Gophers Football – Page 99 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Tom Brady Instincts Impress Bud Grant

Posted on February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 by David Shama

Tom Brady, 43, has been the quarterback on seven Super Bowl winning teams including last night when he helped lead the Tampa Bay Bucs to a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. After the game he was given the Super Bowl MVP Award for the fifth time. “In our lifetime we’re not going to see anybody even close to him record wise,” Bud Grant told Sports Headliners during an interview this morning.

While setting NFL player records Sunday night for most Super Bowls won and Super Bowl MVP awards won, Brady completed 21 of 29 attempts (72.4 percent) for 201 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, a 125.8 passer rating. He also built on his Super Bowl records for the most career completions (277), passing yards (3,039) and passing touchdowns (21).

Grant, the former Minnesota Vikings coach who took four teams to Super Bowls in the 1970s, used to ask scouts about the instincts of players they were evaluating. The scouts spoke about the measurables of players like size and speed but Grant wanted to know more.

“I said, ‘No, instinct is not measured. It is observed.’ All the great players have good instincts. His instincts (Brady’s) are as good as anybody. He doesn’t make many mistakes. Even those jump balls that he throws, they’re pretty darn close to being right on the money. …His instincts tell him who to throw to, where to throw, when to throw.”

Bud Grant (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

When Grant coached he spoke of durability. One player might sprain an ankle and be sidelined for weeks, while another could be ready for next Sunday. Grant looks at Brady and sees a great quarterback who has been able to avoid injuries.

“One of the main things (about Brady’s success) is he’s durable,” Grant said. “He takes a few hits, not a lot. He gets rid of the ball quick. He’s like (Aaron) Rodgers. Those guys, as soon as the ball is snapped they know where they are going with the ball and they don’t get caught with the ball.”

While Brady generated a lot of attention last night, Grant said it was the Bucs’ defense that won the game. That unit contained Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who Grant compares with Vikings Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton. Mahomes, now, and Tarkenton in the 1970s when he quarterbacked for Grant, are two of the most entertaining escape artists in NFL history. The Bucs sometimes made Mahomes scramble for 20 yards and not have much to show for it. “The best team won, there’s no question about that,” Grant said.

Going into the game he didn’t realize how outstanding a team the Bucs, who came on strong late in the season and during the playoffs, really are. “I don’t watch that much football. I can’t sit there for three hours, or six hours on Sunday, and watch all those games. I’ve got other things to do. But I watch enough football and I enjoy it. …”

The beloved Hall of Fame coach, now 93 and healthy, has a large family of children and grand kids living within about 30 minutes of his Twin Cities residence. The pandemic has sidelined his legendary passion for hunting and fishing. Sometimes his outdoors companion is son Mike Grant, the Eden Prairie football coach. “We haven’t planned anything, only because COVID limits your options,” Mike said.

Worth Noting

Grant sizing up the entertainment value of last night’s big game: “It wasn’t a very good game to watch from a spectator standpoint. There weren’t a lot of big plays. …It’s probably going to be forgotten pretty quick, that game yesterday.”

Bob Hagan, the Vikings vice president of football and media communications, didn’t work the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years. He has been part of NFL PR staffers from around the league servicing the media in the past, but the pandemic dramatically reduced credentialed media covering the 2021 Super Bowl.

Chiefs linebacker Damien Wilson, and wide receiver Tyler Johnson and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. from the Bucs, were Jerry Kill and Tracy Claeys Gophers recruits. Wilson wasn’t even ranked by 247Sports coming out of high school and came to Minnesota from junior college. Johnson and Winfield were 247Sports three-star players as preps.

Dan O’Brien said son Casey O’Brien starts work this week in a support position for RBC Wealth Management in downtown Minneapolis. The inspirational Casey, a former holder on the Gopher football team, earned his degree in finance at Minnesota in December. He completed his course work in 3.5 years while also playing football and fighting cancer (his Twitter page identifies him as a five-time cancer survivor). “He’s nine months cancer free right now,” Dan said.

Dan’s last day as athletic director at St. Thomas Academy will be April 2. He has accepted a position with Hays Financial Group in Minneapolis but will continue coaching football at St. Thomas. The former Gophers coach is grateful for the opportunity to continue in that role. “This fit right into their (Hays) philosophy of giving back to the community,” he said.

