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Dutcher Contract Targets Gopher Job

Posted on September 23, 2020September 23, 2020 by David Shama

Minnesota native Brian Dutcher has negotiated a revised contract to continue coaching the San Diego State men’s basketball team. The deal includes a near $7 million buyout if he departed for another school, but it has one exception: the University of Minnesota job.

The San Diego Union-Tribune offered details of the new contract earlier this month and reported the buyout to take the Minnesota job is $1 million. The $6.95 million opt out amount, the newspaper said, drops in succeeding years and will be expensive for either the Aztecs to fire Dutcher, or for another school to hire him—except if that program is the Gophers.

Dutcher, 60, is an alum of Bloomington Jefferson and the University of Minnesota. His dad Jim Dutcher, now in his late 80s, coached Minnesota to the Big Ten title in 1982. Brian is close to his father who every season travels to San Diego to watch the Aztecs. Brian comes back to Minneapolis each summer with his family and sees not only his dad but two sisters.

“I guess he’s putting it out there that Minnesota would be a pretty good place for him to go if the job opened up,” said Robbie Hummel, Big Ten Network and ESPN college basketball authority.

Hummel, the former Purdue star and Minnesota Timberwolves reserve, acknowledged the opt out clause for Minnesota is unusual. “I’ve never heard of a coach being able to negotiate a deal like that,” Hummel told Sports Headliners yesterday. “That’s sure interesting because if that were to happen it would be encouraging for Gopher fans because he did a heck of a job last year.

“But I do believe Minnesota has a really good coach right now in Richard Pitino—given the hands he’s been dealt, whether it’s injuries, suspensions. He’s put together some good teams in the league. …I think Minnesota’s got something pretty good right now.”

In the Union-Tribune story San Diego State AD John David Wicker said the Aztecs job is a better one than Minnesota but he understands the pull to go home for family reasons if a vacancy were to occur. Brian Dutcher also spoke on the record and said,
“It’s my school. Where I went and was able to be part of that basketball program with my dad. But it’s still a buyout. It’s not like it’s free.”

Dutcher’s team was 30-2 and ranked No. 6 in the nation before COVID put an end to the 2019-2020 college basketball season. His team appeared poised for a deep tournament run. USA Today named him college coach of the year. His three-year record as Aztecs head coach is 73-26 (.737 winning percentage).

Pitino, 38, starts his eighth season at Minnesota this fall. Two of his teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. His first Gopher team won the 2014 NIT. His overall record is 127-108 and 48-82 in Big Ten games. Only once has his Gopher team won more Big Ten games than it lost.

Critics have suggested for awhile that Minnesota AD Mark Coyle should make a change. With the possibility of program interest declining and ticket sales slumping even more, rumors had Pitino being dismissed last March and bought out of his contract, but issues caused by the pandemic, including financial hardship at the U, may have been why a change didn’t happen.

The Gopher job could also open up if Pitino decided to take over another program. During Pitino’s tenure at Minnesota his name has been linked to other major college positions.

If Coyle did make a change some time in the next few years, you can be sure the ability of the head coach to recruit will be top of the list. Dutcher has recruiting ties in talent-rich California and helped bring the great Kawhi Leonard to San Diego State when he was an assistant coach. While an assistant at Michigan, Dutcher was instrumental in the recruiting of the famous “Fab Five” freshmen class.

Hummel doesn’t believe Pitino is spending time thinking about Dutcher’s contract. “You just gotta worry about yourself. …I don’t think he’s worried at all about Brian Dutcher’s contract.”

Worth Noting

Is it possible ex-Gophers center Daniel Oturu has fallen in NBA mock draft projections because scouts are concerned about his history of injuries with both shoulders? NBAdraft.net, for example, once ranked the Woodbury native as a top 10 choice in the 2020 draft but now projects him as the last player to be chosen in the first round, going at No. 30 to the Boston Celtics.

All-Big Ten junior Gophers point guard Marcus Carr, who withdrew his name for the draft this summer, needs to improve his shooting to draw more serious interest from NBA teams. He made .393 percent of his field goals last season (.361 on three-pointers).

Liam Robbins, the Drake transfer who will replace Oturu, is drawing interest from Gophers fans and he should including for his shot blocking. Last season Robbins ranked No. 4 nationally with a 2.91 blocks per game average. Oturu ranked No. 21 averaging 2.45.

Various media reports last week had Rick Pitino, father of Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino, watching the U.S. Open from his nearby house at Winged Foot Golf Club. Pitino is also a member of the historic club in suburban New York City.

Here is another indictment of the Vikings’ ineffective offensive line that has contributed to two quarterback sacks and a 0-2 record: Tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. have to focus on blocking to help the interior crew, rather than receiving (they have two catches each).

Look for the Vikings to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2013 with a win at U.S. Bank Stadium against a mediocre 2-0 Tennessee Titans team. It will be a miracle if Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski beats the Vikings with a field goal after booting the game winner twice in the last two minutes of Tennessee’s opening games.

