Timberwolves – Page 48 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes’ Zimmer: Cook ‘Feeling Really Good’

Posted on October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 by David Shama

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, talking this morning, didn’t rule star running back Dalvin Cook out for Sunday’s home game against the Atlanta Falcons. “I talked to him today. He said he’s feeling really good,” Zimmer said. “We’ll just see how it goes.”

Another option could be for Cook, who sustained a groin injury last Sunday, to sit out the Falcons game, and gain additional rest with a bye date coming up October 25 for the Vikings.

Zimmer was asked if there is an update on another top playmaker, defensive end Danielle Hunter, who has been inactive through the first five games because of a neck injury. “No, not really. Still kind of mulling his options, I think.”

The Minnesota Vikings are about one-third through their 2020 season and with a 1-4 record, at the bottom of the NFC North standings. This is not a bad team, though, and indicative of that is the Vikings have been competitive most of the season including two losses by a total of two points.

The goal of making the playoffs is all but gone but the silver lining is improving and promising players. Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney are progressing and that’s a major step forward for a team having to rely on rookie cornerbacks. Fourth-year linebacker Eric Wilson, replacing the injured Anthony Barr, looks better in pass protection and had an interception in Sunday night’s game with the Seattle Seahawks. Rookie defensive tackle James Lynch played in his first game Sunday and showed the aggressiveness that helped him set a single season sack record of 13.5 at Baylor. Rookie defensive end D.J. Wonnum has also impressed.

Second-year running back Alexander Matison has been outstanding in relief of Cook and certainly could start in Sunday’s game. “Very conscientious kid. Works real hard,” Zimmer said. “I think he tries to learn from Dalvin as much as he can.”

The Vikings have an NFL all-rookie team candidate in wide receiver Justin Jefferson who is going to make impact plays this season and beyond. The much criticized offensive line has been effective run blocking and at times given quarterback Kirk Cousins adequate time to throw. That has helped the offense improve its time of possession including in the Seattle game.

Zimmer will make sure his team plays with effort in the last 11 games, regardless of the team record. He labels his players fighters and the fiery Zimmer wouldn’t have it any other way. Now that doesn’t make up for the decision to pass up on a closing minutes field goal against Seattle, but it does give assurance the Vikings will continue to be watchable as the season progresses.

Worth Noting

Look for an announcement today about a new nonprofit organization called Minnesota Sports & Events established by local leaders from the hospitality, sports and business communities. The goal is to bring more major sports and entertainment events to the Twin Cities.

Gopher men’s and women’s basketball season ticket holders were notified by email Tuesday there will be no season tickets for the 2020-2021 home schedule. Seat locations will carry over to the 2021-2022 season. The email referenced the possibility of a limited number of individual tickets being distributed on a game-by-game basis but provided no further details.

Former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, now with the Carolina Panthers, ranks sixth in total passing yards in the NFL with 1,460.

Former Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs is off to an impressive start with the Buffalo Bills, his new team, and his stats rank among the best in the NFL through five games. With the Bills 4-1, general manager Brandon Beane has emerged as an early season favorite for NFL Executive of the Year including for his acquisition of Diggs from the Vikings during the last offseason.

Although Diggs had a reputation as a problem player in Minnesota, former Gopher and Green Bay Packer Jim Carter had an engaging experience with him. Last year Carter and other former ex-Packers were in Green Bay to celebrate the career of the late Bart Starr. “All the Viking players trotted past our group of broken down old players, except one,” Carter recalled in an email. “Number 14 (Diggs) stopped, fist bumped quite a few of us (I’m sure he didn’t have a clue who any of us were. …). He smiled and said a couple of friendly ‘thanks for being here’ and ‘congratulations.’ Class act!”

To save money, apparently there was talk of the Gopher men’s hockey team playing at Ridder Arena this season, the small facility that hosts the women’s team. But coach Bob Motzko said in an October 8 story on the Therinklive.com the Gophers will remain at 3M Arena at Mariucci to better celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the program.

Candidates will be lining up for the University of St. Thomas men’s hockey coaching opportunity. The Tommies will be Division I starting in 2021-2022 and joining the CCHA. Jeff Boeser will not coach beyond this school year. “This will be a plum D-1 job,” a source wrote via email.

He said candidates could include two former Golden Gophers assistants, Mike Guentzel and Scott Bell, who turned around Hamline’s program. Guentzel is presently a scout for the Arizona Coyotes, while Bell scouts for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Two sources said St. Thomas is looking at building a hockey arena.

If any Minnesota Timberwolves player in franchise history were 25 years old who would you choose as the best ever? The answer here is Jimmy Butler, a complete player who makes teammates better and excels during a game’s biggest moments when he wants the basketball. His departure from the Wolves blew up the Tom Thibodeau era after Butler led Minnesota to the playoffs in 2018, the team’s only postseason since 2004.

