Golden Gophers – Page 216 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Big Ten Title Team to Motivate Gophers

Posted on September 28, 2017September 28, 2017 by David Shama

More than 35 players from Minnesota’s 1967 Big Ten championship football team will be in Minneapolis Friday and Saturday to celebrate their 50th anniversary. That was the last Gopher football team to win the conference title and new head coach P.J. Fleck values the link to the past.

“I think it’s incredibly important,” Fleck said Tuesday. “We talked to them (his players)…about embracing your past to create your future. We want to bring the championships back to Minnesota.

“That doesn’t happen overnight. I said that from day one in my press conference, and every time I’ve talked. …But the one thing I’ll say is, we want to make sure, when the 1967 team watches our game (Saturday), they’re inspired. It brings them back to their day.”

Fleck and some players will attend a reception for the 1967 alums on Friday night at TCF Bank Stadium. Lockers at the stadium will temporarily have nameplates with names of the ex-Gophers and a gift in each space.

Prior to Saturday’s 11 a.m. home game against Maryland the ’67 champions will hear Fleck’s pregame speech. Then between the first and second quarters the ’67 group will be recognized on the field.

Minnesota quarterback Conor Rhoda said he and teammates are grateful to have the legacy players back in town. The 3-0 Gophers, going into their opening Big Ten game against the 2-1 Terps, want to show their elders how much they’ve accomplished in the last eight months.

“Hopefully, we’re able to do that Saturday and be able to show them that this program has taken the steps to get back to how it was in the ‘60s when they won the championships,” Rhoda said.

The 1967 group was the last of coach Murray Warmath’s championship teams from that decade. He has passed away and so has most of his staff, although former assistant Mike Reid will attend the reunion. Deceased players include Mike Condo, Ron Kamzelski, Charlie Sanders and John Williams.

Worth Noting

Fleck has travelled to high school games in the metro area via helicopter. Rhoda said the expense of using a helicopter sends a message. “For those kids that he was out recruiting it would show how important they are to him and how badly he wants them,” Rhoda said.

Fleck said a helicopter allows him to use his time efficiently. He not only wants to see players but engage with coaches and fans at high school games. “The more places we can see, the more benefit we have,” he said.

Rhoda talking about second team quarterback Seth Green, a redshirt freshman who so far has minimal college game experience: “He’s got all the skills in the world.”

It would be interesting if either Iowa or Wisconsin tries to hire popular former Gophers linebackers coach Mike Sherels. He isn’t coaching now but has a great reputation in the state of Minnesota where both the Hawkeyes and Badgers recruit.

The Vikings and Lynx games were both televised in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market last Sunday afternoon. How did TV audiences in the 18-plus category compare? The Vikings telecast averaged 665,500 viewers, the Lynx 40,700.

Profootballfocus.com gave third-year cornerback Trae Waynes the fifth highest grade among Vikings after last Sunday’s win against the Bucs. The former 2015 first round draft choice has been known for his inconsistency.

“Trae seems to be getting better all the time,” said head coach Mike Zimmer. “I think he’s starting to develop more confidence. There’s still things he needs to work on, but he’s got such great athletic ability that he just needs to continue to use it. Sometimes he overthinks a little bit—just go out and play.”

Zimmer, known for his defensive coaching, can appreciate the seven interceptions the Lions have in three games. “They do a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback,” he said. “They play tight in coverage. They are very well coached scheme-wise—fundamentally sound and they are around the football so they end up getting a lot of picks.”

The Lions and Vikings are both 2-1, and Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium is probably anyone’s guess as to the winner. The Lions won both games last season.

Despite starting quarterback Sam Bradford missing two games, the Vikings have the third most passing yards through three games in franchise history. They have 882 yards, compared with 982 in 2004 and 988 in 1981.

After last Saturday’s “Holy Grail” game won by St. Thomas, the D3football.com national rankings have the Tommies No. 3 and Saint John’s ninth.

