Twins – Page 160 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U Needs Another ‘Echelon’ on Road

Posted on January 9, 2015January 9, 2015 by David Shama

The Gophers basketball players have been reminded the Big Ten schedule is a different “neighborhood” than the “walk-in-the-park” nonconference games they experienced during November and December. The Gophers, for example, still rank second nationally in both steals and assists per game—11.7 and 18.6 averages—but in Big Ten games only, those numbers are 8.7 and 11.3.

Other stats including overall field goal percentage are down in conference play, too, but the most important number is this: 0-3 in the Big Ten heading into tomorrow’s game at Michigan. Instead of playing inferior nonconference teams like Franklin Pierce, Seattle and Southern, Minnesota has of late been dealing with Big Ten opposition including nationally ranked Maryland and Ohio State. The Gophers were 11-2 in nonconference games and are now 11-5 overall.

Gophers point guard DeAndre Mathieu credits Big Ten teams with impressive preparation for his team. “Teams are really scouting us. I think (when) we played Purdue they said they practiced…seven guys on the court at one time. Teams are (also) doing a good job of challenging our shots. Things like that.”

A loss tomorrow and the Gophers will start 0-4 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 2011-2012 season. Two of the three losses have been by a total of six points and the schedule makers have given the Gophers only one home game (last Tuesday night) among their first four games.

“It’s the best league in the country for a reason,” said Gophers center Elliott Eliason. “It’s just if you don’t bring it every night you’re gonna get beat. We’ve played some really good teams. They’ve made the plays. You gotta give them the credit. They beat us.”

Eliason said the Gophers are playing with determination and want to win, but he won’t guarantee a victory in Ann Arbor against 2-1 Michigan. “It’s really tough on the road. You gotta play even another echelon above when you play at home, because things aren’t going to go your way. Breaks are just not gonna happen, seems like on the road.”

The Gophers lost by four points at Purdue and by 12 at No. 9 ranked Maryland. Tuesday night Minnesota lost by two points in overtime to No. 20 ranked Ohio State. Senior guard Andre Hollins said the Gophers “definitely” are the equal of the teams who have defeated them. “(We’re) just taking ourselves out of the game, not making winning plays, is what’s wrong with us.”

Worth Noting

Hollins, who last season was the team’s leading scorer but now is third at 12.4 points per game, missed all six of his first half field goal attempts against Ohio State and was scoreless. He came into the game converting three of 19 shots in his previous two games. In the second half Tuesday night he was three of seven on field goal attempts and finished with 12 points. “I was shooting the same way (in both periods),” Hollins said. “It was just going in.”

Eliason grew a thick beard for six weeks that drew attention from fans and media when the Gophers played at Purdue on December 31. But he said coach Richard Pitino put the “kibosh” on the beard and he shaved it off. What was the coach’s reasoning? “I don’t know,” Eliason said. “He just said get rid of it and I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ “

Sports historian Dana Marshall e-mailed that on January 5, 1957 the Gophers pompom girls, “organized by Bob Patrin,” made their debut at Williams Arena in a game against Illinois. Marshall, the student manager on the Gophers 1960 national championship football team, also noted Minnesota won the game.

The Gophers men’s hockey team also will be in Michigan this weekend. Coach Don Lucia’s team (10-5-1) has games in Ann Arbor tonight and Saturday against the Wolverines (10-7). The series between the two programs dates back to January 23, 1923.

Michigan coach Red Berenson has 798 career wins while Lucia has 661. They rank second and third in Division I wins among active coaches. Boston College’s Jerry York has 974 career wins—the most among both active and former coaches.

Club president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners “never say never” but the Twins are unlikely to add additional free agents to their roster. Their major free agent signings since the end of last season include pitcher Ervin Santana and outfielder Torii Hunter. “Our roster is pretty well set,” St. Peter said.

The team’s full season ticket equivalents sale was 17,500 last year and St. Peter predicts by the start of the 2015 schedule the total will be in the 13,000 to 14,000 range. Twins spring training tickets go on sale tomorrow. The club expects to sell 100,000 or more tickets for its home games in Fort Myers.

