Media – Page 51 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U RPI Keeps Tourney Target Alive

Posted on February 9, 2017February 9, 2017 by David Shama

It’s been a productive several days for the Gophers basketball team including last night’s double overtime win over Iowa at Williams Arena.

Minnesota had lost five consecutive Big Ten games and had an overall record of 15-7 and league record of 3-6 going into last Saturday’s game at Illinois. It was near panic time for the Gophers to change their momentum in the next three games.

Done—almost. The Gophers defeated Illinois by nine points, won a thriller over Iowa, 101-89, and now pack their gym gear for Saturday’s game at Rutgers, 13-12 overall and 2-10 in the Big Ten.

Minnesota went into last night’s game ranked No. 25 nationally in the NCAA.com Ratings Percentage Index (RPI)—rankings that have much to do with determining who moves on to postseason tournaments. The Gophers have some quality wins, and the opportunity to earn more with seven Big Ten games remaining on the schedule, plus a chance to maintain or even improve a top 25 RPI ranking that for awhile now has had NCAA Tournament predictors keeping Minnesota in the mix. Hard to say what the final results will be but a possibility could be wins over Rutgers, Indiana, Penn State and Nebraska, and losses to Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin. Such a path would result in a 9-9 Big Ten record, 21-10 overall.

Results as referenced above will keep the team’s RPI in good shape and should deliver an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. If so, it will be a first for Minnesota coach Richard Pitino who is in his fourth season with the Gophers and was 2-16 in the Big Ten last year.

After the season ends the Gophers may look back on the Iowa win as a key to their success–close call that it was. Minnesota was ahead 56-43 with 11:52 remaining in the second half. About three minutes later three consecutive turnovers against Iowa’s half-court trapping defense had triggered a 57-56 Hawkeyes’ lead.

Fatigue, though, hit the Hawkeyes as they tried to finish off the Gophers. Iowa freshman Jordan Bohannon couldn’t keep up with Gophers junior guard Nate Mason in the second overtime. Mason got key baskets as Minnesota outscored the Hawkeyes 17-5.

It was an emotional night for the Gophers and their fans. Pitino doesn’t like to do it, but he was waving his arms late in the game to engage the crowd. The student section saved its infamous “We Hate Iowa!” yell for second half dramatics, and at times Williams Arena rocked like its famous days a decade or two ago.

After the game Mason was asked if this win—important even if the Gophers were playing Rutgers—was at least a little more satisfying coming against border rival Iowa. “Yeah, for sure,” he answered.

Worth Noting

Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey has two sons, Connor and Patrick, playing for Iowa City West High School. That team plays at Cretin Derham-Hall and against Gophers recruit Daniel Orturu Saturday, February 18.

There is talk of an appreciation roast for Dick Jonckowski in the spring to be sponsored by the Minute Men. Jonckowski, the Shakopee-based speaker and emcee, is in his final season as public address announcer for Gophers basketball but will continue with U baseball games. He will be recognized by the Gophers at halftime of the Michigan basketball game February 19.

Ray Christensen, who died a couple of days ago at age 92, was known to sports fans as the radio voice of Gophers football and basketball for decades but he had varied interests including classical music. He preferred to work without a partner on basketball broadcasts and announced those games alone. He was a humble gentleman in an industry known for egos.

Better than Ground Hog Day to prompt optimism about spring arriving soon is that the Twins first exhibition game is two weeks from tomorrow in Fort Myers against the Rays. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training February 14, with the full squad coming in February 18.

Tallest player on the 40-man roster is 6-7 Michael Tonkin and the heaviest is 6-5, 290-pound Kennys Vargas. The oldest Twin is 35-year-old Ervin Santana, born December 12, 1982, while the youngest is 21-year-old Fernando Romero who was born December 24, 1995.

The Twins have announced another Hall of Fame class without Halsey Hall being included. His storytelling and baseball knowledge delighted Twins radio and TV audiences in the early years of the franchise. An obstacle is many Twins Hall of Fame voters aren’t familiar with Hall who died almost 40 years ago but is deserving of enshrinement. Fans who want to see Hall honored can send an email to Twins@twinsbaseball.com

Timberwolves second-year center Karl-Anthony Towns, who has the potential to be the best player in franchise history, has double-doubles in 31 of his last 34 games. Andrew Wiggins, the Wolves third-year forward and another potential superstar, has scored 20-plus points in 11 consecutive games.

