Twins – Page 186 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Award Fate Rests with Peterson

Posted on December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 by David Shama

Adrian Peterson has three regular season games to break the NFL single season rushing record of 2,105 held by former Rams running back Eric Dickerson. If the Vikings monster rusher does that he should be a cinch for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Peterson has 1,600 yards rushing in 13 games and needs to average 169 yards per game the remainder of the season to break the record. He has run for a career best 100-plus yards in each of his last seven games, and for the season is averaging six yards per carry while gaining more total yards than most of the teams in the NFL. Peterson’s career high single season total is 1,760 yards in 2008.

Those are remarkable numbers, but within the context of recovering from reconstructive knee surgery earlier this year they are astounding. After ACL surgery most athletes hope for a return to previous form. The 27-year-old Peterson is having his best season, working his tail off to achieve the greatest numbers of his career and break a benchmark NFL record.

“Boy, it’s hard to imagine someone overcoming as much as he has,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told Sports Headliners. “He’d get my vote (for comeback award). He’s been incredible in every sense of the word. Just a terrific accomplishment when you consider how devastating an ACL injury can be on a player’s career. Not only comeback (award) but…an MVP candidate as well. He’s been terrific.”

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who missed last season because of his neck injury, is Peterson’s primary rival for comeback honors. Manning has led the Broncos to eight consecutive wins and the AFC West title. He has thrown 30 touchdown passes, second in the NFL only to Drew Brees, and his passer rating of 104 is right behind Tom Brady’s league leading 104.2. All of this despite having to adjust to new surroundings and football assignments during his first season in Denver.

“You can’t discount what Peyton’s overcome.” Frazier said. “Four neck surgeries. That’s pretty serious stuff to come back and play at the level he’s playing at.”

But Manning is surrounded by more offensive help than Peterson has in Minnesota. The Vikings’ limited passing game hasn’t done much to create opportunities when Peterson carries the ball. Even the casual fan knows Peterson is going to run the ball often in the team’s offense but waiting defenses still can’t stop him.

If Peterson not only breaks the league single season rushing record but carries the Vikings into the playoffs, his resume for NFL MVP will be loaded too. There’s a bias toward making a quarterback MVP in the pass-happy NFL but all the more reason to recognize a record breaking rusher if he’s beast enough to carry his otherwise subpar offense into the playoffs.

Worth Noting

Vikings radio analyst Pete Bercich said on a broadcast last month from Chicago that he rates the now deceased Walter Payton, who Bercich watched while growing up, an even greater runner than Peterson.

The Vikings, 7-6, have remaining games on the road against the 6-6-1 Rams and 11-2 Texans, and at home versus the 9-4 Packers. Based on the records of opponents in 2011, there are only seven teams in the NFL who have more difficult schedules than the Vikings in 2012.

What’s the key to the Vikings winning on Sunday in St. Louis? “For us, it seems when we travel we don’t do a good job of protecting the ball,” Frazier said. “Then we gotta execute our assignments across the board. But we gotta do a good job of protecting the ball and then trying to take the ball away.”

In six road games the Vikings have lost five fumbles and quarterback Christian Ponder has been intercepted six times.

The Vikings started five rookies against the Bears last Sunday, the most in one game in franchise history—safety Harrison Smith, cornerback Josh Robinson, offensive tackle Matt Kalil, fullback Rhett Ellison and wide receiver Jarius Wright.

Rookie kicker Blair Walsh is among the NFL leaders with 41 kickoff touchbacks, one more than the previous Vikings franchise record of 40.

Don’t be surprised if Darrell Bevell, the former Vikings offensive coordinator, is the next Badgers football coach. Bevell, who is now offensive coordinator with the Seahawks, has a high football IQ and is a quality person. He was Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez’s first Rose bowl quarterback when Alavarez was coaching and resurrecting the Badgers program.

Because of Jerry Kill’s history with seizures, the NCAA allows his wife Rebecca to accompany him on recruiting trips. Kill is committed to better understanding his condition, and despite the news media attention about the seizures they haven’t caused him to miss an entire game while coaching at Minnesota.

