Gophers Hockey – Page 3 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Scattergun Column Talking Mimosas, Vikes, Gophers & More

Posted on October 26, 2025October 26, 2025 by David Shama

Well, good morning.

I’d like to tell you I am at the downtown Four Seasons having brunch and mulling my upcoming week while on my fourth mimosa. Ha!

Instead, I am sipping an Ice Mountain and contemplating whether to do an all-day fast. After all, there’s no “football feast” with the Vikings laying low this weekend after last Thursday night’s 37-10 loss to the Chargers.

So, without distractions from the Four Seasons buffet or a kickoff approaching with the Purple, I offer another “buffet.” Here’s to a Sunday scattergun of comments to enjoy with your mimosa. …

As the years go by, I’ll never think of Carson Wentz without seeing that expression of agony on his face shown multiple times in Thursday night’s game. His lame left shoulder will become part of the 32-year-old’s legacy which includes quarterbacking North Dakota State to two FCS national championships and the 2017 Eagles to NFC glory when he was an NFL MVP candidate.

It’s controversial why coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t pull Wentz earlier in the game given his pain and suffering.

After seven games who is the Vikings MVP? Place kicker Will Reichard? He has 55 of the team’s 155 total points.

Talented second-year edge rusher Dallas Turner continues to be an enigma. Performance hasn’t matched the hype and that was a poor decision he made Thursday night arriving late to deliver a blow to Charger quarterback Justin Herbert resulting in a personal foul.

The Vikings were 9-1 in one score games last season. Through seven games this year they’re 2-2 in one score games.

Three years ago, there was debate about whether Vikings safety Harrison Smith would be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after retirement. Now, at 36 and with additional playing longevity, his tenure and accomplishments look more Hall of Fame worthy. Could this be his last season? He will have to wait at least five years after retirement to be eligible for the hall.

It’s been true for a long time now, the public’s interest in the Vikings dwarfs the Gopher following. Even if the Gophers made three consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoffs, and the Vikings took up residence in the NFC North cellar all those years, the Purple would still remain a bigger deal in the state.

The last time the Gophers had moved into possible position to become the state’s football darlings was the mid-1980s when Lou Holtz was at the U. In his two seasons he mesmerized the football fandom, and when he left the Gophers were at about 56,000 season tickets. The Vikings were so concerned after one season of Holtz they brought Bud Grant out of retirement to coach the 1985 team.

After the Gophers played their best game of the season at home on October 18 in a win over Nebraska, they were awful in just about every way yesterday in a 41-3 road loss to Iowa. The Gophers, 5-3 on the season, are 0-3 in road games. Best guess here is for a 6-6 finish and low-profile bowl invite.

Grumbling fans can take positive action by contributing, or increasing, money for Name, Image and Likeness via Dinkytown Athletes.

The Gophers are overdue in erecting statues outside Huntington Bank Stadium for their football immortals. A good place to start would be with coach Bernie Bierman who led Minnesota to five national titles and the legendary Bronko Nagurski who was recognized as the greatest college football player of the first half of the 20^th century.

Shame on me for never driving to Grand Forks to watch the Gophers and Fighting Sioux…um Fighting Hawks play hockey.

Feeling good about arranging a Tuesday get together with new Golden Gophers basketball coach Niko Medved, 52, and former coach Jim Dutcher, 92. Dutch’s 1982 team won the Big Ten title.

On that team was Jim Petersen who has made a career of color analysis on Timberwolves TV games. He had a health concern this summer but is well now.

Happy 82^nd birthday this month to former Gophers public address announcer Dick Jonckowski. At the request of Tubby Smith, Dick used to tell the Gopher basketball coach a joke close to tip off.

A Tubby favorite was about Dick dating a homeless woman. How did that go? Great, Dick said. “I can drop her off anywhere.”

Does the NBA’s alleged gambling scandal come as a surprise? It shouldn’t if you acknowledge the lack of accountability and restraint over the years by so many players in their on-court and personal lives.

