NCAA – Page 143 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Spring Football Games Not-for-Sures

Posted on April 11, 2014April 12, 2014 by David Shama

The Gophers play their annual Intrasquad Spring Football Game tomorrow at TCF Bank Stadium beginning at 2:30 p.m. Fans might wonder how many more games will be played in future years because there’s a growing awareness about preventing football injuries in college and on other levels, amateur and professional.

Minnesota coach Jerry Kill is concerned and suggests elimination of spring games at Minnesota and elsewhere is a way of reducing injuries. “In the future I don’t think you’re going to see spring games,” Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” program last Sunday.

Intrasquad spring games count as one of 15 NCAA approved spring practices for major college programs. Rather than devote time to entertaining fans with a game, some coaches insist there is a better way to get teams ready for next fall’s schedule of nonconference and league games. The University of Pittsburgh, for example, cancelled its spring game for 2014 because head coach Paul Chryst wanted to maximize practice time.

A few other programs reportedly are not staging spring games this year. Among them is Texas A&M, a school that cancelled the game because of stadium renovations. The cancellation didn’t bother head coach Kevin Sumlin who downplayed the value of the annual spring game, describing the event as a “glorified scrimmage,” according to a March 4 story by Zac Ellis on College-football.si.com.

The elimination of spring games may develop into a real trend but it’s probably going to be slow in coming. Passionate fan bases at powerhouse schools like Ohio State wouldn’t be happy to see the spring game go away.

Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer told Doug Lesmerises in a March 19 story for Cleveland.com that he plans to keep the spring game indefinitely. “I just think it’s priceless for a player to get a rep in front of 50, 60, 70,000 (people),” Meyer said. “If I was at a school where you get 400 people (you might do away with it) because what are you really getting.”

Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover sees the advantages and disadvantages of spring games including the issues of having enough healthy players and how to divide them into competitive teams.

“I enjoy it (the spring game). I think it’s good for the fans,” he told Sports Headliners. “I think in our situation it’s good to continue to build support, build enthusiasm. Kind of (create) a buzz around the program but at the same time it does have its challenges.”

Labeled as the spring game, the Gophers’ event tomorrow will be more of a scrimmage. Punt and kickoff returns, for example, aren’t expected to be part of the action. The scrimmage will start at 2:30 p.m. and probably end about 90 minutes later, much shorter than a game.

Back in the 1950s the Gophers had a special spring show delighting fans, while the coaches may have gobbled Maalox. Head coach Murray Warmath sent his team out to play the annual game against an alumni group that included Gophers legends liked Bronko Nagurski and Leo “The Lion” Nomellini.

The grizzled and out of shape alums used their wisdom and skills to give Warmath’s young men all they could handle. Truth was the Gophers sometimes looked bad against the alumni team.

Warmath devoted part of spring practice to preparing for the alumni game, minimizing the time he and his staff could use for teaching. He disliked the game and was delighted when the alumni series ended after a few years.

Tomorrow a Gophers alumni flag football game will be played starting at 1 p.m. The two teams will be captained by former All-Big Ten players Tyrone Carter and Ron Johnson.

BTN2Go will provide live coverage of the intrasquad game. The Big Ten Network will show a replay starting at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Following the intrasquad game players will sign autographs on the field. Admission to the game is free.

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Colabello Delivers Big Bang for a Buck

Posted on April 9, 2014April 9, 2014 by David Shama

Talk about a return on investment. Chris Colabello is co-leader in the American League in RBI with 11 while the Twins are paying him $505,000 this season, almost the lowest salary on the team.

Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson at $502,000 and catcher Josmil Pinto, $500,000, have lower salaries, according to a March 31 USA Today listing of major league opening day player salaries for all 30 teams. Over a 162-game schedule Colabello is paid $3,117 per game. Contrast that with Joe Mauer’s $141,976 based on his $23 million annual salary. Mauer has no RBI so far and is hitting .250.

Although the Twins have only played seven games, Colabello’s impact is evident. His 11 RBI (tied with the White Sox’s Jose Abreu) are five better than Kurt Suzuki who is second on the team. Colabello is hitting .370 with one home run and a team best slugging percentage of .630.

Prior to Monday’s home opener against the A’s came news he had been named AL Player of the Week with outfielder Josh Hamilton who earns $17 million with the Angels. Colabello made the honor look good by singling in the first inning and making a diving catch in right field during the second inning, his initial outfield start of the season. He is expected to play some outfield and first base with the Twins but his primary role is likely to be designated hitter.

