Twins – Page 34 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U President Kaler Played Key Role in Big Ten Expansion

Posted on August 8, 2023August 8, 2023 by David Shama

The Big Ten Conference will begin competition with a record 18 schools in 2024. Membership will stretch from coast-to-coast and complete a vision set years ago that former University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler enthusiastically supported, according to Tom Devine.

Devine, a prominent former University regent and tireless volunteer for his alma mater, told Sports Headliners about a meeting long ago in Kaler’s office where then Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany presented his vision for an expanded conference that captured vast TV audiences on the coasts. Kaler was a leader of Big Ten presidents and chancellors, and someone Devine said saw Big Ten expansion as vital to preserving and enhancing the financial strength of athletic departments and the student-athlete experience.

The meeting in Minneapolis, that included Devine and fellow regents Rick Beeson and Dean Johnson, preceded the league’s 2014 expansion from 12 teams to 14 when Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten. Those schools delivered TV markets in Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. In 2022 the conference added UCLA and USC, and then last week announced the Big Ten will become the largest league in the nation with the addition of two more west coast schools, Oregon and Washington.

Kaler, who during his era as U president from 2011-2019 served awhile as chair of the Big Ten Council of presidents and chancellors, was highly interested in athletics. Devine said his friend watched college football, including the Gophers on Saturdays, and the Vikings on Sundays. “Eric is a huge sports nut,” Devine said. That interest and his other skillsets and experiences helped make Kaler influential with Big Ten decision makers at other schools and a key ally of Delany.

The league has leveraged its longtime prestige for excellence in academics and athletics with access to most of the largest TV markets in the country to deliver record TV revenues for college sports. In the near future Big Ten athletic departments may receive $100 million or more annually from TV revenue including the Big Ten Network.

The league has been a leader for years in TV revenue and that source of income has been used by conference schools to help finance facilities. Devine said TV revenue was used as “collateral” for a bond the U secured to help build the $166 million Athletes Village.

The U athletic department is financially self-supporting but most of the 21 sports don’t operate in the black. That’s why TV revenues, mostly from football and men’s basketball, along with monies from gate receipts, sponsorships, licensing and other sources of income are so vital to keep the Gophers and other Big Ten schools at a more than competitive place in intercollegiate athletics.

Devine said Kaler believed in the “best outcomes” for student-athletes. At Minnesota graduation rates, GPAs and job placement have increased significantly in the last 10 years. That was part of Delany and Kaler’s vision for athletics, along with adding Big Ten schools that fit the conference model of success in academics, research and sports while being able to expand the league footprint like no other conference in the country.

Worth Noting

In voting by his NFL peers Vikings’ wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the No. 2 player in the league. Other Vikings who are top 100 vote getters are safety Harrison Smith, No. 97, and quarterback Kirk Cousins, No. 42.

The Vikings are scheduled to practice from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. tonight (August 8) at TCO Stadium in preparation for their preseason opener at the Seahawks Thursday evening. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. with TV coverage from Fox 9 and the NFL Network.

After the Vikings released their unofficial depth chart yesterday it looks like second-year pro Akayleb Evans is winning the competition to start at cornerback opposite Byron Murphy. The depth chart was for a 3-4 base defense and “21 personnel” on offense meaning a running back, fullback, one tight end and two receivers. The defense consists of two defensive ends, a nose tackle, two outside linebackers, two inside linebackers and four players in the secondary.

The football Gophers have one of the most difficult schedules in the country this year and could find themselves in multiple tight games. They will face those clutch moments with a new field goal kicker, probably 2022 kickoff specialist Dragan Kesich. The 6-4, 235-pound Wisconsin native has a booming leg and two more seasons of eligibility, but he lacks field goal and extra point experience having attempted one FG in his Gopher career.

Ryan Burns from 247Sports and GopherIllustrated pointed out in a recent story the Gophers need to improve in special teams. Examples cited include no kick returns for scores since 2017 and no punt returns for touchdowns since 2018. “Minnesota hasn’t blocked a PAT since November of 2017, hasn’t blocked a field goal since November of 2020, and they’ve blocked one punt in the six years of (the) P.J. Fleck era,” Burns wrote.

