Lynx – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Most Pressure to Win in This Town? It’s not the WNBA Lynx

Posted on September 26, 2025September 26, 2025 by David Shama

Our town demands little in terms of championships from its pro teams and the Golden Gophers. Maybe that’s part of why the championship cupboard is so bare.

Minnesota fans aren’t so nasty they would threaten a serious boycott of a team, or boo Santa Claus like the City of Brotherly Love once did.

With a population here raised on “Minnesota nice” and minds filled with sensitivity training, I question whether some state natives would even unanimously hiss and jeer Vladimir Putin!

The Lynx are favorites to win the WNBA title this fall but think again if you believe there’s public pressure on the Lynxers to win it all. Nope for a couple of reasons.

The Lynx have already produced four WNBA championships, and they keep exceeding expectations. Then, too, the public interest in the club isn’t as widespread, nor as deeply intense as for several other outfits in town.

The team that should be feeling the most pressure to rise ASAP to an elite level is the Twins. The struggling franchise that passed on the opportunity to take a step forward two years ago after exciting patrons with its playoff run has both pissed off and launched fans into anger and apathy.

The Twins close the regular season on Sunday as a franchise viewed by the public and media as in disarray. David Schoenfield, writing for ESPN.com Wednesday, graded the 30 MLB teams on their 2025 seasons. No one in Twins Territory should be surprised the Pohlad owned franchise was given an F.

Schoenfield wrote: “This is the kind of season that can set an organization back five years, where it kind of feels like the whole organization has given up. Ownership/management punted at the trade deadline, dealing away 10 players. …As always, the Pohlads never disappoint in their willingness to pinch pennies.”

It’s interesting that while the Twins head toward a final record of about 22 games under .500 (after plummeting with a second consecutive late season collapse), the Brewers from neighboring Wisconsin received the best grade of the season from Schoenfield. Playing in a similar size market, the Brewers will finish with close to 100 wins and easily the best runs differential in MLB.

The Vikings, Timberwolves, Wild and Gophers football have no elite hardware to showcase this century, but they don’t face the scrutiny of the Twins who need a massive turnaround and pursuit of no less than an American league pennant.

Measure fan interest by game attendance, TV viewership, merchandise sales and sponsorship, and no one in this town likely comes close to the Vikings in decibel blowing devotion. On Sundays, it feels like only the newborn and comatose among us aren’t following the Purple heroes.

The franchise hasn’t been to the Super Bowl since Jimmy Carter was in the White House, but there’s not a win it all demand by the fanbase or “we’re done with you.” A competitive team, with entertaining players, is enough for the Skol-mad and beer fueled fans to rock all fall.

The Wolves and Wild claim no league titles in their histories which date back 35 and 25 years respectively. Yeah, Wolves fans would love to see coach Chris Finch hoisting the NBA championship trophy on a parade down Hennepin Avenue. But the fanbase of this mostly forlorn franchise is mesmerized by the last two springs when the club made the Western Conference Finals. Pressure to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy? Nah, not when the fanbase is honeymooning right now in unknown success.

The Wild fanbase is passionate and darn loyal, win or lose. Patrons would love a Stanley Cup but for starters many will welcome a deep playoff run next spring. Past post season success has been too minimal as has goal scoring. Disappointed fans have a way of returning for the next season and for now are preoccupied with seeing the contract of superstar Kirill Kaprizov extended. That’s where the franchise’s public pressure is for now. If Kaprizov departs and the club performs poorly for a season or two, then the pressure will be on like never before in the building we used to call the X.

Gopher football hasn’t shared a Big Ten championship since 1967. Minnesota couldn’t even win a division title earlier this century when it was grouped into the mediocre Big Ten West. Win-some, lose-some results in Big Ten games for a long time has driven away fans. Apathy hangs over this once proud program that during the first 70 years of the last century was a national power. A berth in the 12-team college football playoffs one day would bring a lot of fans out of the closet for the home state Division 1 football.

Not saying there isn’t pressure to win for this town’s teams, but nobody should be feeling it like the Twins! Santa Claus, though, probably wouldn’t get booed at Target Field. Tim Walz or Scott Jensen, maybe.

