Golden Gophers – Page 14 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Football Start Times Official, Includes Party Time Kickoffs

Posted on May 29, 2025May 29, 2025 by David Shama

Haters of 11 a.m. starts for Golden Gophers home football games received good news today when the Big Ten Conference and its TV partners announced start times for six of the University of Minnesota’s 12 games in 2025.

Dreaded by students and others who like to sleep late on Saturdays, the anti-11 a.m. crowd will have to accept the nonconference Northwestern State home game on September 6 (BTN televising). Otherwise, night owls and party animals can revel in five night games for the Gophers, with three at home and two on the road. The start times for the six remaining Gophers games on the schedule will be announced later.

Minnesota opens the season at home Thursday, August 28 against Buffalo. The 7 p.m. kickoff nonconference game will be televised by FS1.

The final nonconference game will be on Saturday, September 13 at the University of California. Start time is 9:30 p.m. in Minneapolis and local fans can watch on ESPN.

Minnesota’s Homecoming game against Purdue on Saturday, October 11 will start at either 6 or 6:30 p.m. The TV partner will be announced later.

The Gophers host Nebraska at 7 p.m. on October 17, a rare Friday night home game. They play at Oregon on another Friday night, November 14, with an 8 p.m. kickoff. Both games will be televised by Fox.

Gophers-Badgers 2021 game at Huntington Bank Stadium photo by Marshall Tanick

Minnesota’s other six games are Rutgers, September 27 at home; October 4 at Ohio State; October 25 at Iowa; November 1 Michigan State at home; November 22 at Northwestern; November 29 Wisconsin at home. All dates are Saturdays.

Home games at night generally draw better than day games, unless arctic temps prevail. That will be a needed boost for home attendance because the Huntington Bank Stadium schedule of opponents is so-so.

Buffalo and Northwestern State are box office duds. Purdue will draw because it’s Homecoming and a night game. Nebraska, with Husker fans likely descending in droves, could produce the largest crowd of the season (possible sellout of 50,805) at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Michigan State and Wisconsin games will draw if the Gophers are producing a top 25 season. Even if they aren’t, the Wisconsin game may lure a lot of Badgers fans if their favorites have reverted back to winning football.

There’s real sizzle with the road schedule for fans who want to travel. All five destinations are attractive including West Coast trips to the Bay Area (Cal) and Eugene (first time at Oregon), plus border rival Iowa, Northwestern (at Wrigley Field) and defending national champion Ohio State.

Worth Noting

The NFL announced its preseason schedule today including for the Vikings. Minnesota will host the Texans at 3 p.m. Saturday, August 9 and the Patriots at noon on Saturday, August 16. The Vikings will play at the Titans on Friday, August 22 at 7 p.m.

The Vikings are partnering with the Minnesota Star Tribune to promote high school girls flag football throughout the state. The state’s first high school girls flag football league, supported through a $600,000 contribution from the Vikings, enters playoff competition next week.

The Timberwolves lost in five games to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. The prediction here before the series was Minnesota would lose in six, but OKC is even better than many of us thought.

During the last two springs the Wolves have proven they’re one of the better teams in the NBA but not elite enough to make the Finals or rank among the best. Biggest needs? Better defense from more players and clutch scoring (which in playoff games can include producing points in the first quarter).

It appeared during the playoffs that Anthony Edwards was gassed late in at least some games. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if a revised nutrition and conditioning program materializes in the offseason.

Minneapolis native Chet Holmgren, 23, has emerged as a star for the Thunder. He could become a superstar with his scoring, rebounding and shot blocking, if his rail thin body avoids injuries. Holmgren is listed at 7-1, 208 pounds.

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Golden Gophers Football Recruiting Alert: Mataalii Benjamin

Posted on May 28, 2025May 28, 2025 by David Shama

The first of two Gophers Summer Splash weekends starts on Friday in Minneapolis. The invitation only event is for high school football players Minnesota is targeting for its recruiting class of 2026.

