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Upbeat Outlook for Twins 2018 Season

Posted on March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column leading off with the Twins.

Optimism characterizes the outlook for the Twins’ 2018 regular season. Minnesota opens the season in Baltimore Thursday afternoon against the Orioles and Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners earlier this month he is “bullish” about the team.

After last season’s club unexpectedly made the playoffs, the early offseason outlook for 2018 was hopeful for more success, but a series of promising personnel acquisitions, including during spring training, has left observers even more upbeat.

“I think we feel very good about our team,” St. Peter said. “We believe we have closed the gap to some extent with the Cleveland Indians at the top of our division. We certainly look to our club to be not just in the hunt for the division (title) but certainly the Wild Card going deep into the 2018 season.”

St. Peter spoke before Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco was suspended by Major League Baseball for the first 80 games because of a drug violation, but that shouldn’t reduce the optimism by much about the team. Veteran Eduardo Escobar, 29, provides experience at the position and playing a utility role last season produced career highs in home runs with 29 and RBI, 71.

Sports Illustrated’s preview issue has the Twins finishing 86-76 after last season’s 85-77 record. The magazine likes the club but reminds readers the pitching staff needs an ace in the starting rotation. S.I.’s candidate is Jose Berrios and his emergence could mean the Twins “will flirt with 90 wins,” according to the magazine.

For now, though, the publication believes the Twins will fall just short of taking the last wildcard spot in the playoffs. That position will go to the improved Angels with a predicted 89-73 record.

Berrios, 23, was impressive last season, with a 14-8 record and 3.89 ERA. He is scheduled to start Sunday in Baltimore in the finale of the three-game series against the Orioles.

Vegasinsider.com reported last Friday odds are 25/1 Berrios will win the 2018 American League Cy Young award, per the Las Vegas Westgate SuperBook. No other Twins and only nine other pitchers had better odds.

Newly signed Jake Odorizzi will be the Twins’ starting pitcher Thursday. The No. 2 starter for the Rays last season, Odorizzi is making his first MLB Opening Day start. Kyle Gibson starts for Minnesota Saturday in Baltimore, after Friday’s off day.

The Twins are opening on the road for the seventh time in nine seasons dating back to the first season at outdoor Target Field in 2010.

The weather forecast in Baltimore for Thursday is for 70 degrees and cloudy around game time, according to Accuweather.com.

Members of the U.S. gold-medal winning curling team will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Target Field for the Twins’ home opener April 5. Minneapolis rapper Dessa will perform the National Anthem.

The IDS Building, Nicollet Mall, and the Target Corporate Building will be lit in Twins colors the week of April 2. The Lowry Avenue Bridge will be lit April 4 and 5, and the 35W Bridge April 5.

Minnesota’s home opener was announced as sold out on Monday. In eight home openers at Target Field the Twins have averaged 39,096.

Creativity in candidates is likely to be a priority when Gopher athletic director Mark Coyle searches to replace Don Lucia as hockey coach. Just look back at Coyle’s hiring of football coach P.J. Fleck who is skilled at promoting his program externally and internally including through social media, television and community volunteerism.

Gopher hockey fan Kirk Detlefsen bought 14 new season tickets for 2018-2019 last Tuesday after it was announced Minnesota will have a new coach. “I am optimistic ‘Pride on Ice’ will be back,” said the Lakeville resident who purchased four lower bowl season tickets and four club seats in 2017-2018.

Detlefsen, who has bought season tickets for more than 20 years, is renewing his tickets from last year along with buying the 14 new ones. He will gather with friends before next season and do a “ticket draft” to divide up the tickets. He had been doing that in the past too but found interest lacking. “Nobody wanted to go to games anymore,” he said.

Fleck will speak at the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association’s Clinic April 6 at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. There will also be a panel discussion that evening with former Gopher coach Glen Mason, Vikings executive Kevin Warren, and former Vikings and Ravens center Matt Birk. More at Mnfootballcoaches.com.

It will be interesting to follow the Washington State football program the next couple of seasons. Head coach Mike Leach is known as an offensive master but for years the Cougars have often struggled defensively. Now with former Gopher head football coach Tracy Claeys in Pullman, Leach has one of the best defensive minds in college football as his coordinator.

Eric Musselman, who nearly coached Nevada to the Final Four this year, might have been the Gopher coach had Richard Pitino turned the job down in the spring of 2013. It’s believed that Musselman was athletic director Norwood Teague’s next choice before hiring Pitino. At that time Musselman, who had never been a college head coach, was an assistant at Arizona State.

The Timberwolves (42-33) looked panicky in the closing minutes of last night’s 101-93 loss to the Grizzlies (20-54). The Wolves scored only 11 fourth quarter points in a loss that could contribute to not qualifying for the playoffs.

Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns has double-doubles in 62 games this season—the most in the NBA. Last night Towns had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Becky Cantellano, who was the Executive Director for St. Paul Urban Tennis, left that organization this month to become ED at the United States Tennis Association Northern Section which promotes the sport in this region. She had been Director of Tennis Programs and Services at USTA Northern prior to joining St. Paul Urban in 2012.

