Golden Gophers – Page 270 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Told Playing for Rings Now

Posted on January 6, 2016January 6, 2016 by David Shama

Updates on the Vikings and Gophers basketball. …

Mike Zimmer refers to Teddy Bridgewater as a people pleaser. His second-year quarterback can certainly enhance that reputation Sunday in his first-ever playoff game.

Bridgewater said today that Zimmer told the team in a team meeting that the playoffs mean competing for trophies and rings. “Hearing that, let’s you know that it’s go time,” Bridgewater said. “I walked into the (Winter Park) facility this morning and the guys were locked in. Those guys had that intensity, that look in their eyes that they want to get it done.”

The Vikings, of course, hope they’re going to eventually advance to next month’s Super Bowl and win rings. No Viking will receive more media and fan scrutiny than the 23-year-old Bridgewater, who while known for his poise and quiet leadership, didn’t have a highlight performance last Sunday in Green Bay when Minnesota’s stellar defense deserved most of the praise for producing a 20-13 win and the NFC North Division title. Six of the Vikings’ points came on a 55-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Captain Munnerlyn as they finished the regular season with an 11-5 record.

Teddy Bridgewater (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

In next Sunday’s home playoff game with the (10-6) Seahawks, Bridgewater will be expected to lead the offense. He completed 10 of 19 passes with an interception against the Packers. His passer rating was a season low 45.7. He was sacked three times and threw a left-handed interception. Late in the game he misfired on a handoff to Adrian Peterson, nearly resulting in a Packer recovery and potential rally to tie the game.

“He just wasn’t as sharp last night as he’s been these last three weeks,” Zimmer said on Monday. “I thought he moved in the pocket too much. He didn’t take some of the easy throws he had. He may be trying to do a little too much, I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to him yet. I’ll talk to him more this week. But he needs to play better.”

In a regular season 38-7 home loss to the Seahawks on December 6 things didn’t go so well for Bridgewater either. He had a 55.4 passer rating, and the Vikings’ only touchdown came on Cordarrelle Patterson’s 101-yard kickoff return. The offense produced only nine first downs, and 125 net yards including 31 rushing.

Bridgewater had his late regular season moments, though, including a 108 passer rating on the road against the Cardinals, a team that finished with a 13-3 record. And in another December game, against the Bears, he had career highs of four touchdown passes and a passer rating of 154.4.

Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes expects Bridgewater to handle the pressure of the playoffs. “Teddy is going to be the same Teddy. He’s going to be calm. He’s not going to be easy to rattle.

“He’s just going to go out there and play football. One thing I know about Teddy, he’s been doing this for awhile (high school, college and pros). So Teddy’s mentality (will be) just go in the game, and stay poised, and get the call, and make the right throw and make the right decision.”

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen is one of many Vikings who have never been in the playoffs. His approach to Sunday’s game is to be poised and he expects the same from Bridgewater. “I think he’ll handle it better than anyone,” Thielen said. “He’s always calm and he’s always ready to play. He’s a leader on this team and he’s going to be ready.”

Zimmer has high expectations for his players including the soft-spoken quarterback. The coach has said Bridgewater is a “pleaser” and encourages him to speak his mind including about plays he may not like. “You can be pretty direct with him,” Zimmer said. “He understands when he screws up. …”

The Vikings priced available tickets for Sunday’s game in a range from $48 to $154, with the relatively inexpensive prices likely influenced by the expected game day cold temperature and windchill. Availability earlier in the week included lower level seats.

Because of the two-hour time difference, the Seahawks will fly into Minneapolis Friday. That will allow the Seahawks to better adjust from West Coast time to Midwest. Often NFL teams don’t arrive for an NFL game until the day before.

Official capacity for the Vikings’ new stadium will be 66,200. Earlier figures were in the 65,000 range but a Vikings official told Sports Headliners the 66,200 number has been finalized and will include suite ticket holders, but not standing-room only—with the front office uncertain whether they will offer the stand and watch option. …

Last night Gophers freshman forward Jordan Murphy, while playing only about half the game, had 7 rebounds and 9 points in Minnesota’s 86-77 loss at Penn State. Murphy had nine rebounds and 14 points in Minnesota’s Big Ten home opener last Saturday against Michigan State.

The 6-6, 230-pound Murphy ranks second among all Big Ten players at 8.5 rebounds per game (includes conference and nonconference schedules). Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose Spartans are always among the best board teams in the nation, referred to Murphy as “a rebounding machine” and joked he wants to “steal him” from the Gophers.

“I like that kind of player,” Izzo said at his postgame news conference. “He’s tough, he’s aggressive.”

