Media – Page 49 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Taylor: Wolves May Trade Draft Pick

Posted on June 6, 2017June 6, 2017 by David Shama

Owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners his basketball decision makers are looking at a “scenario” where the Timberwolves acquire a veteran player by giving up their No. 7 pick from the first round of the June 22 NBA Draft.

The team’s starting lineup has three players 22 or younger, and the others are ages 27 and 26. That young core has talent and promise but the last two seasons the Wolves have won a combined total of only 50 games, and haven’t made the playoffs since 2004. The team’s development could be enhanced by a skilled veteran player. Specifically, a defensive stopper who will limit the opposition’s best scorer, according to Taylor.

President-coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden are looking at alternatives on how to improve the team including evaluation of potential draft choices. Taylor won’t demand roster changes before next season but he wants potential moves to be explored by his two top basketball executives.

Glen Taylor (photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves).

“I don’t think we’re just going to sit there and say we’re going to go with what we’ve got,” Taylor said. “We could do that. I think they’re willing (Thibodeau and Layden) to do that, but I think they want us to look at…other opportunities…and I guess it would be a free agent or a trade. I don’t think their expectations are our draft choice, even though it’s seven, is going to be an immediate answer.”

Taylor said a challenge in evaluating players for the June 22 draft is sometimes access to watch them, and also to obtain medical information. Agents will set limitations in both areas, trying to do what they think is most advantageous for clients.

“I was hopeful that when we were doing the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) discussions that we would get some of these things handled better so that we would have more consistency,” Taylor said. “That all medical records were shown equally. (That) everybody had access to watching a player scrimmage against some of the other players.

“We weren’t able to get that. Personally, I don’t think it’s the best way to do things, that the agents are controlling the players much more and giving you less access to them.”

Worth Noting

Taylor met with Thibodeau and Layden recently to understand why his promising team won only two more games last season than the year before. He was told it was a combination of things including major injuries to starting guard Zach LaVine and reserve forward Nemanja Bjelica. Another key was the team’s inconsistent and often inadequate defense.

Taylor had news about center Nikola Pekovic who didn’t play last season and has a history of recurring injuries. About a month ago Taylor said a doctor declared Pekovic probably can’t play next season and now the Wolves need corroboration from an NBA doctor. “We’re waiting for that confirmation,” said Taylor.

Next season is the last of Pekovic’s contract with the Wolves and likely the end of his NBA career. If doctors rule the 31-year-old can’t play, insurance covers 80 percent of the Wolves’ obligation.

Starting guard Ricky Rubio had his best of six NBA seasons in 2016-2017 but rumors continue to circulate about the Wolves trading him. “I don’t know where they’re coming from,” Taylor said. “I’ve read them just like you’ve read them, but I don’t know where they’re coming from, or why they’re saying that.”

College football magazines are now on newsstands offering predictions including for the Big Ten’s West Division. Athlon, Lindy’s and Street & Smith’s all forecast a fifth place finish for Minnesota in the seven-team division.

“The first seven games all are very winnable. After that—yikes,” Lindy’s says. Minnesota’s last five games are on the road at Iowa, Michigan and Northwestern, and at home against Nebraska and Wisconsin.

Lindy’s has the Gophers ranked 40th in the country and Street & Smith’s projects a Quick Lane Bowl invite to Detroit. Athlon sees Minnesota finishing with a 6-6 overall record and 4-5 in the Big Ten.

Both Athlon and Lindy’s include Gopher junior placekicker Emmit Carpenter on their first team All-Big Ten offensive units. Gopher senior Steven Richardson is part of Lindy’s first team All-Big Ten defensive line.

Street & Smith’s labeled new Gophers coach P.J. Fleck best interview on a Big Ten list that also says Ohio State’s Urban Meyer is the league’s best coach and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is the best tweeter. “No coach will be more entertaining at Big Ten Media Day than Fleck,” the magazine says.

The 46th annual Big Ten Football Media Days are July 24 and 25 in Chicago. Fleck addresses the media on the second day.

The Big Ten office announced TV times for 35 games on ESPN and FOX Sports last week. The only Gophers’ game listed was Minnesota’s Homecoming against Illinois on October 21 with a 2:30 or 3 p.m. kickoff.

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‘Polish Eagle’ Flies High in ‘Nordeast’

Posted on May 8, 2017May 9, 2017 by David Shama

Dick Jonckowski’s dad told him to enjoy life–because no one gets out alive. Maybe that’s why he’s gone through life telling jokes and making so many Minnesotans laugh.

Nicknamed the “The Polish Eagle” long ago because of his fondness for the NFL’s Eagles, Jonckowski had the crowd roaring last Friday at Jax Café in northeast Minneapolis when he was honored by the Minnesota Minute Men. “You never have a bad day when you fly with ‘The Polish Eagle,’ ” sportscaster Mike Max told the audience.