Butler, who deserves to be ranked with the NBA’s best players, may have not liked the efforts of teammates in Minnesota and later the Philadelphia 76ers, but playing for the Miami Heat he has found a home. In the NBA Finals he carried the Heat with triple double performances before losing to the Lakers.

Managers on a Mission, reported on in this space in the past, has changed its name and brand to better communicate its focus on developing Christ-centered leaders involved with sports. The St. Louis Park-based organization, led by former Gophers basketball manager Drew Boe, is now the Uncommon Sports Group. “Serving more than just student and equipment managers, the program aims to develop any collegiate or professional ‘future leader of the sports industry,’ ” according to a news release. More at Uncommonsg.org.

Good news: today is National Dessert Day.

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Donaldson Impact about Zip So Far

Posted on August 31, 2020August 31, 2020 by David Shama

The Twins took the field yesterday in Detroit without four everyday regulars and proceeded to lose their fifth straight game. Missing because of injuries were center fielder Byron Buxton, third baseman Josh Donaldson, catcher Mitch Garvin and left fielder Eddie Rosario.

No Twin has been a bigger disappointment and more absent from the field this summer than Donaldson who makes a team-leading $21 million in base salary, per Spotrac.com. Acquired in a splashy winter free agent signing, Donaldson went on the Injured List August 7 with a right calf strain after appearing in seven games during this COVID-19 shortened season that began in late July. His minimal stats include a .182 batting average with one home run and two runs batted in.

Minnesota gave Donaldson a four-year $92 million deal, the largest free agent contract in club history. Twins front office leaders Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took a calculated risk the 34-year-old could produce as in the past. Since 2013 Donaldson has been among baseball’s most productive home run hitters and also a standout in the field.

After an impressive start to the season, the Twins have lost 11 of their last 21 games. They were 3-6 on the road trip that ended against the Tigers on Sunday, and the club struggled to score runs. Minnesota is no longer leading the AL Central Division standings, and Donaldson, known as “Bringer of Rain,” has missed 25 games during the 60-game season.

Given the type of injury that sidelined Donaldson, it’s been a head scratcher as to why he has been sidelined so long. However, manager Rocco Baldelli said the former AL MVP could return sometime during the club’s eight-game home-stand that begins tonight against the White Sox.

It’s likely to take Donaldson awhile to find his stroke at the plate—perhaps in the closing weeks of the season in late August and on into September. That would mean ROI for the Twins: Return on Investment.

Worth Noting

Paul Molitor was a first-ballot Hall of Famer following his great playing career and in 2017, while leading the Twins, was named American League Manager of the Year, but the Minnesota native acknowledges watching baseball is a test of patience for many fans.

During the most recent segment of the Twin Cities cable TV program “Behind the Game” (also available on YouTube), the personable Molitor was asked about the length of MLB games which typically last over three hours and sometimes longer. His view is the impact on fans goes deeper than the duration of games. “It’s that the action is not there,” he told program hosts Patrick Klinger and Bill Robertson.

Among the culprits in causing slow action is the increase in frequency of hitters striking out and also drawing more walks than in Molitor’s day when he played in the big leagues from 1978 to 1994, ending his playing career with his hometown Twins. “I just think the fact that there is a lack of flow to the games really makes people check their watch more than you would like to get them watching a baseball game,” Molitor said.

Molitor was known both as a player and manager for having a high baseball IQ. During his playing career the game of baseball was more varied with hitters striving to place the ball in play, while managers strategized about advancing runners with the hit and run, or bunts, and base stealing. Today’s players and managers are focused on power baseball with launch angles and home runs. “It’s not as entertaining for me to sit back and wait to see who outslugs who,” Molitor said.

This summer the 64-year-old Molitor has been biking, golfing and coaching his son in Edina youth baseball. He was a career .306 hitter and had a lofty total of more than 3,000 hits.

The Twins check in at No. 5 in S.I.com’s latest power rankings of MLB teams, trailing the Dodgers, low budget Rays and Athletics, and Yankees. Minnesota’s Central Division rivals rank like this: Indians, No. 8; White Sox, No. 9; Tigers, No. 24 and Royals No. 26.

The Twins have played 23 of their 35 games against the Tigers, Royals, No. 21 ranked Brewers and No. 30 Pirates. Minnesota has a 12-11 record versus those teams.

The MLB trade deadline is today and seemingly the Twins’ biggest need is a return of their own injured position players and pitchers.

There has been a lot of hype about Minnesota natives being selected in this fall’s NBA Draft and S.I. com had an interesting take in its mock draft late last month projecting first and second round picks (contracts guaranteed to first rounders only). Tyrell Terry, the guard from DeLaSalle who played one season at Stanford, is predicted as the only Minnesotan going in the first round, at No. 19 to the Nets.

