Preps – Page 126 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Worth Noting

Posted on July 13, 2012July 13, 2012 by David Shama

Zach Parise was eight years old when the North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993 but he has memories of the NHL franchise that includes his dad, J.P. Parise, among its alums. “We always loved going to the games,” Zach said.

He described meeting North Stars legends Neal Broten and Mike Modano as the “highlight of a lifetime.”

Ryan Suter said he doesn’t set personal goals but the objective before each season is to have his team win the Stanley Cup. “I think that the better your team does, the more success you have personally. My goals, I think, are just trying to be the best leader I can be. Helping young players – obviously contributing on and off the ice as much as I can. …”

Suter, age 27 and with a 13-year contract, talking about playing at 40: “I hope so. I hope I am still healthy. I would love to be able to play. “

If the Minnesota hot weather continues into August when the Gophers begin preparations for their August 30 game in Las Vegas it will be a plus for conditioning. Summer temperatures in Las Vegas can exceed 110 during the day, although the Gophers-UNLV game will be played at night.

Memorials and donations can be made to a donor’s choice of several organizations in memory of former Gophers football player John Williams. For information about those organizations visit his CaringBridge website, https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnbjwilliams

Discussions between the Gophers and basketball coach Tubby Smith regarding a contract extension have been ongoing since at least spring of last year. At this point it will be no surprise if a deal is reached, or if Smith continues with his present contract that has two years remaining.

The basketball staff’s recruiting prowess will be tested during the next two years because of coveted state prep prospects Tyus Jones, Reid Travis, Rashad Vaughn and Kyle Washington.

NBA referee and Minnesota native Ken Mauer Jr. will be the speaker on Thursday, September 13 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. Anyone interested in more information can email Jim Dotseth at dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

The Timberwolves have a minicamp roster of players competing this week to be on the team that plays a five-game schedule starting next Monday in Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League. Players trying out include Luke Sikma, son of Wolves assistant coach Jack Sikma, and Coby Karl, son of Nuggets head coach George Karl.

Five-time All-Star Camilo Pascual, who pitched for both the old Washington Senators and the Twins, will be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame tomorrow night during a pre-game infield ceremony at Target Field prior to Minnesota’s game against Oakland. Pascual might have had the best curve ball ever thrown by a Twins pitcher.

The Kansas City Star reported online Sunday that the biggest economic impact for the city of Kansas City in hosting this week’s MLB All-Star game is media exposure worth $75 million (33 million viewers in 217 countries). Minneapolis may host the 2014 game.

Sports Headliners is told Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church on Prior Avenue in St. Paul will be the site of the Joe Mauer–Maddie Bisanz wedding on Saturday, December 1, and security will be tight.

Internet speculation includes talk various clubs want to acquire former Twins starter Matt Garza, now with the Cubs.

The Vikings, like other NFL teams, have to be concerned about fans who prefer watching games via high-definition television. With a new stadium to fill in 2016 and beyond, look for the Vikings to factor this into marketing decisions including ticket pricing and the game day experience downtown.

Mike Freeman, writing on July 10 for cbssports.com, said 39 Vikings have been arrested by law enforcement officials since 2000, the most in the NFL. The latest was Adrian Peterson’s arrest in Houston several days ago. Freeman also wrote the Vikings have “10 arrests since the start of 2011.”

The St. Thomas football team is ranked No. 4 nationally in the Lindy’s Sports Magazine Division III preseason poll. The Tommies are ranked No. 7 in the USA Today top 10 poll. Last year St. Thomas became the first team in MIAC history to complete back-to-back 10-0 regular seasons and lost to eventual national champion UW-Whitewater in the NCAA Division III semifinals. Saint John’s and Bethel join UST in the Lindy’s Top 25 Poll at No. 14 and No. 15.

Suzy Bogguss, a recent guest on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion radio program, will perform at the third annual Camden’s Concert on Wednesday, July 25 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Camden’s Concert is named after Dave and Linda Mona’s 4½-year-old grandson Camden Mona, and the event raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

A silent auction on July 25 will include footballs signed by Jerry Kill, Percy Harvin and John Carlson, plus an Adrian Peterson autographed jersey. Tickets are available by calling the Hopkins Center for the Arts, 952-979-1111, or via the organization’s website. www.hopkinsartscenter.com/

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Worth Noting

Posted on June 25, 2012June 28, 2012 by David Shama

NBAdraft.net projects the Wolves taking St. John’s freshman forward-guard Moe Harkless with the No. 18 pick in the first round of Thursday night’s NBA Draft. Harkless, 6-8, averaged 15.5 points per game for the Red Storm and was Big East Rookie of the Year.

The website predicts the Wolves will choose 6-4 senior Temple shooting guard Ramone Moore with the No. 58 pick on the second round. Moore was first team All-Atlantic Conference, leading the Owls in scoring at 17.3 points per game and finishing third in the league. Moore is scheduled to work out for the Wolves today at Target Center.

The draft will be televised on by ESPN and the Wolves are expected to make their selection about 8 p.m. Minneapolis time. The draft begins at 6:30 p.m.

Joel Maturi, who retired as Gophers athletic director earlier this month, is an admirer of Twins general manager Terry Ryan. “Terry Ryan is a great person,” Maturi said. “We’ve had a relationship since I’ve been at Minnesota.”

Twins super prospect Miguel Sano is only hitting .239 for Beloit but the third baseman is tied for the Midwest League lead in home runs with 15 and is third in RBI with 51.

