Vikings – Page 193 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Minneapolis Looking at College Title Game

Posted on December 12, 2014December 12, 2014 by David Shama

Local representatives of the new downtown Vikings stadium will meet leaders from the College Football Playoff next month in Texas with the intent of some day bringing the championship game to Minneapolis.

Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, told Sports Headliners yesterday she will be going to the Dallas area where the first ever College Football Playoff title game is scheduled for January 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. She said playoff officials have already expressed interest in the Minneapolis stadium scheduled to open in 2016.

Kelm-Helgen and other stadium representatives—including Meet Minneapolis executive Melvin Tennant who will also go to Texas—have already secured the 2018 Super Bowl and 2019 Final Four for Minnesota. Next up on the priority list is the College Football Playoff Game that annually determines the Division I champion.

Kelm-Helgen said nothing is in place yet to attract the Big Ten Football Championship Game but conversations could develop in 2015. Already discussions have begun with the University of Minnesota regarding a basketball game—or perhaps a tournament—at the $1 billion-plus enclosed stadium.

The stadium project is more than 25 percent complete. With its innovative design, including the huge partially transparent roof, the stadium is expected to be among the most talked about facilities in North America when it opens.

Worth Noting

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater developing as a leader: “There are so many different types of leaders. I just want him to be himself. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a rah-rah guy, or grab somebody by the throat kind of guy.”

Cordarrelle Patterson has lost his starting assignment and Zimmer said the second-year big play wide receiver must become more consistent. “It’s being in the right place, doing the right things, running the right routes, blocking the right people, lining up in the right place. I don’t know when it’ll happen, and I’m hoping like crazy it does because I want him to be a great player.”

Forty-eight hours prior to games, NFL teams must announce the probability of injured players participating. Fans hear that players are “out” (not scheduled to play); “doubtful” (approximately 25% chance of playing); “questionable” (approximately a 50% chance); “probable” (likely to start).

Former Viking Bob Lurtsema will speak at the January 8 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. Bob Gustafson, from Grandma’s Marathon, will speak at the March 12 lunch. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations for the January 8 program can be made by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

Ex-Viking Joe Webb has a more prominent role with the Panthers now as a backup quarterback following Cam Newton’s injuries from a car accident this week. Derek Anderson will replace Newton as the starter with Webb in reserve. Webb, who played both quarterback and wide receiver for the Vikings before joining the Panthers this year, hasn’t played enough to complete a pass.

Darrin Nelson, the former Viking and Stanford running back, was inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.

Zach Zenner, the ex-Eagan High School football player and record-breaking running back at South Dakota State, was awarded an $18,000.00 postgraduate scholarship by the National Football Foundation. A biology major, Zenner has a 3.87 GPA. He is the first player in FCS history to rush for 2,000 yards in each of three seasons.

CollegeFootballNews.com predicted earlier this week the Gophers will defeat Missouri, 34-20, in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on January 1 in Orlando. The Tigers are about a touchdown favorite to win the game.

Friends are extending best wishes to former Gophers and Detroit Lions tight end Charlie Sanders after cancer surgery on his knee. Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.ame.

Paige Tapp, a pre-major Carlson School of Management student at the University of Minnesota, is one of five Big Ten Conference volleyball players who maintain a 4.0 GPA. Earlier this week the sophomore from Stewartville, Minnesota ranked fourth in the country with 1.55 blocks per set.

The Gophers basketball team, 8-2, doesn’t play a game again until December 19 because of semester exams. Coach Richard Pitino has to hope the time off will help redshirt sophomore forward Charles Buggs with his continued recovery from offseason knee injury. Pitino needs Buggs as a key reserve off the bench. Buggs is averaging 4.2 points and two rebounds per game.

Talk about annoying conflicts: The Timberwolves and Gophers men’s basketball team played home games on the same nights of December 5, 8 and 10.

Jared Nuness, the former Hopkins High School basketball player and now an assistant coach for Baylor, will evaluate prep players on Saturday at the Tip Off Classic tournament at Minnetonka High School. Nuness, former Park Center and Bloomington Kennedy head coach, has many recruiting contacts in Minnesota. Tip Off games will include a matchup between two of the best high school teams in the state, Apple Valley and DeLaSalle.

The grand opening of the Minnesota Wild restaurant at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport was Wednesday. The venue is located in Terminal 2 and promotes “gourmet food, live hockey and hockey sticks everywhere.” It is a joint venture between HMS Host and the Wild.

“Restaurants like the new Minnesota Wild venue introduce visitors to Minnesota’s vibrant culture and help differentiate Minneapolis-St. Paul International from other airports,” said Jeff Hamiel, executive director and CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Short-fused John McEnroe—along with James Blake, Michael Chang and Andy Roddick—is scheduled to play in the PowerShare Series Tennis Champions Shootout at Target Center on April 29. Minneapolis is part of a 12-city tour next year involving former ATP Tour stars. In each city there are three one-set matches (semifinals and finals) to determine a winner and accumulate points.