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder when he was five years old. He credits the doctors at Yale-New Haven Cancer Center for helping save his life, and in appreciation he set up a living trust with the hospital as the beneficiary.

Caruso’s Tommies play Mount Union tonight in Salem,Virginia for the Division III national championship. The game begins at 6 p.m.Minnesota time and will be televised on ESPNU.

The championship game is another step during a remarkable head coaching career for Caruso that began in 2006 at Macalester where for two years his records were 2-7 and 4-5. At St. Thomas his teams have been 7-3, 11-2, 12-1, 13-1 and now 14-0.

Wild prospect Mikael Granlund returned to the Aeros lineup last week after missing 12 games with an ankle injury. Despite playing in fewer than half the team’s games, Granlund is tied for fourth in points with 13.

Aaron Hicks is only 23 but he might be able to make the jump from Double-A New Britain to starting center fielder for the Twins next spring. In search of a center field replacement for the traded Denard Span and Ben Revere, Hicks is a switch-hitter with potential power in the big leagues and the athleticism to chase down the ball. He hit .286 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI at New Britain last season.

TwinsFest will be January 25-27 at the Metrodome and tickets went on sale this week. Adult tickets are $9 each ($15 at the door) and tickets for children are $5 ($8 at the door).

The Gophers basketball team was No. 14 in national RPI ratings on Monday when the Big Ten Conference issued its weekly news release. Minnesota is ranked No. 13 in the country by the Associated Press.

Stats in the news release include the Gophers leading the Big Ten in steals at 9.8 per game and blocked shots at 7.2. Minnesota guard Andre Hollins is listed with the single game scoring high among conference players after his 41 points against Memphis last month.

Canterbury Park’s 2013 thoroughbred stakes schedule includes 26 races worth $1.76 million, an increase of more than 20 percent over this year. The 69-day 2013 race meet, the longest scheduled since 2006, begins May 17 and concludes September 14.

Canterbury and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community agreed to a cooperative marketing and purse enhancement deal this year that will put $75 million into the horsemen purse fund over 10 years.

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Goalie Wilcox Gophers MVP

Posted on December 5, 2012December 5, 2012 by David Shama

Gophers coach Don Lucia agreed with the suggestion freshman goalie Adam Wilcox is the early season team MVP. “I think without question so far what he’s done. …His numbers are phenomenal and he’s given us a chance to win every night he’s started so far this year.”

Wilcox has a WCHA-leading 1.61 goals against average. Stephon Williams from Minnesota State is second to Wilcox at 1.92. Wilcox’s 819 game minutes is also best in the league.

Before the season it was uncertain who would replace last year’s senior All-American goalie, Kent Patterson. But Wilcox has responded so well he’s been a major contributor to the Gophers 10-3-2 record with Minnesota being ranked among the nation’s best teams despite struggling to score goals.

The Gophers opened their season dominating Michigan State at Mariucci Arena, winning 5-1 and 7-1. Fans may have expected similar performances from the talented Minnesota roster.

“Michigan State had a very young team,” Lucia told Sports Headliners. “They had four freshmen defensemen playing their first college games after one week of practice. We were able to jump on them and seal the deal early in the game both nights. That (series) was more of an aberration than anything else.

“We have a long ways to go as a team. It’s been a struggle for us offensively. Defensively we’ve played pretty well. Our shots against are very good, low 20s where you want them. Our specialty team play is good but we have to try to figure out a way to score … five on five.”

Lucia said the Gophers, thought by some to be the No. 1 team in the country before the season, were probably overrated. The optimism was based on the Gophers qualifying for the Frozen Four last season, having healthy players in 2011-12 and a “lot of things” going right, according to Lucia. He said the Gophers miss last year’s seniors who played “integral roles” and there have been more injuries on the team this fall. There are players too, the coach said, who need to play better.

Does this team have the potential to be better than last season’s group? “I think your team always has potential,” Lucia said. “Now I think a big part of it is going to be two things. Your best players have to be your best players night in and night out. That next group of guys that are your support players have to take their game to another level.”

