Golden Gophers – Page 331 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Pitino to Boost Garden Party in New York

Posted on March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 by David Shama

Richard Pitino is returning to his “roots” next week.

The Gophers 31-year-old head coach will bring his team to New York City and Madison Square Garden to play in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday night. Minnesota defeated Southern Mississippi 81-73 last evening at Williams Arena for its third win in the NIT Tournament. The Pitino family connections to New York are part of the anticipation the first year coach is feeling about going to Gotham.

Rick Pitino, the legendary Louisville coach, was born in New York. When Richard was a grade schooler his dad was head coach for the New York Knicks. Later when Richard was a teenager his dad’s Celtics teams played against the Knicks in New York. As his father’s assistant coach at Louisville, Richard and the Cardinals made memories playing in Madison Square Garden as part of the Big East Tournament.

Rick and his wife Joanne still have an apartment in New York, and one of their sons, Ryan, is a financial professional in the city.

Even when Richard’s dad wasn’t employed in New York the city was still part of the Pitino calendar. “Growing up we always would go to New York for the summers,” Richard said. “My uncle Bill, who we lost in 9-11, was like a second father to me. We would spend time together as a family.

“My roots are really there. I know my mother is excited because she just wants to get back to New York. Any excuse she can get, she’s going there.

“My brother lives there downtown. I’ve got aunts. I’ve got uncles. So it’s exciting for me.

“I’ve been part of some great teams as an assistant coach in the Garden. We’re going to play in New York next year (in the Preseason NIT) but there is something about earning a spot to get to the Garden that is pretty special.”

NIT organizers and the New York media have to be pleased with the Gophers earning their way to Manhattan. Selling tickets to the semifinals and finals is always a challenge. The NIT made hometown team St. John’s one of the tournament’s four No. 1 seeds but the Red Storm was eliminated in its first game. The Pitino storyline is a boost for tournament interest including the for sure comparisons that will be made between Richard and his father.

The Garden party will be a little more fun, too, if young Richard coaches against well-travelled Larry Brown in the NIT finals on Thursday night. Brown’s SMU team, a No. 1 seed like the Gophers, must defeat California this evening to earn a trip to New York. Brown, 73, is the only coach who has won both an NCAA Tournament title and NBA championship.

Tuesday night (ESPN2) the Gophers will play the winner of this evening’s game between Florida State and Louisiana Tech. Clemson will meet the winner of tonight’s SMU-Cal game in the other semifinal next Tuesday in New York.

If California and the Gophers meet in Madison Square Garden, Minnesota will see ex-Gopher guard Justin Cobbs who now plays for the Bears. That will stir a bit of interest in Dinkytown but last night Pitino wasn’t talking about Brown or Cobbs. He said the Gophers want to win the NIT championship as part of building his program, and the opportunity to do that in New York has him excited.

“There’s no better place in all of college basketball than to play in Madison Square Garden,” he said.

Worth Noting

Gophers redshirt freshman forward Charles Buggs, who probably surprised even himself with 13 points in 19 minutes against Iowa on February 25, has scored a total of nine in seven games since then. For the season Buggs, who is still learning his court assignments, has scored 27 points in 13 games.

Minnesota senior guard Malik Smith, who made eight of 12 three pointers against Nebraska in January and four of seven versus Wisconsin in February, has converted two of 28 since February 16.

The Gophers men’s and women’s basketball teams have been participating in the NIT and WNIT tournaments. Although the names are similar, the National Invitation Tournament is owned by the NCAA while the Women’s National Invitation Tournament is produced by Triple Crown Sports. NIT games are televised but there is no live TV coverage of the WNIT.

Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher, who still lives in Minnesota, will attend tomorrow night’s San Diego State-Arizona NCAA Sweet 16 game in Anaheim. Dutcher’s son, Brian Dutcher, is San Diego State’s top assistant and will succeed Steve Fisher as head coach when Fisher retires.

Brian Dutcher and Fisher have been coaching at San Diego State for 15 seasons. Last fall the Aztecs signed four players who probably comprise the best recruiting class in school history and they will be eligible next fall.

ESPN.com reported last Saturday there were no perfect NCAA men’s basketball brackets from the more than 11 million submitted by fans for the ESPN Tournament Challenge. Last Saturday and Sunday was the first of three tournament weekends.

