Timberwolves – Page 67 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Extending Plays a Cousins Question Mark

Posted on September 5, 2018September 6, 2018 by David Shama

Kirk Cousins isn’t known as a scrambling quarterback but he did impact some plays with his running when he was with the Redskins. This Sunday he makes his regular season debut with the Vikings and the blockers in front of him will be a reorganized offensive line that at times will be unreliable.

That line is the biggest concern about the team’s chances of making a Super Bowl run. Leaky play by that unit will shorten opportunities for Cousins to find open receivers and score points.

The Vikings rewarded Cousins in the offseason with a three-year, $84 million free agent contract. Ironically, he replaces a quarterback whose strength often is using his legs to make plays. Case Keenum, the journeyman who became a star last season and helped the team to a surprising 13-3 record, certainly doesn’t have a golden arm but he can escape the pocket and throw passes and make runs when all hell is breaking loose.

In today’s NFL of imaginative defensive schemes and athletic pass rushers, quarterbacks are often under duress. If defenders aren’t throwing quarterbacks to the ground, they are at least hurrying their throws. Keenum often avoided problems last season but the Vikings decided to move on apparently because his arm isn’t the strongest, and perhaps concern that he was a one-year wonder.

The Broncos organization, led by Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, thought Keenum was worthy of a big free agent contract and the No. 1 assignment in Denver. The Vikings believe differently even if NFL sources might rate the collective skills and value of the two quarterbacks similarly.

Keenum is reportedly being paid $18 million this year by the Broncos. At $28 million per year Cousins will reportedly earn only about $5 million less than the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, who most everyone ranks as the first or second best QB in the world.

The Packers are the Vikings’ biggest rival in winning the NFC North Division and Rodgers is sort of a Cousins-Keenum combo. Rodgers has a marvelous arm but also the ability to buy time in the pocket with his feet and legs. He sometimes takes off toward the boundary ready to make a last second throw or run.

Cousins is experienced and smart, and can zip the ball long and short. He can find second and third options to throw to if given the time. There will be times—maybe too many if the reshuffled line is inadequate—that he will need to escape the pocket. That’s when the comparisons to Keenum will come, fair or not.

At the end of the season, though, the most meaningful comparison will be whether the Vikings match or exceed last season’s success that included one win away from earning their way to the Super Bowl. Different styles can spell success in the high pressure world of the NFL.

Starting on Sunday, Vikings fans will see whether Cousins can “scramble” away from the shadow of Keenum.

Worth Noting

The Vikings announced today that cornerback Jaylen Myrick, the former Gopher, has been signed to the practice squad. He was a seventh round draft choice of the Jaguars in 2017 and played five games with them last season before being released a few days ago.

Ticket King emailed customer contacts yesterday about tickets being available for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Warning to the defending NFC North Division champion Vikings: In 14 of the last 15 NFL seasons at least one team that finished last or tied for last in its division emerged the next season as division champions.

In the NFC North the potential team in 2018 is the Bears, who finished last in 2017 but have added star edge rusher Khalil Mack to join promising quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

It was a winning college football weekend several days ago for former Gophers assistant football coaches who worked under head coach Jerry Kill. Tracy Claeys, the new defensive coordinator at Washington State, helped the Cougars to an opening win over Wyoming, while Dan O’Brien, in his first game as head coach at St. Thomas Academy, directed a 50-7 victory over North St. Paul. Defensive coordinator Jay Sawvell is in his second season at Wake Forest and the Demon Deacons had a season opening win over Tulane. Matt Limegrover, an offensive assistant at Penn State, watched the nationally ranked Nittany Lions escape an upset against Appalachian State.

The Fresno State team that plays the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday night is coming off a 10 win season in 2017 and an opening 79-13 victory over Idaho last Saturday. The Bulldogs are one of the favorites to win the Mountain West Conference championship, and possibly be invited to a New Year’s Day bowl game.