The 19th annual Timberwolves Shootout is tomorrow at Target Center and fans can watch four high school basketball games. Central High School of Omaha, Nebraska plays Apple Valley in the first game starting at 9:15 a.m. North Scott from Eldridge, Iowa faces Cretin-Derham Hall at 11 a.m., followed by Morgan Park of Chicago and DeLaSalle at 12:45 p.m. The last game at 2:30 p.m. has Rice Lake, Wisconsin against Champlin Park at 2:30 p.m.

Twenty-seven future NBA players have participated in past Shootouts including Jrue Holiday, DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Love and Josh Smith. More than 200 participants went on to play Division I basketball.

Condolences to former Gophers football player and Minneapolis businessman Mark Sheffert and wife Jennifer after the death this week of Jennifer’s mother Orlu Severson. Orlu was the wife of former St. Cloud State basketball coach Red Severson.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association will honor coaches of the year at its awards banquet on March 28 at the DoubleTree in St. Louis Park. The award winners and their football classifications are: 9-Man, Gary Sloan, Grand Meadow; Class 1-A, Charles Adams, Minneapolis North; Class 2-A, Luke Mitchell, Holdingford; Class 3-A, Mike Kesler, Rochester Lourdes; Class 4-A, Dwight Lundeen, Becker; Class 5-A, Rex King, Simley; Class 6-A, Jeff Ferguson, Totino-Grace. The state Coach of the Year representing all classes will be announced at the banquet.

Ferguson, along with Paul Miller from Apple Valley and Steve Solem of BOLD, will also be recognized as new coaching members of the MFCA’s Hall of Fame. John Sherman of Sun Newspapers will be honored in the Hall of Fame citation division.

The City of Edina will hold an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Braemar Golf Course Clubhouse to share the draft Braemar Golf Course Master Plan and receive feedback. The presentation is open to anyone interested in the plan. Braemar’s address is 6364 John Harris Drive.

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New Gophers Football Facility Set for 2015

Posted on December 28, 2014December 28, 2014 by David Shama

Ground breaking and construction on the much talked about and coveted new Gophers football facility will begin next year, according to a donor who is providing $15 million.

Although the Athletic Department has yet to make an announcement, Janis Larson told Sports Headliners Gophers football coach Jerry Kill will get the facility he says is needed to make his program competitive with others in the Big Ten. The building will be named the David and Janis Larson Football Performance Center.

Janis is the widow of David Larson who passed away unexpectedly at age 70 last fall. Her husband was a University of Minnesota regent and loyal Gophers football fan. He raved about Kill’s work in turning around the football program and praised the coach’s high character. “He had my back,” an appreciative Kill said last fall.

The two men became friends not long after Kill was named the Gophers coach in late 2010. Larson, who had been one of Cargill’s top executives, once gave $500,000 to the football program to pay for tutors, laptops and also enhancements to the weight room.

The new football performance center will make a lasting statement about the Larsons’ commitment to Gophers football. “We talked about it before he passed away,” Janis said. “He knew about it.”

The facility will be three stories high, Janis said, and with all its components—including much needed indoor practice space—will put the Gophers in a competitive recruiting situation with other Big Ten programs. The total cost for the building, according to another source, could be at least $25 million.

The Gophers’ present indoor facility was built in the 1980s at a cost of $5.5 million. It has many deficiencies including a roof so low punts bounce off the ceiling. The building is acknowledged to be at or near the bottom when compared with those of other Big Ten schools.

This year Kill reportedly told recruits the Gophers would start breaking ground on a new facility in 2015. He also voiced confidence about the building becoming a reality when talking with Howard Griffith from the Big Ten Network last August. “There’s no question I am looking forward to the new facility,” Kill said. “We have to have that. That’s been kind of a deal in recruiting, and so coach Kill has put a lot of pressure in that situation. That’s going to come through.”

But Gophers fans have rightfully fretted about whether the facility would become a reality for Kill’s 2015 timeline. The football building is part of an overall $190 million campaign to upgrade athletic department facilities. Department officials have been mostly quiet about fundraising progress—and regarding the football complex a spokesman recently said construction will start “as fast as humanly possible.”

