Gophers Hockey – Page 45 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Worth Noting

Posted on January 27, 2012January 27, 2012 by David Shama

It will be a “who’s who” of players at TwinsFest this weekend but long travel distances will keep pitcher Francisco Liriano (Dominican Republic) and infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka (Japan) away. The three-day event at the Metrodome begins today and continues through Sunday.

The Twins will issue wristbands in various colors to fans seeking autographs from catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau. Fans with the “winning color” will be able to obtain autographs from the popular twosome. Patrick Klinger, Twins marketing vice president, said the system will eliminate the long autograph lines for the two stars seen at past TwinsFest events.

Klinger said although single game tickets for next season go on sale February 25, the April 9 home opener against Albert Pujlos and the Angels won’t be included. Season ticket holders will be able to purchase extra tickets for the home opener and have priority for that game. Some tickets for purchase by the general public will be available through a random drawing, Klinger said. Details will be available at TwinsFest and the team website.

Mauer, Morneau, pitcher Carl Pavano and broadcaster Bert Blyleven will make TV commercials today. Klinger didn’t disclose details but said the commercials will be “typical Twins humor, offbeat and fun.”

Twins pitcher Glen Perkins will be on the Pro-Alumni & Legends team playing the Gophers starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 4 at the Metrodome. Third baseman Jack Hannahan from the Indians will also play in the game. Hall of Famer Paul Molitor will manage the alumni team.

Matt Birk recently told media outlets he’s undecided about retiring from the Ravens. The former Vikings center just finished his 14th season of pro football.

Birk is one of three finalists for the 2011 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The others are Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers and Bears cornerback Charles Tillman. The award recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service activities and onfield excellence.

Rich Kallok, Birk’s coach at Cretin-Derham Hall, said the St. Paul native did volunteer work even when he was in high school. “All of our kids do community service of some sort,” Kallok said.

He said Birk played soccer as a ninth grader at St. Thomas Academy. Friends influenced Birk’s decision to transfer to Cretin-Derham Hall and Birk played defensive end and offensive tackle on the football team.

Progress on the football field has characterized Birk’s career in high school, at Harvard and in the NFL. “He’s improved a lot all the way through,” said Kallok. “He’s intelligent and a good athlete. There are no shortcuts with Matt.”

It was 20 years ago yesterday that Minneapolis hosted its only Super Bowl. Washington defeated Buffalo 37-24 in Super Bowl XXVI on January 26, 1992.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association chose Mike Grant from Eden Prairie as Class 5A Coach of the Year. The other coach of the year winners are: Mike Rowe, ROCORI, Class 4A; Carl Lemke, St. Croix Lutheran, Class 3A; Brent Schroeder, Caledonia, Class 2A; Cory Larson, Dawson-Boyd, Class 1A; Andrew Fleischman, Edgerton/Ellsworth, Class 9M.

At the request of Sports Headliners, Mr. Basketball chair Ken Lien yesterday provided his rankings of the best prep boys teams in 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A. His top five in big school 4A are Eastview, Hopkins, Wayzata, Osseo and Lakeville North. Benilde-St. Margaret’s is No. 1 in 3A followed by Minneapolis Washburn, SpringLakePark, DeLaSalle and Blake. The top five in 2A are Perham, Braham, Redwood Valley, St. Peter and Watertown-Mayer. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa is No. 1 in 1A followed byBattle Lake, MACCRAY, Southwest Christian and Dawson-Boyd.

The 17-9-1 Gophers hockey team has lost seven of its games by one goal. Gophers sophomore Nick Bjugstad has 20 goals and 32 assists. He’s the first Minnesota player to have 20 or more goals and 30 or more assists since the 2008-09 season. The Gophers play at home against St. Cloud State (10-12-4) tonight and in St. Cloud tomorrow night.

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Worth Noting

Posted on January 9, 2012January 9, 2012 by David Shama

Maturi is excited about the Gophers hockey team, that after finishing with a 16-14-6 record last season, has made a comeback. Minnesota is among the nation’s top ranked teams and is 15-7-1 overall, and 11-3 in the WCHA, although the Gophers have lost two straight nonconference games by one goal each.

