Category: Twins

Flip Saunders doesn’t want to be the Gophers’ basketball coach but he could still make a major contribution to his alma mater by clearing up the mystery as to why he said no to the University of Minnesota on Saturday.

So far Saunders is saying nothing about walking away from the offer and the result has been a lot of Gopher bashing, starting with athletic director Norwood Teague who is being blamed.  But what are the facts?

I know more than I can write today but let’s start with this: Saunders and Teague began negotiating on Friday, and by Saturday afternoon ESPN.com was reporting Saunders had turned down the job.  Don’t you think if Saunders really wanted to be the Gophers’ coach he and his agent could have worked on the deal longer than 24 hours?

Come on.

This is the third time Saunders, the former Gophers’ point guard and assistant coach, has been approached by his old school.  Athletic director Mark Dienhart was interested in Saunders, then the Timberwolves coach, when Clem Haskins had to be replaced in 1999.  Athletic director Joel Maturi had Saunders, then the Pistons coach, on his list in 2007 to possibly replace Dan Monson.

Saunders has many attributes that made him perhaps the best candidate for the Gophers’ job.  Enormously popular with the public, Saunders could create a financial jackpot for the Gophers, with impact on season tickets, single game tickets, donations, corporate support and a lot more.  After a career as both a college assistant coach and NBA head coach, Saunders has a high basketball IQ and would have improved the Gophers in both practices and games.

But Saunders, 58, may have decided over the weekend that he doesn’t want all of the work involved in rebuilding the Gophers.  While the program was a national power when he played in the 1970s, Gophers’ basketball has been in decline for years.  Haskins, Monson and Tubby Smith, who was fired last Monday, all have under .500 records in Big Ten games.

Maybe Saunders decided that unlike his close friend Tom Izzo, the Michigan State coach, he doesn’t want to be chasing 17-year-old recruits all over the country.  Some guys don’t want to go into every mama’s kitchen and exclaim in front of the family: “This is the best chili I’ve ever eaten!”

After three “courtships” with Saunders, it’s time for Gophers fans to understand this: Dinkytown doesn’t need someone — even a golden boy — to head the program if he doesn’t want the job.

Move on, and have faith in Teague.

Worth Noting

The search now might focus on Marquette coach Buzz Williams whose team ended its NCAA tournament run on Saturday. Included in the Williams resume are recruiting relationships in Chicago.

Teague is under pressure to not only hire the right coach but accomplish it soon, leaving time for recruiting and also not encouraging players on the Gophers’ roster to think about transferring.  Although assistant coaches may not be considered, here’s a vote for interviewing former NBA coach and now Arizona State assistant Eric Musselman.

The April 1 issue of Sports Illustrated predicts the Twins will have a record of 60-102 and finish last in the American League Central Division.  “I don’t know how they can avoid finishing last,” an anonymous rival scout says in the publication.  “The good news is they got some good kids in their trades this off-season.”

The magazine questions the wisdom of asking rookie center fielder Aaron Hicks to make the jump from Double-A to the big leagues so soon.  S.I. said most of Hicks’ hits in spring training came off “fringe major leaguers or minor leaguers.”  A better strategy, the publication suggested, would be to start Hicks off in the minor leagues, delaying his free agent eligibility while allowing him to gain more experience before being called up later this season.

The Tigers, the Twins’ opening day opponent today at Target Field, are S.I’s choice to win the division.  Detroit’s pitcher today, Justin Verlander, will win the Cy Young award, according to the publication.

The Twins’ opening day lineup a year ago was: Denard Span, center field; Jamey Carroll, shortstop; Joe Mauer, catcher; Justin Morneau, DH; Josh Willingham, left field; Ryan Doumit, right field; Danny Valencia, third base; Chris Parmelee, first base; Alexi Casilla, second base; and Carl Pavano, pitcher.

Span, Casilla, Valencia and Pavano are no longer on the roster.  Today Carroll is a reserve while Morneau is at first base, Doumit is the DH and Parmelee is in right field.

Canterbury Park, with a live racing season opening May 17, is reporting a record number of applications for stalls.  Also, the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association recently announced the number of registered broodmares has increased by 77 percent this year.  All broodmares foaling in Minnesota are required to be registered by March 15 of the year they foal.

The cooperative marketing agreement between the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Canterbury Park announced last year is being credited with creating bigger race track purses and more interest in breeding thoroughbreds.

Chadron, Nebraska native Elliott Eliason will have his own cheering section when the Gophers play the Cornhuskers in Lincoln tonight.  Minnesota’s redshirt sophomore center told Sports Headliners he expects at least 24 friends and family at the game.

Chadron is a small town located in northwest Nebraska, about a six hour drive from Lincoln.  Despite the distance, Eliason said students from his old high school may attend the game tonight where his rooting section will include mother Lorna and younger brother Spencer.