Dinkytown, where youth have caused security problems earlier this year, will become a focus August 31 when the Gophers open their season at home. Word is parents of potential troublemakers are “policing” Dinkytown to make it safer.

Warning: coming off the hottest month in the earth’s history in July, authorities supervising outdoor activities presumably are monitoring heat and air quality to avoid potential health issues and even tragedies. It was 22 years ago this month Vikings’ offensive tackle Korey Stringer died after complications from heat stroke.

Ken Mauer Jr., the St. Paul native and former veteran NBA referee, is still involved with litigation against the league. It’s been almost two years since Mauer sued the NBA because the league refused to let him work after he declined to follow protocol on COVID vaccination.

If not for financial assistance from friends and family, Mauer wouldn’t be able to continue the litigation. “It’s all about a waiting game and wait you out, and trying to break you,” Mauer told Sports Headliners. “That’s all they’re doing. Delaying at every possible turn that they can.”

Mauer was an NBA official for 37 years. He built up a sizeable pension but that, too, has become a point of litigation. “Now they refuse to give me my pension,” he said.

Ultimate compliment: Justin Morneau, introducing Joe Mauer last Saturday night at Target Field as part of Mauer’s induction into the Twins Hall of Fame, recalled the two visited Como Zoo earlier this year where a worker told Mauer his parents named him Joe because they were such admirers of the St. Paul baseball legend.

Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, with a .230 lifetime average, is a star at the plate in his last 30 games hitting .320 with six home runs and 16 RBI. The 26-year-old, who is being used part time, homered last night, and drove in three runs in Minnesota’s 9-3 win over the Tigers in Detroit.

Marshall Tanick, the Minneapolis-based attorney with decades of experience in employment law, wrote an opinion piece in the Duluth News Tribune about former University of Minnesota volleyball coach Stephanie Schleuder who died in June. Schleuder is praised for not only being a volleyball pioneer but important advocate for the rights of employees in the workplace, especially women. https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/columns/local-view-umds-schleuder-a-trailblazer-on-volleyball-court-and-court-of-law

The Dutch Course at Cragun’s Resort will host the PGA Canada CRMC Championship August 31-September 3. The course is one of two at the popular Brainerd area resort renovated by Minnesota golf legend Tom Lehman.

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Fans’ Love Affair with Joe Mauer Ran Hot & Cold

Posted on August 6, 2023August 6, 2023 by David Shama

Joe Mauer was the center of adulation on Saturday when he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Target Field. Fans of all ages applauded the greatest catcher in franchise history whose crown jewel achievement could be acceptance into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He is eligible to be voted into baseball immortality in 2024.

Some of those who lustily cheered Mauer this weekend were also his critics several years ago. Time will not forget that the hometown hero had two distinctly different eras with the Twins. From 2004-2013 he was a god in Minneapolis-St. Paul, on the Minnesota prairie and environs beyond. But the seasons from 2014 through his last year of 2018 were not so kind as part of Mauer nation cracked and turned on him.

Joseph Patrick Mauer was practically a household name in Minnesota even back in high school at Cretin-Derham Hall in the late 1990s. He was terrific on the basketball court, a five-star college quarterback prospect and so coveted in baseball he became the first overall selection in the 2001 MLB Draft. The Twins chose Mauer over pitcher Mark Prior and it was a wise decision because spurning the local kid for a guy who had a mediocre career on the mound would have been a disaster.

By 2004 Mauer was the team’s starting catcher and taking the first steps of a legendary 15-year career in the majors, all with the Twins. Between his rookie season and the turning point year of 2014, the 6-foot-4, left-hand hitting Mauer won three American League batting titles, five Silver Slugger Awards and the 2009 AL MVP Award.

His 2009 season was the stuff of baseball immortals, hitting a career-high 28 home runs along with a .365 batting average and best-ever 96 RBI. He is the only AL catcher ever to win a batting title. Six times he was named an AL all-star.

