Lynx – Page 24 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Experts Doubt U Will Win West Division

Posted on July 19, 2015July 20, 2015 by David Shama

Four of the leading college football magazines predict the Gophers won’t duplicate last year’s second place finish in the Big Ten’s West Division. Athlon Sports College Football, Phil Steele’s College 2015 Football Preview and Sporting News College Football all forecast a third place finish for Minnesota while Lindy’s College Football has the Gophers finishing fourth in the seven-team division.

All four publications predict Wisconsin will win the West, just like last year when the Badgers finished first and the Gophers tied Nebraska for second place. Writers don’t disrespect Minnesota (5-3 in the division and 8-5 overall last season) but there is concern about the team’s offense because of inconsistent quarterbacking in the past and the departure of two major playmakers in 2014, running back David Cobb and tight end Maxx Williams.

Lindy’s write-up on the Gophers includes this: “Touchdowns matter. Minny won’t score many.”

But coach Jerry Kill, his staff and players have a way of producing better than expected results including surprising and consecutive eight win seasons. Last year the Gophers played Wisconsin in the final regular season game with an opportunity to tie for the West Division title. “I would not be surprised to see that Nov. 28th game against border rival Wisconsin being a big one once again,” Phil Steele wrote.

Steele ranks the Minnesota special teams fourth in the nation and the Big Ten’s best. A major contributor is returning senior punter Peter Mortell who is a fourth team All-American in Steele’s publication. All four magazines list Mortell, who has averaged over 43 yards per punt the last two seasons, as their first-team All-Big Ten punter.

Among college juniors and seniors this fall, Steele ranks Gophers Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun as the No. 11 and 12 cornerbacks in the country. Sporting News includes Calhoun on its All-Big Ten first-team.

Those two, along with other standouts, lead a defense that will be challenged much of the season including games against offensive machines from Ohio State and TCU. Among the four publications, only Athlon doesn’t have the Buckeyes and Horned Frogs ranked No. 1 and 2 in the country, and all the magazines have OSU No. 1. The Gophers play TCU in Minneapolis on September 3 and then face the Buckeyes November 7 in Columbus.

The Gophers also play the Badgers, Nebraska and resurgent Michigan with new wonder coach Jim Harbaugh. All three games are at home. In Steele’s ranking of the most difficult schedules in the nation, the Gophers are 25th and listed before any other Big Ten school.

Any final thoughts about the Gophers after spending $36.96 (including Steele’s price of $12.99) on these publications? Well, nobody is raving about the collective talent on the roster and everybody frets at least a bit about the offense, and there’s no denying the schedule is for big boys only, but there is a hint of guarded optimism. Why? Because Kill and his assistants can coach, the Gophers minimize mistakes, play sound defense and excel on special teams.

“If the offense finds a way, this won’t be a fun team to play,” Athlon concluded on its Gopher page.

Worth Noting

College football in the state could command attention beyond the borders this fall. The Gophers are a possibility to be nationally ranked, while in Division II Minnesota State or UMD might be headed for a national championship. Lindy’s has the Mavericks ranked No. 1 while UMD is No. 3. Sporting News lists UMD No. 1 in the country with Minnesota State No. 6. The two teams play in Mankato on September 3.

If Lindy’s and Sporting News are correct, Saint John’s is back as a national power in Division III. The Johnnies are ranked No. 4 in the country by Lindy’s while Sporting News has them at No. 7. Both publications have Johnnies running back Sam Sura as a first-team All-American.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph worked with the ProCamps organization Monday hosting a camp at Edina High School for kids in grades 1-8. Scholarships were provided to disadvantaged youngsters. Vikings teammates Chad Greenway and Harrison Smith stopped by the Northwestern Mutual Kyle Rudolph Football ProCamp to see Rudolph. Rudolph is interested in working with ProCamps on a camp in his home town of Cincinnati.

The Capital Club featuring local sports figures as speakers hosts Vikings general manager Rick Spielman Tuesday at Town & Country Club in St. Paul. For more information about membership, contact Patrick Klinger, patrickklinger@klingercompany.com.

Saints owner Mike Veeck spoke to the club earlier this year when the gathering was at St. Paul’s new CHS Field. When asked for a tour of the new ballpark, the personable Veeck said to heck with formalities, and told guests to go where they pleased including perusing the dugouts and running the bases.

The WNBA, now in its 19th season, holds its All-Star Game on Saturday in Uncasville, Connecticut. While the league reportedly has some franchises that don’t lose money, the WNBA still has plenty of potential upside with the public and media. Like it or not, there are advocates for changes including lowering the rim from 10 feet.

