Stadiums – Page 23 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

PGA to Take Over Tapemark Tourney

Posted on May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 by David Shama

The Klas family is ending its 47-year commitment to the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am in June. Sports Headliners has learned the Minnesota PGA will take over the golf tournament in 2019 and beyond.

The inspiration for the tournament was Frances Klas, who was born mentally retarded in 1951. Her dad and mom, Bob and Sandy Klas, learned about organizations available to assist children like Frances, and they wanted to help raise awareness and funds for them. To accomplish those goals, Bob started the tournament with Tapemark company partner Tom Cody.

Bob Klas Jr., who is CEO of the nonprofit Pro-Am, said after the 2018 tournament more than $8 million will have been raised through the years to assist agencies serving Minnesotans with developmental disabilities. That total will include revenues from bingo operations in West St. Paul.

Bob Jr. said the tournament that attracts many of Minnesota’s best professional golfers has through its funding and publicity made many lives better for people with disabilities. “I find it fulfilling to know the time, energy and effort allowed us to support the agencies in a very tangible way,” he said.

With his executive position at the West St. Paul based Tapemark company, and work on behalf of the Pro-Am, Bob Jr. has been busy over the years. The last couple of years he began to question whether he had the energy to continue his leadership of the golf tournament. He had his 65th birthday earlier this year, and his dad is 91 and unable to help much with the tournament now. “The odds of me getting younger are less than 50-50,” Bob Jr. joked.

Conversations started awhile ago to transition the tournament over to the Minnesota PGA. “There is never a perfect time to walk away, but this seems right,” Bob Jr. said. “It feels good to know it will be taken over by an organization that wants to do a first class golf tournament.”

Plans are for the Minnesota PGA to keep the tournament at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul. As the only tournament that section pros participate in, it is important to the PGA to see the tournament continue. The PGA will direct revenues to causes important to that organization including junior golf and college scholarships, Bob Jr. said.

Among the successful pros who have won the tournament multiple times are Don Berry and George Shortridge. Then there is a fellow named Tom Lehman who was starting his pro career in 1990 when he won the Tapemark. He went on to become the only golfer ever claiming title to the British Open, Scottish Open and Tapemark championships.

This year’s men’s tournament will be June 8-10, with the women’s event June 10.

Worth Noting

Bill Fitch, the former Gopher coach who went on to win an NBA title with the Celtics, is retired and living in the Houston area. He follows the NBA closely and was asked about the Timberwolves. “I’d let them know they’re better than what they’ve shown,” he said to Sports Headliners.

The Wolves were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and there is speculation team unity might be an issue. Fitch said if he were coaching a group with chemistry problems there would be an offseason team party at his house, a planned wake-up call. The message: if the players aren’t on the same page in training camp, they will wear out the court from all the running ordered by the coach. “You can’t win without it (unity),” Fitch said.

How do the Timberwolves improve their personnel? Add another big player to push center Karl-Anthony Towns in practice and help him in games, Fitch suggested. “You never have enough strong big men,” he said.

Former Timberwolf Mike Miller, the South Dakota native, is an assistant coach on the Memphis Tigers staff. Ex-Wolf player and coach Sam Mitchell might also join new head coach Penny Hardaway with the Tigers.

It’s been whispered for months Oklahoma State will be the Gophers opponent in a December men’s basketball game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Media reports Tuesday confirmed that information. The Tulsaworld.com also reported Minnesota will play a game with OSU during the 2019-20 season at Tulsa’s BOK Center.

Although no date has been given, it’s believed the Gophers-Cowboys game at U.S. Bank Stadium will be on Saturday, December 1. A second game involving Division I teams is expected to be played on the same date.

The St. Thomas and Wisconsin-River Falls men’s basketball teams will play a Division III game at the stadium Friday, November 30.

The Tommies’ incoming freshmen next season will include Sam Vascellaro, a 6-4 forward who is the son of WCCO TV’s Frank Vascellaro and Amelia Santaniello.

