Vikings – Page 206 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

June 14 Wedding Set for Vikings Center

Posted on June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 by David Shama

It is no ordinary June for Vikings starting center John Sullivan who this week is at Winter Park practicing with teammates. He will be married on June 14 in Long Island, New York. He dclined to give his fiancée’s name but did say the couple will enjoy an Alaskan honeymoon cruise in late June.

Sullivan was drafted by the Vikings out of Notre Dame in 2008. Since 2009, when Sullivan became the starting center, he has missed only three of 77 games. A calf injury, knee surgery and concussion have been challenges. After the Vikings went through one of their recent Organized Team Activities he was asked about his health.

“I don’t know if you’re ever 100 percent as a professional football player but I am as close as I’ve been in a long time,” he told Sports Headliners.

Any lingering injuries? “Nothing. We always call it total body soreness. That just means you got a lot of games under your belt.”

Sullivan, who turns 29 on August 8, was named All-Pro by Pro Football Weekly in 2012. With his age and experience, he could be positioned to have his best season in 2014.

“That’s always the goal,” Sullivan said. “Every year your goal is to play the best you can as an individual, because that’s how you help the team win, and that’s what it comes down to.”

The Vikings’ record was 5-10-1 last season. A prediction late last month by the Las Vegas Hilton wagering authorities said the team will win only six games this season, but that doesn’t mean anything to Sullivan.

“I hadn’t heard that,” Sullivan said. “Frankly, we don’t care what Vegas says. We don’t care what anybody says. The people that have control over that situation are the ones that are here now, on this practice field and this building going to work everyday. We’re going to put the work into it to win as many games as we possibly can.”

The number of wins, of course, will have much to do with quarterback production. In practices Sullivan is impressed with veterans Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder, and rookie Teddy Bridgewater.

“Teddy looks great so far,” Sullivan said. “He’s a confident young guy. He’s made some incredible throws, and obviously we know who Matt and Christian are. They’re both guys that have led teams to playoffs in the past. We feel like we have three guys who can go out and get the job done.”

Sullivan is pleased new head coach Mike Zimmer retained offensive line coach Jeff Davidson who was with the Vikings for three prior seasons. Davidson’s reputation as an instructor and technician is well established at Winter Park.

Sullivan is impressed, too, with his new head coach after watching Zimmer lead the team in spring activities. “There’s no nonsense out here. No BS. Coach Zimmer is concerned with holding everybody accountable and winning football games. That’s all it comes down to.”

Sullivan is a leader who over the years has been involved with community activities including the drive to build the new stadium opening in 2016. Then in 2018 the stadium will host the Super Bowl. Wouldn’t it be special if the Vikings were playing in that Minneapolis game?

“It would be amazing just to be in a Super Bowl,” Sullivan said. “We don’t care where it is. You could play in a parking lot in Missouri. We don’t care.

“Yeah, would it be nice to play in a Super Bowl, here? Of course.”

Worth Noting

The Vikings continue their Organized Team Activity sessions this week at Winter Park. Players and coaches, as part of the franchise’s community work, will help build a playground on Wednesday at Lucy Craft Laney School in Minneapolis.

Pedro Florimon, who hit .108 in 65 at bats with the Twins this spring, is batting .237 in 59 plate appearances since being demoted to Triple-A Rochester. Former Twins starter Scott Diamond, also with Rochester, is 2-6 with a 7.51 ERA. Teammate and hot starting pitching prospect Alex Meyer is 3-1 with a 3.31 ERA and impressive 62 strikeouts in 51.2 innings.

Joe Schmit’s book, Sudden Impact, is now in its second printing. The KSTP TV sportscaster said the first press run was 5,000 and now another 5,000 have been printed.

Schmit’s hometown is Seymour, Wisconsin. That’s also the hometown of prep shooting guard Sandy Cohen who reportedly was recruited by the Gophers but will attend Marquette.

The Minute Men, the volunteer organization supporting Minnesota sports for more than 50 years, will honor outstanding high school lacrosse players at a noon banquet June 15 at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront Hotel. The finalists for Mr. Lacrosse are Max Elsenheimer (Eagan), Michael Lamb (Benilde-St. Margaret), J.R. Riley (St. Thomas Academy), Sam Turner (Academy of Holy Angels), Charlie Venable (Eden Prairie), Carter Yepson (Rosemount) and Conner Yepson (Rosemount). Finalists for Ms. Lacrosse are Sophie Buelow (Chanhassen), Sheila Hirsch, (Edina), Anna Johnson (Eden Prairie), Katie Larson (Apple Valley), Ali Ridge (Minnetonka), Anne Slusser (Blake) and Lydia Sutton (Blake).