Many Gophers football players sent individual notes of encouragement this summer to WCCO TV sportscaster Mark Rosen and his wife Denise who has been dealing with cancer.

After 15 seasons—separate stints of 11 and 4 years—Star Tribune Timberwolves beat writer Jerry Zgoda has decided not to continue with the assignment, opting instead for general assignments within the sports department.

Chris Hine will be the new Timberwolves beat writer.

The Minnesota United has a waiting list for season tickets as the club prepares to move into its new Allianz Field facility in 2019 after playing two MLS seasons at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus. Allianz capacity will be 20,000 including standing room for 600 fans.

The United’s last regular season game at the Gophers’ football stadium will be October 22. TCF Bank Stadium has a capacity of over 50,000 and the United is promoting setting a new single match attendance record for Minnesota pro soccer. The record was established over 40 years ago at Met Stadium for a Kicks game with an announced attendance of 49,572. See the promotion #50KToMidway.

Gophers volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon on what it’s like to have his undefeated team ranked No. 1 in the country this week: “It’s very similar to being No. 3. …”

McCutcheon remains hopeful boys’ volleyball in the state will eventually evolve from a club sport to being sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League. Over 40 high school teams with about 400 players played against one another last spring.

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Another View on Wolves’ Butler-Towns

Posted on July 12, 2018July 12, 2018 by David Shama

Media reports that Timberwolves leader and best player Jimmy Butler is “fed up” with the alleged nonchalant attitude of teammate Karl-Anthony Towns are prevalent, but are those rumors true?

I asked Timberwolves point guard Tyus Jones if he is aware of a rift between Butler and Towns? “No,” he answered.

So Butler and Towns get along?

“They do,” Jones told Sports Headliners on Monday. “As you can see, we won a lot of games this year so I think everyone got along just fine.”

Jones said there were “no chemistry issues” on last season’s team that won 16 games more than the 2016-17 club. Butler, a guard-forward, joined the Wolves last offseason through a trade with the Bulls. As one of the NBA’s best two-way players, he made a major impact on and off the court. The Wolves earned their way into the playoffs for the first time since 2004. In the locker room the intense veteran made his presence known.

Before last season NBA general managers named Towns the player they would want most to start a franchise with. During the 2017-2018 season, his third in the NBA, the Wolves’ 22-year-old center averaged 21.3 points and 12.3 rebounds. However, there have been reports that Butler, the team’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game, is not only critical of Towns’ lack of intensity, but that he also has the same feelings about another young Wolves player with high potential, forward-guard Andrew Wiggins.

All of this leaves Wolves fans uneasy because Butler becomes a free agent after the 2018-19 season. If Butler doesn’t want to be here, that’s certainly not true of Jones who also will be a free agent next year.

Jones expects his agent to begin talks about a new contract this summer and the Minnesota native admitted it would be difficult to leave Minneapolis. “It would be hard,” he said. “I’ve said since the beginning, when I was drafted here, this is a dream come true. I grew up a big Timberwolves fan.”

Jones has been a reserve in his first three seasons with the Timberwolves, who acquired him from the Cavs on draft night in 2015. Last season he played in all 82 regular season games but his minutes were limited and he averaged 5.1 points per game. He has career averages of 4.4 points and 2.8 assists, but has earned praise from coach Tom Thibodeau.

The 6-foot-2 Jones, who entered the NBA at about 185 pounds, looks more muscular this summer. “Put on some weight,” he said. “Just trying to focus on making good weight (muscle).”

The 22-year-old former Apple Valley star and prep All-American weighs about 190 pounds now. He is working on a summer development program with intentions to not only become stronger but quicker, and “improve all aspects of my game.”

His gym time included an appearance Monday evening in the Twin Cities Pro Am league at DeLaSalle High School. He played for Team Tyus, the team he sponsors in the summer time league that has players of varying ages and abilities.