At age 55, McEnroe is the senior member of the group coming to Minneapolis but he is still more than a competent player. He won the PowerShare Series points championship this year with 1,600 points and four tournament titles. Blake, who finished No. 2 in the PowerShare standings, said “McEnroe is still playing great.”

McEnroe has long been known as a volatile competitor whose scorn can quickly place a “dark cloud” over a tennis court. “Johnny Mac just doesn’t like to lose,” said Jim Courier who is another player participating on the PowerShare circuit.

Tickets for the event at Target Center range in cost from $37 to $252.

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Vikings Want Lions Sackless on Sunday

Posted on December 10, 2014December 10, 2014 by David Shama

Will Sunday’s game in Detroit be decided by the matchup between the Vikings’ rebuilt offensive line and the Lions’ formidable front four on defense?

That has to be at least a major storyline. The Lions dominated the Vikings’ offense in a 17-3 win in Minneapolis on October 12. The Vikings gave up a season high eight sacks in the game. Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw three interceptions in his second career start and the Vikings were limited to 188 yards passing. Rookie running back Jerick McKinnon had a team best 40 yards and the Vikings totaled only 69 yards on the ground.

The Lions’ defense ranks second in the NFL giving up 295.7 yards per game. The rushing defense is No. l, yielding 62.8 yards per game.

When the two teams played in Minneapolis, the Vikings were without right guard Brandon Fusco—already out for the season because of a torn pectoral muscle. Since then the Vikings have also lost right tackle Phil Loadholt (another torn pectoral) and possibly left guard Charlie Johnson whose status for Sunday’s game is uncertain because of a sprained ankle. “It seems this year has been really unlucky for us,” Fusco told Sports Headliners. “We’ve had some key injuries.”

Mike Harris, who has replaced Loadholt, didn’t play against the Lions in October and watched from the sidelines. He realizes what he’s facing on Sunday, though. “I know it’s going to be a challenge for the offensive line,” he said. “They have a great front, a great defense, but I am up to the challenge.”

The Lions’ front four has much to do with Detroit having a 9-4 record and contending to win the NFC North. “They get off the ball fast,” Harris said. “They’re big and strong. This group that we have, we’re totally capable of getting the job done if we just use proper technique and match their intensity. That’s what it is going to come down to.”

The front four is led by defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. “Suh and Fairley are no joke,” Fusco said. “They’re the best in the league and week in and week out they show that.”

Fusco admitted having a rebuilt line is challenging because players become accustomed to working with one another. They know each other’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses—and learn how to play as a unit. “Communication is big. Playing with someone you’re used to, makes your job a lot easier,” Fusco said.

Fusco believes the Vikings’ offensive line can have success on Sunday. The linemen will study film and receive direction from offensive line coach Jeff Davidson. “Coach Davidson is a great coach,” Fusco said. “He’s gonna draw some good stuff up for us.”

Worth Noting

The Vikings are 69-35-2 all-time against the Lions—the most wins Minnesota has against another NFL team. Since 1996 there have been only two seasons the Lions won both regular season games against the Vikings. The Lions, long regarded as a dysfunctional franchise on and off the field, can sweep the season series from the Vikings on Sunday and no longer deserve to be labeled the “Motor City Kitties.”

The Vikings announced this morning they have signed tackle and Eden Prairie native Carter Bykowski to their practice squad. Linebacker Michael Mauti has been placed on the injured reserve list.

Blair Walsh, the Vikings field goal kicker, badly missed a late fourth quarter attempt that could have won the game against the Jets in regulation last Sunday inside cold and windy TCF Bank Stadium. He acknowledged that kicking outdoors this time of year can be “brutal” but wouldn’t offer the weather as an excuse. “You gotta perform outside,” he said.

Walsh, who lives in Boca Raton, Florida and attended the University of Georgia, expects 20 to 30 family members and friends at the Vikings game in Miami on December 21. His father has purchased tickets for the group. Walsh plans to have dinner with family and friends the night before the game.

Gophers teammate and point guard DeAndre Mathieu predicted center Mo Walker could be the Big Ten’s best low post scorer after Walker produced a career high 22 points in 23 minutes on Monday night when the Gophers defeated North Dakota 92-56. Walker, a senior, had 13 of Minnesota’s first 18 points less than six minutes into the game.

Mathieu wants the good-natured Walker to have an assertive approach on the court. “He’s getting a lot more mean,” Mathieu said. “When he gets his mean streak, then we’ll be a really, really good team.”