Twins pitcher Anthony Swarzak’s belief in Bigfoot is the subject of a feature in the June-July issue of the Twins magazine sold at Target Field.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said on his 1500 ESPN show yesterday he’s used 10 different starters this season. It has been a situation of “desperation” at times because of injuries and ineffective performance.

Gardenhire said Matt Capps’ sore shoulder could result in the closer going on the disabled list and this morning that development was confirmed. He also said the need to have Joe Mauer’s bat in the lineup may result in limiting Mauer’s catching to three or four games per week.

This Saturday the Twins are giving away Minneapolis Millers pennants to the first 20,000 fans in recognition of the former Triple-A franchise that played at Metropolitan Stadium before the Senators relocated here from Washington, D.C. The Twins will wear Millers uniforms while the Kansas City Royals will be in Kansas City Blues uniforms as part of a “turn back the clock” promotion.

Brad Childress, the former Vikings head coach and now the Browns offensive coordinator, will be 56 on Wednesday.

Former Gophers offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar is the offensive coordinator at Northern Illinois. Ex-Gophers defensive coordinators Ted Roof and Everett Withers are coordinators at Penn State and Ohio State.

Passionate Gophers fans are looking forward to watching redshirt freshman defensive end Thieren Cockran, who admirers think could become one of Minnesota’s best pass rushers in years.

Former Gophers football All-American John Williams, who recently had a kidney transplant, reported on his CaringBridge site on Friday that he’s been cleared to go home and is “feeling pretty good.” https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnbjwilliams

The 39^th annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game will be played on Saturday at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud starting at 1 p.m. There will be 78 players from 31 conferences selected by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. Jeff Schlieff (Spring Lake Park) will coach the North while Bill Ihrke (Plainview-Elgin-Millville) coaches the South.

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Worth Noting

Posted on June 21, 2012June 22, 2012 by David Shama

When retiring Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi cleaned out his office it must have been a big job. “I threw away more stuff than you can imagine,” he said. “I am a pack saver and I saved everything. If you had sent me an evil note I had it. I don’t know why I did. …”

The Bruce Smith Golf Classic at Faribault Golf Club that Maturi attended Monday is named after the Gophers only Heisman Trophy winner, Bruce Smith. The tournament began in 1975 and benefitted the University of Minnesota’s Williams Fund. Since 1990 event’s proceeds have been given to three Faribault schools.

Smith, who grew up in Faribault and won the Heisman in 1941, is deceased but his son Scott represented his father on Monday. General chair for the tournament is Bruce Krinke and board members include former Gophers wrestler Dave Henry.

Faribault native Seth Helgeson, who will be a senior for the Gophers next season, said junior forward Nick Bjugstad is quiet about whether he will turn pro or return to the team. Bjugstad will be one of college hockey’s premier goal scorers next season if he doesn’t sign with Florida.

Helgeson said teammates communicate with Bjugstad daily. He described Bjugstad as a humble player who “loves” college and his teammates. “You wouldn’t know he’s going through all this stuff right now,” Bjugstad said. “He’s going through a hard time. There’s pressures out there. I think he knows we’re behind him. He knows that we want him back and I think that maybe that’s a little extra motivation for him to come back.”

The Gophers came within one game this year of playing for the national championship. With most of the team returning, ambitions are high. “I think we could do something special,” Helgeson said. “I think we could repeat what we did last year and maybe go beyond. Going to the Frozen Four and losing to Boston College was a little motivation for next year.”

The Wild, with lagging fan interest and a losing team, face a big draft tomorrow. The franchise needs goal scorers and perhaps came close to making a trade in recent weeks for Minnesota’s first round choice, the No. 7 pick in the draft. The Wild also have draft choices in rounds 2-7.

The draft will be at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The first round starts at 6 p.m. Minnesota time on Friday with the remaining rounds on Saturday. The first round will be televised by NBC Sports Network and Saturday’s rounds can be seen on the NHL Network.

Vikings all-pro defensive end Jared Allen is attending the team’s mini-camp practices this week after missing the recent volunteer Organized Training Activities. Fans may remember, though, that Allen chose to miss OTA’s last year and set a franchise record with 22 sacks, nearly besting the NFL’s record of 22.5 by Michael Strahan. Allen said this week he thinks someone can get 25 sacks in one season.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that Nebraska coach Tim Miles offered scholarships this week to 2014 high school seniors Tyus Jones (Apple Valley), Rashad Vaughn (Cooper) and Reid Travis (DeLaSalle). Jones has earned a roster spot on theUSA 17 and under national team that will compete this summer in the world tournament, according to Lien.

Frank White told Sports Headliners the “media has blown out of proportion” the subject of his grandson Royce White flying on airplanes. “He’s been flying since he was 10 years old,” Frank said.

Flying isn’t his grandson’s favorite activity but Frank said last summer Royce accompanied his Iowa State teammates on a trip to Italy and routinely flew on airplanes during the Cyclones’ 2011-2012 season. The two Whites went by car to the Iowa State-Kentucky NCAA tournament game in March because Royce wanted to be at his best and had some anxiety about flying.

The flying issue has followed White during tryouts with NBA teams and likely will be part of NBA draft coverage next week when the former Hopkins High School all-state forward is expected to be selected during the first round.

A private memorial service for George Chapple (Dark Star) was held Monday night at Interlachen Country Club with more than 200 friends in attendance including out- of-towners. Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse emceed and several speakers paid tribute to the former WCCO Radio personality. Included among the speakers was Kansas City baseball announcer Ryan Lefebvre who telephoned Chapple after every Royals game, according to a Sports Headliners source.

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