Golden Gophers – Page 211 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Final Four to Shutout U Baseball Games

Posted on November 12, 2017November 12, 2017 by David Shama

A Sunday notes column leading off with news about Gophers baseball.

John Anderson thought he had 14 home indoor baseball games scheduled for his Gophers in 2019 at U.S. Bank Stadium, but his team will be shutout. Anderson, in his 37th year at Minnesota, is scrambling now to schedule away games in warm places in February and March of 2019 after recently being told preparations for the NCAA Final Four basketball games will take over the downtown stadium.

Anderson worked with the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority to set up his 2019 schedule, but the NCAA has now decided it is necessary to start staging U.S. Bank Stadium for basketball several weeks in advance of the Final Four dates of April 6-8. The change will mean no amateur baseball, not just for the Gophers but other college and high school teams, in the winter of 2019. “It’s really disappointing,” Anderson told Sports Headliners.

Anderson understands the importance and magnitude of the Final Four but wishes he would have known long ago the Gophers couldn’t use the indoor stadium in 2019. He won’t be able to reschedule all 14 games for his Gophers, and also empathizes with the teams that thought they were coming to Minneapolis but now must find other places to play on relatively short notice.

Anderson, long respected in the community for his coaching and integrity, feels bad that he recruited players with the sales pitch that they would be playing indoor baseball in 2019. This past winter the Gophers played for the first time in U.S. Bank Stadium and have 10 games scheduled in the impressive facility in 2018 from February 27-March 11.

A schedule highlight next year at U.S. Bank Stadium is the DQ Classic Tournament with Arizona, Washington, UCLA and the Gophers March 2-4.

For passionate Golden Gophers football fans with long ago and painful memories, yesterday’s 54-21 drubbing of the Cornhuskers was a sweet afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium. Although Minnesota has now won three of the last five games against Nebraska, the Gophers’ other two wins were by a total of 15 points. Yesterday was Gopher revenge for a string of 16 losses from 1963-1990, nearly all of them lop-sided scores favoring Big Red.

As recently as 1989 and 1990 the Cornhuskers beat Minnesota 48-0 in Minneapolis and 56-0 in Lincoln. If you’re counting, that is 104-0 in two games.

Following yesterday’s win those Gopher fans with nightmare memories might have read and enjoyed the words of Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel who described the outcome “as perhaps the lowest point in the last 65 years of Nebraska football.”

Fall rumors have swirled about the possible dismissal of Nebraska head coach Mike Riley. His players looked dispirited yesterday and speculation is Riley, one of football’s nicest coaches, could unfortunately lose his job this week—perhaps even today. Bo Pelini, Riley’s predecessor, was terminated soon after Minnesota defeated Nebraska in late November of 2014.

Bad omen? Cheatsheetwarroom.com points out the Vikings are 1-4 in the last five years coming out of their bye weeks. The Vikings haven’t played a game since October 29 and are in Landover, Maryland today to face the Redskins. Coming out of their bye last year, the Vikings lost to the Eagles and went on a four-game losing streak.

The Cheat Sheet website also reports the Vikings are 3-1 in their last four games versus teams coming off their byes. Included is a 26-20 loss last year to the Redskins in Landover.

Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber predicted to Sports Headliners it won’t be easy today against the Redskins, but Minnesota will win 24-17.

After the first eight games of the 16-game schedule, the 6-2 Vikings rank fourth in the NFL in yards given up per game, 282.1. How does head coach Mike Zimmer assess the defense so far and what can the unit do better in the second half?

“I’ve already made assessments from last bye week,” Zimmer said. “We’re just trying to get better each week. We’re not going to talk about first half of the season. We’re just going to start moving forward here.”

The Vikings have three quarterbacks who are free agents next year, and the 2018 NFL college draft will likely feature at least four quarterbacks taken in the first round—Josh Allen, Wyoming; Sam Darnold, USC; Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma; and Josh Rosen, UCLA.

It was almost exactly 30 years ago that Darrell Thompson made his famous 98-yard touchdown run in the Metrodome against Michigan. Thompson’s run on November 7, 1987 still is the longest run ever from scrimmage by a Golden Gopher.

