Twins – Page 187 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Look-Alike Vikings & Jags Meet Sunday

Posted on September 4, 2012September 4, 2012 by David Shama

Two second-year quarterbacks trying to prove worthy of leading their teams compete on Sunday at Mall of America Field. The Vikings Christian Ponder and the Jaguars Blaine Gabbert, first round draft choices in 2011, will lead their offenses in the NFL opening game for both teams.

Vikings Nation knows Ponder’s story, a 2011 season in which he started 10 games and at times threw the ball to guys wearing a different color jersey. Sometimes lacking poise and showing his inexperience in reading defenses, Ponder threw 13 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. His passing rating was 70.1.

Gabbert’s critics “lampooned him for everything from his accuracy to questionable pocket presence,” according to an online story last Saturday in Jacksonville’s Florida Times-Union. Gabbert started 14 games for the Jags last season, threw 12 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions and had a rating of 65.4.

Not surprisingly in the quarterback-centric NFL, neither the Vikings (3-13) nor Jags (5-11) were winners last season. Better times in 2012? Most NFL authorities don’t think so including Sports Illustrated—predicting in its pro football preview issue both franchises will be 4-12, finishing last in their divisions (NFC North and AFC South).

Former Vikings tight end Mike Mularkey, the new Jags coach, has the assignment of helping make Gabbert effective enough to one day remove the 22-year-old’s training wheels. S.I. describes Gabbert as the NFL’s “most skittish” quarterback last season but reports Mularkey, the ex-Falcons offensive coordinator credited for some of quarterback Matt Ryan’s development in Atlanta, has stressed fundamentals with Gabbert.

That seems like a “duh” but the 2011 off-season NFL labor dispute didn’t allow normal preparation for the season. Included among the victims were Gabbert and Ponder, two first round draft choices trying to find their way playing the most demanding position in pro football as rookie starters.

Vikings, Gophers & Other Notes:

Sports Illustrated predicts the Bears will win the NFC North with the Packers, Lions and Vikings finishing second, third and fourth. But the publication picks the Pack to beat the Broncos in the Super Bowl.

Few Vikings observers probably thought that when the club signed McLeod Bethel-Thompson as a free agent last January he would make the team. The 24-year-old quarterback is on the final roster after previous pro football experience in the NFL (no regular season game action), Arena Football League and United Football League.

The strong-armed, strong-willed California native began his college career at UCLA and finished at Sacramento State. He’s interested in becoming a teacher and helping inner-city youth. His grandfather, Wilbur Thompson, was a gold medal winning shot putter for the United States in the 1948 Olympics. The younger Thompson said his grandfather has been a mentor in his life, reminding him “of the power of the mind on the body.”

The Gophers next three nonconference football opponents are New Hampshire, Western Michigan and Syracuse—all home games at TCF Bank Stadium. New Hampshire defeated Holy Cross 38-17 last week, while Western Michigan lost 24-7 to Illinois and Northwestern beat Syracuse 42-41.

Gophers coach Jerry Kill talking today about FCS member New Hampshire playing in Minneapolis on Saturday: “This is a bowl game for New Hampshire. …You’re going to get their best.”

Kill said Gophers freshman running back and receiver KJ Maye “is going to be a special player.”

Two years ago many Gophers fans were criticizing the choice of Adam Weber as the team’s starting quarterback, lobbying for MarQueis Gray. Weber ended his college career as a four-year starter in 2010. He is second only to Drew Brees in career Big Ten total offense. Gray took over as Minnesota’s starter last season, completing 50.7 percent of his passes while throwing eight touchdown passes and eight interceptions. In Minnesota’s first game this season an over anxious Gray missed open receivers and sure touchdown passes.

Ron Gardenhire said on his most recent Sunday morning 1500 ESPN show he accepts responsibility for his team that will finish with one of the worst records in baseball. “I haven’t been able to figure this thing out,” he said. But Gardenhire didn’t talk like he won’t return as manager, and general manager Terry Ryan has been a big admirer of Gardenhire’s managing that started in 2002.

Gardenhire also said on the show he’s seen growing confidence in Chris Parmelee, the first baseman, right fielder and designated hitter that has compiled some frequent flyer miles this season shuttling between AAA Rochester and Minneapolis. Gardenhire has “big plans” for the 24-year-old left-handed hitter who batted .338 at Rochester with 17 home runs and 49 RBI in 228 at bats.