Mauer photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins.

Mauer was a two-way superstar during his glory years, a superb catcher who showed off a quarterback’s arm in targeting base runners and marvelous athleticism capable of even catching a foul ball behind his back or reaching behind the protective netting to snag a ball. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner as a catcher and probably deserved to win one after moving to first base late in his career.

Mauer’s early years were part of a tease by the team to become a World Series champion. The Twins, with Mauer and other young stars like Justin Morneau and Johan Santana, won division championships in 2004 and 2006, totaling 92 and 96 wins respectively. The club also won division titles in 2009 and 2010.

In the land of 10,000 lakes, native son Joe Mauer could seemingly walk on water. “Baby Jesus” became a nickname and was synonymous with a hero who was not only great but was one of us. Sports Illustrated twice made him a cover boy, referencing the possibility he could become baseball’s greatest catcher ever and also his pursuit to become the game’s first .400 hitter since 1941. And dating Miss America, Chelsea Cooley, only added to the coast-to-coast glitz associated with our guy Joe.

Making the whole story even better was Mauer remained Mauer. Deliberate in speech and humble in demeanor, he was and is an old-fashioned hero. The high character, strong and silent type America revered in the 1950s and 1960s. You never read about an irate Mauer throwing chairs or scattering the postgame buffet in the locker room because of a bad night on the field. His name didn’t show up in police blotters. He didn’t rip his teammates or strut around wearing gaudy jewelry to show off.

Joe could have been a first -round draft choice of the Boy Scouts, dependable and steady while living his life without pretense and doing the right things. “I am not as cool as I am supposed to be,” Joe might have said.

Mauer grew up in St. Paul with brothers Jake and Billy, raised by parents Jake and Teresa. “…Jake and Teresa raised their kids the right way. Family and ethics and honor and all that was a hell of a lot more important than even baseball,” said Ken Mauer Jr., the former NBA referee and Joe’s second cousin.

Not even Mauer’s $184 million contract could dent his rock-solid character and values. In 2010 he signed an eight-year deal that at the time was one of the richest in baseball history. There had been rumors the Twins might not be able to keep their superstar at home and speculation about how if he signed with the Red Sox he stood a better chance of playing in a World Series while tattooing his opposite field line drives off the “green monster” at Fenway Park.

The Twins weren’t about to let Mauer go elsewhere, though. The club had lobbied for a new ballpark on the premise more revenues would be used to acquire and keep talent. Opening Target Field in 2010 without No. 7 would have been a PR disaster for the ages.

The $184 million set Mauer up for life financially but injuries, missed playing time and declining performances in his early 30s changed the dynamic of how many fans viewed him. The most significant fork in the road came in August of 2013 when he suffered a season-ending concussion after taking a wicked shot to his face mask from a foul ball. He moved to first base in 2014 and only once hit over .300 before retiring at the end of the 2018 season at age 35 with a .282 average (lifetime .306). In 2016 he admitted to blurred vision at the plate as a result of multiple concussions.

Catching is the most demanding of baseball positions and Mauer’s physical problems had started even before 2013. He missed part of the 2011 season with something called bilateral leg weakness. The name of the ailment and inability to get on the field caused fandom to question Mauer’s willingness to play.

In the summer of 2014 Mauer’s hitting was sinking to new lows. Even grandfather Jake Mauer, a boisterous and colorful character who had helped groom Joe’s baseball skills as a kid, acknowledged the fan criticism in a Sports Headliners column in July. He understood the frustration Twins fans had with their $23 million per season first baseman and a team that had sunk into mediocrity.

“He’s getting a big salary, he should produce,” Jake said. “That’s what the fans think and that’s what the fans want. He’s trying but it just don’t happen (yet). But I don’t blame the people.”

Jake said Joe mentioned the possibility of being benched, and grandpa thought, too, the former American League batting champion should come out of the lineup. “But they can’t bench him because he’s making so much money. They gotta have him in the lineup,” the older Mauer said.

