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Gopher Great Given National Honor

Posted on March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 by David Shama

Jerry Noyce, the retired Minneapolis business executive and former Gophers tennis coach who years ago should have been named the University of Minnesota’s athletic director, was honored recently when the The National Fitness Foundation announced its inaugural Honorary Board.

The Foundation is the official charity of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. The Honorary Board that was announced last week honors Noyce and 26 other former members of the Council—spanning the administrations of eight American presidents. Other honorees include track great Jackie Joyner-Kersee and legendary college wrestling coach Dan Gable. The Foundation said in a statement that “the new Honorary Board is designed to commemorate the dedicated service of proven health and fitness leaders.”

Noyce is humbled by the recognition. “It is really a wonderful honor and caps off my career in sports, health, fitness and athletics,” he said in an email.

Noyce served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport from 2006-2008. He was named to the volunteer organization by then President George W. Bush while heading up a nonprofit promoting health and wellness. Noyce was the first health and fitness industry representative appointed to the Council. In his Council membership role, he appeared at events and spoke on behalf of the President and Department of Health and Human Services.

An Illinois native, Noyce was an outstanding tennis player for the Gophers in the 1960s. As Minnesota’s men’s tennis coach from 1973-1988, he directed a program from last to first place in the Big Ten and saw all but three of his players earn degrees from the University. He established the Gophers as a conference power and in 1986 was recognized as Division I college tennis coach of the year.

Through the years Noyce had various business experiences including CEO and President of the Northwest Health Clubs. The clubs were founded by former Timberwolves owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner. Noyce helped turn those Minneapolis-area facilities into one of the largest health club chains in the country.

With a resume of excellence in athletics and business, Noyce was a favorite more than once of Gopher loyalists to become Minnesota’s athletic director. He not only had career skills but also the charisma and personal relationships to become a power broker AD who saw the potential in Gopher athletics including the long floundering high profile sports of football and basketball.

Back in the 1990s it looked like Noyce would be hired as his alma mater’s athletic department boss. He had big plans for the department including resurrecting the football program that slumped badly after the departure of miracle-worker coach Lou Holtz in 1985. Noyce was planning to make a great coaching hire in football and he had the downtown Minneapolis business connections to help with any money that was needed to run a championship program. Although Noyce was a finalist for the AD job back then, he wasn’t hired.

In 2011 University regent Dave Larson was promoting Noyce’s name as the successor to athletic director Joel Maturi who was retiring. Instead, the U administration hired Norwood Teague who made questionable hires in the department, clashed with head football coach Jerry Kill, struggled with fundraising and resigned in 2015 amid sexual harassment complaints.

A favorite slogan in the athletic department these days is “Row the Boat,” but those that know will tell you the Gophers missed the boat when they didn’t hire Noyce who might have become the school’s best AD ever.

Worth Noting

Renewal notices have been sent out for Gopher basketball season tickets. It seems likely that even with some new sales, the public season total will be down next fall after the team’s disastrous 4-14 Big Ten record in 2017-2018. The athletic department sold about 7,100 public season tickets for this last season, including over 950 new tickets.

The Gophers averaged 11,850 fans per game in 17 home dates in 2017-2018, ranking 10th among 14 schools in the Big Ten. The prior season Minnesota averaged 10,308 and ranked 11th in Big Ten attendance. Minnesota’s Williams Arena has a capacity of 14,625.

Minneapolis-based Jostens, or Tiffany & Co., are expected to make the Super Bowl rings for the Eagles who defeated the Patriots last month at U.S. Bank Stadium. Jostens has produced most of the past rings including all of the Super Bowls won by the Patriots. “It’s a beauty contest,” an industry source said about the competition to design the most attractive ring and win the bid for production.

Jostens produced the new Jeff Sauer WCHA Championship Trophy to be awarded annually to the league’s postseason tournament winner starting this month. The trophy replaces the Broadmoor Cup and is named for Sauer, a Minnesota native and USA Hockey Hall of Fame coach. Sauer coached at two WCHA schools, Colorado College and Wisconsin, and is the league’s all-time winningest coach with 665 wins. Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup is the corporate sponsor of the trophy that is more than three feet tall when on its base.

The roster for the Vegas Golden Knights, who early last month set an NHL expansion team record for wins, has been put together by general manager George McPhee who won the Hobey Baker Award in 1982. At that time the award was presented by the Decathlon Athletic Club in Bloomington and McPhee, a forward from Bowling Green, was recognized as the nation’s best college hockey player.

“One of the smartest hockey players I have ever been around,” said John Justice, a longtime local hockey enthusiast and in 1982 director of operations for the Hobey Baker Award.

Star Tribune columnist and WCCO Radio personality Sid Hartman will be 98 years old March 15.

Ervin Santana’s injured right finger has him out indefinitely, but with a lot of open dates in the first part of April the Twins might get away with using a four-man starting rotation for awhile.

Among the Twins’ promotions at Target Field this season will be June 8 Prince Night. Co-branded Prince-Twins caps will be given away in recognition of the Minneapolis entertainer who died in 2016.

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Honors Now & Coming for Murphy

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

A Thursday notes column.

