NCAA – Page 29 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins Transformation Excites Club Prez for October

Posted on September 24, 2023September 24, 2023 by David Shama

Twins president Dave St. Peter is excited about his club’s expected hosting of an opening American League Wild Card series starting October 3 at Target Field. Minnesota should have a couple of clear advantages in the best two of three games series.

The starting pitching tandem of Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray, with their experience and talent, is an asset past Twins playoff teams have often been without. “We have enough depth with the starting staff, and enough talent at the top of the rotation, that I think teams are concerned about matching up against the Twins,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “And that hasn’t always been the case in the postseason where we maybe haven’t had the starting pitching depth.”

Who would the game three starter be in the playoffs? Nobody of authority is saying right now but it’s clear the Twins can choose between two solid starters in Kenta Maeda and Joe Ryan.

The other first round advantage for the AL Central Division champion Twins is they will be playing all games at home. “We would much rather play at home and have players in their own beds in an environment that they’re very comfortable,” St. Peter said. “But the reality is we’re going to have to pitch well. We’re going to have to play good defense. We’re going to have to get some timely hitting if we’re going to win. We recognize other teams are in the postseason for a reason. But would we rather play at home? Yes, there’s no question about that.”

The trade that brought Lopez to the club in the offseason in exchange for 2022 AL batting champion Luis Arraez was controversial for many Twins fans. Arraez, now on his way to a NL batting title, has come through for the Marlins but so too has Lopez who has given the club a second quality veteran starter to pair with Gray in the regular season and playoffs.

“Pablo Lopez has been everything we thought he would be and more,” St. Peter said. “We feel like it’s a win-win trade probably for both teams because Louie really impacted the Marlins in a lot of special ways.”

St. Peter is excited anticipating October baseball. There will be an opportunity to see how far Minnesota can advance while ending the franchise’s streak of 18 consecutive postseason losses.

Dave St. Peter photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins.

His enthusiasm dates back to when the club left spring training, but he believes the Twins are only now beginning to play their best baseball after a first half to the season characterized by hitting and run scoring woes while the pitching was excellent. The offense, including clutch hitting, has complemented the pitching as the Twins moved toward winning the Central Division. “…I think we’re seeing what this team can be, and that’s why I am so excited about the month of October,” St. Peter said.

Injuries are always present, though, and there will be scrutiny in coming days as to who is on the postseason roster. Personnel may include pitchers Brock Stewart and Chris Paddack who could add quality to a bullpen that St. Peter already has confidence in.

The Twins will accomplish a baseball “hat trick’ if key regulars Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis are all able to play. Hopefully, Buxton’s knee problem will at least allow him to DH even if he can’t play center field and be aggressive running bases. He has been out of the lineup since August 1 and first was sidelined with a hamstring strain.

Buxton has played in 85 games and will again miss the 100-game target. Only once in Buxton’s nine-year MLB career has he played in 100 games.

Still, St. Peter remains optimistic about the 29-year-old talent who is having difficulty with the same right knee that has troubled him in the past and been one of multiple injuries that have limited his career development. St. Peter is hopeful about Buxton playing in the postseason and “we expect he’ll be a huge part of the 2024 Twins.”

Correa has been able to play “gold glove” caliber shortstop most of the season, despite having plantar fasciitis in his left foot, St. Peter said. “He’s been a pros pro. So, we’re very lucky to have him in our organization and ultimately, we’re going to need him in order to be in a position to make an October run.”

Correa went on the 10-day Injured List last Wednesday. It seemed like a move to allow him to rest his foot for the playoffs, with the Twins near clinching the division title.

Lewis’ left hamstring has sidelined him for games where Mr. Grand Slam might have been building a stronger resume for the AL Rookie of the Year. “…I can’t imagine there’s a rookie in baseball that’s had more of an impact on his team than Royce Lewis,” St. Peter said.

Lewis has been playing third base, but in the years ahead perhaps he will move to center field where he played briefly last season before tearing an ACL in his right knee. “He’s certainly a guy that brings versatility,” St. Peter said. “We know he can go play shortstop. We know he can play second base. He certainly could play the outfield. But that will be up to the manager over the long haul.”

Worth Noting

In partnership with the Star Tribune the Twins will give away Homer Hankies at postseason games at Target Field. The promotion dates back to the 1987 World Series in the Metrodome.

That building, much maligned by media and fans over the years, remains the only facility in the nation to host a MLB All-Star Game, World Series (two), Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four while also being home to MLB and NFL franchises, a Big Ten football team and for one season an NBA club.

It was a sad loss for the football Gophers in Evanston last night, blowing a 31-10 fourth quarter lead and losing 37-34 in overtime. Minnesota was outcoached by Northwestern late in the game and the players underperformed. Defensive breakdowns in pass coverage are alarming and there are too many inconsistent moments on offense.

