MIAC – Page 42 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Win Streak Makes Vikings Superstitious

Posted on January 4, 2013January 4, 2013 by David Shama

Vikings notes and quotes:

The Vikings have won four consecutive games and the streak has prompted superstitions at Winter Park. Fullback Jerome Felton, a Pro Bowl selection for 2013, told Sports Headliners the team has been eating the same lunch items each Friday during the winning streak that has the Vikings headed for a first round playoff game on Saturday night in Green Bay against the Packers.

The Vikings have been enjoying pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, and other offerings provided by Brasa catering on Fridays. “They got the best cookies ever,” Felton said. “I think that might be everybody’s favorite.”

During the winning streak linebacker Erin Henderson has made a habit of Thursday lunches at Jimmy John’s. Defensive lineman Christian Ballard and wide receiver Jarius Wright have been letting their hair grow.

If the Vikings keep winning, Wright said he will avoid haircuts. “Yes, sir. I will just let it grow.”

Rookie placekicker Blair Walsh is one of the team MVPs. He has kicked an NFL high 35 field goals, ranks fourth in league total points with 141 and has 53 kickoffs for touchbacks, third best among all players. His .921 field goal percentage is the best in NFL history for a rookie kicker. Three times he’s been the NFL Special Teams Player of the Week.

Chosen last week for the Pro Bowl, Walsh said he can still improve. “I missed three kicks (this season) and you can always improve by not missing.”

Walsh made 35 of 38 field goal attempts and showed no signs of the mechanical issues that caused a poor season in 2011 at Georgia. He has the knowledge now to correct any problems that might occur again.

Walsh has no individual goals he is “shooting for” but said his technique and distance can get better. “Absolutely. I’ll improve from this year to next year.”

Center John Sullivan said the Vikings have an advantage over other teams when instead of punting the ball they can sometimes try Walsh on a long distance field goal. “Ten-for-10 on field goals (from) plus 50 yards is the best in league history. That speaks for itself,” Sullivan said.

Walsh made an impression even in training camp. “We knew what he was going to be able to do on kickoffs, especially in this division where you have so many dangerous returners,” Sullivan said. “That helps a lot. But I think he surprised everybody with his range on field goals, and the accuracy with which he’s hitting. So that’s a testament to how hard he works.”

Walsh replaced 15 year veteran Ryan Longwell who in a pro career playing for both the Packers and Vikings never had a season with total field goals and points the equal of Minnesota’s 2012 sixth round draft choice.

The Vikings have an extraordinary 2012 draft class that also includes starting left tackle Matt Kalil who like Walsh has been mentioned in All-Pro discussions. Kalil was a first round pick as was Harrison Smith who has helped upgrade the safety position. Cornerback Josh Robinson (third round) and wide receiver Jarius Wright (fourth round) are other major contributors.

The Vikings have remade their roster since 2009, the last playoff qualifying season. “A lot of new guys, new faces,” said Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf. “It’s the first time (in the playoffs) for a lot of them. We’re excited and I think we’re building something special here.”

Despite their contributions, none of the Vikings rookies will receive bonus money for their regular season performances. NFL contracts don’t allow such compensation in rookie agreements.

The team’s best player under 25 is Percy Harvin but the dynamic receiver, runner and kickoff returner hasn’t played since November 4 because of his injured ankle. Harvin, a fourth year player, reportedly has squabbled with former head coach Brad Childress and current coach Leslie Frazier. There’s speculation that with an expiring contract at the end of 2013, Harvin could be traded this off-season.

Wilf talking about Adrian Peterson who missed by nine yards breaking Eric Dickerson’s single season NFL rushing record of 2,105: “He’s a special person and a special player. We believe he’s one of the best, if not the best running back of all-time.”

Peterson will play in only the fourth playoff game of his six-year career tomorrow night in Green Bay. He’s ready and not kidding when talking about returning kickoffs if the Vikings need a late game score.

Peterson’s backup, Toby Gerhart, grew up as a Packers fan while living in California. Quarterback Brett Favre was his hero.

The December 31 issue of Sports Illustrated picks the Patriots to defeat the Packers in the Super Bowl next month. The Packers have won nine of their last 11 games.

Worth Noting

The No. 9 ranked (Associated Press) Gophers basketball team plays Northwestern at home on Sunday night starting at 6 p.m. Northwestern, 9-5 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten, is a popular choice to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten standings but Gophers guard Austin Hollins doesn’t expect Minnesota to have a problem being motivated.

The Gophers defeated No. 18 Michigan State on Monday in their first Big Ten game and Hollins likes the potential of his team. “I think the sky’s the limit. We have so many options. I don’t think there’s a drop-off when our bench comes in, and that’s tough for teams to play against. You’re wearing them down, wearing them down.