Max was the emcee for a Jonckowski roast organized by the Minute Men to present him with the Courage Award given annually to individuals for outstanding service to the community. Jonckowski completed 31 years as the public address announcer for Gophers basketball games this winter. During his career he has also been the P.A. man for 29 years of Gophers baseball, worked in local radio, and emceed and entertained for decades at countless events in Minnesota and other parts of the country.

Past winners of the Courage Award include golf legend Patty Berg, former vice president of the United States Hubert Humphrey, ex-Gopher football coach Jerry Kill and wife Rebecca Kill, and NBA Hall of Famer Vern Mikkelsen. The award has been presented every year since 1979.

While the jokes came fast and furious from Max and the celebrity roasters, there were serious moments too. “You are a class act,” said former Gopher football player Jim Carter. “I am proud to be your friend.”

Jonckowski, 73, became emotional when recalling his recovery from cancer a few years ago. He talked about crying at the hospital and his gratitude for the many cards and phone calls of support he received. “Almost two and one-half years of being cancer free,” he told the crowd.

Arlene and Dick Jonckowski in their sports memorabilia-filled basement.

Jonckowski is planning to tell his story in a book with local author Jim Bruton. No doubt it will be a fun read from a man who has literally laughed his way through life and knows he has much to celebrate, including 51 years of marriage with wife Arlene.

Worth Noting

Jonckowski will entertain with his comedy routine on Saturday night at O’Gara’s Bar & Grill in St. Paul as part of a fundraiser for Mendota Heights youth baseball. More information is available at Mendotaheightsathletics.com

Marion Barber II, who was the Gophers leading rusher in 1978 with 1,210 yards, will receive his degree in youth studies from the University of Minnesota Thursday night during graduation ceremonies at Mariucci Arena. Marion wanted to earn his degree before son Thomas Barber, who will be a sophomore linebacker for the Gophers next season, graduates from college.

Former Gophers assistant football coach Dan O’Brien has accepted a position with Sun Country Airlines as director of airport customer experience. Mike Sherels, another member of last season’s staff, is on medical leave from the University and is undecided about future plans but will meet with Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle to discuss a position in the athletic department.

Former Washburn head football coach Giovan Jenkins is now a volunteer assistant at Hamline working with the cornerbacks.

Vikings radio play-by-play man Paul Allen admires coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman. Allen believes that after last season’s disappointing 8-8 record, the Vikings will have a comeback year in 2017, perhaps winning the NFC North. “Spielman and Zimmer like for the team to fly under the radar, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” Allen told Sports Headliners. “That’s what we’ll do, and I think Vikings fans will be very, very pleased with the 2017 team.”

The Vikings announced today that Tina Holmes is the organization’s new chief of staff & strategic advisor. Holmes has been chief of staff at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Holmes will work “closely with the team’s executive vice presidents and vice presidents, acting as an executive liaison, surfacing issues and facilitating solutions,” according to a team news release.

Former Timberwolves forward Anthony Bennett was cut by his Turkish team last Tuesday, according to a May 2 online story by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Bennett, who was a star player at UNLV, was the NBA’s overall No. 1 draft choice in 2013 when he was selected by the Cavs. He came to the Wolves from the Cavs in a 2014 deal that also brought Andrew Wiggins to Minneapolis and sent Kevin Love to Cleveland.

Bad timing for the Twins yesterday drawing one of their largest crowds of the early season (31,763) but losing 17-6 to the Red Sox in a game that lasted three hours and 46 minutes.

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Canterbury Park Launched P.A.’s Career

Posted on May 5, 2017May 5, 2017 by David Shama

Canterbury Park opens its live horse racing season at 4 p.m. today, and Paul Allen will be back for his 23rd season at the Shakopee track. Those who don’t know Allen may well wonder why the man who is the radio voice of the Vikings and a Monday-Friday talk show host on KFAN is also calling races as track announcer.

It’s pretty simple. Allen, 51, has a passion for racing and is loyal to Canterbury Park owner Randy Sampson.

Back in the 1990s, Allen was living in California and at a “tricky spot” in his career. Sampson had heard Allen via simulcasts call races at Bay Meadows in northern California. Sampson liked what he heard and hired Allen, who was on unemployment during the months when Bay Meadows wasn’t operating.

Allen’s first year in Shakopee was in 1997 and he had no idea Canterbury Park would be a catalyst to his career. He knew he wanted to call races or be in broadcasting. “The chances weren’t really emerging as quickly as I was hoping they would,” Allen told Sports Headliners this week.

