RICHARD PITINO – Page 34 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Momentum Increasing for U Facilities

Posted on September 17, 2014September 17, 2014 by David Shama

According to sources, expect 3M to become a corporate contributor to the $190 million campaign to improve Gophers’ facilities, and also look for ground to be broken next spring for a new on-campus indoor football practice facility.

Effective fundraising—mostly still behind the scenes—is being done by the Gophers’ Athletic Department and well-connected volunteers. An announcement is expected that 3M will join Land O’Lakes as a major contributor to the fundraising campaign. LOL has made a $25 million commitment to support a wide range of University of Minnesota activities, but the centerpiece will be building the Intercollegiate Athletics Center for Excellence that will benefit over 700 student-athletes through academics and nutrition.

Among projects expected to receive priority in the master facilities plan is the new football practice building, perhaps costing $70 million. Sources told Sports Headliners they predict shovels in the ground for the football building by next spring.

Gophers football coach Jerry Kill has been outspoken with high school recruits and media about the importance of a new football complex. The existing facility has a ceiling so low footballs hit the top and the building has a crowded schedule with multiple teams practicing there.

Athletic director Norwood Teague, who announced the $190 million campaign in July of 2013, said earlier this month $40 million has been secured but hasn’t specified sources by name beyond LOL which reportedly will contribute $21 million of the $25 million to athletics. Corporations, wealthy donors, the general public and revenue bonds are all on the table as funding sources.

An announcement is expected soon about how the public can make contributions to the campaign. Included will be a website with information that potential contributors can review.

The $190 million master facilities plan will include a new practice building for Gophers basketball, and amenities for other sports such as wrestling and track. Minnesota’s athletic facilities are considered among the worst in the Big Ten and generally haven’t been improved for many years.

The near $200 million project is expansive and ambitious, with a fundraising goal that may be challenging to meet without the sale of bonds. The University is authorized to sell bonds and those involved with the fundraising have been considering that option for awhile.

Worth Noting

“Who would you want your son to play for?” Football Bowl Subdivision coaches were polled asking that question and ESPN.com posted a story last Saturday reporting Gophers coach Jerry Kill tied for third with Stanford’s David Shaw. Georgia’s Mark Richt and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops tied for first. Duke’s David Cutcliffe was fifth in the ESPN poll while Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer were among five coaches tied for sixth. Ninety-eight of 128 coaches participated in the poll.

Dick Jonckowski, the Gophers baseball and basketball public address announcer, is selling half of his sports memorabilia to help pay medical bills. The sale will be October 3, 4 and 5 at the new Canterbury Park Expo Center. Items—many of of them autographed—will include baseball, basketball and football cards, and photos and publications.

For many years Jonckowski’s basement has housed a vast collection of not only Gophers, Twins and Vikings memorabilia but also national items. He is selling much of the collection because of bills relating to his non-Hodgkin lymphoma and type 2 diabetes. He expects a full recovery from the cancer.

Former Gophers quarterback and NFL coach Tony Dungy said on Monday’s Dan Patrick Show it remains to be determined whether Vikings running back Adrian Peterson abused his four-year-old son. Dungy also said he grew up with similar discipline. See Danpatrick.com.

Mick Tingelhoff, who is a 2015 senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said he doesn’t know who he would ask to be his presenter if he does receive induction into the Canton, Ohio shrine.

One reason the Vikings activated running back Joe Banyard last week is his work ethic. Signed as a free agent in 2012, he has yet to have an NFL rushing attempt. Growing up in Texas, he hunted rattlesnakes.

Parking near TCF Bank Stadium for last Sunday’s Vikings game cost $40 in at least one lot but some customers are paying $70 at the 49ers’ new stadium in Santa Clara.

Rochester Postbulletin.com reported last week that 6-foot-8 eighth grade guard Matthew Hurt, who is being recruited by the Gophers, suffered a lacerated spleen recently and could miss early games with John Marshall High School. His brother Michael, a 6-7 junior guard-forward, has already been offered a scholarship by the Gophers.

Richard Pitino, who had his 32nd birthday yesterday and is the Big Ten’s youngest basketball head coach, wrote on his Gophersports.com blog last week that Minnesota fans should disregard what his dad—legendary Louisville coach Rick Pitino—says in coming weeks when their two teams prepare for a nonconference nationally-televised game in Puerto Rico in November. Writing with dry humor but also making a point about his dad, Richard said: “Ignore anything and everything that comes out of my father’s mouth leading up to this game.”

