Media – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U WR Jennings Grabs Attention of Big Ten Network

Posted on August 18, 2026August 18, 2026 by David Shama

The Big Ten Network makes preseason stops at the football training camps of all 18 teams and was in Minneapolis on Monday to watch the Golden Gophers. BTN’s show about Minnesota aired last night and the most interesting part was the praise for wide receiver Noah Jennings, a senior transfer from the University of Cincinnati.

“He was impressive,” said BTN’s Gerry DiNardo about the player who reportedly really popped at practice Monday.

Gopher head coach P.J. Fleck acknowledged to BTN he’s been impressed with the 6-foot, 190-pound receiver who started his college career at Charleston Southern. “I hate to even say this because this is July-August, and this is hype, right? But he wears No. 13. His body frame, his structure looks a lot like (Rashod) Bateman. And a lot of times I don’t know if it’s Bateman or him out there. And he makes a ton of plays for us.”

Bateman, who wore No. 13 for the Gophers, was a program record-breaker who in 2021 became the first receiver in school history to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft (27^th pick by the Ravens). The 6-2, 210-pound Georgia native was the 2019 Big Ten’s Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year.

Jennings looks like a developing talent who will start for the Gophers and perhaps show the ability to get open and make the tough catch Bateman did. At Cincinnati he had only three starts and totaled 323 yards in receptions but hinted at the explosiveness he may bring to Minnesota by averaging 14 yards per catch. In two years at Charleston Southern the South Carolina native totaled 885 yards.

Gopher football coach P.J. Fleck — P.J. Fleck

Fleck brought up Batemans’s name when talking about placing better receivers around quarterback Drake Lindsey this season. That will be important for Lindsey who was a first-year starter in 2025 as a redshirt freshman and impressed observers.

Lindsey threw 18 touchdown passes and six interceptions. His completion percentage was .632 and Fleck sees improved accuracy in fall camp.

Another improvement is pocket awareness with Fleck noting his young quarterback left a “clean pocket” at times last season. “May be it felt dirty but it wasn’t,” Fleck told BTN. “There was something that spooked him. …It’s trusting the protection.”

Worth Noting

Baseball historian and media guru Dave Mona has watched a lot of baseball over the years including his time as the Twins beat writer for the Minneapolis Tribune. On Facebook he posted this review of his experience last week in Dyersville, Iowa to watch the Twins and Phillies game:

“James Earl Jones said it so well. The Twins game at Field of Dreams on Thursday was special. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to take part in and/or observe dozens, maybe hundreds, of sports presentations.

“I tend to be stingy with my grades. The crew at Field of Dreams gets an A-Plus. The teams coming out of the field of corn. The presence of 26 Hall of Famers. The chance to run the bases and play catch on the field featured in the movie.

“Seemed like hundreds of helpful staff. Even free parking. ‘People will come,’ Jones said in the movie, and son, Erik, and I are so glad we did.”

Word is the Savannah Bananas’ three sold out games at Target Field earlier this month were a welcome cash infusion to concession sales. Instead of the small crowds who come to see the Twins, about 40,000 patrons each game watched the entertaining antics of Banana Ball, a traveling exhibition that’s been compared to the Harlem Globetrotters.

One source said Twins announced attendance has often been thousands higher than actual patrons in the ballpark. MLB policy is to announce attendance of tickets sold, not clicks through the gates.

The Twins are averaging 21,084 per game, ranking No. 26 among 30 MLB teams, per Espn.com.

The Twins, 61-65, are just 14-26 in interleague games and close out their series against the National League Braves tomorrow afternoon at Target Field. It will be an interesting pitching matchup with Minnesota’s Taj Bradley 9-5 going for his club leading 10^th win versus Braves ace Chris Sale, 12-8.

Media and fan frenzy will ramp up (if that’s possible) on Wednesday and Thursday when the Vikings hold joint practices with the Ravens at TCO Performance Center. Both practices start at noon.

Then the two teams meet on Saturday in an exhibition game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Reserves figure to dominant the field on Saturday but the joint practices will have more regulars participating and that’s intriguing because after the Rams, the Ravens are among the betting favorites for the 2027 Super Bowl.