Maturi sees a “hunger” among returning players who want to have this season be special. “I think we have a good team, and I think we have a hockey team that potentially could be great, but there’s a lot of factors that go into being great versus good,” Maturi said. “And that remains to be seen.”

Those factors can include a team playing effectively at tournament time and having a “hot goalie.” But for now the Gophers are impressive—a talented team with size and speed that plays with energy and is entertaining to watch.

Maturi’s contract as athletic director ends in June and he said his status beyond then is to be determined. Maturi repeated comments made months ago that both he and new University president Eric Kaler need to be comfortable with one another. Maturi said no meeting with Kaler is planned for this month to discuss his future.

Maturi has been Minnesota’s athletic director since 2002 and he said at this stage of his career it’s important to be happy with his job and who he is working with. “Those decisions are still ongoing and will be made in due time,” he said.

Timberwolves Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are on the NBA All-Star game ballot. The 61^st All-Star game will be played on February 26 in Orlando.

Love was quoted in the January 9 issue of Sports Illustrated about those who think his rebounding numbers might be inflated: “…I tend not to listen. I let my game do the talking.”

Twins pitcher Franciso Liriano has been given permission by Twins management to pitch 20 innings of winter baseball in the Dominican Republic.

The Gophers baseball team will play 39 home games including 38 at the Metrodome and a May 5 game against PennState at Target Field. The Minnesota schedule has the team playing 27 straight home games—the longest consecutive home stand in program history. The Gophers open their schedule with the 18th annual Pro & Legends Alumni Game at the Metrodome on February 4.

In March of 2010 the Gophers, playing against Louisiana Tech, hosted the first baseball game at Target Field. The game drew the second largest crowd in collegiate baseball history, 36,056.

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Worth Noting

Posted on November 9, 2011December 28, 2011 by David Shama

Today begins the fall signing period for college basketball teams and these are heady times for Big Ten schools. Michigan is expected to sign a top two or three player in Mitch McGary. The Wolverines and Indiana may have 2012 recruiting classes that are close to the best in the nation. Iowa might end up with a top 25 class. Based on 2011 recruiting classes, or projected classes for 2012, the following Big Ten schools either were or could be (again) top 25 ranked: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State.

As reported here on Monday, it looks like the Gophers will sign forward Charles Buggs from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia and Wally Ellenson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

How about this for freak scheduling? The No. 1 ranked Gophers hockey team is in Madison for games on Friday and Saturday against Wisconsin, while the Badgers football team plays Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, and then Monday night a national TV audience will watch the Vikings try to upset the undefeated Packers in Green Bay.

Jerry Kill, Gophers coach, talking about a Wisconsin team that except for two last minute plays would be undefeated: “We’re going to have to play our guts out.”

Vikings lineman Jared Allen, a top candidate to be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the favorite for league MVP, will have a national stage to bolster resumes.

The Vikings, 2-6, don’t command a lot of national respect but they may make Monday night’s game close against the 8-0 Packers. The Vikings have not only found a quarterback in Christian Ponder, but are coming off a bye week that allows players to rest bodies and minds. Because the game is Monday night, the Vikings didn’t practice yesterday and won’t today either.

Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson is being promoted by the school for the Heisman Trophy. He was made available to media, including Minnesota reporters, on Monday via teleconference. That’s uncommon practice for a Big Ten player.

Local author Ross Bernstein has a new book, Raising Lombardi: What It Takes to Claim Football’s Ultimate Prize. He interviewed more than 75 current and former NFL players and coaches who were champions.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference begins play in 2013 and is expected to announce the name of its commissioner in about 60 days. The league will be based in Colorado Springs and members will be Colorado College, Denver, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, UMD and Western Michigan. The 2013 start coincides with the beginning of the six team Big Ten comprised of Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Don’t expect the Twins to sell a reduced number of season tickets for next year despite the team’s awful 2011 record. Target Field remains a valued entertainment destination and the franchise has long maintained a list of potential season ticket buyers.

The volleyball Gophers, including the co-Big Ten Player of the Week Ashley Wittman host Michigan State tonight in a match televised by the Big Ten Network.

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