Twins – Page 49 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

P.J. Fleck Praises Team Commitment

Posted on July 26, 2022July 26, 2022 by David Shama

P.J. Fleck believes his 2022 Gophers football team is “probably the most committed” he has coached in six years at Minnesota. The Golden Gophers head coach spoke at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis this morning and talked about how his players show a commitment to going beyond what’s required.

Part of that culture is led by four players in their sixth year with the Gophers. Wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell, running back Mo Ibrahim, quarterback Tanner Morgan and center John Michael Schmitz make up an “encore four” who provide maturity to the program and share wisdom with other players.

Fleck singled out Ibrahim as a player who returned to the Gophers not only to help himself but others. Ibrahim, who missed most of last season after being injured in the opening game against Ohio State, could have opted out for pro football after being the Big Ten Running Back of the Year in 2020. “He did it for the team,” Fleck said about the decision to stay in school.

Ibrahim, who is coming off surgery for a torn Achilles, is at “full strength,” Feck said.
Ibrahim was a third team Associated Press All-American in 2020 after rushing for 1,076 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Schmitz was named to the Outland Trophy Watch List today. The award recognizes the best interior lineman in college football. He was named to the Rimington Award Watch List last week. That award is presented to the best center in college football.

Schmitz has been chosen as a preseason All-American by numerous outlets entering the season. He was named All-Big Ten Second Team last season by the coaches and All-Big Ten Third Team by the media.

Fleck referred to the Gophers as a developmental program not only in football but other areas including academics. He said the team’s most recent GPA is 3.3, and for 11 consecutive semesters the GPA has been at 3.0 or better.

The Gophers are picked to finish third in the West Division by Cleveland.com, now in its 12th year producing preseason Big Ten football polls. Cleveland.com’s predictions are highly anticipated because the 36 voters in the poll include the expertise of Big Ten media beat writers.

The Gophers received two first place votes in the poll that resulted in this predicted order of finish: Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, Nebraska, Illinois and Northwestern. Ohio State is projected to win the East Division and the Big Ten championship game.

Worth Noting

Kevin Warren, the former chief operating officer of the Minnesota Vikings and now Big Ten commissioner, spoke this morning in advance of the conference coaches. He favors Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for college athletes but said more uniformity is needed in regulation and wants federal legislation enacted. He expressed concern, too, about NIL being misused in recruiting.

Warren favors college football playoff expansion but is also aware of the need to maintain relationships with bowl game partners. He also said USC and UCLA, who join the Big Ten for the 2024-2025 school year, will have full shares of revenues from the conference’s media rights deals.

New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill will speak to the Twin Cities Dunkers group the morning of his September 1 game against the Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Ex-Gophers AD Joel Maturi will introduce Minnesota’s former head coach, while Dave Mona moderates the program. Maturi and Mona led the hiring of Kill when he joined the Gophers in December of 2010.

The Gophers have single game tickets on sale for their seven home games. Prices start at $30 for the New Mexico State game. While the Aggies are Minnesota’s opening game, not so for Kill’s team which begins its schedule August 27 and then has to play Minnesota five days later.

Twins radio broadcaster Cory Provus will be part of the Big Ten Network’s roster of play-by-play talent for games in 2022. Former Gopher Brock Vereen will travel to Big Ten campuses to do interviews and provide analysis.

The Vikings, who started their fifth training camp this week in Eagan, have 10 starters returning on offense and seven on defense. Their strength of schedule for 2022 ranks No. 20 in the 32-team NFL. Three Minnesota natives are on the roster: linebacker Ryan Connelly, running back C.J. Ham and wide receiver Adam Thielen.

Brian Cosgriff is rightfully excited about the coaching staff he has put in place since being named girls basketball head coach at Minnetonka last spring. Here’s a look at the staff working with Cosgriff who won seven state titles in 21 years as Hopkins head coach:

Associate head coach Andy Berkvam was head coach at Lakeville North for 23 years and won three state titles there. Assistant coach Brock Tesdahl has worked for Hopkins boys’ coach Ken Novak and is the grandson of legendary Chisholm boys’ coach Bob McDonald. Jim Scheffler, with 58 years of coaching experience, is the shooting coach and the author of books on shooting.