The Gopher women’s basketball team’s incoming group of five scholarship players includes no one from the state of Minnesota. Look for that to change for sure in future years under new head coach Lindsay Whalen who will have strong relationships with state prep coaches. Whalen recently added Utah native and point guard Mercedes Staples to the incoming class.

The Twins are on a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season, and all the wins have come on the road. Their 10-game, 11-day road trip continues tonight in Anaheim against the Angels with Jose Berrios, 3-3 with a 3.98 ERA, starting for Minnesota. See if Berrios relies a lot on his fastball and avoids too many breaking pitches.

The Cardinals, who the Twins swept earlier this week, drafted Paul Molitor as a high school player at Cretin-Derham Hall but he chose to attend the University of Minnesota before eventually joining the Brewers organization.

Molitor and Derek Falvey, the Twins chief baseball officer, speak to the Twin Cities Dunkers group on May 23.

The Dunkers recently awarded more than $120,000 to Minneapolis and St. Paul high school athletic programs, according to the Dunkers website. Over eight years close to $600,000 has been given to help supplement athletic budgets.

Comments Welcome

Getting Trivial about the Twins

Posted on April 5, 2018April 10, 2018 by David Shama

The Twins open their 2018 home schedule today and Sports Headliners joins in the festivities offering the following trivia quiz about Minnesota’s Major League Baseball team. Whether at the game gulping hot coffee, or at home huddled near the TV and fireplace, try your luck at answering these 25 questions (with answers at the bottom). Let me know your score.

1. What year did Target Field open?

2. How many years have the Twins opened their regular season schedule at Target Field?

3. How many games is Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco suspended for until he can rejoin the team?

4. These three starting pitchers combined to hold the Orioles to five hits and no runs in Minnesota’s opening series of the year. Name the pitchers.

5. Who is the current Twin that was the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2017?

6. Name the American League club that had three former Twins in its opening day lineup this season.

7. What is the coldest temperature ever for a Twins home opener?

8. Where did the Twins play and against what team when they opened the 1961 regular season schedule?

9. This former Twins skipper in the 1970s also once managed the Minneapolis Millers. Name him.

10. Three times in the last 30 years a Twins skipper has been named American League Manager of the Year. Name the managers and the years they were honored.

11. In what years did the Twins win their two World Series titles?

12. In what Caribbean island will the Twins play a two-game series later this month?

13. Who is the oldest player on the Twins’ roster and what is his age?

14. This Minnesota native and former Twin now pitches for the Phillies. Who is he?

15. In the past Twins TV analyst Bert Blyleven has often talked about his birthday. When is his birthday?

16. The parents of this Twins regular were ballet dancers. Who is he?

17. If Joe Mauer decided to play college football coming out of high school, where was he headed?

18. Who is the Twins player Torii Hunter refers to as “Mighty Mouse”?

19. This former Twins pitcher will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York later this year. Who is he?

20. What year did the Twins draw over 3 million fans?

21. Who is the former Twins left-handed pitcher that said owner Calvin Griffith threw nickels around like “manhole covers?”

22. Brian Dozier led the Twins in home runs with 34 last year? Who was second on the team and how many did he hit?

23. This new Twin is known for his upper cut home run swing. Who is he?

24. Who was the public address announcer at the Metrdoome who drew hoots with his warning, “No smoking in the Metrodome.”

25. Who are the only Twins ever to collect 2,000 hits in their careers in Minnesota?

Trivia Quiz Answers Below

1. Target Field opened to acclaims in 2010 and has remained on short lists ranking the best baseball stadiums in America.

2. The only time the Twins have opened a season at Target Field was in 2013 (April Fool’s Day) when the Tigers won 4-2.

3. Jorge Polanco, who tested positive for a positive-enhancing substance, is suspended by MLB for the first 80 games of the 2018 season.

4. Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi combined to shutout the Orioles over 21 innings and held Baltimore batters to a 0.74 average.