The concern has been that if Kill doesn’t see the football facility become a reality he will leave Minnesota and find a program where resources are in place and winning is more of a priority. Gophers’ fans don’t want to lose a popular coach who delivered trophy game wins over Michigan and Iowa this season, and now is preparing his team for the school’s first January 1 bowl game since 1962.

“I can’t imagine him leaving now,” Janis said. “He is a genius.”

That’s how her husband thought of Kill, too. David and Janis have also been admirers of the coach and his wife Rebecca for their volunteerism and caring for others inside and outside of football.

The Larsons wanted to make sure their friends are here for a long time.

Worth Noting

Janis Larson will be the guest of University of Minnesota regents for Thursday’s Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl game in Orlando when the Gophers play Missouri. Buffalo Wild Wings is based in the Minneapolis area. Sally Smith, CEO and president, is expected to attend the game and present the bowl trophy to the winning team.

Sports handicapper Kelly Stewart made the Gophers her top pick against the spread in 38 college bowl games, according to the December 19 Reviewjournal.com. The Gophers have been a 5 to 5½ point underdog to Missouri but Minnesota has excelled this season at beating the spread.

Before the season the number was set at six by handicappers for the Vikings’ total wins this season. Gamblers who took the “over” six on wins are celebrating the Vikings’ victory today against the Bears and final season record of 7-9.

The Bears finished 5-11 and in last place in the NFC North Division. Rumors are Minneapolis-born Marc Trestman and his coaches will be dismissed soon.

Fox color commentator Brady Quinn had the understatement of the telecast today when he said this about Vikings rookie Teddy Bridgewater: “This is the quarterback of the future.”

First-year Vikings coach Mike Zimmer raved about Bridgewater after the game on KFAN Radio, but said the 22-year-old does need to improve during the offseason including becoming stronger. “I love this kid,” Zimmer said. “He’s got so much composure. He’s so accurate. …He’s everything you want your quarterback to be and he’s a winner.”

Bridgewater completed 17 of 25 passes for 209 yards. The 68 percent completion percentage was the first time in the last five games he has been under 70 percent.

Adam Thielen, the Detroit Lakes native who was bypassed by Division I schools coming out of high school and was on the Vikings practice squad last year, was all smiles after catching a 44-yard touchdown pass from Bridgewater. The reception was his first NFL touchdown catch and the Vikings lone TD in their 13-9 win today.

The Gophers basketball team was impressive again on Saturday, winning 108-82 over UNC Wilmington. The Seahawks lost at No. 4 ranked Louisville earlier this month by only 11 points but the Gophers used a 34-9 late first half run to easily win their eighth consecutive game. Minnesota now has an 11-2 record, finishing its nonconference schedule with wins by 28 points or more in five of the last six games.

Gophers senior point guard DeAndre Mathieu, who scored 13 points and had 11 assists against UNC, left the game late in the second half and didn’t return. He was hit on his right elbow and some fingers became numb. Both he and coach Richard Pitino said there are no concerns about Mathieu’s right hand as the Gophers prepare for Wednesday’s Big Ten opener at Purdue. “He likes attention,” Pitino teased.

Senior guard Andre Hollins said his right turf toe injury didn’t slow him down on Saturday. He doesn’t expect the toe, which he hurt in the Seattle game on December 10, to be a problem at Purdue.

The Gophers were outrebounded by UNC 39 to 27 and Pitino said if there is a concern going against Purdue it’s on the boards. He described the Boilermakers as a “very, very physical” team. Freshman forward Vince Edwards leads the Boilers in rebounds at 6.1 per game but they also have a pair of 7-footers in freshman center Isaac Haas and junior center A.J. Hammons. The 7-2 Haas and 7-foot Hammons are both averaging 5.2 rebounds.

WCHA commissioner and former Angels communications executive Billy Robertson is an avid baseball fan who predicts the Twins will be the “most improved team” in the American League in 2015. He believes the Twins will tie for third place in the AL Central with the Indians. He projects the Tigers will win the Central with the other AL division winners being the Angels and Red Sox. The A’s, Orioles and White Sox will be AL Wild Card entries for the playoffs. In the World Series it will be the Red Sox over the Dodgers in seven games.