Second year starting guard Ed Ingram said today’s game for the 0-2 Vikings is “definitely a must win.” The offense has to improve its consistency running and passing.

“We gotta get it (the offense) going,” he said. “Once we get it a lot of teams (are) going to be afraid of us.”

Ingram has struggled during his NFL career and admitted coming into camp last year as a rookie was a “little scary.” Knowing technique and the system now has increased his confidence. His intent is to build on a finish last season where he improved.

Mike Max, WCCO TV sports director who did news reporting during the social unrest in Minneapolis in 2020, is the latest guest on “Behind the Game.” The Gaylord, Minnesota native played baseball and basketball in college at Hamline. The show is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeuJ4x7npHQ&t=898s

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Vikings’ Must-Win, Gophers’ Uniforms Headline Worthy

Posted on September 19, 2023 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column.

Coach P.J. Fleck is a creative thinker, and that includes how he approaches the uniforms his players wear. His commitment to putting the Gophers in various color combinations has been so extensive since becoming head football coach in 2017 that the athletic department communications office publishes a “Gopher Uniform Tracker” in its weekly news release for the media.

Frequently the Gophers wear combinations of maroon and gold, but black on black has been worn at Minnesota and by other Power Five teams who find the look appealing among players, coaches and younger fans. At the last home game, the Gophers unveiled their new all-black dark mode uniforms for an evening match up with Eastern Michigan. The look prompted both favorable and critical comments sent to Fleck and Sports Headliners.

Fleck said yesterday respect for the school’s maroon and gold colors remains in place and always will. “…We’re adding a little flavor to it (the uniforms). That’s…because it’s all about the players. Everything we do is about the players that are on that field. The student athletes love it. Our student body loves it. The young people love it, and I get it.”

Uniform colors vary most weeks because the players like that and they have a constant voice in what they wear. “…And I don’t think there was one email from our players that said I didn’t like those (the dark-mode uniforms),” Fleck said. “And that’s with no disrespect to our fans. We have the best fans, and we have the best supporters. I had a lot of emails about it, and I feel it. I appreciate that. But I also got just as many, if not more, by how much people liked them.”

This week Dinkytown Athletes, the official Name, Image and Likeness Collective of Golden Gopher Athletics, is introducing a retro merchandise collection featuring “M” Club Hall of Fame Gopher athletes. The first merchandise offering features Gopher football greats Marion Barber, Jr. (‘77-’80), Rickey Foggie (‘84-’87) and Pete Najarian (‘82-’85). Retro jerseys and shirts are available for a limited amount of time with a portion of the proceeds donated to DA.

“This is a great way to celebrate the achievements of past Gopher athletes while supporting the current ones,” Najarian said in a DA news release. “We need to embrace our alumni and get them involved. Let’s remember the past and support our future at the same time!”

Led by co-founders Derek Burns and Robert Gag, DA started about a year ago and directly supports current student athletes with NIL deals. In the highly competitive world of college sports, NIL is a continuing priority for DA and the Gophers.

Watch for merchandise offers in the coming months featuring Gopher basketball and hockey greats. More on the new initiative at https://athletesthread.com/collections/gopher-legend

The Vikings need to duck almost certain disaster by not losing to the Chargers on Sunday and starting the season 0-3. ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell wrote yesterday that since 2002 99 NFL teams have started their seasons 0-3 but only one (the 2018 Texans) has made it to the playoffs. The Chargers are also 0-2 and have lost those games by a total of five points.

A cheery stat is that 0-2 NFL teams do go on to make the playoffs, with that happening seven of the last 10 seasons. Last season eight of the 14 teams making the playoffs started either 1-1 or 0-2. That includes the Bengals who started 0-2 and won the AFC North.

The Vikings must show they can do better at stopping the run, while also rushing more effectively. The Vikings were gouged by the Eagles’ run game last Thursday night and rank 29^th among 32 NFL teams giving up 332 yards rushing this season.

Look for Minnesota to commit more to running the ball at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday against a Chargers’ defense not that formidable against the rush, allowing 211 yards in two games and 3.9 yards per carry. The Vikings so far this season are passing 77.9 percent of the time, the most in the NFL, per Teamrankings.com.

It’s evident the Vikings miss the explosive run production of Dalvin Cook, who was released in the offseason and is now with the Jets. Not working in their favor either is left tackle Christian Darrisaw (ankle) and center Garrett Bradbury (back) could be sidelined on Sunday. The reported signing of free agent guard Dalton Risner, a consistent player who figures to be the best of the pass blockers on the roster of guards, should help.