Blake Cashman, the Vikings linebacker from Eden Prairie and former Golden Gopher, is drawing praise during training camp. Cashman, 30, is an unrestricted free agent after the coming season.

Comments Welcome

Game 3 May Answer Whether Wolves Can Hang with Spurs

Posted on May 7, 2026May 7, 2026 by David Shama

The Spurs’ beatdown of the Timberwolves last night, 133-95, was so severe it casts doubt whether Minnesota can make the best of seven games second round playoff series competitive.

Answers, and maybe close to a final verdict, will come Friday night in Minneapolis. The series is tied 1-1 after two games in San Antonio. The Spurs, who were coming off a five day layoff, looked out of sync on Monday night and played poorly in the close series opener, 104-102. The Wolves were aggressive and sharp in upsetting the series favorite Spurs.

But last night, oh my!

The game was one-sided by halftime when Minnesota trailed 59-35. That, however, wouldn’t be San Antonio’s largest lead as the game became a second half debacle for the Wolves. The Spurs built their lead to a game high of 47 points, and early in the fourth quarter Spurs coach Mitch Johnson and Minnesota’s Chris Finch were already using deep reserves.

The Wolves looked listless and in a mental funk. On offense they didn’t have proper spacing and ball movement. The Spurs made things miserable with defensive intensity including double teaming away from the basket.

On defense the Wolves’ ineptness included not transitioning quick enough from offense and allowing easy scores. The Wolves were awful on defense near the basket—outscored in the paint, 58-36.

Minnesota shot 39.8 percent from the field and converted 30 percent of three pointers. Things were bad even at the free-throw line, with the Wolves shooting 51.6 percent. The Spurs numbers: 50 percent, 41 percent and 81.8 percent.

The Wolves had 22 turnovers in a game that seemed like the total should be more. “An incredibly sloppy game by Minnesota,” ESPN play-by-play man Dave Pasch said during the third quarter.

The performance was a real laugher, and it had to be disconcerting for Wolves fans to see multiple players apparently joking while watching from the bench in the fourth quarter. In contrast were the serious faces of Finch, center Ruby Gobert and team owner Alex Rodriguez.

There was no amusement found in the box score with 14 Wolves posting a statistical minus rating. None was higher than the -33 of guard Anthony Edwards who had four turnovers in 24:08 minutes on the floor. Forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid were -26, Gobert -23.

Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves player — Anthony Edwards photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves

In the fourth quarter Edwards sat on the bench with large ice bags on both knees. The scene was a sharp contrast from Monday night when Edwards wasn’t even expected to play but contributed 18 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter of the close game. Edwards suffered a bone bruise and hyperextended left knee in late April.

Knee, hamstring and toes issues have slowed the team’s superstar this season. His health is a concern for Friday night with the question of what level can he play at.

The Spurs and the Thunder may not only be the best two teams in the Western Conference but in all of basketball. The two teams could face off soon with the Thunder expected to dispatch the Lakers in a sweep or in five games of the seven game series.

The Wolves have to bounce back on Friday night. Safe to say the game won’t be so one-sided again. But it’s a tall task and meant literally.

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is listed at 7-4 but might even be 7-7. The NBA has never seen such a freakish and gifted player at that size. He can dominate by scoring inside, pop out and make a three-pointer, lead a fast break and swat shots away all night on defense.

The Spurs lucked out in the NBA Draft Lottery in 2023 selecting him No. 1 overall. In the 2024 draft San Antonio picked No. 4 overall and added guard Stephon Castle who led the team in scoring Wednesday night with 21 points. Last year the Spurs picked No. 2 overall and chose guard Dylan Harper who played similar minutes last night to the starters and had a 10+ rating.

Harper and all the Spurs starters are in their first playoffs except for guard De’Aaron Fox. The group wasn’t ready to play in the series opener Monday night but had a gold standard make-up outing last night.

The Wolves, who on paper are the less talented team, know all about inconsistency. They consistently performed that way during the season. It’s been frustrating for all including the fans and inexplicable to all.

They have no margin for that Friday night or beyond in the playoffs.

