Timberwolves – Page 113 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Worth Noting

Posted on June 11, 2012June 11, 2012 by David Shama

Craig Brischke won the men’s Tapemark Charity Pro-Am yesterday at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul. Martha Nause won the women’s championship. This was the 41^st year of Tapemark charity golf raising funds for local charities benefitting the developmentally and learning disabled.

Former Timberwolves and Gophers coach Bill Musselman might have had two of his protégés coaching in the NBA Finals this year. Scott Brooks, who played for Musselman’s expansion Wolves, is head coach of the Oklahoma City team that plays in the finals starting tomorrow night against Miami. The Heat might not have won the Eastern Conference playoffs if Chicago point guard Derrick Rose, perhaps the NBA’s most valuable player, had not been injured in late April and unable to play since then. The Bulls head coach is Tom Thibodeaux, a former Musselman assistant on the first Wolves team.

Other Musselman “alumni” who are or have been NBA head coaches include ex-Wolves players Tyrone Corbin (current Utah coach), Sidney Lowe (former Wolves coach) and Sam Mitchell (former Toronto coach). Musselman’s son Eric Musselman has been head coach for Golden State and Sacramento, while Flip Saunders, who played for the elder Musselman with the Gophers, had NBA head coaching jobs with the Wolves, Detroit and Washington.

Don’t forget Roy Terwilliger when congratulating public figures who helped make state legislative approval of the Vikings stadium bill a reality. Terwilliger was chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission from 2002-2010. Before that he was a state senator representing Edina and Eden Prairie who was involved with stadium support for the Vikings, Twins and Gophers.

His stadium support dating back to the 1990s made an important contribution to all three teams. When Terwilliger left the senate in 2002 he didn’t know that his stadium expertise would lead to an appointment as MSFC chair by then-governor Tim Pawlenty. “I had a four-foot high stack of (stadium) stuff that I threw out, and then had to replace,” Terwilliger told Sports Headliners.

Terwilliger didn’t predict whether the new downtown Vikings stadium will have a retractable roof. He said opening up the facility to the elements changes the required design of various stadium components including concession areas. A retractable roof would have cost at least an additional $25 million back in 2010, he said.

Happy birthday to former Gophers two-time All-American tackle Bobby Bell who turns 72 on Sunday.

Vikings cornerback Chris Cook has changed his uniform number from 31 to 20.

The Twins chose 43 players in last week’s First-Year Player draft and only seven of them list cold weather communities for hometowns. Those figures are another example of where the best baseball players come from, and provide insight as to why northern college teams like the Gophers aren’t the national powers they once were. Minnesota won national championships in 1956, 1960 and 1964.

The Twins chose 24 pitchers and 19 position players—six catchers, five infielders and eight outfielders. No Minnesotans were among the 43 players drafted but the Twins did choose two Wisconsin natives, right fielder Adam Walker from Milwaukee and Brad Schreiber of Menasha.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Gophers baseball stadium will be held at 1:30 p.m. today. Speakers are expected to include former Gophers and Twins star Paul Molitor.

The Twins, who won two of three games against the Cubs Friday through yesterday, have been winners in seven of their last nine games versus that National League franchise. The Twins are 73-41 in Interleague play since 2006.

Twins pitcher Scott Diamond, who won on Saturday, is 3-0 in four starts this season at Target Field with a 1.03 ERA. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 13 consecutive innings. His season record is 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe is batting .387 with three doubles, four home runs, seven runs scored and nine RBI in eight games this month.

The Minnesota Minute Men, in cooperation with the Twins Community Fund, will announce the 2012 high school Play Ball! Mr. Baseball and Ms. Softball Award winners at a banquet next Sunday at Jax Café in Minneapolis. Baseball coach Richard Seltz (Austin) and softball coach Neil Johnson (Shakopee) will be honored with Lifetime Achievement awards for dedication to their sports and time served helping youth athletes achieve goals. www.minnesotaminutemen.com

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Worth Noting

Posted on May 23, 2012May 23, 2012 by David Shama

Patrick Klinger, the Twins vice president of marketing, may become a compassionate kidney donor. That means he would be willing to provide one of his kidneys to someone he doesn’t know.

A couple of years ago Klinger went through three days of testing at the Mayo Clinic to determine if a portion of his liver would be compatible for transfer to a college friend. Klinger wasn’t a match but a liver from a cadaver saved his friend’s life.

Earlier this year Klinger was ready to donate a kidney to former Twins player and manager Frank Quilici. A woman who is a family friend was a better match and about one week ago Quilici had successful surgery.

“I just think what greater gift can you give than the gift of life,” Klinger said.

The Twins, who are averaging about 33,000 fans per game at home, are likely to see an increase in attendance during June not only because schools will dismiss for summer vacation, but three teams with box office appeal, the Brewers, Cubs and Phillies, will be in town. Ticket inventory, Klinger said, is tight for those games.

Former Twins outfielder Mickey Hatcher, who was in his 13^th season as Angels hitting coach, was fired last week. The Angels rank No. 26 among major league teams in runs scored with 159.

The St. Thomas baseball team plays Christopher Newport from Newport News, Virginia on Friday in the Division III Baseball College World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Tommies are 38-8 while their opponent is 34-8. The Tommies are in pursuit of their first national championship since 2009. The championship game will be played on Tuesday.

Minnesota State plays Southern New Hampshire on Saturday in the Division II Baseball College World Series in Cary, North Carolina. The Mavericks are 48-10 this season while Southern New Hampshire is 42-13. The tournament is double elimination as is the Division III competition. The Mavericks have made 31 NCAA tournament appearances.

