Preps – Page 57 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins Missed on Retractable Roof

Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by David Shama

A Monday notes column that includes quotes from Minnesota governors and a lot more.

The Twins did okay with the weather for their 2019 home opening series in Minneapolis. Game time temperatures in their three-game series with the Cleveland Indians were 49 degrees on Thursday and 34 both Saturday and Sunday. The 34 degrees tied a record for the third coldest temperature in Target Field history. The coldest is 27 on April 7 of last year.

Not exactly balmy but better than early season weather in 2018 that led to postponements. Cold weather, rain and snow keeps ticket buyers away, and the Twins management knew this years ago when they pushed state officials for a retractable roof facility to be built along the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis.

Arne Carlson, Minnesota’s governor in the late 1990s and a sports fan, saw the advantage of a retractable roof facility. Reached by telephone last weekend at his residence in Florida, Carlson talked about Minnesota’s “adverse weather” in both the spring and late fall. “…So a retractable roof only makes good common sense,” he said.

A financial package couldn’t be agreed upon for a retractable roof baseball stadium in the 1990s and the club finally worked out a deal with Hennepin County to build open air Target Field, a facility in operation since 2010. The acclaimed ballpark is often ranked among baseball’s best stadiums, but it can’t guarantee that weather won’t postpone games, and that’s a challenge in selling tickets to potential customers who live near and far.

The proposed cost for a Twins retractable roof stadium years ago was $438.8 million. Target Field, with financing from the county and the Twins, cost over $550 million including original expenditures and later enhancements.

The Twins drew a sellout crowd of 39,519 for opening day, then announced attendances of 15,271 Saturday and 15,613 Sunday. The best numbers of the last few days for the Twins were winning two of three games against their AL Central Division rival Indians, the favorite to win a fourth consecutive championship.

Minnesota native and Indians ace reliever Brad Hand pitched in both Thursday’s and Saturday’s games. After the Saturday game he told Fox Sports North that as an amateur in Minnesota he had pitched while it was snowing.

In a feature story on how technology has impacted baseball, the late March issue of Sports Illustrated said, “the Twins hope they have found the next undervalued pitcher based on data.” The magazine reported Martin Perez, who Minnesota signed in January for a reported $3.5 million for one season, threw his fastball 97 miles per hour in spring training—faster than he had achieved in four years. The left-hander had a 6.22 ERA with the Texas Rangers last season.

Perez, pitching in relief, was the winning pitcher yesterday in Minnesota’s 9-3 victory. In 3.2 innings he gave up three earned runs but struck out six batters.

Governor Tim Walz, elected to office last fall, spoke to high school football coaches Friday night. He is a former prep football coach. “My peers sit in this room,” he said at the 12th annual Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic in St. Louis Park.

Walz was the defensive coordinator for the 1999 Mankato West state championship team. “This game (football) shaped me,” he said.

Three-day event organizers, including Ron Stolski and Jim Dotseth, said the clinic had record attendance of about 1,500. Among the recipients of awards from the Minnesota Football Coaches Association (MFCA) was KARE TV’s Randy Shaver, who was recognized for his contributions to football in the state including through his Prep Sports Extra program that starts its 35th season this fall.

At Iowa State Shaver planned to be a football coach and teacher before deciding to enter broadcasting. At KARE 11, first as a sportscaster and now a news anchor, Shaver remained intrigued with high school football. On Friday nights after going off the air he will work until 3 a.m. poring over game film for information he will eventually use to determine the station’s all-metro offensive and defensive teams. “People think I am crazy,” he told Sports Headliners about his passion to review film.

The MFCA announced Mike Kesler of Rochester Lourdes as its 2018 Coach of the Year on Saturday. His Eagles had a 14-0 record in 2018 and won the Class 3A State Football Championship last November.

Among clinic speakers was Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck who recommended reading the following books: Belichick, Date Your Wife, Power of a Positive Team, and You Have What It takes: What Every Father Needs to Know.

Fleck also told the audience he enjoys vacationing at Disney World in Orlando.

Ryan Suter can become the third Minnesota Wild player ever to win the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The popular defenseman would join goalies Devin Dubnyk and Josh Harding as winners of the award named after the late Bill Masterton from the Minnesota North Stars. The trophy is presented annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

You can be sure the many friends Fred Hoiberg made while working for the Timberwolves are happy he is back in coaching. The former Iowa State and Chicago Bulls coach, who both played for and worked in the Wolves front office, has agreed to a reported seven-year, $25 million deal to coach at Nebraska. It looks like another savvy hire by Bill Moos, one of the best athletic directors in the country. At Nebraska Moos also hired football coach Scott Frost and while at Washington State he hired football coach Mike Leach.