The Gophers recruited Seymour, Wisconsin shooting guard Sandy Cohen before he committed to Marquette. With Buzz Williams leaving the Golden Eagles to coach at Virginia Tech, could the high school senior now have interest in the Gophers?

A name to follow during the May NFL Draft is Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. What if the Vikings chose outside linebacker Khalil Mack from Buffalo, or Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan with their No. 8 pick in the first round? In the second round they might select Garoppolo who threw 53 touchdown passes and averaged 360.7 yards per game passing last season.

The Vikings may not find a 2014 quarterback-ready prospect in the draft even if Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater is available. The re-signing of veteran Matt Cassel gives the Vikings some time to develop a Garoppolo, Bridgewater—or (gasp) Christian Ponder.

It’s okay to have modest expectations about the Vikings owning a top 10 draft pick. Gil Brandt’s 2013 All-Rookie team had just three players who were top 10 draft choices, Ziggy Ansah, Eric Fisher and Barkevious Mingo. The All-Rookie quarterback was Mike Glennon, a third round selection by the Falcons.

The Wild are selling season tickets for 2014-2015 including half season and 11-game packages. Purchasers who make a deposit by April 13 receive playoff ticket priority for this spring.

Gophers coach Jerry Kill, 53, said he’s been attending football coaching clinics since he was 21. The opportunity to learn, network and build relationships has contributed to his success that includes head coaching stops at Emporia State, Northern Illinois, Saginaw Valley State and Southern Illinois.

Kill will speak at the MFCA’s Minnesota Clinic on Friday night at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. The Gophers sponsor the clinic with the MFCA. Kill praised the work of MFCA organizers and how they continue to improve the clinic. “Our clinic is tremendous,” he said.

Condolences to family and friends of former Gopher football player Wally Pribyl who died on Monday. Wally, originally from Heron Lake, Minnesota, lettered for the Gophers in 1968 and 1969, and for many years owned a business in South Dakota.

Twins president Dave St. Peter said starting pitcher Phil Hughes, who signed with Minnesota during the offseason, has been as “advertised” during spring training. Hughes has struck out 10 batters in 13.2 innings with a 3.95 ERA.

Dave Mona, WCCO Radio Sports Huddle co-host, will speak on Friday to the Minnesota Men’s Breakfast group in Naples, Florida. Speakers earlier this year have included Matt Birk, Kill and St. Peter.

Mancini’s Sports Hall of Fame will honor the following new members on May 12: Brian Brunette, Ken Mauer, Jr., Barry Persby, Stacy Robinson, Jeff Sauer, Bob and Tim Tschida. Those enshrined have their names displayed on a hall of fame plaque at the St. Paul restaurant.

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The Big Chill: Twins Early Schedule

Posted on March 24, 2014March 24, 2014 by David Shama

The Twins are scheduled to open their 2014 schedule a week from today in Chicago against the White Sox, and in news reports the weather could share headline space with the baseball as the teams work their way through a three-game series.

The frost line was being measured in feet—not inches—last week at the White Sox’s home field. Projected Chicago temperatures for this week are mostly in the 30s and 40s, according to Myforecast.com. Next Monday the forecast is for a high of 63 degrees under cloudy skies.

The Twins and White Sox aren’t scheduled a week from tomorrow but on April 2 they have a night game when the temperatures will likely be in the mid-40s to low-50s. Then the series concludes with a day game and the forecasted high is 45 degrees.

The Twins then head to Cleveland for a three-game weekend series including a Friday night game. The weekend forecast predicts the teams will be playing in temps mostly in the 40s, again according to Myforecast.com.

The Twins’ home opener is during the day on Monday, April 7 and the club will play outdoors at Target Field through Thursday, April 12. During that period the Twins have three night games scheduled.

Admittedly, this is an extremely cold spring in many northern U.S. cities, but it’s difficult to understand why teams like the Twins have to play the opening weeks of the season in cold locations including their own stadiums. There are four American League cities that typically have warm weather during the first weeks of April—Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Oakland. Two other AL cities, Toronto and St. Petersburg, have stadiums with roofs. Four others—Baltimore, Kansas City, New York and Seattle—are more likely to have warmer temps in early April than Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis.

That makes 10 AL cities—a clear majority—with more favorable spring weather than five others including Minneapolis.

Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he expects Major League Baseball will look at future scheduling but also said, “Reality is teams have been playing northern outdoor baseball for 100 years.” The Twins have opened their schedules on the road in four of the last five years. “I think the Twins have been treated fairly,” he said.

