Vikings – Page 163 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes Get Strong 2017 Super Bowl ‘Vote’

Posted on July 21, 2016July 21, 2016 by David Shama

Next winter Bob Lurtsema could wear a hat with this message: “I told you so.”

The former Vikings defensive lineman from the 1970s thinks his old team has better than a 50 percent chance of playing in the 2017 Super Bowl. “I really sincerely believe, that they’re going to win 11, 12 (games),” Lurtsema told Sports Headliners. “They have a great opportunity—legitimate opportunity for the Super Bowl.”

Lurtsema, who played on Vikings Super Bowl teams during the 1970s, is close to the organization. He attends practices not open to the media, and he talks with players and coaches.

Lurtsema’s past predictions have been impressive. Prior to the 2014 season he forecast an 8-8 record. The Vikings finished 7-9. Before last season, when talk was the Vikings wouldn’t make the playoffs, Lurtsema predicted a 10-6 record and participation in the postseason. The Vikings finished 11-5 during the regular season, won their first division championship since 2009 and hosted a home playoff game against the Seahawks, losing 10-9.

Almost any conversation with Lurtsema about the Vikings starts with his admiration for head coach Mike Zimmer who he likens to Bud Grant, the legendary coach who led the Purple to four Super Bowls. “I can’t say enough good things about coach Zimmer, because he has so much Bud in him,” Lurtsema said. “If a player makes a mental mistake, he’ll cut him. He’ll give a second chance, but you make mental mistakes, you’re gone.”

Lurtsema believes coaching is about “65 percent” of the formula for success in the NFL. He not only likes Zimmer but also the staff of assistants that includes three former head NFL coaches.

When the Vikings open training camp later this month, Zimmer and most of his assistants will be preparing for their third season with Minnesota. Their experience working with each other and the players is part of why Lurtsema is so optimistic about the Vikings. “The coaches have enough history on the players to know their strengths and weaknesses,” he said.

Lurtsema said there is “no reason” why the Vikings won’t win the NFC North for a second consecutive season. He believes the Packers are Minnesota’s main rival for the title, dismissing the likelihood of a championship from the two other teams in the division, the Bears and Lions.

Worth Noting

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will draw focus from fans during training camp and in early season games. Entering his third NFL season, Bridgewater boosters believe he is among the NFL’s most underrated quarterbacks. Count Lurtsema as an admirer. “Teddy has all the talent in the world,” Lurtsema said.

Tickets for the Vikings’ first-ever regular season game in U.S. Bank Stadium on September 18 range in price today from $270 to $2,600 on Stubhub.com.

The Vikings play the Packers in that game, and then play the Pack starting at noon December 24 (Christmas Eve) in Green Bay’s outdoor stadium. From a weather perspective that kind of scheduling is a head-scratcher but the TV ratings for the holiday game figure to be extraordinary.

As of Monday, approximately 700 of the original 49,700 seat licenses in U.S. Bank Stadium for Vikings season tickets were available.

Radio play-by-play announcer Paul Allen will call his 300th Vikings game when Minnesota plays the Lions November 6 in Minneapolis. Allen became the voice of the Vikings in 2002.

The Big Ten Network will televise the news conferences from Chicago next Monday and Tuesday of all 14 Big Ten Conference football coaches. Gophers coach Tracy Claeys will be among seven coaches making comments and answering questions about his team between noon and 2 p.m. CDT Monday.

Rick Pizzo and former Gophers head coach Glen Mason will be in the BTN studio offering analysis of the news conferences.

Minnesota native Tyus Jones reinforced his fan-friendly image last week in Las Vegas when he signed autographs in the arena concourse following an NBA summer league game. The Timberwolves point guard made a statement with his play, too, being named the Samsung NBA Summer League MVP.

A guess is the Lynx will play its games at Xcel Energy Center next year while Target Center is renovated. The WNBA franchise has scheduled a news conference this afternoon at Xcel but hasn’t announced the topic. The Gophers’ Williams Arena isn’t air conditioned and Mariucci Arena is a hockey-first building.

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association will announce its new women’s commissioner to the media this afternoon at the league’s Edina office. The WCHA, an eight team league that includes the Gophers, has won a record 16 national championships in 17 years since its inception in 1999. During that span the WCHA has six Patty Kazmaier Award winners, 86 All-Americans and numerous Olympic and international team participants.