The Gophers, 5-3-2 in league play, are at Colorado College, 8-5-3 and overall 8-7-1, Friday and Saturday nights. USCHO.com ranks the Gophers No.4 in the country, Colorado College No. 19.

Worth Noting

Can’t help but wonder if the Vikings and Bears will play a fine-free game on Sunday at Mall of America Field. A week ago Sunday in Chicago, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher were involved in plays resulting in fines of $21,000 and $15,750 respectively.

Adrian Peterson wasn’t hurt on Urlacher’s horse-collar type tackle but Bears offensive lineman Lance Louis suffered a season-ending ACL injury after being hit hard by Allen. Allen said last week he doesn’t expect revenge from the Bears but will deal with what comes on Sunday.

The Vikings will honor the 30-member Minnesota all-state prep football team at halftime of the Bears game. The team was selected by media, the Vikings and high school coaches. Dwight Lundeen of Becker, whose 2012 team was a Class 4A power, was selected Coach of the Year.

The all-staters: Marley Allison, Edina; Jordan Anderson, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s; Brady Ayers, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown; Dalton Bass, Hills-Beaver Creek; Lance Briard, Springfield; Zach Creighton, Lakeville North; JT DenHartog, Hopkins; Jake Disterhaupt, Moose Lake-Willow River; Tucker Forsgren, Pelican Rapids; Alex Grove, Willmar; Aaron Haatja, Dassel-Cokato; Jordan Hein, Perham; Jared Lea, Chanhassen; Chase Morlock, Moorhead; Jack Nelson, Byron; Daulton Olinger, Spring Lake Park; James Onwualu, Cretin-Derham Hall; Elijah Patrick, Prior Lake; Ashanti Payne, Robbinsdale Cooper; Jacob Peterson, St. Cloud Tech; Daniel Polansky, Goodridge/Grygla; Nate Ricci, Stillwater; Noah Scarver, Washburn; Shaun Schindler, Hutchinson; Brandon Schmitt, Dawson Boyd; Jordan Staples, Morris; Bridge Tusler, Osseo; Brett Watercott, Becker; Jake Wieneke, Maple Grove; Alex Wood, Lakeville North.

Two Minnesotans are first team selections on the American Football Coaches Association FCS All-American team—Marcus Williams, the North Dakota State junior cornerback from Minneapolis, and Zach Zenner, the South Dakota State sophomore running back from Eagan.

Texas Tech, the Gophers opponent in the December 28 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston, sees benefits playing in that football-rich area. The Red Raiders have a large alumni base in the Houston area and have put a bull’s-eye on recruiting in Texas’ largest city, according to a Sunday online article by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said in the story: “The lifeblood of a program is recruiting. Players win games. For our program right now, for what we need to do and where we need to go, I think this is good for us.

“I know we’re recruiting a lot of players from that area, trying to get more players on the team from the Houston area. We were kind of lacking the last few years, but our coaches have gone into Houston and selling our program, selling Texas Tech, and it’s worked pretty good.”

The Gophers recruit Texas and three of their more promising freshmen are tight end Lincoln Plsek from Waco, and running back Rodrick Williams Jr. and nose guard Scott Ekpe, both from Lewisville. Minnesota has several Texans on its two-deep depth chart.

Texas Tech could be about a two touchdown favorite in the Meineke game. The Big Ten will have six other teams in bowl games and all of the conference’s schools may be underdogs. The Big Ten has no teams in the top 15 of the BCS standings, with Nebraska at No. 16, Michigan No. 18 and Northwestern No. 20.

UW-Oshkosh plays at St. Thomas on Saturday in a game starting at 2 p.m. involving two undefeated teams trying to advance to the national Division III football title game. The Titans have drawn attention for not only winning but their comebacks, according to the school’s website.

After trailing St. Scholastica 10-0 in their playoff opener, the Titans scored 55 unanswered points in a 55-10 win. Bethel scored the first 14 points in a second round playoff game but the Titans responded with 37 straight points in a 37-14 victory.

