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

Worth Noting

Posted on June 15, 2012June 15, 2012 by David Shama

Wondering what the football Gophers do best? Well, Lindy’s Sports College Football 2012 Preview has an answer. The publication lists the “Five Best Rivalry Trophies”…and guess what? Minnesota is the only program to appear on the list twice. Here are the top three: Floyd of Rosedale —Iowa vs. Minnesota. The Jeweled Shillelagh — USC vs. Notre Dame. Paul Bunyan’s Axe —Minnesota vs. Wisconsin.

New Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague starts work on Monday and a media photo-op is scheduled for that morning.

Former Cretin-Derham Hall head football coach Rich Kallok, more recently an assistant with the program, said he’s not sure if he will be on the staff this season. Kallok has had three hip replacements and also back problems. Two years ago he coached linebackers for the Raiders.

Raiders senior running back James Onwualu, who verbally committed to Notre Dame, is likely to be a wide receiver with the Irish, said Kallok who recently celebrated his 45^th wedding anniversary with wife Sue.

Will the Timberwolves choose 7-foot North Carolina center Tyler Zeller with the No. 18 pick in the upcoming NBA draft? Jim Dutcher, the former Gophers coach, believes Zeller can play in the NBA for many seasons.

“He’s very competitive and a good low post scorer,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners. “He shoots the turnaround and has some good inside scoring moves.”

Not long ago Nbadraft.net projected Syracuse shooting guard Dion Waiters as the Wolves’ first round selection on June 28. However, Waiters is now predicted to be the No. 11 choice in the draft going to Portland.

The Wolves drafted Syracuse shooting guard Wes Johnson two years ago and he’s been a major disappointment. Dutcher said the Wolves have given Johnson more playing time than he’s earned because he was a No. 1 draft choice. “They’re playing him so they don’t look bad,” Dutcher said.

Former Hopkins star Royce White is projected to be drafted No. 24 by Cleveland. The 6-foot-8 White is likely to be a small forward in the NBA and there are doubts about his outside shooting but Dutcher believes that might not be a problem.

The Twins continue a run against National League teams tonight when the Brewers come to town. Many baseball fans don’t know that when the San Francisco Giants were the New York Giants the National League franchise had intentions of moving to Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Millers were a Giants farm team in the 1950s and the Giants were drawing small crowds in the dilapidated Polo Grounds. The Millers’ new stadium, Metropolitan Stadium, was to become the new home of the Giants but following the 1957 season Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley convinced Giants owner Horace Stoneham to move their franchises to California.

Nationally known Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker’s son Steve passed away this spring at age 52.

The Twins lost their first series since May 25-27 against the Tigers when the Phillies took two of three games from Minnesota this week.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe has hit 11 home runs in his last 21 games. Catcher Joe Mauer leads the team in multi-hit games and has four in eight games this month.

Tennis historian and author Jim Holden notes when Forest Lake’s Dusty Boyer won his fourth state Class 2A singles title earlier this month he broke a tie with Rochester legends Dave Healey and Chuck Darley. Boyer defeated Eden Prairie’s Scott Elsass for the championship. Both players are headed to Nebraska to play college tennis. Holden is the author of Tennis in the Northland, a comprehensive history of boys high school tennis in Minnesota.

Finishing among the top 100 Division III schools nationally in the final Learfield Sports Directors Cup standings are St. Thomas at No. 8, Gustavus No. 39, St. Olaf, No. 41 and Concordia, No. 80. The MIAC (with 10) was one of only five conferences in the nation to place 10 or more schools in the standings.

Dave Wright, former Saint Paul Saints media relations director and local author, has been named sports information director at Hamline after filling the position on an interim basis.

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Worth Noting

Posted on June 1, 2012June 1, 2012 by David Shama

Former Twins broadcaster John Gordon, 72, is spending his first spring retired from baseball and “enjoying the retired life,” according to Patrick Klinger, the team’s marketing vice president. “He’s playing a lot of golf,” Klinger said.

The Twins finished the month of May with a 12-16 record. Their sweep of the A’s earlier in the week was only the second of the season against an opponent.

Outfielder Josh Willingham leads the club in home runs with 10. The first Twins hitter to reach 10 last year was Michael Cuddyer on June 16.

Now that spring semester has ended, the Gophers football team has put together consecutive semesters of collective GPA’s over 3.0 for the first time in our memory.

Former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, now with the Steelers, is ranked the fourth best head coach in the NFL by Sportingnews.com. Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier is ranked No. 27 out of 32 head coaches. Former Vikings tight end Mike Mularkey, now head coach at Jacksonville, ranks No. 25 while the Giants Tom Coughlin, coach of the Super Bowl champions, is No. 1.

Frazier and others with the Vikings organization, including players, volunteered their time yesterday to help build a playground at Sheridan Arts Magnet School in Minneapolis. The playground is being paid for by the Vikings and The Toro Company.