“You sub in and you’ve got the same intensity as you did with the first five. The depth really helps us. Everyone’s focused and that also helps.”

The 17^th annual Timberwolves Shootout will be Saturday at Target Center with four prep games including a 3 p.m. anticipated matchup between Tyus Jones and Apple Valley High School versus Rashad Vaughn and Robbinsdale Cooper. As of Wednesday, Jones was averaging 22.3 points per game and Vaughn 28 with a 51 point game recently. Both players are juniors. A $15 admission ticket also provides entrance Saturday night to the Timberwolves-Trail Blazers game.

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team, ranked No. 3 nationally by D3hoops.com, is 10-0. The Tommies are at home for a 3 p.m. game tomorrow against 8-0 Augsburg.

Ted Mondale, executive director of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, wants the new Vikings stadium to one day host the Big Ten championship football game. The first two Big Ten title games have been at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, a facility similar to the stadium being planned in Minneapolis.

Jason Zucker leads the Wild’s Houston Aeros minor league affiliate in points with 29 and goals, 15. Justin Fontaine, Brian Connelly and Mikael Granlund are next with 22, 21 and 20.

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Award Fate Rests with Peterson

Posted on December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 by David Shama

Adrian Peterson has three regular season games to break the NFL single season rushing record of 2,105 held by former Rams running back Eric Dickerson. If the Vikings monster rusher does that he should be a cinch for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Peterson has 1,600 yards rushing in 13 games and needs to average 169 yards per game the remainder of the season to break the record. He has run for a career best 100-plus yards in each of his last seven games, and for the season is averaging six yards per carry while gaining more total yards than most of the teams in the NFL. Peterson’s career high single season total is 1,760 yards in 2008.

Those are remarkable numbers, but within the context of recovering from reconstructive knee surgery earlier this year they are astounding. After ACL surgery most athletes hope for a return to previous form. The 27-year-old Peterson is having his best season, working his tail off to achieve the greatest numbers of his career and break a benchmark NFL record.

“Boy, it’s hard to imagine someone overcoming as much as he has,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told Sports Headliners. “He’d get my vote (for comeback award). He’s been incredible in every sense of the word. Just a terrific accomplishment when you consider how devastating an ACL injury can be on a player’s career. Not only comeback (award) but…an MVP candidate as well. He’s been terrific.”

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who missed last season because of his neck injury, is Peterson’s primary rival for comeback honors. Manning has led the Broncos to eight consecutive wins and the AFC West title. He has thrown 30 touchdown passes, second in the NFL only to Drew Brees, and his passer rating of 104 is right behind Tom Brady’s league leading 104.2. All of this despite having to adjust to new surroundings and football assignments during his first season in Denver.

“You can’t discount what Peyton’s overcome.” Frazier said. “Four neck surgeries. That’s pretty serious stuff to come back and play at the level he’s playing at.”

But Manning is surrounded by more offensive help than Peterson has in Minnesota. The Vikings’ limited passing game hasn’t done much to create opportunities when Peterson carries the ball. Even the casual fan knows Peterson is going to run the ball often in the team’s offense but waiting defenses still can’t stop him.

If Peterson not only breaks the league single season rushing record but carries the Vikings into the playoffs, his resume for NFL MVP will be loaded too. There’s a bias toward making a quarterback MVP in the pass-happy NFL but all the more reason to recognize a record breaking rusher if he’s beast enough to carry his otherwise subpar offense into the playoffs.

Worth Noting

Vikings radio analyst Pete Bercich said on a broadcast last month from Chicago that he rates the now deceased Walter Payton, who Bercich watched while growing up, an even greater runner than Peterson.

The Vikings, 7-6, have remaining games on the road against the 6-6-1 Rams and 11-2 Texans, and at home versus the 9-4 Packers. Based on the records of opponents in 2011, there are only seven teams in the NFL who have more difficult schedules than the Vikings in 2012.

What’s the key to the Vikings winning on Sunday in St. Louis? “For us, it seems when we travel we don’t do a good job of protecting the ball,” Frazier said. “Then we gotta execute our assignments across the board. But we gotta do a good job of protecting the ball and then trying to take the ball away.”

In six road games the Vikings have lost five fumbles and quarterback Christian Ponder has been intercepted six times.

The Vikings started five rookies against the Bears last Sunday, the most in one game in franchise history—safety Harrison Smith, cornerback Josh Robinson, offensive tackle Matt Kalil, fullback Rhett Ellison and wide receiver Jarius Wright.