The baseball world agreed before the season the Twins would be offensive- challenged this season. But the Twins, 3-4 so far, have averaged over five runs per game and their total of 37 is fourth best in the American League. If Colabello can produce 15 to 20 home runs, 80 or more RBI and hit over .280 this season, the Twins will be much more likely to improve their runs scored over last year when they had the third fewest in the AL.

Perhaps life begins after age 29. The 30-year-old journeyman (Colabello will be 31 in October) went to spring training not even knowing if he would make the Twins’ roster. Last December he turned down a $1 million offer to play for South Korea’s LG Lions.

That is just part of Colabello’s strange baseball story. The Massachusetts native played seven seasons in the Canadian-American Association before being signed by the Twins in February of 2012 and gaining the opportunity to move up from the depths of low level independent league professional baseball.

Playing for the Twins’ Class AA New Britain team in 2012, Colabello hit .284 with 19 home runs and 98 RBI. He was runner-up for Eastern League MVP.

Last season playing in 89 games for Class AAA Rochester, Colabello won the International League’s MVP award hitting .354 with 24 home runs and 76 RBI. He was also the league’s Rookie of the Year.

Part of 2013 was spent with the Twins and the hitting numbers were dramatically different than in the minors. Colabello hit .194 with seven home runs and 17 RBI in 55 games.

The 6-foot-4, 218 pound Colabello, whose father Lou played for Italy in the 1984 Olympics, has changed his batting stance this season, moving closer to the plate, and appears to have shortened his right-handed swing while sending hits to the opposite field. He looks confident and swings assertively while not being overly aggressive.

Batting cleanup for the Twins is a long way from independent league baseball three years ago. The Twins found a bargain.

Worth Noting

Graham Woodward has been released from his basketball scholarship at Penn State and will transfer to another school, according to a story this morning on the website of the Centre Daily News located in State College, Pennsylvania. Woodward, the former Edina High School guard, played as a freshman for Penn State this past season.

Gophers women’s basketball fans will expect to be entertained by the coaching style of Marlene Stollings. As head coach at VCU last season, Stollings’ team set school records with a 75.8 points per game average and 235 three-point field goals. The Rams scored 90 or more points five times and twice scored a school-record 112 points. Stollings met the media yesterday when she was introduced as the Gophers new coach.

Two of the Gophers’ highest profile women’s sports are hockey and volleyball. Both head coaches, Brad Frost and Hugh McCutcheon, are males. Perhaps the presence of those two influenced hiring a female to be the next women’s basketball coach, thereby providing more gender balance in the athletic department.

Admirers of former Gopher and NBA player Jim Petersen, now an assistant coach with the WNBA champion Lynx, might wonder if he had interest in the women’s opening at Minnesota. Petersen, a former McDonald’s prep All-American at St. Louis Park, not only has coaching and playing experience but his visibility in the state has remained high as the Timberwolves TV color analyst.

Among the changes the Wild might make this offseason is adding former Gopher Thomas Vanek to the roster, according to a hockey source who spoke to Sports Headliners on condition of anonymity. Vanek is a potential 30-plus goal scorer and while he is a high priced talent his addition to the Wild payroll could be balanced by letting Dany Heatley go, the source said. Both earn similar annual salaries.

Vanek, who has played with three teams this season, has scored 27 goals and would boost the Wild’s scoring. He will be an unrestricted free agent during the offseason.

The Wild will make the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The source said if the Wild fail to impress in the postseason a change in head coaches is possible with Mike Yeo losing his job.

The Wild, who play tomorrow night at home against the Blues, have finished the road schedule for the season at 17-17-7. The Wild earned points in seven of its last eight road games (5-1-2) and earned 26 points in the last 20 away games (11-5-4). As of yesterday morning, only the Bruins and the Avs had better road records than the Wild since the start of 2014.

After outstanding seasons by the winter teams, including three men’s titles and two women’s, St. Thomas is in first place in the MIAC All-Sports standings for both genders. St. Olaf is in second place in the men’s standings while Saint Benedict is second among women.

KARE TV’s Randy Shaver will speak at the May 8 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. Shaver was a sportscaster at the station for almost 30 years before becoming a KARE weeknight news anchor. A booster of high school sports, he started the “Prep Sports Extra” in 1984 and has coached football at Benilde-St. Margaret’s. He is a Hodgkin’s survivor, and the Randy Shaver Cancer Research & Community Fund has raised almost $5,000,000 for cancer research and patient aid in Minnesota.

CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations for the lunch and program can be made by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

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Rick Pitino Gushes about Son’s Future

Posted on April 4, 2014April 4, 2014 by David Shama

Rick Pitino watched his son Richard Pitino coach the Gophers to the NIT championship last night, defeating SMU 65-63 in New York. The older Pitino was feeling fatherly pride when interviewed after the game on 1500 ESPN.

