the franchise lose over 90 games during five of the six previous, but this year Minnesota ranks with the surprise teams in Major League Baseball and could be headed to the postseason as a Wild Card team.

St. Peter told Sports Headliners he believes the club is also on its way to a “sustained period of competitiveness” beyond 2017. “That’s what makes me excited,” he said. “I am incredibly excited for 2018 and beyond.”

The Twins finished with a 59-103 record last season. “A lot of our guys, frankly, underperformed a year ago,” St. Peter said.

What’s happened to the Twins this season is several of the younger players have come closer to reaching their potentials, while veterans like starting pitcher Ervin Santana and first baseman Joe Mauer have produced better than a year ago, and the club has found unexpected contributors who even joined the team since opening day.

Few, if any observers, foresaw the Twins having a 78-72 record on September 19, and holding on to a Wild Card spot for the postseason. “Are we overperforming in 2017? Possibly, based on the metrics, based on run differential and things of that nature,” St. Peter said. “But you know, I think our club…is making great strides—to be competitive, to be playing meaningful games deep into September, to be in position to go to postseason.”

The Twins are only +8 in run differential for the season, according Teamrankings.com. Thirteen out of 30 big league clubs rank ahead of Minnesota including Central Division rival Cleveland, a team that is +227 in run differential for the season and running away with the division title.

St. Peter appreciates the contributions of so many players to the Twins’ success, and brought up several names when asked who is the club’s MVP. Certainly Santana with 15 wins and Mauer, who is hitting over .300 and playing like a Gold Glove winner in the field, deserve having their names on any list.

Santana has been the kind of No. 1 starter a contending team must have. Mauer, dogged with health problems the last few years, hasn’t hit over .300 since 2013. “There’s no question in my mind that he’s healthier than he’s been,” St. Peter said.

Worth Noting

The Twins total home attendance in 2016 was 1,963,912—their lowest total since moving into Target Field in 2010. Despite fan pessimism and inclement weather early this season, St. Peter said the Twins will draw over 2 million fans at home

Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman, 97 and still using a walker after his accident late last year, continues to compete for news and regularly shows up at practices, news conferences and games of Minnesota teams.

College basketball magazines are on newsstands including the Athlon Sports 2017-2018 issue. The Gophers are ranked No. 16 in the nation, predicted to finish second in the Big Ten and advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The only Big Ten team ahead of Minnesota is No. 2 Michigan State.

The magazine includes Gophers Nate Mason and Amir Coffey on its All-Big Ten second team. Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy is on the third team. Reggie Lynch is ranked the No. 2 “rim protector” in the nation.

Minnesota coach Richard Pitno said on last Sunday’s WCCO Radio “Sports Huddle” program that “98 percent” of season tickets for home games have been renewed.

The Vikings started the 2016 season with a 5-0 record. Since then, and including their 1-1 start in 2017, they are 4-9.

Vikings players Mackensie Alexander and Jayron Kearse will sign items for a fee on September 30 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Triple Crown Sports Collectibles show at Southtown Shopping Center in Bloomington. Ex-Vikings John Henderson and Sammy White will also be at the show and signing for a fee from 10 to 11 a.m.

Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and pre-orders will be accepted for a limited edition bobblehead of former Vikings linebacker Matt Blair. Ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant, who had been scheduled for September 30, will be at the Triple Crown show February 17. More information about Triple Crown shows is available by emailing vikingstwinsman@gmail.com

The 3-0 football Gophers have given up only 24 total points and are unscored upon in the second half.

Jeff Sagarin’s USA Today rankings today of 254 college football teams has Minnesota No. 39. The teams Minnesota has defeated—Buffalo, Oregon State and Middle Tennessee State—are No. 119, 96 and 92 respectively.

Eden Prairie High School coach Mike Grant told Sports Headliners this morning that Benny Sapp III, held out of last week’s game against Prior Lake because of a sore knee will see a doctor today, but Grant believes his star cornerback, who has verbally committed to the Gophers, will be okay. The undefeated Eagles could be headed to another state championship under Grant. “Somebody will have to play great to beat us,” he said.

Although the college hockey season hasn’t started, the opinion here is Gophers Tyler Sheehy and Casey Mittelstadt should be on anybody’s candidates list for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award given to college hockey’s best player. Sheehy, a junior forward, was a finalist for the award last season when he was Big Ten Player of the Year and a first team All-American. Mittelstadt, a freshman forward, was drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft—making him the Gophers’ highest draft pick since 2006.

A Big Ten coaches poll has for the third time in five years named the Gophers favorites to win the conference title. Minnesota plays Alberta October 1 in a home exhibition game.

Bobby Heenan, the famous wrestling personality who died Sunday, is known better nationally because of his work for the WWE but decades ago was part of Verne Gagne’s Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club’s operation. Former Gopher football player Jim Brunzell, who also was a headliner in Gagne’s organization, referred to Heenan as a “dear friend and blood brother” in an email. “He was a genius in our business and consummate performer,” Brunzell wrote.

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