Timberwolves fans couldn’t ask for more than seeing two of the NBA’s top MVP candidates during the opening week of the home season with the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and the Lakers’ Luka Doncic at Target Center Monday and Wednesday nights respectively.

BTW It was 65 years ago this month the Lakers, having moved from Minneapolis, played their first game in Los Angeles.

Casual baseball fans are more likely to be watching the World Series with the opportunity to follow the game’s “new Babe Ruth.” Pitching or hitting, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani can have everyone shaking their heads in amazement.

Awareness of Japanese born or Japanese American baseball players has greatly increased this millennium. High profile players include Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki, the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Former Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki, a Japanese American, was just named Angels manager. Back in 2008 Don Wakamatsu, hired by the Mariners, became the first MLB manager of Japanese descent.

Local fans will root for St. Paul-born and former Twin Louie Varland coming out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays. He was roughed up by the Dodgers last night in a Jays loss, giving up two hits and two runs in two-thirds of an inning.

It’s easy to anticipate the Twins opening day lineup and starting pitcher (Pablo Lopez or Joe Ryan) next March. But who will be the closer and what will the overall bullpen look like?

All-time favorite Twins clothing: cream colored Twin Cities jersey.

All-time favorite Wild sweater: MPLS. St. Paul 2022 Winter Classic jersey.

Look for an announcement in November of who the Pohlad family is bringing in as minority owners.

Don’t think business and sports leaders aren’t highly anticipating the results of the city council and mayoral elections in Minneapolis next month.

Take it from this keyboard, two of the best sports reporters around are Andy Greder from the Pioneer Press and Michael Russo of The Athletic. Both are worth the money for subscriptions.

Sorry to see the local golf season coming to an end. Was hoping to make a career season high three hole-in-ones.

Ha!

Comments Welcome

Win or Lose, U Can Make Positive Impression at No. 1 OSU

Posted on October 3, 2025October 3, 2025 by David Shama

Everything seems to line up in Ohio State’s favor for its game Saturday night in Columbus on national TV against the Golden Gophers. Superior talent, home field advantage and history all weigh in on the likelihood of a Buckeyes win on NBC TV.

The Gophers, though, with a victory or defeat, can make an important statement about themselves. Upset the nation’s No. 1 ranked team and Minnesota will record one of its most stunning wins in program history. Hang competitively with the Bucks for four quarters and the Gophers will have played their best game of the season and set themselves up for confident performances in upcoming games at home against Purdue and Nebraska. BetMGM, BTW, makes the Buckeyes a 24-point favorite.

The Gophers, 3-1 on the season, have defeated Ohio State three times since 1965. Minnesota, with wins at home in 1966 and 1981, and a victory in Columbus in 2000, has an all-time record of seven wins and 47 losses against the Brutes from Columbus. No Big Ten foe has historically dominated the Gophers like Ohio State.

The 4-0 Buckeyes are the defending national champions and look to be rolling toward another College Football Playoff spot. They have several players ESPN listed on its preseason roster of the nation’s top 100 college players. That group is led by two superstars, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs, who are ranked No. 1 and 5 respectively. Minnesota has one player against Ohio State’s five in safety Koi Perich ranked No. 42.

The Buckeyes are averaging an impressive 36.3 points per game and giving up a nation’s best 5.5. The Gophers are averaging 33.5 and 16.63, with numbers skewed by a 66-0 win over patsy foe Northwestern State.

For Minnesota to stay in the game, the Gophers will need to slow the Ohio State run game and pressure quarterback Julian Sayin. A repeat performance of seven sacks like in last week’s 31-28 win over Rutgers would be a wish come true for the Gophers.

Offensively, the guess here is the Gophers will play for a third consecutive game without star running back Darius Taylor who has become almost as well known for his hamstring injuries as his running and pass catching. That will leave a lot of burden on redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance against Rutgers when he completed 31 passes on 41 attempts for 324 yards and three touchdowns (all career highs) with no interceptions as Minnesota rallied from a 14-point deficit to win at home.