During that first summer at Canterbury, KFAN’s program director heard Allen’s voice and was intrigued by it. He asked Allen if his general sports knowledge was savvy. Allen said it was and soon he was doing short updates on KFAN. That work continued into 1998 and by fall an opportunity emerged to host a regular show with Jeff Dubay.

The same fall found Allen hosting a Vikings fan-line show. “I fell in love with the team,” Allen said.

A few years later KFAN and the Vikings were looking for a play-by-play voice. Allen got the job, and in August he starts his 16th year calling games.

So now you understand the connection to the track. “If I don’t get the job at Canterbury, I don’t work at KFAN,” Allen said. “If I don’t work at KFAN, I don’t work with the Vikings.”

Allen raves about Canterbury, a clean and family-friendly track offering not only racing but live music and promotions galore. Racetracks in various parts of the country have struggled or even called it quits, but Canterbury is an industry success story that Allen is proud to be part of.

Allen said that each year when racing season begins, his “excitement is off the charts.” Part of the anticipation is the racing but a lot of it is relationships with people he has known for years, including Sampson and track publicist Jeff Maday who he has worked with for 23 years.

When Allen was a young teen growing up outside of Washington, D.C. he lived in an apartment with his single mom who worked as a waitress. The apartment was so close to a racetrack that Allen could see it from his deck. His mom took Allen and friends to the track. The whole experience of racing prompted him to bond with a sport that while declining in popularity even in 1979, still is the “Sport of Kings” to many.

By 1985 Allen was living in southern California and attending classes at Pasadena City College. He hosted a campus radio show, did publicity work for the basketball team and was editor of the school newspaper. He also interned at the Pasadena Star where after college he got a job covering both racing and prep sports.

Allen enjoyed betting the ponies and he became distracted from his newspaper duties, including showing up late for work at the Star. The paper terminated him. “Honestly, I deserved to get fired,” he said.

Allen was out of work for three or four months. Then he heard about an opening calling races at Bay Meadows. There were three finalists for the job and Allen told the track management he would take the position for even less money than they were offering.

Now days with his compensation from the morning radio show, Vikings broadcasts and the track announcing, Allen’s total annual earnings are well into six-figures, but money has never come first for him. In his early years at KFAN, for example, he made annual salaries of $27,000, $29,000 and $31,000. He prides himself on giving his employers “more than they expect.”

Allen is that competitive and he wants to deliver for his bosses. On the air, or behind the microphone at Canterbury, he is energetic, confident and sometimes loud. The passion for his work is always there and if he makes a mistake he is ready to move on.

“I don’t let it get me down,” Allen said. “If I make a mistake, I make sure that it’s gone from the time I call the next play, or I call the next race, or I do the next segment.”

Allen’s intellect and knowledge commands attention from listeners, and so does his sometimes flamboyant style, but he insists all of it is who he is. Yet away from work, he is a different guy, whether spending time with family, friends or by himself.

“You develop multiple personalities. When I am away from the Vikings and KFAN or Canterbury, I am a lot more introverted than people would think,” Allen said. “I am a lot more quiet.

“I don’t like being in places that are loud. I don’t like being in large groups where people feel because of what I do, I have to be that personality—when I am not that personality. I am much more withdrawn and subdued than anybody would ever think, and those closest to me know exactly what I am talking about.

“However, when it’s time to flip on that microphone, what comes out of me is who I am on the other side. God blessed me with a lot of adrenaline, a lot of energy and dedication to making those (who pay me)…a lot of money. I am a company guy through and through, always have been.”

Important, too, are the relationships and friends he has made, including those who sometimes told him things he needed to hear. “There have been people along the line of my career who have cared about me and have not been afraid to tell me what they truly think about who they felt I was becoming,” Allen said. “In the early stages of my career it was Dark Star and Chad Hartman. In the middle stages of my career it was Tom West, media relations guy for the Minnesota Vikings.

“(In) the later stages of my career, now it’s one of my best friends, and a man I just love so much more than anybody will ever know, former Viking safety Corey Chavous. Corey and I are very close on a personal level. Corey has a way of straightening me out that nobody has ever had.”

Allen’s many friends also include 49ers offensive lineman Brandon Fusco, Wild goalie Alex Stalock, Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman, and NFL coaches Norv and Scott Turner. They have a race horse ownership group that also includes Canterbury Hall of Fame trainer Mac Robertson. The group bought Skol Sister as a yearling in 2016 and she will run this season at Canterbury Park.

Skol Sister will add to the fun of another year at Canterbury, a place that Allen intends to stay at as long as Sampson is around. “We kind of have a handshake that I am not going to step away from Canterbury until he no longer runs the track,” Allen said. “We’ve had that handshake for about five years. The racetrack still keeps me attached to my childhood, and my dedication to my late mom.”

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