Eliason is excited about having the hometown support.  “Yeah, it’s very cool.  We’re  (the Gophers) kind of rolling right now.  Added to that, it’s a big motivator to win down there.”

Eliason said Nebraska was the second school to offer him a scholarship but his final college choices were Stanford and Minnesota.  He enjoyed his recruiting visit to Minnesota and the Gophers “were the right fit.”

Although he has yet to average 3.0 points per game in two seasons with the Gophers, the 6-foot-11 Eliason has become a valuable contributor.  His shot blocking, willingness to take fouls and consistent rebounding have contributed to a sometimes successful Gophers season.

Eliason, who has started 13 games this season, is frequently the first player off the bench. It was as a substitute last week in the upset win against No. 1 Indiana that he may have played his best game as a Gopher, scoring seven points with five rebounds, one block and one steal.  In 14 minutes on the floor Eliason made three of four field goals and converted his only free throw.  And playing with a cold and only for nine minutes last Saturday in a win over Penn State, Eliason came up with six rebounds.

A visitor suggested to Eliason he looked more comfortable on offense and defense last week.  “It just happened in that Indiana game.  Everything felt so good.  It felt so comfortable.  Kind of what I was used to in high school.  Still not scoring like I used to back then. …”

As a high school senior Eliason averaged 17.7 points per game and 10.2 rebounds.  He was twice chosen the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year.  But at Minnesota his struggles have included foul trouble and inability to create and make shots near the basket.

How Eliason plays tonight can certainly impact a game the Gophers (8-8 in the Big Ten) want to win and use to build momentum with their two-game winning streak.  Minnesota defeated Nebraska in January at Williams Arena, 84-65.

The Cornhuskers are 4-12 in league games but Eliason said the Gophers need to be ready for a challenge.  “They play a lot tougher down there.  They really feed off the crowd.  I think they’ll be ready to play.  It will be a game you definitely can’t overlook.  It will be tough.”

The Gophers, who had impressive wins at home over Indiana and Penn State last week, have only one road win in the Big Ten.  Their last two Big Ten regular season games are away including Purdue on Saturday.

Eliason thinks the Gophers have found a “mental focus” he hopes can help sustain them if and when moments become difficult on the road.  And at least in Lincoln tonight he knows there will be emotional support.

Worth Noting

Gophers senior reserve guard Julian Welch said the team has confidence.  “We’re definitely in our eyes a Final Four caliber team.”

Welch started last Saturday’s game against Penn State because it was the last at Williams Arena for him and the other seniors.  He has been both a shooting guard (2-guard) and point guard (1-guard) during his career at Minnesota.  His preference?

“I mean it’s just nice to be out there on the court. If I had to pick, probably the 1, just because I like creating for guys.”

Gophers freshman guard Wally Ellenson grew up playing basketball one-on-one against his brothers.  “We’d all try to make each other better.  We’d play hard but every once in awhile it would end up in a fistfight.  Pretty aggressive but it’s good.”

Ellenson, a native of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, has yet to decide on a major but is considering careers as a high school teacher or architect.

Think the Twins are spending more than a month in spring training just developing players and establishing their roster for the regular season schedule that opens on April 1? That’s part of the mission but the Twins are believed to have turned their spring training weeks in Florida into a profit center.

“It’s a very important economic engine,” a baseball source told Sports Headliners.

There are considerable expenses for the Twins and other teams in spring training.  Years ago the endeavor wasn’t profitable but the source said the Twins may now even make a “mid six-figure profit” while in Florida.

Ticket prices for Twins games at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers are priced between $13 and $43 (premium games), according to the club’s website.  Obviously, prices of $5 per game are long gone.  The Twins frequently draw capacity crowds of about 7,500 at Hammond Stadium.

Merchandise sales in Florida contribute to the Twins’ economic success, too, and the source said the spring training games are a “marketing platform” for the club.  All the games are broadcast on radio, and a few on TV, plus the Twins are major news back in Minneapolis-St. Paul.  The spring training schedule provides a “jump start on ticket sales,” the source said.

The new radio home of the team is K-TWIN 96.3 FM which will broadcast today’s Twins game against the World Baseball Classic Puerto Rico team starting at 12:05 p.m. Minneapolis time.  Fox Sports North will televise the Twins-Red Sox game on Friday beginning at 6 p.m.  Both the Twins and K-TWIN are owned by the Pohlad family.

Bob Stein, the former Timberwolves president and 1967 Gophers All-American defensive end, is on the 2013 ballot for election into the College Football Hall of Fame.  Also among the 77 former players being considered are ex-Viking running backs Ted Brown and Darrin Nelson who played respectively at North Carolina State and Stanford.  Among the five coaches being considered is former Gopher assistant Billy Jack Murphy who is the winningest coach in Memphis history.  Announcement of the 2013 class will be May 7.

Starting next Monday former Vikings and Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon will be joined by Bruce Murray on the SiriusXM Blitz show on Sirius radio.  The program airs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Minneapolis time.