The Michigan State team that plays in the Minneapolis Final Four on Saturday had a great season even though the Spartans’ Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson declared early for the NBA where they are averaging 7.2 and 13.8 points per game respectively.

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U Lining Up ‘Next’ Shannon Brooks

Posted on March 28, 2019March 28, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Thursday notes column with a focus on Golden Gophers football including recruiting for the 2020 class, and comments and quotes from Tuesday’s spring practice open to the media and public.

Per 247Sports, Minnesota has five verbal commitments for its class of 2020. The commits include Topeka, Kansas running back Ky Thomas, who could come to Minneapolis next year as a four-star prospect. Ryan Burns, the local recruiting authority with Gopherillustrated.com, is intrigued by Thomas, listed at 5-11, 185 pounds by 247.

“I think if he can stay healthy, I think he’s going to be the next Shannon Brooks,” Burns told Sports Headliners this week. “I think he’s got the best lateral quickness we’ve seen in a Gopher running back since Jeff Jones.”

Brooks, a redshirt senior this fall with the Gophers, is a slashing, side-to-side runner that is also elusive in the open field. Despite injuries resulting in partial seasons, he has 1,882 career rushing yards and five touchdown runs of 37 yards or longer. Jones, the 2013 Mr. Football in Minnesota, was a four-star recruit coming out of Washburn High School but personal issues held back his development in college football.

Another 2020 recruit at a playmaking position is Rosemount’s Jonathan Mann, 6-foot-2, 190 pounds per 247. The wide receiver has been committed to Minnesota for about a year, despite offers from Big Ten and SEC programs. When Burns talks about the three-star recruit, he mentions Gophers senior wide receiver Tyler Johnson who was named Association Press All-Big Ten First Team last fall after catching 74 passes for 1,112 receiving yards (second in the Big Ten in both categories).

“Someone (Mann) that I think with an athletic skill-set as good as what Tyler Johnson was coming out of high school,” Burns said. “I am not saying he’s going to be Tyler Johnson but I think athletically he’s as raw as Tyler was coming out and I think he’s on the same level athletically.”

A second verbal commit from the state of Minnesota is Winona defensive end Aaron Witt, listed at 6-5, 230, according to 247. Burns describes him as a “very aggressive” player.

‘’Aaron Witt is someone that they (the Gophers coaches) really, really like at the defensive end position now,” Burns said. “He’s got to put on a lot of weight. He’s only 235 pounds right now, and you look at him, and you’re like he looks like he’s a buck 70 soaking wet.”

C.J. West from La Grange Park, Illinois is another defensive commit, a 6-2, 305 pound tackle. Iowa and Iowa State have pursued him but 247 reported in late February that West wants to play for the Gophers. “Someone that the staff thinks is the most powerful defensive tackle in the Midwest,” Burns said.

The fifth verbal commit for 2020 is Casey Collier, a 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackle per 247. He is from an under recruited part of Texas (small town Mont Belvieu) and Burns said that’s a factor in why other Power Five schools haven’t offered him a scholarship. “Obviously good size,” Burns said. “He’s got extremely long arms; someone that is athletic enough in their eyes (Gopher coaches) to play tackle.”

Collier’s older sister, Charli, was a McDonald’s girls basketball All-American last year.

An estimated 250 fans attended Tuesday’s indoor Gopher football practice where loyalists could not only watch the team but have a photo taken with Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Minnesota reclaimed the traditional trophy with the Badgers with a win last fall for the first time in the series since 2003.

The victory over Wisconsin was part of a surge by the Gophers with surprise victories in three of their last four games. With most of his players returning in 2019, head coach P.J. Fleck knows the Gophers, who are drawing top 25 national mentions in early rankings, won’t be taken lightly by opponents this year. “We’re not going to shock anybody; surprise anybody at all,” Fleck said at a post-practice media session.

The 2019 season will be Fleck’s third as Minnesota’s head coach. Struggling college programs, including Minnesota’s in the past, are characterized by small senior classes and totals can even dip under 10. The Gopher roster lists 14 players in their final season of college eligibility, but Fleck sees things going in the direction he wants.

“We don’t have those senior classes of 25 or 30 guys…we’re not there yet,” he said. “Those guys (who will make a large senior group) are still sophomores (total 36).”