Former Timberwolves reserve Mark Madsen will be an assistant coach for the Lakers under new head coach Byron Scott. Madsen’s basketball resume and positive outlook will likely land him an NBA head job some day.

This is the fourth year WCCO Radio is broadcasting all St. Thomas football games. A three-year agreement ended after last season but another three-year deal is in place.

Through the first two weeks of the season, MIAC football teams have a 12-5 record against nonconference teams. Among the highlights last week was a 55-45 Augsburg win against Concordia-Wisconsin when the Auggies had 682 yards in total offense with over 400 yards rushing. The MIAC has only one nonleague game remaining in 2014—Bethel at home against Chicago on October 18.

Bridgeport Tusler, who was the 2012 Associated Press Minnesota Player of the Year while at Osseo, is now a freshman wide receiver at Bethel. Tusler started his college career at South Dakota State.

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Kill Leaves No Doubt about No. 1 QB

Posted on July 28, 2014August 3, 2014 by David Shama

Jerry Kill indicated today the Gophers might have benefitted last season by settling on a quarterback but made it clear now that Mitch Leidner is his No. 1. “I told all of our players he’s the guy in charge,” the Gophers coach said this morning at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago which was televised by the Big Ten Network.

Leidner, a redshirt sophomore, split starting time last season with then sophomore Philip Nelson. Nelson had started seven games the year before but never completely established himself as the No. 1 quarterback in 2013.

Kill has been impressed with Leidner since the end of last season including this summer when the former Lakeville South High School star stepped forward as a team leader. Kill praised how Leidner and senior defensive back Cedric Thompson have emerged as leaders, even helping with discipline among players.

A quarterback, of course, is supposed to be a leader but not necessarily a defensive back like Thompson who approached Kill awhile back about leadership. “He came up after the season and said, ‘Hey, coach I want to be that guy. I want to have that pressure. It’s my time to lead.’

“To be honest with you, I thought he would be a good leader but I had no idea he was going to do the job what he’s done since he stepped up. …Both him and Mitch have been extended coaches.”

The Gophers won eight games last season after winning three and six during Kill’s first two seasons as coach. Minnesota minimized mistakes and played physical football on defense. The Gophers struggled on offense in some Big Ten games including with passing, and Minnesota ranked last in touchdown passes among conference schools with 12. Leidner had three touchdown passes.

“I think when you know you’re going to be the guy it’s a little bit different,” Kill said when talking about potential offense. “Mitch has spent a lot of time with the receivers. We know we gotta do a good job when you start seeing eight, nine people in the box. You gotta be able to throw the ball down the field and make some catches.”

But Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo said after Kill’s remarks that the Gophers need to remember who they are—a physical team that offensively focuses on running the ball—and play within their limitations. “You can really get distracted when people start saying we have to throw the ball better. Of course they want to throw the ball better but if they lose their identity they’ll win less games next year.”

Worth Noting

Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday that “seven, eight or nine” offensive linemen will compete for playing time including former center Jon Christenson who is being moved to guard. Kill singled out defensive lineman Steven Richardson among incoming freshmen likely to play early in the season.

The Big Ten announced its Players to Watch list this morning as chosen by a media panel. No Gophers were included among the 10 players with the biggest names including Ohio State’s Braxton Miller and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon.

In a poll of sportswriters by Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, Ohio State is predicted to win the East Division and Wisconsin the West. The Gophers will finish fifth in the West Division, ahead of Illinois and Purdue, according to the July 25 story on Cleveland.com.

Congratulations to Minneapolis entrepreneur and Gophers sports loyalist Mark Sheffert who was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame last week. Sheffert and four others who also attended the University of Minnesota were recognized by Twin Cities Business Magazine at a dinner and program in Minneapolis. For Sheffert the honor came during the 25th anniversary year of Manchester Companies, a business he started in 1989 to assist troubled organizations.

Sheffert, who is part of the group working to raise $190 million for Gophers facilities, played football at Robbinsdale and Cooper high schools. He was a walk-on for the Gophers in 1965 but injured a knee that has twice undergone replacement surgery. At the initial practice of his second season he suffered three compressed fractures in the neck which ended his football career.