Finalists for Mr. Goalie are Max Fehey (Eden Prairie) and Aaron Wiederhoeft (Prior Lake), while finalists for Ms. Goalie are Oralee Hespenheide (Bloomington Jefferson), and Maddie Kohlbeck (Farmington).

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If Not U, Jeff Jones Headed to Iowa CC?

Posted on May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 by David Shama

Jeff Jones, the nationally recognized Washburn High School running back who is arguably the prize recruit in the 2014 Gophers football class, could be headed to Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs.

Jones needs a higher score on his ACT test to be accepted by the University of Minnesota. He will take the test for a fourth time on June 14. Washburn coach Giovan Jenkins declined to specify what score Jones needs to become eligible to play for Minnesota this year.

“I honestly think he is going to get it (the improved score),” Jenkins told Sports Headliners. “He’s improved each time. He is confident he’s going to get it. He knows junior college is not where he wants to be.”

Jenkins said if Jones doesn’t qualify for admission to Minnesota he will need to spend two years at a community college and earn a degree to then have immediate eligibility at an NCAA program, presumably the Gophers.

Jenkins has spoken with Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier and is enthusiastic about the program that is annually a national power. Jenkins described the Reivers, who won the 2012 National Junior College Athletic Association championship, as a “great program” that has sent more than 20 players to Division I schools the last two years. “It’s definitely a program he (Jeff) wants to be part of,” Jenkins said.

But Jones, of course, would rather be a Gopher, fulfilling the commitment he made in February when he signed his national letter of intent binding him to Minnesota. Jones is the only Rivals.com four-star recruit in the Gophers 2014 recruiting class. He turned heads playing in the prestigious Under Armour All-America Game in Florida last January, gaining 72 yards and being named Team Nitro MVP.

In past years the best Minnesota football preps have chosen schools other than the Gophers so Jones’ commitment to play for his hometown team is viewed as a step forward for UM coach Jerry Kill.

In pursuit of a qualifying ACT score, the 6-foot, 200-pound Jones could take encouragement from former Washburn tight end Ra’Shede Hageman who didn’t become eligible to play for the Gophers until June of his senior year. Hageman became an All-Big Ten defensive lineman and was selected in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft by the Falcons.

Worth Noting

Iowa Western Community College’s Strohmeier has been head coach of the Rievers since 2008. He is from Watkins, Minnesota and played quarterback at Fergus Falls Community College and the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

Jenkins said Hageman has signed his contract with the Falcons and purchased a Porsche.

The Chanhassen house of former Vikings defensive end Jared Allen is for sale at $1.75 million, according to a Wednesday Bizjournals.com story by Jim Hammerand.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer after being asked yesterday if players attending the organized team activities are buying into a new coach and system: “I don’t worry about if they are buying in. My job is to coach them hard and try to get them to be the best players they can be. …”

Zimmer on what he’s seen from All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson: “Yeah, he looks great. He’s made some tremendous cuts, you’d have to ask him, but he seems excited to be here, about some of the things that we are trying to do with him and I think it’s only going to continue to get better.”

With reported trade rumors involving Kevin Love, it’s fair to wonder if the Timberwolves All-Star forward will participate as scheduled in the July 13 celebrity softball game at Target Field. The game is part of the MLB All-Star Game promotional activities and it seems likely Love, sure to be greeted by boos, will become a cancel if traded to another NBA club between now and July 13.

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino, who was hired about 14 months ago, will receive a raise and if the increase isn’t agreed to yet it will be soon. Pitino’s initial salary was set at $500,000, plus $700,000 of supplemental compensation.

Randy Wittman, fired as Timberwolves coach in 2008, is close to a contract extension with the Wizards.

The MIAC all-sports standings recognize an overall annual champion for each gender. For the seventh consecutive school year St. Thomas has finished first in both the men’s and women’s all-sports standings. St. Olaf and Saint John’s were second and third in men’s sports while Saint Benedict and Gustavus were runners-up in women’s athletics.

The St. Thomas men have finished first 28 times in 52 years, while the women have done it 23 out of 32 years. The Tommies have finished first in both genders 19 of the past 30 years, an indication of the many winning teams and seasons at the St. Paul school.

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Final Four Next ‘Win’ for New Stadium?

Posted on May 23, 2014May 23, 2014 by David Shama

This week’s announcement that the 2018 Super Bowl will be played in Minneapolis makes it even more likely the new downtown multipurpose stadium opening in 2016 will attract major events ranging from Final Fours to concerts to perhaps national political conventions, sources told Sports Headliners.