Sophomores include running back Mohamed Ibrahim who rushed for 1,160 yards last season, the second most for a Gopher freshman ever. He set a school single game rushing record with 224 yards in the impressive 34-10 bowl win over Georgia Tech.

Fleck said Ibrahim can get better. “I don’t worry about him because he’s the hardest worker we have. The way he works, the commitment level he has. He doesn’t take anything for granted, whatsoever. He knows he has to get better, loves getting better, loves the competition and that’s what you want to recruit and develop (in players).”

Seth Green, the Gophers wildcat formation specialist who scored eight rushing touchdowns last season as a redshirt sophomore, has a lower body injury that Fleck said needs time to heal. “He’ll be fine,” Fleck said.

Green, the former East Ridge quarterback, could be among the players Fleck will hold out of the April 13 Spring Game at TCF Bank Stadium.

In addition to the Spring Game, the other remaining opportunity for the public to see the team is next Tuesday starting at 4:45 p.m. on campus.

Antoine Winfield Jr. returns as a redshirt sophomore this spring having played in only four games last season because of injury. He will go into the fall regarded as one of the Big Ten’s best secondary players and perhaps eventually become a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation’s premier defensive back. His father, former Minnesota Viking Antoine Winfield, won the Thorpe while at Ohio State.

Junior’s brother Austin will join the Gophers later in the year as a freshman walk-on defensive back. Asked what the first tip will be for his little bro, Antoine Jr. said, “Never be late for anything.”

Former Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi, now in his sixth year serving on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, will host colleagues in town for the Minneapolis Final Four for an open house at his residence on Sunday, April 7.

The Twins, who open their regular season today, have a formidable schedule between now and early May. They play championship contending teams in the Astros (twice), Indians, Mets, Phillies and Yankees. If Minnesota can be at .500 by May 6 it will be impressive.

Last Sunday’s “60 Minutes” program on CBS predicted legalized sports gambling will be approved in over half of the states by year’s end. Minnesota is all but certain to be included, if not in 2020 then sometime beyond.

Nbadraftnet.net’s latest projections for the 2019 NBA Draft in June don’t include Gophers Amir Coffey or Jordan Murphy in either the first or second rounds. Apple Valley’s Tre Jones, a freshman at Duke, is projected to go in the second round at No. 36 to the Mavericks. The website predicts the Timberwolves will take Texas Tech shooting guard Jarrett Culver at No. 13 and Washington forward Robert Franks at 43.

The MLS United’s Darwin Quintero has three assists and is tied for the league lead in that category with two other players. The Loons, who will have their first game ever at Allianz Field in St. Paul on April 13, hosted season ticket holders for an open house last weekend. The club’s Black and Blue Team Store, and Brew Hall, are open to the public including on non-game days.

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Sano Absence May Impact Division Race

Posted on March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 by David Shama

Enjoy a Wednesday notes column leading off with the Twins, and including basketball and football newsmakers.

The Twins start playing meaningful games next week when the regular season begins, and they are a popular pick to finish second in the mediocre AL Central Division. The more optimistic fans and media were thinking division title during the offseason, but now maybe less so with puzzling slugger Miguel Sano not expected in the lineup until May.

The Indians have won three consecutive division championships and while the roster doesn’t look as formidable as in the past, the club is anchored by probably baseball’s best starting staff. Those starters could lead the way to 90+ wins, while the Twins are a smart choice to win 80 to 85.

Sano told Sports Headliners a few years ago he might be capable of producing Miguel Cabrera type hitting numbers. “I can be better than Cabrera, I think,” he said in the summer of 2015. Sano, though, isn’t even close to matching the numbers of the future Tigers’ Hall of Famer. The Twins’ third baseman began his MLB career in 2014 and his play has been characterized as much by injuries as production at the plate.

The 6-foot-4 Sano, with a .199 batting average, didn’t even come close to hitting his weight (260) last season. He is out until possibly the time of his 26th birthday on May 11. Sano, whose latest problem is with his heel, tantalized the Twins in 2017 with his 28 home runs and 77 RBI. His presence in the lineup from the beginning of this season would have added confidence to those predicting a first Twins division championship since 2010.

It will be interesting to see how the Twins’ pitching staff develops including the late innings situation. Perhaps the club will not have an ace closer, instead using a few different relief pitchers in that role.

Minnesota’s regular season and home opener against the Indians will be played late afternoon on Thursday of next week, with Accuweather.com predicting a day time high of 56 degrees. The three-game series with the Indians also has scheduled day time dates at Target Field on March 30 and 31 when temps are predicted to be in the 40’s.