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Unique Night May See Both Wild & Wolves ‘Cookin’ at Home

Posted on April 29, 2026April 29, 2026 by David Shama

Years ago, legend was that a certain media member had a strategy when the Wild and Timberwolves were playing at home on the same night. The formula for deciding where to go was this:

Catch the pregame media meal in St. Paul and then head for Minneapolis to watch the Wolves. Why? The food was too good to pass up at the “X,” but he preferred to spend most of the evening covering basketball.

On a rare, perhaps unique evening on Thursday, Minnesota’s NHL and NBA teams will both host games leading 3-2 in best of seven playoff series. Fans can make their own choices on culinary offerings, but whether you go to St. Paul or Minneapolis things will be “cookin.”

The taste in the mouths of Wild fans is likely to be sweeter near midnight Thursday than for Wolves patrons. The Wild has a healthier roster and is coming off a 4-2 win last evening in Dallas against the Stars. The Wolves are without two injured starters, including their best player in Anthony Edwards, and lost in Denver Monday to the Nuggets in a game that may have changed the series’ momentum.

The Wild hasn’t given up more than four goals in a game so far. Last night Minnesota blocked 25 Dallas shots and allowed 22 on goal, the franchise’s lowest postseason total in almost five years. Wild rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt stopped 20 shots. Starting in all five games, he has 2.05 goals against average and .926 save percentage. After last night’s game ESPN hockey analyst P.K. Subban told a national audience the Wild is playing the best of any NHL team defensively.

Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizove — Kirill Kaprizov

This is a series that could already be over with the Wild winning 4-2. A what-if happened in the third game. In the first overtime period Minnesota superstar Kirill Kaprizov had a near miss winning goal in a double overtime 3-2 loss in St. Paul.

After last night’s game Kaprizov was leading all NHL players in points during the playoffs with nine (two goals and seven assists). He’s part of a talented roster that includes veterans and newcomers.

Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin boosted the team’s Stanley Cup playoff chances with the December trade acquiring Quinn Hughes. He’s considered one of the sports’ best defensemen. Just last month the Wild added forward Mike McCarron who has two goals in the series with the Stars. With 7:47 in the third last night he had a clutch goal sending the Wild ahead 3-1 in the game.

Timberwolves GM Tim Connelly made a savvy in-season move, too, when he acquired guard Ayo Dosunmuin in a multiplayer deal with the Bulls. The trade has been a godsend for the Wolves who gave up guard Rob Dillingham who has made minimal impact in Chicago while Dosunmu is showing star potential.

In 42:01 minutes off the bench last Saturday, Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-5 from three and a 12-of-12 from the free throw line. The Wolves needed that performance because Edwards only played about 17minutes before a knee injury sidelined him in that game and for the series.

Minnesota went up 3-1 in the series last Saturday, but things are cozier now after Denver’s 125-113 win on Monday night. The Wolves were playing not only without Edwards, but also a second starter in guard Donte DiVincenzo, who tore his right Achilles tendon last Saturday. The Nuggets played without key starter Aaron Gordon on Monday because of a serious calf strain and he is questionable for tomorrow night.

Defensive strategy, intensity and skill is likely to decide Game 6 tomorrow night at Target Center. Wolves center Rudy Gobert, 33, has at times played some of his best career defense in the series against Denver center Nikoa Jokic—regarded by some authorities as the best basketball player in the world. In Saturday’s game he was -12 in the NBA plus-minus ratings impact but Monday was +12.

Wolves defender Jaden McDaniels has made scoring an uphill battle for All-Star Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray. In the series he has three games shooting under 40 percent (including two under 32 percent). In three of the games his plus-minus has been -13, -12 and -4.

The Nuggets’ best strategy against what can be a hounding Wolves defense could be early in the game positioning Jokic in the low block and consistently giving him the basketball in an effort to put Gobert in foul trouble. As Gobert and other defenders sag on Jokic, the spacing could open up better looks at the hoop for Murray.

Worth Noting

April is National Humor Month which brings to mind Minnesota sports characters who made us laugh.

The late Sid Hartman mangled more than a few words during his WCCO Radio career. A favorite was when he described an athlete that tore his “Khrushchev.”

Former WCCO colleague Dark Star’s phone voice mail said if it’s good news or money, leave a message.

A friend sent this quote by former Twins owner Calvin Griffith: “I can’t tell you exactly what I intend to do, but I can tell you one thing. It won’t be anything rational.”

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