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Question Looms on Don Lucia Return

Posted on March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 by David Shama

Is Don Lucia going to resign, or soon be told to move on as Gophers men’s hockey coach? A University of Minnesota source told Sports Headliners recently he didn’t know if Lucia will be back next season.

Lucia’s future has been the subject of speculation among media and fans all winter. Randy Johnson’s Star Tribune story Sunday said Gopher athletic director Mark Coyle wouldn’t confirm last week whether Lucia will return. A GopherHole.com fan poll earlier this month reported 84 percent favored dismissing the coach, with 16 percent voting to retain him. While talking with several hockey sources in recent weeks, none dismissed the possibility of Lucia’s 19th season being his last.

Minnesota’s record of 19-17-2 (10-12-2 in the Big Ten) wasn’t deserving of an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Two of the last three years the Gophers haven’t qualified for the 16-team tourney that results in four schools qualifying for the Frozen Four in early April and ends with a national champion.

Mark Coyle (photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications)

Coyle and staff members are concerned about fan apathy. Seeing the vast number of empty seats this season at 3M Arena at Mariucci has been startling for a program referred to in the past as “Pride on Ice.” Tickets that either aren’t sold or go unused represent lost revenue to the Athletic Department. Apathy impacts multiple revenue streams including parking, concessions, arena signage and sponsorships.

“There’s concern right now with the lack of interest in Gopher hockey,” former U captain Casey Hankinson told Sports Headliners yesterday. “That’s more troubling to me than whether they make the postseason, or don’t make the postseason. Of course we always want that to be the case, but the old saying ‘Pride on Ice’ doesn’t seem to be there. I think all of us need to figure out how we get that back.”

Lost revenue isn’t something administrators can take casually in the financially challenged Athletic Department. The 25 sports with over 700 male and female student-athletes are highly dependent on just three financially profitable programs—football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey.

The Athletic Department knows the transition of Minnesota from the WCHA to the Big Ten Conference in 2013 was and continues to be unpopular with Gopher fans. Rivalries were impacted and scheduling of games, times, and TV coverage has become less attractive to many fans.

“…Games used to be on TV like clockwork every Friday and Saturday night,” Hankinson said. “Same time, same channel. Easy. Now they (the Gophers) are just too hard to find. There are just too many other things that are on top of people’s minds to go try to find them.”

The Gophers might have the highest priced tickets in college hockey and sometimes aren’t delivering a product justifying the cost. A program accustomed to competing for national championships hasn’t won an NCAA title since 2003. The Gophers’ record this season was two games over .500. A year ago Minnesota finished three games over .500.

It’s a grind being a head college hockey coach and at 59 maybe Lucia will ponder in the days ahead if he has had enough. The Grand Rapids, Minnesota native has been a head coach dating back to his start in 1987 at Alaska-Fairbanks where he stayed for six seasons before moving on to Colorado College in 1993. His first season with the Gophers was 1999-2000. Along the way he’s made a lot of friends and earned a reputation as an outstanding coach and classy person.

Lucia has one season remaining on a contract that officially ends April 30, 2019. That’s not a tenable spot for any coach when he or she deals with recruiting athletes and answering questions about a program’s future. Coyle can dismiss Lucia “without just cause” with 90 days prior written notice, according to the coach’s contract, and the University must pay a $315,000 buyout. It appears no final decision has been made by the University about Lucia who received a contract extension from Coyle in October of 2016.

Lucia is Minnesota’s all-time winningest coach with 457 victories. His 2002 and 2003 teams won consecutive national championships. His teams have won eight regular season conference titles and four postseason championships. He is a four-time conference coach of the year.

This past season ended badly for the Gophers who lost four games on consecutive weekends to Penn State, placing their NCAA Tournament hopes in some jeopardy. Then a couple of days ago the most improbable of developments occurred when six other teams won games that ended Minnesota’s hopes of qualifying for the tournament.

The surprise news about no postseason opportunity added to conversations about the program’s future. Lucia’s future is reportedly discussed even at Northern Michigan where fans are worried about losing Grant Potulny. The former Gopher captain and assistant coach under Lucia led the Wildcats to their most wins since 2006 this winter.

If Coyle decides to make a change it seems likely with the Gophers’ great hockey tradition there will be a push to hire someone with ties to the program like Potulny. Longtime assistant Mike Guentzel, who also is a former Gopher captain, will surely be considered, too, if there is a change. But for now it’s unknown as to who coaches Minnesota hockey next season and beyond.

Whether it is Lucia, or someone else, expectations will rightfully be high. “This should be a top four program nationally,” said a college hockey authority who asked that his name not be used. “It’s the best job in the country to recruit to.”

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Honors Now & Coming for Murphy

Posted on March 1, 2018March 1, 2018 by David Shama

A Thursday notes column.

Although Jordan Murphy had a disappointing season-ending game last night against Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament, the junior power forward is Minnesota’s most valuable player in 2018 and next fall will be regarded as a potential All-American.

