The Twins start the regular season today and insiders will watch to see who fills the leadership void left by the retirement of Torii Hunter. A source close to the club told Sports Headliners he thinks it will be second baseman Brian Dozier.
Dozier begins his fifth season with the Twins this afternoon in Baltimore against the Orioles. To be a leader, a player has to be a success on the field. Last season was a breakthrough year for the second baseman who played in his first All-Star Game. He led the Twins in home runs with 28 and runs scored, 101.
The source described the 28-year-old Dozier as someone who plays hard and is a potential leader in part because he produces on the field and at the plate. “He is the kind of guy that cares,” the source said. “To be a leader you have to care.”
Hunter could be confrontational with underachieving teammates. While Dozier isn’t an in-your-face guy, he is willing to speak out when something is wrong, the source said.
The Twins had lost 90-plus games for four consecutive seasons when Hunter joined the team as a free agent for 2015. He found a dreary clubhouse where players weren’t enjoying the experience of playing baseball. “Losing a game isn’t life and death,” the source said.
Hunter focused on winning games but also wanted a locker room atmosphere that was fun. His clubhouse dance parties following games symbolized the new attitude of the Twins, who earned an 83-79 final record and second place finish in the AL Central.
“You’ve got to have some life in the locker room,” the source said. “If you treat everything so serious, it takes away a lot of the enjoyment of playing the game.”
Worth Noting
The Orioles project to be among the mediocre teams in the American League. Last season the Orioles’ record was 81-81 and the Twins were 7-0 against them.
The Twins tried for years to fill their shortstop position after trading J.J. Hardy to the Orioles during the 2010 offseason for a pair of minor league pitchers who never contributed. Hardy is still the Orioles’ shortstop, and hit .265 with three home runs and six RBI in spring training.
Former Twin Vance Worley was fourth on the Orioles in innings pitched during spring training and had a 1-1 record with a 4.32 ERA.
Temperatures could reach the low 70s with some precipitation for this afternoon’s game in Baltimore, according to Accuweather.com.
Twins’ TV analyst Bert Blyleven, who likes to talk about his birthdays, could well reference it on today’s Fox North telecast. Blyleven will be 65 Wednesday.
Jim Dutcher
Jim Dutcher, the former Gophers coach who correctly predicted North Carolina would be a Final Four team, told SportsHeadliners yesterday he believes Villanova’s defensive pressure will be too much for Carolina’s guards and the Wildcats will win tonight’s NCAA championship game 82-80.
Former Gophers football coach Jerry Kill received a standing ovation Friday night at the Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Kill was presented with the MFCA’s Power of Influence Award that has been renamed the Jerry Kill Power of Influence Award.
Author Jim Bruton said the book he and Kill are writing is complete, and it’s now ready for editing. As part of researching the book, Bruton travelled to places Kill has coached and saw how much he is revered. “He is a god,” Bruton said. “Chasing Dreams, Living My Life One Yard at a Time” will be released next fall.
The MFCA’s Tackle Cancer initiative has raised $774,000 for research in four years. Prep football coaches in various parts of the state designate a home game as a fundraiser. Proceeds go to the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund.
Players from the Gophers’ 1967 Big Ten championship football team will be in town for a reunion April 22. They will gather at J.D. Hoyt’s Supper Club starting at 2 p.m.
WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson will meet with Arizona State officials at the Frozen Four in Tampa later this week to discuss the future conference affiliation of the Sun Devils. ASU may announce this summer which college hockey league its program will join and what the first year of participation will be. The Sun Devils are currently an independent.
Robertson has been talking to the Big Ten about preseason and postseason games involving that league and his WCHA. Plans might become finalized next fall. Robertson has proposed schools from the two leagues match up teams in the preseason similar to basketball’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In the postseason a single site would host separate WCHA and Big Ten tournaments.
“Wally the Beer Man,” 81, has been hawking beer at various Minneapolis and St. Paul venues since 1970, but something is different this winter and spring. When Wally McNeil returns to his Plymouth home from the Xcel Energy Center after selling beer at Minnesota Wild games, Joyce McNeil, his wife for 28 years, isn’t there to greet him.
Joyce passed away on January 25 at age 85 from heart problems. An empty house can’t be very welcoming to Minnesota’s favorite beer vendor. To help deal with sadness Wally has sold beer at almost every Wild game this season.
Wally and Joyce met while employed at Twin City Wholesale Drug. She worked in city desk sales; he was vice president of operations. They were married June 23, 1988.
Wally at Canterbury Park
Joyce wasn’t a passionate sports fan but attended games when Wally was selling beer in the stands. About 16 years ago Joyce and Wally got into horse racing ownership at Canterbury Park. The couple bought race horses with Canterbury owner Curtis Sampson. Over the years the McNeils owned more than a dozen horses but none more successful than Wally’sChoice, whose lifetime earnings at the Shakopee racetrack and elsewhere are the second highest ever for a Minnesota bred.