In the latest S.I.com NFL power rankings the Vikings, a preseason favorite to win the NFC North Division, are at No. 23 among 32 teams.

Front Office Sports reports FOX is willing to spend $2 billion to maintain its rights to Sunday NFL games that include exposure in the nation’s three largest TV markets, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The present deal cost $1.08 billion.

Twins closer Taylor Rogers earned the save last night in Minnesota’s 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers that pulled the team within a half game of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central Division race, but he gave up a run and is struggling this season with a 4.34 ERA (last season 2.61).

Minnesota is 10-1 in September Target Field games and a MLB-best 22-5 playing at home this season.

Bloomington-located Total Sports Enterprises is promoting an October 2 private signing of Joe Mauer items.

Former University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler turns 64 today.

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Gophers May Still Open with Iowa

Posted on September 17, 2020September 17, 2020 by David Shama

The 2020 Big Ten football schedule targeted for a season launch October 23 and 24 is expected to be announced within 24 hours or less. When that schedule for the league’s 14 teams comes out, it certainly could have Minnesota playing Iowa in Minneapolis.

Why? Because conference planners in making up a revised composite schedule may decide the best procedure is to use the original schedule in place before COVID-19 turned the world upside down including college football. For a couple of years now, Minnesota’s 2020 schedule had the Gophers opening their Big Ten season against the Hawkeyes at TCF Bank Stadium.

The game was originally scheduled for Friday, September 18. A Minnesota-Iowa matchup for Floyd of Rosedale could land on Friday, October 23. Per Big Ten policy, no fans will be allowed in the stadium to watch, but the telecast would draw a large TV audience in Minnesota, Iowa and other parts of Big Ten territory. The TV ratings could be among the best in college football that weekend.

Both teams are contenders for the Big Ten’s West Division title, adding importance to the opening game. With the revised composite schedule, each league team will play all six of its division rivals and two cross-over teams from the other division (no nonconference games). Instead of nine conference games as originally scheduled, the Gophers and others will play eight league games (four home, four road).

That means Minnesota will lose a game on the schedule against an East Division team. On the original schedule the Gophers were to play Maryland, Michigan and Michigan State in cross-over games. Maryland played the Gophers last year and is on the 2021 schedule so the Terps could be dropped in 2020. The Gophers didn’t play Michigan and Michigan State in 2019, nor are they scheduled to see either program next year.

From a TV popularity perspective, the Big Ten can do itself a favor with a Minnesota-Michigan game this fall. That’s a potentially glitzy matchup involving two preseason top 25 teams playing for the famous Little Brown Jug.

There is another perk with dropping Maryland. The original nine-game schedule had Minnesota playing in College Park as part of a lineup with five road games and four at home. Reshaping the original schedule would have Minnesota at home for Iowa, Michigan, Purdue and Northwestern. On the road at Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Nebraska.

Maybe the Big Ten schedule makers will go in a different direction than following the original model, but in a year of so much disruption and changed perspectives it seems like a schedule that most closely mirrors expectations prior to COVID makes a lot of sense.

Of course there’s no guarantee COVID will allow games to be played, but the league believes medical advances and protocols are better than when the Big Ten announced its schedule postponement in August. Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle told KFAN’s Dan Barreiro yesterday that compared with other conferences, what the Big Ten has in place is “much more demanding.”

The TV revenues from a Big Ten football startup will lessen the financial hit Minnesota and other conference athletic departments are trying to cope with. The Gophers (with no football season) have been looking at about $75 million less in revenue by year’s end. Now an estimate is $40 to $50 million.

Despite loud protests Coyle isn’t second-guessing the decision to reduce his total sports program from 25 teams to 21. Awaiting final Board of Regents approval in October is a cost cutting recommendation to discontinue the men’s programs of gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track and tennis following this school year. The Gophers currently have the fourth most sports in the conference, operating with the eighth largest budget, per Coyle.

The decision, in part, was dictated by Title IX, the federal law that dictates gender equality in college athletics. Complicating things for the University of Minnesota in recent years is student enrollment at the Twin Cities campus is increasingly more female than male. The latest figures are 54 percent female, 46 percent male.

Title IX can prompt roster rebalancing between men’s and women’s sports, with reality being the elimination of sports at Minnesota was coming even before COVID-19. It’s believed the athletic department, historically self-supporting, has been bolstered of late with about $7 million annually from the school’s general fund. The department operates on a budget of over $100 million thanks to the profit-making of football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey. No women’s sport at Minnesota turns a profit, as is true at most Power Five schools.

Coyle is asked to operate with a balanced budget but with recent developments the Gophers and other athletic departments will now be turning to the outside for loans. Or at least hoping to as such a historic move will require approval by the U Board of Regents.

Look for a more balanced gender population in the future at the Twin Cities campus. Gender percentages unexpectedly increased even more this year because of COVID, with fewer international and out of state students wanting to enroll at a school far from home.

As for Gopher football preparations in the coming weeks, it will be a challenge for coach P.J. Fleck and the other Big Ten coaches. Students are attending classes, meaning the time football players have available is not the same as during normal training camps that take place in August.