Brian’s brother Barry, with 25 years of coaching experience, is the director of operations. Macy Hatlestad, who played at the University of St. Thomas and whose mom Julie is a long time assistant at Alexandria High School, is the junior varsity coach. John Roache, with two years of prior experience on the previous staff, is the 10th grade coach. Allie Rogers, who has been a student coach at Luther College and whose mom Julie is head girls’ coach at New Ulm, is the 9th grade coach.

“We have a great mix of young and old, as well as male and female coaches,” Cosgriff said in a text message. “We feel very fortunate to take over a great program that Leah Dasovitch created.”

The Twins are averaging 21,492 fans per home game, according to figures from ESPN.com. If that was the final average for the year it would be the second lowest since the club moved into Target Field in 2010. The Twins attracted a Target Field low of about 16,000 in 2021.

The Wild traded a 2022 All-Star goalie when sending Cam Talbot to the Senators earlier this summer. “I think they took a big gamble,” a hockey source told Sports Headliners. As of now, it looks like the Wild will rely on 37-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury as the primary goalie.

The Wild probably won’t say much publicly but ownership and management has to be nervous about getting star forward Kirill Kaprizov back in the states from his native Russia with the unpredictable environment there. If Kaprizov isn’t in Minnesota within a few weeks, this will turn into a media soap opera.

Comments Welcome

Key Vikings to Watch in Training Camp

Posted on July 21, 2022July 21, 2022 by David Shama

Asked to name several Vikings that fans should evaluate this summer, Jeff Diamond began his list with tight end Irv Smith Jr. who missed all of last season because of a knee injury. Diamond, the former Vikings general manager who was the 1998 NFL Executive of the Year, talked with Smith during mini-camp and believes the 2019 second round draft choice is healthy.

Diamond sees a “load of talent” in Smith. He predicts a potential “huge year” as a pass catcher not only because of Smith’s skills but the wide receiver duo of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen commands so much attention.

Center Garrett Bradbury is working to increase his weight and trying to fulfill the potential expected when the Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2019 draft. “He’s just got to be more consistent and a better player,” Diamond told Sports Headliners yesterday. “He’s got the talent to do it if he does put on the weight. He’s really a key guy in that offensive line.”

Diamond said there is intrigue at right guard to see who will start. The candidate pool could include newcomers Jesse Davis, Ed Ingram and Chris Reed.

Not only is there an injury watch with Smith on offense but on defense, too with pass rushing demons Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith, both outside linebackers. “If those guys are healthy, then the pass rush is going to be there,” Diamond said. “If they’re not, it’s really going to be hard for the secondary to be able to hold up.”

Players in the secondary fill out Diamond’s list of intriguing personnel for fans to watch as training camp opens next week and preseason games are played in August. Andrew Booth Jr., the cornerback from Clemson, had his college progress slowed by a series of injuries. The Vikings selected him in the second round of last spring’s draft but Diamond wonders if Booth has first round talent and might start at corner as a rookie replacing Cameron Dantzler.

Diamond also said to watch who emerges as the team’s second safety along with Harrison Smith. Camryn Bynum has a year of NFL experience but there are high expectations for 2022 first round pick Lewis Cine.

Worth Noting

Depending on how the tight ends, including Smith, look the first week or so in training camp the Vikings might have had interest in signing Kyle Rudolph. The former Vikings starter played for the Giants last year but has signed as a free agent with the Bucs as of yesterday.

Rudolph, 32, replaces retired legend Rob Gronkowski and will be catching passes from GOAT Tom Brady. Diamond could see Rudolph in Tampa Bay with the Bucs before it happened. “I wouldn’t be surprised. I think he could potentially be a good fit there.”