Wally’s Choice was inducted into the Canterbury Park Hall of Fame last year. Wally attended the ceremony but Joyce’s health kept her away. The Hall of Fame recognition brightened Joyce’s spirits. “She was excited,” Wally said.
During baseball season Wally will again be a celebrity beer seller at Sneaky Pete’s downtown and on special event dates at Canterbury Park he will also be selling beer. What’s his favorite brew?
“A cold one that somebody else pays for,” he answered.
Although he didn’t need the money and still doesn’t, Wally started selling beer at the Minneapolis Auditorium in 1970 for attractions like professional wrestling. He enjoyed being around people at various events. Customers liked him, too—drawn to his deep voice and friendly manner.
For decades part of the fun at a Twins game was buying a beer from Wally. His association with Target Field ended several years ago, though, after he and other beer sellers were targeted in a sting operation involving sales to underage drinkers. A Hennepin County jury found him not guilty, but Wally has chosen not to work anymore at Target Field.
Wally will turn 82 in August but has no plans to stop selling beer. He has no health issues after triple bypass heart surgery in 2009. “My blood pressure is 110 over 66,” he said.
Some Minnesota retirees move to Florida. Others sit in rocking chairs on their porches. Wally, a fit 6-2, 210 pounds, just keeps going as the king of Minnesota beer vendors.
“As long as the good Lord lets me,” he said. “One day at a time.”
Worth Noting
Former Gophers All-American safety Tyrone Carter is working with potential 2016 NFL draft choices including cornerback RashardRobinson who Carter said is a first round talent but likely to be selected in the third round. Carter operates the Tyrone Carter Elite Training Schools in the Twin Cities and Robinson is from Carter’s prep alma mater, Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Robinson’s playing time at LSU was reduced because of a suspension for violation of team rules. The 6-3, 177-pound player is gifted but Carter said his pupil will not go in the first round because of his off-field “baggage.” Carter, who won the Jim Thorpe Award at Minnesota honoring the nation’s best college defensive back, said Robinson had the skills to also win the award. “He is a talented young kid for his size,” Carter said.
David Cobb
Varmah Sonie, who is from Burnsville and was a senior cornerback for Northern Iowa in 2012, is also receiving instruction from Carter. Sonie hopes to join an NFL team as a free agent. Carter is also working with former Gophers David Cobb (Titans running back) and Ra’Shede Hageman (Falcons defensive tackle).
An announcement soon seems likely that the Vikings will name AdrianPeterson, who led the NFL in rushing last season, as their 2015 MVP. The Vikings will honor team award winners in multiple categories including MVP at the Hilton Minneapolis April 17. That evening the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame hosts its 9th annual Minnesota Football Honors event. See the March 16 Sports Headliners for more about the event that also honors high school scholar-athletes.
Spring football continues this week for the Gophers with two practices open to the public scheduled at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. Practice tomorrow (Thursday) begins at 3:45 p.m. and activities Saturday start at 11 a.m. (A Gophers spokesman e-mailed that practice locations can be switched to TCF Bank Stadium. Fans can check for updates on Twitter @GopherFootball.)
The Wild, with five games remaining to make the playoffs, may catch a weary opponent tomorrow night at Xcel Energy Center when playing the Senators. Ottawa plays at Winnipeg tonight before travelling to St. Paul. The Wild have won six consecutive games after last night’s victory over the Blackhawks.
Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. will again honor his mom, the late Carol Fitzgerald, at an April 8 fundraising dinner and celebration at the Minneapolis Event Center (St. Anthony Main). His mom passed away in 2003 and the Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund was established to assist charitable causes important to her. Guests at next month’s Carol’s Night will include Fitzgerald and ESPN’s JosinaAnderson. VIP ticket guests receive photo opportunities with Fitzgerald, the nine-time Cardinals NFL pro bowler. More information is available by calling 612-770-4575.
Monday’s announcement the Lynx will play a preseason game in Rochester on May 8 prompts speculation the WNBA team might play more exhibitions at the Mayo Civic Center in 2017 and beyond. The Lynx have a multi-year partnership with the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic. The Lynx haven’t played a game in Rochester since 2003 and no doubt will be interested in gauging fan response this spring. The defending WNBA champion team will play the Mystics in a Sunday game beginning at 4 p.m.
Lindsay Whalen
Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen joins commentators Dave Benz and JimPetersen tonight on the Fox Sports North telecast of the Timberwolves-Clippers game from Target Center. Whalen is the Lynx franchise record holder in assists (1,072), and ranks third all-time in the WNBA for career assists (2,033). She is one of six players in WNBA history with 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. The Minnesota native starts her 12th WNBA season this spring, seventh with the Lynx.