A June 2 New York Times article reported Val Ackerman regretted not experimenting with a lower rim when she was WNBA president. She said in the story lowering the rim even by half a foot would result in fewer missed layups and a “more fluid game.”

Depending on how far the rim is lowered, dunking could become routine in WNBA games. Men in college and the NBA are about seven inches taller than women pros, according to Asher Price’s Times article.

Those who are advocates of keeping things the same for both men and women in sports certainly won’t be receptive to lower rims. But it could be argued the change would further help the WNBA brand to be distinctive, and also result in a more exciting product.

Another topic is the suggestion WNBA players should wear sexier uniforms. But that doesn’t’ seem realistic in today’s sports world and national culture. About as likely to happen as the Confederate flag flying again over the State House in South Carolina.

The WNBA is an ongoing success story, and part of the validation is that next Saturday’s game will be nationally televised live by ABC starting at 2:30 p.m. Minneapolis time. Fans voted Lynx players Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus to the Western Conference All-Star team. Augustus won’t play because of surgery on her right knee yesterday that will sideline her indefintely. Reserves will be announced on Tuesday.

According to ESPN.com’s listing of NBA salaries, there are only 23 NBA players earning less than $1 million. The entire payroll for each WNBA team is capped at less than $1 million.

Timberwolves rookie and former Apple Valley High School star Tyus Jones will earn $1,282,000 in salary, according to ESPN’s listing. Wolves rookie and overall NBA No. 1 draft choice Karl-Anthony Towns will receive a salary of $5,703,600.

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Team More ‘Upbeat’ with Peterson Back

Posted on June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 by David Shama

Covering various topics in today’s column including Adrian Peterson’s first week back with the Vikings, news about the Gophers and prep basketball, and a lot more.

Peterson returned to the team this week and Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph believes the impact of the All-Pro running back is evident. Rudolph said Peterson’s work ethic can make others more dedicated. “It always seems to make guys around him work harder. Just in the three days that he’s been here our practices have been pretty crisp, a little bit more upbeat, and that’s what great players do. Great players come in and they elevate the game of not only themselves but the guys around him.”

Peterson, 30, didn’t play at all in the team’s four preseason games last year. Head coach Mike Zimmer decided not to risk injury to the veteran running back. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner was asked if he sees more of the same in 2015.

“That’s coach Zimmer’s call,” Turner said. “To me, if you’re getting everything you need to get done in practices, then you’d probably shy away from doing that. If you feel like you haven’t gotten done what you need to get in practice, I am sure coach Zimmer would consider giving him a few carries. But based on what we did a year ago, I would think that’s probably more of what we do (not using him in preseason).”

Blake Weber, an outstanding football player at Prior Lake High School in 2013 and at Rochester Community and Technical College last fall, is enrolled at Minnesota and will participate next week in the Gophers’ strength and conditioning program as a preferred walk-on playing linebacker. Weber played multiple positions for RCTC including safety and outside linebacker. He wanted to join the Gophers as a preferred walk-on out of high school but had to improve his academic work. He will be a sophomore in eligibility next season.

Jim Dutcher said former Gophers basketball player Tommy Davis needs 19 credits to graduate from Minnesota and is enrolled in summer school. Davis, who played for Dutcher from 1981-1985, is utilizing a program by the Gophers Athletic Department that pays tuition for former athletes who want to complete their school work and earn degrees.

Davis, a shooting guard, still holds the Gophers’ record for consecutive field goals made in one game with 15. He played and coached in France for many years but now is living here. The former All-Big Ten player speaks six languages including French, Dutcher said.

Both Davis and Darryl Mitchell, another former Gophers All-Big Ten guard, have recently relocated to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Dutcher now has 10 former players from his 1982 Big Ten championship living in this community. “We could have a reunion of the ’82 championship team and make all local (phone) calls,” Dutcher said.

Minnesota prep basketball made history this week with the announcement Apple Valley High School players Gary Trent Jr. and Tre Jones are on the USA Basketball Men’s Under-16 roster. It’s the first time two Minnesotans have been selected for the team at the same time, and with Trent and Jones being from the same high school the achievement is more distinct.

Trent, the son of former Timberwolves player Gary Trent, is a shooting guard or wing who will be a junior at Apple Valley next season. He’s a key recruiting target of the Gophers but the competition will be intense with Trent’s long list of offers including national power Kansas, according to Rivals.com.