The Twins, who play their final regular season game on Sunday, have four players with 20 home runs or more. If Max Kepler hits one more home run to total 20 he will make the 2017 season only the third time in club history five players have reached that level. Brian Dozier (33), Miguel Sano (28), Eddie Rosario (27) and Eduardo Escobar (20) are the 2017 home run leaders.

Gophers sophomore basketball forward Eric Curry, who had successful reconstructive knee surgery September 20, is on crutches and attending classes, but will miss the upcoming season.

The 35 players expected at Big Ten Media Day October 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York will include Gopher center Reggie Lynch and guard Nate Mason. Lynch was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season, while Mason was All-Big Ten.

Condolences to Gophers center and Norway native Matz Stockman, the Louisville transfer, who lost his father Eirik last summer. Stockman, who is redshirting this season, returned home to Norway for awhile because of his father’s death.

Athlon’s college basketball magazine ranks Rochester John Marshall’s Matthew Hurt the No. 5 prep player nationally in the class of 2019. Because his brother Michael is already on the team, the Gophers might be favorably positioned to land Matthew.

Kevin Burleson, who played guard for the Gophers from 1999-2003, is an assistant coach for the NBA Rockets.

Mike Hastings is among the best coaches in men’s college hockey so it wasn’t surprising this week when both a coaches poll and media poll ranked his Minnesota State team most likely to win the WCHA’s regular season championship in 2018. His teams have won 122 games, the fourth most nationally, since he took over the program for the 2012-13 season. Bemidji State was voted No. 2 in the polls.

The WCHA offices are based in the Twin Cities and the men’s administration is led by commissioner Bill Robertson, a former executive with the NHL Wild.

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Twins Need Dominant Santana in NY

Posted on September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 by David Shama

To most of the baseball world, the Twins look like a “just happy to be here” team going into next Tuesday’s anticipated playoff game against the Yankees in New York. The Twins have lost four of six to the Yankees this season, have an inferior overall record (82-74 versus 87-69), and a roster of key players who are young and inexperienced.

Max Kepler (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

In a one-game playoff young Twins hitters Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario could nervously be chasing pitches they shouldn’t be offering at. Add Miguel Sano, if healthy enough to play, to that list. None of those players have ever been in a Major League postseason game and their inexperience might lead to mistakes in the field and on the bases, too.

It appears all but certain the Twins and Yankees will be the American League’s two wild card entrants. For Minnesota to reverse the disaster of postseason failures against the Yankees in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2010, the Twins will almost certainly need a special performance from their expected starting pitcher, 34-year-old Ervin Santana.

Santana’s anticipated schedule has him starting Thursday against the Indians, then resting and preparing for the Yankees. His experience and skills give the Twins a chance in their playoff game. A win this Thursday will be his 17th of the season and set a career high. He goes into the game with a career-best 3.36 ERA.

Santana, who is among the American League leaders in wins, is paid to have big seasons like 2017 when he was honored with a place on the AL All-Star roster. He has postseason experience and earns $13.5 million annually, according to Cot’s baseball contracts.

The club’s best paid player, $23 million a year Joe Mauer, is also a veteran presence and has played in nine playoff games. He is hitting over .300 for the first time since 2013 and has committed only two errors at first base.

Royals’ first baseman Eric Hosmer hasthree errors, and has started 37 more games than Mauer. Hosmer is the favorite to win the AL Gold Glove award for first basemen.

Worth Noting

After the Vikings’ 34-17 win over the Bucs Sunday, Profootballfocus.com gave its five highest grades among Minnesota players to quarterback Case Keenum, wide receiver Adam Thielen, offensive tackle Mike Remmers, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and cornerback Trae Waynes. The website said Keenum, substituting for the injured Sam Bradford, “had the game of his life as he torched the Bucs secondary up and down the field.”

Sam Bradford (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

With Bradford sidelined with a knee injury, the 2-1 Vikings only have three offensive starters who were regulars on last season’s team—Diggs, Thielen and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Yet the Vikings rank second in the NFL in total offense at 400.3 yards per game, trailing the Patriots at 440.7.