The St. Thomas men’s basketball team will be honored for their NCAA Division III national championship prior to the Timberwolves game. Earlier this month the Tommies won their second national title in the past six years.
Bill Robertson, WCHA commissioner, e-mailed his league is represented by 33 current or former players at the women’s International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships that started Monday and continues through April 4 in Kamloops, British Columbia. Annie Pankowski from the Badgers and Lee Stecklein of the Gophers will compete for the United States and are among 11 student-athletes who played during the 2015-2016 college season. Pankowski will be a junior at Wisconsin next season, while Stecklein will be a senior at Minnesota.
Author Patrick Mader’s official book launch is tomorrow (Thursday) for “Minnesota Gold: Conversations with Northland Athletes Competing on the World Stage.” Mader’s book profiles 57 Minnesotans, including past Olympians, and details their lives and accomplishments. His event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at Braemar Golf Club in Edina, with a program at 7 p.m. Seven of the Minnesota athletes from the book are expected to attend: Trina Radke (swimming), Tami and Toni Jameson (team handball), Jim Mastro (wrestling), Mark Lutz (track), Van Nelson (track), and Janet Gerhauser (pairs figure skating). More at Patrickmader.com.
What to know about Miguel Sano, the late Flip Saunders, and national championship pursuits tonight by the St. Thomas men’s basketball team and the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team. …
Sano has yet to play a full season in the majors but writers are learning the 22-year-old hitting phenom from the Dominican Republic is full of confidence. In July of last year he told Sports Headliners future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter he’s seen, and also said, “I can be better than Cabrera, I think.”
Sano spoke about what kind of batting numbers he could achieve in a full season in a March 8, 2016 article by Tom Verducci of Si.com. He told Verducci, “I don’t know, but if I stay healthy I feel like I have a chance to be something like the MVP and win the Triple Crown, and I can be on the All-Star team.”
Miguel Sano (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).
In 80 games and 279 at bats last season Sano had a .269 average, with 18 home runs and 52 RBI. Sano obviously believes those are numbers he can build on this season and during his career.
Twins president Dave St. Peter views the young slugger’s confidence as a positive. “He obviously has a long way to go to get to his full potential but he’s a talented player,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “He has all the attributes on the field that you would expect out of some of the better players in the game, in terms of being able to hit for power and command of the strike zone.
“I think getting back on the field defensively is going to be important for him in terms of his career. We certainly thought that was a critical thing in the offseason to move him into a position (on the field). …We’re counting on him to take that next step. We’re hopeful he’s going to be a positive force for our club for a long, long time.”
Sano, a third baseman and shortstop in the minor leagues, was mostly a designated hitter for the Twins last season. In spring training he’s learning to play right field and that’s a process. “The best thing is he’s had a great attitude about it and he’s attacked it,” St. Peter said. “He’s been a good student, asking questions, learning from mistakes. I think having Torii Hunter (retired Twins right fielder and now an instructor) in camp the first couple weeks was a huge benefit to Miguel.”
Sano is 6-4, 262-pounds but St. Peter said there are no concerns about running down balls in the outfield. “He runs fine. Running isn’t going to be the issue for him. It’s going to be how long it’s going to take for him to master (outfield) routes and play those balls that are hit right at him. We want to make sure that we give him time for the transition, but we’re optimistic that he is going to be fine in right field.”
St. Peter believes Sano can become exceptional in the field. “We think the athleticism is there for him to be a very good outfielder. The only thing holding him back is inexperience.” …
Saunders died a few days before the Timberwolves started the 2015-2016 season but the impact of his personnel decisions is evident this winter. Owner Glen Taylor hired Saunders about three years ago to turn around a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004. In a short time Saunders rebuilt the roster with young talent that has yet to win consistently, but the club shows promise of eventually making deep runs in the NBA playoffs.
Only point guard Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic remain from the team’s 20-man training camp roster in the fall of 2012. Six players remain from the 15-man roster the Wolves had opening the 2014-2015 season. In addition to Rubio and Pekovic, those players are Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and AndrewWiggins.
As president of basketball operations in May of 2013, Saunders inherited Rubio and Pekovic. This season the Wolves’ starting lineup has often consisted of Rubio and LaVine at guards, Dieng and Wiggins at forwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns (drafted last June) at center. Muhammad, a forward, plays major minutes off the bench.
Jim Dutcher said Saunders, who played and coached for him with the Gophers, could see potential in players that others missed. “…His ability to foresee what a player could be, not what he was necessarily at the time,” Dutcher said.
Flip Saunders (Photo courtesy of Timberwolves).