Sheffert’s goals had been to play in the Big Ten Conference and in the NFL for legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi. The end of his football career was a life lesson. “Your dreams can be wiped out in an instance by something you didn’t plan on,” he told Sports Headliners.

The Gophers head football coach in the 1960s was Murray Warmath. When Sheffert’s father passed away in 1967 the coach made time to attend the funeral. “My dad was my best friend, mentor and hero,” Sheffert said. “It was a tough time emotionally. To have the coach show up meant the world to me.”

Sports Illustrated pro football writer Peter King will visit Mankato to watch the Vikings on August 5. The July 28 issue makes that announcement while King asks: “Can anyone here play quarterback?”

Celebrities were among those attending the Edina funeral of Gophers football legend Bob McNamara on Saturday. Speakers included ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant who broke down while recalling his affection for McNamara who played for Grant with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In new coach Richard Pitino’s first season the Gophers won 20 of 23 home games, with a supportive crowd helping to fuel upset wins in 2014. He wants sometimes raucous Williams Arena to become the most difficult place in the country for opponents to win. “We can generate unbelievable home crowds. Moving into year two, if you want to do what we all want to do (winning more), you can’t lose at home, and we lost three times at home. …It’s got to be the toughest place to play in the country, and hopefully we’ll continue to build that momentum.”

The Gophers return four experienced seniors from last year’s 25-13 team, guards Andre Hollins and DeAndre Mathieu, and centers Elliott Eliason and Maurice Walker. Pitino said that kind of experience is a “huge” asset but he won’t predict the Gophers are Big Ten championship contenders, deferring the assignment to media.

Wisconsin reached the Final Four last spring. Pitino described the Badgers as “phenomenal,” and there is no doubt they will be a consensus choice to win the Big Ten title. “They were playing their best basketball towards the end (of the year),” Pitino said. “They have everybody back except one guy so I would think they’ve got to be the favorite going into the season.”

The field for the 3M Championship that starts at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine this week is expected to include defending champion Tom Pernice, Jr. He won $262,500 last month after finishing first in the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines. He ranks 10th on the Champions Tour with earnings of $764,959 so far this year.

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St. Peter: Twins Built Better Than 2013

Posted on May 21, 2014March 15, 2023 by David Shama

Nobody is predicting the Twins will win the American League Central or even secure a wildcard position in the playoffs, but after about two months the home team certainly looks better than last year’s club that finished with a 66-96 record.

“I certainly believe so,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners.

The Twins are 22-21 after last night’s interleague win over the Padres in San Diego. On this date a year ago the Twins were 18-25, and seven games out of first place.

The 2014 Twins, although six games behind the division-leading Tigers, and are in second place and have won three consecutive series. One was against the Tigers in Detroit, with the other two in Minneapolis facing the 2013 World Series champion Red Sox and also the Mariners.

The Twins have managed to play around .500 baseball despite a difficult early season schedule. Injuries to outfielders Oswaldo Arcia and Josh Willingham, and first baseman Joe Mauer have been a challenge, too.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we believe this baseball team is built to be better than what we’ve been in the last three years,” St. Peter said. “That isn’t saying much because we haven’t been very good. We need to get better.”

The team’s last three regular season records were 66-96 twice and 63-99. Coming out of spring training there was hope but no assurance this season would be better. The starting pitching was a concern and fans had minimal optimism about run production.

St. Peter said the team’s bullpen has often been “very good” this spring while the ongoing effort is to restore “credibility” among the starting pitchers who must show more consistency. The offense has been much better than expected with the Twins fifth in American League runs scored. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but, nonetheless, we’ve been encouraged by a variety of different developments,” St. Peter said.

Ask St. Peter about early season Twins MVP’s and he mentions closer Glen Perkins, new starter Phil Hughes, new catcher Kurt Suzuki, third baseman Trevor Plouffe and second baseman Brian Dozier who has been statistically more impressive than anyone on the roster. Dozier, in his third season with the Twins, is tied for fourth in AL home runs, third in stolen bases and first in runs scored.

St. Peter has praise, too, for manager Ron Gardenhire and the coaching staff. “I think our manager and coaching staff have always done a great job here. Again, long way (for the team) to go.