Ricky Rubio received the second most points in voting by NBA head coaches when they determined the league’s All-Rookie team, announced yesterday. The Wolves point guard was second in points, 49, to Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving who had 58. Wolves rookie forward Derrick Williams made the All-Rookie second team.

The Gophers football schedule for the 2015 and 2016 seasons (released on Monday) includes games against Ohio State in Minneapolis and Columbus. It’s the first time the Buckeyes have been on the Gophers schedule since 2010. Ohio State leads the series against Minnesota 43-7.

Only one date was left open on the schedules, the September 19, 2015 slot where the Gophers are still looking for a nonconference opponent, probably at home.

It was 10 years ago yesterday that former Gophers athletic director Paul Giel died. “If 100 people met Paul they wouldn’t like him. They would love him,” his friend Harvey Mackay said.

Former WCCO TV anchor Don Shelby has nearly 5,000 friends on Facebook, and he’s receiving well wishes for his May 27^th birthday.

The Wild are aggressively shopping their No. 7 pick in the first round of the June 22 NHL draft, a pro hockey source told Sports Headliners. “I hear they’re willing to take offers for an established or established players,” he said.

The Wild could also trade the pick to acquire additional draft choices, although that doesn’t seem as likely. The team is badly in need of scorers, and also lacks “leadership in the clubhouse,” according to the source.

“If you watch any of the playoffs you can see how far away the Wild are (from being a post-season team),” he said. The source’s opinion is the Wild needs “three or four” good players to be more equal with at least some playoff clubs.

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Saunders Not Sure about College Coaching

Posted on May 16, 2012May 17, 2012 by David Shama

Flip Saunders, let go earlier this year by the Wizards, remains interested in coaching again. He’s had NBA head coaching jobs since 1995 with the Timberwolves, Pistons and Wizards, directing four teams to the conference finals in the last eight years.

Saunders, 57, told Sports Headliners the “right situation, right ownership” could put him back in the NBA. He fondly remembers working for Glen Taylor, using the Timberwolves boss as the kind of owner experience he values.

What about college basketball for Saunders who lives with his family in the Minneapolis area? “I don’t know. My name is always brought up at Minnesota just because I am here,” Saunders said.

“Do I think I would be a good college coach? Yeah, I say that because when I talk to (Michigan State coach) Tom Izzo, Izzo always tells me you’d be unbelievable in college because he sees when (and how) I talk to players, and be able to recruit players and do those type of things.

“Partly coaching, too is a lot (about) having knowledge. When you’ve been an NBA coach and you’ve coached and you’re at 1,500 or 2,000 games, you’ve been through just about every situation.

“Again, it would have to be the right situation (college). You just don’t jump in as far as anywhere. I think right now I am more geared to being a pro coach.”

Saunders played for the Gophers and was later an assistant coach on Minnesota’s 1982 Big Ten championship team. He was also an assistant at Tulsa and coached junior college basketball in Minnesota. Speculation about him coaching the Gophers occurs when rumors start about Minnesota coach Tubby Smith being targeted for other college jobs.

When asked about the Wolves, Saunders believes the franchise’s priority should be to acquire or develop a guard who is a “flat-out shooter.” He also said there’s probably not such a “game changer” on the free agent market this summer and the Wolves may instead need to develop two-year veteran Wesley Johnson, a player who averaged six points per game and made .389 percent of his field goal attempts last season.

Last year the NBA labor dispute delayed training camps and shortened preparations for the season. Not a good thing for young players like Johnson. “You’re hoping Wesley Johnson improves,” Saunders said. “He shows signs. You gotta judge him where he’s going to be after he goes through a training camp with Rick (Adelman). ”

The Wolves missed the playoffs last season and stumbled badly in the closing months after Ricky Rubio was injured. Saunders said the team could improve in the near future but still not make the playoffs. “Who you going to jump over?” he asked and then listed several strong teams in the Western Conference. “They might get better—significantly—and they might be in the same spot they’re in, or maybe move up one or two spots.”

Saunders cautioned about expecting too fast a return to elite performance by Rubio who tore his ACL in the left knee. It’s even too soon to predict when the 21-year-old point guard will play again. Saunders is experienced with players who have severe injuries to their legs and shoulders. “What I usually say is that when a guy comes back and starts playing, you’re going to know how he is a year from that time,” Saunders said.

Last season was Kevin Love’s fourth in the NBA and the Wolves forward established himself among the league’s best players, even finishing sixth in the MVP voting. But Saunders won’t include Love among the league’s five best players yet. Saunders quickly listed Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, then said Dwight Howard is probably his fifth player among the five best.

“I am never going to put a guy in the top five if he’s not in the playoffs,” Saunders said. “I vote guys if their team wins. There has to be something said for winning. No matter what you have to do. What he’s doing (Love) is he’s putting up top five numbers. He’s putting up top 10 numbers. He’s one of the top players in the world.

“When you talk top five, that’s a pretty elite group right now. You’re talking guys that not only are they putting up numbers and that, but their teams are winning and usually winning pretty big.”

Saunders is working with the Celtics as an adviser during the playoffs. He’s reunited with Kevin Garnett who he coached 10 seasons in Minneapolis. He regards the 7-foot Garnett as probably the most versatile player in basketball history.

Because of his association with the Celtics, Saunders wouldn’t predict who will emerge as Eastern Conference champions but he picks the Lakers to win the Western Conference.

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