St. Peter said probably all of baseball’s 30 teams would prefer to open their schedules on the road. By doing so a franchise has extra time to promote and sell tickets for the season opening home series.

Worth Noting

As the Twins finish their final days in spring training, St. Peter is hopeful for an improved roster including better starting pitching. After three consecutive 90-plus losing seasons, expectations are clear. “I fully expect us to be better in terms of wins,” he said.

The Twins announced this morning they have optioned right-handed pitchers Ryan Pressly and Michael Tonkin along with catcher Chris Herrmann to Triple-A Rochester. The Twins have also given right-handed pitcher Matt Guerrier his unconditional release. He is now a free agent.

The club has 29 players in camp: 13 pitchers, 3 catchers (one non-roster), 7 infielders (one non-roster) and 6 outfielders (one non-roster).

Former Twins pitcher Jim Kaat—one of baseball’s best broadcast analysts ever—is 75 but will work games again this year for the MLB Network.

The Gopher baseball team’s home opener is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon against Saint John’s from the MIAC, according to Gophersports.com.

The initial Final Four predictions of CBS TV analysts Seth Davis, Doug Gottlieb and Clark Kellogg are holding up but not perfect after last weekend’s opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. All their teams advanced expect Wichita State. Davis and Kellogg both picked Florida, Michigan State, Wichita State and Wisconsin for the Final Four. Gottlieb’s choices were Arizona, Florida, Louisville and Michigan State.

The Gophers women’s basketball team defeated SMU in a second round WNIT game last night at Williams Arena. Minnesota plays next on Thursday night at South Dakota State, a program the Gophers are 1-4 against historically.

The Gophers men’s team, winners in their second round NIT game against Saint Mary’s yesterday, will play Southern Mississippi tomorrow night at Williams Arena. The Golden Eagles, who defeated Missouri on the road last night, have won eight of their last nine games. The team is 29-6 this season and excels defensively holding opponents to 62.8 points per game. The winner of Wednesday night’s game advances to the semifinals of the NIT in New York on April 1.

Former Gopher guard Chip Armelin plays 13.7 minutes per game for the Golden Eagles and averages 4.9 points per game. He is making 50 percent of his free throws.

Sophomore forward Joey King scored a career high 18 points to lead Minnesota yesterday. King had scored 14 points each of his two previous games—the first time in his career as a Gopher having three consecutive double figures games.

Former Gopher forward Joe Coleman transferred to Saint Mary’s last summer and will be eligible next season to play for the Gaels.

New York University is offering an April 4-6 course on how to negotiate in business that will be taught by former Timberwolves executive David Kahn. Kahn is a 1993 NYU law school graduate.

The Bolder Options youth mentoring organization, headed by former Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, will hold a 20^th anniversary celebration event in the DQ Room at TFC Bank Stadium on May 15. The keynote speaker will be Gophers football coach Jerry Kill. More at Trainingforlifedinner.com.

The Vikings Adrian Peterson turned 29 last week. If Peterson can play another six seasons averaging about 1,000 yards per season he will threaten Walter Payton’s place as the NFL’s No. 2 all-time leading rusher. Payton rushed for 16,726 yards and Peterson now has 10,115. Emmitt Smith is No. 1 at 18,355 yards.

I didn’t find my name today when I read the Star Tribune’s page A2 list of famous birthdays. (I am disappointed but not too surprised).

Cheers.

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Storytelling Part of Football Clinic Fun

Posted on March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 by David Shama

A Texas High School football coach who shall go unnamed went 9-3 in his first season and “got nothing but heat” for his record. Next year the same record. In football crazy Texas expectations are for championships, or there can be consequences.

After the second season a guy off the street came into the coach’s office and without introduction said, “I made $12 million last year. I am going to spend every damn cent of it to get you fired.”

The coach responded, “Sir, you write me a check for $3 million (and) I am out of here—and you’re $9 million ahead.”

Minnesotan Ron Stolski chuckles when telling that Texas tale. The coach told him that is a true story and the only reason he is still coaching is because he later won a state title.

Stolski met that coach a few years ago at a national coaches’ convention. The Texan is part of a network of coaches nationally and in Minnesota that Stolski and other leaders of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association have used to build the Minnesota Football Clinic into a model event.