Here’s a note from the “we already knew that” department. The November 23 issue of Sports Illustrated includes a feature on Badger football that says, “No program is better at mining and developing the talent in its state.”

Newspaper columnist and radio talk show host Patrick Reusse will be roasted by the Minnesota Minutemen at a January 26 luncheon at Mancini’s in St. Paul. Known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Minnesota sports, Reusse is a 1963 graduate of Fulda High School. Local funnyman Dick Jonckowski will emcee the roast.

Twins baseball bosses Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were hired about a year ago. After assessing the organization for 12 months it wouldn’t be surprising if they were active this offseason in player acquisition moves.

Selection committee members for the prep Mr. Football Award met Saturday to narrow the field of finalists to 11 seniors from Minnesota high schools. The breakfast announcing the 2017 winner will be held December 10 at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park.

The annual state high school all-star football game, known now as the Minnesota Football Showcase, will start at 3 p.m. December 9 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Only seniors are selected for the game, and more information is available at Vikings.com/showcase.

The Mr. Football Award and all-star game are among the ongoing events and activities of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, an organization of dedicated supporters and promoters of amateur football in the state.

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Vikings Dodged ‘Bullet’ on Bradford Deal

Posted on November 9, 2017November 9, 2017 by David Shama

A Thursday notes column…

The Vikings made the right decision in not signing quarterback Sam Bradford to a new and expensive contract earlier this year that would have committed the franchise to him starting in 2018. It could have been that general manager Rick Spielman hesitated on a new deal based on Bradford’s age and history of knee issues, despite setting a NFL completion record of 71.6 percent of his passes in 2016.

Bradford, who turned 30 yesterday, has only started two games and finished one this season because of pain and lack of mobility in his left knee. His week to week status has been somewhat of a mystery but he reportedly had arthroscopic surgery on the knee recently and yesterday the Vikings placed him on their injured reserve list.

Sam Bradford (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Spielman acquired Bradford just prior to the 2016 season to replace Teddy Bridgewater who badly hurt his knee, and was just activated to play again this week. Despite playing behind a bad offensive line last year, Bradford avoided injury and gave the team its best quarterbacking since Brett Favre in 2010.

Spielman could have let his ego dictate a new contract for Bradford during the offseason but he didn’t. A new deal would now be problematic with the quarterback’s future health uncertain. Bradford has had two ACL surgeries on the left knee and it’s uncertain when—or perhaps if—he will continue his NFL career. A big contract would have left a negative impact on the Vikings’ salary structure in 2018.

The Eagles traded Bradford to the Vikings for draft choices, willing to take a gamble on then rookie quarterback Carson Wentz from North Dakota State. Part of their strategy may also have been based on Bradford’s age and history of knee issues. The Eagles didn’t know how healthy Bradford would remain but they may have been cautious, just as it appears the Vikings were last winter.

It will be an interesting next few months and early offseason in 2018 when Spileman will have to sort out the Vikings quarterback roster. If Bradford doesn’t retire, not only will he be a free agent but so too will Bridgewater and Case Keenum who has been the team’s starter for most of this season.

After this week’s quarterback shuffling with Bradford being taken off the playing roster and Bridgewater put back on, promising rookie Kyle Sloter remains at No. 3 on the depth chart. Although he has yet to play in an NFL game, Sloter tries to stay ready on the sidelines. “I feel like mentally I am going through each and every play,” he told Sports Headliners. “I try to be part of the huddle when they call timeouts and all that kind of stuff.

“I try to stay loose over there (on the sidelines) as much as I can. You get a little tight…if you’re not moving around, or throwing the ball…around a little bit.”

Adam Thielen is sixth in total yards (627) among NFL receivers. The four-year pro wide receiver is having a breakout season with the Vikings but told Sports Headliners he can improve.

“I think there’s just little things in my game I could get better at,” Thielen said. “Whether it be the run after the catch, catching and keeping on my feet, and things like that.”