The attendees will number about 25, including 10 who already have made verbal commitments to the Gophers, per recruiting authority Ryan Burns from Gopher Illustrated and 247Sports. He talked to Sports Headliners about prospects who already are, or will be, of high interest to Minnesota fans.

Yes, Burns said the Gopher coaches would be “through the roof” in the coming days if they received a verbal commitment from the state’s No. 1 ranked player, Roman Voss from Jackson.

“I’d also tell you they’d love to add a kid from Utah named Mataalii Benjamin who is a very high upside offensive tackle,” Burns said. “And being able to add tackle bodies is very important. They’re one of the toughest things to find across college football because they’re always in such high demand.

“Benjamin has offers from all over the country but being able to get him on campus this weekend is very important for them. …I think he’s one of the higher upside guys that they’ve been targeting along the offensive line in some time.”

A player Burns is locked in on is wide receiver Hayden Moore from Newberry, Florida. After Moore verbally committed to the Gophers, he picked up an offer from Big Ten power Penn State and he is “tentatively” scheduled to visit there next month, per Burns who is curious to learn the Florida native’s thoughts after this weekend.

Voss is the player who Gopher fans have zeroed in on. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect is so versatile he could be a possibility at multiple positions in college, but Burns predicts he will be a tight end.

“I think he’s going to be a great college tight end,” Burns said. He added that Voss “is as athletically gifted a tight end as I’ve seen come out of this state since Brevyn Spann-Ford (former Gopher now with the NFL Cowboys).”

Burns said in college Voss could remind him of former Iowa All-American Sam LaPorta, now a standout tight end for the NFL Lions. He added that Voss and his family are on board with his playing tight end in college.

At one time it was thought Voss, who is expected at Summer Splash, might choose Iowa. The Hawkeyes are known as a tight ends factory and Jackson is near the Iowa border. “Iowa is not in it for (securing) Roman Voss,” Burns said.

Voss is “essentially bound” to either Alabama or Minnesota, per Burns who said the coveted prospect will visit the Crimson Tide in June with indications a college destination will be made after that. Jackson is a short drive to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer became acquainted with southwest Minnesota recruiting when he was leading the program at the University of Sioux Falls.

Four-star state of Minnesota recruits Howie Johnson, a defensive lineman from Forest Lake, and Andrew Trout, an offensive tackle from Cold Spring, are already Gopher commits and expected to be at Summer Splash. They are players Burns believes could contribute early in their college careers.

The next highest ranked in-state player is high three-star Dodge Center athlete Pierce Petersohn who is also expected to attend Summer Splash. Burns said the uncommitted Petersohn is projected as a college linebacker by Minnesota and Iowa State, and a tight end by Penn State. “He’s going to take official visits to all three of those schools coming up here in the next month or so, and then he’s going to try and figure out what’s best for him.”

How does Burns view the quality and depth of talent in the state for the class of 2026? “I just don’t think it’s a very good year in the state of Minnesota to be quite honest with you. I think it’s a below average year. It’s a year where you’ve got a lot of high-end guys at the top. Guys like Roman Voss, Howie Johnson, Andrew Trout, Pierce Petersohn, but I think the cliff drops off pretty steeply after the top five I would say; top maybe 6, 7, 8. …In terms of depth I don’t think it’s a great year.”

Despite not being that enthused about the in-state talent depth, Burns believes the 2026 Gopher recruiting class could be one of the best since head coach P.J. Fleck came to Minnesota in 2017. Burns offered praise to the staff for getting in early with a lot of their targets and building relationships.

An example is offensive tackle Daniel McMorris from Oklahoma who is expected at Summer Splash. Burns said Minnesota was the first school to offer McMorris but now he has over 20 offers including Wisconsin and Stanford.

To make this one of Fleck’s best classes Burns said the Gophers will need a “great next 30 days of recruiting.” He projects by the end of June the 2026 Minnesota will have “north of 20” verbal commitments.