Worth Noting

Lindy’s Sports College Basketball Magazine is on newsstands and forecasts a 16^th place finish for Minnesota in the 18-team Big Ten standings. Concerns about coach Niko Medved’s first team at Minnesota include how well incoming players from mid-major programs will fare in the Big Ten.

The magazine’s top 10: Houston, Purdue, Florida, Michigan, Duke, Kentucky, St. John’s, Iowa State, Alabama and UConn.

The public is invited to a free men’s basketball Maroon and Gold Open Scrimmage at Williams Arena on Saturday, October 11. Start time will be 2 or 2:30 p.m., four hours before the start of the home football game with Purdue. That game time will be either 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. and decided later. Following the one-hour scrimmage, players will sign autographs near the Williams Arena court.

Fans can enter the arena through the Maturi Pavilion Daily Entrance, located at 1925 University Ave. Tailgate lots for the Gopher football game are scheduled to open at noon or 12:30 p.m. that day

News came yesterday that 6-8 forward Erick Reader, the sophomore forward from Bloomington and New Life Academy who played minimally in the past for the Gophers, is leaving the program to focus on academics. He is replaced by 6-3 walk-on guard RJ Spencer from Blaine and Totino-Grace.

Congratulations to hockey icon Lou Nanne who will be inducted Tuesday into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame at the JX Event Center in Stillwater. The former Gophers All-American, North Stars player, GM and president, has an impressive broadcast resume.

Nanne’s broadcast experience includes the Stanley Cup, Olympics, NCAA Frozen Four and the Boys’ State High School Hockey Tournament. He offered game commentary for 60 years of Minnesota high school state tournament games. He makes a KFAN radio appearance one day a week with Dan Barreiro.

Saint John’s senior defensive end Zach Frank and St. Olaf senior linebacker Noah Barret are semifinalists for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy® which is college football’s premier scholar-athlete award.

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Reactionary Vikings Fans Turn on Team at Home Opener

Posted on September 15, 2025September 15, 2025 by David Shama

When quarterback J.J. McCarthy pulled off a comeback opening game win on the road against the Bears last Monday night this town couldn’t wait to coronate the 22-year-old hero in U.S. Bank Stadium. But last night the expected script didn’t materialize, with McCarthy and Viking teammates playing poorly.

Boos cascaded down from the stands as fair weather fans expressed displeasure during a 22-6 loss to the Falcons. From toast of the town a week ago, to a bad dream today, doubts and anger have already surfaced in a young season about the team Minnesota is obsessed with.

McCarthy threw two interceptions and had a fumble that led to Atlanta’s last field goal of the game. For the night he completed 11 of 21 passes for 158 yards and no touchdowns, with a dismal rating of 37.5. Perhaps the worst moment was overthrowing a wide open Jalen Nailor for a potential long touchdown in the second half.

McCarthy looked frustrated and at times confused. After the game he used the cliched response of how he takes responsibility and must play “better.”

Sideline TV shots showed how eager he is to please and be coached by Kevin O’Connell. He looked the head coach in the eye and seemed quick to agree with whatever instructions or suggestions he was given, almost like a young puppy receiving training from its owner.

Frantic fans won’t help his growth and improvement with disapproval. They can only make his journey as a young, inexperienced pro QB more difficult.

It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for McCarthy in recent days. Last week fiancé Katya gave birth to a baby boy, Rome Michah. She and McCarthy got engaged in January of 2024.

In fairness to McCarthy, the run game faltered last night and didn’t give him a complementary tool to his passing. The Vikings rushed for 78 yards, while the defense gave up an uncharacteristic 218 yards on the ground.

As if the game wasn’t frustrating enough, multiple Vikings went down with injuries including running back Aaron Jones, center Ryan Kelly and left tackle Justin Skule. He was starting for Christian Darrisaw who didn’t play and was sidelined with other regulars such as linebackers Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel, safety Harrison Smith and cornerback Jeff Okudah.

Worth Noting

Where do NFL players come from? As of the opening weekend rosters, Texas, with 199 players, produced the most personnel of any state, followed by Florida (179), California (165) and Georgia (143).

There were 20 players from Bradenton (Fla.) on league rosters, the most of any city. Atlanta and Miami tied for second-most (18), followed by Detroit with 16 players.

