Golden Gophers – Page 9 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Looks Like Vikes Commit to Running Game Most in KOC Era

Posted on June 16, 2025June 16, 2025 by David Shama

Enjoy a Monday notes column.

The Vikings’ recent contract extension with backup tight end Josh Oliver adds to speculation the offense will be more committed to the running game than at any time in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s three previous seasons. Oliver is a superb blocker and superior with that skill to starter T.J. Hockenson.

Kevin O’Connell image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

According to Pro Football Focus, Oliver led NFL tight ends with a 74.2 run blocking grade in 2024 (minimum 50 percent block snaps played) and earned the fourth-highest grade during the 2023 season with a 73.9.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips has indicated there will be times the Vikings will have both Oliver and Hockenson on the field to add size and muscle. While the two could be in the game for blocking, Hockenson is one of the NFL’s most gifted big yardage receivers and could break off the line of scrimmage and run an explosive pass pattern.

The Vikings are expected to emphasize the run game to ease the transition and workload on new quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The 22-year-old, who missed his rookie season after injuring a knee, figures to hand the ball off on at least 50 percent of the snaps to his running backs.

That RB roster includes Aaron Jones, last year’s starter. The Vikings signed him to a multi-year contract in early March before he could hit free agency. He started all 17 games for the Vikings, with career highs of 255 carries, and 1,138 yards. He also had 51 catches for 408 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

In another March move that has potential to aid the running game, the Vikings worked a trade with San Francisco involving draft choices and Jordan Mason, the 49ers RB who led the team in rushing last season with a career-high 789 yards. Mason, who will be in his fourth NFL season in 2025, ranked sixth in the NFL in yards after contact per rush (3.62) according to TruMedia, and seventh in yards per rush (5.2). Among players with a minimum of 150 rushing attempts last season, he led the NFL in missed tackles forced at 37.3 percent, according to Next Gen Stats.

Look for times next fall where both Jones and Mason are on the field together, Phillips indicated recently. Maybe with two tight ends, too.

College basketball coaches are usually former players, but the Golden Gophers program is a bit different. Head coach Niko Medved is a former student manager under ex-head coach Clem Haskins at Minnesota in the 1990s. Medved assistant coach Aaron Katsuma and his director of scouting and analytics Drew Evenson are both former managers with the Gophers.

Ryan Saunders, the former Gopher player and Timberwolves head coach, is no longer an assistant coach with the NBA Nuggets. New head coach David Adelman, son of former Wolves head coach Rick Adelman, has reorganized the staff.

At 39 Saunders is probably open to taking a college coaching position for the first time in his career.

Saunders’ wife Hayley gave birth to daughter Grace Leigh on February 23. That would have been the 70th birthday of Ryan’s dad Flip Saunders, the deceased former head coach of the Wolves and a savvy point guard who was a Gopher basketball favorite.

Tim Connelly, the Wolves president of basketball operations, should have fans on the edge of their collective seats as to what’s next with the roster. Since being hired in the summer of 2022, he has pulled off dramatic trades that first brought Rudy Gobert here and later traded away Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Twins, 5-9 in June, have pitching problems that probably have already sunk their chances of winning the Central Division and threaten earning a wild card entry in the playoffs. The starting pitching rotation is troubled, and third baseman Royce Lewis is sidelined with yet another hamstring injury.

Staff ace Pablo Lopez is on the 60-day Injured List. His replacement, Zebby Matthews, is on the 15-day. Bailey Ober, a mainstay in the rotation with Lopez, Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack, is struggling with his mechanics.

The Twins were swept by the Astros over the weekend. Minnesota entered yesterday’s game with a staff ERA of 6.39 in June. That compares with 3.11 in May and 3.54 March-April.

Minnesota is 3-8 in its last 11 games, and 8-13 in the previous 21. At 36-35, the Twins are barely holding on to second place and are nine games behind the Central Division leading Tigers.

FanGraphs gives the Twins a 7.2 percent chance of beating out the Tigers but 42.1 percent likelihood of making the playoffs. That could be optimistic for a pitching staff down two starters and a bullpen that while elite has been taxed with a lot of innings already this season.

The way it looks now the Twins will have at least two representatives on the American League All-Star team for the July 15 All-Star Game in Atlanta. Center fielder Byron Buxton, 31, should be a starter because of his hitting, fielding and base running this spring. Reliever Johan Duran, 27, has saved 10 games working out of perhaps baseball’s best bullpen, and has a 4-2 record with a 1.64 ERA.

This would be Buxton’s second All-Star Game, having homered in two at bats as a reserve in 2022. Duran would be making his debut.