Garrison Solliday, the Mr. Football finalist from St. Thomas Academy, has preferred walk-on offers from Duke and Wisconsin, and is likely to play inside or outside linebacker in college. Danny McFadden, the Academy running back, has accepted a preferred walk-on invite to Stanford.

Word is Chet Holmgren, the Minnehaha Academy superstar who could be the No. 1 selection in the 2022 NBA Draft, will consider joining the pay-for-play G League team for elite prospects, but is leaning toward college next fall. Holmgren’s list of potential college programs still includes the Gophers. The programs in contention for the nation’s No. 1 prep prospect are: Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State.

In yesterday’s 247Sports composite team rankings for 2021 recruiting, Wisconsin at No. 15 in the country led all Big Ten West football programs. The Badgers’ group of 21 recruits features one five-star offensive lineman and two four-star O-line prospects including Riley Mahlman from Lakeville South. Nebraska at No. 20 and Iowa, No. 23, are closest behind the Badgers, with Minnesota next at No. 37.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who because of COVID-19 protocol hasn’t played in a game since January 13, might return tonight in the Timberwolves’ home game with the Dallas Mavericks.

Fan criticism of Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino is intensifying after three consecutive losses and a 0-6 road record. Pitino, now in his eighth season at Minnesota, has coached one team with a winning regular season Big Ten record.

A pessimistic reader asked if Minnesota can earn its way into the NCAA Tournament with a 14-12 regular season record. Highly unlikely. The Gophers, 11-7 right now, would probably need to win two games in the Big Ten Tournament to qualify for “March Madness.”

MLB.com didn’t include Twins minor leaguer Jhoan Duran in its top 100 MLB prospects listing but sees him as the organization’s player most likely to break through. A summary last Thursday said the right hander’s fast ball approaches 100 miles per hour and that Duran throws a “nasty splitter/sinker hybrid” that can get big leaguers out.

The Twins are hoping to play in front of fans this spring for more than the franchise’s direct benefit. Customers at Target Field could help revitalize downtown businesses.

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Twins Hope for Fans at April Opener

Posted on January 27, 2021January 27, 2021 by David Shama

The Minnesota Twins 2021 home opener is scheduled for April 8 at Target Field against the Detroit Tigers. Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he is upbeat about the potential return of fans to home games after the pandemic made that impossible last year.

“We’re engaged in a conversation with the Governor’s Office and the Minnesota Department of Health about our potential of returning fans to Target Field here in April,” St. Peter said in Monday’s interview. “Additional conversations need to be had but in general we’re optimistic about our ability to return fans to Target Field. It’s to be determined whether that will be in April, or not. We’re working towards that.”

Nothing will be announced soon regarding fans back at the ballpark. “We’re several weeks away, maybe a month away from clarity in Minnesota and our ability to have fans,” St. Peter said.

The most exciting return, of course, would be April 8. “We’re shooting for opening day April 8^th but, again, the Governor’s Office, the Department of Health, they’re going to help guide us on this, and we don’t take anything for granted relative to the virus.”

It’s all but certain that whenever fans return, the number of attendees will be restricted. “Whether that’s at 10 percent, 15 percent, 25 percent, again, that’s to be determined,” St. Peter said. “But I think it’s safe to say we will crawl before we walk, we will walk before we run relative to the number of fans we allow into the ballpark at any given time.”

Vaccinations and “herd immunity” are expected to help ease the COVID-19 virus as the year progresses. MLB hopes the number of fans attending games will increase during the season as safety measures evolve. Still, it will be a cautious road ahead and difficult in multiple ways including financially for MLB franchises who claim total debt was in the billions of dollars last year. “There’s no scenario we (the Twins) will not lose money in 2021,” St. Peter said.

Twins pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training in Fort Myers February 17, with a workout the next day and the balance of the roster checking in a few days later. Personnel will have daily COVID testing, wear masks and social distance. At the club’s CenturyLink Sports Complex spaces are being modified for clubhouse use as part of the effort to distance players. There will be other policies, St. Peter said, for dining and use of facilities like the weight room.

In the past fans have visited the complex, including for an annual open house and watching workouts. Because of the pandemic, access will be restricted to game days at Hammond Stadium.