The Minnesota Wild, with the best record in the Western Conference, has become a popular mid-season pick to win the 2017 Stanley Cup but that is a lot different outlook than before the season. For example, a June 18 article on Bleacherreport.com had the Wild’s odds of winning the cup at 30/1.

Coach John Anderson’s Minnesota baseball team begins its season February 17-19 at UC Irvine, then opens the home schedule February 24-26 against Seattle in the first- ever Gopher games in U.S. Bank Stadium. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster and at the stadium for 13 Gopher games to be played in the new facility through March 12.

Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton High School in southern Minnesota soon breaks ground on a major upgrade to its football and softball facilities, and will be adding a new track. The project will include synthetic field turf for the football and softball fields, plus lights, scoreboard and concession upgrades. JWP has an enrollment of 199 in grades 9-12 and might be the smallest school in the state to install field turf.

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U Recruiting Trying to Win West Division

Posted on February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 by David Shama

National Signing Day is today and the Gophers won’t top the football recruiting rankings in the Big Ten West, but in the future they might be on their way to consistently being equal to or ahead of programs like Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa.

New Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck has impressed those who track college football recruiting. The 36-year-old Fleck has a nonstop passion for his job and a head full of ideas including communications with recruits through social media. The January 30 issue of Sports Illustrated even devoted space to Fleck in its article about how “the recruiting game has gone digital, mobile and high concept, and any coach who wants to compete needs a hot designer on his roster.”

Creativity is a frequently used word associated with college football recruiting. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh grabs a headline singing a rap song; Ohio State’s Urban Meyer gets into a bidding war with Texas over a graphic designer; and Nick Saban dazzles Alabama recruits with his massive home that is just a golf cart ride away from a lake.

Whether Fleck can ultimately recruit and coach at an elite level will have everything to do with the Gophers’ football future. He inherits a program and team that has been resurrected but hasn’t reached championship status. Minnesota has won two consecutive bowl games and totaled eight wins or more in three of the last four seasons. Yet the Gophers haven’t been Big Ten champs since 1967, have never won a Big Ten West Division title and hold no wins over Wisconsin since 2003.

Recruiting authority Ryan Burns has been impressed with Fleck since he was hired in early January. National recruiting websites have jumped the Gophers way ahead of where their 2017 class was ranked before Fleck arrived in Minneapolis. Fleck has out-recruited Power Five rivals for players, convincing some to commit to him without visiting the University of Minnesota campus.

Burns, publisher of the GopherIllustrated.com website, thinks Fleck’s recruiting will ultimately lead the Gophers to playing “meaningful games” in November. The GopherIllustrated website includes national team rankings from Scout which as of this morning assigns the seven Big Ten West Division programs the following rankings: Nebraska No. 18; Minnesota No. 33; Illinois No. 34, Iowa No. 41; Northwestern No. 48; Wisconsin No. 53; and Purdue No 77.

“It’s interesting to see them (the Gophers) going after kids with P-Five offers—compared to going against (programs like) Troy and Louisiana-Lafayette,” Burns told Sports Headliners. “He’s (Fleck) trying to make his stamp, and for only being here for three weeks, obviously he’s raised his class. They’re in the 30’s now (in the rankings). They’re firmly above Iowa and Wisconsin. I think that they can sustain that (in future years).

“I think that Nebraska (strong California recruiting base) is probably going to be at the top of the recruiting ranks in the Big Ten West most years but I think there is no reason that they (the Gophers) can’t come in second or third. Especially continue to beat Iowa and Wisconsin because P.J. is very charismatic once he gets in a living room. He knows how to sell. He knows how to get the job done.”

Other recruiting websites don’t have the Gophers ranked as high as Scout. Rivals, for example, has Minnesota No. 53 and trailing No. 38 Iowa and No. 45 Wisconsin. But what’s not debatable is the Gophers have shot up the recruiting charts in the short time Fleck has been head coach, including moving from No. 77 to No. 49 in Rivals’ rankings.

As signed National Letters of Intent reach the Gophers’ football office today, fans of the program can feel optimism about a class expected to include more than 25 scholarship student-athletes. When Burns looks at the incoming talent that Minnesota will officially announce later today, he offers stories that substantiate his optimism about Fleck’s recruiting.