Local businessman John Dovolis was a good friend of the late Dark Star, the former WCCO Radio talk show host and all-time Minnesota character. Star, who died from a heart attack last spring, didn’t have a healthy diet. Dovolis recalled that Star once told him that at his funeral he wanted an open bar and buffet, and “to make sure there was no salad, vegetables or fruit.”

Star’s suburban Minneapolis apartment was filled with sports memorabilia. “There was barely a pathway to go from the kitchen to the bathroom to the bedroom,” Dovolis said.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. there will be an estate sale of Star’s memorabilia with part of the proceeds going to the new Gophers baseball stadium. Items will include a Michael Jordan signed jersey and basketball, Jim Brown and Dick Butkus autographed helmets, signed baseball bats and balls, model boats and airplanes, slot machines, coin operated games and a lot more. The sale will be at 212 Second Street Southeast in St. Anthony Main and conducted by Dennis Hagen Estate Sales. www.dennishagenestatesales.com. Dovolis said the sale will be advertised in Thursday’s Star Tribune classifieds.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed today that Edina basketball guard Graham Woodward will make a recruiting visit to Washington State this weekend.

The seventh annual Hockey Day Minnesota, celebrating the sport from the peewees to the pros, will be on Saturday, January 19. Three outdoor high school games will be played on Lake Pokegama in Grand Rapids: Eagan versus Hibbing (boys); Benilde-St. Margaret’s versus Grand Rapids (boys); Hibbing versus Grand Rapids (girls). The Gophers will play at home against North Dakota on Hockey Day while the Wild host the Penguins.

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Gophers Need to Make ‘Statement’

Posted on August 29, 2012August 29, 2012 by David Shama

The way Troy Stoudermire looks at things it’s time for the Gophers to break away from the past. The assignment starts tomorrow night on the road against UNLV in Minnesota’s 2012 opening game.

“It means a lot to go win this game,” Stoudermire told Sports Headliners. “Winning this game is just one step to what we’re trying to accomplish. We gotta come make a statement.

“Every year we’ve been having a team full of talent but we never could get that done. That’s the way we gotta look at it. But this year we’re gonna get that done.”

No player on Minnesota’s roster has more perspective about the program than Stoudermire, a senior cornerback and record-setting kickoff returner. He was a freshman on the 2008 team and was granted a fifth season of eligibility in 2012 by the NCAA because a broken arm limited him to four games last season.

Minnesota’s season records during the Stoudermire era are 7-6-, 6-7, 3-9 and 3-9. That adds up to 19 wins, 31 losses and the record of the last four years has a lot to do with why the college football world has low expectations again for the Gophers. Stoudermire said nobody outside the program gives the Gophers “a chance” to accomplish much in 2012 “but we gotta make a name for ourselves.”

He has been impressed with his teammates during August practices leading up to tomorrow night’s game when the Gophers are expected to win by a touchdown or more. He said the offense is “really good,” led by senior dual-threat quarterback MarQueis Gray who “can do anything.”

The defense?

“This has been the lowest penalty rated camp that I’ve been at on defense,” Stoudermire said. “…I’ve seen the defense improve way more than any other year I’ve been here. We’ve just been on point. Everyone is making calls. Everyone is in the right spot and doing what they’re supposed to do, and not trying to do a little extra, and that’s all you need to have a really good defense.”

Gophers, Vikings & Other Notes:

UNLV is a struggling program like the Gophers. The Rebels were 2-11 last season, winning games at home against New Mexico (45-10) and Wyoming (42-16). Third-year coach Bobby Hauck is 4-21 at UNLV.

Among NCAA teams last season the Gophers ranked 110^th in total offense, UNLV 117^th. In total defense Minnesota ranked No. 77 with the Rebels at No. 105.

Kickoff for the Minnesota-UNLV game is 10:04 p.m. tomorrow. A daytime high of 102 degrees and overnight low of 79 in Las Vegas is forecast by weather.com. Gophers coach Jerry Kill will “play a lot of kids” and the players were told starting last week to consume plenty of fluids.

