Gophers Football – Page 183 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Mona Trading Cards Now Under 1.5 Million

Posted on January 26, 2017January 26, 2017 by David Shama

Dave Mona grew up around sports in his south Minneapolis neighborhood. His father, Luther Mona, was a successful baseball and basketball coach at South High School. Dave played on the 1961 Roosevelt basketball team that was barred from the state tourney because two Teddies players participated in out of season basketball. At the University of Minnesota Dave was sports editor of the Minnesota Daily, went on to a brief career covering the Twins for the Minneapolis Tribune and then made his livelihood in local public relations.

Mona satisfied his passion for sports by joining WCCO Radio in 1981 as co-host of the Sunday morning “Sports Huddle” with Sid Hartman. In 2008 he published a book called Beyond the Sports Huddle, sharing stories regarding the show and storytelling about Minnesota teams and personalities.

Mona has never lost his interest in sports. He is still known for his expertise on trading cards and other sports memorabilia. Several years ago his sports and business acumen prompted Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi to ask him to join the search for Minnesota’s next football coach. Maturi and Mona hit the bulls-eye with the hire of Jerry Kill who resurrected the program.

At lunch Sports Headliners asked Mona the following questions regarding sports and his life. Here are his edited answers, sometimes laced with his trademark humor.

How many trading cards do you still have?

Well, thank God I have been able to dispose of a lot of them. I had 4 million at the peak. I think I am down to about a million and a quarter right now. We are trying to actively dispose of them. We determined that by the fall of 2072 (not a typo) we should be totally out of cards.

What card will you never give up?

The last one to go will probably be the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle—card No. 311. I’ve got the complete ‘52 set (of cards). That’s kind of the card that people would talk about being the signature card of sports card collecting. When I start selling things off and get to the 52’s, that will be the last set I get rid of, and the last card I get rid of will be Mickey Mantle.

Where are the cards stored?

The cards are all in safe storage like safe deposit boxes—all except the ones that I would consider burning or throwing in a flood. When I say I have a million and quarter cards, easily a million of them are marginally worthless. They’re from 1980 to the current time when there was massive over production.

The teams here are known for losing a lot of games year after year. Why do you think that happens?

I think winning is less important here than it is (in other major cities). As I’ve travelled the country, I find people …what they value most—maybe even above family—is the success of their sports teams. I think people (in Minnesota) have more balance in their lives. They like their teams to be competitive, but it’s not the be-all and end-all to be best at anything. Maybe Garrison Keillor has got it right–there is a lot of modesty among us but I am not sure there is the passion here to be on top that there is in other parts of the country.

In order of preference what are your favorite sports?

It’s a seasonal thing. It’s kind of what’s being played. Right now I am a huge basketball fan. Maybe baseball at heart is where my deepest love is. College football—maybe a little less (a fan) of professional football. Because I played basketball—and grew up in a basketball household—less so hockey, but I have become a good hockey fan. Probably if I had to say based on the full year it would be baseball, football, basketball, hockey.

What did you learn about coaching from your dad?

I learned to sit quietly in church with a little square paper in front of me and diagram plays. I learned to be interested in sports and to watch sports in kind of a different way. The way a coach looks at it and analyzes things, and looks for opportunities that can be seized. From a very early time, being the ball boy for Minneapolis South, I felt like I got a little different look at sports than a player only would have gotten.

Did you ever seriously think about pursuing the athletic director job at Minnesota?

No, I never really did. I didn’t think I was particularly qualified to be the AD but it’s never kept me from expressing opinions on it, caring a great deal about the outcome.

You and your wife Linda have led travel tours for WCCO Radio. What’s the most important thing for a travel tour leader to know?

We want to make sure that people are enjoying themselves, so we seek them out with conversations. People probably don’t know this but we actually keep a chart with everybody’s name on it. We make sure that by the end of the tour we’ve had a meal sitting next to those people and gotten to know them to the best of our ability. I think that satisfies what their expectations might be and it makes the trip more interesting for us.