Although Jordan Murphy had a disappointing season-ending game last night against Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament, the junior power forward is Minnesota’s most valuable player in 2018 and next fall will be regarded as a potential All-American.

Murphy, who missed most of the first half because of foul trouble, scored 11 points and had nine rebounds in the Rutgers game. Murphy’s rebounds pushed his career total at Minnesota to 910, moving him into third place all-time behind Mychal Thompson’s 956 and Kevin McHale’s 950.

The San Antonio native, who leads the nation’s Division I players in double-doubles, just missed picking up his 25th in 32 games last evening. He broke Thompson’s single season school record of 21 double-doubles, and he leads the Big Ten in rebounding with an average of 11.3 per game.

Murphy, who tied Tim Duncan’s NCAA record streak of 17 double-doubles to begin a season, could move into second place in 2019 behind Thompson’s career points total of 1,992. Murphy has 1,282 career points.

The only Gopher to start every game this season, the powerful 6-7, 250-pound Murphy was Minnesota’s leading rebounder and scorer (averaging 16.8 points per game). He was named to the media’s second team All-Big Ten group this week. The conference coaches put him on the third team.

Murphy was a second team selection last year and is the first Gopher since Vincent Grier in 2006 to be All-Big Ten in consecutive years. Thompson, from 1976-78, was the last Minnesota player to be all-conference three consecutive seasons.

Going into next fall Murphy’s name will be considered when preseason candidates for Big Ten Player of the Year are discussed. He will also receive attention regarding preseason All-America teams and will certainly be on the watch list for the Karl Malone Award honoring the nation’s best power forward. He is in the running for that award this season.

That was former Gopher football player Lewis Garrison officiating last night’s Big Ten Tournament basketball game in New York between Illinois and Iowa.

The Golden Gophers don’t have a single player at this week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis but that’s likely to change in 2019. Ryan Burns, publisher of GopherIllustrated.com, told Sports Headliners he believes 2018 senior offensive tackle Donnell Greene could project as a third or fourth round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Burns said word is Greene and running back Rodney Smith, also a senior next fall, were informed by NFL sources if they declared for the 2018 draft they projected as late picks. Smith could have a third consecutive season of rushing for more than 950 yards next fall and enhance his positioning in the 2019 draft.

Smith’s three-year partner at running back, Shannon Brooks, and senior placekicker Emmit Carpenter, might also be at the Combine a year from now. Brooks is an elusive runner who has made touchdowns runs of 37 yards or more five times in his Minnesota career. Carpenter, at 81.8 percent, has the best field goal conversion percentage in Gopher history and is a former Big Ten Kicker of the Year.

Former Gopher assistant coach and captain Grant Potulny has his Northern Michigan team seeded No. 2 in the WCHA playoffs that begin Friday. In his first season as head coach the Wildcats have won 21 games, the most since 2006.

Potulny was named Northern Michigan’s head coach in April of last year. At 21-12-3 overall, the Wildcats have won 20 games for the first time since 2010.

Potulny, who was an assistant at Minnesota for eight seasons, has long been known as a leader. He was a three-time captain of the Gophers during his career from 2000-2004. During that period the Gophers won two national titles.

If and when the Gophers head coaching job opens up, Potulny’s name could prompt consideration. Don Lucia is finishing his 19th season as head coach and the University of Minnesota athletic department hasn’t made a long-term contractual commitment to him.

Lucia’s current contract has one more season and athletic director Mark Coyle will need to make decisions soon. Lucia has made it known in the past that operating on a soon-to-expire contract is a detriment to recruiting.

Potulny’s Wildcats are scheduled at home Friday, Saturday and Sunday in WCHA men’s quarterfinals playoff games against Alabama-Huntsville, 11-21-2, and the No. 6 seed. The No. 1 tourney seed is Minnesota State.

This weekend’s Big Ten Tournament men’s hockey quarterfinal series between Minnesota and Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports North channels, and streamed on BTN2Go and Fox Sports Go. The best-of-three series starts Friday and will be televised by Fox Sports North Plus, with Saturday’s game on Fox Sports North. If necessary, the deciding game will be Sunday and aired on Fox Sports North. All three games will be played at 6 p.m. Central Time.

This is the first year since the inception of Big Ten hockey in 2013-2014 that the Gophers haven’t been regular season conference champions. A 10-12-2 record this winter placed the Gophers fifth in the league standings behind Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State.

Jake Odorizzi, the recently acquired right-hander expected to be an impact starter for the Twins, makes his debut with Minnesota Friday when he starts a spring training afternoon game against the Blue Jays. The game won’t be televised in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

It looks like DH-first baseman Kennys Vargas, who in three major league seasons with the Twins hasn’t established himself as a regular, is the odd man out with the recent acquisition of free agent Logan Morrison who fills the same role. Both Vargas and the Twins likely would welcome a trade.

The February 26 issue of Sports Illustrated ranks the top 100 baseball players in the majors and the list starts with Angels’ superstar Mike Trout, and includes three Twins: No. 41 Brian Dozier, No. 68 Byron Buxton and No. 78 Ervin Santana. Noticeably missing: Twins slugger Miguel Sano who had a controversial 2017 on and off the field.

