Twins – Page 146 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Childress Didn’t Deserve Vikings Exit

Posted on October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 by David Shama

Brad Childress never should have been fired as the Vikings coach in November of 2010. His supporters may be thinking about his fate this week as the Vikings prepare to face the Chiefs on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium.

Childress now works for the Chiefs and long time friend Andy Reid, the Kansas City head coach. This will be Childress’ 17th season in the NFL but only the four-plus he spent with the Vikings were as a head coach. It will be five years next month that he was let go, despite his success in rebuilding the franchise.

Childress was fired after 10 games of the 2010 season. His regular season record as Vikings coach was 39-35. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons the Vikings won an NFC-best 22 games. The club won consecutive division titles those seasons, for the first time since 1977-78. The 2009 team reached the NFC championship game for the first time in nearly a decade and was among the elite teams in the NFL.

Brad Childress (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

The Vikings were 3-7 in 2010 when Childress was let go, but he had proven his coaching ability. Some disgruntled players may well have contributed to his dismissal, but political situations in locker rooms have a way of disappearing over time. What also may have impacted Childress’ job security was his unpopularity with fans, but he was a solid coach who was successful when surrounded by talented players such as in 2009.

I knew Childress and enjoyed his company one day when we visited legendary Gophers coach Murray Warmath at Friendship Village of Bloomington. Childress knew of Warmath but the two had never met. He spent a lot of time that day visiting with the old coach who had also worked for the Vikings. While we were visiting Warmath, Childress quipped, “Where do I sign up for 95?” Warmath died in 2011 at age 98.

Childress didn’t have to take time from his busy schedule to meet Warmath, but it wasn’t surprising. While in the role of Vikings head coach he was involved with community activities. He is a good guy, good football coach and someone who didn’t deserve such an abrupt ending to his time as the Vikings boss.

Worth Noting

Between now and a home game on November 22 with the 5-0 Packers, the Vikings play five teams with a combined record of 7-19. The 2-2 Vikings have an opportunity to build their record with home games against the 1-5 Chiefs and 2-3 Rams, and away matchups with the 0-5 Lions, and the 2-3 Bears and Raiders.

Odds indicate the one-win Chiefs are due for another “W” soon. Does that add extra concern for Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer? “No, not really,” he answered. “We’ve only won two games—so no, not at all. Our focus is on us and what we do, and how we need to win…and how we need to get better, how we need to perform in the crucial situations of the game. Really, that’s all I’m concerned about.”

The Vikings are chasing perhaps the NFL’s best team, the Packers, who lead the NFC North with their unbeaten record. The Bears have surprised by winning a couple of games already while the winless Lions are a disappointment. What are Zimmer’s thoughts about the division race so far?

“Well, I think it’s a great division, but I’m so focused on us, to be honest with you. I know what the records are. I know who is leading the division, but we’ve got 12 more games to go, so there’s a lot of things that can happen. …Really, all I care about ever is us and how we play…let’s add them up at the end of the year and see what happens.”

Mike Wallace (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Vikings wide receiver Mike Wallace, who missed a couple of practices recently, said his left knee was sore “but I feel good now.” Wallace said he hasn’t had previous problems with the knee.

Vikings superstar running back Adrian Peterson feels “rejuvenated” after the team had last weekend off because of its bye in the schedule. Peterson said he feels pressure to perform after missing most of last season.

Unless the Chiefs return a portion of their visiting team tickets allotment, Sunday’s game at TCF Bank Stadium is already sold out.

A Vikings spokesman told Sports Headliners the number of workers on the U.S. Bank Stadium project is now at 1,400—a peak number since construction began and the number will decline soon and not reach that total again. The project is 75 percent complete and the facility will be completely enclosed by the end of November. The stadium opens next summer.

Prayers and best wishes to former Gophers All-Big Ten linebacker Bill Light who has pancreatic and liver cancer. Bill’s many friends were informed via e-mail this week of his health issues. He was named all-conference in both 1970 and 1971.

