NCAA – Page 110 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

No Forgetting Herb Brooks Friendship

Posted on January 27, 2019January 27, 2019 by David Shama

Random thoughts and notes one day after a vacation in southern California.

The Golden Gophers team that won the NCAA Hockey title in 1979 was honored last night at 3M Arena at Mariucci when Minnesota and Wisconsin played their second game in as many nights in Minneapolis. The Gophers won the school’s third men’s hockey national title on March 23, 1979 in Detroit with a 4-3 victory over North Dakota.

Unfortunately, legendary coach Herb Brooks, who died in 2003 at age 66, wasn’t there to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this special team. Brooks won three national championships in a six year period, with the last in 1979.

Brooks would orchestrate the “Miracle on Ice” for the U.S. a year later in 1980. That Olympic team stunned the world with its upset victory over the Soviet Union. Shortly after the Winter Olympics, I asked Brooks to speak at a banquet for a non-profit organization. He refused to accept a payment for his speech, despite his celebrity status that allowed him to earn large speaker’s fees in corporate America.

Brooks was a friend for decades, always available to meet or talk, and most often offering the most comprehensive of answers to questions. He was one of those individuals (we all have them) who you never stop missing.

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle was the latest local sports newsmaker to be interviewed on “Behind the Game,” the Twin Cities cable TV program co-hosted by Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson. No one received more praise from Coyle during the program than first-year women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen. “I am not sure I have met a more competitive person,” he said.

Coyle hired Whalen last spring despite the former Gopher Final Four guard having no previous coaching experience. During the program he talked about how Hall of Fame Connecticut coach Geno Aureimma endorsed a potential Whalen hire on the telephone.

Whalen’s team cruised through the nonconference schedule but has been struggling in league games (13-6 overall, 2-6 Big Ten). Still, the Whalen mystique as a Minnesota native and former star for both the Gophers and Lynx sustains her popularity with fans and media.

All that adoration over the years never has inflated Whalen’s ego. On “Behind the Game” Coyle described his coach as “low ego, high output.”

In addition to cable, the Coyle interview can also be viewed on YouTube.

Men’s college basketball authority Jay Bilas, writing last week for Espn.com, ranked Iowa No. 24 and Minnesota No. 57 in his national listing of the top 68 teams. The Hawkeyes and Gophers play late today at Williams Arena.

In his article Bilas describes former Apple Valley star point guard Tre Jones, now a freshman at Duke, as a “next level defender.”

It’s a rewarding time for Mike Max who has been named sports director at WCCO TV, succeeding Mark Rosen. Hard work has characterized Max’s 33-year media career covering Minnesota sports. He exercises everyday and has missed only a half day of work all these years.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association will induct Max into its Hall of Fame on March 30.

On WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” program this morning Max introduced the local weather forecast by quipping, “It’s colder than a Sid Hartman handshake.”

It was a contrast (understatement) returning to Minneapolis after vacationing in the Palm Springs-Palm Desert area with all blue skies and temps in the 70s. From personal experience and research of warm climate temperatures, my opinion is that part of the country has the best January weather in the continental United States.

During the first several days of our trip we did encounter cloudy and rainy weather in Carlsbad, California (about 35 minutes north of San Diego). Then when we drove Highway 74 through the mountains to Palm Desert, we got the surprise of our vacation.

Descending from about 3,000 feet on narrow, twisting, two-lane highway, we found ourselves surrounded by dense clouds. Visibility was about 30 feet in front of the car. There were no taillights to follow from a vehicle ahead on this harrowing drive down into the Palm Desert basin. All I could see to guide our way were the yellow lines dividing the road. A mental lapse here or there and we could have collided with another vehicle, or driven off the cliff.

We survived and went on to enjoy our time in the Coachella Valley including attending the Desert Classic in La Quinta. The PGA tournament has known many names through the years including the Bob Hope Desert Classic. This year the tournament celebrated 60 years while featuring southern California native and legend Phil Mickelson.

“Lefty” is a personal favorite, which of course hardly makes me unique. Ironically, he shot an opening day 60 on the Classic’s 60th birthday. He led the tournament going into the final day on January 20, but lost by a couple of strokes.