Connor Nord, the former St. Thomas two-time All-MIAC basketball player who played professionally in Germany last season, left for Las Vegas Tuesday with the Minnesota Heat 17 and under AAU team he is coaching. Nord has decided to end his basketball playing career and pursue coaching, including assisting Guy Kalland at Carleton. Nord told Sports Headliners he will live in Eden Prairie with his parents and commute to Northfield for his new job at Carleton.

Former Gopher Cory Laylin is the head coach of USA Hockey’s Under 17 team that will compete in the Five Nations Cup tournament. The Hamline men’s head coach will lead USA in a round robin tournament in Frisco, Texas from August 9-13. Other tournament teams are the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Switzerland.

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Vikes Group Aims for Winner’s Circle

Posted on July 11, 2016July 12, 2016 by David Shama

A horse named Tiger D is on a deadline at Canterbury Park this month. The five-year-old thoroughbred will make its six-man ownership group happy if he can earn a win before the Vikings head to training camp by the end of July.

Track announcer and Vikings radio play-by-play man Paul Allen heads an ownership group that also includes Vikings coaches Norv and Scott Turner, offensive lineman Brandon Fusco, trainer Eric Sugarman and Wild goalie Alex Stalock. They purchased Tiger D in Florida last spring and have yet to see the horse win a race at Canterbury Park.

Because of illness Tiger D won’t run in races at the Shakopee race track this week. The horse has been unable to run for awhile, and Allen told Sports Headliners Tiger D’s owners are very much anticipating his return to health.

Tiger D has third, fourth and fifth place finishes but no firsts. “(But) we haven’t been despondent,” Allen said.

Allen put up the largest share of the $16,000 purchase price for the horse, while the five others invested equal amounts. There are also other costs involved with owning a race horse but Allen said return on investment isn’t the No. 1 motivator for him and his partners.

“The most important thing to us is a winner’s circle,” Allen said.

The Vikings report to training camp in Mankato on July 28. Tiger D’s owners want to be present for the first win and stand in the winner’s circle to celebrate. That means Canterbury Park’s live racing dates of July 21, 22, 23 and 24 are final opportunities for Tiger D’s owners—at least for awhile.

If Tiger D gets that initial triumph later in the summer, even Allen might not be around to cheer on his favorite horse. Allen will be out of town for two Vikings preseason games in August and the thought has crossed his mind he won’t be available to pose for a photo in the winner’s circle with Tiger D.

Allen has called nearly 25,000 races as a track announcer, working a few years in California and 22 at Canterbury Park. A sports talk show host at KFAN for 18 years, Allen starts his 15th year as the Vikings radio play-by-play man this summer. He will call his 300th Vikings game during 2016.

Growing up in southern California in the 1980s, Allen listened to radio play-by-play legends Chick Hearn of the Lakers and Vin Scully of the Dodgers. The two men left lasting impressions on Allen. The now deceased Hearn was known for his enthusiasm and creative expressions—e.g.“Elgin Baylor yo-yoing the ball near the top of the circle.” Scully, with his soothing voice, is still calling games for the Dodgers and describing baseball like a Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Allen is known for his passion and flair behind the microphone. “I am not afraid to describe things in an unconventional way,” Allen said.

Watch Allen call a race at Canterbury Park and you will see him following the horses with powerful binoculars. He also uses that tool while describing Vikings games. “I may be the only announcer in the NFL using binoculars,” he said.

The transplanted Californian has made a lot of friends here including at Winter Park where the Vikings train most of the year. A regular visitor there, including during the offseason, Allen was in the complex last winter when a conversation with Norv Turner quickly led to a six-man partnership to buy a racehorse.

Now all that’s left is a trip to the winner’s circle. At least once—and preferably before July 28.

Worth Noting

A local basketball source told Sports Headliners that highly recruited shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. “definitely” will not play his senior season at Apple Valley High School. Trent could name his college destination, and apparently he and his family believe an out of state high school can better prepare him for NCAA and NBA competition.

The decline of Gophers basketball in the 21st century means Minnesota apparently has the most minimal of chances to recruit Trent who is the son of former Timberwolves forward Gary Trent Sr. Junior seems likely to end up at a legendary college basketball school like Duke. That possibility is discouraging to Gophers fans who have watched Minneapolis area legends Khalid El-Amin, Cole Aldrich and Tyus Jones win national titles at Connecticut, Kansas and Duke.