In Saunders’ first NBA draft he made a trade with the Jazz that allowed the Wolves to acquire both Dieng and Muhammad. He got two No. 1 draft choices by sending his initial first round pick, TreyBurke of Michigan, to Utah. Dieng didn’t have eye-catching scoring numbers in college but at power forward for the Wolves he makes contributions the subtle observer doesn’t always see. Muhammad’s flashy talent was obvious at UCLA but some experts doubted his character. Dutcher said Saunders believed with maturity and the right coaching Muhammad could help the Wolves.
LaVine was a one-and-done freshman at UCLA in 2013-2014 and Saunders liked what he saw. “Probably biggest one (of Saunders’ personnel moves) was LaVine, a nonstarter in college and he takes him with their No. 1 choice because he could see his athletic ability,” Dutcher said. “He could say, ‘Hey, if we can refine his game, this kid is going to be a player.’ ”
After Saunders’ first year or so with the Wolves it became apparent All-Star forward Kevin Love didn’t want to be part of the franchise long-term. Saunders negotiated a deal in the summer of 2014 with the Cavs sending Love to Cleveland and bringing Wiggins to Minneapolis. Wiggins had been the overall No. 1 NBA draft choice earlier in 2014 and in his first season with the Wolves became NBA Rookie of the Year.
Dutcher believes Saunders’ easiest move was acquiring Towns. Known for their awful luck in the draft lottery, the Wolves finally won the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick last year. Dutcher believes it was “pretty easy” to take Towns instead of Jahlil Okafor, another big man hyped before the draft and eventually taken third overall by the Sixers. He refers to Towns as the “cornerstone” of Minnesota’s youthful team. “He is a high character kid who is only going to get better,” Dutcher said.
The Wolves’ record is a dismal 22-46 but there is too much young talent not to dramatically improve that record during the next couple of seasons. Saunders, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and saw his health quickly deteriorate, died at age 60. Dutcher said his friend’s efforts with the Wolves “were finally about to be rewarded.”
More importantly, Dutcher said, Saunders’ death is for the many people who loved him a “tragedy that is hard to deal with.” …
John Tauer
Salem, Virginia is about a three hour drive from the campus of Christopher Newport in Newport News, Virginia. St. Thomas coach John Tauer knows CNU will have a supportive crowd when the two teams play in a Division III Final Four semifinal game tonight in Salem.
Tauer, though, didn’t seem concerned earlier this week when talking to Sports Headliners. The Tommies advanced to the Final Four last Saturday in Rock Island, Illinois where Augustana, a physically imposing team and ranked No. 1 in Division III, had a home court advantage.
“Their crowd was as wild as any one that I’ve ever seen,” Tauer said. “Our guys certainly rose to the challenge. You can worry about all those factors in a national tournament. The reality is I am much more concerned trying to get our guys ready, and prepared to play an outstanding team. The crowd is the crowd. That’s fun for everybody but the reality is what’s going on inside the court is what we try to focus on.”
The Tommies (28-3) and CNU (30-1) play tonight at 6:30 p.m. (central daylight) after the semifinal game between Benedictine (31-0) and Amherst (25-6). The winners play for the national championship Saturday night. Tonight’s games are streamed live on NCCA.com. The championship game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Tauer, who has a 126-22 record in five years as the Tommies’ head coach, is now in his fourth Final Four. He played in one final, was an assistant coach on the UST national title team of 2011 and was head coach for the Tommies in the 2013 Final Four.
Last year’s team was 24-4 and its wins included a victory over eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point. With four of his top six players returning, Tauer knew his team could have another high success season. The Tommies not only have talent but experience with four of their major contributors being seniors.
This week Tauer was named West Region Coach of the Year by D3Hoops.com. Senior center Ryan Saarela (second team) and senior forward Taylor Montero (third team) were named All-Region.
Both players are Minnesotans, as are all but one of the 17 players on the roster. Tauer said the talent pool of Minnesota high school basketball is impressive and that’s a reason why he stays close to home in recruiting. Logistics and budget are factors too. “I don’t have a private jet (for recruiting),” he said. …
The Gophers women’s hockey team (33-4-1) plays the Badgers (35-3-1) for a sixth time this season when the two teams meet tonight starting at 6 p.m. (central daylight) in a national semifinal Frozen Four game in Durham, N.H. The Badgers have won three games, the Gophers two this season, and the winner tonight advances to the NCAA national title game Sunday that begins at 1 p.m.
The defending national champion Gophers are in their fourth consecutive Frozen Four. Minnesota is trying to win its seventh national championship and third back-to-back title.
The other Frozen Four teams are Boston College (39-0) and Clarkson (30-4-5). The two semifinal games and Sunday’s title game will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