Coach John Tauer’s St. Thomas men’s basketball team is 8-1 and ranked No. 6 nationally by D3hoops.com. No other men’s MIAC team is in the D3hoops top 25.

The Tommies are the only Division III men’s team in the country with six players averaging in double figures. Those players are Marcus Alipate, Bloomington, Jefferson; Taylor Montero, Cretin-Derham Hall; Conner Nord, Eden Prairie; Ryan Saarela, Lakeville North; Grant Shaeffer, Eden Prairie; and Cortez Tillman, Cretin-Derham Hall.

During the past six-plus years the Tommies’ 87 percent winning percentage is the best in the country among 417 Division III programs. UST has won nine consecutive MIAC titles, with nine straight NCAA tournament appearances and 20-plus wins during those years.

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U Needs Bowl Rally Starting January 1

Posted on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by David Shama

Talk about incentives.

The Golden Gophers can “exorcise a lot of demons” if they defeat Missouri in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on January 1. Coach Jerry Kill’s team learned yesterday they have an invitation to that prestigious New Year’s Day bowl.

A source told Sports Headliners last week the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida was Minnesota’s preferred bowl destination. The Citrus is the highest ranking bowl game the Gophers could have been invited to and provides Minnesota with its first New Year’s Day matchup since 1962. The Citrus is the Big Ten’s second-oldest current bowl partner behind only the Rose Bowl. Big Ten teams have played in 24 Citrus Bowls, including each of the last 22 seasons.

The Gophers have lost six consecutive bowl games. All, of course, have been disappointing but some were particularly bitter defeats including last December’s loss in the Texas Bowl to a mediocre Syracuse team. To this day the Gophers will shake their collective heads over their effort and performance.

The Gophers don’t want to lug yet another bowl loss into their offseason workouts and spring practice. The program picked up momentum this season with a 5-3 Big Ten record, Minnesota’s best since 2003. Wins included trophy game triumphs over Michigan and Iowa. A season-ending loss to Wisconsin, along with a defeat in the bowl game, will take some shine off this year.

The flip side, though, is the Gophers cannot only put themselves in good spirits during the off-season but also put more juice into the fan base. More ticket sales and interest in the program are for sure if the Gophers defeat Missouri, a team that is among the best in the SEC—America’s top college football league.

The Tigers, 10-3, won the SEC’s East Division and are No. 16 nationally in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Gophers, 8-4, are ranked No. 25.

The Tigers are perceived as the team with the better personnel and figure to be a wagering favorite, at least by a touchdown. The Gophers, though, will embrace the underdog role they have played throughout the season. Last summer virtually no one predicted Minnesota would contend for the Big Ten’s West Division title but the Gophers went into the last game of the regular season with a chance to advance to the conference championship matchup with East Division champ Ohio State.

The Gophers cannot only help their own image by winning on New Year’s Day against an SEC team. They can help pump life into the Big Ten brand. Dating back to 2000, conference teams have only twice won more bowl games than they lost. The last four years the Big Ten record in postseason is 10 wins, 21 losses.

The national exposure on New Year’s Day can help Minnesota’s recruiting which is already on an upswing because of this season. The Gophers target recruiting high school players in the Southeastern part of the country, so playing in a major bowl game in Florida for the first time since 2000 is valuable.

Minnesota players who have been injured will have extra time to heal before the Citrus Bowl. An earlier bowl date meant, for example, that wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky would have less chance of recovering from his high ankle sprain. A starter in the Illinois game when he was injured, Wolitarsky would be a welcome returnee for quarterback Mitch Leidner who has played on a bad knee.

Like other bowl teams, the Gophers will receive 15 extra practices. That’s an incentive for a lot of players to improve and impress the coaches.

There’s that incentive word again.

Worth Noting

The Vikings have won consecutive cold weather games the last two Sundays at home. Yesterday the temperature was 32 with a wind chill of 21. A week ago Sunday the temp was 12 and the wind chill at minus seven. Vikings running back Ben Tate said players stiffen up in the cold. “You feel like you’re running in slow motion,” he told Sports Headliners.