Then, too, coaches will need to adjust at a moment’s notice to roster changes. Under Big Ten policy, a player who tests positive for COVID will be out 21 days. Also, there could be players who decide not to play because of concerns regarding safety and health.

The Gophers, of course, have already lost a player to the NFL. Star wide receiver Rashod Bateman announced in August he won’t return for his junior season and that type of development remains possible with other Minnesota and Big Ten players. Bateman, by the way, can’t change his mind now that the season is starting up because he has an agent.

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Looks Like 8-8 Record for Vikings

Posted on September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 by David Shama

Bob Lurstema’s insights about the Minnesota Vikings have proven accurate through the years, and perhaps never more impressive than in 2019 when he predicted a 10-win season for his former team. The Vikings went 10-6 last season, made the playoffs as a wild card entry and won a dramatic overtime game against the New Orleans Saints before being eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in the postseason.

What say Lurtsema for 2020? “I go .500. I don’t expect them to rock and roll,” the former defensive lineman told Sports Headliners today.

The Vikings, who have finalized their roster to the NFL mandatory 53 players and open the season at noon Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Green Bay Packers, are among the youngest teams in the NFL. Minnesota, with an average age of 25.5 is tied for the fifth youngest spot with the Packers, per Phillyvoice.com (Sept. 5).

Youth and inexperience is more of a potential liability this year because COVID-19 eliminated preseason games and NFL teams have limited physical contact during practices. “Until you have live contact, you don’t know squat about your players,” Lurtsema said.

Tackling could be sloppy in early NFL games including by an inexperienced group of Viking cornerbacks. The CB roster features rookies Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney. Even a respectable start to the season doesn’t mean consistency, as other teams review tapes and see tendencies/weaknesses.

It’s a given that Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers will test Minnesota’s cornerbacks—likely early and often. A must-do for the defense is to respond all game with a strong pass rush likely led by sack specialists Danielle Hunter and newcomer Yannick Ngakoue.

Lurtsema is predicting the Packers will win the NFC North, with part of his assertion based on Rodgers—the future hall of fame quarterback. “I get a kick out of watching him,” Lurtsema said.

Another “green spot” for the Vikings is wide receiver, where the list of youthful players includes 21-year-old Justin Jefferson, the first player Minnesota chose in the 2020 draft. Lurtsema has long emphasized it takes a year or so for a quarterback and receiver to know each other’s tendencies. “He (Jefferson) has to be on the same page with (quarterback Kirk) Cousins. That does not come overnight,” Lurtsema said.

The absence of preseason games has Lurtsema concerned, too, about the number of injuries for NFL players, and how that develops could factor in the final results for the Vikings—good or bad. “It’s going to be way above normal (the incidence of injuries),” Lurtsema predicted.

Worth Noting

Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, predicting online the 2020 records for every NFL team, wrote that the 8-8 Vikings will finish second in the NFC North to the 10-6 Packers. The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, the division’s other two teams will have records of 6-10 and 4-12 respectively, according to Orr’s September 2 story.

This afternoon the Vikings brought their practice squad roster to the maximum 16 total by adding defensive tackle Albert Huggins, kicker Chase McLaughlin and linebacker Hardy Nickerson.

It might be that next year the Thursday night NFL national kickoff game for the 2021 season is held in Minneapolis to recognize George Floyd and the league’s social justice effort. This Thursday evening the spotlight game is in Kansas City where the Super Bowl champion Chiefs host the Houston Texans with NBC televising.

It is 50 years ago this month that immortal Packers coach Vince Lombardi died. A Sports Headliners reader sent this email quip: “…I know there have been reported ‘sightings’ of him near Lambeau Field since then, so I can’t confirm that he’s actually departed this world.”

Dan Chisena, the free agent wide receiver from Penn State who surprisingly made the Vikings’ 53-man roster, doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page. A college sprinter before turning to football for two seasons in 2018 and 2019, he played in 14 career games with two starts.

Ex-Gopher quarterback Chris Streveler, who excelled in Canada as a pro, made the Arizona Cardinals’ 53-man roster.

Former Gopher Carter Coughlin, a seventh round draft choice earlier this year by the New York Giants, made the team’s final roster as a linebacker and pass rushing specialist. Also with the Giants is ex-Gopher kicker and punter Ryan Santoso.

Coughlin’s former Eden Prairie High School teammate Ryan Connelly was cut by the Giants and signed with the Vikings. As a linebacker, the ex-Wisconsin player is part of the Viking practice squad.

Connelly’s cousin, Anders Lee, is captain of the NHL’s New York Islanders and the former Edina athlete can be a key contributor in the Stanley Cup playoffs from his forward position.

Twins slugger Josh Donaldson is selling his 5,539 square foot mansion in South Tampa, Florida, with an asking price of $3,499,000, per website Cltampa.com on September 4.

Former Hopkins girls basketball coach Brian Cosgriff talking in the September Sports Illustrated about phenom Paige Bueckers who is on the magazine’s cover: “The best thing I ever did was stay the hell out of the way.”

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