Murphy, who missed most of the first half because of foul trouble, scored 11 points and had nine rebounds in the Rutgers game. Murphy’s rebounds pushed his career total at Minnesota to 910, moving him into third place all-time behind Mychal Thompson’s 956 and Kevin McHale’s 950.

The San Antonio native, who leads the nation’s Division I players in double-doubles, just missed picking up his 25th in 32 games last evening. He broke Thompson’s single season school record of 21 double-doubles, and he leads the Big Ten in rebounding with an average of 11.3 per game.

Murphy, who tied Tim Duncan’s NCAA record streak of 17 double-doubles to begin a season, could move into second place in 2019 behind Thompson’s career points total of 1,992. Murphy has 1,282 career points.

The only Gopher to start every game this season, the powerful 6-7, 250-pound Murphy was Minnesota’s leading rebounder and scorer (averaging 16.8 points per game). He was named to the media’s second team All-Big Ten group this week. The conference coaches put him on the third team.

Murphy was a second team selection last year and is the first Gopher since Vincent Grier in 2006 to be All-Big Ten in consecutive years. Thompson, from 1976-78, was the last Minnesota player to be all-conference three consecutive seasons.

Going into next fall Murphy’s name will be considered when preseason candidates for Big Ten Player of the Year are discussed. He will also receive attention regarding preseason All-America teams and will certainly be on the watch list for the Karl Malone Award honoring the nation’s best power forward. He is in the running for that award this season.

That was former Gopher football player Lewis Garrison officiating last night’s Big Ten Tournament basketball game in New York between Illinois and Iowa.

The Golden Gophers don’t have a single player at this week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis but that’s likely to change in 2019. Ryan Burns, publisher of GopherIllustrated.com, told Sports Headliners he believes 2018 senior offensive tackle Donnell Greene could project as a third or fourth round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Burns said word is Greene and running back Rodney Smith, also a senior next fall, were informed by NFL sources if they declared for the 2018 draft they projected as late picks. Smith could have a third consecutive season of rushing for more than 950 yards next fall and enhance his positioning in the 2019 draft.

Smith’s three-year partner at running back, Shannon Brooks, and senior placekicker Emmit Carpenter, might also be at the Combine a year from now. Brooks is an elusive runner who has made touchdowns runs of 37 yards or more five times in his Minnesota career. Carpenter, at 81.8 percent, has the best field goal conversion percentage in Gopher history and is a former Big Ten Kicker of the Year.

Former Gopher assistant coach and captain Grant Potulny has his Northern Michigan team seeded No. 2 in the WCHA playoffs that begin Friday. In his first season as head coach the Wildcats have won 21 games, the most since 2006.

Potulny was named Northern Michigan’s head coach in April of last year. At 21-12-3 overall, the Wildcats have won 20 games for the first time since 2010.

Potulny, who was an assistant at Minnesota for eight seasons, has long been known as a leader. He was a three-time captain of the Gophers during his career from 2000-2004. During that period the Gophers won two national titles.

If and when the Gophers head coaching job opens up, Potulny’s name could prompt consideration. Don Lucia is finishing his 19th season as head coach and the University of Minnesota athletic department hasn’t made a long-term contractual commitment to him.

Lucia’s current contract has one more season and athletic director Mark Coyle will need to make decisions soon. Lucia has made it known in the past that operating on a soon-to-expire contract is a detriment to recruiting.

Potulny’s Wildcats are scheduled at home Friday, Saturday and Sunday in WCHA men’s quarterfinals playoff games against Alabama-Huntsville, 11-21-2, and the No. 6 seed. The No. 1 tourney seed is Minnesota State.

This weekend’s Big Ten Tournament men’s hockey quarterfinal series between Minnesota and Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports North channels, and streamed on BTN2Go and Fox Sports Go. The best-of-three series starts Friday and will be televised by Fox Sports North Plus, with Saturday’s game on Fox Sports North. If necessary, the deciding game will be Sunday and aired on Fox Sports North. All three games will be played at 6 p.m. Central Time.

This is the first year since the inception of Big Ten hockey in 2013-2014 that the Gophers haven’t been regular season conference champions. A 10-12-2 record this winter placed the Gophers fifth in the league standings behind Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State.

Jake Odorizzi, the recently acquired right-hander expected to be an impact starter for the Twins, makes his debut with Minnesota Friday when he starts a spring training afternoon game against the Blue Jays. The game won’t be televised in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

It looks like DH-first baseman Kennys Vargas, who in three major league seasons with the Twins hasn’t established himself as a regular, is the odd man out with the recent acquisition of free agent Logan Morrison who fills the same role. Both Vargas and the Twins likely would welcome a trade.

The February 26 issue of Sports Illustrated ranks the top 100 baseball players in the majors and the list starts with Angels’ superstar Mike Trout, and includes three Twins: No. 41 Brian Dozier, No. 68 Byron Buxton and No. 78 Ervin Santana. Noticeably missing: Twins slugger Miguel Sano who had a controversial 2017 on and off the field.

The Gophers’ Hugh McCutcheon, whose volleyball coaching resume includes the Olympics, speaks to the CORES lunch group March 8 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Reservations are needed by March 5. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

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