“They (the staff) certainly should get credit for the continued evolution of some of our core players. Guys that maybe people had questions about. Whether it be a Plouffe, or a Dozier, or some of our bullpen guys, or what have you. There’s no doubt that the collective coaching staff deserves some credit and ultimately Ron Gardenhire is the leader of that group.”

The Twins made a habit of being blown out of games by the mid-innings last season. This year has been different and the team has not only stayed in games but rallied from behind, or overcome tie scores. “As we get into the heart of the season I’d like to think we’re in a position here where we not only can surprise some people but ultimately hopefully we can contend (for the playoffs),” St. Peter said.

The Twins haven’t been a contender since 2010 when they won their second consecutive AL Central title. The 2014 club still has most of its season ahead and has much to prove. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but, nonetheless, we’ve been encouraged by a variety of different developments,” St. Peter said.

Worth Noting

Each major league baseball team is guaranteed a roster spot for one player in the All-Star game. The 2014 game is in Minneapolis but nothing in the MLB rules guarantees extra roster spots for the host club. Closer Glen Perkins, an All-Star last season, and second baseman Brian Dozier are leading Twins candidates to participate in the game but first baseman Joe Mauer, who has only six extra base hits and is hitting .282, needs to pick up his production pronto before All-Star rosters are finalized in early July. Mauer has played in six All-Star games and his reported $23 million salary is among the highest in baseball.

St. Peter said Mauer is healthy now and mentioned other Twins All-Star candidates include catcher Kurt Suzuki and starting pitcher Phil Hughes. “We’ll have at least one All-Star and the play on the field will dictate whether we have more than one,” St. Peter said.

The fourth seeded Gophers baseball team plays its opening Big Ten Tournament game tonight in Omaha starting at 9 p.m. against fifth seeded Michigan. Gophers right-handed senior pitcher Alec Crawford from Wilton, Iowa was voted All-Big Ten Third Team by the conference coaches. Catcher Austin Athmann from Cold Spring was a unanimous All-Big Ten Freshman Team choice. Big Ten honors were announced yesterday.

For the first time in MIAC history one school has teams in both the NCAA Division III softball and baseball national tournaments in the same season. The St. Thomas softball team, 42-7, plays its opening game Thursday against Salisbury (Md.) in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament in Tyler, Texas. The Tommies have earned their fifth trip to nationals in 13 seasons but first since 2006.

The St. Thomas baseball team, 37-7, opens play Friday at 10 a.m. against defending champion Linfield (Ore.) in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament in Appleton, Wis. This is the Tommies’ fifth trip to nationals in the last 16 years and second in three seasons.

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino has been on the job for about 14 months and has yet to gain a recruiting commitment from a big name Minnesota high school recruit, but that’s likely to change with his 2015 class. Look for top 100 recruits Jarvis Johnson from DeLaSalle and Alex Illikainen from Grand Rapids to listen hard to Pitino, with either or both likely to become Gophers. Pitino probably realizes the chances of chasing Big Ten titles without one or two star contributors from Minnesota high schools are minimal.

Gophers football coach Jerry Kill, when asked on WCCO Radio last Sunday morning about redshirt freshmen who could contribute to the team’s success next fall mentioned running back Berkley Edwards, 6-foot-10 tight end Nate Wozniak and linebackers Ray Dixon and De’Niro Laster.

There’s probably more willingness among NFL owners than ever before to consider northern cities as Super Bowl sites. It’s not a trend but northern Super Bowls are more common than years ago. The 2014 game was in New Jersey and because the next three Super Bowls will be played in warm weather cities, Minneapolis likely benefitted in winning the 2018 game in a vote of league owners yesterday.

Pete Prisco from Cbssports.com posted his post-NFL Draft power rankings last Thursday and listed the Vikings at No. 27 among 30 teams. “It’s all about the quarterback position for the Vikings,” wrote Prisco who ranks the three other NFC North Division teams ahead of Minnesota.

Prisco has the Packers No. 8, Bears No. 12 and Lions No. 22. The Super Bowl champion Seahawks are his No. 1 team.

Dennis Schapiro, who died last week in Minneapolis at age 67, was a terrific editor and friend of mine. Condolences to Schapiro’s family including uncle Sid Hartman.

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