Burns has been following and writing about Gophers recruiting for years and until now he couldn’t recall Minnesota getting a player that Notre Dame was making a run for. That’s what happened last month when Fleck received a verbal commitment from Portland, Oregon cornerback Demetrius Douglas who Burns said Oregon also wanted.

Burns also said the Gophers took a player away from the Hawkeyes in Kansas native and wide receiver Harry Van Dyne. His older brother is going to Iowa as a walk-on and Burns said the Hawkeyes coveted Harry.

Burns mentioned additional high quality players who turned down offers from other major schools including four-star safety Ken Handy-Holly from Alabama, and cornerback Adam Beck from Texas who said no thanks to schools like Colorado and flipped his original commitment to Texas Tech.

Quarterback Tanner Morgan has already enrolled at the U and Burns has high praise for the Kentucky native who reportedly turned down an offer from national power Louisville. “I think Tanner Morgan has the best quarterback tape you’ve seen from a Gopher quarterback signee in at least four or five years,” Burns said.

Burns wouldn’t be that surprised if the Kentucky native starts for Minnesota next fall. “I think if he can get down the offense, he could absolutely play from day one.”

Worth Noting

It’s interesting that in today’s high-tech world, athletes send their signed National Letters of Intent via fax to their colleges of choice. Holding up a signed fax does provide a news photo opportunity.

The Gophers have sold 253 new season tickets since Fleck was hired, according to an email from an athletic department spokesman. who noted no “aggressive ticket push” has been made so far to sell tickets.

The Big Ten Network will have National Signing Day programming from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

A person who should know says it’s likely Apple Valley junior point guard Tre Jones will sign with Duke next fall, following his brother Tyus’ path to playing for legendary Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Richard Pitino’s Gophers have lost five consecutive games and play at Illinois Saturday afternoon. Minnesota is 1-3 at home and 2-3 on the road in Big Ten games. Earlier this season Pitino said: “In this league you better win at home. It’s extremely important.”

Four of the Gophers’ six defeats have been by seven points or fewer including overtime losses to Michigan State by one and Wisconsin by two. On the road Minnesota does have a nine point overtime win against Purdue and four point victory versus Northwestern.

Pitino had a difficult stretch with close losses two years ago when his Gophers lost eight conference games by six points or less. There were NCAA Tournament hopes before the season for that team but Minnesota finished with a 6-12 Big Ten record and didn’t play in the postseason other than the conference tournament.

The Timberwolves, who have won eight of their last 11 games, play the NBA champion Cavs tonight in Cleveland. Web rumors are Knicks basketball boss Phil Jackson is interested in acquiring Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio and Cavs power forward Kevin Love, the former Wolves star who played a key role in last year’s game seven playoff win over the Warriors. The passing skills of Rubio and Love on the Knicks would be great for Jackson’s famous triangle offense.

A record 381 MIAC student-athletes have earned Academic All-Conference recognition for their classroom work last fall. They had a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale. Student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior with at least one year (two semesters) at their institution to be eligible for the recognition. The MIAC saw its record total of honorees rise for the fifth straight year, exceeding by 24 the record of 357 set in 2015.

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Mona Trading Cards Now Under 1.5 Million

Posted on January 26, 2017January 26, 2017 by David Shama

Dave Mona grew up around sports in his south Minneapolis neighborhood. His father, Luther Mona, was a successful baseball and basketball coach at South High School. Dave played on the 1961 Roosevelt basketball team that was barred from the state tourney because two Teddies players participated in out of season basketball. At the University of Minnesota Dave was sports editor of the Minnesota Daily, went on to a brief career covering the Twins for the Minneapolis Tribune and then made his livelihood in local public relations.

Mona satisfied his passion for sports by joining WCCO Radio in 1981 as co-host of the Sunday morning “Sports Huddle” with Sid Hartman. In 2008 he published a book called Beyond the Sports Huddle, sharing stories regarding the show and storytelling about Minnesota teams and personalities.

Mona has never lost his interest in sports. He is still known for his expertise on trading cards and other sports memorabilia. Several years ago his sports and business acumen prompted Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi to ask him to join the search for Minnesota’s next football coach. Maturi and Mona hit the bulls-eye with the hire of Jerry Kill who resurrected the program.

At lunch Sports Headliners asked Mona the following questions regarding sports and his life. Here are his edited answers, sometimes laced with his trademark humor.