Jones, the younger brother of former Duke star Tyus Jones, is a point guard who will be a sophomore at Apple Valley next season where the Eagles return the key players from their 2015 Class 4A title team. Jones, at 6-2, is already taller than 6-1 Tyus and like his older brother is on a clear path to be nationally coveted by colleges. His skills include exceptional on-ball defense.

The Under-16 roster includes players from various parts of the country but Trent and Jones are the only twosome from the same high school. The team is practicing this week in Colorado Springs before playing next week in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship tournament in Argentina. USA’s first game is next Wednesday against Puerto Rico.

Prior to this year Tyus Jones was the only Minnesotan to play for the Under-16 team. He played in 2011.

Former Gophers Nick Bjugstad, Ricky Foggie, Seth Helgeson and Darrell Thompson will be among those participating in the Bruce Smith Golf Classic at Faribault Golf Club on June 15. The fundraising event benefits three Faribault schools and honors Bruce Smith who won the 1941 Heisman Trophy playing for the Gophers. More information about participating in the golf event and attending the dinner is available by e-mailing Bruce Krinke, contact@fctv10.org.

The opening of the new St. Paul Saints ballpark this spring prompts discussion about an ongoing topic involving the Twins. Local baseball fans have long wondered if the Saints could some day be a Twins minor league affiliate. It’s an attractive possibility to die-hard fans from the metro area who like the idea of being able to “scout” Twins prospects without driving long distances.

The Saints have been an ongoing popular attraction in the Twin Cities and perhaps more so now with their state-of-the-art minor league ballpark seating about 7,000 fans. The Saints’ independent league status, though, is an obstacle to something happening with the Twins. The Saints are members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and those teams have no affiliation with major league franchises. MLB teams operate affiliated clubs at various levels of competition in towns throughout the minor leagues.

Establishing an affiliated team in St. Paul at CHS Field isn’t on the Twins to-do list right now. “It’s not something we’re working on,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “It’s not something that there is a master plan for. Could it happen some day? Yes, I think it probably could. But it’s many, many years down the road.”

While St. Peter sees the possibility of a Twins team in St. Paul as “intriguing” (including from a marketing perspective), the only way it could happen, he said, would be for an affiliated minor league team (like a Triple-A or Class A club) to move to St. Paul and for the Saints’ independent league franchise to relocate. There are challenges with that scenario including determination of what class of baseball the club would be in and how expensive travel costs would be.

“The other thing is, I can’t imagine the Twins would ever pursue that without ownership of the team,” St. Peter said. “At the end of the day the Twins would need to own the team in St. Paul. I can’t imagine that we would provide affiliation to another group of owners.”

With this being boom times for the Saints owners in their new ballpark, it’s also difficult to foresee them having interest in selling or operating the ballclub elsewhere.

The Lynx, who open the WNBA regular season tonight at home against Tulsa, are the most likely team to win the league championship. That is according to a survey of the WNBA’s general managers who also voted Maya Moore of the Lynx most likely to be the 2015 league MVP. The Lynx’s Cheryl Reeve received the most votes as best coach and Target Center was the winner of “best home-court advantage.”

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Dutcher Understands Rick Pitino Role

Posted on May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 by David Shama

Rick Pitino has used the media to defend his son Richard Pitino this year. After the Gophers stumbled to a disappointing 6-12 Big Ten record and no post-season play, the legendary Louisville coach pointed out his son Richard—only in his second year of rebuilding at Minnesota—had no all-conference players to work with. Then earlier this month the elder Pitino disclosed his son seriously considered the Alabama coaching vacancy but wasn’t interested because he hadn’t established himself as head coach of the Gophers.

Rick was “proud” of Richard for demonstrating humility and perspective in making the decision, according to a May 8 Amelia Rayno story in the Star Tribune quoting from Pitino’s interview on “The Jim Rome Show” two days earlier.

Gophers fans have been surprised to find two Pitinos speaking for the Minnesota men’s basketball program. Jim Dutcher offered interpretation and opinion on the subject. Dutcher is a qualified source since he is a former Gophers head coach, follows the program closely and also has a son in major college basketball coaching.

Brian Dutcher has been Steve Fisher’s top assistant at San Diego State for years. The two have built a ho-hum program into one of the best on the West Coast, and as of late the Aztecs have a superior resume to Minnesota’s. Fisher is already past retirement age and Brian has been labeled “head coach in waiting.”