On opening day the club is giving away Twins puffer vests to the first 30,000 fans. Former Twin and AL MVP Justin Morneau will throw out the ceremonial first pitch, with Minneapolis song writer and performer Sean Tillman (aka Har Mar Superstar) singing the National Anthem.

As of this morning on the Twins’ ticket website, there were tickets available for the opener ranging in cost from $17 to $31.

There were rumors last week junior Gophers forward Michael Hurt will transfer to the college destination of his superstar brother Matthew Hurt, a senior at Rochester John Marshall. The possibility was mentioned to me months ago but I chose not to write about the speculation.

Michael would be eligible to play next season with his brother who has yet to announce his college choice, and could be destined to the NBA in another year via the 2020 league draft. Michael is a three-year reserve who this season is averaging 1.7 points per game and is 1 of 13 on three point field goal attempts. If he were to leave Minnesota, that presumably opens up a scholarship for the Gophers who have multiple roster needs for next season and should be shopping for junior college help.

Matthew, 6-foot-9, is so skilled he can excel at multiple positions. The bluebloods of college basketball, including Duke and North Carolina, would welcome the five-star recruit, and perhaps his brother—allowing the twosome to play one year together.

It will be a major surprise if Matthew isn’t announced as the state’s Mr. Basketball winner at the Timberwolves game on March 26. Hurt, who averaged about 37 points per game this season, won’t be in attendance because he will play among the nation’s elite players at the March 27 McDonald’s All-American Game in Atlanta.

A member of John Marshall’s varsity since eighth grade, Hurt has closed out his high school career never having played in the state tournament. Lakeville North has blocked Marshall’s path to the state tournament by winning seven consecutive times in the section finals.

Among the favorites to win the Class 4A Tournament this week is Hopkins with star center-power forward Zeke Nnjai. He is committed to Arizona for next season but if Wildcats coach Sean Miller leaves the program speculation will start about Nnjai’s college destination.

The Gophers, in search of a point guard all season, could have filled that opening two years ago by successfully recruiting Champlin Park’s McKinley Wright, who as a sophomore at Colorado has been named first team All-Pac-12. He also was an honorable mention choice for the league’s all-defensive team.

CBS lead sportscaster Jim Nantz, who will be here for the Minneapolis Final Four, gave a shout-out to 99-year-old Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman on last Saturday’s telecast of the Minnesota-Michigan Big Ten Tournament game, and he told the listening audience he will speak to the Twin Cities Dunkers when he is town. The downtown-Minneapolis based Dunkers dates back to 1948 and Hartman has been a member since 1965.

Purdue, who the Gophers defeated twice in March, is an upset pick to make a run in the NCAA Tournament including a prediction by Seth Davis the Boilermakers will advance to the Minneapolis Final Four. Davis, the CBS in-studio college hoops analyst, is the son of Lanny Davis, the well-known lawyer and TV political commentator.

Steve Erban and Paul Dillion are among Gophers fans expected in Des Moines tomorrow for Minnesota’s NCAA Tournament game against Louisville. Erban emailed that the two are the only people who have seen every Gopher NCAA Tournament game dating back to 1989.

Gophers’ athletic director Mark Coyle said on the WCCO Radio Sports Huddle show last Sunday that about $130 million out of the $166 million targeted cost has been raised for the new Athlete’s Village on campus.

Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck, new North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz, and former Vikings Matt Birk and Ben Leber are headline speakers at next week’s MFCA Football Clinic at the DoubleTree in St. Louis Park. More than 30 speakers and over 50 sessions are scheduled for the March 28-30 clinic. More at mnfootballcoaches.com

Karl-Anthony Towns had his 47th double-double of the season last night when he scored 26 points and got 21 rebounds in the Timberwolves’ loss to the Warriors at Target Center.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer hosts his first Mike Zimmer Golf Classic at Bearpath Golf and Country Club in Eden Prairie on Monday, May 13. The event is part of the Mike Zimmer Foundation. Hole sponsorships starting at a $1,000 are available. More at Mikezimmerfoundation.org.

Looks like Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman were right about quarterback Case Keenum who they let walk as a free agent last year. The Broncos, who signed Keenum in 2018, traded him to the Redskins earlier this month and now have turned to another veteran, Joe Flacco, as their quarterback leader. Keenum is with his fourth team in four years.

Ex-Gopher Phil Nelson, who received a lot of media and fan attention last month for a no-look pass, has completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 513 yards, and thrown three touchdown passes and three interceptions, quarterbacking the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football, according to noextrapoints.com.

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