The University of Minnesota “M” Club Hall of Fame honored 14 inductees last night at a ceremony inside TCF Bank Stadium. Congratulations to: Luke Becker (wrestling); Ronda Curtin (women’s hockey); Chris Darkins (football and track); Roland DePaul (men’s hockey); Olga (Splichalova) Espinosa (women’s swimming); Brent Gates (baseball); Clifton Gustafson (wrestling); Jack Manders (football); Dick Meredith (men’s hockey); Jennie (Moe) Coughlin (women’s tennis); Dave Odegard (track and field); Joey Ray (men’s gymnastics); Bill “Buzz” Schneider (men’s hockey); Byrl Thompson (track and field).

Shannon Brooks, the Gophers freshman running back who has established himself as the team’s most explosive player, reports not having a serious football injury since ninth grade. Brooks, who believes it’s a “blessing” to have the opportunity to make big plays as a true freshman, said the most carries he had in a high school game was 25. How many could he handle here? “As much as they give me,” he said.

Could Brooks rush the ball 40 times or more in a single game? “I could do that,” he said. “If they feed me the ball, I am gonna run it.”

Gophers fans may talk about missing the speed of departed tight end Maxx Williams but quarterback Mitch Leidner believes present tight ends Nick Hart and Brandon Lingen are comparable. Leidner said “they might have been a little bit faster than” Williams who left the Gophers last winter for the NFL Draft.

The Gophers play Nebraska tomorrow, a school that didn’t join the Big Ten until 2011, but Minnesota and the Cornhuskers had a long nonconference rivalry in football that began in 1900. A few years ago there was quiet talk in the Minnesota Athletic Department about creating a rivalry trophy but nothing is planned. Winners of the last two games with the Cornhuskers, Minnesota leads the all-time series 31-22-2.

The Wild finished ahead of other Minnesota pro sports franchises in the recent 2015 ESPN The Magazine Ultimate Sports Standings. The standings rank 122 franchises from major league baseball, the NBA, NFL and NHL. The NBA’s Spurs ranked No. 1 in voting by fans to evaluate the franchises. The Wild ranked No. 37, ninth best among NHL teams, and ahead of the No. 47 Twins, No. 86 Vikings and No. 97 Timberwolves.

There is no word on when Gophers executive associate athletics director Mike Ellis may return to work from his leave of absence.

Fox Sports North will televise both the Lynx parade and championship celebration today starting at 11:30 a.m. The Lynx, who defeated the Fever for the WNBA title Wednesday night, will host a parade beginning at the corner of 12th Street and Hennepin Avenue before turning down 7th Street toward Target Center. Starting at 12:15 p.m. a celebration will be held at Target Center that includes a video commemorating the championship season and Lynx players will speak to the crowd. Both events are free and open to the public. Target Center opens at 11:30 a.m.

Former Timberwolves player and executive Fred Hoiberg, now head coach of the Bulls, turned 43 years old yesterday.

The Capital Club, featuring local sports figures as speakers, hosts Gophers interim athletics director Beth Goetz on November 3 at Town & Country Club in St. Paul. For more information about membership, contact Patrick Klinger, Patrick@thebrandenhancementgroup.com.

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U Looks for 3rd Straight Over Nebraska

Posted on October 12, 2015October 12, 2015 by David Shama

Things I think I am clear about after getting out of bed at 3 a.m. Saturday morning for travel to West Lafayette for the Gophers-Purdue football game:

Be skeptical of anyone telling you he is mostly correct about which teams will win college football games each week and how they’re going to do it. Second-year Texas coach Charlie Strong was all but fired before his 1-4 Longhorns went to Dallas last Saturday to play No. 10 ranked Oklahoma. Washington State was more than a two touchdowns underdog at once mighty Oregon. The Gophers managed only 10 first half points against Purdue’s lowly defense and the Minnesota offense, entering the game last in points per game among Big Ten teams, looked stalled out again.