The tournament has a celebrity-filled history that includes famous names from both Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Presidents Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush all played as amateurs in the 1995 tournament. Arnold Palmer won more Desert Classics than any other golfer, with his last championship coming in 1973.

Comments Welcome

Don’t Get Down on a Road Trip

Posted on January 6, 2019January 6, 2019 by David Shama

Never get discouraged while preparing for a road trip.

I followed my own advice late last week. Prior to leaving for Madison, Wisconsin, a friend texted that the Golden Gophers were 10 point underdogs for Thursday night’s game against the Badgers. This didn’t put a frown on my face—perhaps because a few days earlier Jim Dutcher (the ex-Gopher coach) predicted a Minnesota win over Wisconsin in Sports Headliners.

If I was searching for discouragement I needed to go no further than the Gophers basketball record book. A Gopher team hadn’t won in Madison since 2009, although Minnesota prompted cardiac arrest among the most emotional U fans last year by taking the Badgers into overtime at the Kohl Center.

I wasn’t that concerned about history when I set out for Madison with a friend last Thursday morning. Nope, and I didn’t get upset when traffic on interstates 90 and 94 resembled Crosstown 62 in Minneapolis. “Left lane hogs” clogging traffic on the interstates in Wisconsin would have fit right in back home.

During the drive my friend and I dissected the Minnesota sports scene, commenting at length on the Gophers, Timberwolves, Twins, Vikings and Wild. We covered enough detail for three or four Sports Headliners columns, but here’s a tease of minutia:

· Disagreement about what team holds the most promise in 2019, with my vote going to the Vikings and my friend leaning toward (gasp!) Gophers football.

· Consensus that the five greatest all-time Twins are (in order): Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer.

· Lamenting the length of baseball games and how the duration and tediousness is eating at the interest among even the most passionate MLB fans. One possible solution (multiple are needed) is declaring a batter out after a half dozen or so pitches are fouled off.

A first clue that happiness awaited in Madison could have been the balmy and sunny early January weather. It was warm enough to wear a light jacket and a Madisonian was spotted wearing shorts. (Not sure if beer was involved but word is it does powerful things to the mind and body.)

A first time visit to the Kohl Center was part of the fun in making the trip. I am forever curious about stadiums and arenas. I try to visit as many as possible when travelling—regardless of whether there are games going on.

The Kohl Center was built in 1998, making it one of the newer arenas in major college basketball. It’s a comfortable and impressive place. Think of Target Center on a budget.

The building seats 17,287 for basketball, more for concerts and less for Wisconsin hockey. The Badgers had 143 consecutive basketball sellouts from 2003-2011, and UW has been leading the Big Ten in basketball attendance this winter.

“Bucky” does a great job of paying tribute to past UW sports heroes in the building. The concourses are filled with display cases where you might read about football immortal Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch, or Bud Foster who coached the Badgers to their only NCAA men’s basketball title in 1941. Frank “the Tank” Kaminsky, who led the Badgers to consecutive Final Four appearances, has his No. 44 enshrined in the rafters.

Want more name-dropping? Well, what’s a Badger game—in Minneapolis or Madison—without an Andy North sighting. The silver-haired golf guru is still offering his words of wisdom on TV, and showing up to support his beloved Badgers.

Before tipoff a University of Minnesota employee approached us at our seats (provided by a good friend and UW alum). “I still like Williams Arena more,” he said.

His opinion about Minnesota’s iconic building nearing a 100th anniversary certainly didn’t surprise, but he offered something else that I quickly categorized as a good omen about the game’s possible outcome. The Gophers, he said, travelled to Madison by bus—the same mode of transportation the football team used in late November when they won at Wisconsin for the first time since 1994.

The basketball Gophers not only hadn’t won in Madison for nine years but had also lost eight consecutive games to Wisconsin going into Thursday’s get together. I was looking for signs of better things to come, and I received encouragement early in the game.