Last Saturday, trailing 21-6 at halftime against Linfield, the Titans tied the game with 15 unanswered fourth quarter points, then won 31-24 in overtime and ended the Oregon school’s 26 game home winning streak.

Baseballamerica.com posted its listing of the Twins top prospects and also the projected lineup for the big league team in 2016. The November 20 article ranked third baseman Miguel Sano No. 1 among prospects with outfielders Byron Buxton, Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks at numbers 2, 3 and 5 respectively. Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson ranked No. 4.

For the 2016 season, Gibson is projected as the No. 1 starter on the Twins with Sano at third base, Buxton in center field, Hicks in right field and Arcia the designated hitter. Other projected starters: catcher Joe Mauer, first base Chris Parmelee, second base Eddie Rosario, shortstop Daniel Santana and left fielder Denard Span. Span has been traded to the Nationals since the article was posted.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was at St. Louis Park High School last night watching Apple Valley junior point guard Tyus Jones play against the Orioles. MSU is on Jones’ final eight schools under consideration for college.

The 9-1 Gophers basketball team, 88-64 winners over South Dakota State last night, play next at 3-4 USC in a 7:30 p.m. start Minneapolis time on Saturday. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The Trojans lost 63-51 at Nebraska on Monday night.

USC, coached by former Northwestern coach Kevin O’Neill, is led in scoring by J.T. Terrell and Eric Wise, their only double figures scorers at 12.7 and 10.4. Minnesota, ranked No. 14 in the latest A.P. poll, defeated USC, 55-40, in Minneapolis last December.

KSTP TV sportscaster Joe Schmit said on Monday night a source predicted injured Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio may play his first game this season on December 15 at Target Center against the Mavericks.

Dave Mona, co-host of the WCCO Radio Sports Huddle, will be the speaker on Thursday, January 10 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. Anyone interested in more information can email Jim Dotseth at dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

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Frazier: Ponder to ‘Bounce Back’

Posted on December 3, 2012December 3, 2012 by David Shama

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was asked about the confidence of quarterback Christian Ponder on KFAN Radio after yesterday’s 23-14 loss to the Packers. “He’ll bounce back,” Frazier said from the locker room on the post game show. “He’s a tough kid. High character kid.”

Ponder threw two second half interceptions, including one ball picked off in the end zone to end Vikings’ drives. The first interception followed a 48-yard run by Adrian Peterson to the Green Bay 12 yard line to open the third quarter. After a Peterson run to the eight yard line, Ponder’s pass was intercepted by Morgan Burnett in the end zone. A touchdown would have sent the Vikings ahead 21-10.

It was also Burnett who intercepted Ponder on the Green Bay 13 yard line to stop another drive. The play ended the third quarter when the Vikings were trying to overcome a 20-14 Packers’ lead. “I can’t let it get me down,” Ponder said at the post game news conference aired on Vikings.com. “I gotta move forward.”

Ponder’s passes were consistently inaccurate for much of the game. The first interception where Ponder appeared to have a good view of Burnett in the end zone seemed almost inexplicable.

Ponder has struggled in his last two games. He has thrown three interceptions, while completing 34 of 68 passes for two touchdowns. His passing ratings have been 58.2 and 41.9.

Frazier’s confidence in the second-year quarterback is the sort of commitment that coaches are expected to voice about struggling players. Yet if it was difficult for the coach to be positive after the game no one could blame him. Not on a day when the 6-6 Vikings could have made a statement about being serious playoff contenders.

Instead the Packers and Bears look to be best positioned to contend for the NFC North title, with the loser possibly making the playoffs. With yesterday’s win, the Packers are 8-4 and so, too, are the Bears after losing to the Seahawks.

The Vikings had led 14-10 at halftime with the highlight being a career-best 82-yard run by Peterson. For the game he ran for 210 yards, the sixth consecutive time he’s rushed for over 100 yards.

Defensive end Mike Neal had predicted in a Saturday Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel online story that Peterson would break long runs. “He’s a monster,” Neal said.