Well, Texas and Washington State pulled off upsets, and the Gophers produced 31 second half points to pull away from the Boilermakers with a 41-13 win. The offensive line lifted the spirits of worried Gophers fans by opening some of the biggest holes of the season after halftime, and freshman running back Shannon Brooks left no doubt he is by far the team’s most explosive player by gaining 176 yards including a 71-yard touchdown run.

It was a must-have win for the Gophers, now 4-2 and within two wins of bowl eligibility. The one thousand or more Gophers fans at the stadium knew, or should have known, the win over Purdue could be followed by a victory this Saturday against 2-4 Nebraska.

Hard to believe but the Gophers can win for a third consecutive time against Nebraska, one of college football’s winningest programs. The Gophers had 16 straight losses to the Cornhuskers from 1963-2012. After the Nebraska game at TCF Bank Stadium this Saturday, Minnesota will look for additional wins during a daunting remaining schedule that features national powers Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State, plus a pair of 4-2 teams, Illinois and Wisconsin.

But let’s not go too far into the future. Let’s return to the wisdom of paragraph No. 2 above. Who knows for sure how the remainder of the schedule will turn out for Minnesota and other teams? What is known about the Gophers is that despite playing without more than one-third of their starters lost to injuries, they managed to win last Saturday. No, it wasn’t a tear down the goalposts victory against 1-5 Purdue, but it kept the word hope alive in the Gophers’ vocabulary for a successful 2015 season.

An early flight to Chicago with friend Tim Murray and drive to West Lafayette had us on the Purdue campus by early afternoon. At Mackey Arena the Purdue band entertained mostly Boilermakers fans before the game. The arena public address announcer acknowledged the Gophers fans in attendance and the band dialed up the “Minnesota Rouser.”

All afternoon we experienced Purdue hospitality. Even walking out of the stadium after a Gophers rout we were wished safe travels. Boilermaker fans certainly had reason to be in a bad mood. Purdue is struggling through yet another discouraging season, and both its offense and defense were inept last Saturday. Purdue’s tackling was at times awful and Boilers’ defensive coordinator Greg Hudson, who once held the same position at Minnesota, had reason to be livid.

Yet despite Purdue’s performance we never saw or heard a boobird all day. I have travelled to Gophers games at Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin. The most classless experience anywhere was in Ann Arbor awhile back when our group was harassed after the game while walking on campus.

Our crime? Wearing Gophers clothing. It wasn’t enough the Wolverines had won another yet game against Minnesota. These jerks had to mouth off after the win.

A trip to West Lafayette provided a lesson in hospitality and kindness. Go Purdue fans!

Worth Noting

Brooks, who averaged 10.4 yards per carry against Purdue on 17 carries for 176 yards, was named the Big Ten’s Co-Freshmen Player of the Week along with Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers. Chris Streveler, then a quarterback, was the last Gophers player to win the award (September, 2014). Streveler, now a receiver, caught his first college pass in the Purdue game.

It’s interesting to note that three coaches who once had their names in credible rumors about the Gophers head coaching position are now either out of work or under fire. Brady Hoke was at San Diego State and Randy Edsall at Connecticut when Minnesota was looking to replace Tim Brewster who had been let go during the 2010 season. The Gophers hired Jerry Kill while Hoke went to Michigan and Edsall moved on to Maryland. Hoke was fired after last season and Edsall dismissed yesterday. Texas head coach Charlie Strong was the defensive coordinator at Florida when the Gophers were replacing Glen Mason in early 2007. Strong moved on to Louisville and is now at Texas where he is under intense pressure.

Vikings wide receiver Mike Wallace didn’t practice today. Head coach Mike Zimmer wouldn’t disclose why at his news conference this afternoon. Wallace reportedly didn’t practice last Tuesday—the last time the team worked out prior to its bye on the schedule this past weekend.

Will Wallace play on Sunday against the Chiefs? “We’ll see. The injury report will come out on Wednesday,” Zimmer answered.