Most of the playing minutes on the Gophers are going to freshmen and sophomores including second-year center Bakary Konaté whose college offers included Louisville. He had 4 points and 2 rebounds last night after having 6 and 6 against Michigan State. The 6-11 native of Mali, who played 20 minutes last night, has potential and his development is vital for a Gophers team that lacks size both offensively and defensively.

“He’s put a lot of pressure on himself to become great this year,” said Gophers coach Richard Pitino. “Why I don’t know. We keep telling him, ‘Relax, it’s going to happen.’

“He works so hard everyday, every practice. I mean he works his butt off, and he wants it now like everybody does. I think he just needs to understand that if you continue to work like this, you’re going to be a really good player.”

The Gophers are 0-3 in the Big Ten and 6-9 overall. This is Pitino’s third season and most difficult start so far. Izzo acknowledged there’s “heat” on Pitino and the Gophers but he likes the talent of Minnesota’s young players. “They’re going to be good down the road, I believe that,” Izzo said.

“I understand fans are frustrated with us, but we’re young, and I hope they can stick with us,” Pitino said. “They’re (usually) really patient and they’re really supportive. …We’re going to be a really good team down the road for sure.”

Last week Izzo’s father Carl died at age 90. Earlier in 2015 Izzo lost his close friend Flip Saunders, the former Gophers guard and Timberwolves coach who died at 60. When Izzo was in town last week he spent time with Flip’s son Ryan Saunders.

“He only got 60 years out of his dad and I got 90 out of mine,” said Izzo who acknowledged the outpouring of support for him following his father’s death. “We’re all going to go through it (death). The only one that’s probably not going to die is Sid.”

Izzo was referring to 95-year-old Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman. At the news conference he teased Hartman when the local columnist and radio personality placed a 1980s style tape recorder in front of him. “I’ve still got a flip phone,” said Izzo who then wondered whether Hartman uses a rotary dial telephone.

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Rodgers Blocking Vikings Title Path

Posted on January 1, 2016January 1, 2016 by David Shama

The Packers have won four consecutive NFC North titles with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback. The Vikings have one win against the Packers in the last four seasons.

“I am tired of that,” said Vikings defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd. “It’s been three years since I’ve been here and the Packers have been the toughest game every year.”

Sunday night in Green Bay two 10-5 teams will decide who is the 2015 division champion. “Everybody is going to play lights out,” said Vikings kick returner and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. “We want to go home with the title.”

The Packers were embarrassed in Arizona last Sunday, losing 38-8 to the Cardinals. Rodgers, probably the NFL’s best quarterback, played behind a leaky offensive line. His two fumbles were returned for touchdowns. He was sacked eight times and threw one interception.

Adrian Peterson (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.)

The Vikings scored a season high 49 points in their easy 49-17 win over the Giants at TCF Bank Stadium. Adrian Peterson ran for over 100 yards for the seventh time this season. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater completed 15 of 25 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. But it was the defense that wrote the best storyline, harassing quarterback Eli Manning, his receivers and runners.

That defense made Vikings fans wonder if similar results could happen in Green Bay Sunday in the nationally-televised game on NBC. Floyd, though, isn’t assuming the Packers’ meltdown in the desert will repeat in the below freezing temps at Lambeau Field.

“It’s not that easy to just take someone’s confidence away,” Floyd said. “At the end of the day they can easily jump back on a horse. You gotta understand who that quarterback is. …”

The Packers have stumbled at times this season, not playing up to expectations. The Packers were coming off consecutive losses when they played the Vikings in Minneapolis on November 22 but the Purple couldn’t put an end to their 0-4-1 losing streak against Green Bay. In that 30-13 win, Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and Eddie Lacy rushed for 100 yards.

The Vikings hope to control Rodgers by keeping him in the pocket most of the time. The Packers’ receivers sometimes struggle to get separation and if the Vikings don’t have to double team some of them it will allow the Minnesota defense to concentrate more on Rodgers.

Still, it only takes a breakdown here or there for Rodgers to exploit a defense. Floyd said Rodgers and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson are the only two players he could think of that can throw touchdowns from the 50-yard line while moving.

“He’s a guy that can make a lot of passes on the run,” Floyd said. “We know his style and we know how he can be. We can’t take last week lightly (the Packers’ performance against the Cardinals). At the end of the day he’s still Aaron Rodgers—still the Green Bay Packers, and we gotta treat them as such.”

Worth Noting

Peterson, who has 1,418 yards rushing, could win his third career NFL rushing title Sunday night in the Vikings’ final regular season game. The 30-year-old Peterson would become the second oldest player ever to lead the league in rushing. The Jets Curtis Martin was 31 in 2004 when he led the league.