Mathieu, also a senior, had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists on Monday night. That was the first double-double in those categories by a Gopher since Damian Johnson accomplished it in 2010.

Gophers coach Richard Pitino mentioned Walker and Mathieu as two of his most improved players since the start of the season—and both were major contributors last season. He said Walker, who has had past weight issues, is in “great shape” and described Mathieu’s assist to turnovers total as “phenomenal.” Mathieu has 54 assists and just 14 turnovers in nine games.

Former Apple Valley High School all-state point guard Tyus Jones has played a major role for Duke during his first weeks as a freshman leading the team on the floor. The now second ranked Blue Devils are 8-0 and Jones has turned heads including with his team-high 22 points, six rebounds, four assists game last week against then No. 2 Wisconsin in Madison. “He controlled that game,” said Al Nuness.

Nuness, a former Gophers guard and assistant coach, is Jones’ cousin. The two have been close for years and Jones refers to Nuness as his uncle. “You just can’t teach what he’s doing—running the offense like an upperclassman,” Nuness said. “That’s hard to do.”

Nuness said Jones is learning on defense. “I think he needs to improve the most (with) on-ball defense. He’s gotta recognize when a player is a little quicker than he is, that he needs to be like a half step further from him. He’s getting a little too close and that’s why they’re able…to get around him.”

Fans here had hoped Jones would play for Minnesota but Nuness doesn’t believe the Gophers’ style of play is best for Jones because his minutes would likely be more limited. “They play guards by committee at the University of Minnesota,” Nuness said. “They press, press, (and then) you’re tired, and you come out.”

Two other high profile Minnesota natives, Reid Travis and Rashad Vaughn, are also starting and excelling as college freshmen starters. Travis is fifth in scoring and third in rebounding for Stanford. Vaughn averages a team best 16.2 points per game for UNLV.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Wild traded a prospect or two to improve the club’s goaltending. Neither Darcy Kuemper, Niklas Backstrom nor Josh Harding have consistently shown they can claim the position that will be vital to how far the Wild advance in the playoffs.

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U Needs Bowl Rally Starting January 1

Posted on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by David Shama

Talk about incentives.

The Golden Gophers can “exorcise a lot of demons” if they defeat Missouri in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on January 1. Coach Jerry Kill’s team learned yesterday they have an invitation to that prestigious New Year’s Day bowl.

A source told Sports Headliners last week the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida was Minnesota’s preferred bowl destination. The Citrus is the highest ranking bowl game the Gophers could have been invited to and provides Minnesota with its first New Year’s Day matchup since 1962. The Citrus is the Big Ten’s second-oldest current bowl partner behind only the Rose Bowl. Big Ten teams have played in 24 Citrus Bowls, including each of the last 22 seasons.

The Gophers have lost six consecutive bowl games. All, of course, have been disappointing but some were particularly bitter defeats including last December’s loss in the Texas Bowl to a mediocre Syracuse team. To this day the Gophers will shake their collective heads over their effort and performance.

The Gophers don’t want to lug yet another bowl loss into their offseason workouts and spring practice. The program picked up momentum this season with a 5-3 Big Ten record, Minnesota’s best since 2003. Wins included trophy game triumphs over Michigan and Iowa. A season-ending loss to Wisconsin, along with a defeat in the bowl game, will take some shine off this year.

The flip side, though, is the Gophers cannot only put themselves in good spirits during the off-season but also put more juice into the fan base. More ticket sales and interest in the program are for sure if the Gophers defeat Missouri, a team that is among the best in the SEC—America’s top college football league.

The Tigers, 10-3, won the SEC’s East Division and are No. 16 nationally in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Gophers, 8-4, are ranked No. 25.

The Tigers are perceived as the team with the better personnel and figure to be a wagering favorite, at least by a touchdown. The Gophers, though, will embrace the underdog role they have played throughout the season. Last summer virtually no one predicted Minnesota would contend for the Big Ten’s West Division title but the Gophers went into the last game of the regular season with a chance to advance to the conference championship matchup with East Division champ Ohio State.

The Gophers cannot only help their own image by winning on New Year’s Day against an SEC team. They can help pump life into the Big Ten brand. Dating back to 2000, conference teams have only twice won more bowl games than they lost. The last four years the Big Ten record in postseason is 10 wins, 21 losses.

The national exposure on New Year’s Day can help Minnesota’s recruiting which is already on an upswing because of this season. The Gophers target recruiting high school players in the Southeastern part of the country, so playing in a major bowl game in Florida for the first time since 2000 is valuable.

Minnesota players who have been injured will have extra time to heal before the Citrus Bowl. An earlier bowl date meant, for example, that wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky would have less chance of recovering from his high ankle sprain. A starter in the Illinois game when he was injured, Wolitarsky would be a welcome returnee for quarterback Mitch Leidner who has played on a bad knee.