The Gophers will need to overcome the crowd chaos of playing in arguably the Big Ten’s noisiest stadium. The “Horseshoe” seats over 102,000 and the decibel can be deafening. Lindsey can forget audibling at the line of scrimmage to change plays. Instead, the Gophers who have practiced this week amidst raucous artificial noise, will rely on hand signals for communications.

Gopher coach P.J. Fleck noted earlier in the week that OSU fans have been asking for a couple of years to see their heroes in a home night game. After fans are tailgating all day, Fleck expects his team to walk into “a really hostile environment.”

“…Our players are just going to have to have incredible poise and execute the small details, and find a way to just continue to get better and go execute the game plan that’s in front of us,” Fleck said.

Fleck refers to the game as both a challenge and opportunity for his team. That includes for individuals like Lindsey, the first-year starter, who against Rutgers further justified the confidence of his teammates and coaches. Fleck already knows Lindsey is a special talent but also realizes the trajectory of progress won’t always be vertical.

If Lindsey on Saturday, though, plays at a higher level than against Rutgers, even BetMGM would like the Gophers’ chances of making an impressive showing at the “Shoe.”

Worth Noting

BetMGM lists the 2-2 Vikings as 3.5 favorites for their Sunday game against the 1-3 Browns in London. Minnesota needs a win, because the next three opponents are the 4-0 Eagles at home and on the road against the Chargers and Lions, both 3-1.

Vikings Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Michael Jurgens, J.J. McCarthy, Brian O’Neill and Andrew Van Ginkel are ruled out for Sunday’s game, according to the team practice report this morning. Questionable are Tyler Batty, C.J. Ham and Ben Yurosek. Mike Hall is out for the Browns, with Jack Conklin and Greg Newsome questionable.

Viewership of the Steelers 24-21 win over the Vikings last Sunday in Dublin was the second most-watched NFL Network International game ever, with 7.9 million viewers (TV+digital)—trailing only the 2023 Dolphins and Chiefs game in Germany. The total doesn’t include OTA viewership from the Minneapolis and Pittsburgh markets.

It could be the Twins Pohlad ownership group will announce its new minority owners at the MLB Winter Meetings in December.

If the Yankees fire manager Aaron Boone, the Twins would be advised to take a serious look at him to fill their managerial opening.

Veteran sportswriters Jerry Zgoda and Kent Youngblood left the Star Tribune earlier this year. Now Twins beat writer Phil Miller, a terrific reporter, is retiring, too. Last Sunday he posted the following on X:

“Phillies win 2-1 in 10, and that’s a wrap on the Twins’ disappointing 70-92 season — and on my 45-year career in newspapers, which has been the utter opposite of disappointing. To all you Jazz, Utes, Gophers and Twins fans, thanks so much for reading. It’s been an absolute blast.”

Representing the Gopher men’s team at Big Ten Basketball Media Days Oct. 8 and 9 in Rosemont, Ill. will be coach Niko Medved and sophomore guard Isaac Asuma and junior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Jr. The women’s team contingent will be coach Dawn Plitzuweit and senior guards Amaya Battle and Mara Braun.

Blaze Credit Union, the official credit union of the Minnesota Wild, will have its logo on the team’s home helmets this season. As part of the sponsorship agreement between the two, the Blaze Credit Union’s Hockey Kids4Kids Program will continue. The program encourages youth players to raise funds for kids at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare.

Marc-André Fleury, now in his first season of retirement, was brought to Minnesota in 2022 to be a role model for teammates including now No. 1 goalie Filip Gustavvson. It will be interesting to see if Gustavsson can keep building on past success and have his best season. The Wild open the regular schedule October 9 against the Blues in St. Louis.

The state-of-the-art LaunchPad Golf The Meadows in Prior Lake opens Saturday at 4 p.m. Located close to Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and The Meadows at Mystic golf course, the venue will be a year-round entertainment destination.