This 2014 clinic will be held next week at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Last year’s event drew a record attendance of over 1,100 attendees and with presenters the total reached 1,300. Vendor spaces are sold out for this year but advance registrations to attend are still being accepted and walk-ups are also welcome for the March 27-29 clinic.

High school and college presenters from Minnesota and other states will talk about the technical, organizational and psychological aspects of football at the clinic. The teaching sessions draw not just one or two individuals from prep football programs but multiple members of staffs who can learn more about their responsibilities. Lining up the presenters is the job of Claud Allaire who is the clinic’s program manager. “He does a tremendous job,” Stolski said.

The extensive 2014 roster of clinic speakers will include Gophers coach Jerry Kill and former Vikings center Matt Birk, and on the evening of March 29 a new group of Minnesotans will be inducted into the MFCA Hall of Fame. Clinic attendees will also watch the Gophers practice at TCF Bank Stadium on March 29.

Stolski, who is both executive director of the MFCA and head football coach at Brainerd High School, has been a clinic organizer for years but credits others for its successes. The state has a long history of successful football clinics and Stolski praises Minnesota football coaching leaders like Les Dreschel, Chuck Elias, Tom Mahoney, Dave Nigon, Bob Roy and Don Swanson for their early contributions.

The MFCA broke away from the Nike Clinic several years ago and decided to co-sponsor the Minnesota Football Clinic with the Gophers. The effort has been rewarding while creating and maintaining an event where attendees not only come to learn but also to network and enjoy the company of fellow coaches.

A couple of presenters from Texas let Stolski know a few years ago what they think of the Minnesota clinic, describing it as “the best high school clinic we’ve been to.” One of the presenters said the session rooms are not only packed with attendees but the coaches have a “thirst for learning.”

Then the coach added, “We go into a lot of clinics across the country. You just don’t see that (elsewhere).”

Stolski attended his first football clinic in the spring of 1964 at the University of Minnesota. Saint John’s football coach John Gagliardi, whose team had won the 1963 NAIA national title, was speaking in front of 400-plus attendees.

Stolski admired how the Johnnies’ ball carriers fought for yardage and were difficult to bring down. He asked the unconventional Gagliardi if he could describe a drill the Johnnies used in practice to make those ball carriers so difficult to stop.

Stolski recalled that Gagliardi responded by saying at Saint John’s players are taught to have faith. “They damn better not go down,” Gagliardi told the young coach who was expecting a more technical answer.

Through the years Stolski has met major college coaching legends at various clinics including Nebraska’s Bob Devaney. Al Fisher, a neighbor of Stolski, had played for Devaney. He encouraged Stolski to meet the great coach, and by chance that opportunity came one day at a clinic. The encounter made a huge impression on Stolski.

Devaney not only remembered Fisher but also knew the names of his children and wife. Devaney showed Stolski there was much more to relationships and caring for former players than just recalling they played for the coach. “That was a great lesson for a young coach,” Stolski said.

The clinics of years ago didn’t have concurrent small group sessions like today that offer topics such as “The Spin & Spread Series,” or defending no huddle offenses. The old clinics featured national headliners like Paul Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Duffy Daugherty or prominent college assistant coaches talking in a large hotel ballroom.

In his early days of attending clinics, Stolski learned it was wise to not sit too close to the stage. That was the case when a college assistant coach named Buck Nystrom was speaking.

“Very much of a tiger of a guy,” Stolski remembered. “You kind of wanted to see who was going to sit up front because you knew Buck was gonna get a couple of them up there (on the stage) as he demonstrated blocking techniques, how to shed a block and how to properly block.

“Before you know it old Buck would have his sport coat off (and) his tie off. He would be down to his T-shirt. He would be in a sweat, and he would be pounding the living hell out of these coaches who he called up there to demonstrate with.”

For several years the Leamington Hotel in downtown Minneapolis was the site of popular winter football clinics. As with clinics today, there was time for fellowship after a long day of listening to speakers. Stolski’s memories of the Leamington include being in a room with a few friends late at night when they heard a lot of noise out in the hallway.

Stolski investigated and on a narrow stairway he found some coaches moving a pop machine. The unit was several floors from its original location and still on its way to where the ambitious clinic attendees wanted it. Pushing and tugging, they were working hard on their post-midnight project.

Why were the fellas going to so much trouble that night? “The elevators were not working,” Stolski explained.

Hmm. Sounds like the coaches were thirsty for more than knowledge at that clinic long ago.

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