Joe’s woes in 2014 included an oblique injury but Jake acknowledged the seriousness of the concussion in 2013. “I think it has hampered him,” Jake said. “I really do.”

Big Jake, as family and friends called grandpa, passed away in 2020 at age 89. Then Joe lost his 66-year-old father in January of this year. As Ken Mauer Jr. put it in his interview with Sports Headliners, that’s way “too young” to lose a jovial man who was so beloved by everyone who knew him.

Ken Mauer and many others from the extended family were invited to this weekend’s celebration. “It certainly would have been wonderful if Jake had been able to be there,” Ken said. “He would be so proud and he always was.”

Minnesotans are justifiably proud of Mauer who was supported this weekend by so many who love him including his wife Maddie who went to high school with him. They live in the Twin Cities with twin daughters Emily and Maren and son Chip. Joe does some community work, but his focus is on being a dad and husband.

Mauer lived in Florida for a time, but Minnesota is where he belongs. He never wanted to play for any team but the Twins. Club president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners in 2019 the organization felt the same way. “No, that was never part of the dialogue with Joe,” St. Peter said about Mauer playing elsewhere. “We knew Joe wanted to be in a Minnesota Twins uniform and we wanted Joe to be in a Minnesota Twins uniform.”

And now Mauer is in the Twins Hall of Fame, just like even his critics knew he deserved to be.

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22’s ‘Crib’ Source of Wisdom for New Minnesota Viking CB

Posted on August 1, 2023August 1, 2023 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column.

Faces change in the Vikings’ secondary from season to season except for one. Safety Harrison Smith, 34 and with 11 past seasons of NFL experience, provides continuity and leadership to a unit in flux.

As safeties and cornerbacks compete in training camp and beyond for playing time, they know Smith sets an example with his performance and leadership. It didn’t take long for new cornerback Joejuan Williams, a 2023 free agent signing, to seek out Smith who wears jersey No. 22. Williams is in competition to be one of the team’s two new starting cornerbacks.

Joejuan Williams photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

“Even though there’s a huge age difference, at the end of the day, that’s a leader right there,” the 25-year-old Williams told Sports Headliners. “I’ve picked his brain first time I went over to his crib. Everybody sittin’ (and) chillin’ having fun and I am asking him 20 questions. I felt like I was annoying him. Just asking him (about) his leadership skills, how he’s done it for so long. I love to pick people’s brains like that and so, yeah, he’s been a great help.”

Here’s what Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said stands out about Williams, a second round pick of the Patriots in 2019 who stayed with New England through 2019: “First and foremost, his size (6-3, 212 pounds). I’ve always known as an offensive guy, you know those bigger corners, just because they’re long, they can play physical.

“I think he’s done a really…great job since he’s gotten here, physically preparing himself as a bigger corner. He’s a very strong player. He’ll cause a lot of problems for us around the line of scrimmage with reroutes and rhythm and timing of passing games. He’s savvy, a smart player, very instinctive. …”

Williams, the tallest of the Vikings’ safeties and corners, is part of a group that includes Andrew Booth Jr., the 2022 second round pick who has often been injured during his career. This could be a pivotal season for Booth.

Williams is taking a willing attitude to help with the 22-year-old Booth. “I know he’s coming out with a chip on his shoulder, and so I am going to help him every step of the way,” Williams said.

Who become the starters and first players off the bench in the secondary will be determined the way coaches always decide these things and regardless of the position they play, per Nick Mullens. The Vikings’ backup quarterback said it’s all about dependability and trust, disciplined play, who works hard and is a good teammate.

Mullens joined the Vikings via trade in late August of last year “Coming into year two is big,” he said regarding more knowledge and comfort with the offensive system.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said yesterday the competition to determine the starters on the offensive line at right tackle and left guard will be “the battle of camp.” Redshirt junior Martes Lewis and redshirt senior JJ Guedet are competing at right tackle, while hoping to start at left guard are sixth-year senior Karter Shaw and redshirt senior Tyler Cooper.

