Golden Gophers – Page 83 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Paige Bueckers Comes Home in Glory

Posted on March 30, 2022 by David Shama

It took two overtimes Monday night for Paige Bueckers to lead UConn to a 91-87 basketball win over North Carolina State, and set up a storybook opportunity to win the Women’s NCAA Final Four in her home state of Minnesota.

The former Hopkins High School All-American scored 15 points in overtime in an NCAA Tournament game for the ages. The sophomore point guard, the national Player of the Year in 2021, was at her best when it mattered most. For the game she scored 27 points, making 10 of 15 shots and six of seven free throws.

The fact she was brilliant in the game’s biggest moments was no surprise to her former high school coach. Brian Cosgriff said: “You could see how Paige was like we’re not going to lose this game. Get on my back. I am going to do what I’ve always done. I am going to carry this team to victory. And that’s what she does.”

During a telephone interview with Sports Headliners yesterday, Cosgriff recalled when Bueckers was a gangly eighth grader and made her Hopkins varsity debut against a powerhouse Elk River team. The Royals fell behind early but Bueckers came off the bench to make seven consecutive three-point shots. “It was an amazing performance by this little, skinny eighth grader,” Cosgriff said.

The coach had seen Bueckers’ extraordinary skills and ability to impact games a season earlier. As a seventh grader she played on both the sophomore and junior varsity teams. On the same day she would lead each to victories.

Cosgriff said what many fans don’t realize is how unselfish Bueckers is. She loves her teammates and wants to do anything she can to make them better. Her timely passing can be as valuable to the Huskies as her clutch scoring.

“She is a huge team player and you could see it last night after the game,” Cosgriff said Tuesday. “She was in tears for her teammate (Dorka Juhasz) who hurt her wrist.”

“Paige Buckets” as she is known, is athletically gifted with an energy, passion, work ethic and will to win that sets her apart from peers. So, too, does her almost mystical feel for the game. Bueckers once told Sports Headliners she has a “God-given ability that I know what I am doing, and I see…plays two steps ahead.”

Bueckers seemed to see those kinds of opportunities Monday night including when she buried shot after shot and orchestrated the UConn offense in the biggest of moments. After the game teammate Christyn Williams had the quote of the night: “We have Paige Bueckers and they don’t.”

A traumatic left knee injury forced Bueckers to miss 19 games this season. Four of the team’s five losses (29-5 record) came with its phenom unavailable. Cosgriff believes his former superstar is 85 to 90 percent recovered, with part of the issue regaining trust in her body. “But I definitely think last night really helped her confidence,” he said.

Target Center will be bonkers Friday night when the Huskies play defending national champion Stanford as part of a Final Four lineup that also includes South Carolina and Louisville. Bueckers will be a huge crowd favorite in a homecoming Minnesotans have been anticipating for months, if not years.

Bueckers has a pop culture following dating back to high school. Cosgriff recalled that when the Royals played a game in Grand Rapids, Minnesota there were fans from Chicago in attendance. It wasn’t uncommon to see 200-300 fans waiting after games to see Bueckers.

This will be Bueckers’ second Final Four and she is looking for her first NCAA championship. She has talented teammates and coach Geno Auriemma who has taken the Huskies to 14 consecutive Final Fours. Guess who Cosgriff is predicting to emerge as 2022 national champs after Sunday night’s title game?

“Of course I am biased, but I also see Paige taking this thing home. … My money is on U-Conn. That’s for sure.”

Worth Noting

A Front Office Sports article yesterday said Bueckers has business deals with Gatorade, StockX and Cash App. Arguably the face of women’s college basketball, the Wall Street Journal speculated last summer when Name, Image and Likeness opportunities were approved by the NCAA that Bueckers had $1 million per year potential.

Cosgriff, who won seven state titles at Hopkins, will be inducted April 7 into the Minnesota High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mike Nowakowski from Ticket King said “action is very minor” for Friday night’s Final Four games. Upper level seats are going for $100 to $250; lower level $200 to $1,250.

