University of Minnesota Regent Dave Larson, who died unexpectedly late last month, used to telephone me about Gophers football. I never heard him utter one word of doubt or negativity about coach Jerry Kill.
“He had my back,” Kill said after a public memorial service at TCF Bank Stadium last Saturday.
Larson telephoned me last spring and started going through the Gophers 2014 football schedule. He projected Minnesota winning one game after another. With his predictions, the Gophers would now be undefeated and in the conversation for the four-team college football playoff in January.
Larson met Kill shortly after the coach came here from Northern Illinois. Larson loved football and played the sport in high school in Glenwood, Minnesota. He was too small to play for the Gophers but he became a generous supporter of the football program and the University where he earned a B.A. in political science in 1966.
Dave Larson
What Kill told Larson after he inherited the Gophers program in late 2010 was that academics among his players were a mess. The collective GPA performance was so poor the Gophers were in danger of losing scholarships, per an NCAA policy that monitors grades. “We had seven kids who were in bad shape,” Kill said.
Larson told Kill he wanted to help and asked what was needed to improve the schoolwork of the football players. Larson, who had been one of Cargill’s top executives until retiring in 2010, was devoted to philanthropy and he gave $500,000 to the football program to pay for tutors, laptops and also enhancements to the weight room.
The collective academic performance of the football program has jumped from a GPA of about 2.1 to 3.0 and better in recent semesters. Kill doesn’t hold back his gratitude for what Larson did.
“He set the standard,” Kill said. “He never wanted credit. He’s the reason period (for improvement). He saved some lives.”
Now the Gophers Athletic Department has an ambitious project to fundraise $190 million to improve facilities including a new indoor football building. I know Larson was supportive of the entire project including better football resources that can make the Gophers more comparable to other programs in the Big Ten. I suspect he planned on being a major project donor.
In 2008 Larson endowed a scholarship to assist middle-class families with the rising costs of education. The result has been 350 Larson Scholars have attended the University, pursuing their educational goals and having peace of mind about college expenses.
Shona Nagel, one of the scholarship recipients, spoke at Larson’s memorial service. She told the audience of a Larson mantra to the students, “Do well and do good.”
Then she recalled how Larson punctuated his closing remarks to the students by thrusting a finger in the air and exclaiming, “Go Gophers!”
University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler also spoke at the service and is in “awe” of Larson’s commitment to philanthropy. “His passion to this University was unmatched,” Kaler said.
Larson’s influence is felt at Cargill too where his business expertise, leadership and mentoring helped make the Minnesota company a powerhouse in the feed business. His leadership and caring will live on through the many people he touched in his life including University of Minnesota graduates who had doors opened for them at Cargill.
Former Gophers running back Amir Pinnix is one of the many former football players at Cargill. “He was a mentor, a friend, a coach,” Pinnix said. “Dave actually got me started in my Cargill career. He had very strong leadership values and believed in helping others out.”
Kill said it was a “tremendous honor” to eulogize his friend, Dave Larson. “I will miss him. We have to step to the plate because we’re representing a guy who gave us our start.”
Larson’s widow Janis and sons Lance and Reid spoke at the service. They gave a heartfelt thank you to all in attendance for their support. I am sure those who heard their words were grateful for knowing Dave and what he did as a business and University of Minnesota leader, philanthropist, and friend and mentor to so many.
There’s plenty to note about Paul Molitor being hired as Twins manager including historical ties to the Gophers.
The Twins announced today they will introduce Molitor as their new manager tomorrow. He has agreed to a three-year contract that will run through 2017, and he becomes the first former Gopher to lead the Twins.
Also, for the first time ever there are now five former Gophers leading teams in MLB, the NBA, NFL and NHL. Flip Saunders and Kevin McHale, basketball teammates with the Gophers, are the head coaches for the Timberwolves and Rockets in the NBA. Former Gophers quarterback Marc Trestman is head coach of the NFL’s Bears. Ex-Gophers defenseman Todd Richards, who once coached the Wild, is head coach of the NHL’s Blue Jackets. All five U alums attended the University of Minnesota in the 1970s and 1980s.
Molitor, a former Gophers All-American shortstop, was considered the favorite for the Twins manager job since Ron Gardenhire was let go in late September. Molitor’s hiring will put smiles on the faces of most Twins fans but his presence in the dugout probably won’t sell a lot of tickets unless the club puts an end to its dismal performance on the field.
Molitor is considered one of baseball’s smartest men. He can talk for hours about a single subject like base running. He reportedly can sit in a dugout and predict what pitch will be thrown next. He has been a Twins coach and before that minor league instructor with the Twins while drawing praise from players for his advice.
What Molitor may have had to convince Twins hiring authorities about is his willingness to get after players and motivate them. Will he travel during the offseason to check in with pitcher Ricky Nolasco who was a major disappointment in 2014 after signing a big contract with the Twins? Would he be bold enough to drop Joe Mauer down in the batting order if deserved?