Former Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, now with the Chargers, will be dealing with a hamstring injury this week that kept him out of last Sunday’s game against the Titans. The 31-year-old veteran has been outstanding against the pass during his career.

Chargers’ starting offensive tackle Trey Pipkins III is from Apple Valley and played collegiately at Sioux Falls. The 27-year-old started 14 games for the Chargers last season and has two starts in 2023.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts, who connected on 26 of 31 passes last week and 331 yards against the Vikings, is on the cover of Time Magazine for the feature 100 of the “world’s rising stars.” Peyton Manning wrote a profile about Hurts and referred to him as “a model of how to approach a job.”

Detroit can claim the most NFL players among American cities. The NFL reports that after analyzing the 2023 opening week rosters of all teams and where the players come from, Detroit was first with 19, followed by Bradenton, Florida with 17 and Houston at 16.

Gophers’ true freshman tailback Darius Taylor is a Detroit native. He was again named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after he ran for 138 yards last Saturday against North Carolina. A week ago he won the honor for the first time after a 193 yard performance versus Eastern Michigan. Taylor is the program’s first Freshman of the Week in consecutive weeks since running back Shannon Brooks in November of 2015.

Sports Headliners reader and Gophers’ basketball fan Scott Ballou emailed news about former Minnesota head coach Clem Haskins who turned 80 on August 11. Ex-Gophers Walter Bond, Randy Carter, Ariel McDonald and John Thomas travelled last month to Campbellsville, Kentucky to celebrate their coach’s 80^th birthday. “Other former players had contacted him as well,” Ballou said via email while noting he had spoken by phone last month to Haskins. “He was very proud that many of his former players were still close and had stuck together over the years. He said he and his family were doing well and his son Brent lives in Hudson and works for the Cleveland Cavaliers.”

Happy birthday to talented St. Thomas men’s basketball coach John Tauer who turned 51 yesterday. His Tommies won the 2016 Division III national title.

Friends have been looking for former Gophers’ basketball assistant coach Jimmy Williams for about 12 months and he has been found at the Brynwood Health and Rehabilitation facility in Monticello, Florida. Jay Pivec, who coached with Williams on the 1982 Big Ten champion Gophers, said Williams suffered a stroke last week but is thinking clearly while struggling with his speech. Williams was an assistant coach at Minnesota for 15 seasons including for the 1972 and 1982 Big Ten title teams.

The Twins will face starting right hander Hunter Greene on Wednesday in the closing game of their series with the Reds in Cincinnati. The Twins had to choose between Greene and Royce Lewis in the 2017 MLB Draft, taking Lewis as the No. 1 overall pick while Greene went second. They made the right choice with Lewis, an everyday player, and now among baseball’s most promising young players, while Green has a career record of 9-19 and 4.45 ERA. Bailey Ober, 7-6 with a 3.67 ERA, will oppose Greene Wednesday.

With the popularity of the Gophers volleyball team, you might wonder if the U athletic department is considering an outdoor match for Huntington Bank Stadium after the Cornhuskers drew an announced attendance of 91,648 for a match on August 30 in the Nebraska football stadium. That was a world record attendance for a women’s sports event.

It will be interesting to see if the Wednesday night best of three WNBA playoff series game at Target Center between the Lynx and Sun sells out. The Lynx website lists available tickets from $24 to $334.

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Gophers on Spot to Fix Offense Before Mighty Michigan

Posted on September 17, 2023September 17, 2023 by David Shama

The Golden Gophers, with a 2-1 record, have scored only four touchdowns in their first three games and are averaging a paltry 17 points (including two points from a safety in the Eastern Michigan win). They have two games ahead to improve production before national championship contender Michigan comes to Huntington Bank Stadium on October 7.

Minnesota will have the most minimal of chances to hang with the Wolverines if the offense struggles like it did in home wins over Nebraska and Eastern Michigan, and yesterday’s embarrassment at North Carolina when the Tar Heels won 31-13. There’s not been enough efficiency with the offense other than the field goal kicking of Dragan Kesich who has converted on seven of eight attempts.

What the Gophers have done consistently is fail to score touchdowns inside the red zone. They have turned to first-year field goal specialist Kesich when unable to get six points. That reality may change in the next two games against opposition the Gophers should be able to handle, at Northwestern next Saturday and home against Louisiana on September 30. The 1-2 Wildcats are giving up 45.67 points per game, while 2-1 Louisiana is yielding 24.

Right now the Gophers have no identity offensively. Known for years as a program that pushes opponents around with its run game, Minnesota is trying to rediscover its former muscle. The Gophers averaged 207.5 yards rushing last season and had 33 touchdowns in 13 games. So far Minnesota is averaging 173.7 yards rushing, with three touchdowns.