A starting wide receiver acquired from the Dolphins in the offseason, Wallace had his best regular season game as a Viking on October 4 against the Broncos. He caught eight passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Some Vikings players put in extra time to improve during the bye week. Zimmer indicated rookie center Nick Easton, acquired last week in a trade with the 49ers, was one of them. Asked about the learning curve for Easton, Zimmer said, “He spent a lot of extra time last week (learning). He’s a pretty sharp guy. I think he’ll get up to speed quickly.”

This week Zimmer will watch to see if his players are tuned in after returning from extra time off because of the bye. “For awhile, a year ago, we’d give them a long weekend or something like that. They’d come back and they weren’t as crisp or sharp as when they left,” he said.

Twins president Dave St. Peter talking about his franchise that finished 83-79 this season after a record of 70-92 in 2014: “I think advancing to postseason play has to be a goal for us next year. I’d like to think we could put ourselves in a position to contend for the American League Central.

“The Royals are good and I think the path to winning our division certainly goes through Kansas City. …I expect the Royals will be the favorite to win our division next year. I don’t expect we’ll be picked (again) to finish last in our division but none of that matters unless we get it done on the field.”

The Lynx hopes history repeats Wednesday night at Target Center. Minnesota plays the Fever in the deciding fifth game of the WNBA Finals. The franchise is 3-0 in close-out playoff games at Target Center.

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Twins President Wants Hunter Back

Posted on October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 by David Shama

Torii Hunter didn’t play yesterday as the Twins ended their 2015 season at Target Field, losing 6-1 to the Royals. It might have been Hunter’s final game as a major leaguer because the 40-year-old was indefinite about his future when interviewed yesterday morning on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle.

Hunter will talk during the offseason with his family about his future and added if he had to decide now it’s probable he will retire. Hunter, who mentioned he doesn’t want to take anti-inflammatory substances, said his plans after baseball aren’t certain but he wants to remain part of the Twins organization.

Hunter played regular right field for the Twins and hit .240 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI (second best on the team). His clubhouse leadership for a team that ended four years of 90-plus loss seasons in 2015 is well documented. The Twins finished with an 83-79 record and chased a wild card spot almost to season’s end.

“I’d love to have Torii back,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners today. “I’d love Torii to be in our clubhouse into perpetuity. He’s just a tremendous asset. He’s somebody that makes teams better. He’s a winner.”

Dave St. Peter (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

Even if Hunter decides to retire, St. Peter wants to see more of the outfielder who came up through the organization and played part or all of 12 seasons in a Twins uniform. “Ultimately, I’d be hopeful, whether he’s playing or not, that long term he’s going to be part of our organization in some way because I think in his heart he’s a Twin,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter is under the impression Hunter won’t do anything regarding a decision for 2016 until November at the earliest. St. Peter expects clarity on the issue before year end.

Hunter reportedly was paid $10.5 million this season on a one-year deal. St. Peter doesn’t know if the Twins will offer the same compensation but doesn’t expect next year will be about money. It will be about how Hunter is physically, how he feels he can contribute to team success and what his role will be with the club.

With Hunter’s career success and charisma, his post-baseball options appear numerous. He could be in demand by both national and local media for broadcast work. Also, St. Peter sees Hunter as a “powerful” influence as a Twins minor league consultant working to develop players. He also said Hunter has expressed interest in learning about front office responsibilities as a club general manager or president.

In the coming weeks Hunter will have to weigh the pros and cons of continuing his career including the physical demands of a long season. “Torii is in remarkable shape,” St. Peter said. “He takes care of his body, but only he knows the toll of a baseball season and what it takes on him.”

Worth Noting

Twins rookie DH and third baseman Miguel Sano hit 18 home runs and drove in 52 runs in 275 at bats. In a full season he might have doubled all three of those numbers.

Miguel Sano (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

Sano and center fielder Byron Buxton gained major league experience this season. St. Peter said Sano is interested in playing winter baseball but it’s not decided whether he will. Buxton will not, focusing on gaining strength and training during the offseason. In 129 rookie at bats Buxton hit two home runs, with six RBI and a .206 batting average.

Twins second baseman Brian Dozier and third baseman Trevor Plouffe delivered career years at bat. Dozier hit a team-best 28 home runs and drove in 77 runs, while Plouffe hit 22 homers and led the club with 86 RBI.