Managers do make a major impact—if they are the right ones like Billy Martin who in 1969 shook up the Twins and made a big difference in performance. Joe Maddon is probably baseball’s best manager of the current era and his name came up during the Twins’ search but he signed on with the Cubs after leaving the Rays. Maddon’s hire would have made a stir here.
Molitor, 58, has never managed before so it’s appropriate to wonder what kind of job he will do. Part of his success will be tied to the staff he assembles. Will former Brewers teammate Robin Yount, a Hall of Famer like Molitor, be on the staff? The names of Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris and Frank Viola have been mentioned as possible pitching coaches.
Molitor has waited a long time for a manager’s job, and making things sweeter is the Edina resident will do it in his hometown. He will pump new life into the Twins organization but in the long run neither he nor the Twins will maximize success without better players. But that’s for another day, not tomorrow.
Worth Noting
Everson Griffen was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October and yesterday he led the Vikings linemen in tackles and came up with a sack for the fifth consecutive game when Minnesota defeated the Redskins at TCF Bank Stadium.
Griffen, who only started one game during the previous four seasons, is having a breakout year. Asked if he wants to see the season end with All-Pro recognition, the Vikings defensive end said, “I am trying, man.”
Griffen added that team wins are most important and success by the Vikings can only support individual awards. He leads all NFC players in sacks with nine and is second in the league to the Chiefs’ Justin Houston who has 12.
By coming up with a sack yesterday, he now has seven in the last five games. He also had five solo tackles in the 29-26 win over the Redskins including an important first half tackle on third and one when he chased down Washington running back Roy Helu, Jr. for a loss.
Griffen had an NFC-best six sacks in a four-game period in October. He was the only player in the conference with at least one sack in four games. He also led all NFC defensive linemen with 20 total tackles (16 solo) in October.
After nine games, Griffen already has more sacks than his previous season-best of eight in 2013. He can be sure All-Pro selectors are noticing.
Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has only been sacked three times in the last two games. In the two games before that Bridgewater was sacked 13 times as the Vikings lost games to the Lions and Bills.
Mike Zimmer
Bridgewater has now helped the offense in three fourth quarter wins including yesterday. “I feel like Teddy is growing up and I feel like the rest of us are growing up,” Vikings head coach MikeZimmer said on KFAN Radio after the game. “We just gotta be more efficient in everything we do.”
Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, who made the team’s roster this season after being on the practice squad in 2013, has been speaking to school groups. The former Detroit Lakes High School player’s message is: “Anything is attainable.”
The Vikings have a reorganized wide receiver group that also includes Jarius Wright who in 16 games last season had 434 reception yards. This season in nine games Wright is second on the team with 315. What’s changed? “A lot of it is my confidence and their confidence in me,” he told Sports Headliners.
Did you know the Gophers’ total of six alums on NFL opening day rosters was tied with Indiana for fewest in the Big Ten Conference? The leaders were Ohio State with 33, Wisconsin 32, Michigan 25 and Penn State 25. The six Gophers were Eric Decker, MarQueis Gray, Ra’Shede Hageman, Marcus Sherels, Matt Spaeth and BrockVereen.
Despite a bye in the schedule last Saturday and extra week of rest, it’s a good guess injured Gophers Alex Keith (defensive end), Ben Lauer (offensive tackle) and Drew Wolitarsky (tight end) will not be ready for Iowa Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.
Dick Jonckowski starts his 29th season as Gophers basketball public announcer on Thursday night when Minnesota plays UMD in an exhibition game at Williams Arena. Jonckowski, who experienced health problems during the offseason, is one of only two public address announcers in Williams Arena history. Julie Perlt did the PA work for 58 seasons.
UMD lost an exhibition game on Saturday to Notre Dame, 88-71. Brett Ervin, the senior center from Eden Prairie High School, led the Bulldogs with 29 points.
Lindy’s College Basketball magazine predicts the Gophers will finish fourth in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin, Ohio State and Nebraska. Gophers guard Andre Hollins is a second team all-conference pick.
The magazine has former Robbinsdale Cooper guard Rashad Vaughn on its Mountain West Conference first team. Lindy’s also lists the UNLV guard as the league’s “No. 1 signing coup” and top NBA prospect.
Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic has been susceptible to ankle and foot problems during his NBA career. He told Sports Headliners he applies ice for 12 to 15 minutes after each game. His total minutes per game this season are likely to seldom exceed 30, as coach Flip Saunders tries to limit the pounding on the veteran center’s feet and ankles. Through the first three games of the season he is averaging 30.3 minutes.