Former Vikings wide receiver standout Stefon Diggs now with the Bills and his brother Trevon Diggs, a star cornerback with the Cowobys, are on the latest cover of Sports Illustrated. Stefon’s career was controversial with the Vikings where he wanted a bigger role in the offense.

In the article Stefon said he has no problem with his former team. “I just needed a change in scenery,” he said.

The Vikings sent a news release today announcing 99 percent of season tickets have been renewed. Single game tickets go on sale July 28 and can be purchased on the team’s website. https://www.vikings.com/tickets/single-game-tickets

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, whose home run gave the American League a ninth consecutive win over the National League Tuesday night, is hitting .216 this season. That has to be among the lowest batting averages ever for a starting player in the All-Star Game.

Yahoo.com reports TV viewership at 7.51 million was the lowest ever for baseball’s showcase but still higher than the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl and NBA All-Star Game.

Chet Holmgren, the former Minnehaha Academy prep All-American, has signed a reported four-year deal with the NBA Thunder that could be worth over $44 million. If Holmgren, the 2022 No. 2 overall NBA draft pick, has an all-star career he could eventually approach $1 billion in salary earnings based on how compensation is accelerating for top players.

The Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns, who this summer signed a reported $224 million super max contract extension, isn’t the best player on the team, according to The Athletic. The authority’s rankings of top 125 NBA players has newly acquired center Rudy Gobert at No. 16. Towns, Minnesota’s veteran power-forward and center, is ranked at No. 35.

Gobert, acquired in a block buster trade this summer with the Jazz, has a reported $205 million deal he signed with his former team. Gobert is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and averaged a career-best 15.6 points last season.

Local fans have been waiting since 2019 for news Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson would one day headline the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities. They won’t be here for the 2022 tournament this week and likely not in the future either. Both legends are aging, with Woods having a difficult recovery from his severe auto accident and Mickelson now aligned with golf upstart LIV.

The 3M and other PGA Tour stops are impacted now because of LIV signing up players. The 3M doesn’t have a top 10 ranked player in the tournament. Ticket buyers may be as intrigued to see players with regional ties like Troy Merritt and Mardy Fish than they are to watch No. 14 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 17. Tony Finau.

One of golf’s best role models comes to town August 13-14 for the second annual Land O’Lakes Legends Classic presented by The Meadows at Mystic Lake. Defending champion Juli Inkster is a 31-time LPGA Tour champion with seven major championship titles.

Inkster, 62, is a past winner of the Patty Berg Award, named after the Minneapolis golf legend and given to players who exemplify the best in sportsmanship, goodwill and contributions to golf among women players. Inkster is a three time world champion and hall of famer who participated in nine Solheim Cups. She was honored by ESPN with the ESPY Award for Outstanding Women’s Golf Performer of the Year in 2002.

The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon celebrates its 40th anniversary Sunday, October 2. Youth 18 and under can register at no cost. Organizers bill the marathon as the “largest sporting event in the Upper Midwest” with 300,000-plus spectators and several thousand runners.

Comments Welcome

Oliva Not Sweating Big Speech July 24

Posted on July 12, 2022 by David Shama

What a July this will be for Tony Oliva. His 84th birthday will be July 20 and the experience of a lifetime comes four days later when the former Twins batting champion is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

“I think it’s exciting because only a few people are able to get into the Hall of Fame,” Oliva told Sports Headliners during a telephone interview.

A week from Sunday, July 24, Oliva will join other baseball legends as part of a seven-member induction class that also includes former Twins pitcher Jim Kaat, now 83 years old. Both Oliva and Kaat were elected by the Golden Era Committee after decades of waiting for the Hall of Fame call. The two first met in the Instructional League in 1961.

Oliva, who was an American League All-Star for eight consecutive seasons from 1964-1971, said several days ago he was still working on his acceptance speech that can be about 10 minutes long. Despite its importance, the easy-going Minnesotan isn’t over thinking the speech. “I think it’s going to be a piece of cake because I’ve been waiting 45 years,” he said lightly while referencing the Hall of Fame honor.

