KEVIN O’CONNELL – Page 17 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Carlos Correa ‘Mr. Clutch’ for Twins Just like Kirby Puckett

Posted on October 10, 2023October 13, 2023 by David Shama

Carlos Correa’s clutch performance for the Twins in the postseason prompts memories of the late Kirby Puckett. It was Puckett who made that still famous quote before Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, telling teammates to “jump on his back” because he was going to carry the team.

Correa is more than shouldering his load, too, including driving in three of Minnesota’s six runs Sunday night when the Twins tied their American League Division Series at 1-1 with the Astros. Fittingly, Correa even threw out the last Astros batter of the evening with a spectacular fielding play and throw in the 6-2 win.

In four postseason games this fall Correa is hitting .588, and it’s not just his performance at the plate that has been key for the Twins. His fielding, high baseball IQ and leadership have all been impactful. Before coming to Minnesota, the 29-year-old shortstop experienced six postseason years with the Astros.

Do-Hyoung Park, writing for MLB.com yesterday, offered this timely quote about Correa from manager Rocco Baldelli: “We’ve always heard all of the sayings and things: When the lights come on and the bright lights, there are some guys, they’re giants in the light. He’s one of them. That’s what he is.”

Correa, who joined the Twins in 2022 as a free agent and then re-signed with them last off-season, made history Sunday night with those three RBI. He now has 63 career postseason RBI, tied with David Justice for third best ever among big leaguers.

No doubt the Twins’ $200 million “Mr. October” looks forward to moving up that historical list (Bernie Williams tops at 80, Manny Ramirez second with 78) but the big prize right now is advancing to the World Series. To do that the Twins will need two more wins to close out the Astros and be able to win four games in the American League Championship Series.

That itinerary would put the Twins back in the World Series for the first time since 1991. Minnesota defeated the Braves in seven games, partially because of Puckett’s heroics in Game 6. The five-tool superstar robbed Ron Gant of an extra base hit and had three hits including an 11^th inning walk-off home run for the ages that won the game and tied the series 3-3 in front of a delirious Metrodome crowd.

Puckett was a centerpiece on World Series championship teams in 1991 and 1987. In 24 postseason games he hit .309, with five home runs and 16 RBI. He was also a leader who inspired teammates, just like a guy in the here and now—Carlos Correa.

Worth Noting

Twins Hall of Famers Johan Santana and Joe Mauer will do the ceremonial first pitch honors before this afternoon’s ALDS game at Target Field. Minneapolis-based vocalist Aby Wolf will perform the national anthem.

Today’s Minnesota starting pitcher Sonny Gray, who held the Blue Jays scoreless in last week’s Wild Card series win, faces the Astros for the third time this year. He is 0-0 and has a 2.77 ERA against the Astros, with four walks and 16 strikeouts in two starts.

Ryan Jeffers has been the Twins’ catcher in each of the four postseason games, after splitting assignments during the regular season with Christian Vazquez. Jeffers has excelled defensively and calling games for the 3-1 Twins but has just two hits in 13 at bats.

Knowledgeable and optimistic Twins fans know the World Series starts October 27 and potentially runs through November 4. Home field advantage in the best of seven series, just like in the ALDS and ALDCS, is determined by which two teams had the better regular season record.

Twins radio voice Cory Provus, who calls Big Ten Network football games, will also work BTN men’s basketball during the upcoming season.

By Friday, after the Wild’s home opener against the Panthers Thursday night, it’s anticipated that over a nine-day period about 300,000 fans in the Twin Cities will have attended games of the Twins, Vikings, Wild and football Gophers.

The Wild has only two players on its 21-man opening night roster that weren’t with Minnesota last year: forwards Pat Maroon (Tampa Bay) and Marco Rossi (Iowa). Defenseman Brock Faber is the youngest player on the roster at 21; while goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who turns 39 in November, is the oldest.

Hockey authority Bill Robertson predicts the Wild will finish seventh in the Western Conference and make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “Healthy (Kirill) Kaprizov and solid goaltending will be big keys for the Wild this year,” the former college hockey commissioner wrote via email. “Former Gopher Brock Faber will take a huge step forward and become an impact player for Minnesota.

“Boston is the best team in the NHL as they have depth from top to bottom and will be ready this year for the Stanley Cup Playoffs! No quick exit this year. Best player in the game is Edmonton’ s Conner McDavid as he is a superstar and can impact a game when he is on the ice. Conner has awesome skills.”