The Packers, playing without injured starters on offense and defense, exhibited poor tackling and a leaky offensive line but Green Bay had both a passing and running game on Sunday and that was too much balance for the Vikings yesterday despite a solid performance by the defense. The Vikings didn’t have anything near the kind of run-pass balance they had hoped for while preparing in practice last week.

“We want to be able to use our entire offensive game plan,” Vikings center John Sullivan told Sports Headliners last week. “Be able to pass the ball effectively. Be able to run the ball to help set up the pass. If we’re able to do those things we should be successful.”

The Vikings, with four games remaining, will try to make the formula work next Sunday at home against the Bears.

Kill Built MAC Champs & Other Notes

Northern Illinois won the MAC football championship last Friday night with a roster of players Gophers coach Jerry Kill and his assistants recruited. The Huskies, with 18 of 22 starters recruited by Kill, won their second consecutive MAC title defeating Kent State 44-37 in double overtime.

Redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Lynch ran for 160 yards and passed for 212 in the win. Lynch was recruited by Kill in 2009 and at that time was rated a two-star player by Rivals.com. He was voted the MAC’s 2012 MVP and the school is promoting him as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Junior tailback Akeem Daniels, 5-foot-7, ran for 128 yards in the win for the top 25 ranked Huskies. Daniels was part of Kill’s 2010 recruiting class and was also a Rivals two-star recruit.

Kill coached at Northern Illinois for three seasons, leading the Huskies to three bowl games with his best season in 2010, a 10-3 record. His successor, former Badgers assistant coach Dave Doeren, has coached the Huskies to records of 11-3 and 12-1. The Huskies will play in the 2013 Orange Bowl, the first MAC team to earn a BCS bowl game invite.

North Carolina State is hiring Doeren as its new football coach, prompting speculation members of Kill’s staff will be considered for the Huskies’ job. But Doeren earned less than $500,000 and the school likely won’t pay his successor much more than that, perhaps less.

Former Vikings assistant coach Monte Kiffin resigned last week as USC’s defensive coordinator. His reported $1.5 million salary at USC is more than the $1.2 million that Kill is believed to earn with the Gophers.

Kill said the Gophers will start bowl practices on Friday and continue on Saturday and Sunday. The Gophers will play in the December 28 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston and have 15 practices to prepare.

Kill said injuries will prevent defensive tackle Roland Johnson and linebacker Brendan Beal from playing in the bowl game.

The Gophers have a history of playing in bowls that don’t pay a lot of money like the Meineke bowl. But former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said his department never lost money because of cost saving measures like sending the marching band to the game by bus.

Vikings center John Sullivan talking about playing in small town Green Bay including historic Lambeau Field: “It’s got a cool feel. They’ve got a great fan base. Obviously they really care about their team there. It’s got a little bit of a different atmosphere than a normal NFL stadium. Little bit of a college atmosphere to it. It’s definitely a fun place to play.”

The Packers radio network includes 1220 KLBB AM in Stillwater, plus stations in Bismarck, North Dakota; Des Moines, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota and four stations in Michigan, according to Packers.com.

Joe Mauer, who married Madie Bisanz on Saturday in St. Paul, had his name rumored on the Internet last week speculating the Twins catcher will be traded to the Red Sox (Bleacher Report) and Yankees (Sports World Report). To complete a Mauer trade the Twins would require an extraordinary deal with not only the right players but right salaries to fit team payroll. Would Mauer be intrigued about playing for a storied franchise and a better chance of earning a World Series ring?

The Gophers basketball team was one of six Big Ten teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 last week. Indiana was ranked No. 1 followed by Michigan No. 3, Ohio State No. 4, Michigan State No. 13, Minnesota No. 21 and Illinois No. 22. Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher was asked when the Big Ten has appeared this strong. “Never,” he said.

Gophers radio play-by-play announcer Mike Grimm said the Big Ten Conference Tournament could be more difficult to win than the Final Four.

The Gophers hockey team became the first WCHA team to earn 10 points with a win over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night. The Mavericks, who beat the Gophers on Friday night, have players from 21 states including five from Minnesota, plus five from Canada and one from the Czech Republic.

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