Although Ervin Santana lost his last game of the season Friday night, next year he could be the staff ace the Twins have been in search of for a long time. Santana missed the first 80 games of the season because of a suspension by MLB but he finished 2015 impressively. The loss Friday night was his first since August 19. He pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He finished the season with seven straight quality starts, going 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 50 innings, with 14 walks and 47 strikeouts.

Although it’s a minimal decrease, Twins home attendance declined for a sixth consecutive season. The club attracted 2,220,054 fans after drawing 2,250,606 last year.

Former Gopher and Twin Dave Winfield, whose big baseball career ended with the Indians 20 years ago, had his 64th birthday last Saturday.

Duluth Huskies pitcher Toby Anderson is one of nine Northwoods League players who won the Rawlings “Finest in the Field” Award for the 2015 season. Anderson, who will be a sophomore contending for a starting pitching role with the Gophers next season, had a 1.000 fielding percentage. That’s the same percentage he had last season with the Gophers.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer likes his team but isn’t ready to proclaim it a “good team” after four games and a 2-2 start including yesterday’s 23-20 loss to the 4-0 Broncos. He wants his players to execute better and focus on doing their assignments.

Asked about defensive lineman Linval Joseph at his news conference today, Zimmer praised him as “unselfish.” He said Joseph is interested in a team approach and doesn’t put himself first. Joseph, now in his second season with the Vikings, said he is more comfortable with the defensive system than last year.

The Broncos are one of the NFL’s best teams and Joseph was encouraged about the game. “I feel like yesterday showed us a lot about our team,” he said. “We’re going to fight to the end. We’re not going to give up.”

The Broncos led the Vikings 13-0 in the first half but by late in the game it was 20-20 before Denver made the winning field goal. The Vikings still had a chance before Broncos safety T.J. Ward caused quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to fumble under pressure. The Vikings allowed seven sacks and today Zimmer was asked about the pass protection of Adrian Peterson. Zimmer said his All-Pro running back is successful at pass protection and works at it.

The Vikings won’t practice after Wednesday and are off until next Monday because of their October 11 bye in the schedule. Defensive back Brock Vereen, the former Gophers safety added to the Vikings practice squad last week, said he will stay in town and work with coaches to learn the defense.

Eden Prairie High School football coach Mike Grant and his staff have led the Eagles to 37 straight wins. Senior linebacker Carter Coughlin said the coaches have taught the players about more than winning. “The coaches are all men of character, and they’re all men that all the players respect. They don’t encourage us to cheap shot ever, (or) do any of that other crap.”

The Amazing Hondo, the popular Minnesota-based magician, performed recently at a golf charity event in San Diego where he met one of his basketball heroes, Hall of Famer Bill Walton. “He is taller than tall,” Hondo said via e-mail. “When I brought up my favorite point guard, Steve Nash, his eyes lit up and he quipped, ‘Steve Nash—too small, too weak, too slow—defied all the naysayer odds. He was my favorite player to watch. He made everyone around him better—the mark of a true point guard.’ “

St. Paul resident and veteran official Kristine (Langley) Morrison, who has worked four NCAA Women’s Frozen Four tournaments, was part of the officiating crew for the Ferris State men’s intrasquad game last Saturday and the team’s exhibition game against the University of Lethbridge Sunday. That’s a first, involving a female on-ice official for a Division I men’s game.

“We are exploring new evaluation and development paths for our female officials,” said WCHA Men’s Commissioner Bill Robertson and Women’s Commissioner Aaron Kemp in a joint statement. “Kristine has consistently been rated among the top on-ice officials in the women’s league and is certainly deserving of this opportunity for continued professional growth.”

The October 5 issue of Sports Illustrated noted that the late Roy Griak didn’t see his namesake cross-country meet last month for the first time in 30 years. Griak, who died in July at age 91, won Big Ten track and cross-country championships as Gophers coach. The Roy Griak Invitational is one of the best-known cross-country events in the nation.

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