Mark Rosen’s new book, Best Seat in the House, was No. 3 in the sports essays category last week for Amazon Kindle sales, according to the WCCO TV sports anchor. He also told Sports Headliners that about 8,000 books have been printed. He’s been busy with book signings in the metro area and other parts of the state. “I realize more and more you can’t just put a book on the shelves,” he said.

Rosen said it’s been an “amazing” and enjoyable experience meeting so many people who have their own stories about the Minnesota sports heroes he writes about in his book. “I’ve met a lot of great people,” he said.

Minnesota native Tom Lehman, who will play in the 3M Championship in Blaine later this year, has three top 10 finishes on the Champions Tour in 2012 but has not won a tournament. www.pgatour.com

The Timberwolves will select Dion Waiters, a 6-4 shooting guard from Syracuse, with the No. 18 pick in the NBA draft later this month, according to www.nbadraft.net. Waiters averaged 12.6 points per game as a sophomore last season.

Former Hopkins forward Royce White will be drafted by Boston at No. 21, according to the website. White is unusually strong for a small forward but must improve his outside shooting in the pros.

For the fifth consecutive year St. Thomas finished first in both the men’s and women’s MIAC all-sports final standings. Gustavus and St.Olaf placed second in the men’s and women’s standings. St. Thomas won eight conference titles in men’s athletics, five in women’s sports during 2011-12.

The Mr. and Ms. Lacrosse winners will be announced on Sunday afternoon during a banquet at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul. A total of 14 high school boys and girls are finalists for the awards (presented by the Minnesota Swarm). A selection panel will also choose the Mr. Goalie and Ms. Goalie of the Year winners. To see the names of candidates and learn more about the banquet, visit the Minnesota Minutemen website. www.minnesotaminutemen.com

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Worth Noting

Posted on May 23, 2012May 23, 2012 by David Shama

Patrick Klinger, the Twins vice president of marketing, may become a compassionate kidney donor. That means he would be willing to provide one of his kidneys to someone he doesn’t know.

A couple of years ago Klinger went through three days of testing at the Mayo Clinic to determine if a portion of his liver would be compatible for transfer to a college friend. Klinger wasn’t a match but a liver from a cadaver saved his friend’s life.

Earlier this year Klinger was ready to donate a kidney to former Twins player and manager Frank Quilici. A woman who is a family friend was a better match and about one week ago Quilici had successful surgery.

“I just think what greater gift can you give than the gift of life,” Klinger said.

The Twins, who are averaging about 33,000 fans per game at home, are likely to see an increase in attendance during June not only because schools will dismiss for summer vacation, but three teams with box office appeal, the Brewers, Cubs and Phillies, will be in town. Ticket inventory, Klinger said, is tight for those games.

Former Twins outfielder Mickey Hatcher, who was in his 13^th season as Angels hitting coach, was fired last week. The Angels rank No. 26 among major league teams in runs scored with 159.

The St. Thomas baseball team plays Christopher Newport from Newport News, Virginia on Friday in the Division III Baseball College World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Tommies are 38-8 while their opponent is 34-8. The Tommies are in pursuit of their first national championship since 2009. The championship game will be played on Tuesday.

Minnesota State plays Southern New Hampshire on Saturday in the Division II Baseball College World Series in Cary, North Carolina. The Mavericks are 48-10 this season while Southern New Hampshire is 42-13. The tournament is double elimination as is the Division III competition. The Mavericks have made 31 NCAA tournament appearances.

Ricky Rubio received the second most points in voting by NBA head coaches when they determined the league’s All-Rookie team, announced yesterday. The Wolves point guard was second in points, 49, to Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving who had 58. Wolves rookie forward Derrick Williams made the All-Rookie second team.

The Gophers football schedule for the 2015 and 2016 seasons (released on Monday) includes games against Ohio State in Minneapolis and Columbus. It’s the first time the Buckeyes have been on the Gophers schedule since 2010. Ohio State leads the series against Minnesota 43-7.

Only one date was left open on the schedules, the September 19, 2015 slot where the Gophers are still looking for a nonconference opponent, probably at home.

It was 10 years ago yesterday that former Gophers athletic director Paul Giel died. “If 100 people met Paul they wouldn’t like him. They would love him,” his friend Harvey Mackay said.

Former WCCO TV anchor Don Shelby has nearly 5,000 friends on Facebook, and he’s receiving well wishes for his May 27^th birthday.

The Wild are aggressively shopping their No. 7 pick in the first round of the June 22 NHL draft, a pro hockey source told Sports Headliners. “I hear they’re willing to take offers for an established or established players,” he said.

The Wild could also trade the pick to acquire additional draft choices, although that doesn’t seem as likely. The team is badly in need of scorers, and also lacks “leadership in the clubhouse,” according to the source.

“If you watch any of the playoffs you can see how far away the Wild are (from being a post-season team),” he said. The source’s opinion is the Wild needs “three or four” good players to be more equal with at least some playoff clubs.

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