The Wild announced today that Kaprizov has been named an alternate captain.

Jim Harbaugh, who was a candidate for the Vikings head coaching job before Kevin O’Connell was hired in 2022, has the No. 2 college football team in the AP Poll but doesn’t make the top 10 in annual compensation among his peers. His $8.2 million at Michigan ranks No. 12, with Alabama’s Nick Saban No. 1 at $11.4 million and Michigan State’s embattled Mel Tucker No. 5 at about $10 million, per Usatoday.com last week.

Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck ranks No. 26 at $6 million.

The 1-4 Vikings and 3-3 Gophers are struggling but other state teams are excelling including St. Thomas, 3-0 in conference games and leading the Pioneer League, and Saint John’s, No. 8 nationally in the D3football.com rankings and tied with Carleton for the best league record in the MIAC at 3-0 each.

Happy birthdays: NFL legend Brett Favre is 54 today, October 10. Former Gopher athletics director Mark Dienhart turns 70 tomorrow.

Forward Parker Bjorklund from St. Thomas has been voted preseason first team All-Summit by the league coaches. The voting also predicted the Tommies will finish fourth in the standings behind South Dakota State, Oral Roberts and North Dakota State.

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Vikes Put the Hit on Toothless Panthers for First Win

Posted on October 1, 2023October 1, 2023 by David Shama

“Harry the Hitman” and his defensive pals were too much for the inept Panthers’ offense today as the Vikings ended a seven-game losing streak dating back to the 2023 playoffs.

Harrison Smith, the Vikings’ 34-year-old veteran safety, had the first three sacks game ever in his NFL career — a 21-13 Minnesota win. The Vikings, now 1-3, had lost their first three regular season games and three preseason games last summer.

Smith’s third quarter sack of Carolina QB Bryce Young knocked the football loose and outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum did a scoop and score, running 51 yards for a touchdown that put the Vikings ahead to stay at 14-13. After the game, talking on KFAN Radio, Wonnum said, “I am not getting caught, man.”

As for Smith, he received high praise on the radio from head coach Kevin O’Connell. He referred to his 12-year veteran as having an “unbelievable performance” and characterizing Smith as one of his “favorite players” ever.

Smith, who sacked Young on the last Carolina play of the game, was part of a defense that often confused Young, a rookie who mostly ran an offense looking like it was using training-wheels. Among those joining Smith and Wonnum in disrupting Carolina was outside linebacker Marcus Davenport, the offseason free agent acquisition who had played sparingly in the first three games. But he was a force today disrupting both running and passing by the Panthers, who are now 0-4.

Carolina didn’t produce an offensive touchdown against the Vikings. The Panthers intercepted a QB Kirk Cousins pass near the goal line in the first quarter and ran it back 99 yards for one touchdown. They added two field goals in the second quarter, including one set up on another Cousins’ interception, but couldn’t get in the end zone against a Viking defense that made sure Minnesota got its first win.

Cousins threw two touchdown passes to WR Justin Jefferson (who else?). Jefferson had a four-yard reception in the second quarter and 30-yard score in the third quarter.

The defense had to come through on a day that the Vikings had possession of the ball 21:31 versus the Panthers 38:29. The problem was Carolina didn’t have much of a clue as to what to do with the football.

Worth Noting

Next Sunday’s game with the Chiefs at U.S. Bank Stadium will showcase a spirited split crowd with the popularity of the 2023 Super Bowl champions and the six-hour drive proximity of Kansas City to Minneapolis bringing fans up from Missouri.

Lindy’s Sports College Basketball magazine, on newsstands now, predicts Ben Johnson’s Golden Gophers will finish last in the Big Ten standings for a third consecutive season. “Clearly better than last year but still facing a steep climb,” Lindy’s writes.

Minnesota has been competing in basketball since 1896 and last season’s second straight last place finish was a program record. Johnson, of course, is hopeful of avoiding the cellar and expressed his pleasure recently about both returnees and quality additions to his roster and having a healthier team than in the past. “Lot to be positive about, lot to be excited about,” Johnson said. “Just really looking forward to continue to build on the process here in October.”

Gopher forward Dawson Garcia, the 6-11, 230-pound junior from Savage, is on Lindy’s All-Conference third team.