The Gophers will host a second Summer Splash June 13-15, with a smaller number of targets expected to attend, per Burns.

Under NCAA rules, prep players can’t make signed agreements with schools for several months from now.

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Twins Legend Tony Oliva Upbeat about Stroke Recovery

Posted on May 18, 2025 by David Shama

It was about a month ago that Tony Oliva had the last of his mini strokes. Reached by telephone at his Minneapolis area home Saturday, the 86-year-old Twins legend talked about his recovery and said he’s never slept so much in his life.

“I stay at home, take a lot of rest,” the National Baseball Hall of Famer said.

Other than doctor appointments, Oliva is at home these days with his wife Gordette. Suddenly hit by the strokes, Oliva was surprised by his misfortune. He has endured a troublesome back for years but otherwise stayed healthy with regular workouts at the gym. “These things will happen, you know,” said Oliva whose thousands of fans are wishing him the best in his recovery.

The stroke saga included five days in the hospital. While he can walk okay, and his speech is clear, his vision has been compromised.

Oliva’s days at home have a familiar routine. He gets up and soon engages in activities that include breakfast, taking his medicine, reading the Bible and looking at the newspaper.

Family have been generous with their time by travelling from near and far to support him and Gordette. The presence of relatives has been coupled with an outpouring of well wishes from the public. Oliva is uplifted by the thoughtfulness of those he knows and by strangers.

He has long been an admirer of Minnesotans, choosing to live his post-baseball career in the Twin Cities. Saturday, he referred to the “best fans in the world and the best town in the world.”

There was no sorrow, or “woe is me” in Oliva’s voice during the phone conversation. “Everything could be worse, you know, what I mean.”

A poor teenager who came out of Communist Cuba in the late 1950s, Oliva persevered all the way to Cooperstown in 2022. He was an American League All-Star for eight consecutive seasons from 1964-1971. A .304 lifetime hitter, he was a three-time batting champion with the Twins over 15 seasons.

Worth Noting

Oliva has been delighted by the Twins’ winning ways. The club has won 13 straight including a win over the Brewers in Milwaukee on Saturday night. It’s the longest Twins streak since the 1991 World Series season when the club won 15 in a row.

The success has been remarkable given the team’s slow start to the season and persistent injuries. Regarding club health, MLB.Com/news posted this yesterday morning:

“Of the nine position players who were in the Opening Day lineup for Minnesota, only one – (Ty) France at first base — finished Friday night’s game in the same spot as he was on that March 27 afternoon in St. Louis. Only three players from that lineup were even in the game at the end of Friday night. … Minnesota has taken a remarkable number of hits and just continues winning.”

It’s not even summer, but already you might hear Vikings fans saying all they want for Christmas is to see their favorites playing for the NFC North Division title on December 25. The preseason division favorite Lions are in town that date and it’s about time Santa is nice to the Vikings who are 1-3 on Christmas Day games, with the most recent loss to the Saints in 2020 in New Orleans.

Retired Golden Gophers baseball coach John Anderson turned 70 last Friday. The legendary leader texted a well-wisher that his birthday weekend included a Saturday night dinner with former players (they revere him). Happy Birthday to No. 14!

Paige Bueckers returns to Minnesota for the first time as a pro Wednesday night when her WNBA Dallas Wings play the Lynx at Target Center. The former Hopkins High School icon made her regular season professional debut Friday evening, scoring 10 points in a 99-84 home loss to the Lynx.

The fact the 6-foot guard led the Wings in rebounding with seven didn’t surprise Brian Cosgriff, her prep coach at Hopkins. “Nothing surprises me when it comes to her,” he told Sports Headliners.

Bueckers’ talent and basketball instincts will make her a star in the WNBA, Cosgriff predicted. He remains in touch with the Bueckers family, including texts with Paige. Her father, Bob Bueckers, sends him merchandise like Nike t-shirts and UConn sweatshirts.

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