Sports Headliners is told Jones has added about 10 pounds and lost approximately two percent of his body fat during offseason training. Jones, 20, was a first round draft choice of the Timberwolves in 2015 and his status for making the roster next season could be uncertain since the team used its No. 1 pick in June to select point guard Kris Dunn and also has five-seasons veteran Ricky Rubio. It’s not unusual, though, for NBA teams to carry three point guards on the roster.

Marcus Fuller, the Gophers basketball beat writer for the Pioneer Press, is moving from that newspaper to the same assignment at the Star Tribune. He replaces Amelia Rayno who will leave the sports department but remain with the Star Tribune and write about food.

Clyde Turner, a star on the Gophers 1972 Big Ten championship, is in his 30th year of running local basketball camps. Over 10,700 campers have participated including El-Amin, Jones, Devean George and Rashad Vaughn.

Schedule makers for the Iowa Hawkeyes found a “pastry shop” to their liking this summer while lining up the team’s upcoming nonconference basketball schedule that includes “cream puffs” Delaware State, Kennesaw State, Regis, Stetson, Savannah State and Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The Twins’ front office has often stumbled making player acquisitions but Eduardo Nunez can make club officials smile this week, although it wouldn’t be shocking if his name comes up in trade talks. The 29-year-old infielder plays in his first MLB All-Star Game tomorrow night after a spectacular first half of the season including a .321 batting average—10th highest in baseball.

Nunez entered this season as a nonstarter and a career .267 major league hitter. The Twins acquired him in a 2014 trade with the Yankees, giving up left-handed pitcher Miguel Sulbaran who is with Trenton in the Double A Eastern League and on the disabled list. With all-star status and a reported $1,475,000 salary, Nunez could be attractive to a contending team that wants to make a trade with the Twins this month, perhaps offering a super prospect or two.

The Twins might have another success story developing with 24-year-old first baseman-outfielder Daniel Palka who they acquired from the Diamondbacks last November, giving up catcher Chris Herrmann. Palka, recently promoted to Triple A Rochester, hit 21 home runs and drove in 65 runs at Double A Chattanooga. In four games with the Red Wings, Palka has two home runs and is hitting .400. Herrmann, now in his fifth major league season, looks like a journeyman catcher but he is having a career best average at the plate with the Diamondbacks hitting .291.

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Mike Zimmer Works Even on Vacation

Posted on June 22, 2016June 22, 2016 by David Shama

Mike Zimmer began his summer vacation last Friday by doing what? Yeah, working.

The Vikings 60-year-old head coach started his summer break between minicamp and training camp by showing up early in the morning to speak to a group at the Minneapolis Club. Zimmer had an audience of business and civic leaders laughing at one-liners. His remarks looked as well organized as his team that last season became NFC North Division champions for the first time since 2009.

Yes, Zimmer’s work ethic is present even when on vacation. In the weeks between now and the start of training camp Zimmer will spend time in various ways including a visit to his ranch in Kentucky. The coach acknowledged there will also be a little red wine once in awhile.

And there will be something else filling his time during the next few weeks. “I’ll be working,” Zimmer said.

“He has a plan of what he wants to get done,” said George Stewart. “He does a great job of being exact. He is very detailed. He plans out what he wants to get done and he attacks that plan. Not only with the players, but with the coaches. We all know what we have to get done for us to be successful.”

Stewart coaches the Vikings wide receivers. He has been an assistant in the NFL since 1992. Before that he worked at both Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota when Lou Holtz was head coach at those places.

Stewart isn’t blowing smoke when he talks about Zimmer who after being a career assistant in the NFL finally got a head coaching opportunity with the Vikings at age 57. Stewart played for Holtz at Arkansas before coaching under him. He regards Holtz as a father figure and talked about him and other famous coaches during an interview with Sports Headliners last week.

“I’ve been around several hall of fame coaches, (including) Lou Holtz as you mentioned. Chuck Noll…to Bill Walsh. I know Mike got into it late (age 57) but if he was given the opportunity at 40 years old as opposed to being 56 or 57 you’d speak about him in those same terms (hall of famer) too because he has great vision.

“He had a great vision for this team when he got here. He had prepared himself to be a head football coach over time as an assistant and it’s showing off now.”