Bridgewater has 1,421 yards passing, six touchdown throws, two interceptions and a 94.6 passer rating in his last six road games. The Vikings are 4-2 in those games.

Stubhub.com is listing tickets as low as $97 for the game in Green Bay. The temperature at kickoff could be about 20 degrees with no snow and moderate wind.

National Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine, who last month had knee surgery, likely won’t be available when the Spartans play the Gophers tomorrow at Williams Arena. Without Valentine, the nationally No. 1 ranked Spartans lost 83-70 at Iowa on Tuesday night in their Big Ten opener.

Jim Dutcher, the former Gophers coach, told Sports Headliners Valentine is “50 percent” of the Spartans team. “The Gophers can beat them,” he said, while cautioning Michigan State will give its best effort to avoid an 0-2 Big Ten start.

The Gophers opened their Big Ten season with a 78-63 loss at Ohio State on Wednesday night. Inside play, on both offense and defense, was problematic as it was during the nonconference games. Dutcher likes the team’s perimeter play but problems defending, scoring and rebounding inside prompt him to forecast a 12th place finish in the Big Ten, and perhaps a 4-14 record.

Dutcher said if the Gophers (now 6-7 overall) get “lucky” they could win more than four games. “Six would be a lot but that can happen,” he said. “There are not a lot of great teams in the Big Ten.”

Twins president Dave St. Peter speaks to the CORES luncheon group on Thursday, January 7 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations and more information are available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

It will be interesting to see if former Twins Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan and Torii Hunter all retire during this offseason. Cuddyer and Hunter have already announced they will. Morneau and Nathan seem like candidates, too, after long careers that included being core players on the Twins’ division championship clubs several years ago.

The December 28 issue of Sports Illustrated includes pages of farewells to American sports figures who died in 2015 including former Twins pitcher Dean Chance, ex-Minneapolis Laker guard Hot Rod Hundley, former Gophers and Detroit Lions tight end Charlie Saunders, and Flip Saunders who played guard for the Gophers and coached the Timberwolves. Noticeably absent from the pages was wrestling icon Verne Gagne.

Niklas Backstrom, the Wild’s 37-year-old goalie who reportedly earns $4 million, hasn’t played in a regular season game January 13, 2015. He is an emergency goalie behind Devan Dubnyk and Darcy Kuemper.

The Wild play the Lightning tomorrow night in Tampa Bay. In a November game in St. Paul, the Wild shut out the Lightning 1-0. Dubnyk stopped all 31 Lightning shots and defenseman Jared Spurgeon scored the lone goal for the Wild.

Spurgeon, 26, recently signed a four-year, $20.75 million contract extension that begins with the 2016-2017 season. He is probably a top 20 NHL defenseman who can help the Wild for several more years.

With fall sports ended, results are compiled for the MIAC All-Sports competition, and St. Thomas and Saint John’s are the leaders. The annual MIAC All-Sports competition takes a comprehensive look at each institution’s performance within the league to award an overall champion for each gender. The fall update includes final results for golf, cross country, soccer, volleyball and football. Saint John’s leads the men’s standings, while the Tommies are atop the women’s rankings. Final standings for the 2015-2016 school year will be announced in the spring.

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Kill: “Great” Gophers Team in 2016

Posted on December 30, 2015 by David Shama

In a telephone interview with Sports Headliners on Monday night Jerry Kill predicted the Golden Gophers will have a great football team in 2016. Kill also said he doesn’t regret resigning last fall as the University of Minnesota’s football coach and has no intention of being a head coach again. He is undecided about future career plans but isn’t interested in becoming the University’s athletic director.

Kill spoke from Detroit after the Gophers won the Quick Lane Bowl 21-14—the program’s first postseason victory since 2004. Kill, Minnesota’s honorary captain for the game, watched from the sidelines with his former players and assistant coaches.

“It pretty much closes out my career with the Gophers, being on the sideline, getting the first bowl win with the guys, and the seniors,” Kill said. “It was a good moment.”

The victory over Central Michigan pushed Minnesota’s final record to 6-7 and stopped a streak of seven consecutive bowl losses. It was an uplifting end to a tumultuous year that saw Kill abruptly resign in late October for health reasons while his team worked its way through an abnormal number of injuries and a schedule that matched the Gophers against six teams who won nine games or more in 2015.

Kill’s first season as Gophers coach was 2011 and he predicted early on it would take time to rebuild a program that had won only 11 of its last 14 games and become a Big Ten bottom feeder. “I always said six and seven (years into the program) will be good, as long as the kids work hard,” Kill told Sports Headliners.