Marcus Sherels, the former Gopher and Rochester, Minnesota native, turns 30 on Saturday. He has developed an impressive career with the Vikings as a punt returner and reserve cornerback. Sherels, acquired by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2010, holds the team career record for most touchdowns returning punts (five).

The Cowboys were the only NFL team worth $2 billion five years ago but now all but five franchises are at that level and more, according to a September 18 Forbes.com article. Forbes released its annual valuations of the league’s 32 teams including the Cowboys valued at $4.8 billion. The league average is $2.5 billion and the Vikings are valued at $2.4 billion.

Ticket prices range from $35 to $140 for Saturday’s Gophers-Maryland game at TCF Bank Stadium. For the Nebraska game November 11, prices start at $90 and go up to $235, while the range for Wisconsin two weeks later is $80 to $210.

Former Gophers Nick Rallis and Adam Weber are working in the football programs at Wake Forest and UCLA respectively.

Former Minnesota Mr. Football J.D. Spielman, now a redshirt freshman and wide receiver at Nebraska, had his first college touchdown reception last Saturday in a win over Rutgers. Spielman also has a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown this season.

Saint John’s and St. Thomas resume their football rivalry in Collegeville next year on October 13. The Tommies will host the Johnnies October 19, 2019, presumably at O’Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul but don’t be surprised if talks surface regarding another site after Saint John’s and St. Thomas drew a Division III record crowd at Target Field of 37,355 last Saturday.

Will the Johnnies consider hosting the game at a large neutral site stadium like St. Thomas did this year? “I can guarantee we’ll always play at (our) Clemens Stadium,” Saint John’s athletic director Bob Alpers told Sports Headliners.

Alpers is also the Johnnies golf coach and his team was playing in the Twin Cities Classic on Saturday so he missed the historic football game.

The Division III game last Saturday had a larger attendance than 28 FBS games including home crowds for Maryland and top 20 ranked Washington State. A St. Thomas spokesman also said there were “17,000 hits” on the school website’s streaming the game. A typical Tommies game might have 1,000 to 1,500 hits, while the previous all-time high in hits for a St. Thomas football game was 9,000 last year in a playoff game against UW-Oshkosh.

The WNBA Finals involving Glen Taylor’s Lynx will cause him to miss the Timberwolves team flight to China. Taylor told Sports Headliners he and wife Becky will fly to China after the finals that continue tonight with Game Two at Williams Arena against the Sparks and could go through October 4. The Wolves, who Taylor also owns, will play exhibition games in China starting October 5.

Taylor will participate in an NBA meeting while in China. He owns printing and software businesses in the country.

Taylor said the installation of temporary air conditioning at Williams Arena for the finals will cost about $1 million, and because the expenditure wasn’t budgeted for the Lynx franchise might not make a profit this year. “It won’t help, that’s for sure,” said Taylor who approved the expenditure for the benefit of players and fans.

Taylor remains friends with former Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman who is retired and spending time with family. Adelman’s son, David Adelman, who used to work for the Wolves, is an assistant with the Nuggets.

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Twins Future Excites Dave St. Peter

Posted on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 by David Shama

Dave St. Peter runs the Twins with steady emotions. The club’s president is not about hype, or deep despair. He’s seen the franchise lose over 90 games during five of the six previous, but this year Minnesota ranks with the surprise teams in Major League Baseball and could be headed to the postseason as a Wild Card team.

St. Peter told Sports Headliners he believes the club is also on its way to a “sustained period of competitiveness” beyond 2017. “That’s what makes me excited,” he said. “I am incredibly excited for 2018 and beyond.”

The Twins finished with a 59-103 record last season. “A lot of our guys, frankly, underperformed a year ago,” St. Peter said.

What’s happened to the Twins this season is several of the younger players have come closer to reaching their potentials, while veterans like starting pitcher Ervin Santana and first baseman Joe Mauer have produced better than a year ago, and the club has found unexpected contributors who even joined the team since opening day.

Few, if any observers, foresaw the Twins having a 78-72 record on September 19, and holding on to a Wild Card spot for the postseason. “Are we overperforming in 2017? Possibly, based on the metrics, based on run differential and things of that nature,” St. Peter said. “But you know, I think our club…is making great strides—to be competitive, to be playing meaningful games deep into September, to be in position to go to postseason.”