He also told Sports Headliners this morning his website “went crazy” after the Twins signed free agent shortstop Carlos Correa. Interest seems similar to before Target Field opened in 2010, he added.

Rebecca Lobo, the ESPN basketball analyst here for the Final Four, is married to famous sportswriter Steve Rushin, a Bloomington native.

The reunion last week recognizing individuals involved with boys’ state tournament basketball teams from the last decade of the one-class tournament format (1960-1970) was an emotional affair. In organizing the reunion Jeff McCarron (Sherburn) and Drew Kindseth (Marshall) heard from individuals representing high schools from Ada to Walnut Grove, from Bemidji to Thief River Falls. Attendees included former Gophers Jay Kiedrowski, Tom Masterson, Greg Troland and McCarron. Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse was the featured speaker.

“The room was so full of heart and history as veterans of the glory days of the state tournament gathered in the same room to share memories and also recognize many who had passed or could not attend,” McCarron said via email. “We also share the realization that our healthiest days are behind us—and that all days and relationships should be cherished and nurtured. …

“Dick Jonckowski (reunion emcee) probably said it best when he departed that afternoon. First, his voice cracked again. Then he said, ‘I think I just spent the best six hours of my life.’ ”

Organizer Ron Stolski reports over 1,600 attendees are expected at the Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s Clinic Thursday-Saturday. The highly anticipated annual clinic will have a lineup of high school coaches from Minnesota and other states speaking. Gophers’ coaches including P.J. Fleck, Kirk Ciarrocca and Joe Rossi, plus Glenn Caruso from St. Thomas, are also part of the clinic program at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban will speak via Zoom. https://www.mnfootballcoaches.com/page/show/2279758-mfca-clinic-information

The MFCA will announce its Coach of the Year Saturday night at its Hall of Fame Banquet.

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Rosas Shadow Hangs Over Wolves

Posted on March 21, 2022March 21, 2022 by David Shama

Enjoy a Monday notes column:

Gersson Rosas, a candidate for NBA Executive of the Year? Could have been if the Timberwolves hadn’t fired him last September for reportedly having an inappropriate relationship with an office employee and fostering a tense office environment.

The Wolves rank among the surprise teams in the NBA after a 23-49 record last season. The Wolves, 42-30, are 26-10 since January 2 and driving toward an April spot in the playoffs for just the second time since 2004.

Rosas, hired in May of 2019 as president of basketball operations, has his “fingerprints” all over the Wolves dossier. He inherited center Karl-Anthony Towns but the other members of the “big three,” guards Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, came through moves made by Rosas and his staff.

Edwards was the NBA’s overall No. 1 draft choice in 2020. Russell and several other contributors, including talented young forward Jaden McDaniels, came via trades. Those players include starting power forward Jared Vanderbilt and guard Patrick Beverley, a catalyst either starting or coming off the bench.

Role players off the bench who came via swaps and have helped improve Minnesota are three-point shooting specialist Malik Beasley and power forward Taurean Prince. Contributors acquired through free agency are center Naz Reid and playmaking guard Jordan McLaughlin.

Rosas, who did fail on 2019 first round pick Jarrett Culver, made a shrewd move hiring Chris Finch as head coach in February 2021. Finch seems to be an effective communicator who listens to players and lets them know what is expected.

So when Rosas departed he left in place a roster and coaching structure that has blossomed after going a combined 42-94 the two previous seasons. Rosas, though, won’t be picking up any awards for his trophy case and reportedly is working in a consulting role with the NBA Knicks.

Rosas’ home overlooking Bde Maka Ska is on the market for $4 million, per Jay Boller from Racketmn.com. The stunning contemporary property at 3817 Sheridan Avenue South was purchased in 2019 by Rosas for $2.42 million and has been renovated since, according to Boller.