The Vikings are a favorite to be an NFL winner next season and years beyond. Zimmer is on a short list of the league’s more highly regarded head coaches after only two seasons. The team was 7-9 his first season of 2014 after the club had finished 5-10-1 the year before. Last season brought that division title and an 11-5 regular season record.

General manager Rick Spielman, Zimmer and others in the organization have acquired and developed a roster of talented players. Zimmer likes his 2016 team—enough so that he cancelled the final day of minicamp practice last week.

“Well, if we’ve been crummy (this spring), I wouldn’t have cancelled it,” Zimmer said last Thursday. “…I just like the way this team works. I told them that today that, ‘I appreciate the way they go about their business.’

“They’re dedicated to being a good football team and they didn’t believe me at first (practice cancelled). A bunch of them said, ‘Did he say go practice or no practice?’ So they just sat up there for a little while (at Winter Park). They weren’t sure. They thought it was a joke or a trick, but I felt like I’ve seen what I needed to see.”

Zimmer’s surprise cancellation of practice indicates he will throw a “curveball” at times to his team. Don’t be too predictable, change things up.

Ideas like that may come from Zimmer, or perhaps at the suggestion of hall of fame coaches like Bill Parcells or Bud Grant. Zimmer is friends with both men. Occasionally he will refer to phone conversations with Parcells who he worked for with the Cowboys years ago. Grant, who took the Vikings to four Super Bowls, keeps an office at Winter Park where the Vikings practice. The two men have hunted together.

Just two full seasons into Zimmer’s career he has been compared to Grant. The two took such different routes to head coaching. Grant was a head coach at 29 for Winnipeg in the Canadian Football League. He retired at age 58.

That was just about the age Zimmer finally got his own team. Stewart is puzzled why it took so long for an NFL team to grab Zimmer as the head man.

“He should have been a head coach years ago,” Stewart said. “I don’t know what was the reason behind that. (He is) a quiet person and maybe that’s the reason why. I don’t know if he had an agent (to promote him). I do believe if he was a head coach years ago, you’d be speaking about him in the same light as you speak of (Bill) Belicheck (four Super Bowl wins). …”

Like Grant, Zimmer doesn’t tolerate mistakes by his players for very long. Last season the Vikings were the least penalized team in the NFL with 88 flags. The offense was the least penalized in the 32-team league with 30 penalties.

“If there’s a little wrong misstep, he’s going to see the misstep,” Stewart said. “He’s going to ask somebody. He’s going to talk about it. There’s no gray area with coach Zimmer. He’s going to do things the right way. He’s going to keep everybody accountable and our players respect that.”

Missed assignments and sloppy play can leave Zimmer red-faced. Although usually quiet and low key, the team has known his wrath. But players also know he cares about them and they accept his sometimes stern manner.

“You have no choice to settle in with that,” cornerback Xavier Rhodes said. “That’s no question. You can’t say nothing about that. It’s just him. He’s going to be who he is. We just accept him for who he is and that’s what we love about him.”

Rhodes said Zimmer knows “how to win” and is going to get players to do what he wants them to do. Sometimes he will even show them a sense of humor. “Once in awhile,” Rhodes said. “It’s good to see that side of him, to let us know he trusts in us, and he knows we want to get things right.”

Teddy Bridgewater (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings).

What the players also see is a supportive coach when talking to the media. An example came last week when Zimmer was asked about third-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater who has experienced some struggles. Zimmer referred to the winning teams Bridgewater has played for in college and with the Vikings—emphasizing “that’s the most important thing,” not individual statistics.

Zimmer has learned to be more comfortable with the media, but like a lot of coaches facing the press, answering questions is a less appealing part of the job than other aspects. This time of year Zimmer seems more relaxed and even jokes with the media as he did last week when an outdoor practice was shortened because of a lightening threat. Zimmer said he didn’t want reporters to be struck by lightening. “I’d miss you,” he said.

Zimmer can crack a smile, show some levity with those around him, but make no mistake he is single-minded and someone who is going to get things done his way as he pushes toward more success for the Vikings.

“He is demanding,” Stewart said. “He is no-nonsense and he’s exact, and he’s unforgiving in terms of the way we work.

“That’s the deal in trying to be great, trying to win a championship here. We’ve been to four Super Bowls here, as you know. Haven’t won one. We’re trying to get to another one, but again that’s down the road. But I think with the things that he’s doing, he’s preparing everyone.”

Yup, preparing. Even when on vacation.

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