The schedule next season doesn’t include 2015 national powers Michigan, Ohio State and TCU. The mix of a favorable schedule, along with more talented, experienced and healthier Gophers players, has Kill feeling optimistic. “They’ll have a great team,” he said.

Kill’s successor, Tracy Claeys, will have many returnees but none more important than quarterback Mitch Leidner who was the Quick Lane Bowl MVP. A senior in 2016, Leidner has become Minnesota’s best quarterback since Adam Weber in 2010 and he has silenced some critics. Criticism directed at Leidner last season and in 2014 was sometimes mean-spirited and a source of frustration for Kill.

“He’ll have a great year (2016),” Kill said. “Everybody has questioned him since the day I stuck by him. He keeps getting better and better. He’s a tough sucker.”

Kill was a godsend for the Gophers’ football program. His 2013 and 2014 teams each won eight games. The 2014 group was 5-3 in the Big Ten, the program’s best conference record since 2003. That team also played in Minnesota’s first New Year’s Day bowl game since 1962.

Kill also turned around a failing academic situation at Minnesota where players were battling to stay eligible. The team’s improved academic work was a factor in Minnesota being invited to the Quick Lane Bowl, despite having a 5-7 regular season record. The off-field behavior of players also improved dramatically under the leadership of Kill and his staff who demanded good citizenship.

Now former defensive coordinator Claeys and a group of assistants that Kill put in place are beneficiaries of what looks like a bright future for Gophers football. Asked whether he has any regrets about resigning, Kill said, “No, not one. I did the right thing for the players. I did the right thing for the coaches.

“Sometimes I had to do a lot at the University of Minnesota—a lot more than people really know. If I could just coach the game (teach players) it would have been a lot easier but I had to do a lot of other things and it caught up with me.

“Now I don’t have to put a band-aid on it (improving his health). I can get it taken care of the next three to six months. I’ve been in the (Florida) sunshine walking…doing all the things my wife (Rebecca) wants me to do, and we’ll see what happens.”

Kill, 54, has a history of health problems including epilepsy. He was exhausted when he resigned as coach and had suffered recent seizures. As Minnesota’s coach his success on the field, along with his authentic and caring personality, made him the face of the athletic department—even the University—but it all came with a steep price. He pushed himself beyond the physical limits most people can endure, working long days 12 months a year not only for the football program, but also the athletic department where he was a key fundraiser for the school’s ambitious $166 million Athletes Village project.

Kill now is intent on improving and maintaining his health. “I will never be a head coach again,” he said. “I don’t want any part of it. I actually was offered a job to coach again at a smaller level, and no way I am going to do that. I might be a consultant, or I hope I can get on a bowl committee or selection committee. I will stay close to football. …I just don’t know how much. The main thing I am focused on is getting better and (focusing on) my family. That’s the most important thing to me.”

Kill said he has yet to discuss any future role working for the University but is open to discussions. The athletic director position, however, doesn’t attract him for a couple of reasons. After working 16 hours a day or more as football coach, he thinks the AD job at Minnesota will require at least that much daily dedication and that’s not the direction he is headed. Then, too, Kill wouldn’t be comfortable with a potential conflict of interest overseeing a football program he was so close to. “I am not real fired up about being the athletic director,” Kill said. “I don’t think that’s a good thing for Minnesota.”

Kill and his wife will vacate their downtown Minneapolis residence next month and move back to the family lake home in Illinois. Eventually Kill wants to find something for the next chapter of his life he can do with passion. He is already considering some offers but didn’t provide details. “I’ve got a lot of options, more options than I ever thought I would have,” Kill said. “I just have to pick what I want to do and what my body is going to allow me to do.”

Kill is planning to have discussions about going on the national speakers’ circuit, and he will write a book with local author Jim Bruton. The manuscript will talk about his career, values and “health situations.” The book will probably be out by next September and be marketed to business and football people, and those who suffer from epilepsy.

That project and no doubt other activities will bring Kill back to Minnesota, even though this won’t be his permanent home. Minnesotans will remember this remarkable leader who not only did so much for the University, but along with his wife reached out to assist causes and people in the larger community.

Kill is appreciative of how so many Minnesotans supported him. “We’re grateful for our time (here),” he said.

He would have loved to be around for a great run of Gophers football in 2016 and beyond, but he knows he made the right decision walking away. He gave everything he had to the Gophers and when he couldn’t give anymore he wasn’t going to take a paycheck for anything less than his best effort.

“I’ve lived a great life and I’ve had a great career, over 32 years,” Kill said. “I fired myself, I guess.”

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