Wolves fans might have concerns about next season’s team but Jones is upbeat. “(I) feel good about it,” he said. “We took a big leap this year. We’re going to continue to try to do that. Each year you want to improve individually and as a whole (team). So making the playoffs and ending that drought was our goal. Now this year it’s try and take it a step further.”

Crandall, Travis, Talked U Transfer

It’s not that well-known but the Golden Gophers might have started next season with high profile grad transfers and Minneapolis natives Geno Crandall and Reid Travis in their starting lineup. Crandall’s decision to choose Gonzaga over Minnesota is a national story this summer and the former North Dakota guard told Sports Headliners about the background to his process in choosing a school that included communications with Travis who is leaving Stanford to play his final season of college basketball at Kentucky.

Crandall describes Travis as his “best friend,” and the two have played basketball together since they were five years old. They played on state championship teams in high school at DeLaSalle. Earlier this year the two texted about playing for the Gophers in their hometown. “We talked…about it and gave it some thought,” Crandall said.

Crandall averaged 16.2 points per game last season for the Fighting Hawks, leading the team in scoring. The 6-foot-3 Crandall was second-team All-Big Sky for the second consecutive season. Travis averaged 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds for Stanford. The 6-foot-8 forward was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection.

The Gophers have a roster talented enough to prompt speculation they could earn their way into the NCAA Tournament next season. But with Crandall and Travis they could have been a Big Ten title favorite. “Oh, yeah, no doubt,” Crandall said.

Crandall believes Travis was influenced in choosing Kentucky because of the program’s national exposure and reputation for sending players on to the NBA. Those were factors that resonated with Crandall, too, in choosing Gonzaga.

The Zags are expected to be a top 10 team nationally. Crandall’s goal is to help the Bulldogs earn their way through the 2019 NCAA Tournament to the Final Four in Minneapolis. He knows how special it could feel playing for a national title in his home city.

Gonzaga has an opening for playing time in its starting backcourt. The path to playing time appeared more direct to him than at Minnesota where the Gophers have experienced players at both point and shooting guard. Those players include grad transfer Brock Stull from Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The decision to choose Gonzaga wasn’t easy. He thought a lot about both Minnesota and Xavier where former Gopher assistant coach and DeLaSalle player Ben Johnson now works.

“Honestly, it was probably the toughest decision I ever had to make in my life,” Crandall said. “The first time around, coming out of high school, it wasn’t such a hard decision because I didn’t have too many offers, or too many programs that I really loved.

“But it was an extremely tough decision to say no to the hometown team that I grew up watching. (Minnesota) coach (Richard) Pitino, I think he’s really building something special. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem in the cards for me for what I was looking for my last year…”

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New & Improved Trivia Quiz Here

Posted on June 26, 2018June 26, 2018 by David Shama

Well, this is almost as traditional as fireworks and hot dogs on the Fourth of July. My annual Independence Day Trivia Contest arrives early this year so you have more time to share with friends and family.

Okay, so I exaggerated with my opening paragraph, but I am delivering 18 questions about Minnesota sports to test your trivia IQ. Answer 16 to 18 correctly and you might become a future trivia quiz contributor. With 12 or more correct, don’t hesitate to test the know-it-all at work who thinks he is “Mr. Minnesota Sports.” Nail 8 to 11 correct answers and figure you were (somewhat?) competitive. Less than eight right answers? Start prepping for the 2019 quiz.

In composing the quiz I kept reminding myself earlier quizzes had too many difficult questions. Admonish me if I remain too harsh of a taskmaster. So dive into the 18 questions, with no peeking at the answers below until answering every darn one.

And Happy Fourth of July!

Trivia Quiz Questions

1. Name the deceased former Vikings coach who will have his name added to the franchise’s Ring of Honor later this year.

2. Kirk Cousins signed an $84 million contract with the Vikings earlier this year, but coming out of college what round of the NFL Draft was he selected by the Redskins?