In his first year coaching the Gophers and second season as a college head coach, Richard is earning praise at age 31. Dad said the NIT accomplishment by his son might be the “proudest moment” of his life and that apparently includes Rick coaching national championship teams at Kentucky and Louisville.

Then the Louisville head coach talked about how NIT champions frequently make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament the year after winning in New York. “Not that there is pressure on my son but I just think it’s an awesome segue into a very special career,” he said on the radio.

To continue building on his success, Pitino will have to soon lead the Gophers to the NCAA Tournament. In 2012 the Gophers advanced to the NIT Finals where they lost to Stanford and the following season earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Will they receive an NCAA invite in 2015?

If you can find betting odds in Las Vegas, jump hard on Minnesota being in the “Big Dance” next year.

The Gophers will have four starters returning from their NIT title team. Three of the four returnees, guards Andre Hollins and DeAndre Mathieu, and center Mo Walker, will be seniors. The fourth regular is forward Joey King, a junior next season. Elliott Eliason, who was the starting center until an ankle injury reduced his minutes during the NIT games in New York, will also be a senior next season.

There are few absolutes in life—including college basketball—but having a senior-dominated starting lineup is a reason for optimism about the Gophers. The experience of the five players mentioned could translate into minimal mistakes and big plays like last night when senior guard Austin Hollins led the team with 19 points and four steals.

Eliason, King, Andre Hollins, Mathieu and Walker have a total of 13 seasons of Division I experience. Other leading players returning are redshirt freshman forward Charles Buggs and freshman guard Daquein McNeil. Those seven players not only are familiar with the demands of college basketball but now have learned the team system under Pitino who took over the Gophers’ program last spring.

Guards Andre Hollins and Mathieu are the team’s best returning players and that’s another reason to slap a smiley face on Goldy Gopher. There is a decades-old truism about successful teams in college basketball that goes like this: “You win with good guards.”

Hollins, a shooting guard, and Mathieu, a point guard, were selected as Big Ten Conference Honorable Mention players after last season by the media. In the NIT win last night Hollins was second in scoring with 14 points while Mathieu at times was simply the best player on the floor, scoring 13 points while darting around the court and producing a team high seven assists.

Pitino’s first-year coaching has been impressive and prompts positive anticipation about the future. His team came up with an 8-10 Big Ten record and Minnesota earned consideration for an NCAA Tournament invitation. The Gophers won five games in the NIT while finishing with an overall 25-13 record.

The total “balance sheet” for 2013-2014 left a lot of observers, including this one, feeling the Gophers overachieved. Previous coach Tubby Smith didn’t leave a lot of talent for Pitino. Smith’s roster for his last team was similar to what Pitino worked with except Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams, the team’s best front court players, were seniors in 2012-2013.

Without Mbakwe and Williams, the Gophers lacked inside scoring. Their rebounding and shot blocking were missed, too. Eliason and Walker, both about 6-foot-11, improved their play to sometimes make up for the absence of Mbakwe and Williams but those two were shorter, more mobile players and their athleticism left a void in Minnesota’s talent pool.

Pitino and staff improved both the individual and team skills of the Gophers. Eliason, although inconsistent, turned into one of the Big Ten’s leading rebounders and shot blockers. Walker lost weight, reshaped his body and learned low post moves that turned him into a scoring threat near the basket.

Other Gophers improved, too, including upper classman Oto Osenieks who in his early years at Minnesota looked too timid to become a contributor. Osenieks gained enough skill and confidence to win the starting power forward position, a job he kept until a troublesome knee forced him to the bench and he was replaced by King.

With Smith coaching it often seemed like the Gophers were underachieving with the talent available. The Gophers disappointed in the Big Ten, losing more games than they won. At times players stood around on offense looking as confused as the bewildered fans watching.

Players didn’t improve from one season to the next. That was frustrating and so too was watching some of the better players transfer to other schools. And while recruiting was sometimes effective, the coaching staff struggled to make the point guard position a strength.

Pitino and staff will have to prove they can recruit if Minnesota is to some day challenge for Big Ten titles. After being hired last spring the coaches had minimal time to sign up quality recruits but did score big by finding Mathieu, a junior college transfer. The first fair test comes next fall. That’s when several new players arrive representing a group the Minnesota coaches had more months to attract.

Three players committed during the early signing period last fall and Pitino has scholarship inventory to sign a couple more this spring. Newcomers will need to contribute if the Gophers are to take a next step in 2014-2015, with help particularly needed at the small and power forward positions, plus a deeper and more talented bench.

But there’s plenty of time to see how that develops. For now the Gophers have already taken a step in the right direction.

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