Former Vikings coach Mike Tice, now living in Las Vegas, has a new TV show. “The Coach’s Cut” with Mike Tice, can be found on multiple platforms including YouTube.

Tice is in my top three for most colorful Vikings head coaches ever. Put Jerry Burns at No. 1 and Norm Van Brocklin second.

Darius Taylor photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

Gophers’ junior running back Darius Taylor is eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft but don’t think pro scouts aren’t fully aware of hamstring issues that have caused him to miss nine career games including Saturday night at California. With a bye next Saturday, the star running back and pass catcher could be a solid bet to return to the lineup for the September 27 game at home against Rutgers. Taylor led the team in touchdowns last season with 10 and is clearly Minnesota’s most dangerous talent on offense.

It’s difficult to quantify but without Taylor the Gopher offense isn’t as effective. Even with him, the program continues to struggle from a lack of explosive skill position players to catch and run with the ball. In Saturday’s 27-14 loss to California, the Gophers’ longest run from scrimmage was 27 yards by Fame Ijeboi, while receivers Javon Tracy and Le’Meke Brockington had receptions of 25 and 23 yards respectively.

For years now the Gophers have lacked “take it to the house” playmakers and it cost them again over the weekend as did an awful punt returning night by Koi Perich. In the first half he chose to fair catch a punt inside his own five-yard line. In the fourth quarter he fumbled a rolling punt and Cal recovered at Minnesota’s eight-yard line before scoring a touchdown that put the Bears ahead 24-14.

It looks now like the 2-1 Gophers could end up with a final regular season record of around .500 after losing to Cal in a game they were favored to win. Nearly certain losses await in road games against national title contenders Ohio State and Oregon. The Gophers could win or lose any of the remainder games, including September 27.

Woe are the Demons! Northwestern State has been outscored 136-0 the last two Saturdays, losing to Minnesota 66-0 September 6 and 70-0 to Cincinnati September 13.

At 31 years old and with an injury-filled career, Byron Buxton will make 2025 the first time he’s been able to play over 100 games in consecutive seasons. The Twins gifted hitter and center fielder went six years from 2018-2023 not reaching 100 games and had three seasons where he appeared in 61 or fewer games.

In 11 seasons his peak playing time was 2017 when he appeared in 140 games. Last season he participated in 102 and with the 2025 season ending September 28 he already totals 114 games played.

Rocco Baldelli is tied for third place with the late Sam Mele in all-time wins (522) by a Twins manager. Baldelli has a long way to go to surpass No. 1 Tom Kelly, at 1,140 wins, or Ron Gardenhire at 1,068.

The Lynx, the betting favorite to win a fifth WNBA championship and ahead 1-0 in its best of three opening round playoff series against the Valkyries, are scheduled for a off day on Monday before flying to California on Tuesday. Game Two is Wednesday night beginning at 9 p.m. Minneapolis time, with ESPN televising.

The game will be played at the SAP Center in San Jose because Golden State’s regular home arena, the Chase Center in San Francisco, is not available.

Best wishes to director Howard Lavick next Sunday with the premier of his new documentary film at the Cloquet High School Auditorium. “Beyond the Prize” tells the story of the legendary 1963 Cloquet boys basketball team that is revered to this day. An undersized, scrappy team, Cloquet was a fan favorite whose style and success captured the hearts of fans across Minnesota in the state tournament. It was Cloquet’s fate to lose the state championship game, 75-74 to Marshall, in one of the epic title games of all time.

Admission for the 6 p.m. Sunday event is free. Lavick, a CHS alum, will engage with the audience after the screening, as will players from that team and coach Ben Trochlil.

Tennis, in a battle with pickle ball and other recreation activities, is billing itself as “the world’s healthiest sport.” It’s a big claim but anecdotal experiences and research suggest tennis can increase lifespan and wellbeing with its physical and social benefits. For some participants, it’s almost a cradle to grave activity.

Comments Welcome

Ready for a Top 25 List for The Last Six Months of 2025?

Posted on July 10, 2025July 10, 2025 by David Shama

The calendar shows we’re halfway through the year and I am listing 25 things I am hoping for in the next six months.

Alert: recognizing the varied tastes of readers regarding humor, please note the word “wink” will be used to indicate anticipated levity. Feel welcome to use this as a prompt to laugh (howl?), like in the TV studio when a sign says: “APPLAUSE!”