It’s the first LauchPad location in the United States, and the venue has 40-heated suites (bays) and will be open even when temps are near 20 below. Each of the suites offers ball tracking technology, along with an auto-tee system that pops up the next golf ball after the last one has been hit. The driving range is 243 yards long and golfers can bring their own clubs or have them provided.

Serious golfers can experience some of the world’s most famous golf courses, including Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, The Old Course at St. Andrews, and others. There’s also a variety of different games that are fun for golfers of different abilities, including suite linking technology to compete against an adjacent group.

LaunchPad’s offerings create a welcoming social atmosphere with its sports bar and quality dining options that include shareables and dinner entrees. LaunchPad is a sponsor of Gopher athletics and members of the men’s hockey and basketball team recently enjoyed a visit there.

There will be visitation starting at 11 a.m. Monday at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis for Minnesota golf legend John Harris, 73. A memorial service follows at noon at the church. In addition to excelling in amateur and professional golf, John played on the 1974 Golden Gophers national championship hockey team.

The esteemed Twin Cities Dunkers organization started in 1948 as the Minneapolis Dunkers under the leadership of Norm McGrew. Dave Mona took over in 1999 but will step away at the end of 2026 when Dunkers board member and former Twins president Dave St. Peter takes over as the next president and general manager of the civic and business organization whose activities include raising money for the Minneapolis and St. Paul public high schools to support their athletic programs. Dunkers has raised over $1.5 million for the cause.

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Twins Prolific Statue Builders, But Where’s Everybody Else?

Posted on May 8, 2025May 8, 2025 by David Shama

In April Joe Mauer became the eighth former Twin to have a statue commemorating his career. The Twins haven’t built a World Series champion in more than 30 years, but the organization is prolific in erecting statues at Target Field.

The eight bronze sculptures have been a nice gig for Minnesota-based artist Bill Mack whose Twins assignments include Rod Carew (April 2010), Harmon Killebrew (April 2010), Kirby Puckett (April 2010), Carl and Eloise Pohlad (October 2010), Tony Oliva (April 2011), Kent Hrbek (April 2012) and Tom Kelly (June 2017).

It seems to this sportswriter and historian that Mr. Mack could assist other local teams whose “statue cupboard” is collectively quite bare. Those organizations don’t have to adopt an “on steroids” statue building campaign but for starters they could consider the following suggested candidates:

The Vikings. Ah, yes, let’s start with the franchise that is more important to zealots than family, friends and perhaps their own welfare. With Adrian Peterson dogged by too many controversies, including a driving incident last month in Minnesota, it’s easier to clear the nominations field for other candidates.

Gracing the cement outside U.S. Bank Stadium should be a statue of Harry Peter Grant. Yes, Bud coached the Vikings to four Super Bowls, and while they all resulted in defeats, he remains atop the “Purple” coaching tree and is among the franchise’s most iconic figures. Are we forever to be outdone by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who unveiled a bronze statue of Bud years ago near their stadium?

Bud should be joined at U.S. Bank Stadium by a statue of the famed “Purple People Eaters” from his era as coach. The legendary defensive line scared the deuce out of opposing offenses for about a decade and consisted mostly of Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen.

At Target Center the legendary George Mikan, voted Mr. Basketball for the first half of the 20^th century, is remembered with a lobby statue recognizing both him and the five-time world champion Minneapolis Lakers. The successor to the Lakers franchise in Minneapolis, the Timberwolves, have done little to approach the greatness of Mikan and Company but that wasn’t the fault of Kevin Garnett.

The former Wolves power forward, who late in his career won an NBA title with the Celtics, was a first ballot Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer in the class of 2020. Fifteen times in his career he was named an NBA all-star. Playing for the Wolves, he was league MVP for the 2003-2004 season.

The other Target Center basketball team, the Lynx, has won four WNBA championships. Get Mr. Mack on speed-dial and task him with sculpting a five-person statue of the dynastic group of Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles and Lindsay Whalen. Fowles and Whalen are in the Hall of Fame, while Augustus and Moore will be inducted later this year.