5. Mitch Garver, who is now a backup catcher with the Twins, was named the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2017 while hitting .291 with 17 home runs at Triple-A Rochester.

6. The Rays starters on opening day last week included Twins alums Carlos Gomez, Wilson Ramos and Denard Span.

7. The temperature was 33 degrees for the Twins home opener at Met Stadium against the Angels on April 14, 1962. (Hope you had a good trivia quiz to divert attention from the cold.)

8. After relocating from Washington D.C. and changing their name from the Senators to the Twins, Minnesota’s new major league baseball franchise played its first ever regular season game on April 11, 1961 in New York and defeated the Yankees 6-0.

9. Gene Mauch, known as “the little general,” managed the Twins from 1976-1980, and he also managed the minor league Minneapolis Millers during the 1958 and 1959 seasons.

10. Paul Molitor was the AL Manager of the Year Award in 2017. His Twins predecessors in winning the award in the last 30 years are Tom Kelly in 1991 and Ron Gardenhire in 2010.

11. Minnesota won the World Series in 1987 and 1991 with dramatic Game Seven victories in the Metrodome against the Cardinals and Braves.

12. The Twins will play the Indians in the Puerto Rico Series in San Juan April 17 and 18.

13. Relief pitcher Fernando Rodney, who turned 41 last month, is the Twins’ oldest player and has been in the big leagues since 2002.

14. Minnesota native Pat Neshek, who pitched for the Twins from 2006-2010, is with the Phillies—his seventh big league team.

15. Bert Blyleven will be 67 tomorrow (Friday). Happy Birthday, Bert. You are “circled.”

Max Kepler (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

16 Apparently German-born Twins right fielder Max Kepler gets his athleticism from his parents who were ballet dancers.

17. As a high school quarterback Joe Mauer verbally committed to Florida State but decided to play pro baseball after leaving Cretin-Derham Hall.

18. Eduardo Escobar, 5-10 and 185 pounds, was referred to as “Mighty Mouse” last year when he hit a career high 21 home runs.

19. St. Paul native Jack Morris, beloved in Minnesota for pitching the Twins to their 1-0 Game Seven World Series win in 1991, will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

20. In 1989 the Twins became the first ever American League franchise to draw more than 3 million fans.

21. Tight-fisted Calvin Griffith prompted that quote from Jim Kaat on throwing nickels around like “manhole covers.”

22. Miguel Sano, despite playing in only 114 games, was second on the Twins in home runs last season with 28.

23. Logan Morrison, in his eighth year in the big leagues, grooved his swing last season with the Rays hitting a career high 38 home runs—15 more than his previous high.

24. The late Bob Casey gave the no smoking edict and was the Twins’ public address voice every season from 1961-2004.

25. Membership in the Twins’ 2,000 hit club belongs to Kirby Puckett with 2,304 and Rod Carew, 2,085.

Comments Welcome

Guard Help Priority for U, Pitino

Posted on April 1, 2018April 1, 2018 by David Shama

A Sunday notes column.

A Gopher athletic department source said he didn’t expect to see Richard Pitino at the Final Four in San Antonio this weekend because the Gopher coach is focused on recruiting. College basketball coaches typically attend the games but Deputy AD John Cunningham said Pitino is working on filling two scholarship openings.

Pitino is all but certain to target at least one, and perhaps two backcourt players. Multiple reports have Minnesota pursuing Pitt transfer and point guard Marcus Carr who averaged 10 points and four assists last season as a freshman.

Carr, though, wouldn’t be eligible to play until a year from this fall. The Gophers need help now with their backcourt which loses senior point guard Nate Mason and lacks depth. Ryan James, the basketball recruiting authority for GopherIllustrated.com, told Sports Headliners Carr is a talented player and Minnesota could be willing to take him even though he has to sit out a year.

James predicted Pitino’s priority is finding a “ball handler” for next season, while using the second scholarship on the best player the Gophers can land regardless of position. The ball handler, he said, could be a point guard, or combo guard.