Flip Saunders
Former Minneapolis Marshall-University High School basketball coach Ed Prohofsky has been friends with Saunders for many years and is assisting the Wolves this season as a consultant. Prohofsky attends home games but doesn’t travel with the team. He began his coaching career in the military in 1957 and later had a 53-game winning streak at Marshall-U High. When Saunders coached at Golden Valley Lutheran College for the 1980-81 season, Prohofsky was an assistant coach.
The Wild, off to a 7-3 start, knows about home ice advantage. Minnesota, 5-0 at Xcel Energy Center so far, is the only Western Conference team yet to lose at home. The Wild finished 3-0 at home during preseason, 5-1 at Xcel Energy Center during the 2014 playoffs and 26-10-5 during the 2013-14 season. The Wild hosts the Penguins tomorrow night.
Bethel football coach Steve Johnson will speak at the November 13 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Bethel, 7-1 overall and 6-0 in the MIAC, is the only undefeated team in the league. Johnson is in his 26th season at Bethel and six times he has been honored as MIAC Coach of the Year. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations (by November 10) for the lunch and program can be made by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.
Steve Nestor admits if he tried to sabotage the University of Illinois Homecoming Parade this week he likely would be thrown in jail. But back in 1967 when he and a buddy crashed the parade, law enforcement gave the Minnesotans the green light.
Nestor was a student athletic trainer for the Gophers football team. His buddy, SteveVegoe, was a gate guard at the team’s practice field. Neither student was part of the team’s official travel party so Nestor suggested the two of them drive down to Champaign, Illinois for the Saturday, October 14 game.
The boys left Minneapolis early on the morning of October 13 and were excited to see what the Gophers could do against the Illini in the team’s first Big Ten Conference game of the season. Hopes were high for the Gophers who had a 2-1 record in nonconference games with the only loss a 7-0 defeat at Nebraska against a Cornhuskers team that was a national power.
Nestor and Vegoe arrived in Champaign early on that Friday afternoon. It didn’t take long for Nestor to hit on an idea that added a lot of excitement to the weekend. He and Vegoe headed over to the student union and it was there that Nestor picked up a copy of the school newspaper. He saw the Homecoming Parade route published in the newspaper. “The light bulb went on,” said Nestor who now owns a radio station in Glenwood, Minnesota.
Steve Nestor
Nestor knew more than a little about marching bands and parades. He also liked a little mischief, so he imagined positioning his 1965 bright red Oldsmobile F-85 in the Illini Homecoming Parade. “I knew from marching in the high school band that the band always took longer to turn the (street) corners and there usually ended up being an opening between whoever was in front of the band and them,” he said.
Nestor and Vegoe went to a drugstore to buy the materials needed to make two signs that proclaimed: “Golden Gophers Rose Bowl Bound.” They taped the signs on the car’s front doors and were ready to join the parade.
“I got in an alley that was right after this corner so when the third unit of the parade went by me I pulled out onto the main drag,” Nestor said. “We were right behind that third unit, with the band coming behind us.”
So there the boys were—driving and waving in the Illini’s Homecoming Parade—going down the street in this car with Minnesota license plates and signage bragging about the Gophers’ intent to play in the 1968 Rose Bowl. “I don’t think we had gone even half a block and a guy pulled up on a motorcycle,” Nestor said. “It was a university policeman.”
The officer gestured for Nestor to roll down his window. The cop told the party crashers that if they continued on the parade route the F-85 wouldn’t be welcomed along fraternity row where students would likely tip the car over. Then came a surprise offer from the policeman.
“You got enough balls to be in this parade, I am gonna ride with you the whole way,” the officer said.
“Each of us (Nestor and Vegoe) had all we could do to keep from laughing,” Nestor remembered. “I said, ‘Well, thanks a lot.’ ”
The “Minnesota unit” continued on the parade route and at one point the car was about to approach school dignitaries including the University of Illinois president. “They’re all waving wildly at the queen and this and that,” Nestor said. “Then all of a sudden it was silence. They all stared at us. Right out of a movie—they’re looking at Gophers Rose Bowl bound!”
Nestor and Vegoe, like the other units in the parade, finished the route. Not only did they have a day to remember but so did the police officer. “Guys, that was beautiful,” he told Nestor and Vegoe.
And how did the Illinois-Minnesota game go the next day? Well, that had a happy ending, too, as the Gophers won 10-7 on their way to a final record of 8-2.
The Rose Bowl plan? Well, close but no roses for the Gophers who finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten championship with Indiana and Purdue. The Hoosiers received the Rose Bowl nod because the Gophers and Boilermakers had more recently been to Pasadena for the big game.
This Saturday the Gophers will again be in Champaign to play the Illini. Like the 1967 team, the 2014 Gophers have just one loss. And, yes, it will be Homecoming on Saturday in Champaign.
Could there be a repeat of the parade escapade?
Nah, Nestor and Vegoe—he is a magazine writer living in Pennsylvania—won’t be travelling to Champaign this year. Illinois Homecoming officials can rest easy.