Whalen, the Hutchinson native who led the Gophers to their 2004 historic Final Four, is deserving of a statue outside Williams Arena. Women’s basketball at Minnesota and the Whalen name are synonymous.

On the men’s side, immortality isn’t so clear cut.

The program has a controversial past marked by NCAA violations that have clouded glorious accomplishments and memories. The most accepted place to start, with buy-in from both fans and compliance-minded U administrators, would be a statue of the first three scholarship Black players at Minnesota. Lou Hudson, Archie Clark and Don Yates were marvelous recruits who made the 1964-65 Gophers among the best teams in America, finishing the season with a 19-5 and ranked No. 7 in the nation.

With its ageless “pride on ice” program mantra, Gopher men’s hockey has a long list of superb contributors to championships and other honors. The U Athletic Department should dig deep into its past, though, to honor two Minnesotans with bronze statues.

John Mayasich, who played for Minnesota from 1951-1955, is regarded as one of the greatest amateur players in the history of American hockey. Labeled the Wayne Gretzky of his time, Mayasich was a four-time All-American, and he remains the Gophers’ all-time leader in career goals (144) and points (298) in 111 games played.

The Gophers have won five NCAA men’s hockey national championships. The immortal Herb Brooks, the architect of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Miracle on Ice, coached three of those teams in his short tenure as Gopher coach. From 1972-1979 Brooks, a St. Paul native, dedicated his roster to using home grown talent and won national titles in 1974, 1976 and 1979.

The potential workload for Mr. Mack is growing and it only gets heavier with Gopher football. Huntington Bank Stadium is built on a fairly tight footprint but make way for these five statutes:

Bronko Nagurski is one of the most famous names in college football lore. In the latter 1920s he played tackle, fullback, defensive and offensive end, linebacker and even quarterback. A beast whose strength was way ahead of his day, he was named a consensus All-American in 1929 at two positions, tackle and fullback.

Bernie Bierman, the “Grey Eagle.” How can you not memoralize the coach of five national championship teams: 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1940 and 1941.

Bruce Smith. Can’t leave out the only Heisman Trophy winner in program history who was a great tailback on the 1941 national title team. And, oh yeah, Hollywood made a move about him: “Smith of Minnesota.” He was one of the stars, of course.

Bobby Bell, like Nagurski, could have been a great player at multiple positions. He settled for terrorizing opposing offenses as a defensive tackle on national title and Rose Bowl teams that went 22-6-1 from 1960-1962. He was the 1962 Outland Trophy recognizing the nation’s best interior lineman.

Greg Eslinger. Gotta include one person who played recently enough that most Gopher fans who are alive today saw him play. The most decorated offensive lineman in school history during a career that spanned from 2002-2005, the two-time All-American will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December.

A Herb Brooks statue is in place close to Xcel Energy Center, home of the Wild. Located at 317 Washington street, the statue is adjacent to the RiverCentre and Herbie’s on the Park, the restaurant where you can order a Moscow Mule—a favorite libation of the late Mr. Brooks. No other hockey statue is in the neighborhood and that’s understandable given the Wild’s fairly brief and modest history.

While Wild fans might dream of Stanley Cups and a storybook career for Kirill Kaprizov that could one day warrant a statue, the suggestion here is for the Wild to play a little politics. In search of funding to renovate the arena, including monies from the city of St. Paul, the Wild could honor former mayor Norm Coleman.

Without Coleman’s effort to build the arena and romance the NHL to put a team back in Minnesota to replace the North Stars, there would be no Wild. At least in St. Paul which was in competition with Minneapolis for an NHL team.

I remember a local magazine cover from more than 25 years ago with Coleman sitting at his desk, wearing ice skates on his feet and resting them on top of his desk. I will try to find the photo if Mr. Mack calls.

Build a statue for Norm at his arena.

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