The Vikings have one home game remaining, December 28 against the Bears, and then next year more outdoor football before moving into their new enclosed stadium in 2016. When it’s miserably cold at TCF Bank Stadium can a bad team that is losing to the Vikings by a big score give up? Tate thinks so. “In a climate like this, probably pack it in and just want to get the game over. I definitely think that’s an advantage for us playing in the cold weather.”

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen is in his first season as a starter. The team’s other starting end, Brian Robison, believes Griffen has been playing at an All-Pro level. “I absolutely think so,” Robison told Sports Headliners last week. “The guy’s been playing out of his mind this year. To have 11 sacks (12 after yesterday) at this point in the season is huge. I think he’s done a lot more things than that (too)…so I think the guy is playing on a tremendous level right now.”

The Pro Bowl will be played January 25 in Glendale, Arizona and Griffen could be among the players selected. Pro Bowlers are determined by voting from fans, players and coaches. “I would think it would be a shame if he didn’t make the Pro Bowl for sure,” Robison said.

Former Gopher Simoni Lawrence, now a linebacker for Hamilton in the CFL, started all three playoff games for the Tiger-Cats including their Grey Cup loss to Calgary.

TwinsFest tickets—$20 for adults and $10 ages 14 and younger—go on sale to the general public on Thursday. Twins president Dave St. Peter said in the past all players on the 40-man roster have usually made appearances at TwinsFest, and for 2015 that means fans will likely be able to meet top prospects like Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano. The event, January 23-25, will be at Target Field for a second consecutive year and attendance could total a capacity maximum of 15,000, or about half the size for some TwinsFests at the Metrodome.

St. Peter said new manager Paul Molitor has “made contact” with players and will do more off-season communications at TwinsFest. Molitor’s contacts have been made with players here in town, not out of Minnesota.

Baseball’s winter meetings began yesterday in San Diego and are a catalyst to rumors about free agent signings. St. Peter said the Twins are shopping for pitching but wouldn’t predict how soon the club might have an announcement about acquisitions. “It could play out over 60 to 90 days,” he told Sports Headliners.

The North Dakota basketball team that plays the 6-2 Gophers tonight at Williams Arena has a 3-4 record including a 37 point loss to Utah and 12 point defeat against Northern Iowa. The North Dakota roster has six Minnesotans including sophomore guard Quinton Hooker, the 2013 Minnesota Mr. Basketball from Brooklyn Park, who is averaging 9.6 points—third best on the team—and leads in assists with 17.

Gophers basketball and baseball public address announcer Dick Jonckowski is recovering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and his last chemotherapy session is tomorrow.

If the Gophers season is to be a success, junior college transfer Carlos Morris needs to be a leading contributor. Morris was important to Minnesota before the season began, but is even more vital now with fellow small forward Daquein McNeil off the team indefinitely after being arrested for an off-court incident. Morris’ athleticism has been impressive including on Friday night when the Gophers defeated West Carolina, but coach Richard Pitino expects a lot from the 6-5, 175-pound junior.

“You can’t play 32 minutes at the small forward spot and only get two rebounds (Friday),” Pitino said. “He did a lot of good things—16 points, four assists, three steals—but you gotta rebound the ball at that spot.”

Pitino doesn’t plan to be overly patient with Morris who is the team’s second leading scorer at 11.6 points per game. He wants consistent effort and versatile production from Morris. “A lot of times with jucos it takes them a year,” Pitino said. “We don’t have a year with him. Just like we didn’t have a year with DeAndre Mathieu (juco point guard transfer in 2013).

“He’s gotta figure it out right now because he’s our only true small forward in the program. He’s gotta figure out a lot of things quickly which is normally difficult, but he’s got the talent which is good.”

The Gophers will wear black uniforms for their January 6 Big Ten home opener against Ohio State. The “Barn Blackout” game will encourage fans to wear black clothing.

Former Gophers golfer and New York Times bestselling author Harvey Mackay will ring a bell for the Salvation Army from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Byerly’s in St. Louis Park. This will be Mackay’s 12th consecutive year helping with the organization’s holiday fundraising effort. Mackay usually tells WCCO Radio listeners if they make a contribution to his kettle they will receive one of his books for free.

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