Like other bowl teams, the Gophers will receive 15 extra practices. That’s an incentive for a lot of players to improve and impress the coaches.

There’s that incentive word again.

Worth Noting

The Vikings have won consecutive cold weather games the last two Sundays at home. Yesterday the temperature was 32 with a wind chill of 21. A week ago Sunday the temp was 12 and the wind chill at minus seven. Vikings running back Ben Tate said players stiffen up in the cold. “You feel like you’re running in slow motion,” he told Sports Headliners.

The Vikings have one home game remaining, December 28 against the Bears, and then next year more outdoor football before moving into their new enclosed stadium in 2016. When it’s miserably cold at TCF Bank Stadium can a bad team that is losing to the Vikings by a big score give up? Tate thinks so. “In a climate like this, probably pack it in and just want to get the game over. I definitely think that’s an advantage for us playing in the cold weather.”

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen is in his first season as a starter. The team’s other starting end, Brian Robison, believes Griffen has been playing at an All-Pro level. “I absolutely think so,” Robison told Sports Headliners last week. “The guy’s been playing out of his mind this year. To have 11 sacks (12 after yesterday) at this point in the season is huge. I think he’s done a lot more things than that (too)…so I think the guy is playing on a tremendous level right now.”

The Pro Bowl will be played January 25 in Glendale, Arizona and Griffen could be among the players selected. Pro Bowlers are determined by voting from fans, players and coaches. “I would think it would be a shame if he didn’t make the Pro Bowl for sure,” Robison said.

Former Gopher Simoni Lawrence, now a linebacker for Hamilton in the CFL, started all three playoff games for the Tiger-Cats including their Grey Cup loss to Calgary.

TwinsFest tickets—$20 for adults and $10 ages 14 and younger—go on sale to the general public on Thursday. Twins president Dave St. Peter said in the past all players on the 40-man roster have usually made appearances at TwinsFest, and for 2015 that means fans will likely be able to meet top prospects like Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano. The event, January 23-25, will be at Target Field for a second consecutive year and attendance could total a capacity maximum of 15,000, or about half the size for some TwinsFests at the Metrodome.

St. Peter said new manager Paul Molitor has “made contact” with players and will do more off-season communications at TwinsFest. Molitor’s contacts have been made with players here in town, not out of Minnesota.

Baseball’s winter meetings began yesterday in San Diego and are a catalyst to rumors about free agent signings. St. Peter said the Twins are shopping for pitching but wouldn’t predict how soon the club might have an announcement about acquisitions. “It could play out over 60 to 90 days,” he told Sports Headliners.

The North Dakota basketball team that plays the 6-2 Gophers tonight at Williams Arena has a 3-4 record including a 37 point loss to Utah and 12 point defeat against Northern Iowa. The North Dakota roster has six Minnesotans including sophomore guard Quinton Hooker, the 2013 Minnesota Mr. Basketball from Brooklyn Park, who is averaging 9.6 points—third best on the team—and leads in assists with 17.

Gophers basketball and baseball public address announcer Dick Jonckowski is recovering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and his last chemotherapy session is tomorrow.

If the Gophers season is to be a success, junior college transfer Carlos Morris needs to be a leading contributor. Morris was important to Minnesota before the season began, but is even more vital now with fellow small forward Daquein McNeil off the team indefinitely after being arrested for an off-court incident. Morris’ athleticism has been impressive including on Friday night when the Gophers defeated West Carolina, but coach Richard Pitino expects a lot from the 6-5, 175-pound junior.

“You can’t play 32 minutes at the small forward spot and only get two rebounds (Friday),” Pitino said. “He did a lot of good things—16 points, four assists, three steals—but you gotta rebound the ball at that spot.”

Pitino doesn’t plan to be overly patient with Morris who is the team’s second leading scorer at 11.6 points per game. He wants consistent effort and versatile production from Morris. “A lot of times with jucos it takes them a year,” Pitino said. “We don’t have a year with him. Just like we didn’t have a year with DeAndre Mathieu (juco point guard transfer in 2013).

“He’s gotta figure it out right now because he’s our only true small forward in the program. He’s gotta figure out a lot of things quickly which is normally difficult, but he’s got the talent which is good.”

The Gophers will wear black uniforms for their January 6 Big Ten home opener against Ohio State. The “Barn Blackout” game will encourage fans to wear black clothing.

Former Gophers golfer and New York Times bestselling author Harvey Mackay will ring a bell for the Salvation Army from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Byerly’s in St. Louis Park. This will be Mackay’s 12th consecutive year helping with the organization’s holiday fundraising effort. Mackay usually tells WCCO Radio listeners if they make a contribution to his kettle they will receive one of his books for free.

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