3. During training camp the Vikings will host another NFL team for joint practices. Name the team.

4. Name the Twins pitcher who struck out 12 Rangers in Minnesota’s win over Texas on Sunday.

5. Who did the Twins trade to the White Sox in July of 2012 to acquire infielder Eduardo Escobar?

6. When these three Twins are in the outfield they like to say, “Nothing falls (between them) but raindrops.” Who are they?

7. This Twins relief pitcher wears his cap cockeyed and during an early season game pursued snowflakes with his tongue. Who is he?

8. Name the Golden Gopher baseball player who the U announced last week has signed a contract with the St. Paul Saints.

9. Name the new Minnesota Wild advisor who once was the Minnesota North Stars’ GM?

10. Where was Wild star Zach Parise born?

11. Who did the Wild select with the 24th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and how do you spell his name?

12. Who is the former Golden Gopher basketball player who once made such a spectacular dunk at Williams Arena that ESPN referred to him as the “Jewish Jordan?”

13. This Golden Gophers basketball starter has a sister who was an All-American at Northwestern. Who is he?

14. Who is the Minnesota Lynx guard who also is head women’s basketball coach for the Golden Gophers?

15. The Timberwolves have two players on their roster who played high school basketball in the state of Minnesota. Name them.

16. Where did Timberwolves first round draft choice Josh Okogie play collegiately?

17. Name the Golden Gophers’ junior wide receiver who is a preseason All-Big Ten choice.

18. What’s the name of the Minnesota United’s soon-to-be home stadium?

Trivia Quiz Answers

1. Dennis Green referred to himself as the “Sheriff” and he rounded up more wins than any Vikings head coach in history except for Bud Grant (101 versus 168).

2. Kirk Cousins was drafted in the fourth round by the Redskins in 2012 and no one could have predicted he would one day sign a three-year $84 million deal.

3. The Jaguars will come to Eagan for joint practices with the Vikings August 15 and 16 at the TCO Performance Center.

4. Jose Berrios, looking increasingly like the staff ace, struck out 12 Rangers and gave up two hits in seven innings in Minnesota’s 2-0 win on Sunday.

5. The Twins sent one-time star pitcher Francisco Liriano to the White Sox in a deal that brought infielder Eduardo Escobar and pitcher Pedro Fernandez to Minnesota.

6. Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario are so slick in the field they can (presumably) even run down raindrops.

7. Fernando Rodney is the Twins closer who wears his cap like he put it on in the dark and during a snowy game in Pittsburgh pursued snowflakes.

8. Golden Gopher senior infielder Luke Pettersen, who was an All-Big Ten third team selection at second base, has joined the St. Paul Saints.

9. Jack Ferreira, 74, once directed the personnel decisions for the North Stars and now Wild GM Paul Fenton has made Ferreira an advisor to him.

10. Even if you can’t skate, hope you got this one: Zach Parise was born in Minneapolis.

11. The Wild chose 18-year-old defenseman Filip Johansson, and please note the first name begins with the letter “F” and there are two “S’s” in Johansson.

12. ESPN’s SportsCenter was blown away by Sam Jacobson’s spectacular dunk but incorrectly referred to him as “Jewish.”

13. Golden Gopher forward Amir Coffey’s sister, Nia, was an All-American at Northwestern and their dad, Richard, was a member of the Gopher teams from 1986-1990.

14. WNBA and Lynx veteran Lindsay Whalen, 36, was named Golden Gopher women’s coach earlier this year (another uncontested “layup” question and answer for you).

15. Timberwolves guard Tyus Jones played for Apple Valley in high school, while center Cole Aldrich was a prep at Bloomington Jefferson.

16. Josh Okogie, who the Timberwolves selected with the No. 20 pick in the first round, played collegiately at Georgia Tech.

17. Golden Gophers junior Tyler Johnson is a third-team preseason All-Big Ten pick at wide receiver by Athlon magazine.

18. Allianz Field, located in St. Paul, will host the MLS United starting in 2019.

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