Word from someone in the Timberwolves travel party is about 200 people including players and staff leave from Minneapolis today for Abu Dhabi. The Wolves will play preseason games there October 5 and 7 against the Mavericks with NBA TV offering coverage.

Gray Duck Spirits is producing its first ever beer, Duck Duck Beer, along with a new seltzer Fan Pack, as part of a partnership with Dinkytown Athletes—the official University of Minnesota collective that assists with Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for Gopher student-athletes. The products, decorated in maroon and gold, are being sold in state liquor stores and bars/restaurants, with 20 percent of sales going to Dinkytown Athletes.

The Louisiana team the Gophers defeated 35-24 last Saturday is probably a better team than the Northwestern Wildcats who stunned Minnesota September 23 by overcoming a 21-point deficit to win 37-34 overtime.

What the Twins need to accomplish in the postseason, if nothing else, is end their 18-game losing streak in the playoffs. That’s the longest in North American professional sports history for the four major sports of baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

Sonny Gray will be a top vote getter for the AL Cy Young Award despite winning only eight games this season because of such poor run support from his Twins teammates. He finished third in the 2015 voting while with the Athletics.

Brooks Robinson, the Orioles’ immortal, died last week at age 86 and he is considered by many authorities to be the best fielding third baseman of all-time. The best fielding Twin at the position? John Castino or Gary Gaetti.

This is an exciting week for St. Anthony Village High School activities director and baseball coach Troy Urdahl because his book goes live on Amazon on Monday. Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life makes readers think about being better leaders.

Urdahl, who has been coaching baseball for 23 years, has been working for two years on the book that has earned praise from others including Terry Ryan, former Twins general manager. “I’ve taken all of the coaching and leadership lessons I’ve learned over my years as an athlete, coach, and athletic director and condensed them into a narrative where a fictional character is built around some of Tink Larson’s life story (Waseca baseball legend),” Urdahl wrote via email.

Larson, a friend and mentor of Urdahl, coached for 35 years at Waseca High School and is an icon known for his coaching of amateur baseball teams and leadership in the state even to this day.

A hockey insider said Massachusetts prep superstar forward Cole Eiserman (class of 2024) flipped his commitment from the Gophers to Boston University because of family and a desire to stay in his home state.

Ken Mauer Jr., the St. Paul native and former veteran NBA referee, is using a fundraising platform to help with costs involved in litigation against the league. “With two lawsuits now, one for discrimination in denying my religious exemption, as well as a second suit for refusing to release my pension…legal fees have been crazy,” Mauer said via email.https://www.givesendgo.com/kennymauer

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Justin Jefferson & the 2,000 Yards Question in 2023

Posted on September 5, 2023September 5, 2023 by David Shama

Vikings superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson had 1,809 receiving yards last season. In NFL history only five others have totaled over 1,800 yards in the regular season, including Cooper Kupp from the Rams who had over 2,000 yards in 2021-2022 counting playoff games.

Jefferson, age 24, starts his fourth NFL season Sunday in Minneapolis against the Bucs. There will be a national watch to see if Jefferson can become the second member of the 2,000 yards club and the first to do it in the regular season. In Jefferson’s first three seasons his 4,825 yards is the most ever for an NFL player.

Voted the second-best player in the NFL this summer by his peers, Jefferson plays for a creative head coach in Kevin O’Connell who, along with offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, devises schemes to get the former LSU star open against aggressive defenses.

A former executive with NFL teams, speaking to Sports Headliners on condition of anonymity, recognizes Jefferson’s extraordinary talents and the coaching staff’s high IQ but is skeptical about the 2,000 yards target. “I don’t see a 2,000-yard season. He’s going to have so much attention on him with double and triple teams. …I know that’s his goal to be a 2,000-yard guy but that’s a pretty high ask, I would say.”

Justin Jefferson image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

The benefit to the Vikings for all the attention to Jefferson will be more opportunities for other playmakers, perhaps starting with rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison who shows big play potential. Wide receiver K.J. Osborn and tight end T.J. Hockenson can also stretch the field for a potentially explosive passing game led by quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Jefferson’s career high in touchdown passes is 10 in the 2021 regular season (eight last year). Davante Adams of the Raiders led the NFL with 14 touchdown receptions last season. You can add a touchdown watch to tracking J.J. this season.