Gophers fans had read the rumors Richard Pitino’s name was on the candidate list for the Alabama job. When Dutcher later read Rick Pitino’s comments about the Alabama situation and why his son decided to remain at Minnesota, his reaction was “here’s daddy just trying to make something good come out of this.”

To Dutcher it’s obvious Pitino is making statements to protect his son. Dutcher believes that’s also what happened back in March when Rick made it clear Minnesota’s talent isn’t what it needs to be and Richard isn’t responsible for inheriting a bare cupboard. “Richard can’t say that but his dad can, so you gotta read through it and say this is what Richard thinks,” Dutcher said.

While it might bother Gophers fans that Rick, 62, is speaking for Richard, 32, Dutcher sees a protective parent at work using his platform as one of college basketball’s most prominent coaches. Dutcher, though, isn’t interested in going public with statements about Brian and his career.

“It’s not a role that I would play in Brian’s thing,” Dutcher said. “I get asked all the time why isn’t he the head coach? I say because it’s Steve’s job, and I don’t take it any further than that.

“Do you want your son to do well? Absolutely. Are you defensive about any criticism he may get? Absolutely. How you handle that. …I guess to each his own. I try not to be critical (the Pitinos). I just see it as a dad trying to be defensive in the defense of his son.”

While some may see Rick Pitino’s actions as meddlesome, Dutcher doesn’t. “That’s what fathers do,” Dutcher said.

It wouldn’t be surprising if there are more supportive comments coming from the older Pitino about his son. “When it’s parents speaking in defense of their children I give them a lot of leeway,” Dutcher said.

Worth Noting

Dutcher picks Maryland to win the Big Ten title next season. He added that Michigan, with injured star Caris LeVert returning for 2015-2016, will be a contender.

At 32, you wonder if conditioning and many years of basketball toil didn’t drive Janel McCarville’s surprise announcement to not play this season for the Lynx. McCarville played four seasons for the Gophers, then in the WNBA including the last two seasons for the Lynx where she was a major contributor as the team’s starting center.

Devan Dubnyk, who is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, reportedly earned $800,000 during 2014-2015 but perhaps could get a $1.8 million salary next season as part of a new three-year deal with the Wild, a hockey source told Sports Headliners. If the 29-year-old goalie had played a key role in taking the Wild to the Stanley Cup finals this spring he might have commanded $3 million next season.

ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said on the NFL Draft telecast April 30 the tackling of Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes was sometimes a “liability.” Vikings general manager Rick Spielman told Sports Headliners his first round draft choice has “made some pretty good tackles on (video) tape.”

Vikings fans will have to decide if there are tackling issues with Waynes. “The biggest thing with our corners in this (defensive) scheme is to be able to cover,” Spielman said.

Former Gophers wide receiver Isaac Fruechte only caught 18 passes (one touchdown reception) in Minnesota’s ground-focused offense last season but the Vikings added him to their roster for now. “He just came in and did a good job during our rookie minicamp,” Spielman said. “You could see the size (6-3) and the speed. He caught the ball well. We felt that coming out of that camp that it was worth giving him an opportunity.”

Former Vikings running back Dave Osborn speaks to the “Breakfast with Leroy” group on Saturday, June 13, at the Bloomington Knights of Columbus, 1114 American Blvd West. A breakfast buffet precedes Osborn’s remarks, with more information available by contacting Pat Rickert at 612-861-3981. Group attendees are mostly athletes from the Minneapolis public schools in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, many of whom went on to college and professional careers.

Minnesota native Tom Lehman couldn’t hold an early lead last week in the 76th Senior PGA Championship in French Lick, Indiana. Lehman finished seven over for the tournament while champion Colin Montgomerie was minus eight after final play yesterday. Don Berry, the Edinburgh USA head pro, also played in French Lick but didn’t make the cut.

Both Berry and Lehman are former winners of the annual Tapemark Charity Pro-Am in West St. Paul. This year’s Tapemark for men will be played June 12, 13 and 14 at Southview Country Club. Berry, eight times the tournament champion including last year, is expected to participate again.

Doug Mientkiewicz, manager of the Twins Double A Chattanooga farm team, said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle program yesterday German native Max Kepler is “night and day” the most improved player on the roster. Kepler, who leads the team in hitting with a .345 average, can play all three outfield positions and first base.

Mientkiewicz also talked about center fielder Byron Buxton’s extraordinary speed, describing him as special when sprinting from third base to home plate.

When asked to identify a player most ready to help the Twins, Mientkiewicz said relief pitcher Zack Jones. He is 3-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.

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