Tickets for Twins spring training games are expected to go on sale soon but St. Peter believes capacity will likely be limited. Restrictions on the number of fans who can attend each game are expected to be in place throughout the spring training schedule.

Dave St. Peter (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

The Twins won their division last year, took a quick exit from the playoffs and have the same ambitious goal again—earn their way to the World Series and a possible championship for the first time since 1991. “We like our club a lot,” St. Peter said. “We think we’re really well positioned for success in 2021. But we’re always looking for more pitching, and clearly there are a lot of good players on the board, both pitchers, and position players and bats.

“So we fully expect we’re going to add additional talent here before spring training. The way we approach it, we don’t necessarily think about it as one option. There is always a variety of plans and you can improve your club a lot of different ways.”

The Twins and many MLB clubs have been mostly quiet with offseason moves. Trades are possible, but most interesting is what St. Peter refers to as a “historic” number of free agents available on the market. “We’ll look to take advantage of that,” he said.

Multiple online sources yesterday said acquisition activity is heating up for the Twins, reporting the club has agreed to a $10.5 million deal with free agent Andrelton Simmons. He’s a proficient and versatile infielder who will impact the Minnesota defense including at shortstop.

Minnesota’s highest paid player Josh Donaldson ($92 million) was injured much of last season, his first with the team, and didn’t see the field in the playoffs. The Twins were 19-9 with him in the lineup, 17-15 without him during the regular season, per a December 16 MLB.com story. The slugging third baseman could be the team’s MVP in 2021.

“He’s a great player,” St. Peter said. “He makes us better defensively. He obviously makes us better offensively. We need to keep him on the diamond and I know Josh feels that way as well. We’re optimistic that he will be ready to go. …”

Another veteran the media and fans will scrutinize is bullpen closer Taylor Rogers whose ERA increased from 2.61 in 2019 to 4.05 in 2020. “All his metrics were really good, some of it I think was (bad) luck, to be frank,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter admires Rogers for more than his pitching skills: “High character, really smart, great teammate, cares about people in the community. So yeah, we’re thrilled to have him in a Twins uniform.”

Worth Noting

Triple A teams like the St. Paul Saints are scheduled to open their seasons in April when the big league clubs start. Because of the pandemic, though, start dates could be adjusted.

A Collegefootballnews.com story this week ranks the 14 Big Ten football teams 1-7 in each division. The Gophers are No. 2 in the West behind Wisconsin. Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, Nebraska and Illinois follow. Ohio State is No. 1 in the East, followed by Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, Michigan State, Rutgers and Maryland.

Adam Mayer, the former Gophers wide receiver, is living in the northern California Bay Area and involved with finance and accounting recruiting. Dad Barry Mayer, the ex-Gopher running back, is mostly retired after a sales career in California and back in Minnesota substitute teaching K-12 and presenting for the Positive Coaching Alliance.

Commercials for this year’s Super Bowl are $5.5 million per ad, and down from $5.6 million in 2020, according to the Tuesday Front Office Sports email newsletter.

The newsletter also reported the NCAA’s year-end August 31, 2020 financials showed a $56 million loss for the organization and less than half of the $600 million in planned distributions was sent to Division I conferences.

The prep Mr. Football Award winner is usually announced in December at a banquet but the 2021 recipient will be revealed April 21 via Zoom. The award is sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and Minnesota Vikings.

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Don’t Expect Fleck to Leave for Vols

Posted on January 25, 2021January 25, 2021 by David Shama

Word is Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck isn’t headed to the Tennessee Volunteers, but don’t expect speculation about his future at Minnesota to end in the months or years ahead.

Rumors are circulating of Fleck’s interest in the Tennessee job that opened earlier in January, but a source close to University of Minnesota football told Sports Headliners Fleck has turned down the position. Late last year Fleck’s name was speculated about with an NFL head coaching job.

It’s probably accurate that other job inquiries have been encouraged toward the 40-year-old Fleck who successfully has led the Gophers program since 2017. It could be Fleck and agent Bryan Harlan are more than willing to use talk of the coach going elsewhere as leverage to improve program resources and budgets, including contracts for Fleck and his staff. Fleck’s $4.75 million salary places him in the middle of compensation for Big Ten coaches, and the money pool for assistants is among the lowest in the conference.