Oliva knows speeches can change on the fly when it’s finally time to deliver them. “People say when you get there the speech is a whole (lot) different.”

But he was clear during the interview that a focus of the speech will be other people, including fans. “I don’t want to speak about myself, about what I think of me.”

On that soon to arrive Sunday in upstate New York Oliva will express his gratitude for what has been a remarkable journey from his native Cuba to the United States where he saw his first professional baseball game in 1961 as a minor leaguer and faced not only challenges on the field but also learning a new language and acclimating to a different culture. “I think if I have an opportunity to say thank you, it’s going to be good enough, and the people understand the rest,” Oliva said.

His story is well-known to many Twins fans, particularly to older generations. He worked on the family farm in his native Cuba helping grow tobacco. In 1961 he made a splash as a first year prospect, hitting .410 with Wytheville, Virginia in the low minor leagues. Three years later he had a gold standard rookie season with the Twins as the club’s starting right fielder.

Oliva was honored as the 1964 American League Rookie of the Year after his .323 average won the league batting championship. He was tops in the majors in hits and total bases, and led the AL in runs scored and doubles. His hits total of 217 is the fourth highest in MLB history among rookies. He followed up in 1965 by again winning the AL batting title, the first player in MLB history to win the crown his first two seasons in the majors.

A three-time batting champion with a .304 lifetime average, Oliva played 15 MLB seasons and all of them were with the Twins. At about 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, the left-handed hitting terror was among the most difficult batters in baseball for pitchers to face. He not only could hit to all fields and knock the ball over the fence (career high 32 home runs as a rookie), but he also frustrated pitchers by putting balls thrown out of the strike zone into play with his trademark line drives.

Oliva’s career after baseball has all been with the Twins including as a coach, hitting instructor, color analyst on Spanish radio broadcasts and as an ambassador for his beloved franchise. A Bloomington resident, Oliva and his wife Gordette have made Minnesota home for more than five decades. With a ready smile and welcoming disposition, Tony-O seemingly has made enough friends among Minnesotans to fill Target Field.

The affection goes both ways. “Since I came in here to Minnesota the people have been very nice to me and I love Minnesota,” Oliva said. “My family is here. My wife is from South Dakota. She grew up almost here because she came out to Minnesota when she was 18. …”

At Oliva’s induction he will be joined by perhaps 50 family members but not many from Cuba where he still has siblings. A brother, Juan Carlos, is in Miami by way of Cuba and will journey to Cooperstown. But for most of Oliva’s aging siblings who still live on the Caribbean island, upstate New York is a difficult place to reach.

Expected to be in attendance will be a Twins delegation likely to include close friend and former teammate Rod Carew. In Carew’s autobiography One Tough Out he expressed what so many people feel about Oliva when he wrote:

“Tony has never met a stranger. The warmth he exudes could light a cigar from the lush tobacco fields he grew up surrounded by in Cuba. He taught me things like how to knot a tie and where to eat on the road. Any question I had, about baseball or life, he answered. Sometimes he provided advice before I even realized I needed it.”

A badly injured knee cut short Oliva’s legacy career, reducing him to a player who struggled to run and sometimes a role as a designated or pinch hitter. He had surgery on his right knee eight times in the last five years of his career.

Not only did injury rob him of his skills too soon, but he also played before the big money era of modern day baseball. He made $7,000 his rookie season and never earned more than $100,000.

Asked if he wishes he had played at a time like today when modern orthopedics might have sustained his success and career, you get a typical Oliva response—an acceptance of what was. “This was my time. I think my time was perfect.”

Oliva has a simple approach to life. He takes much of life as it comes, staying in the present, and doesn’t seem anxious about the future. Asked if he was concerned about losing control of his emotions during the speech he answered, “You know something like that I don’t worry about because I don’t know what is going to happen.”

This won’t qualify as breaking news but Oliva said that since last December when word broke about his induction he hasn’t changed, although fans may look at him differently. “Now they call me Hall of Fame. Before they used to call me T.O. or No. 6. I think for me, I still the same.”

Comments Welcome