Buxton signed a seven-year contract for $100 million in December of 2021, according to MLB.com. That deal includes staggered bonus amounts if he places in the top 10 for the league MVP Award. He won’t win the award this year (would bring $8 million) but he receives $3 million for a finish between sixth and 10^th.

Duran is a steal for the Twins at a reported $4.15 million.

Ryan, among the winningest pitchers in the majors this season, could also represent the Twins as a first-time member of the AL All-Star staff. Ryan, 29, with a 7-2 record and ERA of 2.93, is the club’s best pitcher with Lopez sidelined.

Sam Udovich, the Cretin-Derham Hall senior who recently won the boys’ golf 3A state tournament, will be on scholarship at TCU where the program celebrates its 100^th year in 2026.

Humor department: My friend Bob Klas remembered the late Murray Warmath’s take on golf. The Golden Gophers football coach said he’d do anything to improve, “except practice.”

Comments Welcome

Even in Spring College Football Magazine Brings Excitement

Posted on June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 by David Shama

At the Walgreen’s checkout line on Friday, I was surprised to see a college football magazine for sale. I almost gagged at the price of $14.99 but simultaneously fell into a state of ecstasy.

Everyone should have something that takes them back to their favorite childhood endeavor. At the top of my list is and was searching the magazine shelves at a pharmacy or bookstore for the first college football publication of the year.

I couldn’t resist buying Athlon’s magazine, even at a ridiculous cost of $16.27 including tax. Don’t tell Athlon but $22 is probably my ceiling.

Years ago, it was usually Street & Smith’s that was out first. It was a comprehensive national preview, and you didn’t need a small loan to buy it.

Steet & Smith’s magazine hit newsstands in August. Decades ago, the college football season didn’t start until mid-September or later in the month. Now the preview publications will be out in June, partially because the season starts in late August.

As a youth, I was waiting for the Gophers’ return to Big Ten glory and national championships. That’s what my elders talked about, the great legacy of Minnesota football. I rushed to the store with anticipation that a Gopher player might be a magazine cover boy. Couldn’t wait in the 1950s and 1960s to see if Minnesota was forecast among the nation’s elite.

Nowadays, I still get excited about buying and reading the magazines, but with tempered expectations, of course. Yes, I am ready for whatever fortunes are forecast for the Maroon and Gold, but I am also curious to see what the Big Ten and national landscape is supposed to be.

Know that Athlon lists Minnesota No. 42 in its 2025 rankings of 136 college football teams. Matthew McConnaughey’s Texas Longhorns are No. 1, and the Golden Flashes of Kent State are No. 136.

Athlon predicts Minnesota will finish 11^th in the 18 team Big Ten Conference. That’s not a lofty forecast but the magazine thinks the Gophers can have a winning season and forecasts a postseason appearance against the Big 12’s Baylor Bears at the Rate Bowl in Phoenix.

Bears beware! The Gophers have won eight consecutive bowl games, including six straight under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

I do have something else Gopher fans can strut about. Sophomore safety and wunderkind Koi Perich is an Athlon third-team defense All-American and first team All-Big Ten. As the magazines come out and national award candidates are announced, the preseason recognition will mount for the Esko, Minnesota native who figures to impact games this fall as a defender, special teams player and even offensive threat.

Fleck will be in his ninth season leading the Gophers program. His best season was in 2019 when the Gophers finished 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll.

The notion from some skeptics endures that Fleck will use the Gopher job as a stepping stone. Athlon reinforced that with a quote from an opposing Big Ten assistant coach.

“…It’s no secret Fleck wants to be at a high-end, title contending program,” he said anonymously. “This doesn’t look like a ’19 season on paper, but if they win nine games or so, he’ll be on the hunt to move.”

I am going to sign off now and get back to devouring Athlon’s pages. Doesn’t everyone want to know what awaits not only the power conference teams but also the likes of Kennesaw State, Old Dominion and Liberty (not the insurance company).

If you see an older guy with a stack of magazines at Barnes & Noble any time soon be sure to lend a hand. Or maybe a couple of bucks. This stuff is expensive!

Comments Welcome

Will Glen Taylor Surprise as New Minnesota Twins Owner?

Posted on June 4, 2025June 4, 2025 by David Shama

The field of potential buyers of the Twins franchise is unknown to the public. Could Glen Taylor be among the interested?

Taylor, 84, might seem unlikely given his age and apparent exit from sports as majority owner of the Timberwolves and Lynx. The sale of those franchises to the Marc Lore-Alex Rodriguez group is expected to be finalized soon by the NBA.

Taylor is a lifelong civic-minded Minnesotan and sports fan. It was Taylor who stepped up in 1994 to buy a distressed Wolves franchise that could have been headed to New Orleans. Taylor started the Lynx franchise in 1999 partially because he wanted to be supportive of women’s basketball. For many years he operated both the Lynx and Wolves when they lost money.