Most of Fleck’s assistants have expiring contracts this month, according to the source who acknowledges the head coach is frustrated by his staff’s compensation. It’s not known what stance the University of Minnesota administration and athletic director Mark Coyle are taking regarding contract renewals and salary increases but it’s certain Fleck will fight for assistant coaches.

Money, always a challenging subject in the athletic department, is dramatically more sensitive now because of the pandemic and a department deficit for this school year could total $50 million or more. It just might be that the cost saving of eliminating gymnastics, tennis and indoor track starting with the 2021-2022 school year will at least partially be directed toward the football budget.

It was reported in December the U is facing about a $166 million overall budget shortfall by fiscal year end. In the months ahead money via a loan, or perhaps sale of bonds, is expected to bolster the U budget with a significant portion targeted to the Gopher Athletic Department.

Whether Fleck is determined to stay at Minnesota long-term appears debatable. He has said a career goal was to coach at a Big Ten school and he has expressed his liking for the quality of life in Minneapolis and in the state. The Gopher job, though, can’t match financial resources with the bluebloods of college football.

If Fleck’s ultimate goal is to land at such a program, the U leadership ought to be protecting itself regarding a buyout if he decides to go elsewhere. His buyout figure was set at $10 million last year but now has dropped to $4.5 million. Extending Fleck’s contract in the coming months with new provisions that include a large buyout could be a prudent move for the U.

Worth Noting

Dan Harralson, writing Saturday for Volswire.usatoday.com, contends Fleck could be a great fit for the Vols not only because of his success with Minnesota. The Vols are facing alleged NCAA infractions and Harralson said the program might benefit from Fleck’s relationship with Joe Novak, his college coach at Northern Illinois. The retired Novak is a member of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions.

Hank Aaron, the baseball icon who also passed away last week and played in the minor leagues and majors in Wisconsin, held the career baseball home run record for more than three decades and was compared with rivals Willie Mays and Ted Williams. Aaron, younger than both, didn’t serve in the military while Mays missed two seasons in the major leagues because of the Korean conflict and Williams five (World War II and Korea). Those lost seasons were prime years for both Mays and Williams whose gaudy stats would have been even more impressive, including career home run totals.

Twin Cities resident Dave Wright, the retired Hamline sports publicist, is now in his 52nd year as a public address announcer. “I started when I was a junior in high school at Assumption in Windsor, Ontario in 1970,” Wright said in an email responding to a Sports Headliners request about his P.A. career.

Wright’s impressive resume includes assignments for both the state boys basketball and hockey tournaments. At St. Thomas he was the longtime P.A. voice for both Tommies basketball and football. He has also worked softball and soccer games over the years. Current assignments are St. Thomas Academy hockey, St. Agnes football and high school section baseball games at CHS Field. “I have no idea how many games I have done. The number must be at least 1,500,” he wrote.

The P.A. work is a labor of love, and certainly not an endeavor to make money, with Wright estimating an assignment might pay a person $40 per game at a local high school. He’s still having fun after all these years. “I am 67 and think my voice is still good. But I know it will go out down the line and I hope I am smart enough to leave before somebody tells me to.”

Supporters who previously attributed Minnesota’s mediocre Big Ten basketball record to a string of games against nationally ranked teams had to think again Saturday. Richard Pitino’s Gophers lost at home to unranked Maryland, with the Terps dominating in a 63-49 win. The loss set Minnesota’s conference record at 4-5.

Below .500 in Big Ten regular season games is familiar for Pitino. Now in his eighth season, the coach has led Minnesota to one Big Ten season with a winning percentage above .500.

Hopkins basketball legend Paige Bueckers, now a freshman at Connecticut where the Huskies are 10-0, is averaging 17.1 points per game, making .536 percent of her field goals, averaging 5.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists. She missed the Huskies’ most recent game with an injury. Minnesota prep basketball enthusiast Ken Lien points out Bueckers last played in a losing game as a sophomore in high school.

Talk show host Larry King who passed away a few days ago was a friend of Harvey Mackay, the former Gopher golfer, Minneapolis businessman, syndicated columnist and New York Times best selling author. Mackay’s latest book is out this month, “Getting a Job is a Job.”

The Wall Street Journal weekend edition reports NBC is shutting down its cable sports channel at year’s end, with NHL programming transitioning during 2021 to USA Network.

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