Quarterback MarQueis Gray had to leave the opening game at USC last year because of heat-induced arm cramps. That’s something Kill expects Gray to avoid tomorrow night. “We’ll take care of that,” Kill said. “MarQueis sweats a ton so we’ll have to make sure he takes plenty of fluid in.”

Kill plans to redshirt all his freshmen offensive linemen including Isaac Hayes and Jonah Pirsig, the two highly publicized Minnesota natives. He will also redshirt former Lakeville South High School quarterback Mitch Leidner.

That means Philip Nelson, the freshman from Mankato West, along with sophomore Max Shortell will be the backup quarterbacks to Gray for the UNLV game. Kill didn’t say so but he probably hopes to redshirt Nelson too.

Kill brought in outside speakers to address the team during August practices including former Gophers All-American safety Tyrone Carter. Don Banham, former Minneapolis police officer and father of Gophers football player Cole Banham and Gophers women’s basketball star Rachel Banham, also spoke to the team.

The Big Ten Network is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.

The Vikings need a win tomorrow night in Houston over the Texans to finish the preseason at 2-2. Last Friday night at Mall of America Field the Vikings lost 12-10 to the Chargers and it looked like about 65 percent of the seats were filled.

With new automated parking meters near the stadium, the city was charging a Vikings game night rate of $3 per hour Friday. Unless you pay by credit card, that’s 48 quarters to park for four hours.

Merchandise sold in the stadium concourse Friday night included a Christian Ponder jersey for $115 and a limited edition Adrian Peterson jersey for $155.

Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber, who has been doing TV-radio sideline reporting during the team’s preseason games, told Sports Headliners he will be a game analyst for Conference USA football games on Fox. He will also provide game analysis on two Western Michigan games for ESPNU.

Red McCombs, who sold the Vikings in 2005, has mixed feelings about not having the franchise anymore, according to Chad Ostlund who worked for McCombs and remains a friend. Ostlund said McCombs was “frustrated” about the team’s new stadium efforts when he, McCombs, owned the team.

The Twins, who lost a second consecutive game last night to Seattle at home, haven’t hit a home run in 10 of their last 11 games. They have been out scored 47-19 in their last eight games (seven losses).

Joe Mauer has now caught 833 games for the Twins, surpassing Earl Battey’s franchise record for a catcher of 831.

The St. Thomas football team, recently ranked No. 4 nationally by Lindy’s Sports and No. 7 by USA Today, begins its season on Saturday at UW-Eau Claire. The Division III Tommies are coming off consecutive 10-0 regular seasons.

St. Thomas’ Curtis James, Riley Dombek, Chinni Oji, Harry Pitera and Garrett Maloney, Augsburg’s Adam Carl, Saint John’s Bobby Fischer, Bethel’s Josh Wolfe and Concordia’s Tom Knowlton were selected preseason Division III All-Americans by various sources. Saint John’s kicker Jimmie Mattson was named to the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List for the second consecutive season. The award is annually presented to the nation’s top collegiate kicker, regardless of division.

Schools and other non-profit organizations serving youth located within a 50 mile radius of Target Center can enter a contest to win a $10,000 donation for basketball court renovation. www.timberwolves.com/community

Lindsey Berg, who helped the USA volleyball team to the silver medal in the 2012 Olympics, is among nine women and men who will be inducted into the Gophers Sports Hall of Fame on September 20 at TCF Bank Stadium. Ticket information about the event is available by calling 1-800-U-Gopher.

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Class A Likely Again for Miguel Sano

Posted on August 6, 2012August 6, 2012 by David Shama

Twins phenom Miguel Sano is likely to play in Class A baseball again next season – just at a higher level. Twins farm system executive Jim Rantz told Sports Headliners the 19-year-old slugger, now with Beloit in the Midwest League, is probably headed to Fort Myers in the Florida State League.

Sano is the most publicized prospect in the Twins organization. Signed in the Dominican Republic for a reported $3.15 million bonus when he was 16, Sano is featured in the recently released movie Pelotero. He’s been ranked as the Twins top prospect and power hitter by Baseball America.

Sano leads the Midwest League in home runs at 22 and RBI with 84. He’s struggled, though, with his batting average, .254, and fielding at third base.