The Mankato-based billionaire obviously wants to make money on his various business endeavors, but he’s demonstrated his interest in benefitting the community including paying for expensive upgrades to Target Center, the city-owned home of the Wolves and Lynx. More than 20 years ago he told the Rochester Post-Bulletin he had interest in buying the Twins and Vikings.

Could Taylor head a group of Minnesotans willing to buy the baseball franchise under terms they consider favorable? Might that group include the Davis family best known to many Minnesotans for its Cambria ownership? Twins hall of famer Joe Mauer, potentially as a minor investor, would add “curb appeal” to a new group.

Taylor and partners reportedly will receive $1.5 billion for the sale of the Wolves-Lynx. The Twins Pohlad family ownership group might be asking a similar price for their franchise.

That appears to be a higher figure than realistic. Forbes does value the team at $1.5 billion but a recent report from Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press said the franchise has more than $400 million debt and is borrowing to pay bills.

That is a big negotiating point to any potential buyer. So, too, is the belief that the Twins are in the bottom third in valuation among the 30 MLB franchises.

Forbes ranks the franchise at No. 23. The Orioles, who sold last year at a reported $1.7 billion, are ranked No. 18 and valued at $1.9 billion.

The Twins are averaging 19,595 fans a game this season, per ESPN.com. That ranks No. 25 in baseball. The Twins per game attendance, though, will rise in the summer months with better weather and if the Twins continue to win as they have done of late.

The club has long had a bandwagon fan base. There is no fierce groundswell of loyalty to the Twins as there is for the Vikings, or baseball’s Cubs and Red Sox.

Attendance is significantly impacted by on field success and while usually having a competitive team in the AL Central Division, the franchise is hardly poised for a World Series run. It doesn’t help either that much of the fanbase is anti-Pohlad, believing that for too long ownership has been unwilling to invest enough in payroll.

Selling season tickets has been a challenge in recent years. When the club moved into Target Field in 2010 the season tickets total was reportedly about 24,000. That figure more than doubled the franchise record, per my reporting in 2010. Now the season tickets base might be in the 10,000 range, or even less.

In addition to on field performance, attendance is impacted by inclement weather. April and May often bring troublesome weather that discourages ticket buyers. Those two months represent roughly one-third of the schedule.

Playing in a facility without a retractable roof is a liability for the franchise which might have been interested in that amenity except for the added cost. A covered facility assures ticket buyers, including groups, that a game will be played regardless of the weather.

The neighboring Brewers have such a facility and are valued at $1.7 billion and ranked No. 20 in the Forbes evaluations. Yet Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin don’t have the geographic drawing power that the Twins benefit from being able to attract fans from the Dakotas, Iowa and Canada. American Family Field gives the Brewers an edge at the box office.

The Twins have also been hit with reported declining local TV revenue. The once lucrative regional sports model has been replaced by Twins TV. Going back to the 2024 offseason it was apparent the club’s stance on player payroll was impacted on a projection of less money from local television.

Perhaps the Twins would be willing to structure a sale for something like $1.2 billion with the caveat that if certain revenue marks are achieved in coming years, the Pohlads will receive a percentage of the success. That could be a negotiating item in a sale that has plenty of challenges including the potential of a MLB players’ work stoppage after the collective bargaining agreement between their union and the owners ends after the 2026 season.

Maybe Taylor is intrigued by it all. Perhaps he sees a reinvigoration of himself on a warm, sunny day at Target Field.

Worth Noting

When the Twins selected Royce Lewis at No. 1 overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, they passed on Hunter Greene. While Lewis is in an inexplicable slump and hitting .133, Greene is arguably one of MLB’s 10 best starting pitchers. The Reds ace was 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA last season and in 2025 is off to a 4-3 record with a 2.72 ERA.

New Vikings backup quarterback Sam Howell has a Korean heritage. His grandmother was Korean and he has worn a South Korean flag decal on his helmet in the past.

Brian Cosgriff, the Minnesota high school girls basketball coaching legend who won eight state titles before retiring this spring, turned down the opportunity to pursue the head coaching job at the prestigious Montverde Academy (near Orlando). Cosgriff, 64, had an initial interest in becoming a serious candidate for the national powerhouse program but decided to remain in Minneapolis where next school year he will have a physical education position at DeLaSalle High School.

The upcoming season will be Mark Lundgren’s 30th as a member of the University of Minnesota football chain gang. The season will be the 25th for him as the gang’s crew chief. Lundgren, who has never missed a game, was recently given a 30-year commemorative jacket by some crew members.

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