The Gophers’ Hugh McCutcheon, whose volleyball coaching resume includes the Olympics, speaks to the CORES lunch group March 8 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Reservations are needed by March 5. More information is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

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Kirk Cousins Resume Prompts Scrutiny

Posted on February 27, 2018February 27, 2018 by David Shama

Count former Viking Bob Lurtsema as someone hoping the Kirk Cousins to the Vikings rumors aren’t true. Yesterday and today multiple reports speculate the Redskins’ free agent quarterback could be headed to Minneapolis.

“He is not a leader,” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners. “Look at his record. He is a loser.”

Rich Cimini, writing on ESPN.com February 25, said the 29-year-old quarterback has a 4-19 record against winning teams (based on final season records). He is 19-9-1 against losing clubs, 3-2 versus .500 teams. His overall regular season record is 26-30-1, and he is 0-1 in the playoffs, Cimini reported.

“What the hell has he done?” Lurtsema said of Cousins who has played six NFL seasons—all for the Redskins.

Cousins has set franchise passing records for the Redskins. The last three seasons (starting with 2015) his passer ratings have been impressive—101.6, 97.2 and 93.9, but he isn’t regarded as a superstar quarterback. In the NFC North where the Vikings compete he could be ranked behind not only the Packers Aaron Rodgers but also the Lions’ Matthew Stafford.

The Vikings, though, have had success in recent years fitting three different quarterbacks into their system. They may regard Cousins as healthier and potentially better than any quarterbacks on the current roster.

Speculation is the Vikings might spend in the neighborhood of $100 million on a contract for Cousins who is regarded as the NFL’s best free agent quarterback. If the Vikings pay out that kind of money it’s yet another indication of the Wilf family’s willingness to spend money in their pursuit of a Super Bowl win.

“The Wilfs will do anything to get a winner,” Lurtsema said about the Vikings’ owners. “They’re not afraid to do whatever it takes to make a winner. Good family.”

It could be the Vikings prefer to move on from Case Keenum, believing Cousins is a better talent. Keenum, as a sub for the injured Sam Bradford, went 11-3 as the team’s starter during the last regular season. Lurtsema is a fan of Keenum and praises his performance including leadership in 2017.

NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling is writing today that the Vikings maybe unlikely to put the franchise tag on Keenum and that when free agency talks start next month Minnesota’s target could be Cousins. “If I were a betting man, that’s where I would say he lands,” NFL authority Gil Brandt wrote on Twitter yesterday.

Worth Noting

Big Ten Network streaming or BTN pay TV might be the only way for fans in Minnesota to watch the Gopher men’s Big Ten Tournament hockey games at Penn State on Friday and Saturday. No official word yet but a University of Minnesota athletic department spokesman confirmed the possibility yesterday.

Among new players on the Gophers football roster when spring practice starts next week will be wide receiver True Thompson, son of former U all-time leading rusher Darrell Thompson. True is a preferred walk-on from Iowa Western Community College who also was recruited by Syracuse.

Darrell told Sports Headliners True has better hands and jumping ability than dad. His son is looking forward to playing for wide receivers coach Matt Simon. “I hear nothing but great things about Matt,” Darrell said.

Another Thompson son, Race, is a redshirt freshman basketball player at Indiana. Race is friends with Rochester John Marshall’s Matthew Hurt, a high school junior and among the most highly recruited players nationally in the class of 2019. Hurt made an unofficial visit to Indiana last year and spent time with Race, Darrell said.

Quoting Dick Bremer on Twitter: “The acquisitions of Jake Odorizzi and Logan Morrison from the financially crippled Rays reminds me of the theft of Jeff Reardon and Al Newman from the Expos before the 1987 season. Hoping for the same result.”

Reardon’s heroics as the Twins’ reliever included getting the final out in Game 7 of the 1987 World Series. Newman was a versatile utility player and he also was a contributor to the 1991 World Series championship team.

Bremer, who has been doing Twins TV play-by-play man since the 1980s, turns 62 on Thursday.

For the first time in franchise history, all 162 of the Twins’ regular season games will be televised. Fox Sports North will do 154 games, FS1 six and ESPN two including the April 18 game against the Indians from Puerto Rico.

Edina and Minnetonka are favorites to emerge as class 2A state champions next month but a sleeper pick is Moorhead. Spuds junior defenseman Ethan Frisch is a name to follow at Moorhead and he could be a star in college at North Dakota where he has verbally committed.

For the second consecutive year the Golden Gophers men’s basketball team will have the season-ending banquet at Williams Arena. The Golden Dunkers booster group will host the March 5 banquet featuring table seating on the historic arena floor. The 6 to 8:30 p.m. event includes player autographs. Seating at coach Richard Pitino’s table is $400 per person, with other tickets priced at $75 ($37.50 for eighth graders and younger). More at Goldendunkers.com.

Pitino will speak to the Twin Cities Dunkers March 6 at the Minneapolis Club. Pitino is nearing the end to his fifth season as Minnesota coach this week in the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers play Rutgers in a first round tournament game on Wednesday night in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

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