Rantz said the batting average is predictable because Sano is “very aggressive at the plate and still trying to learn the strike zone.” He is seeing a lot of breaking balls and changeups from pitchers.

“It’s pretty awesome with his home runs and RBI,” Rantz said. “He still has work to do defensively.”

Rantz said Sano’s Beloit teammate Eddie Rosario, among the organization’s better prospects, has made a successful transition this season from the outfield to second base. Rosario was injured in mid-June and was out of the lineup until the end of last month. He’s another promising hitter and has a .310 average, with seven home runs in 259 at bats.

Twins & Other Notes:

Max Kepler, also drafted by the Twins at age 16 three years ago, is maturing playing for Elizabethton, Rantz said. Rantz said the native of Germany has “grown into his body.” Kepler is hitting .275 with seven home runs in 145 at bats.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who was a bust as a rookie last season with the Twins hitting .226, “has made a lot of improvement with the bat” playing for AAA Rochester, Rantz said. Nishioka was playing both second base and shortstop for the Red Wings before being recalled yesterday by the Twins. Instead of media throngs from Japan following Nishioka as they did last year in Minneapolis, Rantz said one or two reporters might have followed him in Rochester.

Rantz watched Twins leading pitcher Scott Diamond in the minor leagues and said he isn’t that surprised to see Diamond’s success in his first full season of major league baseball. “He’s improved on his breaking ball and his command has been very good,” Rantz said.

New Timberwolves forward Andrei Kirilenko, 31, will be one of the franchise’s better defenders ever if healthy. Kirilenko has three times been an all-NBA first or second team defender playing for Utah. At 6-9, with long arms and athleticism, Kirilenko is a potential stopper for a Wolves team that lacks exceptional defenders among its top players. Physical problems have kept Kirilenko from playing full seasons in recent years.

David Kahn, the Wolves president of basketball operations, talked to Sports Headliners about Kirilenko’s potential impact on defense. “I am hopeful it will be really good. We didn’t have anybody who we could really put on some of these wing players, and in our conference especially there are some really big threes. There’s (Kevin) Durant, there’s Rudy Gay. There’s several of those. (Nicolas) Batum in Portland.

“So this allows us to have a really long, athletic guy to match up with them. Not that he can necessarily stop them but I think at least with Andrei’s experience and with his characteristics we can maybe at least slow them down.”

Apple Valley junior point guard Tyus Jones now has a scholarship offer fromNorth Carolina. That gives him offers that include national powerhouses Duke, Kentucky and the Tar Heels. In the last 12 months I haven’t talked to any sources who are convinced Jones will play for the Gophers.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that Minnesota native Kyle Washington, a high school senior next season, has recent offers from Illinois, North Carolina State and Ohio State.

Brian Bobek, the Ohio State center transfer, hasn’t arrived on campus at Minnesota. He will be eligible in 2013 and have three seasons to play for the Gophers. Minnesota coach Jerry Kill recruited Bobek when Kill was head coach at Northern Illinois. “He’s a kid that grew up in Chicago and wanted to stay in the Midwest,” Kill said.

Bobek is a former Parade, Rivals and Scout high school All-American and his father played linebacker at Iowa.

The Big Ten Network sends a crew to cover all the Big Ten football programs during August. The group will be in Minneapolis on August 11 and BTN’s Gophers coverage will air beginning at 9 a.m. August 12.

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf after being asked about his team expectations: “I expect to be division champs. I want to be able to fight for the division as we always do every year, and get better for years to come. That’s always been our goal. That’s been the goal since the first day I came here.”

Bethel’s Erik Smith, Saint John’s Stephen Johnson and St. Thomas’ Michael Valesano are nominees for the 2012 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. Nominees are players who have made a difference for their communities in off-field activities.

Compughterratings.com’s Division III preseason rankings include three MIAC teams in the top 20: Bethel, No. 12; St. Thomas, No. 13 and Saint John’s No. 19. MIAC schools begin nonconference games on September 1 and league games start September 15.

World Golf Hall of Famer Lanny Wadkins, 62, asked about all the advisors used by many PGA golfers these days including sports psychologists: “…My sports psychologist is the bartender every week. They’re a lot more reliable. You know where they’re going to be.”

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