Todd Klingel, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the new stadium’s image is now enhanced because the “biggest event” is coming here. Dave Mona, the local public relations executive who was involved with the successful bid to bring the 1992 Super Bowl to the Metrodome, said concert promoters are attracted to the “hottest places” when booking tours. Bill Lester, former executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission that ran the Metrodome, said the 2018 announcement will be a “catalyst” for world-class events—possibly the Democratic National Convention.

“With the exception of the Olympics, nothing exceeds the Super Bowl in terms of eyeballs to watch it on TV and impact, and (the) buy-in you get from the corporate community and the public sector,” Lester said. “There’s nothing quite like the Super Bowl.”

Lester said the Democratic party likes stadium venues for its conventions and former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak was interested in bringing the big event to the dome. Varied events could come to the new stadium with Lester recalling the dome even hosted the Alcoholics Anonymous convention.

Earlier this year the NCAA announced Minneapolis as one of eight cities who are finalists to host the men’s basketball Final Four between 2017-2020. The Metrodome hosted two Final Fours, plus regional tournaments—with the city and its boosters receiving considerable approval by NCAA officials.

The new stadium, with the Vikings as the anchor tenant, is expected to be among the best covered facilities in the country and will meet the NCAA Final Four requirement for 60,000 seats or more. With an attractive downtown, and a region able to provide the NCAA-required 10,000 or more full-service hotel rooms, Minneapolis looks like a lock to have one or more Final Fours in the next 10 years.

The Big Ten Football Championship Game started in 2011 and has been played each year at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Minneapolis promoters are expected to make a determined pitch to have the game played here, perhaps in alternate years with Indianapolis. “I’d be very surprised if that didn’t also come our way,” Klingel said.

Lester is optimistic, too, and remembered inquiring about the football game and also the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament for the Metrodome. The new stadium also might consider a made-for-TV basketball game involving the Gophers and an opponent like Louisville matching Richard Pitino against his father Rick Pitino—a potential box office hit.

Another high profile event target for the new stadium is expected to be the national championship college football game. The game has never been hosted by a northern city and that could give Minneapolis an edge in eventually winning a bid.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority is close to choosing a stadium operator from a small candidates list of private management companies. Klingel expects an announcement “within 30 days.”

Among the operator’s responsibilities will be staffing, security, marketing and booking events for the new facility. “I don’t think there’s any question the operator will bid for everything that is biddable,” Mona said.

Mona, though, joked not to expect another Super Bowl soon. He predicted the big game could return in 2044, noting it will be 26 years from the 1992 Minneapolis Super Bowl to the 2018 game.

Klingel said there isn’t a precise figure regarding the economic impact to Minneapolis and region for the 2018 game. Indianapolis and New Orleans, the two cities that finished behind Minneapolis in the 2018 bidding for the Super Bowl, were using figures of over $300 and $400 million respectively, he said.

“Maybe it’s worth $75 million,” Klingel said, trying to be conservative. “Who doesn’t want it? It more than pays for itself.”

Super Bowl Notes

New Orleans, 10 times the Super Bowl host, had never lost in the bidding process before this week. The 2018 game was to help celebrate the 300th anniversary of the city. Rod West, a New Orleans Super Bowl presenter to the NFL in Atlanta, said he was “shocked” in a Times-Picayune online story by Larry Holder posted on Tuesday.

Holder wrote that since 2004 eight cities with new stadiums, including Minneapolis, have all been successful in being rewarded with a Super Bowl in voting by NFL owners. Among those stadiums is Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, site of the 2012 game.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay talked about the competition of Minnesota’s new stadium in a Wednesday online story by Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. “It’s always tough when you’re going up against someone that is building a new stadium,” Irsay said. “It’s not by rule but by tradition that they get awarded one. Minnesota, like us, received that kind of unwritten award of the game. It was tough competition, particularly with that factor in play.”

Don’t count on the Vikings playing in the 2018 game. Not only will the Vikings have to improve a lot, but since the first Super Bowl in 1967 only one team has played in its hometown area. In 1985 the San Francisco 49ers played the Miami Dolphins in Palo Alto, California.

Retired coach Bud Grant, who turned 87 on Tuesday, led the Vikings to four Super Bowls including the last one in 1977 against the Oakland Raiders in Pasadena, California.

Grant has been holding a three-day garage sale that ends at noon today at his Bloomington home, according to the website Gsalr.com. The website refers to “Vikings stuff” but also describes hunting and fishing items.

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