The Gophers football team has lost five of its last six games and coach P.J. Fleck hears criticism from fans. How does he handle it?

“It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t take me off my course,” Fleck said.
“It doesn’t frustrate me but I think that as people go (over time), they’ll start to see the big picture. They’ll start to see the reason why we took the job. They’ll start to see the winning and recruiting. They’ll start to feel the difference in how this program develops, but when you don’t have a result right away, it’s hard for people that are result-oriented to jump right in and say, ‘I’m in.’ …”

Fleck respects “everybody’s opinion,” and when he was head coach Western Michigan he kept letters, both positive and negative. He is doing the same at Minnesota and predicted when success comes to the Gophers he will write and say, “Told you. ”

The Gophers, 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten, play a Nebraska team Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium that has lost three of its last four games. With 4-5 and 3-3 records, the Cornhuskers’ bowl hopes are about as precarious as Minnesota’s. Mediocrity is not the Nebraska way, with the Cornhuskers the winningest major college football program in America the last 60, 50 and 40 years.

Redshirt freshman J.D. Spielman from Eden Prairie has emerged as a playmaker for the Cornhuskers in his first season. As a wide receiver and kick returner he has 1,154 all-purpose yards. He is 105 yards from equaling the Nebraska freshman all-purpose yards record of 1,259 yards set by Ahman Green in 1995.

Gopher redshirt senior Ryan Santoso leads the Big Ten in punting average at 44.5 yards per kick. He averaged 48.5 yards on eight punts at rainy Michigan last Saturday.

FS1 telecasts Saturday’s Gophers-Huskers game with former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber providing analysis while working with play-by-play man Brian Custer.

Prior to last night’s Timberwolves game at Golden State, the Fox Sports North TV ratings for Minnesota’s NBA team were up 62 percent over a year ago. It was the franchise’s best ratings start in the last four years, according to Fox.

It will be a who’s who of prep basketball at the Boys’ Tip Off Classic at Hopkins Lindbergh Center Saturday, December 9. There will be 17 games with the first at 9 a.m. and the last starting at 9 p.m. Duke-bound guard Tre Jones will lead Apple Valley against Minneapolis North in one “circle it game.” Fans can also watch Gopher 2018 commits Daniel Oturu from Cretin-Derham Hall and Jarvis Omersa (formerly Thomas) of Orono go against each other in another game that begins at 7:30 p.m.

Byron Buxton, voted this week as the 2017 American League Gold Glove winner for center field, is known as baseball’s fastest player. Older brother Felton, though, might be faster. Byron said during an interview on ESPN’s Gold Glove awards show Tuesday night he might settle the matter in a foot race this fall.

Two former Gophers pitchers, D.J. Snelten and Ben Meyer, are impressing in the Arizona Fall League, according to Minnesota assistant coach Rob Fornasiere. Snelten is with the Giants organization and Fornasiere predicted he could be part of the San Francisco bullpen next season. Meyer, with the Marlins organization, had a 2.02 ERA as a starter last season pitching for two Class A teams.

Fornasiere recalled a funny story from several years ago when Gophers players, including Snelten, were preparing to lay sod at Siebert Field. Snelten was too well dressed for such a dirty job and confessed to Fornasiere he had no experience with laying grass. “The green side goes up,” Fornasiere said.

Packy Casey, the grandson of legendary Twins public address announcer Bob Casey, is in his fifth season as a Gophers assistant baseball coach.

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NBA Champs to Test Timberwolves

Posted on November 7, 2017November 9, 2017 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column including a look ahead to the Timberwolves game Wednesday evening against Golden State:

Tom Thibodeau told Sports Headliners yesterday his team’s game in Oakland tomorrow night against the defending champion NBA champions will be a “test,” but win or lose he won’t make too much out of the early season result.

The Wolves, 7-3, are on a five-game win streak—a franchise best since 2009. Optimism about making the playoffs for the first time since 2004 is growing with new starters Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson. They join two of the NBA’s better younger starters in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins—and Thibodeau, in his joint role as the franchise’s president of basketball operations and coach, has strengthened the bench this season.