How many trading cards do you still have?

Well, thank God I have been able to dispose of a lot of them. I had 4 million at the peak. I think I am down to about a million and a quarter right now. We are trying to actively dispose of them. We determined that by the fall of 2072 (not a typo) we should be totally out of cards.

What card will you never give up?

The last one to go will probably be the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle—card No. 311. I’ve got the complete ‘52 set (of cards). That’s kind of the card that people would talk about being the signature card of sports card collecting. When I start selling things off and get to the 52’s, that will be the last set I get rid of, and the last card I get rid of will be Mickey Mantle.

Where are the cards stored?

The cards are all in safe storage like safe deposit boxes—all except the ones that I would consider burning or throwing in a flood. When I say I have a million and quarter cards, easily a million of them are marginally worthless. They’re from 1980 to the current time when there was massive over production.

The teams here are known for losing a lot of games year after year. Why do you think that happens?

I think winning is less important here than it is (in other major cities). As I’ve travelled the country, I find people …what they value most—maybe even above family—is the success of their sports teams. I think people (in Minnesota) have more balance in their lives. They like their teams to be competitive, but it’s not the be-all and end-all to be best at anything. Maybe Garrison Keillor has got it right–there is a lot of modesty among us but I am not sure there is the passion here to be on top that there is in other parts of the country.

In order of preference what are your favorite sports?

It’s a seasonal thing. It’s kind of what’s being played. Right now I am a huge basketball fan. Maybe baseball at heart is where my deepest love is. College football—maybe a little less (a fan) of professional football. Because I played basketball—and grew up in a basketball household—less so hockey, but I have become a good hockey fan. Probably if I had to say based on the full year it would be baseball, football, basketball, hockey.

What did you learn about coaching from your dad?

I learned to sit quietly in church with a little square paper in front of me and diagram plays. I learned to be interested in sports and to watch sports in kind of a different way. The way a coach looks at it and analyzes things, and looks for opportunities that can be seized. From a very early time, being the ball boy for Minneapolis South, I felt like I got a little different look at sports than a player only would have gotten.

Did you ever seriously think about pursuing the athletic director job at Minnesota?

No, I never really did. I didn’t think I was particularly qualified to be the AD but it’s never kept me from expressing opinions on it, caring a great deal about the outcome.

You and your wife Linda have led travel tours for WCCO Radio. What’s the most important thing for a travel tour leader to know?

We want to make sure that people are enjoying themselves, so we seek them out with conversations. People probably don’t know this but we actually keep a chart with everybody’s name on it. We make sure that by the end of the tour we’ve had a meal sitting next to those people and gotten to know them to the best of our ability. I think that satisfies what their expectations might be and it makes the trip more interesting for us.

You have done a lot of travelling. What’s still on the bucket list?

I’d love to go on a (African) safari. There are (other) places I’ve never seen—(like) the Taj Mahal. I would love to do that. I’ve never been to Australia-New Zealand. Heard a lot of great things about that. I am not sure I want to spend a week in Tahiti but it looks gorgeous.

Any other places?

I want to go to the Rose Bowl to see the Gophers play. I was on the Minnesota Daily when they last went (in 1962 after also playing in the 1961 game). They had a train, and I think it was $110 to go to Pasadena. I didn’t have $110. Somebody said to me, “Of all people, I can’t believe you’re not going to the Rose Bowl.”

I will never forget my response. I said, “You know they (the Gophers) go almost every year. I can’t afford it right now but the next time they go I will be there.”

Where did you get your sense of humor?

I always had a sense of humor, (with) the ability to look at things and see the humorous play on words, the pun, or what have you. Probably from my love of the language and turning things a little bit differently. Not always appreciated by people along the way, including some teachers, but to me having a sense of humor was always something I was aware of and enjoyed.

What is it going to be like doing the “Sports Huddle” some day without Sid?

I have no idea when or if that would be a possibility. We talked about what will happen if Sid were no longer part of the “Sports Huddle,”and he was 85 at the time. He’s going on 97 right now so I am confident we will be celebrating at least his 100th (birthday) as part of it. The station sees the “Sports Huddle” as a valuable property, as it’s always been sold out in advertising. It’s a good revenue generator for the station. It still has relatively large numbers of listeners so I think the “Sports Huddle” will go on.

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