S.I. projected the Timberwolves will use the No. 1 overall choice on Georgia guard Anthony Edwards, with Minnesota also picking Memphis forward-center Precious Achiuwa at No. 17 in the first round. The Wolves will take hometown favorite and point guard Tre Jones, who played at Apple Valley and two seasons for Duke, with their No. 33 choice early in the second round. Zeke Nnaji, the forward-center from Hopkins who played one season at Arizona, will go No. 34 to the 76ers, per S.I.

I strongly disagree but S.I. has Daniel Oturu, formerly of Cretin-Derham Hall and the Gophers not being drafted until the Wizards take him at No. 37. He averaged more than 20 points and 11 rebounds last season while showing he can play inside and out, but his collective draft predictions have been far ranging for months.

That was ex-Viking Herschel Walker, former Gophers football coach Lou Holtz and ex-Gopher defensive back Jack Brewer appearing as speakers at last week’s Republican convention.

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Glen Taylor: Nothing Certain on Sale

Posted on August 17, 2020August 17, 2020 by David Shama

In an exclusive interview with Sports Headliners, Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor said it’s not definite he will sell the franchises. Reports earlier this summer had the 79-year-old Mankato billionaire pursuing a sale of his longtime franchises for $1.2 billon.

When asked whether he anticipated a sale soon or not happening for an extended period, he said: “I don’t really know the answer to that right now. We have opened it up to see if people would be interested. At this point we’re trying to see what value would they put on it, and we haven’t finished that. We’re just getting that information together. …We have some people that said they are interested.”

Although not likely, Taylor said it’s possible a sale of the NBA Timberwolves would not include the WNBA Lynx. Presently, one company runs the two franchises, with some employees working for both the Wolves and Lynx.

“So that’s the most logical way (of selling),” Taylor said. “If we find a buyer I guess we’ll just have to sit down with that buyer and see what their interest is. I am open to almost anything.”

Taylor deserves credit for making the Wolves and Lynx fixtures in the state’s sports and entertainment scene. In the mid-1990’s original Wolves owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson nearly completed a deal to relocate the franchise to New Orleans. Taylor stepped in and saved the franchise for Minnesota, purchasing the team for a reported $90 million.

In 1999 the upstart WNBA was bleeding money as it pioneered opportunities for women on the court and in other basketball positions. Taylor, a socially conscious entrepreneur, became owner of the Lynx expansion franchise and the team joined the Wolves in playing at Target Center.

“It isn’t like I thought about it (a lot),” Taylor said. “It just seemed like the right thing to do (women’s pro basketball).

“I am more concerned why more (NBA owners)…why they don’t do it. There is nothing wrong with taking some of the money you’ve made on the NBA…putting some of it back into the WNBA. It isn’t going to make anybody broke, or anything like that.”

Taylor said he doesn’t know what the dollar value of the Lynx is, and there are few estimates available about such figures for WNBA franchises. A $15 to $30 million per team value is a guess but whatever the number it’s a long way from the billions that NBA franchises command.

Taylor acknowledged there were years when his franchise lost a “couple million dollars.” But the Lynx has been one of the WNBA bluebloods, winning four league titles with the most recent in 2017, and the owner said championship years had the franchise making about $1 million.

It’s been satisfying to Taylor watching the success of the Lynx on the court but it’s also been rewarding knowing how the WNBA has created opportunities that didn’t previously exist for women. The league is a model for girls and young women to consider sports careers not only playing but in other areas such as coaching, administration and training.

NBA teams are now hiring women for key positions including assistant coaching. Taylor said that’s a role his Lynx head coach, Cheryl Reeve, could fill. She has coached the Lynx to all its championship success and also excelled in identifying personnel.

Worth Noting

In its August 15 football issue Sports Illustrated predicts the Minnesota Vikings will finish the 2020 season with an 8-8 record, just behind the 9-7 Green Bay Packers in the NFC North Division. In a best case scenario the magazine says Mike Zimmer turns in his best coaching job revamping the secondary, while quarterback Kirk Cousins silences doubters.

Worst case? The heavy load of personnel changes entering the season proves too much to overcome and Cousins doesn’t measure up on an inconsistent team that must label 2020 as a rebuild.

In the same issue S.I. identifies North Dakota State redshirt sophomore quarterback Trey Lance as a potential top 10 NFL draft choice in 2021. The former Marshall, Minnesota prep player set a Bison passing record for efficiency last season while leading the team in rushing.

Gary Trent Jr., the former Apple Valley star, is a breakout contributor this summer for his surprise Portland Trail Blazers who have qualified for the NBA playoffs that opened this week. The 21-year-old second season shooting guard has made a big jump in playing time because of his shooting and defense.

The second annual Taste Fore The Tour raised $131,000 to support Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People, the Twin Cities’ largest food pantry. VEAP has experienced a 10-fold increase in demand due to COVID-19 but the promotion raised enough funds to provide 400,000 meals for local families. Donations are welcome through August 31, at TasteForeTheTour.com.

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