Rookie kicker Blair Walsh is among the NFL leaders with 41 kickoff touchbacks, one more than the previous Vikings franchise record of 40.

Don’t be surprised if Darrell Bevell, the former Vikings offensive coordinator, is the next Badgers football coach. Bevell, who is now offensive coordinator with the Seahawks, has a high football IQ and is a quality person. He was Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez’s first Rose bowl quarterback when Alavarez was coaching and resurrecting the Badgers program.

Because of Jerry Kill’s history with seizures, the NCAA allows his wife Rebecca to accompany him on recruiting trips. Kill is committed to better understanding his condition, and despite the news media attention about the seizures they haven’t caused him to miss an entire game while coaching at Minnesota.

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder when he was five years old. He credits the doctors at Yale-New Haven Cancer Center for helping save his life, and in appreciation he set up a living trust with the hospital as the beneficiary.

Caruso’s Tommies play Mount Union tonight in Salem,Virginia for the Division III national championship. The game begins at 6 p.m.Minnesota time and will be televised on ESPNU.

The championship game is another step during a remarkable head coaching career for Caruso that began in 2006 at Macalester where for two years his records were 2-7 and 4-5. At St. Thomas his teams have been 7-3, 11-2, 12-1, 13-1 and now 14-0.

Wild prospect Mikael Granlund returned to the Aeros lineup last week after missing 12 games with an ankle injury. Despite playing in fewer than half the team’s games, Granlund is tied for fourth in points with 13.

Aaron Hicks is only 23 but he might be able to make the jump from Double-A New Britain to starting center fielder for the Twins next spring. In search of a center field replacement for the traded Denard Span and Ben Revere, Hicks is a switch-hitter with potential power in the big leagues and the athleticism to chase down the ball. He hit .286 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI at New Britain last season.

TwinsFest will be January 25-27 at the Metrodome and tickets went on sale this week. Adult tickets are $9 each ($15 at the door) and tickets for children are $5 ($8 at the door).

The Gophers basketball team was No. 14 in national RPI ratings on Monday when the Big Ten Conference issued its weekly news release. Minnesota is ranked No. 13 in the country by the Associated Press.

Stats in the news release include the Gophers leading the Big Ten in steals at 9.8 per game and blocked shots at 7.2. Minnesota guard Andre Hollins is listed with the single game scoring high among conference players after his 41 points against Memphis last month.

Canterbury Park’s 2013 thoroughbred stakes schedule includes 26 races worth $1.76 million, an increase of more than 20 percent over this year. The 69-day 2013 race meet, the longest scheduled since 2006, begins May 17 and concludes September 14.

Canterbury and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community agreed to a cooperative marketing and purse enhancement deal this year that will put $75 million into the horsemen purse fund over 10 years.

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Mount Union Won’t Scare UST

Posted on December 12, 2012December 12, 2012 by David Shama

University of St. Thomas athletic director Steve Fritz doesn’t expect the Tommies to be intimidated by Mount Union’s reputation when the two teams meet Friday night to decide the Division III football national championship in the Amos Alonzo Stag Bowl in Salem, Virginia.

Mount Union has been in the title game 14 times since 1993, including the last seven years, according to d3football.com. The Alliance, Ohio school lost the last three Stag Bowls to UW-Whitewater but was Division III champions in 2005, 2006 and 2008. The Purple Raiders are a 10-time national champion.

This will be the Tommies’ first national title game ever but Fritz doesn’t expect St. Thomas players to be scared. “I don’t think so,” Fritz told Sports Headliners. “We come out of an awfully good region. Whitewater is from the same region. Really, the thing is, if you’re in the (title) game you’re good enough to win it.”

The Tommies are undefeated in regular season play the last three years under coach Glenn Caruso. The 2012 team is 14-0, the same record as Mount Union. This may not be Caruso’s most talented team but it’s the only one to advance this far in the playoffs, and there’s also another aspect to the 2012 group that pleases Fritz. “The thing I like is this team has gotten better week by week more than any team I’ve seen,” he said.

This is Caruso’s fifth season as head coach. “He’s done a spectacular job,” Fritz said. “We were looking to upgrade the program (when Caruoso was hired). We wanted to be at the top in the MIAC. To grow to one of the top programs nationally so fast is impressive.”

The Tommies departed by charter airplane for Virginia last night. They will practice during the week in Salem and have a community service school visit on Thursday.

Fritz said there will be at least one charter flight with Tommies fans going to the game and “maybe a second.” Travel information is available at the St. Thomas sports website.

He expects 300 to 500 St. Thomas fans at the game in the 7,000-plus seat stadium. He projected attendance of about 4,500 at the game which begins at 6 p.m. Minnesota time and will be televised on ESPNU.

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