You have done a lot of travelling. What’s still on the bucket list?

I’d love to go on a (African) safari. There are (other) places I’ve never seen—(like) the Taj Mahal. I would love to do that. I’ve never been to Australia-New Zealand. Heard a lot of great things about that. I am not sure I want to spend a week in Tahiti but it looks gorgeous.

Any other places?

I want to go to the Rose Bowl to see the Gophers play. I was on the Minnesota Daily when they last went (in 1962 after also playing in the 1961 game). They had a train, and I think it was $110 to go to Pasadena. I didn’t have $110. Somebody said to me, “Of all people, I can’t believe you’re not going to the Rose Bowl.”

I will never forget my response. I said, “You know they (the Gophers) go almost every year. I can’t afford it right now but the next time they go I will be there.”

Where did you get your sense of humor?

I always had a sense of humor, (with) the ability to look at things and see the humorous play on words, the pun, or what have you. Probably from my love of the language and turning things a little bit differently. Not always appreciated by people along the way, including some teachers, but to me having a sense of humor was always something I was aware of and enjoyed.

What is it going to be like doing the “Sports Huddle” some day without Sid?

I have no idea when or if that would be a possibility. We talked about what will happen if Sid were no longer part of the “Sports Huddle,”and he was 85 at the time. He’s going on 97 right now so I am confident we will be celebrating at least his 100th (birthday) as part of it. The station sees the “Sports Huddle” as a valuable property, as it’s always been sold out in advertising. It’s a good revenue generator for the station. It still has relatively large numbers of listeners so I think the “Sports Huddle” will go on.

1 comment

Najarian Put Fleck in Top List for U

Posted on January 8, 2017January 10, 2017 by David Shama

Former Gophers football player Pete Najarian, who last year pursued the athletic director job at the University of Minnesota, has been following 36-year-old coach P.J. Fleck for three years. Najarian told Sports Headliners yesterday that Fleck was one of three coaches he was interested in hiring if he became the AD and the Gophers head coaching job was open.

As an ESPN game commentator, Najarian studied Fleck’s work at Western Michigan, and he was more than impressed. “I liked his energy. I liked how intense he was. I could tell that he paid attention to detail. His teams were disciplined and that was very, very apparent.”

Najarian noticed that despite the coach being in his first head coaching job, Bronco teams were well prepared and adjusted to injuries. Fleck and his staff also topped their Mid-American Conference rivals in annual recruiting rankings. “He checked about every box that you could want to check,” Najarian said.

Fleck was announced as Gophers coach on Friday while coming off of a 13-1 season at Western Michigan where his Broncos only loss was in the Cotton Bowl to Wisconsin. Fleck spoke with passion and vision at his news conference, demonstrating a leadership style that attracted national media attention at Western Michigan.

Najarian, the former Minneapolis Central star who went on to play linebacker for the Gophers, said he was self-motivated as a player but that Fleck’s ability to connect with and motivate players might “just put us (the Gophers) to the next level.” Fleck is outgoing and passionate, and he is already pitching the whole community—not just his players—to “row the boat” together. He is trying to create a buzz about Gophers football that some day may remind older fans of legendary coach Lou Holtz who in the 1980s asked for the help of “every man, woman and child” in the state. Najarian played for Holtz and said players would “sprint through a wall” for the man who could command a locker room and also charm a room full of Fortune 500 executives.

Of course it will require more than words for Fleck to eventually make the Gophers Big Ten champions for the first time since 1967. Zach Johnson is a well-known Gophers and Big Ten recruiting authority who thinks Minnesota just made a huge upgrade going from Tracy Claeys to Fleck.” We went from having the worst Big Ten West (Division) head football coach to having the best Big Ten West head football coach, as far as recruiting.”