Well, it’s already July 10 so best get to these 25 gems whether they be well-intended, sarcastic or funny.

1. The Timberwolves are bringing back 36-year-old Joe Ingles for another season at a reported $3.6 million to provide karma in the locker room and cheerleading from the bench. How cool would it be for the seldom used Ingles to have a double-digit scoring game playing in front of his autistic young son Jacob?

2. New Wolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez could have a “wandering eye” when it comes to keeping the team in Minneapolis. Hoping the replacement for Target Center will stay in the city rather than be built in the ‘burbs. The city is the economic hub of the region, and a new arena is vital to its future as a place where Minnesotans want to be.

3. Let’s hope when the 2025-2026 schedules come out, there are fewer same night home conflicts involving the Wolves, Wild and Golden Gophers men’s basketball than ever before. Also, we can do without those Gopher basketball games on the same Sundays the Vikings play.

4. A longshot, but how inspiring it would be to see all the NHL Russian hockey players join with North American-based past and present Ukrainian amateurs and pros in leading a public peace vigil to encourage an end to the brutal war that has saddened the world for years.

5. Wink: Wondering if Wild GM and woodworking enthusiast Bill Guerin might send me a table for outside grilling. Por favor, have the table on wheels, with a butcher block top, hooks and a beer bottle opener.

6. Wink 2: Hoping our area can attract an American Cornhole League franchise so we can move a step closer to having every kind of sports franchise under the sun.

7. Any chance Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, among the highest paid at his position in MLB, can hit like a $33 million player?

8. Fingers crossed that center fielder Byron Buxton plays a career high 140-plus games this season.

9. It will be a classy union if anticipated new Twins franchise buyers include Joe Mauer in the ownership and he becomes a prominent face of the franchise for decades to come.

10. Hoping for more games where the Twins use former manager Paul Molitor as the analyst on broadcasts. His insights are among the best in Twins broadcast history.

11. Get ready to applaud if the Vikings announce plans for statues outside U.S. Bank Stadium including one for legendary coach Harry Peter Grant. At the same time also commit to honoring the famed “Purple People Eaters” with a statue. That defensive line scared the deuce out of opposing offenses for about a decade and consisted mostly of Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen.

12. The Gophers need to get into the statue-erecting business too outside of Huntington Bank Stadium. There are a lot of ultra worthy names to choose from starting with Bobby Bell, Bernie Bierman, Greg Eslinger, Paul Giel, Bronko Nagurski and Bruce Smith.

13. Shocking: 2016 Vikings No. 1 draft pick Laquon Treadwell, considered a consensus bust in Minnesota, has stayed in the NFL playing for five other teams including in two games with the Colts last season. But, no, he isn’t returning here in 2025.

14. Fingers crossed Jordan Addison doesn’t have a three-peat of summer driving incidents.

15. More fingers crossed: Quarterback Max Brosmer makes the Vikings’ 53-man roster or at least the practice squad.

16. Miracle: Vikings fans choose not to boo the snot out of first-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy when he screws up. And he will.

17. Miracle 2: the football Gophers win either at Oregon or Ohio State.

18. Happy Birthday, Reusse: Coach P.J. Fleck and the Gophers defeat Nebraska on Patrick Reusse’s 80^th birthday, October 17. (For the unaware: Google Reusse on Fleck.)

19. Networking: let’s get new Golden Gophers basketball coach Niko Medved together with Jim Dutcher, the 92-year-old wise man who was head coach of the 1982 Big Ten title team.

20. Bulletin board locker-room material: In the last 20 men’s basketball seasons the Gophers have one winning season in conference games, while neighboring rivals Wisconsin and Iowa have 17 and nine respectively.

21. Wink 3: Potential speaking invitations for yours truly? Nope. Don’t like speaking and no good at it. (Available, though, for a five-figure fee!)

22. Appropriate: The Lynx win the WNBA championship against the Liberty on a controversial call by the refs.

23. Appropriate 2: The Lynx acquire Minnesota native Paige Bueckers prior to next season.

24. Canterbury Park and Running Aces get dealt in on sports wagering when state legislation is finally approved.

25. And we all need to remember this quote from Samuel Johnson in the next six months and beyond: “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”

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