The Twins are only +8 in run differential for the season, according Teamrankings.com. Thirteen out of 30 big league clubs rank ahead of Minnesota including Central Division rival Cleveland, a team that is +227 in run differential for the season and running away with the division title.

St. Peter appreciates the contributions of so many players to the Twins’ success, and brought up several names when asked who is the club’s MVP. Certainly Santana with 15 wins and Mauer, who is hitting over .300 and playing like a Gold Glove winner in the field, deserve having their names on any list.

Santana has been the kind of No. 1 starter a contending team must have. Mauer, dogged with health problems the last few years, hasn’t hit over .300 since 2013. “There’s no question in my mind that he’s healthier than he’s been,” St. Peter said.

Worth Noting

The Twins total home attendance in 2016 was 1,963,912—their lowest total since moving into Target Field in 2010. Despite fan pessimism and inclement weather early this season, St. Peter said the Twins will draw over 2 million fans at home

Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman, 97 and still using a walker after his accident late last year, continues to compete for news and regularly shows up at practices, news conferences and games of Minnesota teams.

College basketball magazines are on newsstands including the Athlon Sports 2017-2018 issue. The Gophers are ranked No. 16 in the nation, predicted to finish second in the Big Ten and advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The only Big Ten team ahead of Minnesota is No. 2 Michigan State.

The magazine includes Gophers Nate Mason and Amir Coffey on its All-Big Ten second team. Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy is on the third team. Reggie Lynch is ranked the No. 2 “rim protector” in the nation.

Minnesota coach Richard Pitno said on last Sunday’s WCCO Radio “Sports Huddle” program that “98 percent” of season tickets for home games have been renewed.

The Vikings started the 2016 season with a 5-0 record. Since then, and including their 1-1 start in 2017, they are 4-9.

Vikings players Mackensie Alexander and Jayron Kearse will sign items for a fee on September 30 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Triple Crown Sports Collectibles show at Southtown Shopping Center in Bloomington. Ex-Vikings John Henderson and Sammy White will also be at the show and signing for a fee from 10 to 11 a.m.

Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and pre-orders will be accepted for a limited edition bobblehead of former Vikings linebacker Matt Blair. Ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant, who had been scheduled for September 30, will be at the Triple Crown show February 17. More information about Triple Crown shows is available by emailing vikingstwinsman@gmail.com

The 3-0 football Gophers have given up only 24 total points and are unscored upon in the second half.

Jeff Sagarin’s USA Today rankings today of 254 college football teams has Minnesota No. 39. The teams Minnesota has defeated—Buffalo, Oregon State and Middle Tennessee State—are No. 119, 96 and 92 respectively.

Eden Prairie High School coach Mike Grant told Sports Headliners this morning that Benny Sapp III, held out of last week’s game against Prior Lake because of a sore knee will see a doctor today, but Grant believes his star cornerback, who has verbally committed to the Gophers, will be okay. The undefeated Eagles could be headed to another state championship under Grant. “Somebody will have to play great to beat us,” he said.

Although the college hockey season hasn’t started, the opinion here is Gophers Tyler Sheehy and Casey Mittelstadt should be on anybody’s candidates list for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award given to college hockey’s best player. Sheehy, a junior forward, was a finalist for the award last season when he was Big Ten Player of the Year and a first team All-American. Mittelstadt, a freshman forward, was drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft—making him the Gophers’ highest draft pick since 2006.

A Big Ten coaches poll has for the third time in five years named the Gophers favorites to win the conference title. Minnesota plays Alberta October 1 in a home exhibition game.

Bobby Heenan, the famous wrestling personality who died Sunday, is known better nationally because of his work for the WWE but decades ago was part of Verne Gagne’s Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club’s operation. Former Gopher football player Jim Brunzell, who also was a headliner in Gagne’s organization, referred to Heenan as a “dear friend and blood brother” in an email. “He was a genius in our business and consummate performer,” Brunzell wrote.

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