Butler is a top 10 to 15 NBA player who at 6-7, 231 pounds, can guard all five positions. Some NBA authorities might include Towns in a top 15 listing of league players, and Wiggins could potentially be a top 25 player soon.

The Warriors, though, have two players who could be included among the NBA’s five best. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry are in the conversation when the elite players are talked about, and two more Warriors starters, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, are stars, too.

The two teams split a pair of exhibition games in China in September. Thibodeau said those games will help preparations for Wednesday night in California against a Warriors team that is 8-3 so far, and has won four consecutive games.

Fans are dazzled with the playmaking and shooting of the Warriors, but they excel on defense, too. They have won two of the last three NBA titles and are so young and so good that even an NBA All-Star team might not win in a seven-game series against them.

No wonder Thibodeau sees Wednesday night’s game as a test. The two teams play twice more this season—again in Oakland on January 25 and March 11 in Minneapolis.

Rochester John Marshall power forward Mathew Hurt watched Sunday’s Minnesota-Green Bay game at Maturi Pavilion. Hurt is ranked by recruiting authorities in the top five nationally among high school players in the class of 2019.

Minnesota writer and recruiting authority Ryan James told Sports Headliners Hurt could end his prep career as the highest ranked Minnesota boys high school basketball player ever. Hurt’s brother Michael is a sophomore reserve for the Gophers, and James believes that if the older Hurt’s experience continues to be positive it will help Minnesota’s chances in landing Matthew.

A winning season in the Big Ten and success in the NCAA Tournament will be factors too in the race to influence the younger Hurt. James said Hurt is far from a decision on his college choice, with the Gophers in the mix with some of college basketball’s blue bloods.

Power programs Duke, Kansas and North Carolina have extended scholarship offers. “I think they’re right there (the Gophers) having the same chance as everybody else,” James said.

Ryan said Hurt and his family haven’t announced a timeline for choosing a school. “He can take his time with his decision because every one of those schools is going to wait for him because he is that level of player.”

Ticket proceeds and a portion of the concessions and merchandise revenues from the Green Bay game are to be donated to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The Gophers provided hotel rooms for the Green Bay staff and players on Saturday night but the Phoenix didn’t receive a fee for participating in the exhibition game.

The NCAA has allowed teams two exhibition games in the past but added a third this fall because of the disaster in Puerto Rico. Gophers coach Richard Pitino thinks it’s a “no- brainer” for future years regarding a third exhibition game with proceeds dedicated to a good cause.

The Gophers were impressive in a 115-86 win over the Phoenix but defense on both sides was sometimes lackadaisical. Gophers sophomore forward Amir Coffey showed his versatility, including scoring 26 points. He could be Minnesota’s best player in 2017-2018.

Freshman guard Isaiah Washington scored 24, and had a game-high six assists. His flashy style gave notice he could become the most electrifying playmaker ever at Minnesota.

Senior center Reggie Lynch picked up his third personal foul with 19:06 to play in the second half. Lynch, who fouled out eight times in 33 games last season, ranks near the top of the program’s best shot blockers ever but he has to avoid so many fouls in 2017-2018.

Pitino said Lynch understands he has to use better judgment. “We’re working on it,” Pitino said.

Former Apple Valley star Gary Trent Jr. is a freshman at Duke and Sports Illustrated’s basketball issue that came out last week predicts the shooting guard will average 10.8 points per game and 5.4 rebounds.

Ric Flair, the legendary professional wrestler who spent part of his youth in Edina, is the subject of ESPN’s documentary “Nature Boy” airing tonight as part of the network’s highly regarded “30-for-30” series. The program begins at 9 p.m.

In the prior hour, ESPN will air a show announcing MLB’s Gold Glove winners with Twins center fielder Byron Buxton expected to be among those honored.

The Gophers won Big Ten baseball championships in 1968, 1969 and 1970. Players and others associated with the program back then will hold a reunion next May. During that era Stew Thornley was a batboy with the Gophers, while Gregg Wong was an official scorer and public address announcer. Both are now Twins official scorers.

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