New Wolves’ minority owner Marc Lore doesn’t miss a beat. He told WCCO Radio’s Vineeta Sawkar last week he started taking basketball lessons about six months ago to better understand the game.

Despite box office competition from home games involving the Timberwolves, Wild and Loons, the hockey Gophers, playing Michigan Saturday night for the Big Ten Tournament title, drew a record crowd of 10,774 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Standing room tickets sold for $30 as the Gophers changed the all too frequent narrative of playing in front of empty seats.

In a big move the Wild has acquired 37-year-old goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from the Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional first-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft. In 45 games this season he has a 2.95 goals-against-average.

Per a statement from the club: “In the event Minnesota advances to the Western Conference Final and Marc-Andre Fleury is the winning goalie of record in a minimum of four games in the first and second rounds combined, Chicago will receive Minnesota’s first-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft. In the event both conditions are not satisfied, Chicago will receive Minnesota’s second-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft. In addition, Chicago will retain 50% of Marc-Andre Fleury’s contract.”

The Wild also announced this morning the acquisition of a second-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft from the Coyotes (previously acquired from the Canucks) in exchange for forward Jack McBain.

Former Timberwolves executive Ted Johnson, now CEO of Norden Strategies, is a senior advisor to the group pursuing Expo 2027 for Minnesota. Bloomington would be the host city for the global event that Johnson said can have a $2 billion economic impact running over 90 days.

The Minnesota effort is a joint venture with the U.S. State Department and the American theme is “Healthy People, Healthy Planet.” Other countries bidding for the event are Thailand, Spain, Serbia and Argentina.

Congratulations to Pete Chubb of Minneapolis who was recognized recently for 50 years working in event management at University of Minnesota basketball games. Many of those seasons his assignment was to provide security near the visiting team’s bench. In 50 years he didn’t receive an increase on his $12 per hour rate but the work was a labor of love.

Chubb’s memories include the infamous game when Northwestern coach Ricky Byrdsong left the bench and walked up into the stands. Whether prompted by mental fatigue, or using a psychological ploy on his team, the incident is remembered as bizarre by fans in attendance.

Indiana coach Bobby Knight was known for his hot temper and foul language. He was a villain at Williams Arena, but Chubb saw a different side to Knight who took an interest in developmentally disabled young adults. “He would take them down in the locker room and show them around. …He was very, very nice to them,” Chubb said.

Dick Jonckowski will emcee Thursday’s reunion luncheon recognizing individuals who played on boys’ state tournament basketball teams from the last decade of the one-class tournament format (1960-1970).

Before the luncheon at The Graduate Hotel honorees will visit Williams Arena where their state tournament games were played and each will walk out on the floor to be recognized by Jonckowski.
Jeff McCarron, from the 1970 Sherburn team that won the last one-class state title, is one of the reunion organizers.

Have to wonder if the warm-blooded L.A. Dodgers are already packing mittens for their two-game series in Minneapolis against the Twins April 12 (night) and April 13 (day).

Twins promotions at Target Field in 2022 include bobblehead giveaways of Jim Kaat, July 16; Tony Oliva, August 6; and Byron Buxton, August 27. Selected Fridays are “all you can eat” games.

Former Vikings superstar RB Adrian Peterson turns 37 today and reportedly wants to continue his NFL career. He is a free agent after the Seahawks let him go.

Look for the new Four Seasons to host visiting professional teams after Minneapolis’ only five-star hotel opens in June.

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20 Years Ago Twins Almost Kaput

Posted on March 15, 2022March 22, 2022 by David Shama

Think Minnesota Twins fans were worried about a 2022 Major League Baseball season happening because of stalled labor negotiations that weren’t resolved until last week?

For sure, but the angst was nowhere near as dramatic as a couple of decades ago.

After the 2001 season MLB owners voted to contract two franchises, the Twins and Montreal Expos. It looked like there would be no 2002 season—or any beyond that—for these clubs. They were struggling financially and other MLB franchises were weary of financial subsidies for bottom feeders Minnesota and Montreal.

