NCAA – Page 149 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Arena Wars to Impact H.S. League

Posted on June 11, 2012June 11, 2012 by David Shama

It’s Minneapolis versus St. Paul starting in 2014. That’s the year Target Center will host the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament the same March weekend the Xcel Energy Center will be the site of the initial Big Ten Hockey Tournament.

Minneapolis officials will hold a news conference today announcing a five-year commitment to hold the NCHC tournament at Target Center, the 22-year-old facility scheduled soon for remodeling. Xcel Energy Center will host the Big Ten Tournament in 2014 and 2016. The two buildings go up against each other for the first time with their hockey tournaments on Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22, 2014.

The Minnesota State High School League plays its boys and girls state basketball tournaments at Target Center. Dave Stead, executive director, said the league has contracts only through 2013 and that means a conflict involving dates (March 19-22) for the 2014 boys tournament. With neither Xcel nor Target Center available, Stead will have to consider other sites. The University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena likely won’t be an option because of commitments to post-season college basketball.

Meanwhile the competition to see if either Target Center or Xcel Energy Center, or both, can play to capacity crowds will be interesting. The NCHC is a new league with membership consisting of North Dakota, Colorado College, Denver, Miami, Minnesota Duluth, Nebraska Omaha, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan. The Big Ten hockey playing members will be Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. Both leagues start play in 2013-14.

The Big Ten Tournament will count on the hometown Gophers to lead the ticket sales parade. Wisconsin fans will help, too. The Big Ten will have a three-day event, starting on Thursday, March 20 and will involve all six conference teams.

The NCHC Tournament involves only four teams, with two games to be played on Friday, March 21 and the championship and third place games on Saturday, March 22. Tournament officials have to be hoping North Dakota qualifies for the four-team field each year.

North Dakota fans have proven for years they will follow their team in greater numbers to Minneapolis-St. Paul than any other hockey program in the country. A hockey marketing source said counting North Dakota alums in the metro area and fans coming in from the state of North Dakota, 5,000 to 8,000 UND rooters likely will show up at Target Center.

The competition between arenas and cities is obvious starting in 2014, and so too is the intention of the upstart NCHC which has chosen to take on the Big Ten not only on the same dates but in the backyard of Gophers hockey.

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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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Final Four Likely for New Stadium

Posted on May 18, 2012May 21, 2012 by David Shama

With approval for a new Vikings stadium now finally in place, media speculation has started about attracting a Super Bowl to Minneapolis but it might be even easier to bring the NCAA’s Final Four to town.

“I’ll be amazed if we don’t get it (a Final Four),” Bill Lester told Sports Headliners. He is executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission and was part of the group that helped bring Final Fours to the Metrodome in 1992 and 2001.

The Gophers have been the college host for past Final Fours. “We know how to put it on,” said Joel Maturi, Gophers athletic director. “This is a great city (to visit).”

Lester said the Final Four sites are determined through 2016 but beyond then Minneapolis could be in the mix with a bid. “They (the NCAA) like competing cities,” he said.

The NCAA chooses only Final Four sites that are state-of-the-art domed stadiums. The new Vikings stadium will have either a fixed or retractable roof, and Lester said the seating configuration for the Final Four will be about 74,000.

A Super Bowl was held at the Metrodome in 1992. Although the NFL is known to reward new facilities with a Super Bowl, the league has most often selected warm weather cities as the site for games and sometimes in older stadiums. Earlier this year Indianapolis with a new stadium was the Super Bowl site, and Lester believes there’s definitely a possibility Minneapolis could host another Super Bowl within the next 10 years.

Maturi said the Big Ten Conference will be open to considering the new Vikings stadium for the league’s championship football game. That game is committed to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the next four years, and Detroit has expressed interest in hosting the game at Ford Field, according to Maturi.

There’s been quiet talk about establishing an annual college football bowl game (“City of Lakes Bowl?”) in Minneapolis. Maturi acknowledged it could be a difficult sell to convince teams the city is a desirable destination in December but said this is an attractive area with lots to do.

Maturi believes a nonconference basketball game involving the Gophers and a national power might one day be booked for the new Vikings stadium. “I think it’s a natural,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Meanwhile, Lester said he’s already hearing from potential users of the new stadium that is projected to open in 2016. Contacts range from inline skating organizers to amateur baseball teams looking for a protective environment. Such contacts are providing input on the design of the new stadium.

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