In Rivals.com’s national recruiting rankings last Friday Western Michigan was No. 51 while Minnesota was No. 77. That all changed this weekend when six high school players switched overnight from Western Michigan commitments to Minnesota. On Saturday Minnesota was at No. 50 (tied with North Carolina State) in the Rivals rankings and Western Michigan dropped to No. 79. National Signing Day for players in 2017 is February 1.

“They (the six players) have never set foot on the campus of the University of Minnesota, and they completely flipped their college plan and their life plan to commit to Minnesota,” said Johnson who is publisher of GopherIllustrated.com. “They will move to Minnesota sight unseen and begin classes at the U on January 17.”

Johnson said Fleck will “work tirelessly at recruiting” and pursue talent within a six or seven hour drive of Minneapolis, with particular emphasis on the Chicago area. He regards Fleck as a good game and practice coach, but it is also Fleck’s personality, style and determination that Johnson predicts will be so evident in the months and years ahead. “It’s off the field that this is really a home run hire for (athletic director) Mark Coyle. It’s the energy that he is going to bring to this program,” Johnson said.

Johnson believes better days are ahead at the box office, too. Last year there was a lot of fan apathy and attendance was the lowest since moving into 50,805 seat TCF Bank Stadium in 2009. “It’s embarrassing that they can only get 30,000, 35,000, maybe 40,000 to a college football game,” Johnson said. “I think you’ll see that change. If he (Fleck) wins, and he is successful, I can’t imagine they won’t sell that place out.”

Worth Noting

Holtz had an escape clause in his Minnesota contract to pursue the Notre Dame job if it opened. That opportunity gave Holtz an easy exit after the 1985 season when he headed for Notre Dame. But Coyle told Sports Headliners there is no escape clause for another school in Fleck’s contract.

Coyle said Fleck has long wanted to coach in the Big Ten, and that Minnesota is a “good fit” for the coach and his family. “I expect him to be here a long time,” Coyle said.

Coyle speaks to the CORES lunch group on Thursday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. The deadline for reservations is Monday and a large turnout is expected. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotseth@comcast.net.

Matt Simon, who was the tight ends and special teams coach at St. Thomas in 2011, coached the wide receivers for Fleck at Western Michigan this past season. Simon is a native of Edina.

Fleck’s agent Bryan Harlan is based in Chicago and he also represents Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.

The Gophers Blake Cashman, who was the Holiday Bowl defensive MVP, was named an honorable mention linebacker on the Associated Press 2016 All-Bowl team. A sophomore last season, Cashman led the team in sacks with 7.5. The former Eden Prairie player was third on the team in tackles for loss at 43. He was selected Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after a dominant performance in late November against Northwestern.

Chad Hartman said on WCCO Radio last week his 96-year-old father Sid Hartman is making a “remarkable recovery” from his broken hip. He added that Sid is walking almost as well now as before his accident.

Tyus Jones told Sports Headliners his confidence isn’t damaged by lack of playing time with the Timberwolves. The 2015 first round draft choice didn’t play in the team’s most recent game, a Saturday night loss to the Jazz in Minneapolis. It was the sixth consecutive night the former Apple Valley prep All-American point guard didn’t get on the court, according to ESPN.com. He has played in 21 of the Wolves 35 games, averaging 10.4 minutes, 3.1 points and 2.1 assists, per ESPN.

When asked recently if his spirits were down, Jones said, “No, not at all—just because I went through that last year. I know what that’s like. Last year I think that definitely hurt my confidence, that being the first time. I feel like I am a lot improved (now), so that’s also helped my confidence.”

Jones is a deep reserve on the roster, just like last season when he even was sent down to the NBA Development League for a brief time. He played better toward the end of the 2015-2016 NBA season and had a career high 12 assists in the final game. He finished the season appearing in 37 of 82 games, averaging 15.5 minutes, 4.2 points and 2.9 assists.