Minneapolis native and cornerback Craig McDonald is awaiting a waiver ruling from the NCAA to be eligible for the Gophers this season. The waiver approval is necessary because McDonald has transferred twice in his college career, having been first at Iowa State and later Auburn. McDonald would have three years of eligibility with the Gophers and Fleck is upbeat about his potential contribution.

The Gophers have started practice for their season opener against Nebraska at home Thursday, August 31. Two free open practices are available to fans, starting with this Saturday’s 7 p.m. event at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Tuesday, August 15 practice is also open to the public and starts at 3:30 p.m. at the team’s practice facility at the Athletes Village.

Saturday’s gathering is the annual Family Day Practice and will feature a fan fest on the West Plaza. Fans are encouraged to bring diapers and donate them to the Diaper Bank of Minnesota. Also, as in the past, fans can bring decorated oars to adorn the stadium hallway the Gophers travel from their locker room to the field on game days.

Former Gophers head football coach Jerry Kill turns 62 on August 24 and is healthy as he prepares his New Mexico State team for a second season under his leadership. The Aggies are picked for fifth in their new league home, Conference USA, but Kill teams have a way of surprising. Public season tickets to see the Aggies start at $70.

When Dawn Plitzuweit was considering becoming the women’s basketball coach for the Gophers earlier this year, she spoke with Richard Pitino about what it is like to work under Minnesota AD Mark Coyle. “I am not exactly sure how they got connected but I was surprised and also excited that she did talk to Richard because I knew she was interested (in Minnesota), and I knew Richard—how he felt about this place—that it would be a good conversation.”

Pitino, who left his job as Minnesota’s men’s coach in March of 2021 to take over at New Mexico, has long had a solid relationship with Coyle. “…We just have a really good friendship and really thankful for that friendship,” Coyle said.

The Twins, who face the MLB trade deadline later today at 5 p.m., have lost five consecutive games including three straight over the weekend to the lowly Royals (.299 winning percentage). The two teams don’t play again until next season when they open the regular season March 28-31 in Kansas City. The Twins were 6-1 in Minneapolis against the Royals but only 3-3 in Kansas City.

Former Twin Luiz Arraez enters August hitting a gaudy .381 through 107 games for the Marlins. MLB.com points out today that after 107 games in 1941 and 82 fewer at bats Ted Williams was hitting .411 for the Red Sox. Williams, who once played for the Minneapolis Millers, was the last MLB hitter to average .400 for a season (he hit .406 in 1941).

Minnesota hockey icon Lou Nanne is spending a lot of time at his lake place near Balsam Lake, Wisconsin and not playing much golf. He just had a pickle ball court installed in his barn.

Jonathan Mekonnen, the Eastview class of 2024 basketball wing, verbally committed to Colorado State last week where the program is led by native Minnesotan Niko Medved.

The 2023-2024 season will be the first for a 35-second shot clock in Minnesota boys and girls high school basketball games.

Billy Robertson, the former WCHA and USHL commissioner, discussed his over four-decades career in sports on the latest episode of “Behind the Game.” He talked about his many memorable experiences including characters he has known over the years. You can see the show at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfPHTGHLF_Y&t=4s

The fifth annual Taste Fore The Tour presented by Tradition Capital Bank at Interlachen Country Club last week was a sold-out fundraiser for Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People (VEAP), the Twin Cities’ largest food pantry. VEAP provides food, social services, and financial assistance to people in south Hennepin County. While dollars are still being counted from the event, donations are expected to allow VEAP to offer 800,000 new meals. To date, Taste Fore The Tour reports donating the equivalent of 3.2 million meals for local people.

Special hosts for the event July 24 included Michele Tafoya, Matt Birk and Ben Leber. Celebrities also included Rachel Banham, Bobby Bell, Matt Boldy, Devan Dubnyk, P.J. Fleck, Justin Gaard, Andre Hollins, Kent Hrbek, Ben Johnson, Glen Mason, Randall McDaniel, Zach Parise, Mark Parrish, John Randle, Laura Schara, Ron Schara, Drew Stafford, Scott Studwell, Darrell Thompson, Carrie Tollefson, and Jason Zucker.

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