Many transfers are available and the market size may work in Minnesota’s favor in finding players who can help next season. James believes it could be the end of April or beyond before the Gophers announce the names of one or two commits. “There is no need to rush,” he said.

This year’s Final Four is in San Antonio but next year comes to Minneapolis for the fourth time and first ever at U.S. Bank Stadium. Economic impact on the local economy for the April 6-8, 2019 event could be between $100 million and $300 million. The 2017 impact on host city Phoenix was over $320 million, according to multiple online reports including Azcentral.com.

Stadium preparations in advance of the Final Four here will eliminate any amateur baseball games at the facility next winter, including more than 10 nonconference Gophers games, according to coach John Anderson. He said he will be able to find eight away games against warmer weather schools but won’t be able to replace all the games originally scheduled at U.S. Bank Stadium before being told the facility isn’t available for baseball. The Gophers won’t play their targeted 2019 total of 56 nonconference and Big Ten games.

Minnesota is scheduled to play its first home outdoor series this season at Siebert Field April 6-8 against Penn State. Last week snow was being removed from the bullpen and artificial surface in the outfield. In Lincoln, Nebraska last Sunday the Gophers defeated the Cornhuskers in temps below freezing. Anderson compared gripping a baseball in cold weather to the feel of a “cue stick” but freshmen pitchers Patrick Fredrickson and Max Meyer combined to throw a 2-0 shutout.

A Big Ten rule is that games are to be played in temperatures of 29 degrees or higher. There is urgency to battle through the elements because the conference doesn’t allow for makeup games that are lost because of weather. With forecasted temps nearing freezing next weekend, the Gophers will try to play the games. “We don’t have any other options,” Anderson said.

It’s been a painful start to the MLB season for former Twins pitchers Pat Neshek and Anthony Swarzak. Neshek, perhaps the Phillies best relief pitcher, recently went on the 10-day disabled list with a shoulder injury. Swarzak, now with the Mets, suffered an oblique injury yesterday.

The Twins Spring Ballpark Pass costing $49 for 13 games in April doesn’t include the sold out home opener Thursday. The forecasted high that day is for mid-30’s.

The Atlanta Braves are another MLB team offering discounts with some tickets available for $5 this weekend at SunTrust Park.

It might be a near consensus view among fans and insiders that Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle made the best of possible hires, with Bob Motzko as his new head hockey coach. “I think he’ll be a great coach,” said former captain Casey Hankinson. “…I think he’s got a lot of energy. I like the way he coaches.”

Motzko, who turned 57 last month, probably wouldn’t have been pursued by Coyle if he were a few years older. Not likely either that Coyle would have targeted Motzko if he were the head coach at a Big Ten school. Almost never does a Big Ten program go after the head coach at another conference school in the high profile sports of basketball, football and hockey.

Motzko built St. Cloud State into a hockey power and in 13 seasons had the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament eight times. As a student of hockey he acknowledges using the ideas of others. “That’s what a good coach is, he’s a thief,” Motzko said.

At the St. Thomas Pro Day the NFL Vikings and Bears showed interest in Tommies juniors Jacques Perra and Blake Weber, and senior Matt Christenson. Quarterback Perra and linebacker Weber (both former Gophers) will play one more season for the Tommies, while Christenson has used up his eligibility.

Tommies coach Glenn Caruso is bringing back past teams to celebrate his 10 years with the program (110-17 record, six MIAC titles, eight NCAA playoffs). Following the spring scrimmage at Palmer Field May 12, there will be a celebration at the Anderson Student Center.

Caruso texted that last semester 51 of his players made the Dean’s List for their outstanding academic work.

The Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association’s Clinic starts Thursday at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park, and pre-registration savings end April 2. Prior to April 3 the costs per individual and staffs are $95 and $500 respectively; afterwards $105 and $550. Featured speakers during the three-day clinic will include Matt Birk, P.J. Fleck, Glen Mason, Bob Nielson, and Mike Prieffer. More at Mnfootballcoaches.com.

Comments Welcome