Minnesota’s players looked prepared from the beginning, mentally focused and playing better defense than sometimes executed by Pitino teams. The Badgers, because of Minnesota’s defense and their own poor shooting, got stuck on six points for a long stretch in the first half in front of a reported crowd of 16,687.

Coffey photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications

By halftime the Gophers held a 29-14 lead. Junior guard-forward Amir Coffey had been terrific, making field goals, slashing to the basket for scores and playmaking. He looked, as Dutcher said earlier in the week, like one of the Big Ten’s most versatile players.

During halftime I turned to my friend and predicted the first several minutes after intermission would tell a lot about whether the Badgers came back in the game. Well, once in awhile I am right. Within a few minutes the Gophers put themselves in foul trouble and the Badgers reduced the lead to single digits.

Minnesota, though, never let Wisconsin get closer than four points while earning a significant 59-52 road win that made the Gophers 2-1 in the Big Ten, and left the top 25 ranked Badgers with the same record. While Coffey scored just six points in the second half, and season leading rebounder and scorer Jordan Murphy fouled out of the game, the Gophers got some heroics from guards Brock Stull and Dupree McBrayer.

Stull, a senior transfer who has mostly played limited minutes this season with minimal production, made consecutive three pointers in the second half. Those unexpected six points had Pitino exhilarated on the sidelines and helped turn back a Badger run.

McBrayer, also a senior, turned two consecutive loose balls by the Badgers into points for the Gophers near the game’s end. Those points pretty much did in “Bucky,” although the Badgers still had a chance to tie or win even with 25 seconds to play.

In the closing minutes a lot of Badgers fans vacated their seats and headed for the exits. That was surprising, and so, too, were the boos that reined down on the Badger players and coaches during parts of the game. Maybe some Wisconsin fans are spoiled after so many Big Ten titles and trips to the NCAA Tournament during the last 20 years.

I am not encouraging booing college athletes but the frustration of Badger fans was understandable. Their Badgers made only seven of 17 free throws during a night their fans could have pleaded, “Is their shot doctor in the house?”

The Gophers held Wisconsin to an uncharacteristically low 22.7 percent on three pointers. The Badgers made just five of 22 attempts. D’Mitrik Trice, who entered the game converting more than 50 percent of his three point shots, made two of seven. Badgers star center Ethan Happ bedeviled Gophers defenders with his low post moves and shots but made just one of seven free throws on a night when he scored 17 points.

Guard Brad Davison and forward Nate Reuvers, both Minnesota natives, played 30 and 32 minutes respectively. Davison, whose image was on the game tickets, had an off night, scoring four points with two assists. Reuvers, whose photo was on the game program, helped lead the Wisconsin second half comeback. He scored 12 points with five rebounds.

Badgers fan don’t like losing to their “border rival” but none uttered a negative word to us as we made our way out of the Kohl Center and to the parking ramp. Not even my companion’s Gopher jacket could prompt a look of disdain or curt remark from our border neighbors.

In return I offer my red outfitted friends the following advice: Don’t get discouraged either at home or on the road. “Bucky” will be back.

Comments Welcome

Looks Like Golden Gophers ‘Rowing’ Now

Posted on December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 by David Shama

The Golden Gophers football team closed fast the last several weeks winning three of their final four games including an upset and dominating performance against Georgia Tech last night in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.

The victory gave Minnesota a final record above .500 at 7-6. The game offered more evidence the players are all-in on head coach P.J. Fleck and his culture. His “Row the Boat” mantra and demanding high energy environment has generated critics among the public, media and even presumably inside the halls of the U athletics compound, but it appears the second-year head coach has won over his team and perhaps placed the program on a path of sustained success.

In surprise wins, Minnesota has defeated Purdue, 41-10, Wisconsin, 37-15 and Georgia Tech, 34-10. Those are three above average Power Five teams, and people who know football are noticing including a former prominent Minnesota high school coach who has been following the Gophers for decades.

“I think the players have bought in,” he said last night, while speaking anonymously. “There’s been a lot of criticism of Fleck, and the players hear that, but now they believe. The culture has changed.”