Twins owner Carl Pohlad and MLB commissioner Bud Selig were close friends. Conjecture is Pohlad would have received up to $250 million for folding up his franchise. He had purchased the team in 1984 for a reported $34 to $36 million. Pohlad liked making money and contraction looked like a profitable escape route.

Pohlad and his brain trust were frustrated in 2001 after years of failed efforts to earn support for a new ballpark to replace the outdated Metrodome. Opposition to public funding was intense. Phone lines to the state capitol once shut down because of so many calls coming into legislators from stadium opponents.

A source close to the Twins franchise back then remembers the stadium squabble that went on for years. “The organization had been trying for a decade or so to get a new ballpark. It just wasn’t getting any traction,” he told Sports Headliners.

In 1997 Pohlad threatened to sell the team, with the new owner relocating the franchise to North Carolina. To this day the threat is regarded as contrived and a strategy to get the Twins out of the Metrodome and into a new stadium. “…All of the information that came out afterwards, there wasn’t a lot of substance to the threat to move,” the source said.

The Twins won the 1991 World Series and had drawn almost 2.5 million fans in 1992. The club went into decline starting with the 1993 season and played losing baseball through 2000, with the Twins struggling to draw over 1 million fans that year.

Still, the Twins had shown improvement on the field in the first half of 2001 and looked like a team trending upward after finishing 85-77. That improvement was part of the reason those passionate about the team were stunned in the fall of 2001 when contraction was near reality.

“It was really traumatic,” the source said. “First of all, it was our livelihood, but even more so…this was an institution. This was the Minnesota Twins. This wasn’t some corner pizza shop. People over the five-state region followed the Minnesota Twins and grew up with the team. (They) created many special memories. You felt that. You knew what it meant if this were to go away.”

Opponents of MLB contraction included the players’ union and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission whose leaders filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County asking that the Twins fulfill their Metrodome lease. Judge Harry Crump ruled the Twins had to honor their lease and play the 2002 season in the dome. Selig, Pohlad and others had to backtrack on contraction.

The 2002 Twins won the American League Central Division and saw home attendance total nearly 2 million customers, the best year at the gate since 1993. In 2010 the club moved into outdoor Target Field, funded by Hennepin County and the Twins.

Worth Noting

The men’s basketball Golden Gophers aren’t in the NCAA Tournament, and neither are coach Ben Johnson’s three most recent predecessors. Dan Monson’s Long Beach State team is in the NIT, Tubby Smith is retiring after his High Point Panthers went 14-18 and Richard Pitino also had a losing season, 13-19, at New Mexico.

Colorado State coach Niko Medved, a student manager under Clem Haskins in the 1990s, has his Rams in the tournament with an opening game Thursday against Michigan. Minneapolis native David Roddy, the Mountain West Player of the Year, is the Rams’ best player.

Good guy Dave Wright, a familiar public address voice at Twin Cities hockey and basketball games for decades, started doing P.A. work in high school. This is year 53 for him, with commitments next week to work seven games at the boys’ basketball tournament. “It is still a big thrill,” Wright said via email. “I am always nervous 5-10 minutes before the first game. Once we start, however, the adrenalin starts to flow; you kick into automatic pilot and just do it.”

Timberwolves minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are investing in a new company that will allow fans to wager on athletes like football players based on their on-field performance. Mojo will launch an app that could be out by year’s end, per Front Office Sports.

If Minneapolis media legend Sid Hartman was still alive, he would be 102 today.

The Twin Cities Dunkers, the sports-focused group Hartman helped lead for decades, is moving its meetings from the Minneapolis Club to Interlachen Country Club.

College football players, with 50.6 percent, have earned the most compensation from Name, Image and Likeness since the July 2021 startup, according to Opendorse and Axios Sports. Next in NIL money are women’s basketball players at 18.5 percent, with male counterparts third at 15 percent.

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