KEVIN O’CONNELL – Page 18 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Cousins Injury Causes Major Implications for 2024

Posted on November 5, 2023November 7, 2023 by David Shama

The Vikings play the Falcons in Atlanta today without Kirk Cousins and with rookie Jaren Hall taking his place at starting quarterback. It was a stunning development seeing the 35-year-old Cousins tear his right Achilles in Green Bay last week.

Cousins played at a high level into the fourth quarter when he was injured. He had done more than enough to position the Vikings for a third consecutive win and even the season record at 4-4.

Coach Kevin O’Connell and the players knew Cousins was running the offense and passing the football like an All-Pro. Offensive guard Dalton Risner described Cousins as “a spectacular human being and an extraordinary quarterback.”

He told Sports Headliners “losing a guy like that is devastating” but he also expressed optimism. “Kirk is gonna be just fine but we gotta move forward. We gotta play for Kirk and play for this organization.”

This was Cousins’ team and his leadership showed. He even led the team in prayer before every game. Players joined him in reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

Today’s game will be the first of nine where Cousins won’t be able to take the field while he rehabs from surgery. It’s anyone’s guess as to how he will be physically in 2024. Does he return with restrictions as to what his body can do? How soon could he be back on the practice field and game ready? If all goes well, who will he play for and at what level of compensation?

“Yes, with Kirk’s age and injury you don’t know if/when he will be 100 percent,” a football authority wrote via text to Sports Headliners. “Even worse (the) Vikes lost trade value, though (they)won’t have to pay market value to keep him. I think he likes raising family here and is a Midwest guy at heart, so he will stay if Vikes want to keep him.

“You won’t find many quarterbacks as accurate as Kirk (if protected). Troy Aikman bragged on Kirk all Monday night versus Niners (October 23) as he can see the value of Kirk’s skill set. Vikings fans will certainly gain appreciation over the next few weeks when they see the backup quarterbacks perform.

“Kirk makes many big-time throws look easy and fans have gotten used to those ‘easy’ completions. When you break down some of Kirk’s throws, his level of timing and accuracy are as good as it gets in the NFL. …It will be an interesting finish to the season.”

Cousins will be a free agent next year and he’s already thinking about a return to the field. It’s believed the Vikings are his first choice for 2024 and O’Connell is on record as wanting his guy back. O’Connell believes Cousins was having his best season, and he is left wondering what the Vikings might have achieved with a full season and playoffs with No. 8.

“Yeah, you guys (the media) know how I feel about Kirk,” O’Connell said last week. “Kirk knows how I feel about Kirk. I think he was playing as well as anybody in the National Football League. …”

The Vikings ownership and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah were unable to reach a contract extension last offseason with Cousins. Now the GM says all options are open as they were before the injury.

That, of course, is GM speak. The Vikings and Cousins will both evaluate his health next winter. Even if both parties are optimistic about future performance, the Vikings are all but certain to offer less money and perhaps contract length than before the surgery.

In 2023 Cousins is reportedly making $35 million on a one-year deal. He might ask for the same money in 2024 and want a two-year contract. The Vikings could be thinking of the $25 million range for one year. If Cousins had been able to play the entire season, he might have been looking for $38 million or more for a couple of years.

There’s no assurance Cousins will be back with Minnesota. The 49ers might be more likely than ever to land him. Second year QB Brock Purdy has created doubts this season as the 49ers have lost three consecutive games. His lack of accuracy in big moments and inability to rally the 49ers late in games has been a problem for a team otherwise loaded with talent and experience.

A move to the 49ers would be a reunion with head coach Kyle Shanahan who was offensive coordinator for the Redskins during Cousins’ first two seasons in the NFL, 2012 and 2013. Shanahan is a fan of Cousins and in California the veteran QB could be the last piece needed to win a Super Bowl.

The Vikings will sort through quarterbacks this fall including Hall and Josh Dobbs who they acquired in a trade with the Cardinals last week. Maybe they find something they like in them, or they could pursue a first-round QB in the 2024 NFL Draft. Those avenues might work, but if Cousins returns healthy, nobody they acquire will be better than No. 8 was during the last Sunday of October.

“I think Kirk will be back as good as ever,” Risner said. “Strong man of faith. He’s an extraordinary human being. A very hard worker and I can’t wait to see when he comes back. I hope I’m on the same team as Kirk Cousins.”

Worth Noting

With the trade of left guard Ezra Cleveland last week, there is no doubt Risner is the starter at that position. Risner didn’t sign with the Vikings until after the first two games of the season and he reportedly is on a one-year deal.

At first his playing time was limited. “I think that they wanted to give me time to get to know the playbook,” Risner said.

Risner also said that in the strong Vikings’ “culture” he wasn’t just going to be placed immediately in the starting lineup and coaches wanted him to “earn it and respect it.” Risner, a five-year veteran with the Broncos until this year, made his presence known. “So I put my head down when I got my opportunity. I tried to capitalize on it, and I think I did.”

The Vikings know they need to avoid the temptation to try too hard in making up for the absence of Cousins. “We each gotta stay composed and just try not to do too much because that’s when things fall apart,” Danielle Hunter told Sports Headliners.

The 29-year-old outside linebacker leads the NFL in sacks with 10, but he said there is no bonus in his contract to reward him if he is still on top at season’s end. His birthday was October 29 and although he missed major playing time in the past with injuries, he said if players take care of their bodies it’s “limitless” how long they can play.

“I’ve been feeling good,” Hunter said. “The training staff, the head coach, they do a good job of keeping us fresh. Enables us to go out there and play full speed.”

Hunter said his enthusiasm to play football remains high. It was there from the beginning and although there were doubters that just “fueled the fire.”

A sports industry source emailed with the prediction Twins radio play-by-play voice Cory Provus will soon be announced as the replacement for Dick Bremer on TV play-by-play. Provus joined the Twins radio broadcast team in 2012, while Bremer announced last week he was retiring from broadcasting after 40 years doing TV for the club. He is transitioning into a special assistant role in the front office.

Greg Eslinger, the former Gopher center and one of the most honored offensive linemen in Big Ten football history, will learn in January if he has been voted into the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Voting coordinated by the National Football Foundation is completed for candidates like Eslinger who in 2005 received the Outland Trophy (the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman) and the Rimington Trophy (the country’s best center). He was the 2005 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year (only Gopher ever honored) and was awarded with the 2006 Big Ten Medal of Honor (the conference’s oldest and most prestigious award).

Alarming: announced attendance of 2,604 for the Gophers’ men’s basketball home exhibition game last Thursday night against Macalester.

Al Schoch, WCCO Radio news anchor/reporter, is one of the Minnesota Wild’s press box announcers. He also does public address work for Augsburg women’s basketball and Cretin-Derham Hall boys’ and girls’ basketball. The Pennsylvania native started doing public address work as a 15-year-old in Stroudsburg.

Word is the Bloomington-based CORES lunch program featuring prominent speakers, mostly from Minnesota sports, may have found new leadership. CORES didn’t have its regular meeting in September and has been seeking new organizers to continue. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators, and sports fans.

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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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