Another topic of Jefferson news is an expected contract extension that could be announced this week. The new terms might be $30 million or so over five to six years. How much will be guaranteed? “That’ll be a $100 million plus, I am sure,” said the source referenced earlier.

Gophers Football In-State Recruiting Update

The Star Tribune published its 23-man preseason All-Metro Dream Team last week. Included in Jim Paulsen’s story were Golden Gophers class of 2024 commits Jide Abasiri, Prior Lake; Sam Macy, Chanhassen; and Mo Saine, Eden Prairie. Who else might the Gophers pursue?

Ryan Burns, the recruiting authority from GopherIllustrated, said one of the names to follow is senior offensive lineman Kene Anene from East Ridge who has verbally committed to Kansas. He interests the Gophers, per Burns, but they haven’t offered a scholarship. “He is probably someone they watch the first few games of tape of. Decide if they want to move on him from there.”

Minnesota is likely to watch tape, too, of Minneapolis North senior cornerback Zashon Rich. “Really athletic kid,” Burns said. “Really, really raw like a lot of Minneapolis North kids are. He’s big enough to be a Big Ten caliber athlete but he’s got a lot of refinement left and if he can show that on his senior tape, you’re going to see some power five schools on him pretty quick.”

Junior offensive lineman Sam Ruid from St. Francis could also be a Gopher target. “He is on a short list for best junior lineman in the state,” Burns said.

Paulsen described Robbinsdale Cooper junior linebacker Emmanuel Karmo as “considered the top recruit in the state in the class of 2025.” Burns said the Gophers are evaluating Karmo as are other programs.

Burns said the Gophers are also watching senior Mounds View slot receiver Tyler Nystrom. “I know he is on their radar for a potential preferred walk-on.”

Minnetonka senior quarterback Milos Spasojevic wasn’t selected for the dream team but Burns said he’s the only QB Minnesota has offered preferred walk-on status to. Wisconsin has done the same.

Worth Noting

Mid-American Conference Opponent Eastern Michigan receives a $1.4 million guarantee to play the Gophers Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium, according to information obtained by Sports Headliners from the University of Minnesota. Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana will get $1.3 million for playing the Gophers in Minneapolis September 30.

The Gophers’ third nonconference game is on the road September 16 at North Carolina where the Tar Heels will pay a $200,000 guarantee to Minnesota. Next year NC is at Minnesota and will receive $200,000 as the visiting team.

Gophers’ kicker Dragan Kesich and safety Tyler Nubin were honored by the Big Ten today for their performances in last week’s 13-10 victory against Nebraska. Kesich, who kicked the winning field goal in the game’s closing minutes is Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. Nubin, who had two interceptions including one in the fourth quarter that helped Minnesota’s comeback from a 10-3 deficit, is Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

The Gophers used three of their top four running backs against Nebraska. Not playing was redshirt freshman Zach Evans who impressed in his one game last season, rushing six times for 29 yards and a touchdown against Northwestern. “He’s (Zach) doing good, but this is all about competition,” Gophers’ coach P.J. Fleck said about Evans. “I don’t make the depth charts. The players make the depth charts. I just pick who played best. Just because you did something one year, doesn’t mean you’re going to be there the next year. We keep adding talent, and you gotta go out there and perform. We have full trust in him when he gets out there and gets his opportunity.”

MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park pointed out yesterday that amazing Twins rookie Royce Lewis, who delivers in the biggest of moments at the plate, not only has hit three grand slams in the span of eight games, but four of his 13 career home runs have come with the bases loaded.

The Twins have won three of their last four games, including last night’s wild 20-6 victory over the Guardians in Cleveland. Former manager Tom Kelly once said momentum was as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher.

Saint John’s is the No. 4 ranked team nationally in the latest D3football.com poll, moving up two spots since last week. MIAC rival Bethel is No. 16.

The Johnnies had a dramatic win in their opening game last Saturday against Trinity (Texas). Trailing 31-14 in the fourth quarter, Saint John’s scored the game’s final 20 points in a 34-31 overtime win over then-No. 4 ranked Trinity in Collegeville.

Twin Cities TV sports anchors Mike Max, Dawn Mitchell, Joe Schmit and Reggie Wilson will talk about the changing role of local television sports on Tuesday, September 26 at the Capital Club breakfast at Mendakota Country Club. More information about the Capital Club is available from Patrick Klinger, patrick@agilemarketingco.com.

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