Jones mentioned his improvement includes ballhandling, shooting and assessing what needs to be done on the floor. His minutes are minimal, though, playing behind veteran point guard Ricky Rubio and 2016 rookie No. 1 draft choice Kris Dunn. At 6-1, 195-pounds, the 21-year-old Jones is small for an NBA player. Concerns about his defense have been part of the scouting report since he decided to leave Duke after his freshman season when the Blue Devils won the national championship.

Jabari Parker, who recruited Jones to Duke and is now a leading scorer on the NBA Bucks, told Sports Headliners his friend can have a long pro career. “Yup, because he’s got two things you can’t teach. He’s got heart and he’s got skill—he’s got a feel for the game.”

That feel has often been seen in Jones’ career at the biggest moments for his teams, particularly at Apple Valley and Duke. Jones, who was the Final Four MVP with Duke, is confident his composure will be there for the Wolves, too, if he given an opportunity.

“I think that’s just something that I’ve always had,” he said. “Something I’ve always prided myself on. (The) point guard has got to be a great leader on the court. To be composed, that definitely helps. …You see a strong face on the point guard, everyone else is going to follow.”

Tyus said his brother Tre Jones, the highly recruited junior point guard at Apple Valley, will wait until his senior year to choose a college. “He hasn’t narrowed it down to any specific list yet,” Tyus said.

The Twins hired new baseball executives Derek Falvey and Thad Levine away from the Indians and Rangers organizations last fall. Levine said recently on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle the Twins won’t hesitate to show interest in players with their former organizations and their farm systems. The club, though, is highly unlikely to pursue personnel from the front offices of the Indians and Rangers.

He also said evaluating South Korean slugger Byungho Park in his second season will be more meaningful than his struggling rookie season of 2016. The first baseman-DH hit just .191 in 215 at bats, striking out 80 times while totaling 12 home runs and 24 RBI. Allowances, Levine said, have to be made for the adjustments Park faced playing in major league baseball for the first time and coming to a new country with its language and cultural differences.

Philosophies vary among major league teams on retaining two or three catchers on rosters but Levine said the Twins plan to carry two in 2017.

Comments Welcome

Gophers Trying to Finalize Fleck

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

A college football source with local and national connections told Sports Headliners this afternoon the Gophers are working to finalize a deal with Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck.

The source, who will remain anonymous, said an issue could be the number of years on the contract. Five year contracts are common in college football but the Gophers may have to go longer with Fleck. It’s believed Minnesota athletics director Mark Coyle will need to pay a new head coach between $2.5 million and $3.5 million annually.

Fleck, 36, is one of the hottest coaching prospects in America after leading the Broncos to a 13-1 season and top 20 national ranking. Known as a charismatic leader, Fleck could provide immediate enthusiasm for Gophers football both inside and outside the program.

Coyle is on the spot after firing head coach Tracy Claeys earlier this week. It’s unusual to terminate a coach weeks after the regular season ends and just weeks before college football’s signing date for high school recruits. The move to terminate the contracts of Claeys and his assistant coaches is estimated at a cost of $3.5 million or more.

Another source said he would be “stunned” if Coyles hadn’t done his homework on possible replacements for Claeys weeks ago. Fleck’s name has been most prominently mentioned with the search but others have surfaced including ex-LSU coach Les Miles who won a national title with the Tigers in 2007, and Bo Pelini, the former Nebraska coach whose Youngstown State team plays for the FCS national title this weekend.

Miles might stir immediate excitement among fans but his hire would also prompt memories of basketball coach Tubby Smith who received a warm welcome in Minneapolis when he left Kentucky where he won a national championship but struggled with the Gophers before being fired in 2013. He had two 9-9 Big Ten seasons but never had a winning conference record in five years.

Internet reports the last two days have referenced Coyle meeting with Fleck at an out of town location including Chicago. It’s known that Fleck hasn’t so far signed a contract extension with the Mid-American Conference Broncos who he has coached for four seasons.

2 comments