In the last two games true freshman Darius Taylor has given the run game life and he looked improved yesterday not only running with power and speed but showing the patience to find openings like All-American predecessor Mo Ibrahim. He ran for 193 yards against Eastern Michigan and 138 versus the Tar Heels.

The offensive line, despite using replacements from last season, has often been okay in the first three games. There is enough talent under the superb direction of line coach Brian Callahan to expect continued improvement. One of the best developing stories will be true freshman Greg Johnson from Prior Lake who saw extensive playing time yesterday in a three guards rotation and he projects as an award-winning lineman before his college career ends.

Kaliakmanis photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

But what hasn’t been okay is the passing game that hit a season low in yesterday’s loss. Receivers dropped passes and starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis threw too high and too low while missing targets. He completed just 11 of 29 passes for 133 yards, and the Gophers converted on only three of 12 third downs.

After the game the redshirt sophomore was highly critical of his performance and blamed himself for the loss, calling it probably the “worst game” he’s ever played. “…I came up very short. That falls on me,” Kaliakmanis said at a postgame news conference (YouTube).

Playing in heat and humidity, Kaliakmanis was one of multiple Gophers who had to briefly leave the game with cramps. His replacement, Cole Kramer, threw an interception in his one passing attempt.

The cramps weren’t an excuse for the Gophers losing the game, coach P.J. Fleck said on the Gopher Radio Network after the game. In preparation for playing in the weather the Gophers had turned up the heat in their indoor practice facility. Interestingly, Fleck said his team didn’t have full use of the facility last week but wouldn’t detail why. “We only got to practice in the indoor for half the week,” he said. “We just weren’t able to.”

The defense, the strength of the team in the 13-10 and 25-6 victories over Nebraska and Eastern Michigan, didn’t measure up in Chapel Hill with blown assignments that led to a 21-10 first half lead by the Tar Heels. The Gophers, who were bothered by the hurry up offense and Heisman hopeful pass-run skills of quarterback Drake Maye, gave up an uncharacteristic 519 yards and 31 points.

The defense did make adjustments, playing better in the second half but not only couldn’t the offense produce more than three points, it didn’t stay on the field long enough to keep the ball from going back to the potent Carolina offense. Out of character, too, was Minnesota losing the time of possession battle, 33:10 to 26:50.

While the offense didn’t execute anywhere near its potential, the play-calling was worthy of praise. The offense has new leadership in gameday play caller Greg Harbaugh Jr. who replaced Kirk Ciarrocca now at Rutgers. Not enough right calls seemed to be in place during the first two games but yesterday Harbaugh dialed up plenty of opportunities. The players just didn’t make good on them.

Fleck said during his postgame interview on the Gopher Radio Network that the Tar Heels and Minnesota are “evenly matched teams” while also talking about all the mistakes his Gophers made and faulting himself for not coaching better. “We’re a really good football team,” he said later at his news conference (YouTube).

Jordan Addison Plea Bargain This Week

Minneapolis attorney Marshall Tanick has a letter in today’s Pioneer Press about the “kid gloves” treatment given Vikings rookie WR Jordan Addison who in late July was arrested for driving his Lamborghini 140 miles per hour on Interstate 94 in St. Paul. Addison reportedly hasn’t faced much discipline from the Vikings or NFL, and the courts may be going in a similar direction.

“…Charged with misdemeanors of reckless driving and greatly exceeding the limit, he speedily cut a sweetheart deal with the compliant Ramsey County Attorney’s Office to plead guilty to speeding, while the reckless charge will be dropped,” Tanick writes in part of his letter. “The offense, if the arrangement is approved by a Ramsey County District Court judge, will be treated as a petty misdemeanor, a non-criminal offense equivalent to walking a dog without a leash.

“His punishment: losing his license for the duration of the football season and a fine of $686, (which is) pocket change that he should easily be able to pay from his nearly $7 million signing bonus as part of his $13+-million-dollar four-year Vikings contract.

“The prosecutorial authorities will probably defend their lenity as being standard for first-time offenders like Addison. But, if that’s so, then they need to re-think their templates for hazardous conduct of this type.

“The plea bargain is still subject to approval by a judge, who is scheduled to hear it this week. …”

Tanick, a journalism graduate from the University of Minnesota, Stanford law graduate and longtime sports fan, questions whether the celebrity status of Addison and the Vikings is influencing the case of the 2023 first round draft choice. “It makes one wonder how a person of lesser renown would have been treated for similar aberrant behavior in Minnesota’s form of dual-track injustice,” Tanick wrote at the end of his letter.

The law firm of Meyer Njus Tanick is a Sports Headliners advertiser.

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