Another football authority, who also didn’t want his name used, agreed that Minnesota’s impressive late season rally from a poor record going into the Purdue game on November 10 is significant. “It gives hope that the program is going in the right direction,” he said.

The Gophers’ overall record before the Purdue game was 4-5 and they were 1-5 against Big Ten opponents. Minnesota finished the regular season with records of 6-6 and 3-6.

Minnesota’s performance last night can only be graded as excellent work by both coaches and players. The Gophers were prepared and they executed their plans including defensively against a Tech team that was leading the nation in rushing at almost 335 yards per game.

GT’s triple-option attack can make defenders look like traffic cones. A story by college football media authority Athlon before the game said, “Georgia Tech’s offense is nearly impossible to stop, much less slow down.”

The Gophers started the game by making Tech go three-and-out on its first two possessions. Coach Paul Johnson’s team was held to 224 yards rushing by playing assignment football and doing it with passion. The effort was part of a resurgence by a Minnesota defense that held Purdue, Wisconsin and Georgia Tech to an average of 11.7 points per game.

That success came after a period when the Gophers gave up 30 points or more to six opponents, and yielded over 40 points four times. The disaster of allowing lowly Illinois to score 55 points forced a change in defensive coordinators and philosophy—mainly making defensive assignments simpler under the direction of new leader Joe Rossi. “When kids can play fast, they can have that kind of success, thinking less and reacting faster,” one of the sources said. “Simplifying things made all the difference and allowed the players to play with a lot of confidence.”

The Gopher offense did its part in the Quick Lane Bowl win, too. Minnesota scored 13 points in the first half and 21 in the second with multiple players at their best including freshman running back Mohamed Ibrahim who ran for 224 yards. Ibrahim’s exceptional vision enables him to find running lanes and his determination to not be tackled to the ground is in the best tradition of recent Gopher running backs.

Junior wide receiver Tyler Johnson had two touchdown catches last night and is likely weighing a decision to turn pro. He might project as a mid-round NFL draft pick in a few months but could decide another season would benefit his draft status more in 2020. He was named first team All-Big Ten by the media after the regular season when his 74 catches ranked second in the conference.

Freshman quarterback Tanner Morgan managed the offense impressively, not only throwing two touchdown passes but by not turning the ball over. It might have been Morgan’s best game after becoming the starter last month.

What caught the attention of observers as much as anything last night was how physical the Minnesota offense was. The unit looked bigger and stronger than GT’s defensive players, with the Gophers coming up with 403 yards in total offense to their opponent’s 301. “The offensive line was fantastic,” one of the sources said.

Minnesota behemoths including Blaise Andries, Curtis Dunlap Jr. and Daniel Faalele often pushed adversaries around using superior physical size and technique. At 6-foot-9 and 400-pounds Faalele is difficult to miss. The authority quoted in the previous paragraph said Faalele has big time potential and can become stronger. “I think he’s a Sunday (NFL) player,” he said.

The Gophers earned considerable success last night despite not having many players who have been starters, and even high impact performers. Defensively Minnesota was without Antoine Winfield, Jr., Blake Cashman, Kamal Martin, O.J. Smith and Jamaal Teague. On offense the Gophers didn’t have Donnell Greene, Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith.

The win is an indication of developing depth on the roster. That means there will be a lot of competition for starting positions going into spring practice and fall camp just before next season’s 12-game schedule. This competition will come despite most of the roster’s starters returning next season and being joined by an impressive freshman class.

The way the program closed out 2018 also means something else, according to one of the authorities. “The biggest thing is it gives you great confidence going into the offseason,” he said.

The Gophers have now played in 12 bowl games in program history. The greatest of victories include a Rose Bowl win and last second victory over Oregon. There is also a win over Alabama when that football factory was at ‘low tide.” Ranking near the top of any bowl list was Minnesota’s win two years ago against pass-happy and favored Washington State when Gopher coach Tracy Claeys designed a marvelous defense to help his suspension riddled team win the Holiday Bowl.

Is it likely that some day historians may look back and view the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl win by Minnesota as part of a new chapter of success for a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 1967?

Comments Welcome